John Carpay Explained

John Carpay
Birth Place:The Netherlands
Citizenship:Canada
Alma Mater:Université Laval
University of Calgary
Occupation:Lawyer, and President of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms

John Carpay is a Netherlands-born Canadian lawyer, the president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, and a newspaper columnist.

In 2021, Carpay made Canadian news and took a leave of absence from the JCCF after he hired a private investigator to follow the Manitoba chief justice who was presiding over a COVID-19 related court case in which Carpay was legal counsel.

Early life and education

Carpay was born in the Netherlands, before moving to British Columbia, Canada.[1]

He has a bachelor of arts in political science from Université Laval and an Bachelor of Laws from the University of Calgary.[2]

Career and advocacy

He was called to the bar in 1999. He worked in civil litigation with Calgary legal firm Rooney Prentice before working for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation conservative advocacy organization[3] and as the executive director of the Canadian Constitution Foundation.[4]

As of 2023, Carpay was the president of Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms,[5] which he founded in 2010.[6] The organisation describes its mission to defend "the constitutional freedoms of Canadians through litigation and education."[7]

Carpay has written columns for The National Post, The Calgary Herald, and Huffington Post.

In 2021, Carpay supported seven churches in their legal bid to fight COVID-19 public health regulations, and during that time, he hired a private investigator to follow Manitoba chief justice Glenn Joyal.[8] Those actions prompted a misconduct complaint from human rights lawyer Richard Warman and critique from University of Alberta's vice dean of law Eric Adams, who described the action as a "tremendous, tremendous lapse of judgment." Carpay took indefinite leave from the JCCF in July 2021, before being reinstated as president in August 2021. Six of the nine members of the board of directors resigned following his reinstatement. An arrest warrant for was issued by Winnipeg Police in December 2022, prompting Carpay to present himself to Calgary Police Service, where he was arrested on December 30[9] [10] before being released the next day.[11] Carpay has been charged with "intimidation of a justice system participant and attempting to obstruct justice." The Law Society of Manitoba will bring professional misconduct against Carpay at a February 2023 hearing in Winnipeg.

On August 21 2023, The Law Society of Manitoba barred from practising in the province and ordered him to pay $5,000. In his statement Carpay said, “I fully acknowledge that my instructing surveillance of Chief Justice (Glenn) Joyal was in violation of my professional obligations as a lawyer to the court and to society,”[12]

Politics

In 2018, Carpay drew criticism from Jason Kenny for comparing the LGBT flag to a swastika[13] in a discussion on Rebel Media, for which he later apologised.[14]

Carpay ran for the Reform Party in 1993[15] and the Wildrose Party in 2012. Carpay is a member of the United Conservative Party of Alberta.[16]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: John Carpay - President . 2022-06-01 . Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms . en-US . 2022-05-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220504205844/https://www.jccf.ca/about-us/meet-the-team/carpay/ . live .
  2. Web site: John Carpay Montreal Economic Institute . 2022-06-01 . www.iedm.org . en-US . 2022-05-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220524151332/https://www.iedm.org/844-john-carpay/ . live .
  3. Web site: 2017-02-13 . Inside the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms . 2022-06-01 . The Varsity . en-US . 2022-02-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220204033925/https://thevarsity.ca/2017/02/13/inside-the-justice-centre-for-constitutional-freedoms/ . live .
  4. Web site: Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms president John Carpay is reinstated . 2022-06-01 . www.canadianlawyermag.com . en . 2022-03-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220327013327/https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/news/general/justice-centre-for-constitutional-freedoms-president-john-carpay-is-reinstated/359381 . live .
  5. Web site: Climenhaga . David . 2023-01-04 . The 'Freedoms' Lawyer Charged with Obstruction of Justice . 2023-01-06 . The Tyee . English . 2023-01-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230105164318/https://thetyee.ca/News/2023/01/04/Freedoms-Lawyer-Charged-Obstruction-Justice/ . live .
  6. News: von Scheel . Elise . 10 Nov 2021 . Justice Centre, president sued by former employee who says organization caused him moral distress . CBC . 1 June 2022 . 1 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220601023012/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/carpay-jccf-alberta-lgbtq-lawsuit-1.6244210 . live .
  7. News: Bergen . Rachel . 13 Jul 2021 . Lawyer files misconduct complaint after private investigator hired to follow Manitoba chief justice . CBC . 7 May 2022 . 4 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220204033926/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/following-chief-justice-glenn-joyal-professional-misconduct-complaint-1.6099729 . live .
  8. News: Bureau . Brigitte . 31 May 2022 . Code of conduct complaint filed against convoy lawyer . CBC . 1 June 2022 . 1 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220601020531/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/lawyer-freedom-convoy-organizers-code-of-conduct-complaint-1.6470802 . live .
  9. News: Gowriluk . Caitlyn . 2 Jan 2023 . Lawyer faces 2 criminal charges after having Manitoba judge followed during churches' COVID-19 court challenge . CBC . 3 January 2023 . 3 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230103033851/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/lawyer-john-carpay-follow-judge-criminal-charges-1.6701320 . live .
  10. Web site: Head of group fighting COVID restrictions charged with attempting to obstruct justice . 2023-01-03 . SaskToday.ca . en . 2023-01-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230103033722/https://www.sasktoday.ca/national-news/head-of-group-fighting-covid-restrictions-charged-with-attempting-to-obstruct-justice-6319171 . live .
  11. News: Hunter . Justine . 2023-01-02 . Lawyer who hired PI to spy on Manitoba judge shocked to be arrested . en-CA . The Globe and Mail . 2023-01-03 . 2023-01-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230103013312/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-manitoba-lawyer-arrest-private-investigator/ . live .
  12. Web site: Two lawyers barred from practising in Manitoba after surveilling Winnipeg judge Globalnews.ca . 2023-11-27 . globalnews.ca . en-US.
  13. Web site: Premier says Kenney must act after UCP member compared LGBTQ flag to swastika Globalnews.ca . 2022-06-01 . Global News . en-US . 2022-06-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220601023012/https://globalnews.ca/news/4659798/ucp-alberta-pride-lgbtq-flag-swastika-carpay/ . live .
  14. Web site: Rebel Media speaker says pride flag and swastikas comparison 'unintentional,' apologizes Globalnews.ca . 2022-06-01 . Global News . en-US . 2021-12-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211209024608/https://globalnews.ca/news/4654181/pride-flag-lgbtq-swastikas-comparison-apology-alberta/ . live .
  15. Web site: History of Federal Ridings Since 1867: Burnaby—Kingsway, British Columbia (1987 - 1996) . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131021165513/http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/Parliament/FederalRidingsHistory/hfer.asp?Include=&Language=E&rid=877&Search=Det . 2013-10-21 . 22 May 2014 . Parliament of Canada.
  16. News: Rieger . Sarah . 11 November 2018 . Calgary Lawyer Challenging Gay–Straight Alliance Bill Compares Pride Flags to Swastikas . CBC News . 20 November 2018 . 4 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220204033934/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/john-carpay-pride-flags-swastikas-1.4901229 . live .

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