Alberta premier backs off on promise to seek pardons for COVID-19 health violators
NDP calls for independent investigation into interactions with Crown prosecutors
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, less than three months after promising to seek pardons for COVID-19 health violators, says she will now let justice take its course while also announcing she is regularly contacting Crown prosecutors about these cases.
"The way our system of justice works is we do have an independent justice department and independent Crown prosecutors," Smith told reporters Thursday when asked why she has not followed through on the pardon commitment.
"As we continue to see some of these cases go through — some of them get dropped, some of them fail — (prosecutors) have to consistently recalibrate, but I do want to make sure they have an independent process for assessing that.
"But I ask them on a regular basis, as new cases come out, is it in the public interest to pursue and is there a reasonable likelihood of conviction?"
The Justice Department later issued a statement that appeared to contradict Smith.
"The premier had met to discuss prosecutions at a high level with the attorney general and deputy attorney general," said department spokesman Jason Maloney.
"The premier has never spoken with any Crown prosecutors about any particular court/legal matter they deal with."
Smith's office did not respond to a request for clarification, but she did make similar remarks last month.
In an interview with Rebel News about COVID-related charges, Smith says the attorney general and the Crown have an independence from the premier's office, but that she continues to ask questions about whether the prosecutions are in the public interest and whether there's a reasonable likelihood of conviction.
"I put it to the prosecutors and I've asked them to do a review of the cases with those two things in mind," she said in the interview posted on the Rebel News website on Dec. 23.
Opposition NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir labelled Smith's comments Thursday a clear case of judicial interference and called for an independent investigation.
"Danielle Smith is reaching into the Crown prosecution branch and inquiring about a specific case and questioning whether charges are in the public interest, and that certainly constitutes interference," Sabir said.
Opposition NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir called for an independent investigation. (CBC)
"Smith's actions undermine the rule of law, and it is disturbing to see that she does not understand that."
Smith became premier in October after winning the leadership of the United Conservative Party by leveraging strong member support with promises to redress perceived abuses of individual rights and freedoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Soon after being sworn into office, Smith announced she would pursue pardoning non-criminal violators of health restrictions, such as pastors who ignored gathering limits at services and people fined for not wearing masks.
Smith has called the COVID-19 unvaccinated the most discriminated group she has ever seen in her lifetime.
Artur Pawlowski, a Calgary pastor jailed and fined for COVID-19 masking and gathering violations — charges later overturned on appeal — criticized Smith's remarks.
"My friends were voting for her (in the leadership race) because they wanted this prosecution and persecution of Canadians to stop in our province," Pawlowski said in an interview.
"She promised that amnesty would come. That never happened."
Pawlowski still faces charges related to last year's blockade in Coutts, Alta., near the United States border.
He called Smith "Kenney 2.0," referencing to her predecessor, Jason Kenney.
"She is a flip-flopping, political pancake," Pawlowski said. "Whatever works for her, that's what she's going to pursue."
Kenney was effectively voted out of office last year by a branch of the UCP angry over what they called freedom-busting COVID-19 gathering, vaccine and masking rules.
Smith also won the leadership on a promise to change laws to forbid restrictions for people based on their COVID-19 vaccine status. She never introduced the bill as promised last fall, saying more study was needed.
Political scientist Duane Bratt said the confusion leaves Albertans with two unpalatable options.
"Which is worse, political interference in the judicial system or lying about interfering in the judicial system?" said Bratt, with Mount Royal University in Calgary.
Bratt said the comments appear to be a political calculation by Smith to try to appeal to the broad electorate by adhering to the rule of law on COVID-19 cases while simultaneously saying she is taking direct action — rubbing against democratic guardrails in the process — to appease her base.
"That's what happens when you try to appease two different groups. You end up appeasing none of them," said Bratt.
Sabir said there is recent precedent under the UCP for an investigation.
Last February, a third-party report by a retired judge concluded that then-UCP justice minister Kaycee Madu tried to interfere in the administration of justice when he called up Edmonton's police chief to discuss a traffic ticket.
Madu was subsequently moved to a different portfolio under Kenney. He has since been promoted to deputy premier under Smith.
With files from Jade Markus, Tony Seskus
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/sor-98-106/fulltext.html
Varying rule and dispensing with compliance
55 In special circumstances, in a proceeding, the Court may vary a rule or dispense with compliance with a rule.
SOR/2004-283, s. 11
Failure to Comply with Rules
Marginal note:Effect of non-compliance
56 Non-compliance with any of these Rules does not render a proceeding, a step in a proceeding or an order void, but instead constitutes an irregularity, which may be addressed under rules 58 to 60.
