Andrew Younger ordered to hand over recording or face vote on his fate

Younger swears legal oath about recording The fate of Nova Scotia MLA Andrew Younger could soon be in the hands of his former colleagues in the Liberal caucus.

HALIFAX -- A festering political feud took another strange turn Friday when the speaker of the Nova Scotia legislature issued a warrant ordering a former cabinet minister to produce a secret recording of his exchange with the premier's chief of staff.

Kevin Murphy gave former Liberal environment minister Andrew Younger until noon Monday to provide the full recording of a conversation he made in his constituency office in February with Kirby McVicar.

A portion of the audio and an anonymous letter, which were dropped off Wednesday at a government office, suggest McVicar was trying to bribe Younger by offering a job to his wife.

If Younger doesn't provide the complete recording, he could be found in contempt of the house and possibly expelled if a majority of his former party colleagues vote to have him removed.

"Obviously, it's a very serious matter," Murphy said outside the legislature. "The last time that we can determine that this house has gone down this road was in the 1800s."

Younger has insisted that he does not have the full recording of the conversation, of which 43 seconds were released to the media Thursday. He swore a legal oath Friday that he didn't have it.

Premier Stephen McNeil handed the files over to the RCMP, saying they appear to make a serious allegation although he pointed out that much of the context is missing. That's why the entire recording should be released, he said.

Younger was also asked if he dropped off the package containing the letter and 43-second clip, but cited the police investigation in refusing to answer directly.

Outside the legislature, Younger said he is at a loss over how he will provide something he claims not to have.

"I need to go figure out how to deal with a warrant for an item that, quite frankly, is asking me to produce something that doesn't exist or certainly I don't have," he told reporters.

Liberal house leader Michel Samson said the party has reason to believe it was Younger who delivered the package and might provide proof of that at a later date.

He also dismissed Younger's assertion that he doesn't have the recording because his government-issued smartphone was wiped clean after he was fired by the premier this month.

"Mr. Younger is the most tech savvy member of this legislature," Samson said.

Conservative Leader Jamie Baillie called on McVicar to go before the legislature and explain the recorded conversation, in which he appears to offer Younger's wife a job at a time when Younger was on a leave of absence from cabinet.

McNeil rejected the proposal and says he wants to hear the full recording before deciding next steps.

The premier has said he fired Younger from his position as environment minister and removed him from the Liberal caucus because he didn't provide accurate information on when he knew about a parliamentary privilege he invoked to avoid appearing at an assault trial.

Younger failed to appear in provincial court earlier this month in the case of a former Liberal staff member who was accused of assaulting him. The case was then thrown out.