EDMONTON — The Opposition in the Alberta legislature says Premier Jason Kenney needs to disclose when he learned that his justice minister had phoned Edmonton’s police chief about a traffic ticket and what Kenney did when he found out.
“This all happened 10 months ago,” NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir told a news conference Tuesday.
“Today Premier Kenney needs to come out publicly and state for the record when he and his cabinet were first informed.”
Kenney announced on social media Monday that he was relieving Justice Minster Kaycee Madu of his duties and asking an independent investigator to look into the call Madu made to Edmonton police Chief Dale McFee last March.
Kenney took the action hours after the CBC reported on the ticket and Madu’s subsequent call to the chief.
“I have spoken with Minister Madu about the March 10 incident reported in the media today. I conveyed to him my profound disappointment in his decision to contact the Edmonton police chief after receiving a ticket for a traffic violation,” Kenney wrote.
Justin Brattinga, the premier’s spokesman, did not respond to email requests for comment on who knew what — and when — about Madu's call to McFee.
Nor did Brattinga respond to request for comment on specifics of the investigation into the call, including who would be selected to look into it and a preliminary timeline for completion.
Kenney said Energy Minister Sonya Savage will handle Madu’s justice duties until the investigation is complete.
Kenney, in the online statement, said he wants to know if there was any interference in the administration of justice.
Sabir reiterated that Madu should be fired as the United Conservative government's justice minister, because the call was what Sabir said was a gross violation of police independence.
He also questioned what an investigator might determine, given that all parties agree on the salient facts of the call.
Madu, in a statement Monday, said he phoned McFee after a police officer ticketed him for distracted driving. Madu, who is Black, said the call was strictly to seek assurances that he was not being racially profiled or singled out for surveillance because of his political position.
He said McFee assured him that was not the case. And, Madu said, at no point did he seek to have the ticket cancelled. Edmonton police, in a statement, confirmed that to be true.
"I paid the ticket fully and promptly. I have the utmost respect for our men and women in uniform, and for the invaluable, often thankless role they perform,” said Madu.
A member of Alberta’s anti-racism advisory council questioned the decision to have Madu step down immediately.
Charles Odame-Ankrah said Madu has been a champion in the fight against racial profiling and abuse of visible minorities, and deserves a fair hearing on what he was trying to accomplish with the call to McFee.
“The premier acted too hastily (in having Madu step down) without looking for details into the matter,” said Odame-Ankrah in an interview.
“I’m expecting a full-scale investigation and we are following this issue to the letter.”
Madu could not be reached for further comment Tuesday.
The first-term member of the legislature, who represents the constituency of Edmonton-South West, was named justice minister in August 2020.
He is the lone UCP member in Edmonton. The rest of the city's constituencies are held by the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2022.
Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press
