You can blame Jason Kenney, principal author of the United Conservative Government’s clown-show response to COVID-19, if Alberta’s many pandemic scofflaws manage to wiggle off the hook for their violations of public health restrictions, such as they were in this province.
Alberta Court of King’s Bench Justice Barbara Romaine ruled Monday in Calgary almost as an aside, since it didn’t go to the main point of her decision, that Mr. Kenney and his cabinet were breaching the Public Health Act themselves through the pandemic by making all the final decisions about how to respond to COVID-19.
Dealing with the defence by two individuals and one church that their fundamental Charter rights had been violated when they ignored public health measures imposed to mitigate the spread of COVID, Justice Romaine’s written judgment disposed of that argument.
She ruled that any infringements of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms were “amply and demonstrably justified” by the public health emergency.
But then she got to the matter of the ridiculous way Kenney’s COVID Cabinet imposed its will on the chief medical officer of heath, Deena Hinshaw, and declared that it was illegal. “Although, Dr. Hinshaw was maligned during the pandemic and afterwards as the symbol of the restrictions, she was not in fact the final decision-maker,” the judge wrote in her decision.
Now this doesn’t exactly come as a shocker, or even news beyond the fact that the obvious has been confirmed in writing by a judge. It was no secret Mr. Kenney’s Cabinet was giving the orders and Dr. Hinshaw was just walking them down the hall and trying to get that element of the public determined to defy them to pay attention.
The Public Health Act at the time was all but non-functional thanks to the machinations of Mr. Kenney and his cabinet. It should have been called the Public Politics Act, or maybe the Health Politics Act, as we swung wildly from restrictions to premature openings and back again.
All Dr. Hinshaw did, the judge found, was make recommendations. Mr. Kenney and his cabinet were the deciders. And whether or not the decisions they made were defensible – and if we cast our minds back to the chaotic, frightening days of the pandemic, it’s clear many of them were not – that was illegal.
Dr. Hinshaw was eventually fired for what she did manage to do by Premier Danielle Smith – a COVID conspiracy nut, quack cure enthusiast, and opportunistic vaccine opponent (who nevertheless got vaccinated herself). But during the Kenney Government, Justice Romaine found, the CMOH was qualified to do the job she was required by law to do.
Should Dr. Hinshaw have resigned? Well, that seems obvious from this perspective. But one supposes in such circumstances it’s easy to talk yourself into the idea that things would be even worse without you – and during the pandemic it’s possible that might have been true.
The fact that Dr. Hinshaw wasn’t allowed to call the shots may well result in COVID scofflaws getting off the hook without Premier Smith having to make a single phone call to her latest justice minister! (Poor old Pastor Art Pawlowski, on whose behalf the premier did improperly intervene, should never have given that speech at Coutts, getting himself in hot water under a whole different piece of legislation, the federal Criminal Code.)
One likes to think, though, that a CMOH who was “informed and well-qualified” (in Justice Romaine’s words) wouldn’t have promised in June 2021 that the upcoming summer was going to be The Best Summer Ever! (Readers will recall how it failed to live up to that promise.)
The CBC reported yesterday that the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service says it’s “reviewing the decision and assessing its potential implications.” One imagines that they’ll also be pretty busy reviewing Ms. Smith’s mandate letter to Justice Minister Mickey Amery and trying to figure out what the heck is with that “specialized prosecution unit to address deteriorating safety in Alberta’s major urban centres” he’s been instructed to come up with.
It’s hard to know, but from the point of view of promoting peace, good government and a modicum of social order, Justice Romaine’s ruling may be for the best.
The Q-adjacent base of the UCP can declare a victory without really having one, so we might get through 2023 without having to experience another trucker blockade or a dangerous rewrite of the Public Health Act.
As for requiring some action by the courts to ensure public health measures can be enforced in the future, that assumes that we’ll even have public health laws in this place when the Smith Government gets done reimagining a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada, as some wag in the legal drafting department put it not long ago.
History, though, needs to ensure Mr. Kenney wears this, and the Smith Government too, for which he laid the foundation and to which his ineptitude opened the door.
I don’t know about you but but I want my politicians playing politics, responding to public pressure, bending a little, doing the old double talk. That’s what they’re there for, that’s they’re job, not blinding following the dictates of some international regulatory agencies all in the name of the “public good.”
