About IR

Calgary Independent Reporters began providing court reporting services to Calgary law firms in March of 1987. In 1989, we opened our Edmonton office, Edmonton Independent Reporters, and provided court reporting services in the two major cities in Alberta. Having offices in both cities allows Calgary/Edmonton Independent Reporters, IR, to provide court reporters anywhere in the province of Alberta.

Since then, IR, has grown to become Canada's leading experts in court reporting and realtime technologies, both live and to the Internet. Our companies provide a full range of services from general court reporting services, including interactive realtime, remote CART services for educational and corporate settings, realtime closed-captioning for the broadcast industry, and video conferencing services.

IR first introduced realtime court reporting services to Alberta lawyers in 1992. The Public Utilities Board of Alberta, now the Alberta Utilities Commission, was the first client to receive realtime services in the province and today continues to use realtime for their members and staff on every major hearing. IR was also the first court reporting firm in Canada to introduce remote realtime court reporting services during these hearings in 1993. Read more on this on our realtime court reporting services page.

Two other areas complement our legal division, legal video services and video conferencing. Having our own legal video service department ensures quality and professional service to our clients. IR is the only firm in Western Canada to have it's own in-house Certified Legal Video Specialist, CLVS. This guarantees our clients professional legal video services on any application. As well, video conferencing facilities are available in both our Calgary and Edmonton offices to connect you to the world without ever leaving town. We can arrange to connect you to any location, anywhere, anytime.

Outside of the legal services we provide, IR has worked with the hearing impaired community since the late 80's providing realtime captioning services as well as CART for educational purposes. In 2004, IR revolutionized the way CART services are provided to the educational community. Now, all services are provided through the Internet. No longer does the CART writer have to attend live in the classroom setting. Providing the services remotely increases our range of coverage, and the services are not limited to any geographical location.

In 2006, IR began it's Broadcast Captioning Division. This division of the company is responsible for providing realtime closed-captioning services to the broadcast community. We provide captioning services in both Canada and the United States.

Reporter/Captionist Certifications

- Registered Professional Reporters (RPRs)
- Certified Realtime Reporters (CRRs)
- NCRA-approved school graduates
- Certified Legal Video Specialist (CLVS)
- Certified Shorthand Reporters (CSRs)
- Registered Merit Reporters (RMRs)
- Realtime Certified Reporters (RCRs)

IR and/or our reporters are members of the following associations. Learn more about them by going to their web sites below.
- National Court Reporters Association
- Alberta Shorthand Reporters Association
- British Columbia Shorthand Reporters Association
- Chartered Shorthand Reporters Association of Ontario
- Deaf and Hard of Hearing Society
- Canadian Hard of Hearing Association
- National Court Reporters Association
- Network Network of Reporting Companies (NNRC)