Danielle Smith calls on CBC to retract report saying she talked with prosecutors

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is calling on the CBC to retract what she refers to as “a defamatory article containing baseless allegations” published last week.

The report claims a staffer in the premier’s office sent emails to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service (ACPS) last fall about charges Coutts border blockade protesters were facing.

However, Smith points out the CBC has said it “had not seen any of the emails.”

“The Premier calls on the CBC to retract its outrageous story and, further, that the CBC and the Official Opposition apologize to the Premier, Premier’s Office staff, Alberta Crown prosecutors and those in the Alberta Public Service, for the damage caused to their reputations and that of Alberta’s justice system,” Smith said in a statement Wednesday.

To the CBC and Rachel Notley: Enough is enough.

My full statement below ???? #cdnpoli #abpoli @RachelNotley @CBCNews pic.twitter.com/AUyeIfmrtk

— Danielle Smith (@ABDanielleSmith) January 25, 2023

“The CBC’s allegations and insinuations to the contrary are, once again, baseless,” Smith’s statement concluded.

The province had conducted an internal review in response to the report. The Justice Department says civil servants reviewed about a million emails over a four-month period.

No further review will be conducted “unless additional evidence is brought forward,” the province added.

Related Stories:

• Alberta says no evidence found of email contact with prosecutors about Coutts

• Alberta government staffer contacted Crown prosecutors about Coutts border cases: Report

• Premier Smith promises email search amid questions over prosecutor interference

In a statement Monday, the director of communications for Alberta Justice, Charles Mainville, said the Public Services Commission only reviewed Alberta government employee email accounts. He also said no interviews were conducted as part of the review.

Members of the ACPS were not included in the search. Neither were any personal accounts through Gmail or Hotmail.

Meanwhile, the Alberta NDP, who is also named in Smith’s statement, says she “cannot hide from the truth forever.” The New Democrats are renewing their call for an independent investigation.

“I believe the premier can stand at a podium, read that statement out loud and can ask for that apology in person and take questions from the media, from reporters from Albertans about her role, and we’d be happy to address it if she would actually come forward and speak to Albertans,” said NDP MLA Rakhi Pacholi in response to the CBC’s latest report.

“Let’s be clear: Smith herself has repeatedly described her attempts to meddle with criminal cases. She said so twice on camera and a third time in writing.”

-With files from Carly Robinson and The Canadian Press