This bill updates several Alberta public safety and policing laws. Its main goals are to enable “threat assessments” to prevent violence, align labour rules for a new provincial police agency with existing rules for municipal police, and tidy up corrections, police hiring, and compensation rules.
Key changes include:
Lets the Minister prepare and share threat assessments that rate a person’s risk of violence and suggest ways to reduce that risk (under Clare’s Law).
Gives the Minister power to require and collect personal and health information, including from police and other bodies, to prepare these assessments, and to share key details quickly if there is an imminent danger.
Broadens legal protection (immunity) for officials and others who act or share information under Clare’s Law.
Allows inmate transfers between Alberta correctional centres, federal penitentiaries, and other provinces or territories, and allows sharing of facilities and services.
Brings “independent agency police service” officers into the same collective bargaining system as municipal police; confirms most Employment Standards rules do not apply to them (similar to municipal police).
Lets permanent residents (not just citizens) be appointed as police officers in the independent agency police service starting January 1, 2026.
Adds “merit and increased community engagement” to police diversity and inclusion planning.
The province can prepare a threat assessment about a person who may commit violence. This can be shared with police, courts, corrections, government departments, and other approved organizations.
If there is an imminent danger, key information can be shared before the assessment is finished to help protect potential victims.
People who are the subject of a threat assessment
The Minister can require personal and health information about you from police, government bodies, and other listed organizations, and can collect it directly if they do not provide it.
Your information may be shared with justice and correctional bodies and other approved organizations for safety reasons. Recipients must follow rules set in regulation.
Health providers and other organizations named in regulations
You may be required to give the Minister information (including health records) or authorize ongoing access to records that are needed for a threat assessment, within set timelines.
If you do not provide it, the Minister can take steps to collect it, including accessing premises, systems, and databases with assistance and, if needed, court orders.
Police and justice system
Police and corrections will receive and may use threat assessments. A previous limit on forcing disclosure does not apply to information gathered for these assessments.
Municipal police boards must include “merit and increased community engagement” in diversity and inclusion plans with their services.
Incarcerated people and families
Alberta may transfer inmates to or from federal penitentiaries and other provinces or territories. This could place a person farther from or closer to family, depending on available space and safety needs.
Job seekers and communities
Starting January 1, 2026, permanent residents can apply to be police officers in the independent agency police service, broadening the pool of candidates.
Police officers in the independent agency police service
Your collective bargaining rights, dispute resolution, and no‑strike/no‑lockout rules will match the system used by municipal police (with arbitration for disputes).
Most Employment Standards rules (like hours and overtime) continue not to apply, except for leave provisions, similar to municipal police.
Workers’ compensation definitions are updated to ensure coverage lines up with new appointment sections.
Threat assessments and faster information sharing can prevent harm and save lives in domestic violence cases.
Clear authority to require needed records closes information gaps that have hindered risk assessments and safety planning.
Broader immunity encourages agencies and providers to share information without fear of lawsuits when they act under the law.
Inmate transfer agreements help manage capacity, security, and rehabilitation by using the most suitable facilities.
Allowing permanent residents to serve as police officers helps recruit qualified candidates and improve representation.
Aligning labour rules for the independent agency police service with municipal police creates a consistent, proven system for bargaining and dispute resolution.
The powers to collect and access personal and health information are very broad, including ongoing access and entry to premises and systems, which raises privacy and civil liberties concerns.
Immunity is expanded and no longer tied to “good faith,” which critics say may weaken accountability if mistakes are made or information is misused.
Early disclosure before completing an assessment could spread incorrect or incomplete information and harm individuals.
Wider sharing of threat assessments (and re‑disclosure when allowed by law) could lead to information circulating beyond what people expect.
Inmate transfers may move people far from family supports, making rehabilitation and family contact harder.
Exempting the independent agency police service from most Employment Standards rules continues a model some see as reducing basic workplace protections for those officers.