DUH OH
Braid: Madu's phone call to police is cause for firing from cabinetDon Braid, Calgary Herald
Justice Minister Kaycee Madu got a $300 ticket for distracted driving in a school zone. He then called Edmonton’s police chief to talk about it.
© Provided by Calgary Herald Alberta Justice Minister and Solicitor General Kaycee Madu speaks to media in Calgary and online on Friday, October 29, 2021.
That’s a firing offence. There’s no blurring of this red line. When the politician who’s effectively in charge of the police calls the police with any discussion of a personal case, he’s done himself out of the job.
Monday night, Premier Jason Kenney said he asked Madu to step back from ministerial duties and noted details about an “independent review” would be made public in the near future.
“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 said on Twitter.
“In the interim period, I have asked Minister Madu to step back from his ministerial duties,” Kenney said. “Minister Sonya Savage will act as Minister of Justice and Solicitor General during Minister Madu’s leave of absence.”
The ticket episode was widely known in cabinet circles and talked about in jocular tones, sources say.
The premier’s office was aware but that does not necessarily mean the information was passed on to Kenney himself. If not, it certainly should have been. And the result should have been Madu leaving the justice post immediately and permanently.
Now he’s out for a nice leave, because it’s public.
Kaycee Madu is very important in the UCP world. He is the only government MLA to be elected in Edmonton, and hence (obviously) the only minister from the capital.
Kathleen Ganley, who was justice minister for the NDP years of government, said that no minister of any portfolio should make such a call to police about a personal interaction with officers.
All ministers have a responsibility to avoid even apparent conflicts of interest, she said. The responsibility of the justice minister, especially when dealing with the police, is heaviest of all.
“I was pretty shocked to hear this,” Ganley said. “The conflict of interest is pretty clear on the face of the facts.”
That’s a firing offence. There’s no blurring of this red line. When the politician who’s effectively in charge of the police calls the police with any discussion of a personal case, he’s done himself out of the job.
Monday night, Premier Jason Kenney said he asked Madu to step back from ministerial duties and noted details about an “independent review” would be made public in the near future.
“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 said on Twitter.
“In the interim period, I have asked Minister Madu to step back from his ministerial duties,” Kenney said. “Minister Sonya Savage will act as Minister of Justice and Solicitor General during Minister Madu’s leave of absence.”
The ticket episode was widely known in cabinet circles and talked about in jocular tones, sources say.
The premier’s office was aware but that does not necessarily mean the information was passed on to Kenney himself. If not, it certainly should have been. And the result should have been Madu leaving the justice post immediately and permanently.
Now he’s out for a nice leave, because it’s public.
Kaycee Madu is very important in the UCP world. He is the only government MLA to be elected in Edmonton, and hence (obviously) the only minister from the capital.
Kathleen Ganley, who was justice minister for the NDP years of government, said that no minister of any portfolio should make such a call to police about a personal interaction with officers.
All ministers have a responsibility to avoid even apparent conflicts of interest, she said. The responsibility of the justice minister, especially when dealing with the police, is heaviest of all.
“I was pretty shocked to hear this,” Ganley said. “The conflict of interest is pretty clear on the face of the facts.”
NDP energy critic Kathleen Ganley speaks to media at press conference on the steps of McDougall Centre in Calgary.
The CBC broke the story after obtaining the ticket that was issued to Madu. Postmedia confirmed the details.
The CBC also had an interview with Edmonton police chief Dale McFee, who acknowledged the call from Madu but said he hadn’t tried to get out of the ticket. Madu did, however, raise the issue of people of colour being ticketed. It’s a vitally important subject but not one the minister should be talking about to the police chief after he got the ticket.
Madu, because he’s the minister, got to talk to the police chief when all the rest of us will soon be deprived of our right to even challenge tickets or go to court.
Don’t even think about calling the chief under this new regime, an appalling violation of basic rights.
Besides the premier himself, Madu is also the UCP politician most eager to form an Alberta provincial police force to replace the RCMP.
Is this the way governance of that force would work? Hope not.
For Kenney, there’s also the question of who gets kicked out of his cabinet, and who gets to stay.
MLA Tracy Allard went to Hawaii on vacation a year or so ago. She and six other government voyagers prompted a huge uproar for travelling in the face of government advisories.
Kenney summarily kicked her out of cabinet. All the others were demoted and punished in various ways
The CBC broke the story after obtaining the ticket that was issued to Madu. Postmedia confirmed the details.
The CBC also had an interview with Edmonton police chief Dale McFee, who acknowledged the call from Madu but said he hadn’t tried to get out of the ticket. Madu did, however, raise the issue of people of colour being ticketed. It’s a vitally important subject but not one the minister should be talking about to the police chief after he got the ticket.
Madu, because he’s the minister, got to talk to the police chief when all the rest of us will soon be deprived of our right to even challenge tickets or go to court.
Don’t even think about calling the chief under this new regime, an appalling violation of basic rights.
Besides the premier himself, Madu is also the UCP politician most eager to form an Alberta provincial police force to replace the RCMP.
Is this the way governance of that force would work? Hope not.
For Kenney, there’s also the question of who gets kicked out of his cabinet, and who gets to stay.
MLA Tracy Allard went to Hawaii on vacation a year or so ago. She and six other government voyagers prompted a huge uproar for travelling in the face of government advisories.
Kenney summarily kicked her out of cabinet. All the others were demoted and punished in various ways
.
