Former N.S. MLA Hugh MacKay to plead guilty to impaired driving
Blair Rhodes | CBC News | Posted: February 3, 2023 3:55 PM | Last Updated: February 3, 2023
MacKay originally intended to fight the charge
A former member of the Nova Scotia legislature has agreed to plead guilty to an impaired driving charge.
The lawyer for Hugh MacKay appeared in provincial court in Halifax Friday morning to announce the change in plea.
MacKay had originally intended to fight the charge and his trial was scheduled for later this month. Instead, he will appear on what was to be the first day of the trial to enter the guilty plea.
This will be the second guilty plea for MacKay, who also pleaded guilty in November 2019 in a separate incident.
MacKay was elected as the Liberal MLA for the riding of Chester-St. Margaret's in 2017. The Liberal party stood behind him when he dealt with the first charge.
Feb. 22 court date
But he resigned from the Liberal caucus after this latest charge was laid. MacKay then sat as an Independent, but he did not reoffer in the last election.
Crown prosecutor Stephen Anstey said outside court Friday that he won't say what sentence he'll seek until the case returns to court on Feb. 22.
"There are mandatory minimums in the code for offences such as this so he'll be facing a mandatory minimum fine and driving prohibition," Anstey said.
"We're going to wait until I make those submissions to the court before I speak about sentence."
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