EDMONTON—Alberta’s premier has defended his decision to donate to a fundraising campaign for Edouard Maurice, who is being sued for $100,000 by a man hit by a ricocheting warning shot, as an act of “compassion.”

Maurice had fired the shot to scare the man off Maurice’s Okotoks, Alta., farm.

Following a speech to members of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Kenney said the $100 donation he made to Maurice’s civil defence fund on Sept. 6 was “totally legitimate,” calling it “a sign of personal compassion.”

“It’s a compassionate response to people who need to ensure that they have a strong legal defence so that the rule of law applies,” Kenney said. “This is not a criminal matter, this is a civil dispute. I think it’s very unfortunate for Mr. Maurice.”

An ethics expert at MacEwan University said Kenney’s involvement in the case is “unwise” but doesn’t appear to violate any ethical standards.

RCMP responded to a call of shots fired near Okotoks at around 5:30 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2018.

According to police, Maurice said he saw two men rummaging through his vehicle. One of those men was identified as Ryan Watson.

A statement of claim filed by Watson says Maurice fired warning shots in an attempt to scare Watson off his property when one of the bullets hit Watson’s right arm.

In February 2018, RCMP charged both men.

According to the RCMP, after his release from hospital on Feb. 25, 2018, Watson was arrested and charged with trespassing by night, mischief to property, theft under $5000 from motor vehicle, possession of methamphetamine and failure to comply with conditions of his probation.

Maurice was initially charged with pointing a firearm, careless use of a firearm and aggravated assault.

Crown prosecutors withdrew the charges against Maurice in June 2018.

Watson pleaded guilty in February 2019 to one count of mischief and a charge of failing to abide by conditions of his probation and was sentenced to 45 days in custody. The other charges were withdrawn.

After his charges were withdrawn, Maurice said, “It’s a relief it’s over. It’s been quite a tough four months to go through this. It’s been a lot of stress, anxiety. With the support that’s come out, it’s really helped,” in an interview with The Canadian Press.

“Without us having to go through this, the rural crime problem wouldn’t be at the forefront. It’s got a lot of attention and now the government and everyone else is stepping up and looking at ways to help us out.”

Maurice’s relief was short-lived, however, as one year later Watson has filed a civil lawsuit against him seeking damages for the injury to his arm.

Watson’s civil lawsuit, filed with the Court of Queen’s Bench in Calgary on Sept. 6, seeks damages of $100,000 for pain and suffering caused to Watson by Maurice’s “negligence.”

The statement of claim accuses Maurice of firing without maintaining a proper lookout or showing reasonable care for people in the vicinity, failing to recognize that the situation posed no real harm of serious physical injury or imminent death, “failing to exhaust all other reasonable and less violent and less life-threatening means of removing the said plaintiff from the property,” and failing to warn Watson that he was about to shoot.

The statement of claim has yet to be tested in court and Maurice has yet to file a statement of defence.

During the 2019 provincial election, Jason Kenney said he wanted a review of Crown policy to ensure rural Albertans aren’t charged if they use reasonable force to defend their property.

Kenney said he did not believe rural property owners should be allowed to shoot or kill trespassers, but wanted to ensure prosecutors take into consideration the rural context — where help from police can take longer to arrive — in cases where people use force to defend their property.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“Here’s the point, if you are in downtown Edmonton or Calgary five minutes from the police headquarters, and somebody attacks you, that’s a totally different context than if you’re in a remote farm 90 minutes away from police response,” Kenney said in an interview in March.

“What we are suggesting is that the ability of somebody to be protected by the police should be at least one consideration by Crown counsel, when they look at laying potential charges,” Kenney continued, adding he is “not encouraging vigilantism.”

The issue of using force to protect rural property was brought to the forefront with the 2016 death of Colten Boushie, a 22-year-old Cree man who was shot by Gerald Stanley.

Stanley said he was firing warning shots to scare Boushie and other trespassers off his rural Saskatchewan property.

Boushie was shot in the neck, just below his ear after Stanley said his gun went off unexpectedly. Boushie died instantly.

Stanley was found not guilty of second-degree murder in February 2018.

Kenney donated $100 to Maurice’s legal defence fundraiser and in a Facebook post encouraged others to do the same, while minister of Justice and Solicitor General Doug Schweitzer retweeted a tweet quoting statements he made to Rick Bell in a column published by Postmedia, saying “justice was not being done in Eddie Maurice’s case. … 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.”

John Soroski, a professor of political science at MacEwan University, said that while he thinks the public commentary from the premier and justice minister is “unwise and imprudent,” he does not believe their commentary rises to the level of a formal ethical breach.

“It’s not unethical at a high level. It’s unwise and I guess you’d say imprudent, because obviously the solicitor general as well as the premier have a significant role in the legal system in Alberta,” Soroski said.

In Alberta, the minister of justice and solicitor general is the legal officer and adviser in charge of law enforcement.

Initially, the provincial government had been named as a claimant on Watson’s lawsuit, seeking to recover the cost of treating the gunshot wound to Watson’s arm, however the province has withdrawn from the lawsuit.

Had Schweitzer weighed in on the criminal cases faced by Maurice or Watson, Soroski says an ethical complaint could have been raised.

However, Soroski said, “ it’s a civil case involving a request for damages, so it’s not the same thing as if it was a criminal case going forward.”

As the case is being heard in the Court of Queen’s Bench where judges are appointed federally, Soroski said any “jeopardy” posed by having the provincial justice minister voice his opinion is limited.

On the part of the premier, Soroski said that as the law being tested by the lawsuit is in provincial jurisdiction, Kenney’s public support may be seen as “problematic,” however he does not believe Kenney crossed any formal ethical bounds.

Soroski said normally politicians refrain from commenting on any cases before the courts.

With files from Brennan Doherty, Madeline Smith and The Canadian Press.

Read more about: