The Tribunal process

The Tribunal process includes Tribunal Dispute Resolution meetings and, if need be, a tribunal hearing to resolve the complaint.
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What happens during the Tribunal process?

The Tribunal makes decisions about some, but not all, human rights complaints made under the Alberta Human Rights Act. Complaints must first go through the Commission’s complaint resolution process before they can go to the Tribunal.

Complaints only go to the Tribunal when:

  • the Director refers a complaint to the Chief of the Commission and Tribunals for resolution, or
  • the Chief overturns (disagrees with) the Director’s dismissal decision after the complainant files an appeal (known as a request for review).

If a complaint goes to the Tribunal, the Tribunal Office will contact the parties. The parties can choose to participate in Tribunal Dispute Resolution (TDR). The parties can also agree to settle the complaint at any other time in the process. If the parties cannot come to an agreement to settle, they will go to a tribunal hearing for a final decision.

What you need to know

  • A complaint must first go through the Commission’s complaint process. It cannot go directly to the Tribunal.
  • TDR is a confidential and voluntary mediation process where a Member of the Commission helps the parties try to resolve the complaint.
  • If the parties cannot reach an agreement at TDR, the complaint goes to a tribunal hearing for a final and binding decision.
  • The Tribunal has the authority to order remedies against the respondent if they believe the complaint has merit.

Tribunal Dispute Resolution (TDR)

If a complaint reaches the Tribunal, the first step is TDR. TDR is a confidential and voluntary mediation process. The complainant and respondent have decision-making power in this step. The parties meet through videoconference with a Member who helps them try to resolve the issues in the complaint.

If the parties resolve the complaint at TDR, the complaint is closed. If the parties cannot resolve the complaint at TDR, they go to a tribunal hearing.

Read more on our Tribunal Dispute Resolution page.

Tribunal hearings

At a tribunal hearing, the parties present their cases to a human rights tribunal. A tribunal usually consists of one Member but can be up to three Members. During a hearing, the parties make opening statements, present their cases by asking witnesses questions, and make closing statements. Each party must prove their case with witness testimonies and documentary proof. All tribunal hearings are open to the public, except where a Tribunal restricts access.

After the hearing ends, the Tribunal takes time to make a decision, including, if warranted, ordering remedies. The decision is based on the facts of the situation, the Alberta Human Rights Act, and previous human rights decisions. All decisions, including interim decisions, screening decisions (made under section 26 of the Alberta Human Rights Act), and hearing decisions, are available to the public for free. Refer to the Human rights decisions page to access all Tribunal decisions.

Read more on our Tribunal hearings page.

FAQs

Yes. Only a complainant or their legal counsel or authorized representative may withdraw (cancel) a complaint at any time.

If the complaint is at the Tribunal, the complainant must complete a Notice of Withdrawal form and send it to the Tribunal Office.

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The Commission does not require the complainant or respondent to be represented by a lawyer throughout the process. However, you may need or want someone to represent you during the process.

For example:

  • you can have a relative, friend, or advisor help you
  • if you are a minor under 18, a parent or legal guardian will represent you
  • a person who lacks legal capacity to participate in the complaint process can have a representative

If you have someone other than a lawyer representing you, you must fill out an additional form.

You may also choose a lawyer to help you through the process. If you do get legal help, you pay the costs of the lawyer yourself. For more information on where to get legal help, refer to the Other helpful agencies page.

For the Tribunal process, read the Litigation Representative practice direction for more information.

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The Alberta Human Rights Commission is committed to ensuring Indigenous Peoples have access to culturally appropriate services that consider the uniqueness of Indigenous culture and heritage. Indigenous people may use a variety of cultural or spiritual practices, including:

  • smudging
  • having an Elder or other culturally relevant person attend a conciliation, tribunal dispute resolution (TDR), or tribunal hearing
  • affirming, swearing in, or giving evidence using an eagle feather or other sacred object

At the earliest opportunity, interested parties should inform the Commission of their request. If you are involved in the Tribunal process, read the Indigenous cultural/spiritual practices at Tribunal proceedings practice direction for more information.

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The Tribunal has a process for dealing with respondents that go bankrupt. Refer to the Bankrupt respondents and stayed proceedings practice direction for more information.

The Tribunal has a process for dealing with corporations that are start, struck, or dissolved on the corporate registry, or those without assets. Refer to the Struck and dissolved practice direction to learn more.

Learn more about filing and serving documents at the Tribunal by reading the Document filing and service at the Tribunal practice direction.

