Service dog teams: what to expect, and what the law says

This page is information, not legal advice. Each sentence about the law has a link beside it to the Act it comes from. The Sources page lists each Act with the date we read it. If you need advice, the Alberta Human Rights Commission and the Central Alberta Community Legal Clinic are in the directory.

What a service dog team is

A handler and a dog trained to do work or perform tasks for that person's disability. The dog is working. It is not a pet, and it is not a companion animal.

In Alberta

• The Service Dogs Act (Alberta) gives a qualified service dog team the same rights of access as a guide dog team: public places, housing and services. It also provides for identification cards issued by the Government of Alberta. Read the Service Dogs Act, sections 3 and 4 and its regulation, section 1 on the King's Printer.
• The Blind Persons' Rights Act (Alberta) is the older Act for guide dog teams. It gives them the same rights of access (Blind Persons' Rights Act, section 5). The Service Dogs Act takes none of those rights away (Service Dogs Act, section 2).
• The Alberta Human Rights Act protects against discrimination on the ground of physical or mental disability. It covers services, housing and jobs (Alberta Human Rights Act, sections 4, 5 and 7). Its meaning of physical disability includes relying on a guide dog or a service dog (section 44). A refusal can be a complaint to the Alberta Human Rights Commission.
• Federally regulated places (a bank, an airline, a federal office) fall under the Canadian Human Rights Act, sections 2 and 5 instead. The Accessible Canada Act, section 7 also applies to federal bodies.

At a door, at a counter, in a vehicle

• You may apply to the Government of Alberta for an identification card that names you and your dog. The card is proof that you both qualify under the Act, unless there is evidence against it. (Service Dogs Act, section 4)
• The Service Dogs Act does not protect a team whose handler does not control the dog. (Service Dogs Act, section 3(4)) Under the Alberta Human Rights Act, a place that turns a team away must be able to show that this was reasonable and justifiable. (Alberta Human Rights Act, section 11)
• In an ambulance, a hospital or a clinic, if staff ask the team to separate, ask for the reason and the person's name. The Alberta Human Rights Act covers services normally offered to the public. (Alberta Human Rights Act, section 4)
• At a police counter or a traffic stop, say early that the dog is a service dog. Show the identification card if you have one. (Service Dogs Act, section 4)

When you are turned away

1. Ask for the name of the person and the business.
2. Tell us: Report a barrier. You choose whether we may contact you, tell the place, or share it with a partner organisation.
3. A complaint to the Alberta Human Rights Commission is your right. The deadline is one year from the event. (Alberta Human Rights Act, section 20)

For organisations

We run short sessions for staff — reception, wards, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), detachments, front-of-house — on what a team is and what to do. Book one on For organisations.