Access to Information Act

(ATIA)

Division 2

Exceptions to Disclosure

Disclosure harmful to business interests of a third party

19(1)  The head of a public body must refuse to disclose to an applicant information

1. That would reveal
   1. trade secrets of a third party, or
   2. commercial, financial, labour relations, scientific or technical information of a third party
2. that is supplied, explicitly or explicitly, in confidence, and
3. the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to
   1. harm significantly the competitive position or interfere significantly with the negotiating position of the third party,
   2. result in similar information no longer being supplied to the public body when it is in the public interest that similar information continue to be supplied
   3. result in undue financial loss or gain to any person or organization, or
   4. reveal information supplied to, or the report of, an arbitrator, mediator, labour relations officer or other person or body appointed to resolve or inquire into a labour relations dispute.

(2) The head of a public body must refuse to disclose to an applicant information about a third party that was collected on a tax return or collected for the purpose of determining tax liability or collecting a tax.

(3)  Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply if

1. the third party consents to the disclosure,
2. an enactment of Alberta or Canada authorizes or requires the information to be disclosed,
3. the information relates to a non arm’s length transaction between a public body and another party, or
4. the information is in a record that is in the custody or under the control of the Provincial Archives of Alberta or the archives of a public body and has been in existence for 50 years or more.

Disclosure harmful to personal privacy

20(1)  The head of a public body must refuse to disclose personal information to an applicant if the disclosure would be an unreasonable invasion of a third party’s personal privacy.

(2)  A disclosure of personal information is not an unreasonable invasion of a third party’s personal privacy if

1. the third party has, in the prescribed manner, consented to or requested the disclosure,
2. there are compelling circumstances affecting anyone’s health or safety and written notice of the disclosure is given to the third party,
3. an Act of Alberta or Canada authorizes or requires the disclosure,
4. the information is about the third party’s classification, salary range, discretionary benefits or employment responsibilities as an officer, employee or member of a public body or as a member of the staff of a member of the Executive Council,
5. the disclosure reveals financial and other details of a contract to supply goods or services to a public body,
6. the information is about a licence, permit or other similar discretionary benefit granted to the third party by a public body relating to
   1. a commercial or professional activity, or
   2. real property, including a development permit or building permit,

      and the disclosure is limited to the name of the third party and the nature of the licence, permit or other similar discretionary benefit,

7. the disclosure reveals details of a discretionary benefit of a financial nature granted to the third party by a public body,
8. the personal information is about an individual who has been dead for 25 years or more, or
9. subject to subsection (3), the disclosure is not contrary to the public interest and reveals only the following personal information about a third party:
   1. enrolment in a school of an educational body or in a program offered by a post secondary educational body;
   2. attendance at or participation in a public event or activity related to a public body, including a graduation ceremony, sporting event, cultural program or club, or a field trip;
   3. receipt of an honour or award granted by or through a public body.

(3)  The disclosure of personal information under subsection (2)(i) is an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy if the third party whom the information is about has requested that the information not be disclosed.

(4)  A disclosure of personal information is presumed to be an unreasonable invasion of a third party’s personal privacy if

1. the personal information relates to a medical, psychiatric or psychological history, diagnosis, condition, treatment or evaluation,
2. the personal information is an identifiable part of a law enforcement record, except to the extent that the disclosure is necessary to dispose of the law enforcement matter or to continue an investigation,
3. the personal information relates to eligibility for income assistance or social service benefits or to the determination of benefit levels,
4. the personal information relates to employment or educational history,
5. the personal information was collected on a tax return or gathered for the purpose of collecting a tax,
6. the personal information consists of an individual’s bank account information or credit card information,
7. the personal information consists of personal recommendations or evaluations, character references or personnel evaluations,
8. the personal information consists of the third party’s name or a unique identifier with respect to the third party when
   1. the name or unique identifier appears with other personal information about the third party, or
   2. the disclosure of the name or unique identifier itself would reveal personal information about the third party,
9. the personal information indicates the third party’s racial or ethnic origin or religious or political beliefs or associations.

(5)  In determining under subsections (1) and (4) whether a disclosure of personal information constitutes an unreasonable invasion of a third party’s personal privacy, the head of a public body must consider all the relevant circumstances, including whether

1. the disclosure is desirable for the purpose of subjecting the activities of the Government of Alberta or a public body to public scrutiny,
2. the disclosure is likely to promote public health and safety or the protection of the environment,
3. the personal information is relevant to a fair determination of the applicant’s rights,
4. the disclosure will assist in researching or validating the claims, disputes or grievances of aboriginal people,
5. the third party will be exposed unfairly to financial or other harm,
6. the personal information has been supplied in confidence,
7. the personal information is likely to be inaccurate or unreliable,
8. the disclosure may unfairly damage the reputation of any person referred to in the record requested by the applicant, and
9. the personal information was originally provided by the applicant.

