The right of petitioning parliament is a fundamental principle of the constitution.

Update:  Wowee! I cannot believe the immense support and incredible response to this petition, from all of you who have added your name to the list of supporters over the last three days! 

Some additional information regarding this petition: 
In its current form, this petition cannot be presented to the Legislative Assembly; there are strict guidelines that members of the public must adhere to in order to advocate change to legislation and bill reform at the provincial level.

If you'd like to learn more about the process of presenting a bill or petitioning the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, I invite you to learn more here on their official website. 

*Petitions must be submitted in paper or hard copy. Each page of a petition, including both sides of a double-sided page, must include the petition prayer, signature(s) from Alberta residents, and a notice of public disclosure, which states that all of the information contained in the petition will become publicly accessible on presentation to the Assembly.

Petitions include the names, addresses, and signatures of those who support the petition prayer.

The signatures must be from Alberta residents and originals, not stamped, photocopied, or digital.

While there is no requirement for a benchmark to be reached in order for a petition to be submitted, a petition must include at least one signature.

If you are a resident of Alberta: 

If you are a resident of Alberta, I welcome and encourage you to consider signing the official petition. You can do so by sending me an email at m.kranabest@gmail.com, to receive a certified link to provide an e-signature on the official copy, or by sending me an email and expressing your interest in contributing your name, address, and signature to the official copy of the petition that will be printed out and presented to the Legislative Assembly. 

As the minimum requirement for signatures is 1 at the provincial level, you are not obligated to sign with your legal signature, but including your name, and or address would prove invaluable to the advancement of human rights in Alberta, and in seeking justice for victims of discrimination. 

Closing thoughts: 

Thank you all once again for the support in actioning equity, change, and advocacy for social welfare and inclusion in Alberta for victims of discrimination and human rights injustices.

***Please note that I will also be employing grassroots efforts of obtaining signatures, by going out door-to-door, maybe we will bump into one another! If you're interested in doing the same, please reach out to me at m.kranabest@gmail.com, to receive a copy of the petition, and mailing instructions, as well as your postage-paid stamp.

As a bonus, I thought I would share the response an individual receives when their complaint is denied by the AHRC. I hope this will help add context, and frame the discussion for victims, who on top of having the courage to speak out, may also be faced with emotional and physical barriers to justice may feel. 

Dear _______:

I have read the complaint form you submitted to the Commission.
The Commission has not accepted the complaint because the information you have provided
does not meet the requirements to make a complaint under the Alberta Human Rights Act (the
Act) and/or the Commission Bylaws (information attached).

Why does my complaint not meet the requirements of the Act and/or the Bylaws?

� A complaint form may be accepted only for events you are complaining about that
occurred within the one year period prior to you submitting the complaint form to the
Commission.
� The Commission has no authority to extend the one year limitation period.

Where can I find more information?

For more information on how the Act defines human rights violations in Alberta, you can visit
our website at www.albertahumanrights.ab.ca

What can I do if I disagree with this decision?

If you don’t agree with my decision that we cannot accept this potential complaint, you must
write to the Director at the address below and:
� Explain why you disagree with my decision, and how the complaint falls within the
jurisdiction of the Act.
� Submit your request for reconsideration by the Director within 30 days of the date of this
letter.
� Make sure your information is not more than 5 pages, including attachments.
You do not need to resend documents you already sent us because we have a copy on file.
We must receive your request for reconsideration in writing at the following address below by
________.

You can write to the AHRC Director at AHRC.Registrar@gov.ab.ca or the following address:

AHRC Director
Alberta Human Rights Commission
800, 10405 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5J 4R7
Please note that a complaint must be made within one year of an alleged incident of
discrimination.

Yours truly,
Jane Cavanagh
Human Rights Officer
Fostering equality and reducing discrimination

Complaint Form Requirements

The Commission assesses (reads) all complaint forms to determine if we can accept a complaint.
For a complaint to be accepted, it must meet the requirements in section 20(2) of the Alberta
Human Rights Act and the Commission’s Bylaws 11.0. Both the Act and Bylaws are on our
website at www.albertahumanrights.ab.ca

To be accepted, a complaint must:

1) Be received by the Commission within one year of the alleged contravention of the Act.
This means that you must make a complaint within a year of the events you describe in your
complaint form. The Commission cannot accept complaints made after the one-year limitation
period. Neither the Director of the Commission nor the Chief of the Commission and Tribunals
can extend the one-year limitation.
In addition, if you are complaining about are ongoing discrimination, you need to identify the
following:
� the dates that the events began
� the date(s) of the most recent events

2) Provide reasonable grounds for believing that the Act has been contravened
(violated).
You must provide information about what happened so that the Commission can assess if there
are reasonable grounds for believing the Act has been contravened. We will need to know the
following details:
� who said or did what to you
� when (provide the dates on which things happened) and where it happened
� why you believe the negative treatment you experienced is related to a protected ground
under the Act (protected grounds are all listed on the complaint form)

3) Be signed by you, your authorized representative, or your legal counsel.
You must date, number, and initial any documents or pages you attach to the complaint form.

****If you are especially passionate about Alberta Human Rights, and discrimination, I encourage you to share this petition and my contact information within your network in the hopes of casting a wider net and generating a wider reach and audience within the province.****

With gratitude,
Maryka Kranabetter