Case Summaries

Case summaries were completed for select cases under the Personal Information Protection Act that the OIPC determined to have educational value. Many complaints received by the OIPC are resolved without the need for an inquiry. In these cases, a wide variety of issues are researched and investigated, and the findings may provide guidance in the interpretation of the legislation. Summaries provided examples of how the legislation is applied to complaints about various issues.

• P2011-CS-002
  Law Society of Alberta did not contravene PIPA when it disclosed a member's personal information in a Notice of Suspension.
• P2011-CS-001
  Financial institution properly refused individual's request to access information about a deceased individual's accounts.
• P2009-CS-004
  Organization was authorized to disclose personal information to police without consent.
• P2009-CS-003
  Insurance company changes its practices with respect to use of personal information collected through its online insurance quote system.
• P2009-CS-002
  Community college collected and used personal information beyond a reasonable extent.
• P2009-CS-001
  Non-profit organization disclosed personal information without consent.
• P2008-CS-001
  Commissioner had no authority over the disclosure of complainant's personal information as it was part of a non-profit organization's newsletter that did not relate to a commercial activity.
• P2007-CS-008
  Oil services company collected and disclosed personal information for Workers' Compensation Board claim.
• P2007-CS-007
  Insurance broker failed to safeguard personal information found in garbage.
• P2007-CS-006
  Daycare disclosed personal information related to a debt without consent.
• P2007-CS-005
  Oilfield services company used former employee's business email address.
• P2007-CS-004
  Retailed collected social insurance number without a reasonable purpose.
• P2007-CS-003
  Physical theraphy clinic disclosed too much personal information when providing a reference.
• P2007-CS-002
  Property management company failed to safeguard tenant information.
• P2007-CS-001
  Utilities company made improvements to safeguard personal information. 
• P2006-CS-013
  Property management company collected excessive personal information from tenants on rental application forms.
• P2006-CS-012
  Property management company disclosed tenant's personal information. 
• P2006-CS-011
  Non-Profit Organization attempts to collect personal information from customer beyond what is necessary 
• P2006-CS-010
  Financial consultant disclosed excessive personal information on land caveat 
• P2006-CS-009
  Salon collects excessive personal information from an employee 
• P2006-CS-008
  Property management company collects too much personal information. 
• P2006-CS-007
  Steel company allegedly disclosed personal information without individual’s consent. 
• P2006-CS-006
  Professional college properly withholds personal information in response to individual’s access request.  
• P2006-CS-005
  Event planning company collects voice recording from individual without consent and refuses individual's access to it. 
• P2006-CS-004
  Unauthorized disclosure of employee’s personal information by grocery store. 
• P2006-CS-003
  Finance company alleged to have collected a credit report without consent. 
• P2006-CS-002
  Furniture retailer uses wrong customer’s credit card information. 
• P2006-CS-001
• P2005-CS-001
  Gas station posts sign disclosing individual's past due account.

Although the OIPC makes every effort to ensure that all information posted on the website is accurate and complete, the OIPC cannot guarantee its integrity. If there is any discrepancy between the information posted on our website and the original paper versions, the original paper document is authoritative.