OTTAWA (Reuters) – Alberta’s ethics commissioner is investigating whether Premier Danielle Smith interfered with the judicial process tied to the prosecution of an offence related to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement from the premier’s office on Monday.
“The premier welcomes this investigation, is fully cooperating with the commissioner, and is confident this examination will confirm there has been no such interference,” the statement said.
The premier’s statement did not provide more details of the investigation. The office of Alberta’s ethics commissioner did not respond to a request for comment.
The investigation adds to a series of controversies and resignations that political analysts say could undermine support for Smith’s ruling United Conservative Party (UCP) in an election in Alberta, Canada’s main oil-producing province, next month.
Polls show Alberta’s election, scheduled to take place no later than May 29, will be a tight two-way race between the UCP and left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP), led by Rachel Notley.
The NDP has called for an independent investigation after local media reported a leaked phone call in which Smith expressed sympathy with a Calgary pastor facing pandemic-related charges and said she would ask justice department officials about his case.
Smith has acknowledged speaking with the pastor, Artur Pawlowski, saying that conversation was among hundreds she had with “Albertans about COVID-related public health orders and violations.”
She denies any wrongdoing. In an earlier statement, the premier said she had her staff work with the Ministry of Justice to see if amnesty could be granted to people charged with non-violent, non-firearms COVID-related charges, and followed the ministry’s advice to stop pursuing the amnesty idea.
Pawlowski is facing charges related to COVID-19 protests in Canada last year, which included a weeks-long blockade of the Coutts border crossing into the United States from southern Alberta.
Smith became UCP leader and premier last October, replacing Jason Kenney, by appealing to grassroots UCP members in the traditionally conservative province.
(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa, editing by Deepa Babington)
