Lawyers Barred From Practising Law for 3 Years After Surveillance of Judge; Criminal Charges Stayed

John Carpay in a file photo. (The Canadian Press/Bill Graveland)

Two Alberta lawyers have been barred from practising law in Canada for three years as part of a plea bargain with Manitoba prosecutors that saw a stay of criminal charges against them for spying on a judge in 2021.

John Carpay and Randal Jay Cameron were charged with “intimidation of a justice system participant” and “attempt to obstruct justice” in Manitoba in 2021 for having hired a private investigator to follow Manitoba Chief Justice Glenn Joyal, according to a City of Winnipeg news release.

Mr. Carpay is founder of the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), and Mr. Cameron is also a lawyer with the JCCF.

Mr. Joyal was at the time presiding over one of their cases challenging pandemic rules.

According to a JCCF news release on Oct. 27, it was over two years ago that Mr. Carpay apologized for having made an error in judgment by having included a judge in what the JCCF said was a “passive surveillance of government officials.”

“The sole purpose and intent of this passive surveillance in 2021 was to attempt to determine the veracity, or lack thereof, of rumours that Manitoba government officials (including judges) were not complying with the Covid restrictions which they themselves had placed on the people of Manitoba,” the JCCF said.

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“During lockdowns, media reported that many government officials across Canada did not follow Covid restrictions.”

As part of the deal with the Manitoba Crown, Mr. Carpay has agreed not to practise law for three years and not to contact Justice Joyal for the same duration.

JCCF said Mr. Carpay has only contacted Justice Joyal to give him a letter of apology in October 2021.

They also said that Mr. Carpay was already an inactive or non-practising lawyer “and will continue to carry out his responsibilities with the Justice Centre as he has been doing since 2010.”

Winnipeg police arrested Mr. Carpay with the help of Calgary police on Dec. 30, 2022, and he spent 23 hours in jail during his Christmas holidays, according to the JCCF.

A previous JCCF statement said Mr. Carpay’s jail cell did not have a cot, mattress, blanket, or even a pillow.

In a news release, Winnipeg Police said they had begun their investigation into Mr. Carpay’s actions in July 2021.

At the time, Justice Joyal was overseeing a case that involved seven Manitoba churches, which were represented by the JCCF. The churches were challenging COVID-19 public health orders.

Mr. Carpay temporarily stepped aside as president of the JCCF after admitting in court in July 2021 that he hired private investigators to track officials, including Justice Joyal.

The JCCF said that Mr. Carpay’s decision to hire private investigators was unilateral and he covered the legal expenses of his case out of his own pocket.

“Mr. Carpay has borne the costs of paying for his own legal defence, and no Justice Centre funds have been expended in respect of this matter,” the release said.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Manitoba Justice Ministry, who had no comment.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.