RAJESH ANGRAL

RAJESH

ANGRAL

Month: April 2023

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GLOBAL NEWS: “Danielle Smith was slammed for cancer misinformation before she became premier. She falsely said people could control their cancer so long as it’s before a Stage 4 diagnosis.”

A United Conservative Party candidate is suggesting heart attack victims should take more personal accountability.

Chelsae Petrovic, the UCP candidate for Livingstone-Macleod, who is also the current mayor of Claresholm and a nurse, said she sees people suffer from heart attacks and not take responsibility for the own health.

“This might be political suicide here, what I’m about to say,” she prefaced her comments during an interview in February with a podcast called The Canadian Story, hosted by David Parker and Zach Gerbe.

“We can look at this and I see it in health care, I’m going to say it: maybe the reason you had a heart attack was because you haven’t taken care of yourself; you’re extremely overweight, you haven’t managed your congestive heart failure, you haven’t managed your diabetes, and there’s no personal accountability,” Petrovic said.

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To end the UCP’s reign of chaos and fuel our campaign to victory, we need to outmatch the UCP’s deep-pocketed corporate donors again.

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The countdown is on as we prepare for the coming election in May!

The countdown is on as we prepare for the coming election in May! April 15 is Orange Saturday: a volunteer blitz across the province. Orange Saturday will mobilize more volunteers than ever before in this campaign.

Join your local team to knock on doors, make phone calls, and deliver literature to thousands of voters, province-wide! If this is your first time volunteering, sign up here and we’ll give you a call to connect you with your local team.

If it’s easier for you to engage from the comfort of your home, sign up here for the online phone bank – all you need is a connection to the internet to participate! 

Together, we can deliver a better future for Alberta! RSVP and share with your friends

  • Saturday April 15th
    1:00pm (Mountain time)

More Info: https://www.albertandp.ca/orange-saturday

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CBC NEWS: “In response to the account Smith offered on Saturday, NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir wondered why politics never came up if the phone call was ostensibly to discuss politics.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has delivered a new version of why she engaged in a controversial phone call with a Calgary street pastor in which they discussed his upcoming criminal case related to COVID-19 public health measures.

Smith told her weekly phone-in radio show Saturday that she took the call from Artur Pawlowski because she thought it was going to be in the context of his role as the leader of another political party.

She said when the discussion veered into Pawlowski’s court case, she simply reminded the former head of the Alberta Independence Party that she had tried to gain amnesty for COVID accused but was told by justice officials the cases must play out independently, and that she accepted that advice.

She also said she disagrees strongly with Pawlowski’s “extreme views.”

“When we talked, I thought we were talking in the context of him being a political party leader because [Pawlowski] was at the time the head of the Independence Party,” Smith told her Corus radio audience on her show Your Province Your Premier in response to a question from the host.

“It turned into a discussion about what I was doing with COVID amnesty.

“And I’ve been very clear about what I was trying to do with COVID amnesty. I campaigned [for the party leadership] on it. I said I would look into ways in which we might be able to address the non-violent, non-firearms-related, non-contempt-of-court-related charges.”

he 11-minute phone call took place in early January, weeks before Pawlowski went on trial on charges related to the 2022 protest at the U.S. border at Coutts, Alta., over COVID restrictions.

He was charged with breaching a release order and mischief for allegedly inciting people to block public property at the border crossing.

He was also charged under the Alberta Critical Infrastructure Defence Act with willfully damaging or destroying essential infrastructure.

The trial has ended but the judge has yet to render a verdict.

NDP justice critic responds

A recording of the pre-trial phone call was obtained by the Alberta New Democrats and played for media on March 29.

In response to the account Smith offered on Saturday, NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir wondered why politics never came up if the phone call was ostensibly to discuss politics.

“The entire call between Pawlowski and Smith is her describing her efforts to block these charges, either by weekly calls to prosecutors or her expressing her dissatisfaction to the attorney general and deputy attorney general,” said Sabir.

“This is yet another desperate move from Danielle Smith to distract from her attempt to block the prosecution of Pawlowski and others at Coutts.”

Sabir repeated a call for an expedited internal probe into the matter before Albertans go to the polls on May 29 for a provincial election.

Smith first publicly acknowledged that she had spoken with Pawlowski on Feb. 9 when asked about it at a news conference.

