Separatist lawyer cleared of most law society charges over COVID messages

Alberta's legal regulator has dismissed two disciplinary charges against separatist lawyer Jeffrey Rath, finding his COVID-era communications with high-profile public figures did not breach professional standards. However, he will face a sanction hearing on a third citation for using discourteous language.

Rath, a lawyer for the separatist Alberta Prosperity Project, faced three citations under the Legal Profession Act after complaints to the Law Society of Alberta. He was accused of threatening to bring criminal charges for murder, war crimes, and crimes against humanity against federal and provincial officials to gain a benefit for COVID-19 vaccine litigation clients. He was also accused of improperly contacting former AHS CEO Verna Yiu regarding Fluvoxamine treatment, despite a warning from her lawyer.

After a hearing in January, a three-member law society committee found that while Rath sent the letters and emails, they did not violate law society rules. On the first count, the committee said it was unconvinced Rath's messages were intended to benefit a client. In his letter to federal officials, Rath wrote on behalf of "Canadian parents of five to 11-year-old children," asking for a criminal investigation into Pfizer's COVID vaccine. The committee found the reference too vague to establish he was acting as a lawyer for a specific client, and accepted his claim that he was motivated by the public interest.

"Mr. Rath may be guilty of excessive hubris in presuming to know the public interest and assuming he could speak on behalf of this broad range of the populace, but the committee accepts that he was motivated by genuine concerns," the decision stated.

The committee also ruled in Rath's favour on the Yiu email matter. He admitted to using language that was "discourteous, offensive or otherwise inconsistent with the proper tone of professional communication from a lawyer," which will be addressed at the sanction hearing.