by Andrew Younger has been fired from the provincial Liberal cabinet and caucus after failing to testify at the trial of a woman accused of assaulting him two years ago.
Younger says he was prevented from testifying due to privilege granted to him as a member of the Legislature.
He was the Crown’s only witness in the assault case against former Liberal staffer Tara Gault and the charges against her were dropped earlier this week after he refused to testify.
Premier Stephen McNeil announced that Younger was fired at a news conference at 9:00 last night, adding that Younger gave him misinformation about what happened with his testimony.
Younger told reporters yesterday that he didn’t know about the law exempting him from testifying until this week.
However, Younger’s lawyer wrote to the Crown saying he and his client discussed the exemption on Thursday of last week.
Finance Minister Randy Delorey will serve as the acting environment minister in the wake of Younger’s departure.
Younger will now sit as an independent.