Prepare for new POPA Annual Reporting requirements
The Government of Alberta has advised all public bodies, including municipalities, of upcoming annual reporting requirements under the Protection of Privacy Act (POPA).
Under Section 56 of POPA, the Minister of Technology and Innovation must submit an annual report to the Legislative Assembly on the operation of the Act. To support this reporting, municipalities will be asked to provide privacy-related statistics each year.
Municipalities should begin tracking relevant information now to ensure they are prepared to submit data in April 2027.
The annual reporting requirements will include information on:
- Requests to correct personal information, including the number received, resolved, corrected, annotated, transferred, or denied
- Privacy incidents, including the number of incidents, causes (such as unauthorized access, disclosure, or loss of personal information), risk levels, and incident types
- Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) prepared under Section 26 of POPA
- Privacy complaints, including the number received, resolved, and whether complaints were determined to be founded or unfounded
- Requests for privacy advice, such as guidance on interpreting POPA, assessing compliance, or reviewing notices, agreements, and policies for privacy requirements.
To support the new reporting obligations, Technology and Innovation has provided privacy officers with guidance materials, including a fact sheet, sample forms, and tracking templates.
Municipalities that have not received this information or these resources are encouraged to contact the POPA.stats [at] gov.ab.ca (Government of Alberta) for more information.
