Leader of the NDP Rachel Notley, left, and Leader of the United Conservative Party Danielle Smith shake hands before a debate in Edmonton on Thursday May 18, 2023. The Opposition NDP says it will be watching to make sure advice to Smith doesn’t grant her backdoor permission to continue interfering in Alberta’s justice system. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson.
EDMONTON – The Opposition NDP says it will be watching to make sure advice to Premier Danielle Smith doesn’t grant her backdoor permission to continue interfering in Alberta’s justice system.
NDP Leader Rachel Notley says she assumes Justice Minister Mickey Amery will remind Smith of the firewall separating politicians from the front-line prosecution of court cases, but says if not her caucus will raise the alarm.
Earlier this week, Smith stood in the house and apologized to all Albertans for a phone call she made earlier this year to then-justice minister Tyler Shandro.
In the call, Smith unsuccessfully tried to convince Shandro to abandon the criminal prosecution of a COVID-19 protester.
Ethics commissioner Marguerite Trussler says such interference undermines the rule of law, and the NDP has asked the RCMP to investigate whether Smith’s actions violated the Criminal Code.
Smith has asked Amery to give her guidelines on how she is to interact with him on future legal matters and has promised to make those guidelines public.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2023.
