Personal information is information that can be identified as belonging to a particular individual, some examples include your name, home or work address, home or work telephone number, age, sex, marital status, family status, educational, financial, employment or criminal history, including records where a pardon has been given, etc..  A more comprehensive list of what qualifies as Personal Information can be found in the FOIP Act under Section 1, (n), (i)-(ix).

The City of Grande Prairie only has the authority to collect personal information under Section 33 of the FOIP Act.  Under this section, no personal information may be collected by or for a public body unless the collection is expressly authorized by an enactment of:

• a) Alberta or Canada (Section 33 (a));
• b) The information is collected for the purposes of Law Enforcement (Section 33 (b)), or
• c) The information relates directly to and is necessary for an operating program or activity of the public body.(Section 33 (c)).

General information is any information that is collected, recorded and stored in any manner in relation to all business operations, services and activities conducted by the City.

To make a FOIP Request, determine if your request is general or personal in nature and complete the corresponding application form.  If you are unsure, contact the City of Grande Prairie's FOIP Coordinator, Valerie Norris-Kirk, at 780-357-8716

• Request to Access General Information Form
• Request to Access Personal Information Form

Yes.  When requesting records for another person, you will have to provide proof that you have the authority to act for that person. 

Yes.  When collecting information about you, the City must do the following:

• tell you how your personal information will be used;
• tell you the authority for collecting the information;
• provide you with a name and contact for an employee who can assist you with any questions or concerns;
• collect your personal information directly from you, provided there are no exceptions under the FOIP Act.

Contact the service area that recorded the information and have them update your file.  If you are unable to have your Personal Information corrected in this way, fill out a Request to Access Personal Information form and specify what record you would like corrected. 

If you feel the City of Grande Prairie has breached your privacy,  contact the City FOIP Coordinator as soon as possible to initiate an investigation of the breach.   If you are not satisfied with the results of the investigation, you may submit an additional request for an investigation of the breach with the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta.

The City of Grande Prairie uses video surveillance for enhanced security of its facilities, to ensure the safety of its employees and as a means to discourage incidents of crime in public areas.   The use of video surveillance is restricted to periods of peak times when there is the potential for criminal activity and cameras are not directed or aimed into areas where people have an expectation of privacy.

If you are a nearby business or homeowner that has experienced an incident of crime and requires video footage from one of our surveillance systems, you will have to make a Police Report with the RCMP.  As outlined in Process for Video Surveillance (Procedure 807-1) RCMP must submit an Application for Law Enforcement Disclosure in order to access footage for their investigation.