Alberta NDP checks to make sure the Prime Minister does not agree with the justice system
EDMONTON – The opposition NDP says it will be watching to ensure advice to Prime Minister Danielle Smith does not allow her back door to continue interfering with Alberta’s justice system.
Smith has asked Attorney General Mickey Amery to give her guidance on how to deal with him on legal matters, as she was reprimanded last month by the ethics commissioner for trying to convince Amery’s predecessor to drop a criminal case.
Smith has promised to make those guidelines public.
NDP leader Rachel Notley says she assumes Amery Smith will simply recall the basic Democratic firewall that separates politicians from prosecuting frontline litigation.
If not, says Notley, the NDP will sound the alarm.
“I took it sincerely because (Amery’s) advice would essentially reiterate the obvious,” Notley told reporters in Calgary on Wednesday.
She said the NDP will look to see if the United Conservative Party government is “actually going to try to rewrite the constitutionally enshrined relationship between the government’s legislature and judiciary”.
“If they try to do something like that, of course we won’t stand for that.”
On Tuesday, the House met for a day to vote for Nathan Cooper to return as Speaker, and Smith took the opportunity to stand up and apologize for the phone call she made in January to the then Attorney General Tyler Shandro.
“While I had no malicious intent, the ethics commissioner felt it was inappropriate for me to contact the Attorney General in this manner,” Smith said.
“I apologize to all members of the assembly and to all Albertans for the mistake.
“I have asked my Attorney General to develop guidelines for an appropriate way to receive his legal advice on various legal matters, and I look forward to receiving that advice.”
Smith’s office did not immediately respond to questions on Wednesday about whether there is a timeline for the guidelines, which of “various legal matters” Smith is seeking counsel for, and whether those legal matters include criminal charges.
The issue has haunted Smith since mid-January, when she announced her active interest in COVID-19 litigation, considering the allegations politically motivated.
She has said repeatedly that she followed the advice given to her. She said the advice was to discuss matters only with the minister and deputy minister and to limit any advice to them to reminders that cases should only be pursued if there is a reasonable chance of success and they are in the public interest.
On May 18, ethics commissioner Marguerite Trussler released a report concluding that Smith had violated ethics rules when she had a phone conversation with COVID-19 protester Art Pawlowski on January 6. The call was about his upcoming trial regarding a blockade at the Canada-US border crossing in Coutts, Alta.
Trussler said hours later that Smith discussed Pawlowski’s case with Shandro and tried to persuade the Attorney General to “let the case go.”
Trussler said Shandro stood his ground, but Smith nevertheless meddled with the rule of law and broke ethical rules in his attempt to help Pawlowski.
After the call, a judge found Pawlowski guilty of mischief and violating a parole order.
Trussler said she reserved the right to penalize Smith once the house sat down again. Smith’s office declined to say whether the prime minister’s apology on Tuesday was a sanction.
Meanwhile, the NDP asked the RCMP in a letter on Tuesday to investigate whether Smith’s actions violated the Penal Code’s provisions on breach of trust and obstruction of justice.
Smith has said she will also act on Trussler’s recommendation that new members of the legislature receive briefings on how the separation of powers works in Canadian democracy.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 21, 2023.
