Calgary councillor Chu used ‘police appeal’ in case involving minor: reports

Posted Oct 28, 2021 8:30 am.

Last Updated Oct 28, 2021 10:55 am.

New reports show embattled Calgary councillor Sean Chu was disciplined for using police pagers, police business cards, and his “police appeal” to “enhance his off-duty personal life.”

Chu was re-elected as Ward 4 councillor on Oct. 18, but there are increasing calls for him to step down as details of inappropriate sexual contact with a minor started surfacing.

A transcript from the disciplinary hearing shows the presiding officer reportedly did not believe the accuser and discredited her evidence entirely, according to a report by the CBC.

The outlet says the transcript shows the presiding officer believed that the accuser was inconsistent in her account of the incident and had too much difficulty remembering pertinent details.

The CBC says the sentencing decision took place in 2003, six years after the sexual contact occurred, and that the presiding officer said she would not take the victim’s evidence into consideration during sentencing.

However, the presiding officer did reportedly take issue with Chu using his police appeal to enhance his personal life.

She gave him a six-month ethics assignment and restricted his career opportunities for an additional five years.

CityNews is working on verifying these claims.

Chu has admitted to having contact with the girl, but no charges were laid

Chu has admitted to having contact with the victim, although he maintains that they had met in a pub, so he had assumed the girl was over 18. Other media reports indicate that may not be the case.

While he was disciplined following an internal hearing, no criminal charges were laid.

Chu was also involved in a domestic incident with his wife that involved a firearm and resulted in a police response back in 2008.

While he didn’t go into details, Calgary Police Service Chief Mark Neufeld said Chu was on personal unpaid leave. Again, an investigation was launched but no charges were laid.

Despite these two incidents, Chu got an exemplary service award when he retired from the force in 2014.

There has been mounting criticism following the initial report that came out earlier this month, and several Calgarians and politicians have called on Chu to resign.

A protest over the weekend calling for Chu to remove himself was met with a dueling rally in support of him.

The Ward 4 councillor has firmly stated he won’t be stepping down from his post at City Hall.

Recall legislation wouldn’t be able to remove Chu immediately

Politician recall legislation could come into effect later this month, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it would be used right away in Chu’s case.

Under the act, an individual who lives in the ward of a municipal official or constituency of a provincial official could start a petition to get that person removed from office.

Once a petition is started, there’s a 60-day deadline to receive at least 40 per cent of eligible voters in that ward or constituency to agree to remove the official.

The caveat is you cannot remove an elected official until 18 months after an election. So, Chu wouldn’t be able to be removed until at least April 2023.

In the interim, Alberta’s municipal affairs minister, Ric McIver, says the province can’t simply fire the councillor.

“Because of the extremely unique circumstances involving Calgary City Council and Councillor-elect Chu, and the lack of clarity for recourse in the Municipal Government Act, I have asked for outside, independent legal counsel to review the legislation and provide expert advice on what action – if any – the Minister of Municipal Affairs may legally take,” McIver said last week.

He explained current legislation wasn’t designed to deal with the conduct of an elected official before they enter office.

“Contrary to what some have suggested, the Minister of Municipal Affairs cannot simply arbitrarily ‘fire’ an elected municipal official. But following recent revelations regarding Councillor-elect Chu, I asked non-partisan department officials to review the Municipal Government Act to verify what legal recourse – if any – exists for the Minister of Municipal Affairs,” he added.

Mounting pressure might be best shot at removing Chu, says expert

With few legal options for Calgarians wanting to see Chu removed, a political scientist says pressure from the community might be the only option.

“Generally speaking, the only reason that somebody elected to office can be removed is if they committed an election law violation,” Mount Royal University political scientist Lori Williams told CityNews in a previous interview.

Williams said it would be a strong argument for recall — but that legislation hasn’t yet been proclaimed by the province.

The province could conduct an informal review, but it wouldn’t have the power to enact change, and Williams says government officials would have to be careful.

“Clearly, there are a number of people in the UCP government that have either donated to or been closely associated with Sean Chu, and because of that, there would have to be an independent investigation or review,” said Williams.

Williams adds Chu’s constituents would lose in all of this.

“Perhaps the biggest problem here is he won’t be able to represent the people of Ward 4 effectively because he won’t be able to participate in a number of committees and activities.”

She says, for example, he would have to recuse himself from any matters involving police.

“If he doesn’t resign, he will be increasingly isolated, not just on council but in terms of his ability to work with the rest of council and city administration and get the work done.”

-with files from Cara Campbell, Jeff Slack, and Stefanie Lasuik

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