Disclosure harmful to individual or public safety

21(1)  The head of a public body may refuse to disclose to an applicant information, including personal information about the applicant, if the disclosure could reasonably be expected to

1. threaten anyone else’s safety or mental or physical health, or
2. interfere with public safety.

(2)  The head of a public body may refuse to disclose to an applicant personal information about the applicant if, in the opinion of a physician, a regulated member of the College of Alberta Psychologists or a psychiatrist or any other appropriate expert depending on the circumstances of the case, the disclosure could reasonably be expected to result in immediate and grave harm to the applicant’s health or safety.

(3)  The head of a public body may refuse to disclose to an applicant information that reveals the identity of an individual who has provided information to the public body in confidence about a threat to an individual’s safety or mental or physical health.

Confidential evaluations

22(1)  The head of a public body may refuse to disclose to an applicant personal information that is evaluative or opinion material compiled for the purpose of determining the applicant’s suitability, eligibility or qualifications for employment or for the awarding of contracts or other benefits by a public body when the information is provided, explicitly or implicitly, in confidence.

(2)  The head of a public body may refuse to disclose to an applicant personal information that identifies or could reasonably identify a participant in a formal employee evaluation process concerning the applicant when the information is provided, explicitly or implicitly, in confidence.

(3)  For the purpose of subsection (2), “participant” includes a peer, subordinate or client of an applicant, but does not include the applicant’s supervisor or superior.

Disclosure harmful to law enforcement

23(1)  The head of a public body may refuse to disclose information to an applicant if the disclosure could reasonably be expected to

1. harm a law enforcement matter,
2. prejudice the defence of Canada or of any foreign state allied to or associated with Canada,
3. disclose activities suspected of constituting threats to the security of Canada within the meaning of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act (Canada),
4. harm the effectiveness of investigative techniques and procedures currently used, or likely to be used, in law enforcement,
5. reveal the identity of a confidential source of law enforcement information,
6. reveal criminal intelligence that has a reasonable connection with the detection, prevention or suppression of organized criminal activities or of serious and repetitive criminal activities,
7. interfere with or harm an ongoing or unsolved law enforcement investigation, including a police investigation,
8. reveal any information relating to or used in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion,
9. deprive a person of the right to a fair trial or impartial adjudication,
10. reveal a record that has been confiscated from a person by a peace officer in accordance with a law,
11. facilitate the escape from custody of an individual who is being lawfully detained,
12. facilitate the commission of an unlawful act or hamper the control of crime,
13. reveal technical information relating to weapons or potential weapons,
14. harm the security of any property or system, including a building, a vehicle, a computer system or a communications system, or
15. reveal information in a correctional record supplied, explicitly or implicitly, in confidence.

(2)  Subsection (1)(h) does not apply to information that has been in existence for 10 years or more.

(3)  The head of a public body may refuse to disclose information to an applicant if the information is

1. in a law enforcement record and the disclosure could reasonably be expected to expose to civil liability the author of the record or an individual who has been quoted or paraphrased in the record, or
2. about the history, supervision or release of an individual who is under the control or supervision of a correctional authority and the disclosure could reasonably be expected to harm the proper custody or supervision of that person.

(4)  The head of a public body must refuse to disclose information to an applicant if the information is in a law enforcement record and the disclosure would be an offence under an Act of Canada.

(5)  Subsections (1) and (3) do not apply to

1. a report prepared in the course of routine inspections by an agency that is authorized to enforce compliance with an Act of Alberta, or
2. a report, including statistical analysis, on the degree of success achieved in a law enforcement program unless disclosure of the report could reasonably be expected to interfere with or harm any of the matters referred to in subsection (1) or (3).

(6)  After a police investigation is completed, the head of a public body may disclose under this section the reasons for a decision not to prosecute to

1. a person who knew of and was significantly interested in the investigation, including a victim or a relative or friend of a victim, or
2. any other member of the public, if the fact of the investigation was made public.

Workplace investigations

24   The head of a public body may refuse to disclose information to an applicant if the disclosure could reasonably be expected to

1. interfere with, prejudice or otherwise harm a workplace investigation, or
2. cause harm to a witness or third party, or prevent a witness from coming forward as a witness, in a workplace investigation.

