Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley confirmed that she won't make any changes with regards to the legal consortium representing the province in a gigantic lawsuit against the industry of tobacco. Ganley has previously stated that she was in favor of retaining International Tobacco Recovery Lawyers and its lead Calgary law firm and JSS Barristers, despite a scandal over the manipulation of the selection process.
CBC News reported that Marguerite Trussler, ethics commissioner of Alberta, has called in her counterpart from British Columbia to determine whether the conflict-of-interest accusations against Alison Redford related to the granting of a tobacco-litigation contract need to be reviewed and reinvestigated. Trussler sent a letter to Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley, saying that she knows two people who are directly involved in the case and do not want to generate the impression of bias.
According to Edmonton Sun, the government of Alberta won't call in the RCMP to review an ethics investigation into Redford's handling of the province's $10-billion tobacco litigation contract. Deputy Minister Philip Bryden confirmed that Justice Ganley had already made the final decision. On Tuesday, Bryden told the all-party public accounts committee that the province has no plans to refer the case to Mounties for further review.
Bryden also told the committee that the ministry had recommended staying with ITRL since it was doing its job competently. He underlined that switching lawyers could cost too much and cause further delays. Bryden then commended one of its lawyers who is working significantly with the firm, saying that he has been impressed with the quality of the work and progress that the legal team has been making.
Supreme Court of Canada Justice Frank Iacobucci said that the questions arising from the information obtained are not considered in an appropriate forum and are likely to linger in the public minds. Calgary Herald, in an editorial piece, predicts the public will continue to raise doubts about the propriety of the selection of the external counsel to conduct the litigation and this may lead to an erosion of confidence in the administration of government.
Bryden was called to the committee meeting to answer questions regarding the report made by former Justice Iacobucci which was released last week.
