Global Courant
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CALGARY — The Law Society of Alberta does not have the authority to hear several complaints about former provincial cabinet minister Tyler Shandro, his attorney suggested Monday.
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Shandro, a lawyer who was defeated as a member of the legislature in last month’s provincial election, had filed three complaints against him from his time as health minister for the United Conservative Party government at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
They included confronting a Calgary doctor in the front yard of his home, calling two Red Deer doctors on their personal cell phones, and contacting a woman who sent a message to his wife’s company telling her the couple accused of conflict of interest.
The hearing on whether Shandro violated the lawyers’ code of conduct related to the complaints is expected to continue until Wednesday after adjournment in January.
Shandro’s attorney, Grant Stapon, told the attorney panel during the online hearing on Monday that he would file a motion regarding jurisdiction because there appears to be no connection between the complaints and Shandro’s legal practice.
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“This is effectively a proceeding brought for collateral or inappropriate purposes,” Stapon said.
Bud Melnyk, chair of the panel, said it would hear those arguments after Shandro’s cross-examination, which lasted several hours Monday.
Shandro said several times that he believed an escalation in threats against him and his wife between December 2019 and March 2020 was linked to difficult negotiations with health care unions and the Alberta Medical Association, which represents physicians.
When his lawyer tried to file the resignation, the chairman said that the authority is determined by the fact that Shandro is a lawyer.
However, Melnyk said Stapon could give his arguments in closing statements.
“The arguments you have put forward … are valid arguments, but they are arguments that we would hear at the end of this hearing,” Melnyk said.
He adjourned the hearing to Tuesday, when Shandro’s lawyer will begin presenting evidence.
The hearing begins Tuesday with testimony from county ethics commissioner Marguerite Trussler.
It is then expected to continue on Wednesday with oral arguments from both sides.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 12, 2023.