She answered at that time she had engaged in discussions with those facing COVID-related charges to tell them she had explored amnesty and that it was not possible. She did not say the Pawlowski discussion was supposed to have been about politics or that she had expected to be talking to him in his role as a party leader.

Considering defamation action

When the NDP released the call recording seven weeks later, Smith announced she would not discuss the issue publicly because she was considering defamation action and was acting on the advice of her lawyer.

Saturday’s explanation comes two days after reporters asked Smith whether the call with Pawlowski means her government has changed policy and that politicians were free to discuss active criminal cases with the accused.

Smith said there has been no policy change. She said it remains offside for politicians to discuss active court cases with accused, but her call with Pawlowski passed muster because it’s her job as an elected official to listen and act on concerns from members of the public.

Legal experts say the call was a clear violation of the firewall between politicians and the justice system to prevent politicians from getting a say in who gets charged and how.

They note while Smith is heard on the call reminding Pawlowski she can’t intervene directly, she also confides in him that she is questioning justice officials “almost weekly” about the cases.

On the call, Smith is also heard sharing details of an internal disagreement over Crown case strategy with Pawlowski. She promises to make inquiries on Pawlowski’s behalf and report back to him while also telling him the charges against him were politically motivated.

Controversial figure

She commiserates with Pawlowski when he accuses the Crown prosecutor in his case of a last-minute “document dump” of files which he said was aimed at frustrating his defence.

Legal experts have also said regardless of the context, Smith at the very least should have ended the call when Pawlowski raised the issue of his case.

Pawlowski is a controversial figure in Alberta for his high-profile, disruptive demonstrations against the LGBTQ community and COVID-19 health rules.

The Alberta Independence party announced it was parting ways with Pawlowski as leader late last month, saying their values no longer aligned.

On the January call, Smith is heard telling Pawlowski, “I’ve been watching your public advocacy for many years so it’s nice to connect with you.”

She struck a different tone on Saturday’s radio show.

“Obviously, Mr. Pawlowski holds some very extreme views that I disagree with completely,” she said.

Smith has faced questions about her involvement with prosecutors since telling the media in mid-January she regularly reminds Crown lawyers the cases can only be pursued if they are winnable and in the public interest.

She later walked those comments back, saying she didn’t talk to front-line prosecutors but only senior justice officials, as is proper. Her assertion is backed up by the Justice Department.

Since then, Smith has offered multiple, at times conflicting, explanations on who she talked to, what was discussed and when. She has said the talks were only about broad prosecution principles but has also said they were about issues related to the cases. She has stated the talks were ongoing and that the talks had ended.

On April 2, lawyers representing Smith sent a notice of defamation letter calling on the CBC to retract and apologize for a January story. The article alleged a member of her staff sent emails to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service challenging how it was handling court cases from the Coutts blockade.

While the CBC says it stands by its reporting, Smith has said a review found no evidence of contact between her office and the prosecution service.

That review has also featured conflicting statements from the Justice Department on how far back the search went on any emails between the department and Smith’s office.

Smith said her United Conservative Party, not the government, is paying for the lawsuit. Smith’s office and the party have declined to say why the party is paying.

Smith has long been critical of COVID-19 masking, gathering and vaccine mandate rules, questioning if they were needed to fight the pandemic. She has called them intolerable violations of personal freedoms.

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“We could take it one step further,” Smith continued. “If we establish the principle of Health Spending Accounts, then we can also establish co-payments.”

If it is an axiom of practical politics that you can never believe anything until it’s been officially denied, we now have confirmation Danielle Smith’s government is bent on privatizing health care in Alberta. 

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We knew this already, of course, so it doesn’t exactly qualify as news. 

Smith herself has said many things that clearly indicate she drank the Kool-Aid back in the 1990s, when she was an intern at the Fraser Institute, and believes firmly that health care fully belongs in the private sector.

The most persuasive recent example was her June 2021 (non) academic paper for the University of Calgary’s public-private (propaganda) partnership, the so-called School of Public Policy, wherein she asserted “we can no longer afford universal social programs that are 100 per cent paid by taxpayers,” and that includes public health care.

“Once people get used to the concept of paying out of pocket for more things themselves then we can change the conversation on health care,” she confidently wrote. 

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“But we could take it one step further,” Smith continued. “If we establish the principle of Health Spending Accounts, then we can also establish co-payments.”

Naturally, many Alberta voters will refuse to believe that Smith meant what she said, the traditional response to politicians who advocate really dangerous stuff. 

