Date of publication: 08 Apr 2022 • 6 hours ago • 3 minutes reading • 25 Comments Jonathan Dennis, former Minister of Justice of Alberta, is accused of interfering in the illegal dismissal of the former chief medical examiner Dr. Ani Sovago. Photo by John Lucas / Edmonton Journal
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A former Alberta Justice Minister is accused of meddling in a political trial involving the province’s once-chief medical examiner.
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On Friday, a bomb fell in the middle of the trial of the illegal dismissal of Dr. Anny Sauvageau, which started last week and dealt with shocking allegations of political interference in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner during Sauvageau’s tenure there in 2014. Allan Garber, Sauvageau’s lawyer, revealed Friday morning that he had received an email the previous night from Jonathan Denis’s lawyer threatening to sue Sauvageau for her testimony. “To be very honest lady, I am surprised and deeply concerned that I received this correspondence, especially on behalf of a lawyer who was the Minister of Justice in this province,” Garber told Doreen Sulyma. “This does not come from someone who may not be aware of the integrity of the tests and the importance of not whitewashing or harassing witnesses. “This comes from the former Minister of Justice.”
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Dennis, who served as justice minister under the last three Progressive Conservative prime ministers, is a founding partner of the Guardian Law Group, a Calgary-based company that specializes in civil law. On Thursday night, Garber received an email from Kyle Shewchuk, one of the company’s lawyers. The letter accused Sauvageau of taking part in a “seven-year campaign of defamation and harassment against Mr Denis”, citing a 2016 report by Alberta’s public interest commissioner who said Shewchuk considered Sauvageau’s allegations to be political. “Unfounded. ” “We are watching the current trial of Dr. Sauvageau and we know that, despite the findings of the report, the denunciation of Mr. Denis by Dr. “Sauvageau continued unabated,” Shewchuk wrote, linking a story to the Edmonton Journal / Sun.
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“Sir. Dennis is a respected and well-known lawyer and businessman and he will not tolerate these wrongdoings against him. These actions must stop immediately.” Shewchuk concluded by saying that Denis was considering defamation against Sauvageau and that Garber had been advised to tell his client to “govern herself accordingly”. Dennis had previously been named as a defendant in the lawsuit, but the lawsuit against him was dropped. The Alberta government is currently the only defendant. Both Garber and Sulyma said they had never encountered such a situation in their 85 years of legal experience. Dr. Anny Sauvageau, a former Alberta Chief Medical Examiner, was spotted in 2014. Photo by Shaughn Butts / Postmedia
“He is afraid to give evidence”
Sauvageau, originally from Quebec, was hired as Alberta’s medical examiner in the late 2000s and took over as chief medical examiner in 2011.
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During the trial, Sauvageau claimed to have been undermined by her predecessor and subjected to political interference by an assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice. The alleged intervention led to a campaign by the Alberta Funeral Services Association to overturn new body transport contract requirements proposed by Sauvageau, he claims. Earlier this week, Sauvageau claimed that its assistant secretary of state, Maryann Everett, had told her that her office was not independent of the government and that Sauvageau’s job was to make the minister “look good”. The overthrow of the funeral industry convention was seen as a means of supporting “rural voting” ahead of the 2015 election, Sauvageau claimed.
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Sauvageau’s allegations have not been substantiated in court. It remains under examination and has not yet begun the cross-examination. After receiving Denis’ letter, Sauvageau swore an affidavit denying defaming Denis. She said her details about the intervention focused specifically on Everett, not Dennis. “Now I’m afraid to testify in this trial,” he said. “I do not have the luxury of defending a defamation suit.” “My lawyer advised me that my testimony is privileged, but I am still afraid that Jonathan Dennis may sue me,” he wrote. “The financial consequences of a lawsuit scare me, especially because I do not have a job.” Sulima described the situation as “worrying”. He said the trial would continue on Monday afternoon after Shewchuk and Denis were notified of Sauvageau’s affidavit.
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“This is serious,” Sulima said. “I have to say that I did not take this as a practical matter, and I was on the bench for 25 years and I practiced for 25 years before that.”
Craig Neuman, a government lawyer, said he learned of the letter only after receiving a notification from Garber and that he should receive instructions from his client.
The court will continue on Monday afternoon so that Sulyma can hear the comments from all three parties on how to proceed.
When Neuman suggested that Dennis’s Calgary-based lawyer appear on WebEx’s conference call, Sulyma declined.
“I want him here,” he said.
Brendan Miller, another Dennis lawyer, said in a statement: “We disagree with the characterization of Dr. Sauvageau and her adviser on the letter of 7 April 2022 “.
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