Disclosure and complaints

25(1)  The head of a public body may refuse to disclose information to an applicant if the disclosure could reasonably be expected to reveal the identity of a person who has requested advice about making a disclosure, made a disclosure or submitted a complaint of a reprisal or whose complaint has been referred to the Labour Relations Board pursuant to the Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act.

(2)  Subsection (1) does not apply to the person who requested advice about making a disclosure, made the disclosure, submitted the complaint of a reprisal or whose complaint has been referred to the Labour Relations Board pursuant to the Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act.

Disclosure harmful to intergovernmental relations

26(1)  The head of a public body may refuse to disclose information to an applicant if the disclosure could reasonably be expected to

1. harm relations between the Government of Alberta or its agencies and any of the following or their agencies:
   1. the Government of Canada or a province or territory of Canada;
   2. a local government body;
   3. an aboriginal organization that exercises government functions, including
      1. the council of a band as defined in the Indian Act (Canada), and
      2. an organization established to negotiate or implement, on behalf of aboriginal people, a treaty or land claim agreement with the Government of Canada;
   4. the government of a foreign state;
   5. an international organization of states,

   or

2. reveal information supplied, explicitly or implicitly, in confidence by a government, local government body or an organization listed in clause (a) or its agencies.

(2)  The head of a public body may disclose information referred to in subsection (1)(a) only with the consent of the Minister in consultation with the Executive Council.

(3)  The head of a public body may disclose information referred to in subsection (1)(b) only with the consent of the government, local government body or organization that supplies the information, or its agency.

(4)  This section does not apply to information that has been in existence in a record for 15 years or more.

Cabinet and Treasury Board confidences

27(1)  The head of a public body must refuse to disclose to an applicant a record that

1. was submitted to or prepared for submission to the Executive Council, the Treasury Board or a committee of the Executive Council or Treasury Board, or
2. was created by or on behalf of the Executive Council, the Treasury Board or a committee of the Executive Council or Treasury Board.

(2)  The head of a public body must refuse to disclose to an applicant information that would reveal the subject or substance of deliberations of the Executive Council or any of its committees or of the Treasury Board or any of its committees, including any background or factual information, and any advice, analysis, recommendations, policy considerations or draft legislation or regulations submitted or prepared for submission to the Executive Council or any of its committees or to the Treasury Board or any of its committees.

(3)  This section does not apply to information that has been in a record for 15 years or more.

Local public body confidences

28(1)  The head of a local public body may refuse to disclose information to an applicant if the disclosure could reasonably be expected to reveal

1. a draft of a resolution, bylaw or other legal instrument by which the local public body acts, or
2. the substance of deliberations of a meeting of its elected officials or of its governing body or a committee of its governing body, if an Act or a regulation under this Act authorizes the holding of that meeting in the absence of the public.

(2)  Subsection (1) does not apply if

1. the draft of the resolution, bylaw or other legal instrument or the subject matter of the deliberation has been considered in a meeting open to the public, or
2. the information referred to in that subsection is in a record that has been in existence for 15 years or more.

Advice from officials

29(1)  The head of a public body may refuse to disclose information to an applicant if the disclosure could reasonably be expected to reveal

1. advice, proposals, recommendations, analyses or policy options developed by or for a public body or a member of the Executive Council, including background factual information and information provided for informational purposes only,
2. consultations or deliberations involving
   1. officers or employees of a public body,
   2. a member of the Executive Council, or
   3. the staff of a member of the Executive Council,
3. positions, plans, procedures, criteria or instructions developed for the purpose of contractual or other negotiations by or on behalf of the Government of Alberta or a public body, or considerations that relate to those negotiations,
4. plans relating to the management of personnel or the administration of a public body that have not yet been implemented,
5. the contents of draft legislation, regulations and orders of members of the Executive Council or the Lieutenant Governor in Council,
6. the contents of agendas or minutes of meetings of
   1. the governing body of an agency, board, commission, corporation, office or other body designated as a public body in the regulations, or
   2. a committee of a governing body referred to in subclause (i),
7. information, including the proposed plans, policies or projects of a public body, the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to result in disclosure of a pending policy or budgetary decision, or
8. the contents of a formal research or audit report that in the opinion of the head of the public body is incomplete unless no progress has been made on the report for at least 3 years.

