An Update on the Personal Information and Privacy Act Review
Starting in January 2024, the Standing Committee on Resource Stewardship began a comprehensive review of Alberta’s Personal Information and Privacy Act (PIPA), which is required every 6 years.
PIPA is Alberta’s private sector privacy law. As such, it only applies to nonprofits for information collected, used or disclosed for commercial activity. This principle was established when the legislation came to effect in 2004 and was upheld in the 2015 comprehensive review of the legislation.
The Committee invited the Nonprofit Chamber to make a written submission, which we did on May 31, 2024, and subsequently invited the Chamber to make an oral presentation to the committee, which we did on September 24, 2024. In both instances, we made two recommendations:
To maintain the current approach with this legislation in its application to nonprofits in Alberta for commercial activity.
To promote the existing Government of Alberta PIPA resources for nonprofits with the assistance of the Nonprofit Chamber through our extensive reach with Alberta’s nonprofits.
The Standing Committee on Resource Stewardship has issued its final report to the Legislature and will now go to Cabinet for decisions on implementing the recommendations. We were pleased to read in the final report that the committee recognizes the administrative and financial burden that would accompany any regulatory changes to the compliance requirements for nonprofits. We are grateful that the committee has made no recommendation to change the current approach with this legislation in its applicability to nonprofits in Alberta for commercial activity only.
We are encouraged by the committee recommendations related to the nonprofit sector:
To clarify the definition of commercial activity in the Act.
To develop guidelines for best practices for nonprofit organizations in handling personal information in carrying out noncommercial activities.
We look forward to seeing the drafted amendments to the Act and to supporting the government in sharing any updated resources and information with Alberta’s nonprofits.
Watch this space and subscribe to the Nonprofit Chamber newsletter for developments as we keep you updated on any changes to the legislation, what it means for nonprofits, and any resources and information.