Here at the Alberta Law Reform Institute [ALRI], we’re wrapping up our 50th year of operation on a high note. In our anniversary year we’ve issued several reports including Final Report 112, Property Division for Common-law Couples and Adult Interdependent Partners. These reports have garnered widespread engagement from the media, legal community, and general public. It has been a busy time for us, but as we wrap up our 50th year, we would be remiss if we didn’t reflect on how we got here today and acknowledge the many exemplary individuals and groups that have supported our work throughout the decades.
The seeds of the Institute were planted in 1964 when the Law Society of Alberta informally established the Law Reform Committee. Fourteen members were selected from the judiciary, legal profession, and law faculty at the University of Alberta. The Committee had no full-time members, no staff, and no funding.
The Committee made its first set of recommendations in connection with the limitation of actions in tort. These recommendations went on to be enacted in 1966 but it was soon concluded that the Committee could not function effectively in its current structure. A formal and permanent research body was proposed by the Law Society and welcomed by the Alberta government and University of Alberta. Founding members, W. Bowker Q.C., W. H. Hurlburt Q.C., and H.G. Field signed the agreement that officially created the Institute of Legal Research and Reform, known today as the Alberta Law Reform Institute.
It’s been 50 years since that day and to date we’ve published 112 Final Reports with 83 legislative implementations stemming from our work. We’ve made recommendations that have helped family and estate law keep pace with the ever-changing needs of everyday Albertans. We’ve helped Alberta businesses with our work in commercial law and the Alberta Business Corporations Act, and we’ve also worked to improve the administration of justice and the rules of court.
The variety and depth of our work has meant that many people have been involved with the Institute over the last 50 years. A quick look at our historical list of staff, summer students, volunteers, consultants, and Board reveals leaders in the legal community who have contributed to ALRI at some point in their career. Our founders were the ones to begin the work, but it was continually advanced by many exemplary individuals including former Chief Justice Neil Wittman, Peter Lown Q.C., and Margaret Shone Q.C., our longest serving Chair, Director, and Counsel respectively. Many of these individuals remain active in the legal and volunteer communities at large.
Much has changed over the last 50 years but the need for independent law reform endures. Challenges are on the horizon that will require us to respond with new processes that include expanding consultation methods, collaboration with experts and other specialized organizations, and innovative ways to facilitate engagement with our work.
By updating our processes, ALRI will continue to serve Albertans in keeping with our vision of just and effective laws. We will accomplish this by committing to our mission of improving the laws of Alberta and the objectives set by our founding parties:
- The consideration of matters of law reform with a view to proposing to the appropriate authority the means by which laws of Alberta may be made more useful and effective; and
- The preparation of proposals for law reform in Alberta, with respect to both the substantive law and the administration of justice.
Thank you to all CBA members who have contributed to our work over the past 50 years.