Alberta relabels its provincial court to: Alberta Court of Justice

The government of Alberta declared a new name for the Provincial Court of Alberta. Effective on April Fool's Day 2023, it will be renamed to the "Alberta Court of Justice".

According to statements made by the provincial government, the name change was requested by the court. It is part of a larger move to relabel courts due to the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth. For example, the Court of Queen's Bench will be declared the Court of King's Bench in Alberta in the coming months.

Alberta's trial level court has evolved over the course of 50 years and the government is making changes to keep pace. According to Derek Redman, the provincial court chief justice, the new name request was to reflect the growth and evolution of the justice system there.

"The name Alberta Court of Justice more clearly communicates the nature, purpose, and independence of our work on behalf of Albertans," said Redman.

The government is also using this time frame to create two new positions at the court to hopefully speed up court processing times. “It is now up to the federal government to appoint these positions, and we urge them to take prompt action to ensure the justice system continues to be accessible for all Albertans," said Tyler Shandro, Minister of Justice and Solicitor General.

In the recent past, criminal charges were being stayed due to time constraints. By speeding up access to justice the goal is that it'll resolve family and civil cases faster. There is an ongoing shortage at the Court of King's bench which could be impacting how the justice system could handle criminality in the province.