Online video between Danielle Smith and Artur Pawlowski raises questions over interference
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is heard speaking with outspoken Calgary pastor Artur Pawlowski in a newly-revealed video, creating questions about her influence on Alberta court cases.
On previous occasions, Smith has denied that she or a member of her staff made direct contact with Crown prosecutors in order to influence their decisions on cases involving COVID charges.
But that's not what she said to Pawlowski.
The video, recorded by Pawlowski – who faces charges of inciting the Coutts border dispute in early 2022 – involves a conversation between himself and the premier. Critics say it could be evidence that Smith has been interfering with the justice system -- or at least involving herself more than she claimed to be.
The taped conversation starts with admiration on Smith's part.
"I've been watching your public advocacy for many years," she said. "I'm sorry to hear what they've been putting you through."
"As you are aware, I am still on house arrest, facing 10 and a half years imprisonment for my speech in Coutts," Pawlowski responded, adding that he reached out to her "because of the promises that were never fulfilled."
Smith told him that she didn't have the same power of clemency that the U.S. president or U.S. governors have, but said she could "ask prosecutors (if) there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction, and is it in the public interest?
"I assure you that I have asked them that, almost weekly, ever since I got started here," Smith said in the recording.
"There have been a number of cases that have been abandoned as they have gone through that assessment and I'm very hopeful that will be the case for more cases but there really isn't a mechanism for me to get them to drop cases."
ARTICLE 'NOT TRUE'
In January, Smith's office responded to a CBC Calgary story that stated one of her staffers challenged prosecutors on several criminal cases that were connected to the Coutts border dispute.
CTV News hasn't yet been able to independently confirm the allegations.
Smith's office says the article was not true.
"The CBC published a defamatory article containing baseless allegations that Premier's Office staff had sent a series of emails to Alberta Crown prosecutors concerning charges related to the Coutts protest and other pandemic-related matters before the courts. The CBC admitted that it had not seen any of the emails," Smith's office said in a statement attributed to no one in particular.
Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt said there's a blurry line between asking questions and applying political pressure.
"Now her defenders may say she's just asking questions," Bratt said. "But if you ask the same question over and over again, is that pressure?"
Back in the video, Pawlowski is heard appealing to Smith about the charges, saying they could have been dealt with differently.
"Instead of sitting down and solving the problem, we had to hire an entire legal team, which will cost over $150,000 extra to comb through this massive additional disclosure that we never had before," he said.
Pawlowski accused Justice Minister Tyler Shandro "of playing a game" and Crown prosecutor Steven Johnson of "following directives."
Smith continues by saying she would check on that, but said she didn't think it had anything to do with Shandro.
"I think the issue is once the ball is rolling, these Crown prosecutors seem to be very independent and we can only ask them two questions as I mentioned to you," she said.
"I don't very much see this as driven by the minister, but I have also raised this with the deputy minister."
ALBERTA NDP SURPRISED BY CALL
The Alberta NDP says it was shocked to hear about the call between the premier and a man accused by police of encouraging violent actions, including the "admiration" Smith had for Pawlowski.
"The fact that someone accused of encouraging violence against police can get the premier on the phone at all is extraordinary," said Irfan Sabir, the NDP's justice critic, in a statement.
"That she greets him with such admiration says a lot about who Danielle Smith is. It's clear that interfering in Pawlowski’s case, and the cases of the other accused Coutts blockaders is a priority for Danielle Smith and the UCP."
Sabir said he wrote to Shandro, asking for an independent investigation into the alleged interference, but has never received a response from him.
"Shandro is clearly aware of the premier's actions, and he has failed in his duty to uphold the justice system," Sabir said.
"Smith lied to Albertans when she said she had never contacted prosecutors, and when she said no one in her office had contacted prosecutors."
Sabir says the solution is an independent investigation.
"One hundred per cent Albertans deserve to know what happened," said Sabir. "And deserve to be reassured their justice system is independent of political interference. Conversations like this do put a big question mark on that independence."
NEW STATEMENT FROM SMITH
On Wednesday morning, Smith's office preemptively released a new statement, ahead of any new news articles.
In it, she said the organization is continuing its "campaign of defamatory attacks" against her.
Smith said she had already addressed the Jan. 26 conversation she had with Pawlowski during a media availability on Feb. 9.
"This should come as no shock since I spent a lot of time before and during my leadership campaign talking to hundreds of Albertans about COVID-related public health orders and violations," she stated.
Smith reaffirmed her statements that she was working with the justice minister's office, not Crown prosecutors, on the cases.
Those discussions recommended "against pursuing amnesty" for individuals charged with non-violent, non-firearms COVID-related charges.
"At no time have I spoken with anyone from the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, nor to my knowledge have any of my office's staff.
"Allegations to the contrary are defamatory and will be dealt with accordingly."
Experts point out the call wasn't illegal, but if Smith wasn't bluffing, it does raise questions.
"The Crown prosecutor's office has denied that they've had any conversation with the premier's office about this," said MRU justice studies professor Doug King. "So somewhere, someone isn't telling the truth."
CTV News has reached out to Pawlowski for further information about his discussions with the premier.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.