Former Alberta justice minister Kaycee Madu to face law society hearing

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. 

Missteps becoming a UCP 'brand problem', professor says

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."

Shandro is in the midst of a disciplinary hearing before a society panel regarding his conduct as health minister. He lost to the NDP in Calgary-Acadia in the May 29 election.

Former Progressive Conservative justice minister Jonathan Denis is awaiting a hearing on two allegations — that he had a conflict of interest with one client, and threatened to make a regulatory complaint for the benefit of another client.

Williams says the behaviour shows a troubling pattern, particularly when considering Smith's actions as premier.

"It's becoming a bit of a brand problem, I think, for the United Conservative Party," Williams said.

In May, Alberta's ethics commissioner found Premier Smith violated conflict of interest law when she called Justice Minister Shandro to discuss the criminal charges against Artur Pawlowski.

Pawlowski was convicted of criminal mischief for encouraging protesters to continue an international border blockade in Coutts in 2022, who were protesting pandemic health restrictions.

Williams says Kenney and Smith sent a message to the public by keeping Madu and Shandro in cabinet while they faced serious allegations.

If the government wants to set high standards, it should put distance between itself and people who are accused of misconduct, Williams said.

Smith's press secretary, Sam Blackett, said in an email that Madu was a "great representative for the Edmonton area and served as a crucial voice and advocate for the region in cabinet."

Smith wanted ministers from all regions of the province, he said.

Madu was the only UCP MLA elected within Edmonton city limits in 2019.

Jon Havelock, who was Premier Ralph Klein's justice minister and government house leader from 1997 to 1999, said it's frustrating to see recent justice ministers accused of making ethical missteps.

"They should know better," he said in an interview.

And if their transgressions were inadvertent, their staff should have briefed them better, he said.

When Klein appointed Havelock justice minister, his deputy minister gave him a binder of "dos and don'ts," and he said he read it from cover to cover.

He said the boundaries were made clear to him — don't interfere with cases before the court. Don't comment on them. And don't call up a police officer's supervisor if you get a ticket, he said. 

Havelock said Smith's decision to keep Madu in cabinet to keep an Edmonton face at the table may have done more harm than good.

"Don't complain when the general public is jaded with respect to politicians generally," he said.