PC Leader Ches Crosbie says ridding politics of backroom deals and nepotism is a key priority for the party, pledging to introduce the strongest anti-corruption legislation in Canada.

Crosbie says the last five years have been rife with Liberal corruption which he says has become an impediment to jobs and growth in the province.

He cited several recent examples, including the premier’s reluctance to remove Energy Minister and Attorney General Andrew Parsons from cabinet while the Mounties probe what, if any, role he played in charges being laid against an RNC officer.

Crosbie says it’s wrong for Parsons to remain in cabinet while the RCMP investigates allegations of political interference in the prosecution of Constable Joe Smyth.

Smyth was convicted in 2019 of obstruction of justice over his handling of a traffic stop two years earlier. The conviction was later overturned and a new trial ordered.

By contrast, Sherry Gambin-Walsh was removed from cabinet by former Premier Dwight Ball when it was revealed she was the subject of an RCMP investigation last spring.