CALGARY -- Alberta Health Services (AHS) has been granted a restraining order against a Calgary mayoral candidate who threatened harm to its employees.
The interim injunction order, granted on Friday, prevents Kevin J. Johnston from "obstructing or interfering with AHS and its officers and employees, including public health officers, in their enforcement efforts of the Public Health Act, including the Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) Orders."
The order also prohibits Johnston from contacting any AHS employees by any means, recording or photographing AHS employees, visiting any AHS sites (except for necessary medical treatment), attending at the residential premises of AHS officers or employees, approaching or being within 100 metres of any AHS public health officer.
He is also barred from publishing any threats or hate speech directed at AHS and its officers and employees, including soliciting the names, addresses, phone numbers and other personal or private information.
Johnston made threatening comments toward AHS employees in a podcast.
“I intend to do a lot of harm to AHS and I mean a lot of harm. God, you guys are not going to like what I do,” he said.
Johnston stood by the comments in an interview with CTV News Tuesday.
Johnston has been a loud voice at several anti-restriction rallies and a staunch supporter of street preacher Artur Pawlowski, who was recently released from the Calgary Remand Centre, following his arrest for allegedly breaching public health violations.
He has said AHS officials will get a taste of their own medicine if he becomes mayor in the October civic election.
“You’re going to be crying on your knees, you’re all going to be begging ‘please don’t arrest me, don’t take my house away, I’ve got a family,’” he said in the podcast.
“That’s the stuff you are going to say just like what is being said to you by business people who have families, who want to keep their businesses running.”
Johnston has publicly said he already has the names and addresses of seven AHS workers.
He has previously been charged for allegedly assaulting a grocery store worker in Dawson Creek, B.C. and also faces hate crime charges (directed toward the Muslim community).
When reached by CTV Calgary, Johnston said he had not yet been served the restraining order and once that happens he will seek legal counsel.
Read the order below: