Mystery swirls around who will run for Liberals in Moncton Centre

The president of Moncton Centre's Liberal riding association says she's been toldnothing about when a candidate will be chosen for the September provincial election.

Until last week, that candidate was almost certainly going to be Speaker Chris Collins, a three-term Liberal MLA. His lawyer, T.J. Burke, said on Monday that Collins had been planning to run again.

But Collins is suspended from the Liberal caucus amid allegations that he harassed a former employee of the legislative assembly.

Collins has not been told who made the complaint against him, but he plans to fight theallegations"tooth and nail," his lawyer said on Monday.

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Premier Brian Gallant has said Collins would not be green-lit to run as a Liberal candidate while suspended from caucus.

An independent investigator will be recruited to examine the allegations, but it's not clear how long such an investigation could take.

In the meantime, Collins's political future is hanging in the balance, and more questions than answers have surfaced around who might carry the Liberal banner in Moncton Centre.

Riding association president Audrey Lampert said she's waiting for someone from the New Brunswick Liberal Association in Fredericton to set a date for Moncton Centre's nominating convention.

'Innocent until proven guilty'

Lampert said she hasn't "heard a thing" from Liberal officials and has been relying on the news media for information about the allegations against Collins.

"There's been no consultation between us," she said of the provincial association.

Lampert said she was away last week when Gallant announced the allegations against Collins.

"All I can say is that we live in a democracy and the rule of law is that a person is innocent until proven guilty," she said.

On Monday, Burke suggested the complaint against Collins was politically motivated, potentially with the goal of having someone different run as the Liberal candidate in Moncton Centre.

Burke questioned the timing of the complaint coming to light now, less than five months before New Brunswickers go to the polls.

When asked about Burke's theory, Lampert said she was unaware of it.

"I really have no information about that at all," she said.

Nomination cut-off is Sept. 4

There are no plans now to hold a nominating convention in MonctonCentre, according to party spokespersonMarc Poirier.

He did not answer questions about whether the nomination will be delayed until the investigation into the allegations against Collins is complete.

The Liberals have already nominated more than half of their49 candidates for the September election.

Most, but not all,Liberals who held seats in the last legislature and plan to run again have been nominated.

The party has until Sept. 4, or 20 days before the provincial election, to register candidates with Elections New Brunswick.

The premier has said little about the nature of the complaint against Collins, including whether the former employee is a man or a woman.

Gallant said staff inhis office had previously been made aware of "personality conflicts" between Collins and the employee, who was transferred to another job.

The premier said his office learned of a potential allegation against Collins in February but a formal complaint wasn't made until last week.

While Collins has not been told any details about the allegation against him, a situation that might have led to a complaint involved someone who hasn't worked for him for more than two years, Burke said on Monday.

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