Kaycee Madu should resign as Alberta’s justice minister, says Opposition justice critic Irfan Sabir, after news emerged Monday he called Edmonton’s police chief to discuss the circumstances around him receiving a distracted driving ticket.
“Minister Kaycee Madu must resign,” the NDP MLA said in a news release issued Monday afternoon. “It is wholly unacceptable for the Attorney General to engage with senior law enforcement regarding a penalty levied against him.”
Global News has reached out to Madu’s office for comment on the matter after CBC News first broke the story (hyperlink: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/madu-alberta-justice-minister-ticket-police-edmonton-1.6315184) about both the ticket and the phone call to Chief Dale McFee.
In a statement issued to Global News, the Edmonton Police Service confirmed Madu was handed a distracted driving ticket on March 10, 2021, however, further details about the incident were not disclosed.
“Minister Madu had concerns about the context of the traffic stop,” an EPS spokesperson said. “To be clear, he did not ask the chief to rescind the ticket.
“The ticket remains valid and was issued correctly.”
READ MORE: Upcoming changes to Alberta traffic courts ‘removing access to justice’: critics
“Regular Alberta drivers do not have the ability to call their local police chief and discuss traffic tickets,” Sabir said. “Madu used his position as minister to initiate this conversation, and regardless of whether he asked the chief to cancel the ticket, it is political interference for him to have discussed it all.
“There is a long-standing parliamentary precedent that prohibits this kind of behaviour. It is inappropriate for any cabinet minister to interfere in the administration of justice, even more so when it’s directly related to their own personal self-interest, and it’s utterly unacceptable when that interference is committed but the Attorney General.”
More to come…