Alberta’s refusal to share pension survey data being investigated by privacy commissioner, The province has withheld the results of the survey despite multiple freedom of information requests from Postmedia by Matthew Black, Dec 11, 2024, Edmonton Journal
Alberta’s privacy commissioner has opened an investigation into the provincial government’s withholding of the results of its online survey about the potential creation of a provincial pension plan.
The investigation comes following a request for review to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) from Postmedia who has filed five requests via the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP) in an unsuccessful effort to view data or individual responses to the open question parts of the survey.
One of those requests was filed on Jan. 10 and was returned Feb. 14 with nearly 400 pages that were entirely redacted.
“Treasury Board and Finance has decided not to give you access to the records you requested,” stated a letter from TBF’s FOIP staff.
Postmedia filed a request for review with the OIPC later the same day.
On Dec. 5, both Postmedia and the office of Finance Minister Nate Horner received a notice from the OIPC that it was investigating the ministry’s use of Section 24(1) of the FOIP act to withhold the records.
That section allows public bodies to not disclose information that “could reasonably be expected to reveal advice, proposals, recommendations, analyses or policy options developed by or for a public body or a member.”
As noted in a 2008 privacy commissioner ruling, Section 24(2) of the act explicitly exempts public survey data from the preceding section.
Horner’s office acknowledged the investigation in a statement to Postmedia.
In the past, department officials have justified withholding the information by alternately claiming that summary data from the survey did not exist or cannot be released while the consultation is incomplete.
Premier Danielle Smith echoed that last point in a year-end interview earlier this month when asked about the survey data.
“We have to do more consultation on the Alberta pension plan because what we heard from people is, ‘I don’t have enough information to make a decision,’” she said.
Smith also stressed the importance of the coming estimate by the office of the chief actuary regarding Alberta’s potential asset withdrawal, which was expected in the fall though no announcement has been made or scheduled.
The pension survey was launched online on Sept. 21, 2023, the same day the province released its pension plan report that claimed Alberta would be entitled to 53 per cent of the Canada Pension Plan’s assets, some $334 billion, should it choose to withdraw and form its own provincial plan.
More than 94,000 Albertans completed the survey between its opening and conclusion on Dec. 10 of last year.
It drew criticism for not providing options in its multiple choice section to express opposition to the idea of leaving the CPP.
Dear UCP/Dictator Smith: HANDS OFF MY CPP and don’t you dare steal the pensions from my fellow Canadians to give to the dying fossil fool industry which is destroying life on earth. Your boss, Stevie Harper, now sits on $170B in Alberta pensions that I am sure he plans to squander quickly in gifts to his pals the fossil fool pollurs and water destroying frac’ers that are unable to get financing the legal way via banks/investors.
Other government departments have shared the results of public engagement, including the Municipal Affairs ministry on local political parties, Forestry and Parks on the future of the provincial park system, and also the Preston Manning-led Public Health Emergencies Governance Review Panel.
Others have been less willing, including the ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation which last month refused to disclose the results of its survey on renewable energy and agriculture.
The OIPC has also indicated to Postmedia that it is in the process of assigning an investigator to two other requests for reviews — one regarding the availability of the pension survey data, the other about the withholding of responses to the government’s pension workbooks that were distributed after the survey closed.
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