Here's what's in Alberta's Bill of Rights — and what Danielle Smith is set to change

When the 17th Alberta Legislature opened on March 2, 1972, then-premier Peter Lougheed moved quickly to introduce what the Edmonton Journal described as "the keystone piece of legislation for his administration."

Lougheed said the primary effect of the legislation — the Alberta Bill of Rights — was to "shield the citizen from government abuse of its power," the Calgary Herald reported in an article the same day. 

Decades later, it's legislation that's now set to see some notable changes, some of which observers say could lead to jurisdictional challenges.

In a video posted online last week, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the Alberta Bill of Rights has served its purpose well over the years.

"But as our society evolves, so too must our laws to ensure our rights and freedoms remain properly protected in an ever-changing world," Smith said.

At its inception, the Alberta Bill of Rights laid out six human rights and fundamental freedoms that it stated existed in Alberta without discrimination by race, national origin, colour, religion and sex:

The Bill of Rights has been amended in recent years, including some minor tinkering.

One major amendment was expanding the reference to sex to include sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. The other major change was adding a seventh right — the right of parents to make informed decisions respecting the education of their children. Both amendments came into effect in June 2015, having been passed by the Progressive Conservative government of the day earlier that year.

In her video, Smith said the provincial government would introduce legislation in a few weeks to amend the Alberta Bill of Rights.

Smith proposed adding the following:

Those three rights were mentioned in a draft revision endorsed by the United Conservative Party's board. That draft featured elements included in the original Lougheed-era document, others from last year's public health emergencies review panel helmed by retired politician Preston Manning, and still others proposed by the group that calls itself the Black Hat Gang.

That group proposed many other rights, like the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," and the right to use force to defend one's property. It's not clear if any other proposed rights might be included in an updated Alberta Bill of Rights. 

A spokesperson in the premier's office said the three that Smith promises represented the "key amendments" being proposed and noted the legislation will be tabled and made publicly available when the legislative assembly returns.

The Alberta Legislature is back in session in late October, shortly before Smith faces a party leadership review in early November.