New privacy boss vows greater transparency
Alberta’s new privacy commissioner is a Calgary-born woman and a University of Calgary graduate.
Jill Clayton was sworn in Wednesday as the first woman to hold the post of information and privacy commissioner and the first woman ever appointed as an officer of the legislature.
But she concedes she has some tough challenges ahead in implementing legislation that was described by her predecessor as being so full of holes it resembled Swiss cheese.
She said she wants her office to be a leader in helping public bodies under her control to move to more open and transparent government.
“I think there are some real concerns,” she said after she was sworn in by Speaker Ken Kowalski at the legislature. “I don’t think it is an easy thing to do. I would like to see the office work with lots of consultation, lots of proactive guidance to help public bodies move in that direction.”
Liberal opposition leader Raj Sherman said it was high time a woman was appointed to the position, but he warned that she will have significant challenges in ensuring the Conservative government operates in an open and transparent manner.
“I know the outgoing commissioner Frank Work said our legislation is like Swiss cheese,” he said. “The challenge has been to get to the root of why (government) decisions are being made in Alberta. What is the basis of those decisions? The government has traditionally been very obstructionist with respect to the public getting information about government.”
Sherman said it is the right and duty of Albertans to find out what their government is doing behind closed doors.
Work warned in his final report last December that the government has created dozens of loopholes that override provincial freedom of information laws. He cited 38 pieces of legislation that are not subject to the province’s freedom of information laws, warning the government has impaired the effectiveness of the legislation.
Premier Alison Redford said Alberta is embarking on a new era of openness and transparency in government.
But when asked if she contemplated changing the province’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy legislation, she said she wanted to have a public policy discussion about how the province should balance privacy with the public’s right to know.
“I think for the moment we need to move forward, have the commissioner begin her work and have a discussion with Albertans,” Redford told reporters.
She told the audience her government had a duty to protect the privacy of individuals “but when we can share information, we will do so willingly and openly and without hesitation.”
But NDP MLA Rachel Notley called on the government to take strides to improve access to information.
“We would like to see that information improved . . . in scope as well as in timeliness,” she said.
There are a lot of challenges ahead but I am thrilled to be back in Alberta,” she said at her swearing in ceremony.
Clayton most recently managed the privacy and freedom of information department for the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, but she began her career with Alberta’s office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner in 2004 as a portfolio officer.
She went on to serve as PIPA acting director and later director before being appointed assistant commissioner.
Earlier in her career, Clayton worked as a privacy consultant. She has degrees in history and environmental design from the University of Calgary.