Mickey Amery
Premier Danielle Smith gave Mickey Amery a long to-do list to start the fall session of the Alberta Legislature.
As justice minister, Amery has no difficulty setting priorities from that list.
“First and foremost, I think my mandate requires me to focus on justice-related issues,” Amery said. “I think that right now, the primary thing for me is really focusing on public safety.”
“Public safety in our communities, public safety in our urban and rural settings, and looking at ways that we can make sure that our legal system is operating efficiently and operating effectively.”
Amery spoke with reporters Friday during a virtual roundtable to discuss the new mandate letter from the premier.
Bail reform is a key issue for the Alberta government to have offenders stay in custody longer.
“They are allowing people to enter the system and leave the system right away,” Amery said. “I’m very passionate about that, because I know what it feels like to see somebody who is accused of a crime, and then right back out in the neighborhood the very next day.”
“And that’s a real problem, not only in our urban areas, but also in our rural settings as well.”
One of the ways to stop the “catch and release” nature of the justice system is to ensure Crown prosecutors have sufficient resources.
Amery told reporters that when The United Conservative Party formed government, one of the first steps was to end the triage system implemented by the NDP.
“Prosecutors were asked to only prosecute the most important cases and sort of triage them into most to least important,” Amery said. “That was a serious problem for me, and I’ll tell you why. I don’t know how we categorize crimes into more or less serious. A crime against a family or an individual, for me, ranks at the very top, but in the triage protocol, it didn’t necessarily land at the very top of the priority list when it came to prosecutions.”
The UCP government also developed specialized prosection teams to follow a case from start to finish in certain “hot zones.”
Prosecutors in those hot zones got to know repeat offenders as well as the communities in which the offenders were active.
“I know that multiple jurisdictions across the province have reported a reduction in crime, some in double digits, and . . . I’m very proud of that statistic, because it demonstrates that some of the policies that we are implementing are working.”
Bail reform is a topic of justice ministers at their federal, provincial territorial meetings, Amery said.
“I can tell you that universally, Alberta is not alone in calling for bail reform,” Amery said. “Nearly every single, provincial or territorial justice minister at that table echoed the same issues we have.”
Amery is also charged with working with the minister of public safety to assist law enforcement better align policing activities with the priorities of Albertans.
Other directions for Amery from Smith in the mandate letter included:
- Work with the premier and other ministries to overturn or overhaul the federal impact assessment act; tanker ban; clean electricity regulations; carbon tax; designation of plastics as toxic; the energy industry censorship law; fertilizer regulations; and the electric vehicle mandate.
- Lead other ministries to provide greater oversight and safeguards for medical assistance in dying, and prohibit MAID based on mental illness.
- Strengthen Alberta’s justice system by increasing the number and scope of applications judges; providing more resources for courts and tribunals; support innovative approaches to resolving legal matters; and expand virtual and on-line accessibility.
- Defend Albertans’ right to lawful possession of firearms; and affirm Albertans’ rights of self-defence.
- Advocate for changes to the Criminal Code and bail to put the safety of Albertans first.
- Introduce legislation to protect the free speech rights of all provincially-regulated professionals.
- Advocate to the federal government for the removal of the National Capital Region residency requirements for judges of the federal court of appeal, federal court and tax court.Work with other ministries to review and reform hiring practices in Alberta public institutions to ensure they are based only on merit, competence and equality of all persons, rather than on DEI ideology.
Amery is also tasked with working on assessment, renewal and construction of Alberta courthouses; working with Advanced Education on legislation that protects academic freedom.
Amery is also to help defend Alberta’s energy and natural resource interests against federal overreach.
Amery said the list is reflective of what MLAs are hearing when they talk to their constituents.
“I believe that these priorities reflect the concerns that we’ve heard from Albertans all across the province,” Amery said.
