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ARTICLE · 26 JANUARY 2015

Alberta’s PIPA Amendments: Much Ado About Nothing?

McCarthy Tétrault
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Just in time for the new year, Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) was amended by Bill 3, which came into force on December 17, 2014.

CanadaEmployment and HR
Roland Hung
Roland Hung
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Just in time for the new year, Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) was amended by Bill 3, which came into force on  December 17, 2014. The amendments were in response to the Supreme Court of Canada's decision to strike down PIPA in Alberta (Information and Privacy Commissioner) v United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 401,1. on the basis that it infringed on the union's freedom of expression.

Background

The case arose from a strike in 2006, at the Palace Casino in Edmonton. Both the union and the employer videotaped the picket line, which was located in a shopping mall. The evidence on record suggests that videotaping picket lines was standard practice in Alberta at the time. The union posted notices at the site that recordings of people crossing the picket line might be posted to a website.

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