A Law Society of Alberta hearing has been underway since Monday to determine whether the province’s former justice minister, Kaycee Madu, acted unprofessionally by calling Edmonton’s police chief following a a fine in 2021.
The former MP for the Edmonton-Southwest constituency was summoned last July.
In turn, Edmonton Police Chief Dale McFee, as well as the police officer who issued the fine and Kaycee Madu testified before a panel of three members of the bar.
They were questioned about the details surrounding their respective interactions related to the events.
On the morning of March 10, 2021, Kaycee Madu was intercepted by the municipal police while driving his company vehicle.
Driving in a school zone with a cell phone in his hand, he was given a $300 fine for being distracted while driving.
Kaycee Madu, then head of the Department of Justice, then called Dale McFee to discuss the traffic stop he had been subjected to.
Once revealed to the public, the story caused a stir and led to an independent investigation.
Found guilty of attempting to interfere with the administration of justice, the official lawyer saw his ministerial portfolio replaced by that of Minister of Labor and Immigration.
He was not re-elected in the 2023 provincial elections.
Concerned about racial profiling
Testifying Monday, Dale McFee described his phone conversation with Kaycee Madu as cordial
. He also affirmed that there was never any question of canceling the ticket.
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Edmonton Police Service Chief Dale McFee was on vacation when Kaycee Madu contacted him. (Archive photo)
Photo: Radio-Canada
The former minister’s concerns would have rather concerned racial profiling. Kaycee Madu feared the traffic stop was motivated by her ethnicity.
I very much doubt that this is profiling for a traffic ticket
Dale McFee would have replied.
Kaycee Madu argued that this was a current issue in these functions.
I reminded [Dale McFee] our conversations and work about racial profiling. I told him I had just experienced it.
Dale McFee stated that he simply indicated his options, either to pay the ticket or to contest it in court or to file a complaint if he judged that his rights had been violated.
As the unjustified police surveillance of MP Shannon Phillips had just come to light, Kaycee Madu said she feared she would also be targeted because of her position.
Divergent versions
On Tuesday, it was the turn of police officer Ryan Brooks to present his testimony by answering questions from bar lawyer Ken McEwan.
The policeman maintains that he saw very clearly
a cell phone in Kaycee Madu’s right hand before intercepting her vehicle, which the former minister firmly denies.
Instead, he claims to have interacted with the dashboard console of his vehicle.
Kaycee Madu had three cell phones in his possession at the time of the incident: two for his duties as minister and deputy and another for his personal use.
However, he assures that they were stored in a bag and in his coat pocket.
The notes taken by Ryan Brooks at the end of his intervention also support that Kaycee Madu mentioned to him at least four times
that he was Minister of Justice.
According to the police officer’s impressions, it was a way of proving to him that he could not have committed such an offense.
Kaycee Madu attested, however, to having mentioned his title only once. He said he wanted to explain in this way why he did not have car insurance, but rather a fleet card proving that it was a ministerial vehicle.
With information from Madeline Smith
