By Andrew Macdonald
Topic: Exclusive: Mercer Received Severance Package – Grit MLAs call for AGM To Be Postponed
At a NS Liberal board meeting on Wednesday of this week, embattled president Joseph Khoury explained now former Liberal executive director, Mike Mercer received a severance package.
According to well-placed sources, Khoury told his board the severance pertains to Mercer’s employment contract.
Meanwhile, The Notebook understands the NS Liberal caucus sent a hand-delivered letter to Khoury over Mercer’s alleged bullying of Liberal volunteer Maura Ryan, who co-authored a Liberal election review, which among other things found the office of the Liberal party was too dysfunctional to mount an effective campaign for last summer’s election – an election leader Iain Rankin should not have lost.
All the party’s MLAs signed the letter, which asked for an investigation into Mercer’s verbal assault against Ryan, a former president of the NS Status of Women.
The letter, according to sources, also asked that Mercer be terminated if the investigation determined Mercer had in fact verbally abused Ryan.
The letter was personally delivered to Khoury from Kirby McVicar, chief of staff to leader Rankin.
Every Liberal MLA signed the letter, which asked that Mercer resign if the allegations proved true. Grit MLA Patricia Arab did not sign the letter, having recused herself, because she is a personal friend of Mercer
MLA Kelly Regan, who was once minister responsible for the NS Status of Women abstained from signing the letter, even though Ryan strongly alleges she was verbally assaulted by Mercer.
Meanwhile, a growing list of high-profile Liberals have begun making calls for Khoury to postpone the March 4th-6th Liberal AGM. I understand MLAs, Keith Irving, Brendan Maguire and Derek Mombourquette have written letters to Khoury asking the AGM be postponed.