Law Society of Alberta reviewing conduct of Tyler Shandro while minister of health

Labour and Immigration Minister Tyler Shandro. The Law Society of Alberta is holding a hearing into his conduct while minister of health. (File photo)

The Law Society of Alberta will hold a hearing to decide if former health minister Tyler Shandro breached its code of conduct.

Shandro was health minister from April 2019 until Sept. 21, 2021, when he resigned and was moved to the labour and immigration portfolio, switching with now Health Minister Jason Copping.

The law society hearing will look into a series of incidents from 2020, including a March altercation when a Calgary doctor claims Shandro and his wife yelled at him on his driveway.

Another doctor also says Shandro called him on his personal cell phone at night, after he had challenged Shandro earlier in the day day during a Red Deer hospital funding announcement.

“The hearing committee is comprised of independent adjudicators,” said law society spokesperson Colleen Brown in an email.

“Independent adjudicators ensure that proceedings are fair and conducted in the public interest. External counsel from out of province has been retained to handle the hearing on behalf of the law society. Evidence will be presented from both sides and the hearing committee will make the final decision.”

According to a notice on the Law Society of Alberta’s website, there are three allegations against Shandro.

They include, “attended the private residence of a member of the public, behaving inappropriately by engaging in conduct that brings reputation of the profession into disrepute, and that conduct is deserving of sanction.”

The second allegation reads, “Shandro used his position as health minister to obtain personal cell phone numbers, contacted one or more members of the public outside regular work hours using that information, and that such conduct is deserving of sanction.”

 The third allegation reads, “Tyler Shandro responded to an email addressed to his wife from a member of the public threatening to refer the individual to the authorities if they did not address future correspondence to his office as minister of health, and that such conduct is deserving of sanction.”

“We have a well-defined process for members of the public who have concerns about their lawyers conduct,” said Brown.

“When complaints about lawyers are brought to our attention, we assess each matter according to a process which is fair and consistent for both the lawyer involved and those providing the information.”

Shandro's press secretary issued a statement Friday afternoon.

"Minister Shandro is a practicing lawyer and a member of the Law Society of Alberta. The Law Society of Alberta accepts complaints against lawyers. Any person with a concern can make a complaint against any lawyer," it read.

"Two years ago, an anonymous account on social media published a post that encouraged the public to file complaints with the Law Society of Alberta. The complaints that have been made are all matters that have been publicly reported. Minister Shandro looks forward to resolving the matter through the Law Society of Alberta’s complaint process."