Alberta government won't swap legal consortium in controversial tobacco-litigation case

Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley left it to her deputy minister to publicly confirm she won't change the legal consortium representing the province in a massive lawsuit against the tobacco industry.

Ganley has previously signalled she was leaning toward retaining International Tobacco Recovery Lawyers (ITRL), and its lead Calgary law firm, JSS Barristers, despite a scandal over the manipulation of the selection process.

But it was deputy minister Philip Bryden who confirmed Ganley had made the final decision.

Bryden told the legislature's public accounts committee Tuesday the ministry had recommended staying with ITRL because it was doing a competent job. It would cost too much and cause further delays for the province to switch lawyers, he said.

"We have one lawyer who is working significantly with this firm," Bryden said. "And he has been impressed with the quality of the work and the progress that they have been making.

"In particular, he has found that the American firm that is part of the consortium has added significant value in terms of their approach," he added.

Bryden told the committee it was his understanding that ITRL offered the lowest contingency fee in its bid, which is a percentage of whatever amount Alberta might win in a court judgment. Outside the committee, however, Bryden declined to explain how that would be relevant in the selection process, given that ITRL and Alberta Justice had to negotiate the contingency fee agreement after the consortium had been chosen.

Bryden was summoned to the committee meeting to answer questions about a report by former Supreme Court of Canada justice Frank Iacobucci released last week.

Selection process manipulated

Ganley announced the review by Iacobucci in November after CBC News obtained leaked internal Alberta Justice documents. They showed the independent selection process for the potentially lucrative contract had been manipulated, allowing then justice minister Alison Redford the opportunity to choose a legal consortium to which she had close personal and political ties.

The CBC News investigation also revealed an ethics investigation into conflict-of-interest allegations against Redford may not have been provided all the relevant documents, including some leaked to CBC News.

Iacobucci concluded Wilkinson had not had access to all relevant documents. He recommended Alberta's current ethics commissioner, Marguerite Trussler, should consider reinvestigating the allegations. Trussler, however, declared a conflict of interest and has asked Paul Fraser, her counterpart in B.C., to determine whether a review is needed. Fraser has yet to make that decision.

Outside the committee meeting, Wildrose accountability critic Jason Nixon said it was premature for Ganley to decide not to switch legal consortiums before all potential investigations were completed.

"To totally slam the door on that until we know the exact details of what took place, I think, is inappropriate and doesn't do Albertans any justice," Nixon said.

Motions voted down

As they had last week, the Wildrose attempted to establish the ruling NDP were wilfully blocking the full truth from being revealed about how the tobacco-litigation contract was awarded.

To that end, Nixon put forward two motions designed to force the government to produce documents related to the awarding of the contract.

The NDP members, who dominate the committee, duly voted down each motion noting Iacobucci, in his report recommended against a committee investigation of the matter.

Nixon told reporters Iacobucci's recommendation only refers to the conflict-of-interest allegations, not to the broader issue of how the contract was awarded. He said some of the questions they want answers for may fall outside the scope of a future ethics investigation, if one is even conducted.

"If that is the case, then where do we get the answers to what has happened in Alberta's system here?" Nixon said.

"I clearly believe that (the public accounts committee) has the authority and the responsibility to look into how our contract tendering process works and I think that was the angle that I was taking with the motions," he said. "We fully support the ethics commissioner looking into the conflict of interest with regards to the member. But that is not the only issue we are dealing with on this file."

RCMP investigation?

Bryden was asked why the government has not called in the RCMP to investigate.

He said the Wildrose party has already made that request. He didn't think the government asking for one "would make any difference and might be regarded by the RCMP as an attempt at political interference," Bryden said.

But in August 2014, then-justice minister Jonathan Denis forwarded an auditor general's report to the RCMP for their review but did not specifically ask for a criminal investigation.

CBC News obtained internal government documents which showed the government had obtained an internal legal opinion that said Redford could face several criminal charges if the allegations contained in the auditor general's report were proven by the RCMP.

The RCMP subsequently closed the investigation without charges.