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“It was outrageous the litigant did that,” says the premier.

SunMedia

But as day turns into night on Tuesday it’s not clear what the premier was told is the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Did Watson’s lawyer just write the Alberta government into the lawsuit on his own or did some head-up-their-butt bureaucrat sign off on this thing?

After all, the province has a unit in their health department that can go after people to recover health-care costs from a supposed wrongdoer.

Anyway, Schweitzer, the province’s top lawman, wants to get to the bottom of how the Alberta government was suing Eddie and make sure it doesn’t happen again in another situation.

“We’re drilling down to find out how this happened. It never should have happened. Period,” says Schweitzer, who has been travelling around the province hearing some real rural crime horror stories.

“We need justice in Alberta. Justice was not being done in Eddie Maurice’s case, that’s why we stepped in immediately. No family should have to go through what they have gone through as a family together. We’re doing everything we can to make sure there is not another Eddie Maurice in Alberta.”

Schweitzer says up in Edmonton there’s a real lack of understanding of what’s happening in rural Alberta.

“When I’m in these town halls, I’ve travelled to Cheadle. I’ve been to Slave Lake. I’ve been up to Fairview. I was just in Drayton Valley. Rural Alberta is overwhelmingly frustrated with the justice system. They see it as a revolving door that does not hold criminals accountable for their actions.”

Schweitzer says he does not think the laws in this country reflect what’s going on in rural Alberta.

But the talk always comes back to Eddie Maurice, the victim again.

“Every community I go to, they see themselves as Eddie Maurice, their sons and daughters could be Eddie Maurice. And they don’t feel justice was done.”

rbell@postmedia.com