NDP MLA files lawsuit against Lethbridge Police Service

The Lethbridge Police Service is being sued by an NDP MLA over claims that her Charter rights were violated.
Shannon Phillips, the representative for Lethbridge-West, filed a lawsuit against the force, claiming she was the subject of several unwarranted searches between January and November 2018.
Phillips, who was the province's environment minister at the time, is seeking $400,000 in damages.
However, for the lawsuit to succeed, Phillips will need to produce evidence of wrongdoing.
"The onus will be on her to demonstrate that," said Doug King, justice expert with Calgary's Mount Royal University.
"That will be a fairly straightforward kind of process, with expert witness testimony in terms of did she encounter any legal costs related to it."
King says she will also need to provide proof of any mental health issues that came up because of the situation.
Last year, Phillips said she received documents as part of a Freedom of Information and the Protection of Privacy Act request where she learned six people, including five police officers and one civilian employee, searched for her personal records. She said there was no reason given for the investigations.
Lethbridge police were accused of monitoring Phillips before, when two officers tracked her actions in 2017.
The members were demoted following a disciplinary hearing, but that action was overturned by a review board.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
W5 EXCLUSIVE | Interviewing a narco hitman: my journey into Mexico's cartel heartland
W5 goes deep into the narco heartland to interview a commander with one of Mexico's most brutal cartels. W5's documentary 'Narco Avocados' airs Saturday at 7 pm on CTV.

Tyre Nichols' brutal beating by police shown on video
Memphis authorities released video footage Friday showing Tyre Nichols being beaten by police officers who held the Black motorist down and repeatedly struck him with their fists, boots and batons as he screamed for his mother and pleaded, ''I'm just trying to go home.'
OPINION | Selling a home? How to know if you qualify for a capital gains exemption
When selling a home, Canadians may be exempted from paying capital gains tax on a residential property -- if it's their principal residence. On CTVNews.ca, personal finance contributor Christopher Liew explains what's determined as a principal residence, and what properties are eligible for the exemption.
CRA head says it 'wouldn't be worth the effort' to review all ineligible pandemic payments
The head of the Canada Revenue Agency says it 'wouldn't be worth the effort' to fully review $15.5 billion in potentially ineligible pandemic wage benefit payments flagged by Canada's Auditor General.
Lifelong Toronto Maple Leafs fan fulfils dream of seeing first game, passes away next day
Mike Davy always dreamed of going to a Toronto Maple Leafs game, and once it finally happened, he passed away the night after.
'This is too much': B.C. mom records police handcuffing 12-year-old in hospital
A review has been launched after police officers were recorded restraining a handcuffed Indigenous child on the floor of a Vancouver hospital – an incident the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs has denounced as "horrendous."
WHO decision on COVID-19 emergency won't affect Canada's response: Tam
The World Health Organization will announce Monday whether it thinks COVID-19 still represents a global health emergency but Canada's top doctor says regardless of what the international body decides, Canada's response to the coronavirus will not change.
Canadian university faculty getting older, more female compared to 50 years ago: StatCan
Canadian university professors are mostly older and increasingly more female compared to 50 years ago, a new report from Statistics Canada has found.
Canadian Hyundai vehicles unaffected by theft issue in the U.S., company says
Hyundai cars in Canada don't have the same anti-theft issue compared to those in the United States, a company spokesperson says, following reports that two American auto insurers are refusing to write policies for older models.