The private dispute that could turn an election
Former solicitor general no threat to wife, judge rules
The wildest Alberta election campaign in memory came to an end Monday with a dramatic plot twist: A Calgary judge lifted the veil on a former beauty queen’s allegations against a leading Tory politician of alleged drug abuse, infidelity and threats.
Albertans vote Tuesday, with polls suggesting an NDP victory over Premier Jim Prentice, and the ballot question effectively a referendum on 43 years of Progressive Conservative rule. Accordingly, Monday’s allegations dropped like political napalm. Breanna Palmer had sought an Emergency Protection Order (EPO) against her estranged husband, Jonathan Denis, the PCs’ former solicitor general.
On Monday, the judge lifted a publication ban on evidence in the case, and ruled that Denis had constituted no threat to Palmer. But observers said the PC brand would inevitably take a hit along with Denis, after a court proceeding that included testimony by some of the PCs’ mostestablished political operatives, and testimony that brought Karen Prentice, the premier’s wife, into the expanding scandal.
“He was a very prominent member of that government, and this reflects poorly on everyone in that government, whether that’s fair or not,” said Keith Brownsey, a political science instructor at Mount Royal University.
Denis said his wife’s claims were false; that she is trying to muddy his reputation during an election.
None of the allegations have been proven, and no criminal charges have been laid in the matter.
“I do question the timing of this,” Denis said. “I believe these actions are carefully calculated to malign me as an individual.”
Palmer, who worked for the PCs’ education minister, Gordon Dirks, sought the EPO almost two weeks ago. She claimed she felt “unsafe” after years of psychological, emotional and even physical abuse.
During angry outbursts, she alleged, the former cabinet minister told her: “I own all the judges … I own the police.”
Police were called as she was trying to move out of their home in mid-April. Palmer also said her car had been vandalized, its brakes and clutch irreparably damaged twice, shortly after she left Denis.
On Monday, Justice Craig Jones decided to revoke the EPO that had been issued in a closed provincial courtroom in late April, saying he did not see enough evidence to demonstrate that the order was necessary.
“Ms. Palmer is not in danger of family violence and is not in need of protection,” he ruled.
Palmer had testified that she told Karen Prentice at a social event in mid-April that she and Denis had separated, and that he had been threatening her. In a statement Monday, the premier said his wife had become aware of the marital discord on April 13, through a Facebook message, at around the same time Palmer moved out of the marital home.
The Wildrose called for Denis to resign as a candidate, but Prentice stood by his former minister in a statement.
“A marriage breakdown is a tragic circumstance for all involved. And that is what this remains, a matrimonial dispute that continues to be extremely difficult for both of these people,” he said.
Denis resigned from cabinet on April 25, shortly after the EPO was issued. He remains a PC candidate in Calgary-Acadia.
Denis had petitioned to have the publication ban lifted on the EPO hearings. Postmedia Inc., the company that owns the National Post and other Postmedia papers and the Sun chain, also applied to have the ban quashed.
Palmer said her husband had an intense temper, that the pair often had long fights, and that she occasionally locked herself in the bathroom. Early in their relationship, she said, he put her into a headlock and kneed her nose, which left her bloody.
Denis said that was an accident. He had a “knee jerk” reaction after he woke up while Palmer was performing an “intimate act,” and apologized.
Testifying in Denis’s defence were Alan Hallman and Craig Chandler. Hallman, a Tory lobbyist who is running the PC campaign in southern Alberta, said he visited Palmer in her home to discuss the marriage shortly before the writ dropped.
“I had a particular concern leading up to an election. We were in a ‘ red zone,’ ” he testified.
Meanwhile, Chandler, who has run dozens of political campaigns in Alberta, and is currently running as a PC candidate in Calgary, claimed he overheard Palmer while he was in his car and she was on a crowded street the day after the EPO was ordered. Chandler said he overheard Palmer say: “I’ve made his day hard. I’m going to get some good money out of this.”