This may change, though, now that Health Minister Jason Copping has firmly denied there’s anything to the idea that privatizing delivery of health care means they’re privatizing health care.

After all, folks, we’re all mavericks out here in the New West, and if there’s one thing mavericks don’t trust, it’s official denials!

All kidding aside, Copping’s rather lengthy statement last week about “chartered surgical facilities” denying that these privately run, publicly subsidized surgical mini-hospitals are evidence that the United Conservative Party government is privatizing our public health-care system a piece at a time suggests that government has been doing some polling and is getting back a message that Albertans don’t exactly trust them on this file. 

“Chartered surgical facilities are part of our public health-care system,” Copping insisted. “These are surgeries paid for by the province, just like surgeries that happen in a hospital.”

“It is all one publicly funded system,” he said — sounding just a little plaintive in his press release.

“The benefits of chartered surgical facilities are many, including allowing the system to increase capacity overall,” Copping stated.

“With these facilities set up to handle more routine surgeries, they can complete a larger number than at hospitals alone. This also allows hospitals to handle more complex and urgent surgeries, which is exactly what they should be doing.”

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Alas, this is the stuff of the fantasies purveyed by the Fraser Institute, the Vancouver-based propaganda factory financed by the corporate sector to persuade us that the private sector is the answer to all our problems, even long surgical wait times. The Fraser Institute’s corporate funders, needless to say, are always looking for an opportunity to shove their boots in the door, so they can force it open a little wider until Smith’s dream of fully privatized health care is realized. 

You’re not going to increase capacity, of course, when there are limited numbers of health-care professionals — say, orthopedic surgeons — to go around. You’re just going to move the capacity from public hospitals to for-profit private hospitals staffed by surgeons who will lobby for more profitable opportunities. 

Somehow privatization advocates like Copping always forget to remind their listeners that even when they’re theoretically part of the public system, surgeries in private hospitals seem to end up costing more than the same surgeries did in public facilities — a decade ago it was about $500 more per surgery for hip and knee operations, and it’s almost certainly more now.

And when people like Smith wax poetic about the topic — “maybe moms would even be able to opt for longer stays to get used to the new life they are going to have with their baby, the way they used to at the Grace Hospital,” she rhapsodized in her University of Calgary essay — she didn’t mention what happens when a private clinic goes broke, as the one Ralph Klein’s government allowed to set up in the old Grace Hospital did. 

The public has to pay to clean up the mess is what happens — rather like Smith’s solution to oil industry pollution, come to think of it — and public hospitals have to pick up the slack, delaying other surgeries. 

As for dumping more complex and urgent surgeries on the public sector, that allows privatization advocates to falsely claim private hospitals are more efficient and better run than they are. 

Well, at least the UCP isn’t talking about letting surgeons do their own direct patient bookings — yet.

You can count on it, though, that this will soon be being talked up as a “cost-saving” measure, and surgeons will be yakking righteously about the right of patients to choose their own doctors. 

Research shows that’s when the system really goes to hell in a hand basket — when there’s actually an incentive for double-dipping doctors in private practice to prolong waits for their public-sector patients.

But I’ve said enough. We can now say with confidence that privatization is on the UCP’s agenda. After all, it’s been officially denied.  [Tyee]

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To end the UCP’s reign of chaos and fuel our campaign to victory, we need to outmatch the UCP’s deep-pocketed corporate donors again.

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CTV NEWS: “Danielle Smith says members of the Alberta legislature, including cabinet ministers, are not free to talk to accused people about their criminal court cases but her call to a man facing charges was OK.”

EDMONTON – 

Premier Danielle Smith says members of the Alberta legislature, including cabinet ministers, are not free to talk to accused people about their criminal court cases but her call to a man facing charges was OK.

Smith, asked Thursday whether her phone call to Calgary street pastor Artur Pawlowski represents a change in government policy, replied that the long-standing firewall separating politicians and the justice system remains in place.

“There’s no change of policy. The policy is what it has always been, that the Crown prosecutors and the judicial system operate independently,” Smith told reporters in Brooks, Alta., a city in her constituency of Brooks-Medicine Hat.

Smith reiterated that she did nothing irregular on the 11-minute call, which took place in early January concerning, Pawlowski’s looming trial related to the COVID-19 border protest at Coutts, Alta., in early 2022.

The call was leaked to the Opposition NDP, which played it for reporters more than a week ago.

