Former N.S. Liberal politician Hugh MacKay fined for impaired driving

The former member for Chester-St. Margaret’s received a one-year licence suspension and a $1,000 fine after pleading guilty

CITYnews halifax \ Canadian Press

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HALIFAX — A former Liberal member of the Nova Scotia legislature has received a one-year licence suspension and a $1,000 fine after pleading guilty to a charge of impaired driving.

Hugh MacKay, the former member for Chester-St. Margaret’s, has waived his earlier not guilty plea regarding the impaired driving case from Nov. 22, 2018, and was sentenced in Halifax provincial court based on a joint recommendation from the Crown and defence.

In 2020, the former politician had pleaded not guilty to the charges in the 2018 case.

However, the trial dates were put off due to COVID-19 and to an abuse of process motion filed by his defence, which was rejected.

MacKay was a backbencher from 2017 to 2020 in the Stephen McNeil government, but he quit the caucus after he was charged and sat as an Independent until the 2021 provincial election, when he didn’t run.

In a separate case, MacKay pleaded guilty to operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit, in relation to an incident on Oct. 13, 2019. He was fined $2,000 and prohibited from driving for a year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2023.

The Canadian Press