CBC/Radio-Canada have agreed to protect their identities over fears of losing their jobs.
The Prime Minister’s Office says in a statement sent just after 6pm on Tuesday that Danielle Smith has never been in contact with Crown prosecutors and that if one of her staff has been, she has not been informed.
This is a serious allegation and appropriate action will be taken if it is found to be true, the statement said.
During the race for leadership of the United Conservative, Danielle Smith vowed to review the defendants’ cases related to health non-compliance.
Shortly after she was elected and sworn in as prime minister this fall, her office requested a meeting with Alberta’s attorneys over the dozens of Coutts Dam-related lawsuits.
Four cases ranging from possession of weapons to conspiracy to kill police officers are currently before Lethbridge courts.
A convoy of truckers paralyzed the Coutts border crossing between Alberta and Montana for two weeks in early 2022.
Photo: The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh
After that meeting, an official from the Prime Minister’s office reportedly sent emails criticizing the prosecutor’s assessment of the charges and questioning their position on the protest. It’s inappropriate on so many levels. This is an open interference with the independence of the Crown, says a source familiar with the correspondence.
The revelation comes days after Danielle Smith retracted her comments about her contacts with Crown prosecutors. She initially claimed to have been in regular contact with them, but then said she did not do so directly, only speaking to the justice minister, who is also the attorney general, and his deputy.
CBC sources say there has been tension between the Prime Minister’s Office and the Justice Department over the cases in the courts for months.
They say Attorney General Tyler Shandro and his staff were not involved in sending those emails to Crown prosecutors. For months, the Justice Department had tried to recall the importance of the independence of prosecutors’ decisions.
The public prosecutor declined to comment
Alberta Crown Attorney Service spokeswoman Michelle Davio has repeatedly declined to comment on whether or not Deputy Attorney General Kim Goddard and counsel handling Coutt’s case, Steven Johnston, saw the emails.
Michelle Davio responded that Kim Goddard doesn’t recall seeing the emails, adding: “It’s difficult to say with 100 percent certainty that neither Kim [Goddard] nor Steven [Johnston] saw the emails you described but did not provide them.
Because you did not provide these emails to the Crown Prosecution Service, we cannot comment on them, writes Michelle Davio.
Political interference must be reported, reminds the deputy minister
CBC/Radio-Canada also received an internal email from Kim Goddard to Alberta prosecutors, a day after Danielle Smith made controversial statements last week.
In her email, Deputy Deputy Attorney General Kim Goddard assures members that she is committed to upholding the Code of Conduct for Prosecutors, which states that prosecutors must be free from pressure or influence in their decision-making.
On the rare occasions when information has been requested about a specific lawsuit, proper procedures have been followed, she said.
She adds that she will only give information to the attorney general and his deputy. I will not provide information on the details of individual cases to other elected officials or political staff, she wrote.
If you are contacted by an elected official or political staffer who wishes to discuss one of your cases, it is imperative that you immediately report any attempt to communicate with your attorney general or myself, she concludes.
With information from Meghan Grant and Elise von Scheel