Alberta lawyer faces Manitoba law society hearing

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This article was published 03/10/2022 (812 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A lawyer who hired a private investigator to follow a Manitoba judge is scheduled to appear before a Law Society of Manitoba hearing panel in February.

John Carpay, an Alberta lawyer and president of the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, admitted in the summer of 2021 to hiring a private detective to see if Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal was personally following COVID-19 public health orders.

At the time, Joyal was presiding over a constitutional challenge brought by Carpay’s organization, arguing charter protections should make Manitoba churches exempt from public health restrictions.

A note under upcoming discipline hearings on the law society website states Carpay faces professional misconduct charges of: failure to treat court with candour, fairness, courtesy and respect; undermining the public respect for the administration of justice; and breach of integrity.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms referred the Free Press to a statement on posted on its website in June, saying the centre anticipated the Law Society of Manitoba “will announce a decision in the coming weeks or months as to what sanctions or penalty will be assessed against Mr. Carpay.” The statement noted Carpay “admitted his error to the Manitoba Law Society.”

Carpay’s lawyer and the Law Society of Manitoba did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Tuesday.

In July 2021, Joyal discovered he was being followed while he ran errands in Winnipeg and that someone was sent to his home. When he raised the matter with lawyers in the constitutional challenge case, Carpay admitted he was responsible for hiring the investigator.

Carpay said the private investigation was separate from the legal case but apologized to the judge, calling it an “error in judgment.”

Afterwards, complaints were lodged with police and the Law Society of Manitoba. Carpay took a seven-week leave of absence and returned to his role as president in August 2021.

Joyal dismissed the legal challenge in October 2021, ruling the health orders were not unconstitutional or undemocratic.

Carpay’s hearing is set for Feb. 8-10. Such hearings are open to the public, unless the panel orders otherwise.

katrina.clarke@freepress.mb.ca