Alberta Party Leader Barry Morishita said cabinet ministers, including premiers, should be unable to interfere with the judicial system. .“This must be publicly investigated, any illegal or unethical behavior must be disclosed,” said Morishita in a Thursday tweet..“The premier must be held accountable for her actions.”.Morishita was commenting on a tweet from Mount Royal University political science professor Duane Bratt, who spoke about former Alberta justice minister Kaycee Madu being shuffled out of the portfolio for interfering in the judicial system. .“Now we have Premier (Danielle) Smith admit that she calls Crown prosecutors about particular cases,” said Bratt. .“This is a major problem.”.Smith backtracked Thursday on providing pardons to people who received COVID-19 tickets. .READ MORE: Smith backtracking on promise to seek pardons for COVID-19 health violators.“The way our system of justice works is that we do have an independent justice department and independent Crown prosecutors, and I have asked them to consider all charges under the lens of: is it in the public interest to pursue, and is there a reasonable likelihood of conviction," said Smith. .“I ask them on a regular basis, as new cases come out, is it in the best interest to pursue and is there a reasonable likelihood of conviction?”.The Alberta NDP called for an independent investigation into Smith’s interactions with Crown attorneys on Thursday. .READ MORE: Alberta Justice Department says Smith didn't reach into the Crown prosecution branch.“Smith’s actions undermine the rule of law and it is disturbing to see that she does not understand that,” said Alberta NDP MLA Irfan Sabir. .Alberta Justice assistant communications director Jason Maloney said Smith’s comments “reflect the prosecutorial standard and reflect the independence of Crown prosecutors to assess these factors.”