On the call, Smith is heard telling Pawlowski the charges against him are politically motivated while offering to make inquiries on his behalf and report back to him.

Smith also shares details with him about internal disagreements over Crown strategy and commiserates with him when he accuses the Crown of trying to overwhelm his lawyers and drain his wallet through a late-day “document dump.”

Legal experts say the call was a clear violation of the democratic guardrail that keeps politicians from having a say in who gets charged and how cases are prosecuted.

Smith has said that she promised in her United Conservative Party leadership campaign last year to explore amnesty for people accused of violating COVID-19 health restrictions. She has also said that she was later advised by officials that her office did not have the power to grant amnesties, that the cases must play out independently and that she accepted that advice.

“My job as a politician is to consult with a broad range of people and raise their concerns and then ultimately, in this particular case, take the advice of my justice minister,” Smith said.

“The conversations I had with my justice officials took place several months ago. The court cases still haven’t come down. We’re still waiting.”

Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley told reporters in Calgary that Smith continues to dig a hole for herself on the issue.

“What we heard from the premier today is that she was actually given advice by justice officials to stay out of the court and justice process with respect to a whole range of people who had been charged,” Notley said.

“Having been given that advice, (Smith) decided she was above the law and she did in fact engage. She engaged directly.”

Notley noted Smith was also heard on the call advising Pawlowski she was regularly questioning justice officials about their pursuit of cases relating to violations of COVID-19 restrictions.

Last Saturday, on her call-in radio show, Smith declined to answer when asked if she regrets the call with Pawlowski, saying that she has lots of conversations with people and was surprised the call with Pawlowski was recorded.

At a news conference earlier this week, Smith announced that because she is contemplating a lawsuit, she will stay silent on the advice of her lawyer.

A notice of defamation letter sent from lawyers on behalf of Smith calls on the CBC to retract and apologize for a January story. The story stated a member of her staff sent emails to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service challenging how it was handling court cases from the Coutts blockade.

Smith has said a review found no evidence of contact between her office and the prosecution service. The CBC has said it stands by its reporting.

The notice of defamation letter gives the CBC until April 28 to retract its article and apologize or face potential legal action, which could be days before a writ drop for the provincial election, expected May 29.

Smith has long been critical of COVID-19 masking, gathering and vaccine mandate rules, questioning whether the measures were needed to fight the pandemic.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2023.

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GLOBAL NEWS: “They say the premier’s actions are a violation of the democratic firewall separating politicians from court cases and that Smith’s strategy to stay silent and threaten to sue media ensures the controversy will be alive.”

Premier Danielle Smith must explain to Albertans why she discussed a criminal case with the accused before his trial, whether she still believes such calls are OK and whether she will continue to have these conversations, legal experts and political scientists say.

They say the premier’s actions are a violation of the democratic firewall separating politicians from court cases and that Smith’s strategy to stay silent and threaten to sue media ensures the controversy will be alive for the upcoming election campaign.

Smith has declined to answer questions from reporters surrounding a phone conversation in which she offered to help Calgary street pastor Artur Pawlowski in his criminal case related to the COVID-19 protest at the Canada-United States border crossing at Coutts, Alta., in early 2022.

Video of the conversation, also posted on Pawlowski’s YouTube page titled “January 26, 2023,” documents the roughly 11-minute conversation between the two. That previously-unlinked video has since been made private.

In the call, Smith discussed the disposition of other cases with Pawlowski.

She revealed to him internal government disagreements over case strategy, commiserated with him that he was being treated unfairly by the prosecutor through a late-day “document dump” and told him the charges against him were politically motivated.

“There’s no universe in which any of that information can or should be conveyed to an individual caught up in the criminal justice system by the highest elected official in government,” said law professor Eric Adams with the University of Alberta.

“(Smith) has yet to go on the record to admit that this was an error that shouldn’t happen and can’t be repeated.

“If she remains of the view that these kinds of calls with (individuals) caught up in the criminal justice system are appropriate, I remain deeply concerned about the state of the rule of law in the province.”

TWEET THISCLICK TO SHARE QUOTE ON TWITTER: “IF SHE REMAINS OF THE VIEW THAT THESE KINDS OF CALLS WITH (INDIVIDUALS) CAUGHT UP IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM ARE APPROPRIATE, I REMAIN DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE STATE OF THE RULE OF LAW IN THE PROVINCE.”

