"Provincial human rights legislation that protects individuals from discriminatory activity that can occur between themselves and private entities (such as employers, unions or restaurants) or provincial/municipal public services (such as public transportation) which are normally open and available to the general public. It protects not only against active discrimination, including harassment but also against the failure of these entities to fulfill their duty to accomodate resulting in an adverse impact on an individual or group. 
 
Enumerated grounds of discrimination: age, ancestry, colour, family status, gender, marital status, mental or physical disbility, place of origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, source of income
 
Protected areas: employment/advertising notices, employer practices, equal pay, goods/services/accomodations/facilities, membership in unions/associations, publications or other representations, tenancy
 
Any person may make a complaint based on reasonable grounds of discrimination within 1 year of the last discriminatory act. The initial focus of the process is on facilitating a settlement between the parties using a conciliator or investigator. Complaints can be dimissed for various reasons, they include being without merit, if a fair and reasonable settlement proposal is refused, if the issue has already been deal with elsewhere or would be more approriate if dealt with elsewhere. Decisions to dismiss can be appealed to the Chief of the Commission.
 
Potential remedies that the Tribunal can award include orders to cease contravention of the Act, refrain from similar future violations, make available what was denied, compensate for lost income, take any other actions proper to place the person in the position they would have been. Copies of the decision are provided to the parties and they are final and binding, subject only to judicial review.
 
In order to file a complaint it must be made in writing. There is a complaint for that can be filled out or it is possible to make a complaint in a letter as long as it follows the guidelines provided by the Commission on how to do this. There is no requirement that the complaint be written personally, if required then the complainant can get someone to help them write it or write it for them. If necessary, the Commission staff can help a person prepare a complaint if they are faced with barriers such as literacy difficulties or disabilities. The complaint form is available online on the Commission website and the complaint can be typed into it, printed and then sent, or it can be printed, the complaint be handwritten and then sent. The Commission can be contacted for them to send a printed complaint form or a large-print version of the complaint form and guide. 
 
Once the form or letter is complete, it must be printed and mailed to the Commission, it cannot be sent in by email or fax. There are two regional offices for the Commission, one for Northern Alberta (in Edmonton) and one for Southern Alberta (in Calgary). The address for the Northern office is 800-10405 Jasper Avenue NW, Edmonton, Alberta, T5J 4R7. For confidential inquiries, they can be reached at 780-427-7661 or by fax at 780-427-6013. The address for the Southern office is 200 J.J. Bowlen Building, 620-7 Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta, T2P 0Y8. For confidential inquiries, they can be reached at 403-297-6571 or by fax at 403-297-6567. To call toll-free in Alberta you can dial 310-0000 and then the area code and phone number. There are also TTY services available for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. They can be reached in Edmonton at 780-427-1597, in Calgary at 403-297-5639, or toll-free in Alberta at 1-800-232-7215. The Commission can also be reached for inquiries through email at humanrights@gov.ab.ca."