Tyler Shandro resumes law society conduct hearing after 6-month pause

The panel overseeing Tyler Shandro's Law Society of Alberta conduct proceeding refused to hear a dismissal application on Monday.

Shandro, a Calgary lawyer and former Alberta cabinet minister, is in the midst of a hearing over complaints that in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic he behaved unprofessionally during interactions with three doctors and a member of the public.

Shandro, who lost his re-election as MLA for Calgary-Acadia in last month's provincial election by a margin of 25 votes, served as health minister from 2019 until he resigned from the post in September 2021.

He went on to hold the position of minister of labour and immigration, and later minister of justice. 

In January, a conduct hearing got underway before the Law Society of Alberta, the regulatory body for lawyers in the province, with testimony from three doctors and a Calgary woman who alleged they were troubled and intimidated by interactions they had with Shandro in 2020.

The allegations relate to Shandro calling two physicians on their personal cell phones, showing up outside a third physician's house to confront him about a critical social media post, and telling a Calgary woman who emailed his wife's business that he would report her to protective services if she did it again. 

Former minister testifies

Shandro testified on his own behalf, and has denied that he acted improperly or aggressively in his interactions with any of the complainants.

He has alleged that he and his wife were flooded with hate mail and threats, much of it incited by what he says was a "conspiracy theory" that there was a conflict of interest in his position as health minister and his wife's business.

Shandro has alleged that Alberta Medical Association members were engaged in advocacy to get him to either reinstate a long-standing compensation agreement with physicians that his government had ended, resign, or be removed from his post by then-premier Jason Kenney. 

At the time, Andrea Shandro's operation of Calgary company Vital Partners had become the subject of public scrutiny.

Among other services, Vital Partners brokers supplementary health insurance, including for some coverage delisted through legislative changes advanced by Tyler Shandro.

Ethics commissioner Marguerite Trussler had said Tyler Shandro was not in a conflict of interest because he had transferred his shares in the company to a blind trust. 

Trussler is expected to be called as a witness on Tuesday. 

The hearing was originally scheduled for three days in January, but stalled over a discussion about admitting additional evidence from a physician's social media account.

When the hearing resumed Monday, the tweets were entered as evidence and Law Society counsel Ken McEwan picked up where he'd left off cross-examining Shandro. At one point, he suggested to Shandro that the post Dr. Mukarram Zaidi shared that prompted Shandro to go to his house was effectively a political cartoon.

Shandro disagreed, arguing it was part of advocacy to push him out of his post or force him to reinstate the agreement with physicians. 

Refusal to hear dismissal application

Once Shandro's testimony wrapped up, his lawyer Grant Stapon said he was prepared to apply to have the proceeding dismissed. He said the society did not have jurisdiction over Shandro in these circumstances.

"This is in fact a proceeding that is brought for collateral and improper purposes," Stapon told the panel.

However, following an afternoon break, panel chair Bud Melnyk told Stapon jurisdiction is clear because Shandro is a lawyer. 

He added that Stapon's arguments were valid and that they will be addressed at the end of proceedings.

The hearing will resume Tuesday and is expected to wrap up Wednesday.