Access to Information Act & Protection of Privacy Act

All information and record requests to the City of Cold Lake are handled by the Legislative Department.

The City of Cold Lake is required to act in accordance with privacy laws, including the Access to Information Act, (the “ATIA”), and the Protection of Privacy Act (“POPA”). The goal of the ATIA and POPA is to balance individuals’ right to privacy with the public’s right to access information and records in possession of the City. The POPA controls the way the City may collect personal information from individuals and how that information can be used, while the ATIA provides guidelines on how the public can access information and records from the City. Generally, you have a right to request records held by the City of Cold Lake unless a specific exception applies.

The City of Cold Lake supports the principle of transparency and as such, the majority of information held by the City is available through our websites, publications and reports. Information which is not already available to the public may be available upon verbal request. City staff may provide certain forms of information at the request of the public.

There are situations, however, where it will be necessary to make a formal request to access the records you want. We suggest you contact the City of Cold Lake Legislative Department, so we may assist you in determining whether the information you need is already available. If the information you wish to access is not otherwise available, you may be required to make a formal request to access information under the ATIA (an “ATIA Request”).

All ATIA Requests must be made as follows:

• In writing, to the City of Cold Lake Legislative Manager by completing the Access to Information Form Request to Access Information Form and returning it to the Legislative Department.
• The request must provide sufficient detail to enable the City of Cold Lake to identify the record you require. Please make your request as specific as possible, so we are able to identify the record you are requesting.
• Please include the required $25 initial application fee. You may provide this payment by cheque addressed to the City of Cold Lake, or through payment at the front counter of City Hall by credit card, debit or cash.

You can now complete your Access to Information request online. To submit the form online and $25 request fee, click here.

Upon receipt of your completed Request to Access Information Form and initial application fee, the Legislative Department will respond to your request within 30 business days to inform you whether the information cannot be released, can be released in whole or with redacted portions, or whether an extension is required to process large volumes of records and/or consult with third parties. If it is determined that the information cannot be released, you will be provided with an explanation. You will be contacted with an estimate of costs of producing copies and additional processing costs, if applicable.

If you would like to pay an invoice for documents produced from an ATIA Request, please click here.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the Legislative Department.

Legislative Manager
5513 48 Avenue, Cold Lake, Alberta T9M 1A1
telephone: 780-594-4494
fax: 780-594-3480
legislative@coldlake.com