Ontario Prosecutor to Oversee UCP Leadership Investigation

Edmonton (ATB):Alberta has appointed an out-of-province Crown prosecutor to provide advice in the investigation into voting irregularities in the 2017 United Conservative Party leadership election.
“This was an independent decision of the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service,” Eric Tolppanen, the head of the service, said in a news release.
“As with other prosecutorial decisions in general, the decision was made independently and without the direction, nor seeking of direction, from elected officials,” Tolppannen said.
The Ministry of the Attorney General in Ontario has appointed a prosecutor who will be responsible for providing advice to the police at their request, he said.
Both the Ontario Attorney General and Alberta Justice refused to identify the prosecutor.
Tolpannen’s statement comes one day after NDP justice critic Kathleen Ganley pushed Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer to confirm whether someone has been appointed and described the runaround the NDP has experienced trying to get information out of Alberta Justice and the RCMP.
“Given, Mr. Speaker, that we continue to wait for the Attorney General to actually name the human being who will perform this work and given that he continues to pass the buck to the police, who cannot name this person, will the Attorney General tell this House if there’s a special prosecutor, a secret prosecutor, or no prosecutor at all?” she asked.
Schweitzer had earlier refused to consider an outside prosecutor in the investigation of alleged voter fraud in the UCP leadership vote despite raising concerns himself about voter fraud during the 2017 UCP leadership vote and being personally questioned by the Mounties about the matter in May.
Ganley, the former justice minister, said she couldn’t think of a legal reason for not naming the Ontario prosecutor, but she said even if there was one it would be trumped by the need for transparency.
“I think they owe it to Albertans to provide that transparency, to be able to point to an individual and say, ‘This is the completely non-partisan individual who will be overseeing this matter to ensure that it is taken as seriously as any other matter would be.'”
Ganley said it was “genuinely bizarre” that both the Alberta and Ontario ministries refuse to provide a reason for why they won’t publicly name the outside prosecutor.
The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service had announced in May 30, it would seek an out-of-province prosecutor to provide advice to police.
Prosecutors do not oversee investigations, Tolppannen said in the news release.
“As before, the RCMP continue to investigate this matter independently, both of government and the prosecution service,” Tolppannen said.
The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service will no longer be involved in the investigation, Tolppannen said.