Jonathan Brian Denis, ECAKC (born September 22, 1975) is a Canadian politician and lawyer. On May 9, 2012, he was named Solicitor General, Attorney General, and Minister of Justice for the province of Alberta. He represented the constituency of Calgary-Acadia (formerly Calgary-Egmont) as a Progressive Conservative in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 2008 until 2015.
He was first elected in the 2008 provincial election and was appointed to cabinet in January 2010, making him the second youngest person to be named to cabinet in Alberta history.[1] Denis was re-elected to the newly named constituency of Calgary-Acadia on April 23, 2012.[2]
Early life and education
Jonathan Denis is the son of a soldier in the Canadian forces.[3] He graduated in 1993 from Luther College,[4] a private school in Regina, SK.[5] He received a commerce degree from the University of Regina in 1997 and a law degree from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon in 2000. While in law school, Denis was invited as a speaker at an international law conference in Montreal, Quebec.[6] In 2018, Denis completed his ICD.D designation with the Institute of Corporate Directors, a program from Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto.[7]
Later in his career, Jonathan completed a Master of Laws (LL.M) degree from the University of Arizona, graduating with high honours.[8][better source needed]
Prior to becoming an MLA, Denis was a senior associate, specializing in government relations, at Miller Thomson LLP,[10] a major Canadian law firm. He was also the co-founder and President of 3D Contact Inc.,[11] the other founder being Nepean-Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre Listed contacts of 3D Contact Inc. are Stephen Harper, Stockwell Day, and Ted Morton.[12] He was also the founder of a successful real estate investment firm named Liberty West Properties Inc.[13] Denis resigned from both positions after being elected.
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
2008 Election, private MLA (2008-2010)
Denis sought public office for the Alberta Progressive Conservatives in the 2008 provincial election in the constituency of Calgary-Egmont where he received 43.6% of the vote, beating former Calgary School Board chair Cathie Williams.[14]
Denis initially served as a member of the Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund, the Public Accounts Committee, the Standing Committee on Health, and the Cabinet Policy Committee on Health.[12] In 2008, Deputy Premier Ron Stevens also appointed Denis to the Alberta/Alaska Bilateral Council.[15]
In 2008, Health and Wellness Minister Ron Liepert asked Denis to conduct a widely based consultation for the Alberta Pharmaceutical Strategy. Denis's report came up with ten key recommendations for changes to pharmaceutical policy for the Alberta government.[16]
Also in 2008, Sustainable Resources Minister Ted Morton appointed Denis to the Land Use Framework Committee[17]
On September 16, 2009, Denis was named the Parliamentary Assistant for Energy.[18]
As a lawyer since 2001, Denis introduced the new Alberta Rules of Court as Bill 31, 2009.[19] This bill provided sweeping reforms to court process and completely new rules of court and procedure for Alberta.
Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs (2010-2011)
Denis was sworn in as Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs as well as Deputy Government House Leader on January 15, 2010,.[20]
On April 6, 2011, Denis provided $638,000.00 in provincial housing money to support tenants of the YWCA's Ophelia House in Calgary. Ophelia House supports women experiencing homelessness.[21]
In 2011, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation wrote an article praising Denis for reducing spending in his department by 39% while still achieving targets.[22]
Solicitor General & Minister of Public Security (2011-2012), 2012 Election
On October 12, 2011, Denis was sworn in as Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security.[23] He was re-elected in the newly named riding of Calgary-Acadia on April 23, 2012.
Minister of Justice, Attorney General, & Solicitor General (2012-2015), 2015 Election
Denis was named Minister of Justice, Solicitor General, Attorney General, and Provincial Secretary Alberta on May 9, 2012.
Denis has pursued a "law and order" policy on crime, increasing the amount of RCMP in rural areas[24] and a provincial grant for 300 new police officers in the cities.[25]
On September 1, 2012, Denis enacted strict penalties on drunk drivers.[26] Following this drunk driving law, drunk driving charges went down two years in a row, including 17% in 2015.[27]
On April 17, 2014, Denis supported removing the previous preamble to the Marriage Act which made the Act gender-neutral, respecting the LGBTQ community and same-sex marriage.[28]
On June 13, 2014, Denis provided a grant from the Civil Forfeiture Fund to the Edmonton Pride Centre. The grant was used to support programs for LGBTQ youth.[29]
On July 21, 2014, Denis doubled the limit in Alberta small claims court to $50,000.00, which allows "self-represented litigants to avoid more complicated civil proceedings in Court of Queen’s Bench."[30] This move was lauded by many Alberta lawyers as a positive step for access to justice.[31]
Denis was re-appointed to his previous positions by new Premier Jim Prentice on September 15, 2014.[32] Prentice subsequently appointed Denis Government House Leader.[33]
On September 24, 2014, Denis attended the YWCA's 9th annual "Walk a Mile in her Shoes" to raise funds and awareness toward ending domestic abuse.[34]
Denis resigned on April 25, 2015, during the 2015 election campaign, due to "legal proceedings" between himself and his estranged wife, Breanna Palmer.[35] On May 4, 2015, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Craig Jones cleared Denis's name and "revoked" the order that his wife had obtained against him, stating that Palmer's "recollection of the events was inaccurate".[36] Denis continued as a candidate but was defeated in the May 5, 2015 general election, finishing third in a close three-way race. In February 2019, Justice Jones of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench found that Palmer had "lied to the court" with a goal of getting Denis to pay her $1 million, and that there was no evidence Denis had ever abused Palmer.[37]
