The Alberta Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is a

quasi-judicial A quasi-judicial body is non-judicial body which can interpret law. It is an entity such as an arbitration panel or tribunal board, that can be a public administrative agency but also a contract- or private law entity, which has been ...

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

body in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

, Canada, created by the

provincial government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, ...

. The Commission was established under and tasked with administering the ''Alberta Human Rights Act'' (AHRA). Its mandate is to reduce discrimination in Alberta "through the resolution and settlement of complaints of discrimination, and through human rights tribunal and court hearings." In relation to complaint resolution and settlement, the primary purpose of the tribunals is

adjudicative Adjudication is the legal process by which an arbiter or judge reviews evidence and argumentation, including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants, to come to a decision which determines rights and obligations between the pa ...

. It is headed by the Chief of the Commission and Tribunals, who is tasked with informing Alberta's Minister of Justice and Solicitor General of human rights issues, as well as providing guidance to Commission members regarding such functions as their tribunal hearings, and to the Commission director regarding the overall objective of the Commission. Both the Chief and Commission members are appointed by

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Kin ...

. The AHRC differs from the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC), which deals with complaints relating to treatment by the federal government or a federally-regulated business.

Organization

The functions of the Commission are laid out in the ''Alberta Human Rights Act''. In particular, section 16(1) states that the function of the Commission is:

(a) to forward the principle that all persons are equal in dignity, rights and responsibilities without regard to race, religious beliefs, colour, gender, gender identity, gender expression, physical disability, mental disability, age, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, source of income, family status or sexual orientation, (b) to promote awareness and appreciation of and respect for the multicultural heritage of Alberta society, (c) to promote an environment in which all Albertans can participate in and contribute to the cultural, social, economic and political life of Alberta, (d) to encourage all sectors of Alberta society to provide equality of opportunity, (e) to research, develop and conduct educational programs designed to eliminate discriminatory practices related to race, religious beliefs, colour, gender, gender identity, gender expression, physical disability, mental disability, age, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, source of income, family status or sexual orientation, (f) to promote an understanding of, acceptance of an compliance with this Act, (g) to encourage and coordinate both public and private human rights programs and activities, and (h) to advise the Minister on matters related to this Act.

Members and leadership

The Commission is headed by the Chief of the Commission and Tribunals, who is tasked with informing Alberta's Minister of Justice and Solicitor General of human rights issues, as well as providing guidance to Commission members regarding such functions as their tribunal hearings, and to the Commission director regarding the overall objective of the Commission. Section 15 of the ''Alberta Human Rights Act'' provides that the Chief and members are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. The current Chief of the Commission and Tribunals is Kathryn Oviatt, who was appointed in November 2022. Prior to October 2009, the position was simply referred to as the Chief Commissioner. Previous chiefs include: * Dr. Evaristus A. Oshionebo – September 2022 – November 2022 * Collin May – July 2022 – September 2022 * Kathryn Oviatt – January 2022 – July 2022 * Michael Gottheil – August 2018 – January 2022 * William D. McFetridge (''acting'') – August 2017 – August 2018 * Robert A. Philp – July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2017 * David Blair Mason – 2009–2014 * Brenda F. Scragg (''acting'') – 2008–2009 * Charlach Mackintosh – 1994–2008 * Jack O'Neil – 1993–1994 * Fil B. Fraser – 1989–1992 * Stan Scudder – 1986–1989 * Marlene Antonio – 1981–1986 * Bob Lundrigan – 1979–1981 * Max Wyman – 1973–1979 , members of the Commission are: * Nduka Ahanonu * Sandra Badejo * Faraz Bawa * Doris Bonora, K.C. * Samuel Crowfoot * Cynthia Dickins * Jessica Gill * Teresa Haykowsky * Duncan Marsden * Ali Memon * D. Jean Munn, K.C. * Evaristus Oshionebo * Kathryn Oviatt * Erika Ringseis * Karen Scott * Wilma Shim * Salimah Walji-Shivji, K.C. * Nathalie Whyte

Tribunal

The

Tribunal office is the independent

arm of the Alberta Human Rights Commission. Members of the Tribunal are neither employees of the Government of Alberta or the Commission; they are private citizens appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Controversial decisions

''Mihaly v The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta''

Since 1999, Ladislav Mihaly, who trained as an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

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in the 1970s, has sought

accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

as an engineer in Alberta, but the

Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) is an engineering society that regulates the practices of professional engineering and geoscience in Alberta. APEGA receives its mandate from the Engineering and Geos ...

(APEGA) said that he did not meet its requirements. He refused to submit to any of the technical examinations but did take a required ethics examination—and failed it, twice. Almost a quarter of Alberta's engineers are immigrants who submitted to the same examinations that Mihaly refused or failed. In 2008, he took his case to the Alberta Human Rights Commission, which ruled in February 2014 that APEGA must pay Mihaly $10,000, provide him with a personal mentor and form a committee to re-evaluate his credentials. APEGA successfully appealed the decision.

''Lund v Boissoin''

On July 18, 2002, Dr. Darren Lund, a professor at the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

, filed a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission against Reverend Stephen Boissoin and the Concerned Christian Coalition. Boisson had letter published in the ''

Red Deer Advocate The ''Red Deer Advocate'' is a daily newspaper in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. Published by Black Press, the newspaper was first established in 1901 as the ''Red Deer Echo'', changing its name to ''Alberta Advocate'' in 1903 and ''Red Deer Advoc ...

'' that stated, "Where

homosexuality Homosexuality is Romance (love), romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romant ...

flourishes, all manner of wickedness abounds" and "Homosexual rights activists and those that defend them, are just as immoral as the pedophiles, drug dealers and pimps that plague our communities." Lund's complaint alleged that Boisson's letter constituted discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, as prohibited by Alberta's ''Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Act''. A one-member Alberta Human Rights Panel accepted Lund's arguments that the letter was "likely to expose homosexuals to hatred and/or contempt." The

Canadian Civil Liberties Association The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA; french: Association Canadienne des Libertés Civiles) is a nonprofit organization in Canada devoted to the defence of civil liberties and constitutional rights.Dominique ClementCase Study: Canadian ...

intervened in the case, condemning the views expressed in the letter but arguing they should not be subject to legal sanction. On May 30, 2008, the Alberta Human Rights Panel ordered Boissoin and the Concerned Christian Coalition to refrain from publishing future disparaging remarks about homosexuals and provide Lund with a written apology and in $5,000 damages. On December 3, 2009, the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta overturned the decision of the Alberta Human Rights Panel. The Court found that the contents of the letter did not violate the ''Alberta Human Rights Act'', and that the remedies that had been imposed were either unlawful or unconstitutional. The Court also identified "troubling aspects of the process leading to the decision of the Panel," including the inclusion of the Concerned Christian Coalition as a respondent. In October 2012, the Court of Appeal of Alberta upheld the decision and agreed with the lower court that Boissoin's letter was "a

polemic Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topic ...