Complaint by former Liberal party president against N.S. auditor general dismissed

CITYnews halifax / By The Canadian Press

 A regulatory body has dismissed a complaint by the former president of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party against the province’s auditor general regarding a report she completed last year on the misuse of public funds.

Joseph Khoury complained to Chartered Professional Accountants Nova Scotia last year after Kim Adair asked the RCMP to investigate a potential “concealment” of the theft of public money by a party employee.

A spokeswoman for the accountants’ oversight body said it decided on June 10 “to dismiss the complaint in whole” against Adair, though the reasoning wasn’t made public.

Khoury was the party’s president when the theft was discovered in December 2020.

He has said the party investigated the theft and recovered the stolen money.

He also alleged Adair’s report issued in February 2024 was incomplete and that it is defamatory toward him and the Liberals.

Related:

• Former N.S. Liberal party president removed from law firm after suspension

Adair’s report said her office was aware of “concerning information” that revealed the party tried to hide and delay the matter “until after the 2021 election,” which the incumbent Liberals lost to the Progressive Conservatives.

It also said the former employee’s misuse of travel claims and a party credit card led to the employee’s resignation and the reimbursement of more than $194,000 by the employee.

The reimbursements were to cover the cost of the missing funds and of the forensic audit that followed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2025.