Justice Centre’s John Carpay Arrested, Released on Bail

John Carpay, president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, in a file photo. (The Canadian Press/Bill Graveland)

John Carpay, president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, was arrested over a charge that the centre says alleges obstruction of justice and is apparently in connection with Carpay’s hiring of a private investigator in 2021 to follow a Manitoba judge who was presiding over a case challenging COVID-19 restrictions.

In a statement issued on Jan. 1, the Justice Centre said it was made aware of the warrant for Carpay’s arrest on Dec. 30 and that Carpay had turned himself in to the police. He has since been released on bail with the sole condition being that he cannot contact the judge, according to the statement.

Carpay stepped away from his position in 2021 after it emerged that he had hired a private investigator that June to follow Chief Justice Glenn Joyal of the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench to see if he was violating any public health rules related to COVID-19.

At the time, Joyal was presiding over a case brought by the Justice Centre involving a number of Manitoba churches challenging pandemic public health orders that restricted church operations.

In a July 2021 statement released by Carpay, he said that he had apologized to Joyal and that the decision to conduct the surveillance was his alone and “was not discussed with Justice Centre clients, staff lawyers or Board members.”

He explained that he made the decision due to reports at the time that public officials including Manitoba’s leadership were themselves breaching health orders and that he wished to ascertain whether this was true.

“In no way was this intended to influence or impact the Justice Centre’s litigation efforts, or any of our court cases,” Carpay said.

Carpay resumed his position as head of the organization in August 2021 following a seven-week leave of absence.

The Manitoba Law Society subsequently initiated proceedings against Carpay, and in a statement released in June 2022, the Justice Centre said it was expecting a decision from the law society “in the coming weeks or months as to what sanctions or penalty will be assessed against Mr. Carpay.”

In its Jan. 1 statement, the Justice Centre said that the warrant for Carpay’s arrest was issued by the Winnipeg Police Service and that Carpay, who lives in Calgary, immediately turned himself in to the Calgary Police Service.

“The Justice Centre is deeply disappointed by the decision of Winnipeg Police to lay a criminal charge for events that took place more than 18 months ago and that are already being dealt with appropriately. It is doubly disappointing that it was decided that these actions should take place during the holiday season when Mr. Carpay is spending time with his family,” the statement said.

“Oddly, Mr. Carpay’s sole bail condition states that he cannot contact Chief Justice Joyal, an individual that Mr. Carpay has not had any communication with apart from the apologies that he issued in 2021.”

The Epoch Times contacted the Winnipeg Police Service for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.