8 Liberals quit over premier's 'humiliating' treatment of Chris Collins

Several members of the Moncton Centre Liberal riding association's board have resigned to protest against Premier Brian Gallant's handling of the Chris Collins case, CBC News has learned.

Riding president Audrey Lampert said she, the treasurer, the secretary, and five board members decided to quit at a meeting Wednesday night.

Lampert said in an interview that Gallant had "humiliated" Collins when he went public with allegations of harassment against the Moncton Centre MLA. She also said the provincial party office kept the riding association in the dark during the controversy.

"It's been a very hurtful, painful process that every individual and this board as a whole has gone through since that April 5 or 6 announcement," she said.

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She said two board members have quit the party altogether and it's not clear whether the others will stick with the Liberals in the Sept. 24 election.

"I guess people will just take their time and decide where they are on that," she said.

Lampert said some of the Liberals who resigned could support even Collins if he ran as an independent this fall, something he has not ruled out.

"I guess people will declare their intentions if Chris Collins declares his," she said.

'Feel betrayed'

Gallant revealed the allegations April 5 in an evening conference call with reporters. He said the allegation came from a former employee of the legislature, where Collins has been Speaker since after the 2014 election. Details of the allegation remain a mystery.

Collins later gave up his administrative functions as speaker, and an all-party committee of MLAs commissioned an independent investigation.

Lampert said she only learned of the allegations when a reporter called her seeking her reaction to Gallant's surprise announcement on April 5 a sign Gallant and the party disrespect local grassroots Liberals, she said.

"We were strong supporters of Chris," she said. "We got him elected. We raised money for him. And then he was, quote, 'suspended.' And we have no idea what's behind that.

"People in our association, it came through very clearly at the meeting last night, feel betrayed by the Liberal association."

Collins issued a blistering statement May 10 calling Gallant's actions "atrocious" and threatening to sue the premier for libel.

He said in that statement that he would not run as a Liberal under Gallant's leadership but did not rule out another kind of candidacy, declaring he had "many decisions to make about my political and professional future."

Wednesday was the deadline for candidates to file paperwork to seek the Liberal nomination in Moncton Centre. According to the party, only one person, Moncton city councillor Robert McKee, filed before the deadline.

McKee said Wednesday he was meeting with some association members who were upset at Collins's treatment. "Hopefully time will allow them to heal, I guess, from the situation and hopefully support the Liberal candidate down the road," he said.

Lifetime loyalty shaken

But Lampert said Gallant's treatment of Collins had shaken her lifetime loyalty to the party.

"It's terrible," she said. "It's awful. It took me a long time to make my decision to resign as president. I was shaking when I read my letter of resignation. It's just a very emotional thing.

"You spend your lifetime working for a party, financially contributing to the party. You know, we work as volunteers. We're not paid. So that's where the pain is."

In our democracy people are innocent until proven guilty. And to be humiliated like that is a terrible thing.- Audrey Lampert, former riding president

Lampert said 14 people in all took part in the meeting, 12 in person and two by email. Seven board members, including three from the executive, resigned in person and one resigned by email.

"There were some people, a minority of people, who said regardless of how bad things were, they were definitely going to stick with the party and support a Liberal candidate," she said.

Other members of the Liberal riding board contacted by CBC News declined to comment.

Party exec tried to set up meeting

Liberal Party executive director Keiller Zed released a statement Thursday that he sent to party members in Moncton Centre, saying he had tried to arrange a meeting with the board after Collins's May 10 statement.

Lampert told him "she would be away for a few days," Zed said.

He also said he tried to reach Lampert earlier in the day Wednesday to ask her to resign over her previous comments to the media, which "cast doubt over supporting our party in the upcoming provincial election."

He accused her of rebuffing him and of not telling other members of the board that he had made the offer to meet them.

"I believe that much of this situation could have been avoided," he wrote.

He also said he and the riding association's acting president would try to organize a meeting before the June 2 nominating convention to elect a new executive.

Lampert is a former school teacher and former member of the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission. She was named a member of the Order of New Brunswick in 2012.

Recruited by Collins

She said Thursday she first got involved with the Liberal Party when she was 11 years old.

She said Collins had personally recruited her and other members to sit on the board when the new Moncton Centre riding was created ahead of the last election.

"He's been humiliated publicly," Lampert said. "And there's two sides to every story. In our democracy people are innocent until proven guilty. And to be humiliated like that is a terrible thing. That's why we're so pained that that man was humiliated like that.

"Maybe there's truth to the allegations. Maybe there's no truth at all. But having tarnished his reputation in the eyes of the public is what our people can't understand, and that's why they feel betrayed."