Legislative Assembly Business Takes Precedence

The work of the Legislative Assembly and its committees takes precedence over other bookings. This means that while booking requests may be accepted, they are subject to change. Venue Services staff will contact event organizers in the event of a conflict. View the Assembly Calendar.

Bookings by Registered Not-for-profit Organizations Are Accepted

A not-for-profit organization must be a registered charity or registered and in good standing under the Alberta Societies Act in order to use the LAO’s venues. A copy of the organization’s certificate of incorporation or a copy of the annual return approved by Service Alberta and a current list of directors must be provided to Venue Services seven days in advance of the event.

The Following Uses Are Prohibited

Prohibited uses of the venues include wedding ceremonies or receptions; dance parties; commercial activities, including sale of goods, services or memberships; collection of fees or solicitation of monetary donations for any cause or issue; sale or consumption of any illegal substance; election campaigning; commercial advertising; possession or use of unauthorized weapons or other dangerous devices; cooking and open flames; and smoke in indoor spaces.

Bookings Are at the Discretion of Venue Services

The LAO reserves the right to decline booking requests subject to the discretion of Venue Services.

Venues are provided as is; additional equipment, supplies or materials will not be provided.

Clients may choose to rent additional audio/visual equipment, tables, chairs, or any other required supplies.

Payment of fees will be specified in the user licence agreement. While there is no room rental charge, there are fees to cover staffing, services and expenses incurred by the LAO such as SOCAN fees.

Venue Services will confirm the fee following a consultation with the event organizer. Venue Services must receive payment of fees at least seven days in advance of the event. 

Extraordinary costs such as cleaning costs may also be passed on to the organizer.

The policies and guidelines around catering service are dependent on the venue booked. Please review all of the information below to ensure a positive catering experience.  

Designated Caterer

A Cappella Catering is the designated caterer for second floor reception room and meeting room bookings. To streamline food service, A Cappella Catering enjoys full use of the second floor servery and supplies, equipment training, designated parking and security clearance. Employing the services of the designated caterer may help organizers avoid the expense and effort of making special arrangements for access and equipment. Note that food and beverage requests with less than one week's notice may come with menu and service limitations.

Other Caterers

Neither supplies nor access to the building or servery will be provided to caterers other than those designated by the Legislative Assembly Office (LAO).

Event organizers must coordinate delivery (e.g. parking and drop-off) with other caterers.

Documentation for Food Handling

If food is being offered by anyone other than the designated caterer, event organizers must provide a copy of required food preparation and handling licenses or permits seven days prior to the event.

Concourse Catering

Event organizers may arrange catering for events on the concourse in consultation with Venue Services. In such cases Venue Services does not provide access to the second floor servery, tableware or other supplies.

Second Floor Catering

Complimentary coffee, tea and ice water are available for bookings on the second floor. Food and drink are permitted in the Capital View and City View reception rooms and the meeting rooms. Food is prohibited in the committee rooms.

Food Drop-off

Groups of 30 or fewer can request that catered food be dropped off on the second floor. The LAO reserves the right to decline requests for drop-off catering, subject to the discretion of Venue Services.

Homemade Food

Guests are allowed to bring their own food, but potluck-style functions and home-baked shareable "goodies" are not allowed.

Seating with Tableware Service

Event organizers should arrange for attendees to be seated when serving food that requires tableware. Organizers are responsible for any extraordinary costs incurred to clean a venue after an event such as shampooing carpets.

Alcohol

Venue Services reserves the right to prohibit the service of alcohol. Alcohol is not allowed on the concourse without special permission from Venue Services. If approved, alcohol service must be provided by the LAO’s designated caterer. The event organizer must notify Venue Services of an intention to serve alcohol and provide proper documentation, provide a liquor licence and proof of liability insurance seven days in advance of the event.

Large Bookings 

For bookings of over 30 people, organizations must operate a sign-in table at the bottom of the staircase, with a minimum of two representatives. Two tables with black tablecloths are set up at the bottom of the grand staircase for your use.

Assigned representatives are responsible for

• checking guest names against the visitors log sheet, assigning LAO-issued visitor passes to verified guests, noting each pass number on the log sheet, collecting visitor passes at the end of the booking and returning them to Venue Services staff*; and


• monitoring who enters up the staircase during the sign-in and departure periods, and redirecting anyone who is not part of your group to the Sheriffs desk or alerting Venue Services staff of any issues.

Early and Late Access

The second floor venues of the QEII Building are only accessible between:

• 7:30 a.m. and 10 p.m., including setup and teardown

*Venue Services staff will follow up with organizers to retrieve unreturned passes.

NOTE: If your guests will be entering and exiting throughout the duration of your meeting, someone will be required to sit at the sign-in table the entire time, as we are unable to leave the doors open and unattended. Alternatively, latecomers can proceed to the Sheriffs desk and trade their government-issued ID for an elevator pass, or you can leave a number on the table or doors for anyone from your group to call or text, and someone from your team can open the door for them.

Please e-mail any questions or details to venueservices@assembly.ab.ca. Thank you.