Latest news with #OIPC
Edmonton Journal
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
Rob Breakenridge: Government secrecy taking hold in Alberta
Article content The first request for responses from the pension survey was sent off to the government by Postmedia in September 2023. Subsequent requests were filed in the ensuing months, but those produced either completely redacted records or no records at all. Late last year, Alberta's Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) began a review into how the government responded to those requests. Last week, the government finally relented and provided Postmedia reporter Matthew Black with the results of the pension plan engagement survey. For the record, the survey showed 63 per cent opposition to leaving the Canada Pension Plan, with only 10 per cent expressing support for the idea of a new, separate Alberta Pension Plan.
Calgary Herald
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Breakenridge: Government secrecy taking hold in Alberta
Article content It was a fairly simple matter, really: between September and December of 2023, more than 94,000 Albertans took part in the government's pension plan engagement survey. What were the results of that survey? Article content It's not as though the results were lost or destroyed. The Alberta government had those results and had been sitting on them all along. The thoughts of Albertans on a matter of public importance hardly constitute some sort of state secret, either. Article content Article content Article content It took almost two years of digging and prodding, but we finally have the answer. Regardless of one's views on the pension plan debate, it's troubling that we'd see such secrecy around something so straightforward. Article content Article content Unfortunately, this is becoming the norm under this government. Hopefully, such a blatant and clunky attempt at secrecy will be a wake-up call when it comes to the erosion of access to information rights in Alberta. Article content The first request for responses from the pension survey was sent off to the government by Postmedia in September 2023. Subsequent requests were filed in the ensuing months, but those produced either completely redacted records or no records at all. Late last year, Alberta's Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) began a review into how the government responded to those requests. Article content Last week, the government finally relented and provided Postmedia reporter Matthew Black with the results of the pension plan engagement survey. For the record, the survey showed 63 per cent opposition to leaving the Canada Pension Plan, with only 10 per cent expressing support for the idea of a new, separate Alberta Pension Plan. Article content Article content It's hard to imagine if those results were flipped that the Alberta government would have engaged in a 21-month campaign to keep them hidden from view. But the potential embarrassment stemming from a public rejection of a government narrative is a pretty flimsy basis for such a lack of transparency. Article content This is why access to information is so important and why strong laws are needed to protect that transparency. The problem with that, however, is that access to information laws are crafted and shaped by the same governments that might have a vested interest in limiting access to information. Article content Last December, the government passed new legislation overhauling privacy and access to information legislation. Among other things, the bill ushers in new exemptions for all sorts of documents and correspondence, putting them out of reach of access to information requests.
National Post
19-06-2025
- Business
- National Post
Alberta pension survey results find 63% opposed to leaving CPP
After a 21-month wait, the Alberta government has released to Postmedia the results of its 2023 provincial pension plan engagement survey, which show nearly two-thirds of respondents were opposed to leaving the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). Article content Postmedia first filed a request for responses from the survey a week after it opened in September of 2023, and followed up with multiple further requests in the following months, all of which produced either no records or records that were entirely redacted. Article content Article content Article content Last December, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner opened reviews into the government's response to three requests: one seeking a summary of the survey results, a second looking for copies of the open-answer questions in the survey, and a third for completed copies of the pension workbook that was distributed in late 2023. Article content Mediation with the OIPC prompted the government to release copies of the workbooks to Postmedia in May and the survey's long-form answers this week. Article content The finance ministry released a summary of the survey results to Postmedia on Wednesday outside of the access to information process. Article content According to that summary, 63 per cent of respondents were opposed to an Alberta pension plan (APP), 10 per cent were in favour of an APP, and 12 per cent were undecided or unsure. Article content Article content The remaining 15 per cent were other forms of responses, including questions about implementation, suggestions for other alternatives, non-answers, and incomplete responses. Article content Article content More than 94,000 Albertans completed the survey between its opening on Sept. 21, 2023, and its conclusion on Dec. 10, 2023. Article content Article content 'While recent surveys on an APP show public opinion may be shifting, we will continue to engage with Albertans on this topic through the Alberta Next panel. The Alberta Pension Protection Act guarantees we won't replace the CPP with an Alberta Pension Plan unless Albertans approve it in a referendum.' Article content Polls from Leger in August and again last February both showed around 23 per cent support for leaving the CPP. Article content A government-commissioned survey by respected pollster Janet Brown found that 55 per cent of those who had made up their minds on the issue were in favour of a provincial pension plan if it 'guaranteed all Alberta seniors the same or better benefits' than the existing federal plan.
CBC
12-02-2025
- CBC
Alberta privacy commissioner investigating PowerSchool data breaches
Alberta's privacy watchdog is investigating more than 30 data breaches from Alberta schools stemming from the PowerSchool cyberattack, the provincial government said in a news release Wednesday. PowerSchool, a cloud-based software platform used in K-12 education, was hit by a cyberattack in late December that accessed data held by some North American schools, including in Alberta. The company started issuing notices last month to individuals whose information was breached. The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) has started reviewing the 31 breach notices it has received so far regarding unauthorized access to students' personal information. In some cases, teachers' personal information was also accessed. The office will work with affected schools to reduce the potential risk posed to those whose information was exposed, Information and Privacy Commissioner Diane McLeod said in the release. A "significant number" of Albertans were affected, including many students, McLeod said. Her office is examining notices as they come in, to figure out exactly how many people in Alberta were affected. Also this week, federal Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne said his office has launched its own investigation into the cybersecurity breach at PowerSchool. McLeod, who works independently from government, is also working with her counterparts across Canada to address the breach, she added. PowerSchool learned of the data breach on Dec. 28, the company says on its website. It occurred through PowerSource, one of its "community-focused customer support portals," and accessed various forms of personal and medical information. One of the notices the OIPC received involved students' names, phone numbers, birth dates, genders, grades, school-issued email addresses, and student identification numbers. Health information that was accessed included medical conditions, allergies and medications, personal health numbers, physician contact information and guardian information, the news release said. The office has received information that suggests PowerSchool is offering credit monitoring and identity theft protection for people impacted by the breach, the release said, adding that people should contact PowerSchool for information about that. Anyone who received notices should direct their questions to the school that sent them the notice, the release said.
