Danielle Smith became the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) on Oct. 6, 2022 and Alberta Premier just a few days later.  She now continues as Premier after defeating NDP leader Rachel Notley in a May 2023 election.

Smith made comments in 2021 suggesting the police violated criminal law by enforcing COVID-19 measures.  The NDP made reference to the comments to discredit Smith, falsely implying that she didn’t support the police and that questioning their enforcement of COVID measures was a threat to the rule of law, ironic since the NDP has a history of bashing police and advocating they be defunded. On the contrary, Smith was quite right to criticize police for breaking the law, after all, they are not above the law.

Pointing out the Criminal Code violation to disrupt a religious service, Smith mused “whether or not those officers are the ones who broke the law doing so.” Smith asked, “Why isn’t someone taking a Criminal Code violation against Dr. Deena Hinshaw for authorizing this?” Hinshaw had been Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer since 2019 but was fired by Smith on November 14, 2022. Hinshaw’s removal was highly significant since it ended what amounted to medical dictatorship.

Grace Life Church had been fenced off after he repeatedly conducted services contrary to public health orders, arguing that Health Services and the RCMP contravened Criminal Code section 176, obstruction of a religious service. This argument was dismissed in a highly questionable ruling by a provincial court judge in 2021. So building a fence around a church doesn’t obstruct religious services?

his argument was dismissed in a highly questionable ruling by a provincial court judge in 2021. So building a fence around a church doesn’t obstruct religious services?

Danielle Smith deserves praise for raising the possibility that police may have breached the law during the COVID crisis but it’s important to consider that her comments were also designed to garner political support. Thus, it’s very unlikely that police will face criminal charges as a result of their actions. On the other hand, Smith deserves credit for firing Deena Hinshaw and for voicing the concerns of a majority of Albertans about police misconduct. That definitely helped her win the recent Alberta election.

To read the Edmonton Journal Article written by Lisa Johnson, click here