© Randy Vanderveen A sign mocks Municipal Affairs Minister Tracy Allard in front of her constituency office in Grande Prairie on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021.
In November, when Kenney’s office was sued for alleged harassment, Agriculture Minister Devin Dreeshen resigned from cabinet, acknowledging a drinking problem. He had been named in the lawsuit.
Leela Aheer was dropped from cabinet after criticizing Kenney publicly.
Ministers and MLAs involuntarily depart Kenney’s inner circle for all sorts of reasons. It’s quite the swinging door, actually.
If Madu is allowed to come back to justice after this “leave of absence,” it will be both a scandal and a puzzle. Rarely has there been an incident that so clearly shows the gap between them and the rest of us.
Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald
Twitter: @DonBraid
Facebook: Don Braid Politics
In November, when Kenney’s office was sued for alleged harassment, Agriculture Minister Devin Dreeshen resigned from cabinet, acknowledging a drinking problem. He had been named in the lawsuit.
Leela Aheer was dropped from cabinet after criticizing Kenney publicly.
Ministers and MLAs involuntarily depart Kenney’s inner circle for all sorts of reasons. It’s quite the swinging door, actually.
If Madu is allowed to come back to justice after this “leave of absence,” it will be both a scandal and a puzzle. Rarely has there been an incident that so clearly shows the gap between them and the rest of us.
Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald
Twitter: @DonBraid
Facebook: Don Braid Politics
Alberta premier asks justice minister to 'step back' from job over phone call to police chief
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says he's asked Justice Minister Kaycee Madu to "step back" from his job while an independent review examines if there was interference in the administration of justice after Madu phoned the Edmonton police chief about a traffic ticket.
The request follows a CBC News story Monday that revealed Madu had telephoned Edmonton police chief Dale McFee to discuss a distracted driving ticket he received March 10, 2021.
In a late-night announcement on Twitter, Kenney said that Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage will act as justice minister and solicitor general during Madu's leave of absence.
The premier said he will appoint an independent investigator to review relevant facts and determine whether there was interference in the administration of justice in this case. The findings of the review will be made public, he said.
"In the interim period, I have asked Minister Madu to step back from his ministerial duties," Kenney wrote.
Kenney said Madu told him that he did not ask the chief to have the ticket rescinded, and it wasn't his intention to interfere in the case. Madu also paid the ticket.
Jade Markus
CBC
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says he's asked Justice Minister Kaycee Madu to "step back" from his job while an independent review examines if there was interference in the administration of justice after Madu phoned the Edmonton police chief about a traffic ticket.
The request follows a CBC News story Monday that revealed Madu had telephoned Edmonton police chief Dale McFee to discuss a distracted driving ticket he received March 10, 2021.
In a late-night announcement on Twitter, Kenney said that Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage will act as justice minister and solicitor general during Madu's leave of absence.
The premier said he will appoint an independent investigator to review relevant facts and determine whether there was interference in the administration of justice in this case. The findings of the review will be made public, he said.
"In the interim period, I have asked Minister Madu to step back from his ministerial duties," Kenney wrote.
Kenney said Madu told him that he did not ask the chief to have the ticket rescinded, and it wasn't his intention to interfere in the case. Madu also paid the ticket.
© CBC Alberta Justice Minister Kaycee Madu was fined for distracted driving in March 2021, according to a traffic ticket obtained by CBC News.
In a statement to CBC News Monday, prior to Kenney's announcement, Madu confirmed the incident and that he had already paid the ticket in full. However, he said he told the officer who pulled him over that he disagreed with the fine and that his phone was in his pocket.
He said he called McFee because he wanted to ensure he was not being "unlawfully surveilled" following a controversy surrounding the Lethbridge Police Service.
At that time, the provincial government was preparing to step in after reports of unlawful surveillance and database searches conducted by Lethbridge officers on NDP MLA Shannon Phillips during her time as environment minister.
Madu, who is Black, said he wanted to raise concerns around about racial profiling with the chief.
"Chief McFee assured me that that was most definitely not the case, and I accepted him at his word…to be abundantly clear, at no point did I request that the ticket be rescinded. I would never do that.
"However, in that particular call, I regret raising the issue at all with the Chief McFee," Madu said.
McFee has confirmed that Madu did not ask to get out of the ticket, and that Madu expressed concern about people of colour being stopped by police and political tension with the Lethbridge Police Service.
In a statement to CBC News Monday, prior to Kenney's announcement, Madu confirmed the incident and that he had already paid the ticket in full. However, he said he told the officer who pulled him over that he disagreed with the fine and that his phone was in his pocket.
He said he called McFee because he wanted to ensure he was not being "unlawfully surveilled" following a controversy surrounding the Lethbridge Police Service.
At that time, the provincial government was preparing to step in after reports of unlawful surveillance and database searches conducted by Lethbridge officers on NDP MLA Shannon Phillips during her time as environment minister.
Madu, who is Black, said he wanted to raise concerns around about racial profiling with the chief.
"Chief McFee assured me that that was most definitely not the case, and I accepted him at his word…to be abundantly clear, at no point did I request that the ticket be rescinded. I would never do that.
"However, in that particular call, I regret raising the issue at all with the Chief McFee," Madu said.
McFee has confirmed that Madu did not ask to get out of the ticket, and that Madu expressed concern about people of colour being stopped by police and political tension with the Lethbridge Police Service.
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