Leaked letter breaks Liberal MHA's trust in bullying investigation of ousted colleagues

If Liberal MHA Colin Holloway had any faith in the investigative process of his allegations of bullying within the caucus, he definitely doesn't anymore.

"I am now calling for an independent investigation into the allegations I have brought forward to the commissioner of legislative standards," Holloway told CBC News on Friday, adding that he's hired a lawyer.

The representative for Terra Nova's request comes a day after his letter of complaint to commissioner Bruce Chaulkabout the behaviour ofEddie Joyce and Dale Kirby was leaked.

CBCNews received a copy of the letter Friday.

Holloway detailsseveral situations in which he felt Joyce and Kirby bullied him, including when he "was the only MHAwhorefused to agree" and support a proposal to redefine the MHApension benefit plan.

When Holloway publicly supported fellow MHA Pam Parsons as Speaker of the House of Assembly instead of Premier Dwight Ball's pick, Perry Trimper, Holloway wrote that he found himself "in quite the quandary."

Joyce allegedly called him 11 times within two weeks, saying things like, "Pam's success would be a vote against the premier," and Kirby sent the below message.

'Taken off guard'

Holloway said he learned the letter was leaked Thursday afternoon, when, as parliamentary secretary, he attended an event for Justice Minister Andrew Parsons.

"It was unusual that I was asked to fill in at the environmental workshop yesterday at the last minute, and when I got there, reporters had the leaked letter."

He said he was "taken off-guard by the reports" and is not the person who leaked the letter.

"I was confident it would remain confidential through the investigation process," Holloway said.

He also said his colleagues told him to "only give the commissioner high-level information to identify the issues, but not go into great detail."

"In hindsight, I should have listened to them," said Holloway.

"There's only two other people who had copies of my complaint, that I know of, besides the commissioner and they are the lawyers for Mr. Joyce and Mr. Kirby."

'Completely independent, completely unbiased'

Chaulk is responsible for enforcing the House of Assembly Code of Conduct and investigating potential breaches of it, and right now he has several complaints on his desk.

• Outside investigators will be used in MHA harassment and bullying probes

At a media update Friday afternoon, Finance Minister Tom Osborne defended Chaulk and the current investigative process.

"Completely independent, completely unbiased.[He has] not have shown any bias in any way over the many years that he's worked there," said Osborne.

"And he was endorsed by the House of Assembly as an independent person, who've all said that he holds the characteristics and the qualifications to hold that position.

"He shouldn't be taking the brunt of some comments that some people are making."

The two cabinet ministers, Eddie Joyce and Dale Kirby, were removed from the Liberal party after Premier Dwight Ball was told of the complaints.

Kirby told CBC News on Friday that he cannot speak with media at this time, and Joyce said the same, but that he would be happy to share his side after the investigation.

A new harassment-free workplace policy for public servants came into effect June 1, with mandatory training, and members of the House of Assembly will adhere to it as well until a new policy governing their behaviour is in place.