Group fighting COVID-19 restrictions admits tailing Manitoba judge

The organization representing multiple churches across the country in court challenges against public health orders is apologizing after hiring a private investigator to follow a Manitoba judge.

John Carpay, president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, says his organization hired the investigator to observe the judge overseeing the court challenge of COVID-19 restrictions in Manitoba.

Court of Queen’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal says he realized he was being followed by a vehicle after leaving court last week.

He says a person also went to his home and spoke with his daughter.

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Joyal, who said he wasn’t aware who had hired the private investigator when he spoke in court Monday morning, said he is deeply concerned that someone was trying to intimidate him or obstruct justice in the high-profile case.

Joyal said Winnipeg police and the Government of Manitoba’s Internal Security and Intelligence Unit are investigating.

“It is also my hope that the Government of Manitoba and the relevant regulatory authorities bring a closer examination as to how private investigation agencies are licenced and how, if at all, they are overseen,” Joyal said in a written statement later emailed to media.

“If we are now in an era, where, a private investigation agency can be permitted to accept this type of retainer, and if we are now in an era, where, a sitting judge, in the middle of a case, can have his or her privacy compromised as part of an attempt to gather information intended to embarrass him or her, and perhaps even attempt to influence or shape a legal outcome, then we are indeed, in unchartered waters.”

Carpay says his group has organized private investigation surveillance on a number of public officials across the country.

But Carpay says it was bad judgment to follow the judge ruling on a case it’s involved in.

Read Joyals’ full statement here:

“I accept full responsibility and sole responsibility for my decision to to retain private investigation firms, for observation of public officials,” Carpay said in court.

“And the my error in judgement in this case is that it was it was poor judgement. It was a bad decision to have done this observation during a court case. That was an error in judgement.”

The lawyer representing the churches, Jay Cameron, also apologized.

“As an officer of the court and as somebody who has made arguments before your lordship, I want to apologize for my involvement in this,” he told the court.

Carpay said the move to hire a private investigator “is not connected to our our litigation work.”

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“Our work is limited not only to litigation, but we also seek to educate the public about charter rights and freedoms. We also seek to hold government officials accountable to the rule of law,” he said in court.

“We believe that the public has a right to know whether or not government officials are complying with public health orders.

“We believe that the surveillance and observation of government officials is legitimate and legal.”

Crown Attorney Michael Connor said he shared Joyal’s concerns.

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“When a firm acting for litigants hires a private investigator to investigate a sitting judge, regardless of any intention to influence the outcome, there can certainly be the perception of influence,” Connor told the court.

“There is a distinction between investigating public officials and investigating an independent the independent judiciary that are constitutionally protected.

“And that does raise grave concerns for the administration of justice.”

The churches have argued that public health orders that limit faith gatherings and impose restrictions are a violation of charter rights.

Joyal said he expects to make a decision in the case “in the next few short weeks.”

–With files from Brittany Greenslade and Shane Gibson