Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says he recalls hearing about justice minister Kaycee Madu’s distracted driving ticket “at some point last year” but did not further comment on the issue as it is pending investigation.
During a media availability on Thursday, Kenney said he was fully briefed on the issue on Monday. He also said he reached out to judiciary leaders that day, who said a third-party investigation was needed.
A report will hopefully be available in the near future, he said.
“I cold-called Minister Madu to ask what happened from his perspective and why he made this call. I expressed my serious disappointment that he would have done this. He told me what he said in his public statements (about the matter),” said Kenney.
When asked why he did not fire Madu straight away, Kenney said the typical response when someone is met with serious allegations is to put them on a leave of absence first, conduct an investigation and decide after the facts have been established.
“If Chief McFee had alleged that he felt this was an interference in the administration of justice, then I would have made an immediate decision, but that’s not the public statement that we have,” said Kenney.
This comes after Kenney stripped Madu of his duties on Monday after CBC News broke the story that Madu was fined for distracted driving and called Edmonton’s police chief to discuss the ticket.
Earlier Thursday, the city’s chief of police Dale McFee maintained that Madu did not ask to rescind the ticket and that the ticket has been fully paid.
When asked whether or not Madu should keep his position as the justice minister, McFee refused to answer.
“We’ll give full cooperation to the inquiry, and it’s not my view or decision to tell what a person should be in or what they shouldn’t,” McFee said.
Minister Madu has since said he did not drive while distracted, stating that his phone was in his inside pocket.
“Due to the timing of the incident, I wanted to ensure that I was not being unlawfully surveilled following the controversy surrounding the Lethbridge Police Service. I also raised concerns around profiling of racial minorities that was in the media at the time.
“Chief McFee assured me that that was most definitely not the case, and I accepted him at his word,” said Madu in a public statement.