Former Calgary leaders opposing police request to keep phones seized in investigation

The Calgary Courts Centre is pictured in Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

CALGARY — The lawyer for former Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek is arguing police have no reason to hold onto her phone any longer as they investigate her and others for municipal corruption.

“An admission that there is no timeline, that there’s no capability, there’s not specific step plan for this phone within the year is the opposite of the kind of evidence that is demanded,” Rebecca Snukal told the Court of Justice on Wednesday, referencing requirements laid out in a separate B.C. court decision.

Snukal and Shamsher Kothari, lawyer for former city councillor Sean Chu, are asking the court to dismiss a police request to extend the hold on their clients’ devices, including their phones.

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Kothari and Snukal argued police are whiling away time waiting for software to break into their clients’ phones, which are guarded by security barriers.

Police say there could be crucial evidence hidden inside.

None of these allegations have been tested in court and no charges have been laid.

Justice Allan Fradsham reserved his decision to extend the retention of their items for July.

Investigators allege Gondek and Chu were involved in an influence peddling scheme where council reconsidered a change in bylaw to allow for a townhome development in Calgary in exchange for campaign donations that exceeded the allowable amount.

Court documents did not disclose how much was offered or if that money changed hands.

“The allegations are serious, police are trying to continue the investigation and they ought to be given an additional period of time to at least try to investigate it,” said Douglas Taylor, counsel for the Calgary Police Service.

Gondek’s iPhone and Chu’s iPhone, Apple-branded watch and tablet are among the items at the centre of the police request. They were seized by police in March and would have needed to be returned this week.

In an affidavit, Calgary police Det. Matthew White says they need a year with the devices, hoping to preserve potential evidence as they await more high-tech software to crack through the security barriers.

While conducting a separate search, police found “evidence of the offences” allegedly committed by the former municipal leaders, White said in his affidavit.

White said police began investigating Gondek, Chu and others in the business community for municipal corruption, obstruction of justice and fabricating evidence in July 2025.

White confirmed that he did not know when police would be able to crack the security barrier on Gondek’s and Chu’s phones.

“When we have no evidence whatsoever that they’re even working on the problem, I think it’s fatal to the Calgary Police Service’s application,” Kothari argued.

Snukal also confirmed that neither White nor anyone from the investigative team has asked Gondek for her password.

In his affidavits, White outlined the steps of an alleged scheme last summer in which Gondek counselled a property developer on how to reopen a council vote on their development application.

The vote had originally tied but was approved after it was reconsidered.

White also said in his affidavit that Chu asked the developer that discussions be kept to his personal phone because his work phone would be subject to freedom of information requests, which are formal applications to public bodies for records not publicly available.

Gondek was mayor from 2021 to 2025 but was defeated in the most recent municipal election. Chu had been a councillor for a decade but did not run in 2025.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2026.

Dayne Patterson, The Canadian Press