The ACLRC was founded in 1982, shortly after the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter) became law, by lawyer and activist Sheldon Chumir (1940-1992) and Janet Keeping, an articling student, who eventually became its first Executive Director.
In its early days, the Centre addressed research questions about the Charter and its impact on Albertans, but with time, its focus expanded to several human rights and civil liberties issues connected not only to the Charter but other provincial and international laws.
The ACLRC also makes research presentations to a diverse audience, such as students, charities and professional groups in and out of Alberta. In the last thirty-eight years, we made over 2,000 presentations and published over 400 articles, papers, submissions, videos and podcasts on human rights issues. Rights Angle, our blog, provides general public access to research articles on Alberta’s human rights issues.
Although the Centre provides legal education and research and not legal representation and advocacy, it facilitates access to justice through legal referrals to patrons.
As a registered charity, the Alberta Law Foundation primarily funds our operation. A board of directors, staff and contractors manage the Centre’s affairs; its current Executive Director is Alex Monteil.
2500 University Drive NW
Calgary, AB T2N 1N4
(403) 220-2505
aclrc@ucalgary.ca