[Torture]

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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith pressured the attorney general and his office to intervene in COVID-related court cases, according to multiple sources familiar with the interactions.

Exchanges between the premier's office and Justice Minister Tyler Shandro's office over several months included what sources characterized as attempts to influence cases.

"I would classify it as inappropriate," one source close to the situation said. CBC News has agreed not to name them because of potential professional repercussions.

Smith would ask for updates on cases or inquire whether it would be possible to abandon them, they said.

This specifically included the prosecution of Artur Pawlowski, a pastor charged with two counts of criminal mischief and a charge under Alberta's Critical Infrastructure Defence Act related to the Coutts border blockade.

Another source with knowledge of the situation confirmed Smith committed to taking that case to Shandro with the intent to make the charges go away.

The premier said she had no knowledge of the matters and launched an email search, which her office said yielded no evidence of email contact.

The government later added that deleted emails would only be retained for 30 days, which would reach back to Dec. 22.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...ium%3Dsharebar