Second Alberta lawyer charged after Manitoba judge followed

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This article was published 11/01/2023 (616 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A second Alberta lawyer has been charged after admitting he knew about a plan to spy on a Manitoba judge while he presided over a legal challenge to provincial public health restrictions that had been launched by a group of churches.

Lawyer (Randal) Jay Cameron, 45, of Calgary, was charged with intimidation of a justice system participant and attempt to obstruct justice, the Winnipeg Police Service announced Thursday.

Additional arrests are not anticipated, police said.

Cameron was released from custody by a judicial justice of the peace after the Calgary Police Service helped out with the Winnipeg police investigation.

In July 2021, Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Justice Glenn Joyal announced in court he had been followed.

Cameron had acted as litigation manager for the Alberta-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms and has no prior disciplinary history with the Law Society of Alberta.

Cameron has been charged with the same offences as lawyer John Carpay, founder of the justice centre, who was arrested late last year. Both lawyers are set to appear at a professional misconduct hearing Feb. 8 to 10.

The justice centre didn’t respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Carpay and Cameron apologized to Joyal during the special court hearing on July 12, 2021, which the judge had called to announce he knew he was being tracked and had “grave concerns” about the administration of justice.

Joyal was presiding over a case in which the justice centre was representing seven Manitoba churches that argued COVID-19 restrictions to limit gatherings violated their religious freedom.

During the hearing, Carpay admitted he had hired a private investigation firm to spy on the judge and senior Manitoba politicians to determine if they were abiding by the health orders.

At the time, Carpay said the surveillance of public officials was separate from the legal case, but he described his actions as “an error in judgment.”

“I care deeply about the administration of justice, including public perceptions, and I understand that there can be adverse impact on the administration of justice resulting from my decision. I wish to communicate that I have no reservations about your ability to decide this case, and the observation and surveillance of government officials is not intended in any way, shape or form, to influence an outcome in a court case,” Carpay said during the hearing.

Cameron knew a private investigator was following the judge before Joyal became aware of it, Cameron said during the hearing.

Justice officials around the country condemned the lawyers’ actions.

On Dec. 30, 2022, Carpay turned himself in to Calgary police after a Canada-wide warrant had been issued for his arrest. He spent 23 hours in a cell “sleeping on concrete, not sleeping very much,” Carpay said in a video statement posted to the justice centre’s website.

“In relation to this judge surveillance, I’m suddenly told a year and seven months later that there’s criminal charges, which I think is ridiculous after a year and seven months have gone by,” Carpay said in his statement.

However, the charges were laid after the Manitoba Court of Appeal reserved its decision, on Dec. 13, 2022, on the justice centre’s appeal of Joyal’s 2021 ruling. He rejected the churches’ arguments and determined that COVID-19 restrictions were legally valid and necessary to prevent the spread of the virus.

— With files from Dean Pritchard

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Katie May
Reporter

Katie May is a general-assignment reporter for the Free Press.

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