2nd Calgary lawyer charged in Manitoba judge surveillance case
Calgary police arrested Jay Cameron after Canada-wide warrant issued in Manitoba
A second Calgary lawyer connected to the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) was arrested and charged in connection with the surveillance of a Manitoba judge, Winnipeg police confirmed Thursday.
Jay Cameron, 45, was arrested by the Calgary Police Service on Wednesday after a Canada-wide warrant was issued by the Manitoba Prosecution Service.
Cameron — whose legal given name is Randal — was charged with intimidation of a justice system participant and attempt to obstruct justice connected to the hiring of a private investigator in 2021 to follow Manitoba Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal.
The same set of charges were laid against JCCF founder and president John Carpay last week.
In July, when Carpay admitted to hiring a PI to surveil the judge, Cameron said he had "become aware" of the surveillance only a "few weeks" earlier and issued an apology to the judge.
But Thursday's announcement of charges against Cameron allege he was involved in orchestrating the surveillance.
Glenn
Joyal, chief justice of the Manitoba Court of King's Bench, says a
private investigator followed him to his home and also to his cottage. (Gary Solilak/CBC)
Both Cameron and Carpay represented a number of churches across Canada fighting COVID-19 restrictions in court.
In 2021, Justice Joyal presided over a case involving seven churches that were challenging the province's pandemic-related restrictions.
Joyal ruled against the churches, saying public health orders did not violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Details of the surveillance and the subsequent admission by JCCF's president came to light during a hearing in July connected to the churches' charter challenge. Joyal said he was tailed by a private investigator in an attempt to catch him breaking COVID-19 rules
Joyal said the private investigator followed him to his home and had a child ring his doorbell while he wasn't home in an attempt to confirm where he lives. The private investigator also followed him to his cottage, according to Joyal.
Following a break in court, Carpay admitted the JCCF had retained the private investigator to follow Joyal as part of efforts to hold government officials accountable.
At the time, Joyal said he accepted both Carpay and Cameron's apologies.
Cameron no longer on JCCF website
Two days later, Carpay announced he was taking an indefinite leave from the JCCF. Six weeks later, he was reinstated as president.
Through much of the pandemic, Cameron was an in-house lawyer with JCCF but is no longer listed on the organization's website.
An internet archive site shows Cameron was with the JCCF until at least September 2022 but was gone by November 2022.
Cameron has been released on bail. Winnipeg police say they don't anticipate any more arrests.
CBC News has asked JCCF when and why Cameron left the organization but has not yet received a response.
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Coutts protest leaders to go on trial in 2024
Fort Macleod town councillor Marco Van Huigenbos and 2 others accused of mischief
A three-week trial has been set for the three Alberta men accused of organizing the border blockade and protests last year at Coutts, Alta.
Marco Van Huigenbos, 32, a Fort Macleod town councillor, faces a charge of mischief over $5,000, as do Alex Van Herk, 53, and George Janzen, 43.
Lawyers for the men appeared in Lethbridge court on Monday and booked a jury trial for April 2, 2024.
In March, Van Huigenbos was reprimanded for what Fort Macleod Mayor Brent Feyter described as "unacceptable behaviour."
In a letter posted to the town's website, Feyter expressed "grave concerns" about Van Huigenbos's role as a blockade organizer.
The on-again, off-again blockade at the busy Coutts crossing started on Jan. 29 and ended Feb. 15 after police raids resulted in more than a dozen arrests and the seizure of a cache of weapons, ammunition and body armour.
When interviewed the day after the raids, Van Huigenbos told CBC News the protest was "infiltrated by an extreme element" and said the remaining protesters had decided to "peacefully leave Coutts and return to [their] families."
In his testimony at the Emergencies Act inquiry in November, Van Huigenbos told the commission he felt the discovery of weapons tainted the movement.
"For me, it became very clear that every objective we were looking to achieve was no longer possible and our message had been lost," he said.
Charges dropped against 3 men
Initially, RCMP laid charges against 14 people. Four men — Chris Carbert, Chris Lysak, Anthony Olienick and Jerry Morin — are facing the most serious offences, conspiracy to murder RCMP officers.
Since then, prosecutors have dropped the charges against Luke Berk, 63, Johnson Law, 40, and Janx Zaremba, 19, who were facing mischief and weapons offences.
The four men accused of plotting to murder police officers will go on trial in June.
Unsealed court documents show RCMP ran an undercover operation and used an "imminent harm" wiretap to justify the execution of search warrants and the laying of charges.
RCMP believed the men accused of conspiring to murder police officers were stockpiling weapons to arm themselves and others in preparation for a standoff with police.
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