Law professor Steven Penney said it’s a “clear violation” for a premier to discuss court cases involving the government with those charged, as it breaches the democratic guardrail precluding politicians from having any say in whether people are charged or how their cases would be prosecuted.

Penney, with the University of Alberta, said a premier can direct the justice system, but only at a broad policy level.

“The idea that the premier or members of her staff or anyone else in the political branches of government could make contact with prosecutors or with accused persons, speaking directly about their cases, providing them with information, advice or seeking to intervene on their behalf in an individual case — that just very, very clearly crosses the line,” he said.

“I’ve never seen any principled defence of that or a rationale for why we would we would want that in our (justice) system.”

TWEET THISCLICK TO SHARE QUOTE ON TWITTER: “I’VE NEVER SEEN ANY PRINCIPLED DEFENCE OF THAT OR A RATIONALE FOR WHY WE WOULD WE WOULD WANT THAT IN OUR (JUSTICE) SYSTEM.”

Smith’s response to the controversy has been to repeat that she has never spoken directly with prosecutors about cases, which has been backed up by prosecutors and the Justice Department.

On Saturday, on her Corus Entertainment call-in radio show, Smith declined to answer when asked if she regrets the call with Pawlowski, saying that she has lots of conversations with people and was surprised the call with Pawlowski was recorded.

At a news conference Monday, Smith announced that because she is contemplating a lawsuit, she will stay silent on the advice of her lawyer.

A notice of defamation letter sent from lawyers on behalf of Smith calls on the CBC to retract and apologize for a January story.

The story stated a member of her staff sent emails to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service challenging how it was handling court cases from the Coutts blockade.

Smith has said a review found no evidence of contact between her office and the prosecution service. The CBC has said it stands by its reporting.

The notice of defamation letter gives the CBC until April 28 to retract its article and apologize or face potential legal action, which would be just days before an expected writ drop for the provincial election, expected May 29.

Smith said her United Conservative Party, not the government, is paying for the lawsuit.

Political scientist Duane Bratt said the silence and legal threat is a risky political strategy, given questions will still be asked about what happened.

He said the premier may see it as the best plan in a slate of bad options.

“How do you explain this phone call?” said Bratt, with Mount Royal University in Calgary. “(Does Smith say), `I told (Pawlowski) what he wanted to hear?’ That’s not a good answer.

“Or (does Smith say), `I needed (Pawlowski’s) help in winning the (UCP) leadership?’ That’s not a good answer.

Bratt said Smith must also explain the contradiction of not speaking about why she talked to someone whose case is before the courts, because she is contemplating related action that may be before the courts.

Pawlowski’s trial was heard in Lethbridge, Alta., in early February and the judge has yet to render a verdict.

Political scientist Jared Wesley said by deciding to stay silent, Smith has not put the issue to rest. The debate can be steered by others in ways she might not want it to go, he said.

“It’s naive to think that this won’t make things worse, because there’s now only one narrative out there and it’s not the government putting the narrative out there, it’s everybody else,” said Wesley, with the University of Alberta.

The solution, he said, is to confront it head on.

In 2019, former premier Jason Kenney was in a similar position says before a writ drop. He was forced to react to allegations that his team had surreptitiously worked with a third candidate in the UCP leadership race to undermine Kenney’s main rival, Brian Jean.

Kenney held a news conference and took question after question until reporters ran out of questions. A month later, he won a majority government.

“That is how you solve a political crisis of the magnitude that Danielle Smith is facing: you step in front of the cameras, you answer every question forthrightly until there’s no questions left,” Wesley said.

“You don’t put it behind you by failing to answer questions. It just raises more questions.

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“I really want to be part of the building team looking towards an Alberta that is vibrant, exciting and better for the Albertans that call it home today and the ones we have in the future moving here.”

The election race just north of the Yellowhead Highway is getting interesting.

A familiar name has entered the provincial election in the Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville race as the New Democrats announced this week that Taneen Rudyk has been acclaimed as a candidate after no names came forward to run against her in the nomination. 

“It simplifies things, and I’m really excited to get out and meet folks and find out what is keeping them up at night and what is important to them,” explained Rudyk. 

Rudyk is no stranger to public service as she has served on Vegreville Town Council since 2010 and just finished her term as president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. 

