The Alberta government is doing away with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) for public bodies, including schools and municipalities. The Justice Statutes Amendment Act, 2026, or Bill 33, was tabled on Tuesday, proposing amendments to multiple pieces of legislation, including the Alberta Human Rights Act. The bill, if passed, will ban mandatory DEI workplace training and education in provincial bodies, including public agencies, Crown-owned organizations, school boards, municipalities, public post-secondary institutions and any other organizations that receive government funding. Those public bodies will additionally be prohibited from having previously allowed policies aimed at reducing barriers for workers facing a disadvantage due to race, religious beliefs, gender or gender identity, or a physical or mental disability. The province said public hiring practices will still be subject to existing human rights protections including the duty to accommodate, which requires reasonable accommodations for people disadvantaged by a protected ground under the Alberta Human Rights Act. The changes, the province said, are needed to ensure that hiring and promotion decisions are based on “merit and job requirements,” and that workplace training is “ideologically neutral.” “Hiring decisions should be about who is best qualified for the job, and these changes will help ensure that fairness is at the heart of hiring,” said Premier Danielle Smith in a media release. The Alberta Human Rights Commission will be responsible for upholding and enforcing the new legislation, though no details have been offered yet on what penalties bodies might face for breaking the new rules. Alberta follows in the footsteps of U.S. President Donald Trump, who last year made a series of moves aimed at eliminating workforce DEI initiatives in both federal and private sectors. In Canada, a 2025 report found most workers said they view DEI favourably, with just 16 per cent viewing it negatively. Intimate images The province said rules legislation around the non-consensual sharing of intimate images will complement federal criminal code, giving victims more options and providing additional deterrents to bad actors. Last year, the federal government introduced Bill C-16, which made it illegal to distribute non-consensual deepfake sexual images. Alberta’s Bill 33 would add a provincial offence for people who share or threaten to share non-consensual intimate images, whether genuine or digitally altered, with penalties including fines up to $10,000 and two years in prison. “The non-consensual creation or sharing of intimate content, whether authentic or AI-generated, is a violation of a person’s privacy and can have profound impacts on their sense of safety,” said Haley Scott, co-chief executive officer of the Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services, in a media release. “The Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services welcomes these proposed changes as an important step toward ensuring Alberta’s laws keep pace with technology, strengthen protections, give those who experience sexual violence greater choice and control in seeking justice, and hold those who cause harm accountable.” The current law in Alberta allows people who have had an intimate image shared without their consent to sue for damages and to have the image removed, but it is limited to pictures or videos. Amendments would expand illegal materials to include audio recordings and digitally altered content; victims can also sue a person who threatens to distribute an image, even if they have not. And, the province said school principals will be given the power to recommend suspension or expulsion for students who break the new rules, including threatening to distribute intimate materials. Regarding perpetrators, courts would be allowed to order community service as an alternative to punitive damages. Should the bill pass, changes are expected to come into force in the spring. The bill also makes amendments to three pieces of legal legislation: the Court of King’s Bench Act, the King’s Counsel Act and the Legal Profession Act. Those changes include changes related to Law Society of Alberta appeals, expand eligibility for King’s Counsel and clarify what Court of King’s Bench Act application judges can hear. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Chelan Skulski