But that’s all water under the bridge. Let’s talk about the new pandemic treaty being proposed which will give the WHO even more dictatorial powers and turn our elected officials (who are spending a lot of time these days talking about our sacred democracy being under threat from foreign interference) into rubber stampers. Here’s British MP Danny Krueger outlying his concerns in the British Parliament.
https://youtu.be/5YG0teh8d_E
BWAHAHAHAHAHA, thanks again. You never disappoint!
Thanks.
Hinshaw decided to only make suggestions and not do her job. Strangely enough, despite not doing her job, she was not fired and banked a big fat “overtime” cheque at year end. Meanwhile, Kenney got to call the shots regarding Covid restrictions. Other than the thousands of poor unfortunate souls that perished and are still dieing from Covid, I believe these two would call it a win win.
I think Hinshaw is the definition of an enabler. Public health was NOT her priority. She’s a disgrace to the medical profession.
Well, isn’t that convenient?! Niccolo Machiavelli would have been so proud. Who was fooled by the puppet show? Not I.
Now the charges related to breaking Covid-related public health orders will likely be dropped, along with any under Jason Kenney’s unconstitutional Critical Infrastructure Defence. So much uselessness. What a legacy!
The individuals charged with Criminal Code offences at the Coutts border blockade will still have to face a judge The guilty verdict for mischief against the street preacher stands. At least someone had the wisdom in advance to use charges that would stick.
Say, how is that RCMP investigation of Jason Kenney coming along?
In other words, for a subset of the voting population their expectations have been wildly fulfilled, i.e.,, more pathos and bathos in the form of feedback loops, ideological monomania, and the crass political manipulation of a targeted audience [“COVID conspiracy nut(s), quack cure enthusiast(s), and opportunistic vaccine opponent(s)”]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFnYvgSiQQg&themeRefresh=1
Whither accountability and responsibility for the Conservative/UCP exploitation of a bewildered, sometimes hopeless, and anxious public? Where the normal version of accountability means being removed from the lens of scrutiny that is the public eye as the individual (former politician) moves through the revolving door into a private company (or multiple private companies as a “consultant”) and a salaried position(s) paying 6 or 7 figures.
Remember? Do the Federal policy weasel words also apply to their Provincial counterparts?:
2. Ministerial Accountability
“A fundamental component of Parliamentary government is ministerial accountability to Parliament. The Conservative Party is determined to enforce parliamentary principles of government accountability. We believe that ministers should continue to have authority and be accountable for the policies they implement and the administrative actions of their
departments.”
https://cpcassets.conservative.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/04094452/d1effca7a5c8818.pdf
Further, do the weasel words of the political weasels themselves have any legitimate meaning beyond some sort of deliberately deceptive semantic word play voodoo (“based on highly improbable suppositions, i.e., extremely implausible or unrealistic”) and/or legerdemain?
“Elected officials have a responsibility to Albertans, and Albertans should be able to hold those officials accountable throughout their term, not just at the ballot box.”–Jason Kenney, Premier
Or, more specifically and more bluntly,
“In an editorial, a physician and executive editor of medical journal The BMJ argues that politicians should be held accountable and prosecuted for botched responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. He believes that politicians and experts who were willing to allow tens of thousands of deaths in the name of achieving herd immunity or in the hope of propping up the economy are guilty of premeditated and reckless indifference to human life, which he terms ‘social murder’. The law remains one form of redress when citizens find no accountability among their leaders, he says.”
https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n314
Dead silence is the appropriate and natural response in this instance, the dead silence of ‘collateral damage’ and of the graveyard due to the “politicians and experts who were willing to allow tens of thousands of deaths in the name of achieving herd immunity or in the hope of propping up the economy.”
Just as in almost every other court in which this matter has been argued, Madam Justice Romaine’s ruling can be boiled down to the following essential point: the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms — unlike its counterpart south of the ‘Medicine Line’ — is not a mutual suicide pact. Rights and freedoms described therein may be limited or curtailed when necessary to preserve lives.
I mistakenly read Climenhaga’s piece.
I thought it was reporting not spewing his very own, very delusional, perspective.
Hopefully I am am not somehow subsidizing him.
