Grande Prairie area municipalities shore up privacy requirements

Grande Prairie area municipalities shore up privacy requirements

Grande Prairie area municipalities shore up privacy requirements

https://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/news/grande-prairie-municipalities-privacy-legislation

Publish Date: 2026-05-29 03:07:00

Source Domain: www.dailyheraldtribune.com

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pdtechintegration

By Chris Zwick, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Published May 29, 2026  •  Last updated 1 hour ago  •  3 minute read

The County of Grande Prairie No.1 government office sign on May 31, 2024.Area municipalities are working to update their privacy requirements to comply with Alberta’s changed legislation. Photo by Breanna Driedger /DAILY HERALD TRIBUNE

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Three regional municipalities are working together to come into compliance with new privacy legislation from the province set to take effect June 11.

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Beaverlodge, Wembley and Sexsmith are joining together on a joint initiative to create a shared privacy management program. Sexsmith council was the last to pass a motion to enter into the partnership and hire a consultant to help them along at the May 19 regular meeting.

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In June 2025, the Government of Alberta repealed the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP) in favour of two new acts — the Access to Information Act (ATIA) and the Protection of Privacy Act (POPA). Public bodies, like municipalities and school boards were given a year to prepare for the new rules for handling public requests for information and how information is classified, managed and stored.

POPA calls for public bodies to institute formal privacy management programs and while expectations on implementation are a little hazy, they must be able to confidently demonstrate what records exist; where sensitive information is stored; who has access to it; how long it is retained; and how it is securely disposed.

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