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EDMONTON — Two Alberta government watchdogs have launched a joint investigation into the alleged improper destruction of government documents.

Privacy commissioner Jill Clayton and Public Interest Commissioner Peter Hourihan are to speak about the investigation into an Alberta government ministry during a press conference Wednesday, a news release said.

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The mass shredding of documents at the Alberta legislature has become the subject of widespread scrutiny since Alberta’s 44-year Progressive Conservative government was defeated by the NDP in the May 5 election. Photos of bags of shredded documents piled in the legislature hallways and trucks hauling the bags away have proliferated on social media, prompting Clayton’s office to weigh in last week.

While government staff are expected to follow provincial rules for records management, Clayton’s office said no formal process exists to oversee the destruction of documents.

Under provincial law, ministries are supposed to have a records management program that establishes rules for the retention, destruction or archiving of public records. However, the privacy commissioner can’t approve or change these programs, or ensure they are being enforced.

A memo reminding staff to adhere to those rules was issued shortly after the election by the premier’s chief of staff, Mike Percy.