Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), President John Carpay is facing charges for alleged obstruction of justice in relations to an incident from 2021. The JCCF said in a statement the charges are ‘unexpected and without explanation.’
On December 30, 2022, Winnipeg Police issued the charges in connection with a June 2021 incident in which Carpay hired a private investigator to conduct surveillance on a number of Manitoba government officials, including Chief Justice of Manitoba Glenn Joyal.
The surveillance exposed Manitoba officials violating their own Covid-19 pandemic rules by “”partying on rooftops, ignoring rules about face masks and social distancing, and jetting off to exotic holiday locations to countries without COVID-19 restrictions.”
“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,” reads the JCCF statement.
Carpay took a seven week leave of absence from his position after the incident, and denied at the time the hiring of a PI had anything to do with his position with the JCCF or its cases and since taken “full responsibility without reservation” for his actions. He apologized to Chief Justice Joyal in a public court hearing on July 12, 2021.
“Mr. Carpay’s decision to conduct surveillance of Manitoba government officials followed a number of high-profile instances where those who imposed and enforced lockdown restrictions were themselves found violating their own rules, partying on rooftops, ignoring rules about face masks and social distancing, and jetting off to exotic holiday locations to countries without Covid restrictions,” reads the JCCF statement.
Carpay’s only bail requirement, according to the JCCF statement, is that he is not allowed to contact Manitoba Chief Justice Joyal.
Carpay had previously been scheduled for a hearing with the Law Society of Manitoba over his surveillance of the judge before the charges became public. The hearing is scheduled for early February.
