No Evidence of Emails Between Smith’s Staffer and Crown Prosecutors Over Coutts Blockade: Alberta Justice

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith holds her first press conference in Edmonton on Oct. 11, 2022. Jason Franson/The Canadian Press

The Alberta government says it hasn’t found any records of emails that could substantiate the allegations that a staffer for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had contacted prosecutors in an attempt to influence their handling of a case related to a group charged during the Coutts border blockade last year.

The Justice Department said in a statement that the non-partisan Alberta Public Service conducted a review over the weekend, in search of any emails sent to or received by the relevant prosecutors and staff from the Premier’s Office over a four-month period.

There was “no evidence of email contact,” the statement said. “A comprehensive review of emails has not generated any records of contact between the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service (ACPS) and the Premier’s Office staff.”

Almost one million incoming, outgoing, and deleted emails were reviewed, the statement said.

The department said it will not undertake further investigation unless other evidence surfaces.

In a written statement released on Jan. 23, Smith said she has confidence in the integrity and professionalism of her staff.

“I have full faith that the public service conducted a thorough and comprehensive review. I would like to thank them for the seriousness with which they took this matter as well as their commitment to working non-stop over the past number days [sic] to provide Albertans with results to put their concerns to rest,” Smith wrote.

“An independent Crown prosecution service, free from political interference, is integral to the preservation of public confidence in the justice system.”

“We ask the media and public to also respect their independence as they carry out their important work,” the premier added.

Allegations

In a Jan. 19 report, CBC News cited anonymous sources that said emails sent by Smith’s staffer challenged the Crown prosecutors’ assessment of the case in relation to the group of 13 individuals at last year’s Coutts border blockade who was accused of firearms possession. Among them, four were also accused of conspiracy to commit murder.

Smith announced an investigation would be carried out, pursuant to the CBC report, which she described as “a serious allegation.”

The report came after Smith clarified previous comments she had made at different times to prosecutors on their approach to cases related to the protests against federal COVID-19 vaccination mandates and other restrictions. Her comments were interpreted as interfering with the judicial system and caused an uproar from the opposition.

In one instance, the premier said that regarding the Coutts case, questions she “can ask and have asked and continue to ask is: ‘Is it in the public interest'” and whether there would be a conviction.

“I’ve put it to the prosecutors, and I have asked them to do a review of the [COVID-19] cases with those two things in mind and I’m hopeful that we’ll see a true turning of the page,” Smith said in a December 2022 interview with Rebel News.

The premier later clarified on her radio show on Jan. 14, that she “may have used some imprecise language,” in her comments.

The Justice Department issued a statement earlier this month supporting the premier’s clarification, saying that the ACPS has confirmed that “the premier has never spoken with any Crown prosecutors about any court/legal matters that they deal with.”

Some legislators from the Alberta Opposition NDP, including MLA and justice critic Irfan Sabir, have called for an independent investigation into what they described as “political interference“ in the justice system, questioning Smith’s conflicting statements on what had she said to justice officials about the case.

“Make no mistake, Danielle Smith’s ‘internal review’ does absolutely nothing to put this latest scandal to rest,” NDP MLA Rakhi Pancholi said in a Twitter statement on Jan. 23. “There are still many unanswered questions about these emails, but also about the Premier’s own multiple statements that she’s spoken to prosecutors.”

The Coutts border blockade was held during the height of the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa last winter. Protesters set up road blockades at the Canada-U.S. border crossing for over two weeks in solidarity with those gathering at the national capital, calling for an end to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions.

The protest ended shortly after the RCMP arrested the group that was charged with possessing firearms. The protest organizers said they were not affiliated with the group.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.