Making, responding to, and resolving human rights complaints

In Alberta, if a person has a reasonable basis to believe they have experienced discrimination related to a protected ground, they can make a human rights complaint to the Alberta Human Rights Commission. Once a complaint is made, the Commission will work with the parties to resolve the complaint.

This section provides a general overview of the Commission's human rights complaint process, including what is involved in making a complaint and how to respond if a complaint is made against you.

Making a complaint

The person who is making the human rights complaint is called the complainant. Read more on making a complaint.

Responding to a complaint

Once a human rights complaint is made to the Commission, the person or organization against whom the complaint is made, the respondent, is able to respond to the allegations. Read more on responding to a complaint.

Resolving a complaint

The Director of the Commission and their staff are responsible for helping to resolve human rights complaints using the tools provided in the Alberta Human Rights Act: conciliation, investigation, and dismissal.

As part of the complaint resolution process, complainants and respondents are encouraged to find a resolution that is fair to both parties and in keeping with the Act. Parties will be asked to suggest how the matter might be resolved. Parties who would like to engage in settlement discussions to resolve the complaint are encouraged to do so at any time in the process.

The human rights​ complaint process allows the Commission to resolve complaints in a timely, effective, and fair manner.

Human rights complaint process

View this infographic for an overview of the process.​

Revised: May 9​, 2022