Oh spare us your outrage. You knew exactly what you were getting into by reading David’s BLOG. He gave us factual information (with links to the ruling) and added his own observations on it. If you want the facts, read the ruling for yourself and then form your own opinion.Duh!
Haha… you wouldn’t be subsidizing DJC unless you are donating $$ to this website so at this point you’re just contributing drivel. By the way, you do realize that this is a blog and not a formal news service, right? Either way, I’m guessing that you get your news from a “real” site like Rebel, the Western Standard or X (whatever the hell they’re calling themselves this week).
Firth: It’s interesting how often readers who disagree with me act is if I were a professional media operation. It’s true, I do post more often than most bloggers, but it’s just me churning this stuff out. I can’t cover every single story. I take these complaints as an indictment of the media in Alberta, which is clearly barely making an effort to cover the major stories of the day most of the time. DJC
Drivel? That’s exactly what I was thinking of your “contributions”.
Haha what did I do to you, mate? I know it’s hard to read intent on the internet but c’mon, I think we’re playing for the same team here….
Don’t worry Martin, you aren’t. For your edification he’s not a reporter but an independent blogger who pays his own way with contributions from his readers. Be a good sport and pony up a few toonies.
That’s what happens when you’re ignorant and living in your own little bubble, trumper.
Sir, this is a Burger Baron.
When I audited the decision making process ,it was evident what was going down and messages of variance of different “regions” ,to correlate Steve Allen’s war with action on the ground even produced further questions of decision making ,fancy stuff going on in regions ,manufactured chaos ,
Further to that Dr Hinshaws office as others were informed of political swatting ,vessels and our community,including correlating Social media terror and war ,not sure if Dr.Hinshaw is as innocent as presented,most people would resign if sound decisions were altered at one’s professional expense ,Our community informed Dr Hinshaw she was either ,or and in conjunction with construction and assembly line terror ,as stated “everyone knows “
Can’t wait for Preston Manning report, certainly a Sasquatch video will be in it
Great ,now Albertans have to pay for manufacturing court processs and information laundering stuff ,ugh
The whole framework of Dr.Hinshaw was off on Steve Allen’s war room ,which is suspect in itself
Are we all equal under the laws or not? If trump can be indicted then its reasonable to expect that Kenney and his health ministers should too be held to account for breaking the law and causing the premature deaths of thousands of Albertans.
The ”excess deaths” and their families deserve Justice.
What’s to stops evil politicians from intentionally breaking the law if they’re above the law?
In order to understand the prevailing UCP under the, “dial a Dani talk show” government our electorate has elevated? You have to listen to their theme song three times! Then their logic will appear! In the flesh! https://youtu.be/fJ5DhH8KUZ4?t=2
I hadn’t seen this piece of Mickey Amery’s mandate letter: “specialized prosecution unit to address deteriorating safety in Alberta’s major urban centres”. As someone who walks daily in downtown Edmonton, I see the biggest safety hazard is pick-up trucks running red lights. Let’s have some traffic enforcement!
Simon: I plan to write more about this tomorrow. I agree with you strongly that pickup trucks and SUVs running lights are the biggest threat to public safety in downtown Edmonton. DJC
Wow. The UCP base decides to sue the UCP government for damages caused by the UCP cabinet and a UCP premier.
You just can’t make this stuff up anymore.
At this point there’s no reason the media should publish pandemic decisions or ethical breach verdicts or anything else related to UCP malfeasance. There will be zero accountability and, even more depressingly, zero consequences for our neofascist overlords. About as meaningful as taking a piss in the ocean.
DJC, on a side note, I can’t decide if this Chairperson fellow is running a foreign language through the world’s worst translation program or is a spam bot. Judging from the multiple posts and the non-sensical sentences I would guess the latter.
FoF
Firth: I have been wondering the same wonders. Hammer may have to fall soon. DJC
I wonder if Doctor Hinshaw’s thought process was, “I am the best person to be here not doing my lawful duties. If I resigned my position, someone else would take my place and not be as good at not doing the job.”
But can’t the UCP and its leadership do as they please, argue the UCP supporters? They are “duly elected” after all, just as Dani likes to preach to her base.
Can you imagine if the NDP broke the law in Alberta? There would have been cries of dictatorship and bolshevism in the press.
