Province hasn't tried to recoup $61K owed by ex-MLA

The province has made no attempt to collect the tens of thousands of dollars it’s owed by former MLA Dave Wilson, CBC News has learned.

When Wilson pleaded guilty to fraud and breach of trust he was ordered to pay back the nearly $61,000 he stole from taxpayers to support his gambling addiction.

After Dave Wilson pleaded guilty in 2011, the former MLA was sentenced to nine months in jail and ordered to pay restitution for the money he stole over a period of four years.

Wilson was released from jail last August. He still collects his MLA pension and now has a job working at a community radio station in Glace Bay.

In the nine months since his sentence, the province has made no attempt to recover any of that $61,000, CBC News has learned.

Nova Scotia's Department of Justice declined a request for an interview but in an email a spokesperson stated, "It is our policy to enforce these types of orders; however, we're not able to speak to the specifics of how we would enforce restitution orders in any given case. This is a privacy matter."

Though Wilson also declined an interview, he told CBC News that the province has never contacted him about the money he owes.

He said he intends to pay back the money but he doesn't have $61,000, calling the debt a heavy weight on his shoulders.

Though the justice department wouldn't speak specifically about Wilson's case, it said there are a few options when it comes to collecting money that's owed.

"I can tell you that there are a range of ways to collect money related to a restitution order from a voluntary payment arrangement to judgments against property like houses and cars to garnishing wages and pensions," the department stated.

Wilson said he plans to contact the province voluntarily to try to arrange a payment plan. He said he may ask them to deduct regular payments from his MLA pension.