Alberta Record

· Bill / Expanded Data Powers · enacted

Bill 46 — Information and Privacy Statutes Amendment Act, 2025: Expanded Data Powers for Office of Statistics and Information

Amends the Access to Information Act and Protection of Privacy Act to define the Office of Statistics and Information and grant it exemptions from certain privacy restrictions on data collection, retention, and disclosure.

High impactPrivacy & surveillanceCentralization of powerThe public, directlyLegislature

What changed

  • Defines 'Office of Statistics and Information' within the Protection of Privacy Act.
  • Exempts the Office of Statistics and Information from restrictions on collecting personal information directly from individuals for data matching (Protection of Privacy Act, Section 17(3)).
  • Exempts the Office of Statistics and Information from restrictions on the retention and use of derived personal information (Protection of Privacy Act, Section 18).
  • Allows public bodies to disclose derived data to the Office of Statistics and Information for its purposes (Protection of Privacy Act, Section 19(3)).
  • Exempts the Office of Statistics and Information from restrictions on using personal or derived data to create non-personal data (Protection of Privacy Act, Section 21(3)).
  • Grants the Lieutenant Governor in Council broad power to make consequential regulations to any Act or regulation as a result of this Act, overriding other regulation-making authorities.

Why it matters

  • The creation of a defined 'Office of Statistics and Information' with specific exemptions from privacy rules centralizes significant data collection and analysis capabilities within the government.
  • Exemptions from rules on direct data collection, retention, and disclosure for this Office could reduce individual privacy protections concerning government data use.
  • The ability for public bodies to disclose derived data to this Office expands the scope of data sharing within government.
  • The broad consequential regulation-making power for the LGIC could allow for further adjustments to other acts and regulations without direct legislative scrutiny, potentially centralizing regulatory authority.

Rights affected

  • Privacy — Control over personal information held by governments and institutions.

Other governance concerns

  • Reduced privacy protections for personal data
  • Expanded government data collection and sharing
  • Potential for broad regulatory changes by LGIC

Primary sources (1)