But when the UCP does it … crickets, crickets.
So, Deena Hinshaw has a medical degree, and a masters degree in public health. A qualified professional.
Both degrees from the University of Alberta.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw made covid-19 recommendations for the benefit of Albertans.
Recommendations to keep us healthy, and safe from exposure to a once in a century world wide health emergency.
Dr. Hinshaw made covid-19 recommendations to preserve our already underfunded and poorly managed healthcare system in Alberta.
That’s it.
That’s all Dr. Hinshaw did. Her job.
Then the UCP politicians undermined and overrode these recommendations, resulting in further chaos in healthcare.
Then a provincial court judge wrote a report that said, yup, the UCP politicians acted ‘illegally…’ when they ignored and overrode Dr. Hinshaw’s expert recommendations.
And nothing happens to the UCP politicians.
Absolutely nothing.
In fact, the UCP sweeps the rural and small town/city vote in the last provincial election two months ago.
Rural Alberta has a great need for healthcare.
Yet the few rural Albertans, who actually vote, have the least trust or tolerance for “outsiders”.
But they always have their “pride”.
And their Bibles.
And their relatives and children all move to the big city.
And they can’t, somehow, figure out why?
Deena Hinshaw had no chance against Kenney and health minister Shandro who were the two biggest bullies in the cabinet. Whenever there was a presser and it was important enough for Kenney to be there, he spoke first, then Shandro, and Hinshaw brought up the rear, unable to contradict her bosses. Then, when she rolled over and went along with Kenney’s “Best Summer Ever” she lost all her credibility after that.
Hello DJC and fellow commenters,
I’m not sure if ronmac’s referring to the proposed treaty is exactly on point. however, after considering the behaviour of the world Health organization in relation to covid-19, I would not want to have to follow its dictates. First, the WHO missed the significance of the warning signs of covid-19.
Second, an important consideration for the WHO as it saw the spread increasing was the potential economic impacts of decIaring a pandemic. important as the economy is, I don’t think that it outweighs the widespread loss of life that covid -19 created.
Third, the measures that the WHO recommended for some period of time were wholly inadequate to protect countries, including Canada.
Fourth, any pneumonia-like virus is likely to be spread by droplets in the air. This was studied and confirmed by Canadian researchers long before covid-19 was ever heard of.
Fifth, I remember hearing a voice clip of Theresa Tam on cbc news. She indicated that this new disease wasn’t very serious and person-to-person was unlikely. I immediately said that she was wrong and that it would spread. I am not a medical professional of any kind, but common sense and general knowledge of how respiratory diseases spread suggested that it could spread exactly as it did, through droplets in the air. Think tuberculosis, pneumonia, a cold etc. Also, having lived in Halifax, I was aware of how the chairman of the Halifax Board of Health, with the agreement of the Mayor of Halifax, who was a medical doctor, had shut down public spaces such as movie theatres, churches, schools etc. as needed during the Spanish flu in 2017. It was also recommended that everyone cover their mouth and nose if they were in the vicinity of someone else who was coughing/sneezing. There are photos of citizens wearing masks. Halifax and Dartmouth, along with some municipalities in the U S which made similar decisions, had a much reduced death rate.
Sixth, the WHO is politicized. Among other things, the WHO praised China for being upfront about covid-19, but China attempted to conceal the existence of the new pneumonia-like disease (later SARS CoV-2) including forcing Li Wenliang, the medical doctor who reported on it very early, to disavow what he had told his close associates. China subsequently attempted to conceal how widespread covid-19 was.
In view of the way covid-19 was handled by the WHO, I would hesitate to agree to follow the guidance of the WHO in the event there is a potentially serious widespread illness that might be a pandemic.
There are other aspects of a possible international agreement that likely would be helpful in a pandemic situation.
The UCP used Dr. Deena Hinshaw as a scapegoat, threw her under the bus, and she was given a big payout. Meanwhile, Albertans suffered with the worst Covid-19 case rates, nationwide, and even in the entire continent, due to the UCP’s lack of leadership. The UCP have rewarded Preston Manning $253,000 and gave him a $2 million expense account, just to see what kind of conclusions he can come up with in relation to how the UCP handled the whole affair. It will likely be a cover-up.