NAID : News : Alberta Privacy Legislation Amendment Reflects NAID -Canada Input

ALBERTA PRIVACY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT REFLECTS NAID-CANADA INPUT

NAID-Canada is pleased to report that the Government of Alberta has amended its Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) to include a requirement for information destruction. The new provision states that “Within a reasonable period of time after an organization no longer reasonably requires personal information for legal or business purposes, the organization must

a) Destroy the records containing the personal information or

b) Render the personal information non-identifying so that it can no longer be used to identify an individual.”

The legislation did not previously mention destruction.

The PIPA review process in Alberta was launched in 2006. NAID-Canada provided several written submissions since then and also appeared before the legislative committee examining PIPA in 2007. Throughout the review process, NAID-Canada reminded politicians and government officials of the importance of including a destruction requirement in the legislation and providing guidance on what that term means. NAID-Canada is pleased with the amended legislation and hopes to work with the Government of Alberta on enforcement. The date for the latter has not been set at this time.