Article content material
The Courtroom of Queen’s Bench reserved its choice Friday in a courtroom problem looking for to quash the UCP authorities’s inquiry into alleged foreign-funded campaigns focusing on Alberta’s power sector.
Justice Karen Horner mentioned she hopes to situation a “well timed” ruling previous to the Might 31 deadline set for inquiry commissioner Steve Allan to submit a report of his findings to the federal government.
Horner heard arguments all through the course of the two-day digital listening to from environmental legislation agency Ecojustice, which sued the federal government in November 2019 to problem the inquiry’s legality, in addition to from representatives of the province and Allan.
Ecojustice submitted that the inquiry was commissioned “for improper, political functions,” that the train is “tainted by an affordable apprehension of bias,” and that it explores issues exterior provincial jurisdiction.
The federal government’s attorneys mentioned the UCP cupboard established the inquiry for causes of public curiosity and that it isn’t designed to focus on a selected group or observe a selected route.
Commercial
This commercial has not loaded but, however your article continues under.
Article content material
On Friday, Allan’s lawyer, David Wachowich, refuted Ecojustice’s submission that earlier political donations by Allan to former justice minister Doug Schweitzer and the UCP proved the presence of a bias.
Wachowich known as that proof “incomplete” and “cherry-picked.” He mentioned Allan disclosed additional correspondence and donations from 2015 to 2019, previous to his appointment as commissioner of the inquiry, which demonstrated contributions throughout the political spectrum and at different ranges of presidency.
He mentioned Allan’s money and time have been devoted up to now to causes associated to Calgary’s financial technique, homelessness, poverty discount and psychological well being, amongst others.
Allan, who served as board chair of Calgary Financial Improvement when he was appointed to his position with the inquiry, was primarily involved with Calgary flood mitigation points in his correspondence with Schweitzer previous to the minister’s election to workplace in 2019, Wachowich mentioned.
“You see in these emails Mr. Allan’s constant devotion of time to issues of group curiosity,” Wachowich instructed the courtroom, including Allan’s efforts to help with Schweitzer’s political ambitions “come late” within the disclosed paperwork.
“This isn’t a biased Calgary skilled with an agenda,” he mentioned. “It is a laudable citizen.”
All through his submissions, Wachowich in contrast the inquiry to a ship that has set sail, on the route of the federal government, with Allan as its captain. Simply as that captain can be directed to survey a shoreline and report again, he mentioned, Allan should make findings of reality for a “particular public curiosity objective.”
Commercial
This commercial has not loaded but, however your article continues under.
Article content material
Wachowich mentioned the courtroom should decide the legality of the inquiry given the present trajectory of the ship, moderately than its authentic phrases of reference established in July 2019, which can have since been altered.
“(Allan)’s figuring out a extra slim shoreline for his ship … than he may in any other case have,” Wachowich mentioned. “There are components of that shoreline that he might need acknowledged would have in truth left the inquiry in a harder place.”
The courtroom additionally heard from a consortium of interveners in assist of the inquiry, together with the Indian Useful resource Council, the Explorers and Producers Affiliation of Canada and Calgary businessman W. Brett Wilson.
Lawyer Maureen Killoran mentioned the consortium represents “individuals and organizations who need to see this inquiry proceed and certainly are relying on it.”
“It’s vital for this courtroom to say, ‘Who isn’t within the courtroom at present?’ For each occasion that challenges a authorities choice, there are numerous different members of the general public who assist it and who’re relying on the choice to be executed,” she mentioned.
“My shoppers need to know if there’s any reality to those allegations. What are the information? Is there interference of their business, of their livelihood? And in that case, by whom and for what objective?
“The solutions to those questions and the findings of the inquiry might inform our provincial authorities.”
In his rebuttal submissions, Ecojustice lawyer Barry Robinson mentioned “the whole lot left within the wake of Mr. Allan’s ship … is tainted by an affordable apprehension of bias.
Commercial
This commercial has not loaded but, however your article continues under.
Article content material
“These waves have already hit the shore and can’t be remedied and due to this fact are void,” he mentioned.
Robinson mentioned the query isn’t whether or not Allan is a “good public citizen,” however whether or not a fairly knowledgeable bystander may establish separation between Allan and the UCP and consider the commissioner as unbiased and neutral within the inquiry.
He mentioned that’s not the case.
However Wachowich mentioned no proof offered “hyperlinks Mr. Allan with any specific particular plank within the UCP platform” or suggests he has a pre-determined view of the difficulty at hand.
He mentioned the inquiry ought to be topic to judicial assessment solely as soon as Allan “returns again to house port with an account of his travels to the individuals.”
“Mr. Allan urges that this courtroom enable his ship to proceed to sail to the redirected shoreline, charted with the advantage of his interpretation, to reach at port on or earlier than Might 31, 2021, with a submission of ultimate report back to the minister,” Wachowich mentioned.
shudes@postmedia.com
Twitter: @SammyHudes
