CBC News 'regrets' publishing a report that claimed someone in Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's office had contacted the Crown's office to interfere with the case of people charged at the Coutts border blockade..However, the CBC didn't apologize.."An earlier version of this story, published on January 19, referred to emails allegedly sent by a staffer in Danielle Smith's office to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service. Based on testimonies by confidential sources, CBC News at the time described those emails as challenging prosecutors' assessment and direction on cases stemming from the Coutts border blockades and protests," CBC News posted in an editor's note on Wednesday.."An editor's note was added the following day to specify that CBC News had not seen the emails. On May 18, Alberta's Ethics Commissioner Marguerite Trussler released a report that included an investigation of an allegation published by CBC that a member of the premier's staff emailed a Crown prosecutor about a case before the courts.".The editor's note claimed Trussler reported that she found "no evidence of such an email."."Adding she can only come to the conclusion, based on the evidence that she has, that 'no Crown prosecutor was emailed directly about any of the cases.' At the same time, Trussler found that Danielle Smith had contravened the Conflicts of Interest Act in an interaction with the Minister of Justice and Attorney General in relation to Coutts charges, for which Smith has since apologized," the editor's note reads.."After the Ethics Commissioner's report was released, CBC News reviewed its journalism and re-interviewed a number of sources and parties to the matter. Confronted with the Commissioner's report, our sources have insisted that Crown prosecutors felt political pressure regarding the Coutts cases, but they are not able to confirm that the emails they originally described were sent directly from the premier's office to the Crown," CBC News stated.."As such, we have updated this story and related pieces, removing references to direct contact between the premier's office and prosecutors – which the premier has vehemently denied. CBC News regrets reporting direct contact by email.".Legal counsel for Smith months ago sent a clear message to CBC News, retract false information published and apologize by the end of April or get sued..The Western Standard obtained a letter titled "Notice of Defamation – CBC – "Danielle Smith discussed COVID charges 'almost weekly' with justice officials, according to leaked call", dated March 29, 2023 (the "Article")" that was hand-delivered to Mr. Brodie Fenlon at CBC News by legal counsel for the premier..Fenlon is the editor-in-chief and executive director of programs and standards for CBC News..READ MORE: Smith gives CBC an ultimatum — retract and apologize by end of April or get sued."We are counsel to the premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith. We write with respect to the Article noted above and related recent CBC News articles and broadcasts, which transparently seek to sensationalize allegations already fully addressed by the premier and resuscitate a false and defamatory narrative against the premier, her office, Alberta Crown prosecutors, and the administration of justice in Alberta," Munaf Mohamed from Bennett Jones said in the letter.."The premier has openly voiced her concerns with charges related to COVID-19 violations. Consistent with those expressed concerns, in January, the premier publicly accounted for the appropriate contact that has occurred between her office and Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro and Deputy Justice Minister Frank Bosscha about these cases.".Mohamed said the premier has repeatedly and publicly confirmed that the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service operates independently of government and political interests, including concerning COVID-19-related prosecutions..On January 9, in an article entitled "Alberta premier's office contacted Crown prosecution about Coutts cases: sources" the CBC reported unsourced and unfounded allegations of direct interference between the premier's office and prosecutors, including that:.In Fall 2022, a staffer in the Premier's office "sent a series of emails to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, challenging prosecutors' assessment and direction on cases stemming from the Coutts border blockades and protests"The premier's conduct was "improper on so many levels – it's pure interference with Crown independence"Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro and his staff "were not involved in the emails sent" and had been "trying to reinforce the independence of prosecutorial decisions for months".Mohamed said in the letter the CBC later revised the Email Article to admit that it had not seen any "emails"..READ MORE: Smith demands apology from CBC over Crown emails story."This was irresponsible reporting by the CBC, presumably to sensationalize a political narrative," Mohamed said.."In response to these serious allegations, Alberta Justice conducted a four-month search of all ingoing, outgoing, and deleted emails and confirmed there was no evidence of any contact between the premier's office and any prosecutor about any COVID-19 related prosecution, directly contrary to what your organization reported to the public.".Mohamed said the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service also confirmed that it "fully cooperated with the independent and comprehensive review of ACPS emails conducted by the non-partisan Alberta Public Service" and that the review "found no evidence of contact between the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service (ACPS) and the Premier’s Office regarding prosecutions."."It further noted, and we agree, that 'continued suggestions of impropriety without evidence are not warranted' and "[t]his unsubstantiated speculation harms the reputation of the ACPS" and professionals who carry out their duties independently and to the highest ethical standards in service to Albertans," Mohamed said to CBC News in the letter..READ MORE: Smith claims no knowledge of staffer emailing Coutts Crown.Mohamed said with the CBC story now demonstrably baseless, the premier and her office demanded a retraction and an apology from the CBC, including an apology to Alberta Crown prosecutors, for the harm done to individual reputations and Alberta's justice system.."In another article dated January 27, entitled 'CBC News stands by Coutts story despite a statement from Danielle Smith's office', on behalf of the CBC, you refused to retract the Email Article, refused to apologize, and refused to disclose or corroborate the sources for the CBC's unfounded allegations," Mohamed said.."Nearly two months later, apparently seeing a need to revive a manufactured controversy, the CBC now again blatantly ignores the premier's prior statements and recasts the harmful and defamatory narrative of unlawful interference and deceit by the premier and her office.".READ MORE: Notley says there must be a judicial review of Smith's "interference" in ongoing criminal cases.Mohamed claims the defamatory nature of the CBC story is transparent.."On its face, based on a phone call that the premier herself described to Albertans months ago, the Article states that the Premier has improperly discussed specific pandemic-related prosecutions with justice officials," Mohamed said.."Among other defamatory statements and innuendo, the CBC story also reports that the premier and other Alberta officials have therefore misled Albertans: "The call reveals that her conversations with top Alberta Justice officials about pandemic-related prosecutions were more frequent and specific than she has admitted publicly" (emphasis added).".Mohamed told CBC, at best, "these defamatory statements (now repeated in countless other news broadcasts and publications online and in print) baldly allege that the premier has lied to the public about appropriate contact with a minister in her government about COVID-19 related prosecutions."."At worst, the Article as a whole implies that the Email Article has been proven right and that the premier has politically influenced individual prosecutions, but with not one 'email' in sight, apparently through a conspiracy on the part of the premier of Alberta and her office with the office of the Alberta justice minister and Alberta Crown prosecutors," Mohamed said.."These defamatory statements are known by the CBC to be completely false. As confirmed by the premier in the very phone call now newly leveraged by the CBC, the course of COVID-19 prosecutions is not a political decision.".Mohamed told the CBC, Smith stands by her previous statements and will not allow the CBC to inaccurately portray her open engagement on an issue of public importance to sensationalize a news story and further the CBC's agenda..On behalf of the premier, her legal counsel demanded that the CBC immediately:.Retract the Article and remove it completely from publication on the CBC website and any other related online platforms and broadcasts, including social media; andPublish an apology and correction online and in its news broadcasts (published in the first part of the week with a similarly sized headline and online placement), informing readers that it has no evidence of dishonesty or direct contact between the Premier (or anyone in her office) and Alberta Crown prosecutors about any specific COVID-19 related prosecutions.."Should you fail to comply with this request by Friday, April 28, the premier will take such further legal action as may be advised. We hereby provide notice of our client's intention to bring an action against the CBC, as may be required under the Defamation Act, RSA 2000, D-7," Mohamed said.."Absent an apology, retraction and correction from the CBC, the premier will not be commenting further on this matter."
