Former Alberta justice minister Kaycee Madu to face law society hearing
CBC
The Law Society of Alberta plans to hold a disciplinary hearing into whether former justice minister Kaycee Madu engaged in unprofessional conduct by calling Edmonton's police chief about a traffic ticket.
The society, which regulates lawyers in the province, issued Madu a citation on July 5, a spokesperson said in an email Friday.
A three-member panel will decide whether Madu, who is a lawyer, engaged in conduct that "undermined respect for the administration of justice," according to the citation. No hearing date is set.
On March 10, 2021, while Madu was justice minister, an Edmonton police officer issued him a ticket for distracted driving. The officer said Madu had his cellphone in his hand while driving in a school zone.
Madu then called Edmonton police chief Dale McFee to discuss the $300 ticket.
When then-premier Jason Kenney called on a retired judge to investigate, both Madu and McFee told retired justice Adèle Kent that Madu, who is Black, called McFee to raise concerns the officer was racially profiling him. Both men said Madu did not ask McFee to cancel the ticket.
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.
"There is a process that the Minister knows well to address questions of police conduct. It does not start with a phone call to the chief of police," her February 2022 report said.
Kenney shuffled Madu into the labour and immigration portfolio, and appointed Tyler Shandro as justice minister and solicitor general. Shandro had previously served as health and then labour minister in Kenney's cabinet.
Madu also served in Premier Danielle Smith's cabinet after she won the UCP leadership in October 2022.
The one-term MLA lost the seat in Edmonton-South West to the NDP's Nathan Ip in the May 29 provincial election.
Madu has not yet responded to messages from CBC. No one answered the phone at a number listed for his legal office.
It is unclear if Madu is currently working as a lawyer. The law society's directory lists him as "practising" as the minister of municipal affairs – a portfolio he hasn't held since August 2020. The society said individual lawyers are responsible for updating their information on the directory.
Madu is the third Alberta justice minister in eight years to face a law society hearing for his conduct — a pattern Mount Royal University policy studies associate professor Lori Williams says is "quite unusual."
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