Tribunal hearings are open to the public, except where a Tribunal restricts access. Refer to the Tribunal hearing schedule page for more information on upcoming hearings. Read the Public access to hearings and documents practice direction to learn more about requesting access to a hearing.

All decisions, including interim decisions, screening decisions (made under section 26 of the Alberta Human Rights Act), and hearing decisions, are available to the public for free. Refer to the Human rights decisions page to access all Tribunal decisions.

Complaint documents are not available to the public unless a person makes a successful request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

The Commission aims to:

  • Resolve complaints at the Director’s stage within one year. This includes intake and assessment of the complaint, asking for a response to the complaint, conciliation, and a Director’s decision.
  • Resolve complaints at the Tribunal stage within one year. This includes tribunal dispute resolution, pre-hearing conferences, and hearings. There are many factors that could impact this time frame, including party-driven delay (e.g. extension requests, preliminary applications, availability).

For the fiscal year 2021-22, complaints took an average of 538 days for the Director and staff to either resolve the complaint or make a decision to dismiss or refer the complaint to the Chief of the Commission and Tribunals. Many complaints resolve at conciliation, which takes less time.

For files that reach the Tribunal stage, in 2021-22, the overall average time for complaints to close was 721 days.

In some circumstances, additional time may be needed to process complaints if:

  • complainants or respondents are unable to be reached
  • the Commission puts a complaint on hold because it is being heard in another forum
  • parties request extensions to submit documents or schedule meetings

Refer to the 2021-22 Annual Report for more information on complaint resolution statistics.

Sometimes, but not always.

The Director, the complainant, and the respondent are all separate parties in the complaint. If the Director has carriage of the complaint, the Director’s lawyer participates in TDR and tribunal hearings.

The Director’s role is to advocate for the public interest. Their lawyer does not represent the complainant or the respondent. The Director’s lawyer only takes instructions from the Director.

In most cases, the interests of the complainant and the interests of the public are very similar. In these cases, the complainant can choose to adopt the position and submissions of the Director’s lawyer, meaning the Director’s and complainant’s submissions are the same.

The complainant may also choose to present their own view of the case. The complainant must prepare their own submissions. The complainant may also wish to hire a lawyer rather than represent themselves.

The Commission is committed to ensuring that complainants, respondents, and all those who take part in our processes are able to fully participate. This outlines some of the services available to the public upon request. Refer to the information below to contact the Commission about requesting an accommodation.

Accommodations available

A variety of accommodations may be available to help parties fully participate in our complaint and tribunal processes, including:

  • different communication methods, such as email, video, or in-person
  • language translation
  • American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation
  • Video-Relay Service (VRS)
  • accessible document formats, such as large format
  • a support person
  • reasonable adjustments to scheduling, such as additional breaks, different start times, and shorter days
  • access to a computer or phone from a Commission office to attend a virtual meeting, such as conciliation, Tribunal Dispute Resolution (TDR), pre-hearing conference, or tribunal hearing)
  • recording a tribunal hearing (see the Tribunal’s practice direction on recordings and transcripts of proceedings)

This is not a complete list of all the accommodations available. Parties can work with the Commission to identify and request appropriate accommodations.

The Commission is also committed to ensuring our accommodation process is respectful of the diverse populations we serve. A formal request for accommodation is not always necessary. For instance, a party may inform the Commission of their correct pronoun prior to or at any point during the complaint or tribunal process (see the Tribunal’s practice direction on pronouns and form of address).

Factors impacting an accommodation request

The Commission is only required to provide accommodations for needs (not preferences) to the point of “undue hardship.” This means that if a requested accommodation impacts the timeliness of the complaint process or the right to a fair hearing, it may not be possible to provide. Instead, the Commission will work with the party to determine an appropriate accommodation that is less disruptive to the fairness of our processes, while still accommodating individual needs to the best of our ability.

The Commission may ask for information regarding an accommodation request, such as medical records, to:

  • determine if the requested accommodation is linked to a protected ground in the Alberta Human Rights Act, and
  • better understand an individual’s needs so we can determine how to make our processes more accessible.

How to request an accommodation

The party requesting an accommodation should contact the Commission and provide details of what they need. In some cases, the Commission may ask for more information, including relevant medical records. The party requesting the accommodation does not need to send their accommodation request to the other parties, unless the Commission thinks the accommodation could impact the rights of the other parties.

If you are involved in the Tribunal process, read the Accommodations practice direction for more information, including how to request accommodation.