Liberal candidate Andrew Harveys fraud charges dropped

Criminal charges againstCarleton-Victoria Liberal candidate AndrewHarvey have been dropped and his suspension from the party caucushas been lifted.

Harvey had been charged withtwo counts of fraud, along with two other members of his family and three of their companies.

Harvey had questioned the timing of the accusations and maintained the charges against him were "baseless."

The charges against all three accused and their three companies have nowbeen withdrawn, Woodstock provincial court officials confirmed on Friday.

Harveyhad been suspended from the caucus by Liberal Leader Brian Gallant last week after news of the charges broke.

At the time, Gallant said he was "very disappointed" the charges against Harvey had not been disclosed to him or to the campaign team.

On Friday, Liberal party members prevented media from speaking to Gallant about the charges being dropped, but officials did confirm Harvey'ssuspension from the party caucus is no longer in effect.

Roger Melanson, the Liberal candidate for Dieppe, is nowcalling for an apology from Progressive Conservative Leader David Alward.

In a statement issued on Friday afternoon, he calledthe timing of the charges "suspicious" and "very troubling."

After a three-year investigation, charges were filed against Harveyjust weeks before the election, despite Harvey being a nominated candidate, said Melanson.

"The fact that this was leaked to the media just hours after the deadline for candidate nominations closed is concerning as well," the statement said.

The charges were dropped after a review by an independent prosecutor, according to Melanson, although officials at the Attorney General's office could not be reached to comment on how the charges came to be laid, or withdrawn.

"David Alward took a page from Stephen Harper's book by going on the attack when charges had not been proved.Now that the Crown has withdrawn these baseless charges, I certainly hope Mr. Alward will apologize," Melansonsaid.

ACOA loan default questions remain

But during an impromptu scrum on hiselection campaign bus on Friday, Alwardtold reporters he would "absolutely not" reconsider earlier statements made by him and his party about Harvey and the validity of the Liberal background check process.

"There are still serious questions that are hanging over Mr. Harvey and others over defaulted ACOA loans," said Alward, referring to an unrelated matter.

Harvey is listed as the director of three companies that defaulted on a loan from theAtlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, according to court documents.

ACOAhad agreed to offer Harvey Lumber Ltd., Aberdeen Farms Ltd. and ShikatehawkMapleProducts Ltd. non-repayable contributions totalling $225,000 in 2005, the documents state.

As of last week, no repayments had been made, despitetwo court judgments requiring repayment, ACOA officials had said.

On Sept. 3, it was revealedthat Harvey was named along with his fatherB. Fred Harvey, who is a former Liberal MLA,and his brotherDavidFrederick Harveyincourt documents that were filed on July 29 in Woodstock provincial court.

The documents said thatbetween May 1, 2011 and Dec. 31, 2011, the three individuals"did by deceit, falsehood or other fraudulent means, defraud the province of New Brunswick of money, in excess of $5,000."

The second count related to trying to have two individuals to "deal with or act on documents" that were believed to be forged.

Harvey is the owner and operator of Harvey Farm andForest Ltd. He is also a village councillor in Bristol.