“It’s a good example of how provincial rules and regulations increase the cost of doing business for municipalities.”

The Municipality of Jasper has adopted new privacy regulations to bring it into compliance with updated provincial legislation.

On Sept. 1, council approved the privacy management program. It gave third and final reading to the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Bylaw on Sept. 15, completing the process of adopting the new rules. Council had discussed the matter during committee of the whole on Aug. 25.

“In terms of the implementation, we will take our time on that,” said CAO Bill Given. “But we can demonstrate to anyone who came knocking that we’ve complied with the intent of the law by passing the documents that were required.”

Alberta’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act was replaced in 2025 by the Access to Information Act (ATIA) and Protection of Privacy Act (POPA).

Christine Nadon, the Municipality’s director of Protective and Legislative Services, said ATIA is broadly similar to previous rules governing requests for public information, while POPA introduces more complex and stringent requirements around personal information.

“This is partially due to the age of information we’re in with technology, but also potentially serious incidents with the release of information,” Nadon said. “You can imagine releasing your email address is one thing, but releasing your banking information is another.”

The new bylaw designates the chief administrative officer as the Municipality’s privacy head, responsible for ensuring compliance with POPA and delegating responsibilities to other staff. It also establishes fees prescribed by the legislation.

The Municipality hired Brownlee Law to develop the regulatory framework behind its privacy management program. Given said the firm was chosen in part because it works with numerous municipalities, allowing the cost of developing the framework to be shared across its client base.

But adopting the framework is only the beginning.

Nadon said the Municipality can bring its existing policies and procedures into compliance, but does not currently have the resources to fully implement all of the program’s requirements.

One example is assigning security categories to every municipal record containing personal information, which would then determine what protections need to be applied.

“That’s a pretty big endeavor across the organization,” Nadon said.

The new program also places restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence. Employees and council members are prohibited from using personal automated systems, including AI tools, in their municipal duties unless they receive written authorization from the privacy head.

Mayor Richard Ireland questioned how broadly that restriction would apply.

He noted that he had automatically received an AI-generated response while using Google to search for information.

“Am I authorized to do that?” Ireland asked. “That was something I was doing in my role as councillor.”

Nadon clarified that the Municipality’s IT department is expected to provide a list of approved AI tools. She said the provision is specifically concerned with using personal information in such systems.

The program also requires mandatory privacy training for council members, municipal staff and volunteers who handle personal information.

Ireland questioned how the Municipality would train volunteers and whether it has the capacity to meet the requirement.

Given said the issue has been discussed by local governments and is the subject of advocacy through Alberta Municipalities.

“For the past year since legislation passed, I think there was a recognition that this was going to be a significant and costly change for municipalities,” he said.

“And it’s a good example of how provincial rules and regulations increase the cost of doing business for municipalities.”

Nadon said other municipalities have found ways to comply with the new legislation, while Given will determine what additional resources Jasper requires as implementation progresses.

Ireland supported the measures but moved that the committee direct administration to forward council’s concerns to Brownlee Law.

He said he hoped the law firm could collect feedback from other municipalities and develop recommendations for changes that would allow Jasper to properly comply with the program it has adopted.

Peter Shokeir, Local Journalism Initiative // info@thejasperlocal.com