“I’ve been considering this for a while but the timing, with my responsibilities in other forays and the timing seemed to be right, right now,” Rudyk said. “I had a commitment with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and with a large board and a large mandate, I wanted to remain true to both the commitments I made as well as the vision I have.”

“I’ve spent a good portion of my life being interested in politics in every fashion and this just seems like a natural progression. The timing is perfectly poised when Alberta is at a point of really taking a different direction than it currently is on if we’re not careful and I really want to be part of the building team looking towards an Alberta that is vibrant, exciting and better for the Albertans that call it home today and the ones we have in the future moving here,” she added.

Now that that commitment is done, Rudyk said she wants to add her voice to shaping the province. 

“What I’m hearing people say is that they are looking for caring, competent stability in leadership and I have worked hard to be able to represent interests of my community to other orders of government and bringing different voices to the table to result in action,” Rudyk said. “Being able to speak to people about affordability, health care and ensuring they have a future they’re excited about is something I’ll bring to this race and the position of MLA.”

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CALGARY HERALD: “Premier Danielle Smith must explain to Albertans why she discussed a criminal case with the accused before his trial, whether she still believes such calls are OK and whether she will continue to have these conversations.”

EDMONTON — Premier Danielle Smith says members of the Alberta legislature, including cabinet ministers, are not free to talk to accused people about their criminal court cases but her call to a man facing charges was OK.

EDMONTON — Premier Danielle Smith says members of the Alberta legislature, including cabinet ministers, are not free to talk to accused people about their criminal court cases but her call to a man facing charges was OK.

“There’s no change of policy. The policy is what it has always been, that the Crown prosecutors and the judicial system operate independently,” Smith told reporters in Brooks, Alta., a city in her constituency of Brooks-Medicine Hat.

Smith reiterated that she did nothing irregular on the 11-minute call, which took place in early January concerning, Pawlowski’s looming trial related to the COVID-19 border protest at Coutts, Alta., in early 2022.

The call was leaked to the Opposition NDP, which played it for reporters more than a week ago.

On the call, Smith is heard telling Pawlowski the charges against him are politically motivated while offering to make inquiries on his behalf and report back to him.

Smith also shares details with him about internal disagreements over Crown strategy and commiserates with him when he accuses the Crown of trying to overwhelm his lawyers and drain his wallet through a late-day “document dump.”

Legal experts say the call was a clear violation of the democratic guardrail that keeps politicians from having a say in who gets charged and how cases are prosecuted.

Smith has said that she promised in her United Conservative Party leadership campaign last year to explore amnesty for people accused of violating COVID-19 health restrictions. She has also said that she was later advised by officials that her office did not have the power to grant amnesties, that the cases must play out independently and that she accepted that advice.

On the call, Smith is heard telling Pawlowski the charges against him are politically motivated while offering to make inquiries on his behalf and report back to him.

Smith also shares details with him about internal disagreements over Crown strategy and commiserates with him when he accuses the Crown of trying to overwhelm his lawyers and drain his wallet through a late-day “document dump.”

Legal experts say the call was a clear violation of the democratic guardrail that keeps politicians from having a say in who gets charged and how cases are prosecuted.

Smith has said that she promised in her United Conservative Party leadership campaign last year to explore amnesty for people accused of violating COVID-19 health restrictions. She has also said that she was later advised by officials that her office did not have the power to grant amnesties, that the cases must play out independently and that she accepted that advice.

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Notley noted Smith was also heard on the call advising Pawlowski she was regularly questioning justice officials about their pursuit of cases relating to violations of COVID-19 restrictions.

Last Saturday, on her call-in radio show, Smith declined to answer when asked if she regrets the call with Pawlowski, saying that she has lots of conversations with people and was surprised the call with Pawlowski was recorded.

At a news conference earlier this week, Smith announced that because she is contemplating a lawsuit, she will stay silent on the advice of her lawyer.

A notice of defamation letter sent from lawyers on behalf of Smith calls on the CBC to retract and apologize for a January story. The story stated a member of her staff sent emails to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service challenging how it was handling court cases from the Coutts blockade.

Smith has said a review found no evidence of contact between her office and the prosecution service. The CBC has said it stands by its reporting.

The notice of defamation letter gives the CBC until April 28 to retract its article and apologize or face potential legal action, which could be days before a writ drop for the provincial election, expected May 29.

Smith has long been critical of COVID-19 masking, gathering and vaccine mandate rules, questioning whether the measures were needed to fight the pandemic.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2023.