Alberta NDP urges UCP MLAs to condemn call between premier and pastor

Alberta's opposition NDP is calling on all United Conservative MLAs to condemn a phone call between the premier and outspoken street pastor Artur Pawlowski.

The NDP calls Pawlowski an "extremist" who should not have been given time to speak to Danielle Smith, let alone get a phone call with the premier.

Pawlowski recorded a phone conversation between him and the premier in January, weeks ahead of a criminal trial he was set to face on charges stemming from the Coutts border blockade.

"I've been watching your public advocacy for many years," Smith can be heard saying at the beginning of the recording.

That advocacy, the opposition party says, has been "hate-filled."

"Danielle Smith owes Albertans an explanation for why this extreme individual facing two criminal charges got a single second of her time," said Irfan Sabir, the NDP's justice critic.

Pawlowski has staunchly opposed public health restrictions since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also has expressed homophobic views. In 2013, he said the Calgary flood was punishment for homosexuality.

The street pastor is charged with breaching a release order and mischief for inciting people at the border crossing last year. The trial took place in February and a verdict is expected next month.

The NDP also pointed to a video taken at the Coutts border of Pawlowski speaking to a room of protesters in which he says some of them may have to pay the price for ongoing protests.

He also criticizes law enforcement and then-premier Jason Kenney.

"They’re coming here with their badges and they’re telling you they represent the law," Pawlowski says in the video.

"No, they represent lawlessness. They are gangsters for the biggest mafia that there is: Kenney’s mafia.”

On Wednesday, during separate press conferences, two UCP cabinet minister were asked whether the phone call between Smith and the pastor was appropriate.

"As an MLA, as a minister, and obviously as a premier, we have numerous conversations with constituents and with individuals across the province," said Jeremy Nixon, the minister of community and social services.

"When I listen to the tape and hear what the premier did say, she very clearly — outside of I think a confusion on the word prosecutor — very clearly articulated to this individual that she can't do anything about his situation as it's not within her powers," he said.

Earlier this week, Smith said she would no longer be commenting on the phone call as she contemplates possible legal action against the CBC over its reporting of the phone calls and allegations that one of her staffers challenged prosecutors on several criminal cases connected to Coutts.

"I would say again that, as elected officials, we hear from Albertans on a variety of issues every single day," said Rebecca Schulz, Alberta's minister of municipal affairs.

 

"When it comes to this case, the premier did reach out to the minister of justice for advice, she took that advice, and she has commented on that situation," said Schulz.

In a statement to CTV News, Pawlowski disputed the NDP calling him "hateful."

"The only hateful people at this moment I see are those that are doing everything in their power to divide Canadians," reads part of the statement.