Smith under fire over leaked call

Talk with protester reveals Alberta premier discussed COVID charges ‘almost weekly’ with Crown

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, in a leaked cellphone call, commiserated with a COVID-19 protester about his trial while divulging to him there was an internal dispute over how Crown prosecutors were handling COVID-19 cases.

Smith also promised on the call to intervene as best she could on Artur Pawlowski’s behalf and said she was reminding prosecutors “almost weekly” about her concerns over pursuing such cases.

“I’m sorry to hear what they’re putting you through,” Smith is heard telling Pawlowski in the early January call, recorded on a cellphone video that was released Wednesday by the Opposition NDP.

“I’m very sympathetic. This is very frustrating to me,” the premier said. “We’ll see if we can revisit that this week.”

The call was made before the trial of the Calgary pastor in February for criminal mischief and a charge under Alberta’s Critical Infrastructure Defence Act. The charges relate to last year’s blockade at the Canada-United States border crossing at Coutts., Alta., over COVID-19 health rules.

NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir said the call was leaked to the party over the weekend. He said it’s clear evidence Smith breached what should be a sacrosanct firewall between politics and those who are charged and prosecuted. “What the premier is admitting here is she has been trying to get these people off in some way, and she has been calling Crown prosecutors. That’s her words,” Sabir said.

During the 11-minute call, Pawlowski told Smith he believed the prosecutor was seeking to thwart his defence by overwhelming his lawyers and draining his wallet.

Pawlowski alleged in the call that the move was orchestrated by Justice Minister Tyler Shandro.

On the call, Smith told Pawlowski that she doubted Shandro was involved.

“I doubt very much that this is being driven by the minister,” Smith said.

“Can you just leave this with me? And I will make that request one more time.”

Smith stressed to Pawlowski that she couldn’t offer clemency, that prosecutors are independent and that she is restricted to reminding them all cases must be winnable and in the public interest.

Smith told a news conference in February she had spoken to Pawlowski, but it was to advise him she could not grant him amnesty.

Smith issued a statement Wednesday: “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.”