Kaycee Madu says he called EPS chief after traffic ticket for 'assurance' he wasn't profiled

Former Alberta justice minister Kaycee Madu says he called Edmonton's police chief minutes after getting a traffic ticket because he was concerned about racial profiling and improper surveillance.

A three-day Law Society of Alberta hearing finished Wednesday after Madu answered questions about a 2021 traffic stop and phone call that has him facing the possibility of professional discipline as a lawyer.

Madu's lawyer, Perry Mack, called the proceedings an "astonishing" exercise in combing over Madu's actions and second-guessing his approach.

"This 10-minute traffic stop and this eight-minute telephone call, which amounted to a whole lot of nothing … has been turned by the law society into some form of assault by [Madu] upon the justice system," he said.

"With great respect, it should never have got this far, but here we are."

Law society counsel Ken McEwan argued that Madu's actions undermine public respect for the administration of justice, especially given his position of power in the public eye at the time.

"The response signals to the public that the minister of justice may be privileged to have special procedures in relation to a ticket that has been issued to him," he said.

"There is little comfort in the fact that the respondent did not explicitly seek to have the traffic ticket cancelled. The harm is done nonetheless."

A three-member hearing panel will now assess the case and decide whether to dismiss the citation against Madu or impose a penalty like a reprimand, fine or suspension. It's unclear when the decision will be issued.

Madu was the UCP government justice minister on March 10, 2021, when an Edmonton Police Service officer pulled him over in a school zone and issued a $300 distracted driving ticket. 

The former Edmonton-South West MLA testified that during that period, he was in the midst of extensive work to introduce legislation banning arbitrary police stops, known as carding. Madu said that as the first Black justice minister in Canada, people from racialized communities across the province were regularly sharing their concerns with him about police interactions.

Madu said that was on his mind when he pulled into a nearby supermarket parking lot and dialed EPS Chief Dale McFee's number.

"I have been hearing from folks from my community, from my constituents in town halls, in emails to my office, phone calls to my office, complaining about being stopped for no cause, without reason," Madu said.

"I said, 'Guess what? I have just experienced that. … I have just been traffic stopped by one of your men and accused of being on my phone when I was not on my phone.'"