Phillips wants Smith investigated for interfering in Pawlowski case
By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on April 1, 2023.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com NDP MLA for Lethbridge West Shannon Phillips is calling for an independent investigation into Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s interference with in the courts on behalf of Artur Pawlowski.“I am joining our leader Rachel Notley and calling for an immediate independent investigation into Daniel Smith’s meddling in the courts. This investigation must be led by a judge, it must have access to the premier and her staff and to emails reaching back to the first days of the Smith’s government, and it must be complete within 30 days,” said Phillips.
She said Albertans need to have all the facts before voting for their premier and MLAs in May.
“Like many Albertans I was shocked to see the video recording of Danielle Smith, a sitting premier, promising to intervene in our courts on behalf of Artur Pawlowski, who is facing serious criminal charges at the time,” said Phillips.
She said it is important people in Lethbridge, to remember what Artur Pawlowski was facing these charges for.
 “Last year a few dozen people formed an illegal blockade of the Coutts border crossing, one of the most important economic and trade corridors in the country. Those extremists caused nearly a billion dollars worth of damage to Alberta’s economy, families, business and industry in Lethbridge were all harmed by this illegal behaviour,” said Phillips.
 She said this was not a peaceful protest and had nothing to do with COVID. It was an unlawful blockade that Pawlowski is accused of participating in and inciting people to violence and his charges have nothing to do with public health restrictions.
 Phillips added that last week one member of the blockade was convicted of assault with a weapon for trying to run over a police officer with his truck and more than a dozen other members of the blockade are awaiting trial on criminal charges.
 “Artur Pawlowski visited the blockade and delivered a 20-minute speech in which he said and I quote ‘For freedom to be preserved, people must be willing to sacrifice their lives. This is our time, if this is our Alamo then so be it.’ The Alamo was a famous gun battle,” said Phillips.
 She said prosecutors called Pawlowski’s words ‘an overt threat to violence’ and police later found numerous assault weapons, body armor and ammunition at the blockade for which four people are facing charges of conspiracy to murder police officers.
 “These are the people Mr. Pawlowski was speaking to and appealing to, and Pawlowski is the person Danielle Smith is going to bat for, someone accused of causing serious damage to the Lethbridge economy and encouraging violence against police officers. It is shocking that someone facing these kinds of charges can get the premier of Alberta on the phone at all under any circumstances. It is appalling that the premier in this call openly sympathizes with him and promises to meddle in the court system on his behalf,” said Phillips.
 She then asked where the deputy premier was in all of this.
 “Where was Nathan Neudorf in all of this? Certainly at the time he did nothing to try to discourage or disperse the blockade, while the damage to Lethbridge families and business stacked up. He refused to join our calls to seek an injunction in the courts . . .,” said Phillips.
 She said now that he is Smith’s deputy premier, voters in Lethbridge deserve to know whether Neudorf was involved in her plans to interfere in the criminal prosecution of people who did so much harm to the community.
“We deserve to know. He needs to tell the public if he’s been involved in attempting to meddle in our local legal community and what he knew and when he knew it,” said Phillips.
She said she believes that everyone must be treated the same before the courts, whether they have a friend in the premier’s office or not.
Phillips said it is incredibly dangerous for politicians to be able to influence who gets prosecuted and who doesn’t, who goes to jail and who doesn’t.
“We are a province of laws, we cannot allow this type of corruption of our democracy. So, I’m here today to ask for two things,: MLA for Lethbridge East Nathan Neudorf and deputy premier to Danielle Smith, needs to come out of hiding, he needs to be accountable to his community for his role in the corruption of the justice system, and Number Two we need an independent review of these criminal prosecutions as there is now too much uncertainty and too many questions,” said Phillips. Follow @APulidoHerald on Twitter 4
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