Alberta Premier Daniel Smith is pressuring the attorney general and his office to intervene in lawsuits related to COVID, according to multiple sources familiar with the interactions.
Exchanges between the premier’s office and Justice Minister Tyler Schandro’s office over several months have included what sources have characterized as attempts to influence the cases.
“I would classify it as inappropriate,” said a source close to the situation. CBC News has agreed not to name them because of potential professional repercussions.
Smith will request updates on the cases or ask if it’s possible to drop them, they said.
This notably includes the prosecution of Artur Pawlowski, a pastor charged with two counts of criminal abuse and a charge under the Alberta Critical Infrastructure Defense Act related to the Coutts border blockade.
Another source familiar with the situation confirmed that Smith had committed to taking this case to Shandro with the intention of making the charges go away.
CBC News agreed not to name the sources because they were not authorized to discuss these matters and out of concern they could lose their jobs.
Appropriate Communications: Prime Minister’s Office
The prime minister’s office says Smith’s public statements have explained her exploration of legal options to grant amnesty for pandemic charges.
“Since taking office, the Minister for Justice and her team have held several discussions with the Minister for Justice and civil servants at the Department of Justice, seeking clarification of what policy options are available to this end.” Having received detailed legal advice and recommendations from the Minister not to pursue amnesty opportunities, the Prime Minister has followed that legal advice,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
“All communications between the Prime Minister, her staff, the Minister of Justice and the civil servants of the Ministry of Justice have been appropriate and through the correct channels.
“All communications between the prime minister, her staff, the minister of justice and civil servants at the ministry of justice have been appropriate and through the correct channels,” Premier Daniel Smith’s office said on Wednesday. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)
Smith has said publicly that she has asked the attorney general and his deputy minister to consider whether prosecuting cases related to COVID is in the public interest and whether there is a reasonable chance of a conviction before proceeding.
However, sources confirmed that some of these talks went beyond these considerations and turned into pressure.
“They keep pushing,” a source said, adding that the minister’s office was resisting.
“I would interpret it as pressure.
The office of the Minister of Justice denies the order issued by the Prime Minister.
“Although Prime Minister Smith requested briefings and they were provided, at no time were there any instructions provided to the Attorney General by the Premier or her office. The Alberta Public Prosecutor’s Office operates independently and at no time has a political decision influenced ongoing prosecutions,” Ethan Lecavalier-Babrek, the minister’s press secretary, said in a statement.
Relationship under the magnifying glass
The relationship between the Minister’s Office and the Prime Minister’s Office regarding the approach to COVID-related litigation has been the subject of recent public control.
An interview between Ezra Levant, who runs the right-wing media company Rebel News, and Pawlowski suggested there were behind-the-scenes efforts to get the government to help drop the pastor’s charges.
Last December, on the morning of what was supposed to be his felony trial for violating Calgary’s public health orders, Pawlowski’s charges were postponed.
“Do you think someone called [the prosecutor] turned off? Do you think some big boss called her that morning and said, ‘Hey DA, you’re throwing in the towel’?” Levant Pawlowski asked in an interview posted on the Rebel website on Dec. 20.
Pawlowski, who will be arraigned on Coutts-related charges next Thursday, responded.
“We have been working behind the scenes at a political level trying to talk to the UCP government to recall their dogs because this is pure vendetta,” he told Levant.
“Maybe someone smarter than Minister Shandro said, ‘Hey, it’s not in our interest to go to war against ministers and pastors.’
Artur Pawlowski is a pastor charged with two counts of criminal mischief and a charge under the Alberta Critical Infrastructure Protection Act related to the Coutts border blockade. (Arthur Pavlovski/Facebook)
Pawlowski’s attorneys declined to comment Wednesday.
“As this is a live situation that could potentially affect next week’s trial, we are unable to comment on this situation at this time,” Sarah Miller said in an email to CBC News.
Levant was instrumental in raising funds for Pawlowski’s legal fees and conducting a public campaign to drop the pastor’s charges related to Coates ahead of his Feb. 2 trial.
Smith herself was subjected to a pressure campaign involving Levant earlier in the fall.
In October, after an in-person meeting, Levant advocated for the prime minister to drop the COVID-related charges. He outlined what he thought she should do in a lengthy email to Smith’s office. Levant confirmed the content of the email and the meeting with the prime minister.
“The prime minister was interested in any information I could provide her about the situation on the ground and the mechanisms she has in place to provide leadership on these issues,” reads part of the email obtained by CBC News.
It argues why some charges should be stayed or dropped and why the attorney general should step in — specifically mentioning Pawlowski in the correspondence. CBC News has learned that the email was forwarded from the prime minister’s office to Sandro’s office.
Ezra Levant runs the right-wing media company Rebel News. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)
“I expect that with the right guidance and direction from the Prime Minister’s Office, the prosecutions relating to the Coutts protest (the non-violent cases, no firearms), other lockdown protests or offenses under the Public Health Act … can all be withdrawn.” , suspended or otherwise terminated,” it said.
In response to a request for comment on Wednesday, Levant posted the letter on its website.
“I’m very proud of this letter and I stand by every word of it,” Levant said.
He said he has been public in his calls to pressure the attorney general to drop the pandemic-related charges.
“I have no idea what Smith did or didn’t do with the letter I wrote her.”
CBC News recently reported, based on sources, that a staff member in the Prime Minister’s Office sent several emails to Crown prosecutors last fall regarding ongoing cases related to Coutts’ border blockade allegations. CBC News has not reviewed these emails.
The prime minister said she was unaware of the issues and launched an email search, which her office said yielded no evidence of email contact.
The government later added that deleted emails would only be kept for 30 days, which would reach December 22.
Two weeks ago, Smith backtracked on a promise to seek formal pardons for COVID-19 health offenders, saying prime ministers did not have that power.
The prime minister spent several days clarifying controversial comments about her contact with Crown prosecutors about the cases. She initially said she spoke directly to prosecutors, then said she only spoke to the justice minister.
Smith said he wants prosecutors to consider the reasonable likelihood of a conviction and the public interest, but also that the COVID charges are unique.
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