Picket Line Videotaping As Free Expression Paves The Way For Changes To Alberta's Privacy Legislation

In Alberta (Information and Privacy Commissioner) v United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 401, 2013 SCC 62, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") struck down Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act ("PIPA"). The SCC ruled that the limitations that the law placed on union picket-line activities were a violation of the UFCW's (the "Union") s.2(b) Charter right of freedom of expression and the impact of the violation was disproportionate and the infringement was not justifiable under the s.1 reasonable limits clause of the Charter. The declaration of invalidity was issued, in part, at the request of both the Attorney General of Alberta and the Information and Privacy Commissioner (the "Commissioner") of Alberta, both of which claimed that given the "comprehensive and integrated" nature of the legislation, the entire statute should fall and be re-worked (para. 40). The Government of Alberta has been given 12 months to draft constitutionally compliant legislation.