Two former Progressive Conservative justice ministers and nearly 30 other lawyers are denouncing Alberta’s UCP government for what they say are self-serving legal manoeuvres and “unacceptable” attacks on the justice system.
In a letter published this week in a newspaper in Camrose, the lawyers wrote they felt a professional responsibility to “point out things that we think are wrong or anti-democratic.”
The letter covers the government’s invocation of the Charter’s notwithstanding clause four times last fall and its retroactive rule changes that pushed a petition for an Alberta separation referendum forward. Those rule changes also stripped the province’s chief electoral officer of much of his decision-making authority over such petitions.
Among the signers are former justice ministers Ken Rostad and Verlyn Olson.
Olson, who served as Alberta’s top lawyer under former premier Ed Stelmach before being shifted to agriculture under Alison Redford following the 2012 election, aligned the government’s moves with authoritarianism.
“We do not want an authoritarian government,” said Olson, whose Progressive Conservative party saw current Premier Danielle Smith cross the floor to join their ranks more than a decade ago.
“I think all you have to do is look a little ways south to see what happens when you get an authoritarian government that does not think it is bound by the normal rules that a democracy operates by.”
Olson said he didn’t speak for all signatories, but said the letter was a cross-partisan statement.
“There’s lots of stuff that we who lent our names to this letter wouldn’t agree with each other on,” he said.
“We have to think beyond our own political interests here. We’re talking about the structure of a democracy and how for it to be a healthy democracy, there have to be checks and balances.”
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He said the group decided to speak out after a Christmas party last month, as “it seemed like the same thing was on all of our minds.”
In their letter, the lawyers take issue with Smith publicly criticizing the courts and claiming recently that appointed judges were unable to make impartial decisions.
“An unelected judge is not synonymous with democracy. Democracy is when elected officials who have to face the electorate every four years get to make decisions,” Smith said on her call-in radio show in December.
The premier’s comments came after an Alberta judge criticized her government for changing the rules to permit a petition for a separation referendum to move ahead, despite a court case reviewing the legality of the question under the previous referendum rules nearly complete.
The judge eventually ruled the old framework prohibited such a referendum, but Smith said the petitioner, who is a constituency association president for her United Conservative Party, shouldn’t be held back by “gatekeepers” like the courts.
The lawyer’s letter said “politicians should treat our courts with respect and not exert political pressure on them or try to undermine their legitimacy.”
“In a democracy, we don’t always get our own way, but for it to function, there must be clear rules that are fair to all and can’t be changed on a whim for a political expedience,” the letter reads.
Those behind the push for a referendum on Alberta separation began collecting signatures earlier this month.
Olson said another key concern for him is the government’s recent move to shield past, current and future justice ministers from being sanctioned for actions taken as part of their official duties by the provincial law society.
Two of Olson’s successors have been sanctioned for inappropriate conduct, although one, Kaycee Madu, is appealing the decision.
A third former justice minister since Olson left the post was found not guilty of wrongdoing in 2024.
“We expect the law society to hold everybody to a high standard,” Olson said. “It’s just counterintuitive to say: ‘except for the guy who is the justice minister, he doesn’t have to be held to those standards.’”
“Nobody should be above the law.”
Current Justice Minister Mickey Amery told reporters last month the move was needed to protect the role from “political activism” and interference.
Amery’s press secretary, Heather Jenkins, reiterated that point Tuesday, saying in an email that justice ministers need to be free to make decisions for the benefit of Albertans.
“The attorney general must be free to perform official duties in the public interest without fear of facing politically motivated complaints from special interest groups who disagree with government policies,” she said.
Responding to the letter signed by Olson, Amery said in an email Tuesday that the government is committed to passing legislation that strengthens public trust and ensures Alberta’s democratic processes are fair.
“This includes using all legal means necessary to keep Albertans safe and to protect the rule of law,” he said.
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