Smith responds to allegations staff member emailed Alberta Crown Prosecution Service over Coutts blockade | 24CA News
After a report surfaced Thursday about allegations {that a} staffer for Premier Danielle Smith emailed the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service to query their judgment on some instances, the premier’s workplace has issued a press release saying “this is a serious allegation” and “appropriate action will be taken” if the allegations are true.
The CBC reported Thursday that it was advised by sources that the related emails had been despatched final fall and talked about “cases stemming from the Coutts border blockades and protests.”
The CBC has agreed to maintain its sources nameless, saying they concern they may lose their jobs for talking out. Global News has not seen the emails in query.
Last week, Smith introduced she was not wanting into giving pardons to individuals discovered responsible of breaking public well being guidelines associated to the COVID-19 pandemic.
READ MORE: Alberta premier says she gained’t pursue COVID pardon laws on recommendation from justice officers
She mentioned she had been talking with provincial justice officers in regards to the instances, prompting some to boost issues she was inappropriately interfering with the justice system.
Smith later supplied completely different accounts of who she talked to and when in regards to the matter.
Last week, she mentioned, “I ask (Crown attorneys) regularly, as new instances come out: ‘Is it in the public interest to pursue and is there a reasonable likelihood of conviction?’”
At the same time, Smith said at the time she would allow the court process to play out. Later, Smith said she only had discussions with Justice Minister Tyler Shandro and his deputy attorney general about the matter.
“At no time have I communicated with Crown prosecutors,” said Smith in a statement last Friday. “My language may have been imprecise in these instances.”
READ MORE: Alberta NDP: ‘A lot of lying going on’ about premier’s position in COVID-19 prosecutions
In a press release earlier this week, Justice Department spokesperson Jason Maloney mentioned, “the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed that the premier has never spoken with any Crown prosecutors about any court/legal matters that they deal with. No further action is therefore required.”
Global News reached out to Smith’s workplace on Thursday for touch upon the CBC report.
“Premier Smith has not been in contact with Crown prosecutors and has no knowledge of anyone on her staff having done so,” a press release from her workplace reads. “This is a severe allegation. If a employees member has been in contact with a Crown prosecutor, applicable motion will probably be taken.
“The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service operates independently of government and political interests. Crown prosecutors base their decisions on the law and merits of the matter before them. They will continue to use their own discretion in making decisions for each individual case without political interference.”
When requested for remark, Alberta Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson Michelle Davio advised Global News that “neither the assistant deputy minister of the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service nor the Crown prosecutor involved in the Coutts files have any recollection of receiving any emails from the premier’s office.”
“Such communication would be exceptionally rare and as such, would stand out,” Davio added. “However, without seeing the emails in question, no further comment can be provided.”
In 2022, protesters occupied a part of the freeway close to the Canada-U.S. border at Coutts, Alta., for 18 days in opposition to COVID-19 measures.
READ MORE: 2 costs withdrawn in opposition to Alberta lady in Coutts border blockade case
Plenty of individuals had been arrested and charged in reference to the blockade, together with 4 males who face costs of conspiracy to homicide RCMP officers.
Opposition MLA Rakhi Pancholi is scheduled to carry a news convention Friday morning in regards to the stories of alleged interference by Smith’s workplace within the prosecution of the Coutts instances.
More to come back…
–With recordsdata from Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
