Calgary street pastor vows to ‘reveal the whole story’ about call with then-premier
Posted May 24, 2023 7:21 am.
Controversial Calgary pastor Artur Pawlowski is vowing to “reveal the whole story” about his phone call with then-Premier Danielle Smith in an Edmonton press conference Wednesday.
Pawlowski was convicted of mischief by a judge earlier this month in relation to his role in the Coutts border blockade.
He was also found guilty of breaching a release order.
At the Lethbridge trial, Crown prosecutors said Pawlowski’s impassioned speech to the truckers in Coutts fanned the flames of unrest and convinced them to stay at the border crossing for another two weeks in early 2022.
United Conservative Party (UCP) leader Danielle Smith has faced controversy surrounding her relationship with the case after a phone call between her and Pawlowski was made public.
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In a leaked video, Smith is heard saying that she had spoken to prosecutors “almost weekly” about the COVID-19 charges the pastor was facing.
The leader said publicly that the conversation shouldn’t come as a “shock,” saying she spent lots of time before and after her leadership “talking to hundreds of Albertans about COVID-related public-health orders.”
Smith’s involvement has been a significant issue on the campaign trail, as Alberta Election Day is just five days away.
On the day of the only leaders’ debate, the Alberta ethics commissioner found that the UCP leader violated the Conflict of Interest Act in her interaction with the province’s justice minister in relation to the charges against Pawlowski.
Margaret Trussler’s report, however, found no evidence Smith or members of her staff contacted Crown prosecutors, as alleged by the CBC.
The situation has been one of the core principles of the New Democratic Party’s campaign, with leader Rachel Notley saying on numerous occasions that the May 29 contest is about trust.
-With files from Alejandro Melgar and The Canadian Press
