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A Calgary judge has ruled that police can keep iPhones seized from former mayor Jyoti Gondek and former city councillor Sean Chu for up to a year.
Police seized the devices in March as part of an investigation into allegations of municipal corruption.
The Calgary Police Service applied for an extension to keep the devices until next March, as investigators have been unable to fully unlock and search them, while lawyers for Gondek and Chu had asked the court to dismiss the applications.
In his decision, Justice Allan Fradsham said the devices “continue to be necessary for the purposes of the investigation” and CPS has “met the threshold for an application for further detention.”
Police unable to fully unlock phones
In a sworn affidavit, CPS Det. Matt White, who’s leading the investigation, said the devices cannot be “brute forced” using a software called Cellebrite, which police use to unlock phones.
White also said “it is anticipated” that a future update of Cellebrite would allow full access to the devices “as technology evolves.”
In his decision, Fradsham said there is no evidence “when, or even if” Cellebrite will release software that can access data on the seized phones, but added he’s satisfied the company will at least try to develop updates that can skirt the latest iPhone security functions.
Fradsham acknowledged work has “reached an impasse,” but wrote that police intend to continue the investigation once technology permits.
“This is not a case of an investigation having been metaphorically left to languish, out-of-mind, in a file drawer.”
Investigation tied to land-use vote
Police believe the locked devices contain evidence related to an investigation launched by CPS last summer.
It relates to the circumstances surrounding a vote on a proposed land-use bylaw amendment application in the neighbourhood of Bankview.
The vote in question took place on July 16, 2025, and resulted in a 6-6 tie. Then-mayor Gondek was not present at the time.
The vote was revisited after then-councillor Chu tabled a reconsideration motion.
The second vote passed 8-5 after Chu changed his vote and Gondek, then present, cast hers.
In his affidavits, Det. Matt White said police received information that David White, who runs CivicWorks, a company that assists developers navigate city processes, offered campaign donations exceeding the maximum amount in exchange for bringing forward a reconsideration motion.
Police also seized and searched David White’s phone, which Det. White said “yielded evidence of the offences.”
Det. White also said police determined Gondek “provided guidance to White on a tactic to approach another councillor in an effort to secure a reconsideration motion.”
None of the allegations made in the police affidavits have been proven in court. No charges have been laid in the investigation.
Fradsham also granted police an extension to keep an iPhone belonging to Nathan Robb, co-founder of Oldstreet, the developer of the proposed Bankview project, until next March.
Both Gondek’s lawyer, Rebecca Snukal, and CPS lawyer Doug Taylor declined to comment on Wednesday’s decision.