Fixer says former Alberta justice minister hired him to get reporter's phone logs
CBC
A self-described political fixer says a former Alberta justice minister hired him to obtain a reporter's phone logs.
David Wallace says he was hired by Jonathan Denis to get the phone records of Alanna Smith, a former Calgary Herald reporter now of The Canadian Press. Wallace said Denis told him he wanted to trace sources Smith had drawn on for a story about whether the size of Denis's wedding reception broke COVID-19 protocols.
In an email from his lawyer, Denis denied that he or his clients talked to Wallace.
Wallace told The Canadian Press that Denis got his name through Alan Hallman and Gerald Chipeur, longtime conservative operatives.
"Jonathan called me (and) told me that at his wedding he feels he had been targeted for poor press," Wallace said in an interview. "He wanted to find out who (Smith's) sources were.
"He wanted me to go into my source contacts using databases to their private cellphone information communications."
Wallace said he warned Denis that obtaining phone logs could be illegal.
"He basically said this is just information I'm gathering for my own use."
Denis was a Progressive Conservative cabinet minister in Alberta from 2010 to 2015 and justice minister for the last three of those years. Recently, he has been reported to be an organizer for Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre's campaign for leadership of the federal party.
Wallace said he gets politicians out of tight spots for a living.
"I'm a repairman," said Wallace, a former Ontarian now living in Calgary. "I can find things or people and I can massage and fix difficult situations."
Wallace said he has had a 30-year career in political backrooms. He spoke with The Canadian Press because, he said, he's had enough.
"I'm tired of being a tool," he said. "I'm done."
Wallace said he's also grown concerned his work could be used to intimidate people or improperly influence political debate.
All public schools on P.E.I. are closed Friday and thousands of Maritime Electric customers are without power as strong winds create hazardous travel conditions across the province.
Prince Rupert, B.C., residents are celebrating the holidays this year with coastal flair.
In the four years Chelsey Simmonds has worked at the Eva Rothwell Centre, she has seen the need increase every year at the centre’s community food pantry.
CBC is once again looking to make the holiday season kind in Windsor-Essex.
Acute Care Alberta has extended its contract for another year with a private surgical facility at the centre of probes into health procurement and contracting.
As food bank use continues to climb across the province, front-line workers in Thunder Bay, Ont., are working to improve both food security and education.
More ads could soon be coming to Toronto’s subway system.
The driver wanted in connection with a fatal hit and run on Highway 401 earlier this week has been identified, police say.
There are mixed feelings about the proposed Grays Bay road and port project, among people who live in nearby communities.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse and includes graphic content.
Provincial police in Lambton County have charged a 23-year-old man with second degree murder following a death investigation that began this past Saturday.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government is forming a working group to tackle what it calls systemic issues in the justice system, but answers or solutions could still be months away.
A woman has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death in a 2024 fatal hit and run in Truro, N.S., where the victim was dragged down the street, a case that went unsolved for more than six months.