Access to Information and Protection of Privacy

No. Under certain circumstances, however, it may be helpful to provide the reason as it will enable the County of St. Paul to process your request more efficiently.

1. The applicant completes the ATIA Application Form and pays the initial $25 fee.
2. The County's ATIA/POPA Coordinator reviews the request and the information asked for. They will determine if additional fees will be applied to develop copies of the information. If the fees are estimated to be more than $150, the ATIA/POPA Coordinator will notify the applicant to confirm if they wish to continue with the request.
3. Each record requested is reviewed, and a determination is made as to whether, under the ATIA and POPA Acts, any personal or sensitive information needs to be removed.
4. The redacted records are then provided to the applicant, and any remaining fees are paid. The records will include a letter explaining what sections of ATIA and POPA apply to the redactions.

Under ATIA, public bodies have 30 business days to respond to the request.

The County works to complete ATIA requests as quickly as possible.

If there is a significant amount of material, or the County is experiencing extenuating circumstances such as a regional emergency, responses may take longer. If this is the case, the ATIA/POPA Coordinator will notify the applicant.

Under ATIA, if the photocopy, printing, and time charges exceed $150, the applicant may be required to pay any amount exceeding $150.

If this is the case, the applicant will be contacted before any additional copies are made or work done to complete the request to confirm whether the County should continue.

Ownership maps are prepared for use by municipal staff, such as emergency services and utilities, who need to be able to locate landowners. Often, rural maps contain the first initial and last name of landowners, legal land descriptions, and the location of houses.

The disclosure would be permitted under POPA section 13(1)(a) once the municipality makes the decision. Unless there is an investigation of a privacy complaint by the Commissioner and the resulting report recommends removing the names, municipalities may decide to continue to produce the maps.

Additional owner information may be obtained for a fee through Land Titles or an Alberta Registry Agent.

Alberta's Information and Privacy Commissioner, who is appointed by the Provincial Legislature, oversees all aspects of the Access to Information Act and Protection of Privacy Act for all public bodies affected by the Acts, including the County of St. Paul. The Office of the Commissioner (OIPC) is the independent body that reviews the application of the legislation, including:

• Conducting reviews of decisions made by the County of St. Paul under ATIA, at the request of an applicant or affected third party,
• Conducting investigations into complaints regarding privacy breaches, to ensure compliance with provisions of POPA and compliance with rules relating to the destruction of records,
• Making an Order as a result of investigations, reviews or inquiries, and
• Informing the public about both Acts.

If you make an ATIA request and you disagree with the response you receive, you may ask the OIPC to review the decision made by a public body, health custodian, or private sector organization that relates to your request. This also applies to a request to correct personal or health information in your records. These are referred to as a “request for review”.

You may also submit a complaint to the OIPC if you believe that your personal or health information was collected, used or disclosed improperly. You may consider an improper collection, use or disclosure of your personal or health information to be a privacy breach. This is typically referred to as a “privacy complaint”.

Link to OIPC information and forms