Earlier in the campaign, Denis denied vandalizing his own campaign signs so that they'd read "Jonathan Penis" as a way of getting attention.[38]
Accolades
In 2009, Denis was appointed Queen's Counsel of Alberta.[39] This is a designation given to lawyers who have exhibited "outstanding contributions to the legal profession or in public life".[40]
Denis was also named as one of Avenue Magazine's "Top 40 under 40" in 2010, which the magazine describes as "an annual selection of the brightest and most active leaders under the age of 40".[41]
In 2011, the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation wrote an article praising Denis for reducing spending in his department by 39% while still achieving targets.[22] The Canadian Taxpayers' Federation has also twice given Denis a "nice" award for having the best expenses in the entire Alberta government, calling his expenses "boring".[42]
Post-Politics
After leaving politics, Denis became a lawyer for Guardian Law Group in Calgary.[43] In June 2021, Denis represented Edmonton city councillor and mayoral candidate Mike Nickel during a hearing regarding Nickel's personal conduct and use of emails obtained as a councillor for campaign purposes.[44]
In 2021, he was part of a high-profile call by several lawyers advocating for the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands to investigate the discovery of 215 deceased indigenous children in Kamloops, BC.[45] The Calgary Herald published an op-ed authored by Denis and three other lawyers regarding this matter.[46]
While no longer named in the lawsuit arising from former Alberta chief medical examiner Dr. Anny Sauvageau's allegations of wrongful dismissal, lawyers at Denis' firm Guardian Law Group [47] representing Denis have threatened future legal action against Dr. Sauvageau on the basis of defamation in the media.[48] Court of Queen's Bench Justice Doreen Sulyma, presiding over the trial, noted that this letter was "unprecedented" in her experience [48] and the timing of the letter as "disastrous".[49] Sulyma found Denis in contempt of court, finding he did intend to intimidate Sauvageau and to "obstruct her testimony and the trial process itself".[50] On October 31, 2022, the Alberta Court of Appeal unanimously overturned the contempt citation and cleared Denis of any wrongdoing,[51] with the Edmonton Journal noting that the ruling from the bench was "rare".[52]
In September 2022 Jonathan Denis apologized for a series of videos released by an anonymous source which showed a crude negative caricature of indigenous people referencing casinos and alcoholism "if they depict real events"; in his apology, Denis claimed he "had no recollection of the events".[53] Calgary City Counsellor Dan McLean who also was in the videos stated "I do want to take responsibility and demonstrate that I am willing to learn to grow, change and be better. That does start with the circle of elders," McLean also stepped down from all City Council boards as a result of the racist videos.[54]
In an interview Craig Chandler who was also in the videos stated that "Some comedy is not politically correct, but this is a private function of my close friends. The video was taken by a close friend, I thought. Quite frankly, this cancel culture is killing society … I should be able to joke on an issue in the confines of my own home."[55]
Chandler went on to say what was said in the videos was correct but only the accent had been altered. In an interview with CBC Chandler would say something else during that interview. He said Denis had a contact in Hollywood who had done an audit of the video. That contact, Chandler said, had determined that though the video was "correct," and the words had been said, the Indigenous accent had been "manipulated" and "exaggerated." [56]
The Western Standard later reported that Reality Defender, a New York based company specializing in deepfake detection, said they were "LIKELY FAKE not 100% fake", giving probabilities of 78%, 66%, and 69% of the three videos having been manipulated.[57] further added only that the Indigenous accent had been "manipulated" and "exaggerated." Reality Defender's report "determined that the audio was 99% likely manipulated".[58]
Symeon Papadopoulos, principal researcher at the Information Technologies Institute and head of the MeVer group, also tested the videos. Papadopoulos stated "...it would be surprising if the videos were fakes, Papadopoulos said. They don't bear any of the usual artifacts of deepfake videos — artifacts being visual clues left behind in the finished product by the deepfake generation model — and some angles at which the videos are shot are very challenging to fake."[58]
Regarding manipulating the voices, Hany Farid of the National Academy of Inventors said "Is it possible that somebody took that recording, took the audio of him and put it through some type of morphing, or modulation to change his intonation or his accent? Sure, that's possible. But I don't know a voice modulator that makes you sound insulting."[58]
On August 18, 2023, Andrea Petzold was charged with "extortion, uttering threats, possession of a prohibited firearm, unauthorized possession of a firearm and unauthorized possession of a prohibited weapon."[59] with specific reference in the RCMP's press release about "a report of an individual attempting to extort money from the victim and threatening to release to the public a reportedly fake video."[60] with Denis being identified as the victim.[61] Petzold was previously facing criminal charges of uttering threats against three other people.[62]
Denis has represented numerous clients in high profile cases, including a class action alleging serial abuse by a former Calgary [63] representing the victim of a random stabbing in downtown Calgary,[64] and a case against a Calgary long term care facility where a senior was allegedly assaulted.[65]
Directorships and Charity Involvement
Denis is a member of the Board of Directors of Horizon West Infrastructure Fund [66] and the Board of Advisors of the Global Chamber.[67] He has also been involved in raising funds for charities such as the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society.[67]
^"Support for Pride Centre". Alberta Justice and Solicitor General Blog. June 13, 2014. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
