Law society hearing begins for former Alberta justice minister Kaycee Madu
A hearing is underway to determine whether former Alberta justice minister Kaycee Madu should face professional discipline over a phone call he made to Edmonton’s police chief after receiving a traffic ticket.
The Law Society of Alberta, which regulates lawyers in the province, issued Madu a citation last July.
The issue at hand is Madu’s actions on March 10, 2021, when he was still part of the United Conservative government, and serving as justice minister.
An Edmonton Police Service officer stopped Madu while he was driving in south Edmonton and gave him a ticket for distracted driving. The officer said Madu had his cellphone in his hand while driving in a school zone.
Madu denies he was using any of the three cellphones he had with him while he was driving, but he paid the $300 ticket two days later.
Law society counsel Ken McEwan said Monday that he will present evidence that Madu identified himself as the provincial justice minister “more than once” during the traffic stop.
Shortly after getting the ticket, Madu called Edmonton police Chief Dale McFee. Both McFee, and the officer who issued the ticket to Madu, are expected to testify this week.
McEwan said he will argue that by making the phone call, Madu failed to adhere to the standards of conduct expected in the legal profession.
The former MLA’s lawyer, Perry Mack, argued Monday that while the ticket may have prompted the call to McFee, it wasn’t the purpose of contacting the chief.
“The subsequent politics and media storm have distorted what happened and distorted the motivations and purpose of Madu’s call,” Mack said.
At the time, Madu was dealing with two major files: concerns around racial profiling in the police practice of carding or street checks, and serious allegations of misconduct in the Lethbridge Police Service with inappropriate surveillance of NDP MLA Shannon Phillips.
“[Madu] had to be sure, in light of these issues, that it was not a result of carding, not somehow related to what was going on in Lethbridge at the time,” Mack said.
“Chief McFee assured him it was not either of those two problems. That was the end of the matter as far as Mr. Madu was concerned.”
A three-member panel will decide whether Madu engaged in conduct that “undermined respect for the administration of justice,” according to the citation.
Previous investigation included in hearing evidence
Soon after CBC News reported on the call, then-premier Jason Kenney called on a retired judge, Adèle Kent, to investigate.
Kent concluded Madu attempted to interfere with the administration of justice by calling McFee, but did not successfully interfere.
She also concluded the phone call created a reasonable perception of interference.
“People in positions of influence or power like politicians, ministers of the Crown, judges and so on cannot use their position to obtain a personal benefit,” Kent wrote in her report.
“In the case of a traffic stop, there is a process to deal with traffic tickets and with any concerns about police behaviour. Phoning the Chief of Police directly is not an option nor is it appropriate.”
Kenney shuffled Madu into the labour and immigration portfolio after the report was released in February 2022. He continued as the MLA for Edmonton South-West until he lost his seat in the 2023 election.
Madu’s lawyer argued Kent’s report shouldn’t be admissible in the law society hearing because her opinion came about through a “political process” she was drawn into.
He submitted that it wasn’t legal proceeding where Madu had a chance to hear and respond to information given by the people Kent interviewed.
But the law society hearing committee determined the report will be admitted into evidence, with the ability to decide how much weight to give it.
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