Some of Russell MacKinnon’s former constituents are expressing disbelief after he told CTV News he didn’t do anything wrong.
The former MLA pleaded guilty to a charge of breach of trust on Friday and was sentenced to four months house arrest at his 3.2-acre estate on the Northwest Arm in Halifax.
It was in his former riding of Cape Breton West that MacKinnon claimed false expenses of nearly $11,000. That was seven years ago, when he was nearing the end of 15 years of service as an MLA.
Although he signed a statement of facts on Friday, MacKinnon told CTV News yesterday that he doesn’t believe he did anything wrong, and that his guilty plea wasn’t really an admission of guilt.
“The reason I pleaded guilty to breach of trust was a matter of legal process,” he said.
His explanation isn’t going over well in his former riding.
“There’s no ifs ands or buts about it. He pleaded guilty so he has got to be guilty,” says one Sydney River resident.
“It sounds like bull**** to me. You don’t plead guilty to something then say you are not guilty,” says another.
“Nobody agrees to be guilty if you are not. If you are not guilty, you are not guilty. If you are, you are,” says a third.
Premier Darrell Dexter expressed similar doubts Thursday as he emerged from the same type of cabinet meeting MacKinnon once attended as a minister of the Crown.
“I feel the same way that most Nova Scotians feel. I think most Nova Scotians would be perplexed to see someone come before the court and enter a guilty plea in one breath, then say something completely different a few hours later.”
MacKinnon remains under house arrest, but is moving on with his life. He plans to resume work as a professional land surveyor next week.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Randy MacDonald
