Former Nova Scotia Liberal Party president files complaint against auditor general

HALIFAX — The former president of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party has lodged a complaint against the province’s auditor general with the regulatory body for chartered professional accountants.

The complaint by Joseph Khoury involves a February report by auditor general Kim Adair in which she called on the RCMP to investigate the party’s “apparent concealment” of the misuse of public funds.

Khoury, who was Liberal president when the theft was discovered in December 2020, said the party investigated the incident and recovered the stolen money.

He said Adair’s report is incomplete and that it is defamatory toward him and the Liberal party.

Khoury is calling on the Chartered Professional Accountants of Nova Scotia — of which Adair is a member — to open an investigation for her alleged failure to meet the body’s standards for behaviour and objectivity.

He said he chose the professional association because the office of the auditor general lacks a complaint mechanism.

The auditor general declined to comment on the complaint, but said in an emailed statement Monday that she will co-operate with the regulatory body and “stands fully behind the report and the process followed to prepare it.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press