Chester-St. Margaret’s MLA Hugh Mackay is maintaining his innocence in regards to a new impaired driving charge filed last month.
In a release sent out Monday, MacKay said his situation is being exploited for “partisan political purposes by some members of the opposition” after details of the events surrounding the charge were leaked through an email and brought to question in the legislature.
The email, written by an unnamed member of MacKay’s riding association accompanied with a letter of recognition in 2019, detailed the alleged events of Nov. 22, 2018.
In the email, the member claims they received a phone call from Penny Lawless, a worker at MacKay’s constituency office at the time, who said MacKay was intoxicated and driving while texting and calling her.
The email then detailed an alleged two-hour chase as the member followed MacKay from New Ross to Tantallon trying to get him to pull over, before MacKay allegedly crashed his car into a pole in a shopping plaza parking lot.
It also detailed how the member helped cover up the incident, removing MacKay from the car along with an open bottle of alcohol before leaving the scene.
The member also alleged they were pushed not to call the police by Lawless in an effort to protect her position as well as MacKay’s reputation as an elected official.
The member has since been revealed as a former member of MacKay’s riding association’s board of directors, Michael Lawless.
PC Leader Tim Houston brought the email up during legislature last week, asking Premier Stephen McNeil numerous times if he had known about the incident before the charges were announced.
McNeil said he had not been informed, and only heard of the charges when they were laid.
Discussion of the allegations were the main topic of conversation in legislature for days after.
In the release, MacKay said the allegations against him have “caused disruption to the important work taking place in the Nova Scotia Legislature” and should be sorted out by the legal system, not on the legislature floor or by the public.
MacKay said he was upfront and honest about his addiction issues last year following another impaired driving charge in November, and says he continues to undergo treatment for addiction, but will maintain his innocence in regards to this new charge.
The release also notes MacKay will continue representing his riding as an independent MLA, despite calls for him to resign from constituents on social media.