(2)  This section does not apply to information that

1. has been in existence for 15 years or more,
2. is a statement of the reasons for a decision made in the exercise of a discretionary power or an adjudicative function,
3. is the result of product or environmental testing carried out by or for a public body, that is complete or on which no progress has been made for at least 3 years, unless the testing was done
   1. for a fee as a service to a person other than a public body, or
   2. for the purpose of developing methods of testing or testing products for possible purchase,
4. is a statistical survey,
5. is the result of background research of a scientific or technical nature undertaken in connection with the formulation of a policy proposal, that is complete or on which no progress has been made for at least 3 years,
6. is an instruction or guideline issued to the officers or employees of a public body, or
7. is a substantive rule or statement of policy that has been adopted by a public body for the purpose of interpreting an Act or regulation or administering a program or activity of the public body.

(3)  The head of a public body must refuse to disclose to an applicant

1. a record relating to an audit by the Chief Internal Auditor of Alberta that is created by or for the Chief Internal Auditor of Alberta, or
2. information that would reveal information about an audit by the Chief Internal Auditor of Alberta.

(4)  Subsection (3) does not apply to a record or information described in that subsection if

1. 15 years or more has elapsed since the audit to which the record or information relates was completed, or
2. the audit to which the record or information relates was discontinued or if no progress has been made on the audit for 15 years or more.

(5)  In this section, “audit” means a financial or other formal and systematic examination or review of a program, portion of a program or activity.

Disclosure harmful to economic and other interests of a public body

30(1)  The head of a public body may refuse to disclose information to an applicant if the disclosure could reasonably be expected to harm the economic interest of a public body or the Government of Alberta or the ability of the Government to manage the economy, including the following information:

1. trade secrets of a public body or the Government of Alberta;
2. financial, commercial, scientific, technical or other information in which a public body or the Government of Alberta has a proprietary interest or a right of use and that has, or is reasonably likely to have, monetary value;
3. information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to

   result in financial loss to,

   1. prejudice the competitive position of, or
   2. interfere with contractual or other negotiations of
   3. the Government of Alberta or a public body;
4. information obtained through research by an employee of a public body, the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to deprive the employee or the public body of priority of publication;
5. information about the labour relations of a public body, including information used by a public body during collective bargaining conducted by or on behalf of a public body.

(2)  The head of a public body must not refuse to disclose under subsection (1) the results of product or environmental testing carried out by or for a public body, unless the testing was done

1. for a fee as a service to a person, other than the public body, or
2. for the purpose of developing methods of testing or testing products for possible purchase.

Testing procedures, tests and audits

31   The head of a public body may refuse to disclose to an applicant information relating to

1. testing or auditing procedures or techniques,
2. details of specific tests to be given or audits to be conducted, or
3. standardized tests used by a public body, including intelligence tests,

if disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice the use or results of particular tests or audits.

Privileged information

32(1)  The head of a public body may refuse to disclose to an applicant

1. information or a record that is subject to any type of legal privilege, including solicitor client privilege or parliamentary privilege,
2. information prepared by or for
   1. the Minister of Justice,
   2. an agent or lawyer of the Minister of Justice, or
   3. an agent or lawyer of a public body

   in relation to a matter involving the provision of legal services, or

3. information in correspondence between
   1. the Minister of Justice,
   2. an agent or lawyer of the Minister of Justice, or
   3. an agent or lawyer of a public body

and any other person in relation to a matter involving the provision of advice or other services by the Minister of Justice or by the agent or lawyer.

(2)  The head of a public body must refuse to disclose information or a record described in subsection (1)(a) that relates to a person other than a public body.

(3)  Only the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly may determine whether information is subject to parliamentary privilege, and a public body must not disclose information that may be subject to parliamentary privilege without the Speaker’s consent.

Disclosure harmful to conservation of heritage sites, etc.

33   The head of a public body may refuse to disclose information to an applicant if the disclosure could reasonably be expected to result in damage to or interfere with the conservation of any

1. historic resource as defined in the Historical Resources Act, or
2. rare, endangered, threatened or vulnerable form of life.

Information that is or will be available to the public

34(1)  The head of a public body may refuse to disclose to an applicant information that is

1. readily available to the public,
2. available for purchase by the public, or
3. to be published or released to the public within 60 business days after the applicant’s request is received.

(2)  The head of a public body must notify an applicant of the publication or release of information that the head has refused to disclose under subsection (1)(c).

(3)  If the information is not published or released within 60 business days after the applicant’s request is received, the head of the public body must reconsider the request as if it were a new request received on the last business day of that period, and access to the information requested must not be refused under subsection (1)(c).