Alberta

The Edmonton Community Legal Centre is a non profit organization that offers free legal information, advice and representation for people living with low income in the Edmonton area. The Centre helps individuals and families who have legal problems in the following areas: Landlord and Tenant; Employment/ Wrongful Dismissal; Small Claims; Income Support Advocacy; Human Rights; Debt; Immigration. The Centre also offers a Commissioner for Oaths Clinic once a month – see https://www.eclc.ca/programs-services-commissioner-of-oaths-clinic/ for information. The Centre is also part of the PBLA Civil Claims Duty Counsel project out of the Provincial Court. Members of the public can receive 30 minutes of summary legal advice on a first come first serve basis. NOTE: The Centre is not able to provide assistance in the areas of criminal law.

The Central Alberta Community Legal Clinic (CACLC) provides legal advice and information to people who cannot afford a lawyer and do not qualify for legal aid. Volunteer Lawyers provide information and summary legal advice in the Clinic Program about a variety of legal matters including family and civil law, by appointment only.

Calgary Legal Guidance provides free legal advice for individuals with low income. If you need legal information and advice on: Family issues; Criminal issues; Civil issues; Restraining Orders; Emergency Protection Orders etc; Social Benefit issues; and; an evening course on Do Your Own Divorce.

The Legal Resource Centre of Alberta Ltd. operates as the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta. Its mission is to enhance the accessibility and quality of justice realized in Canada. It addresses its mission by creating learning opportunities and building learning communities that facilitate the creation, management, exchange, and integration of knowledge among people within the justice system and between them and the general public. Delivery of legal information to the public is primarily through publications and topic-specific websites; some are specifically for Alberta, others have a national focus.

The Legislative Assembly website provides links to information about the Members of Legislative Assembly, Bills and Amendments, Assembly Documents and Records, Public Information, and Assembly Support Services as well as other information.

The Law Society of Alberta provides a process to resolve complaints regarding a lawyer’s ethical conduct. This service is available to clients, judges, lawyers, financial institutions, business creditors, the general public and through internal referrals by the Executive Director of the Law Society of Alberta. The complaints process is initiated when a lawyer’s actions may have breached the Code of Professional Conduct that governs how lawyers are to conduct themselves in their practice. Visit this website to read Complaint and Inquiry Guidelines.

This handbook from Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre provides information on a range of legal subjects of interest to seniors (people who are 65 years of age and older). It is written in “plain English” and is intended as a basic resource for seniors, their friends, relatives and advocates. In a question-answer format, the handbook provides an overview of issues facing seniors, including abuse, mental health, guardianship and trusteeship, personal directives, powers of attorney and consumer protection. Includes a glossary and list of senior-serving agencies in Alberta. (PDF – 150 pages, 2010)

This is a French language website. The mission of AJEFA is to facilitate public access to legal services in French and to promote the use of the French language in the administration of justice in Alberta.

This is a database that allows people to find a lawyer using a certain search criteria. Individuals can find a lawyer by searching by name, location, practice areas, language(s) spoken, gender, and whether a lawyer offers a limited scope retainers.

This online database is provided by CanLII. You can search through decisions of the courts and boards/tribunals as well as statutes and regulations. There are also direct links to the most viewed documents as well as the opportunity for you to search decisions by court.

Alberta King’s Printer is the official publisher of Alberta’s laws and publications.  The website provides accurate, up to date access to current legislation in a variety of formats to meet your needs.

From the Alberta Courts website, you can search judgments in all Alberta courts. This site contains most of the written reasons for judgment, reasons for decision, and memoranda of reasons of Alberta’s Court of Appeal, Court of King’s Bench and Provincial Court released after January 1, 1998. When possible, judgments are posted within 48 hours of their issuance. These judgments are posted on the website as a public service. Use of this information may be subject to legal constraints. These judgments are posted on the website for the purpose of public information and research.