Crown Prosecutors are expected to call five witnesses in the fraud trial of former Nova Scotia Cabinet Minister Russell MacKinnon which began today.
MacKinnon is charged with one count of fraud over five thousand dollars, one count of breach of trust and eight counts of uttering a forged document.
Last year, MacKinnon pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The allegations involve constituency related expenses he filed in 2005 and 2006 as an MLA.
Jocelyn Scallion, the former Director of Administration in the Nova Scotia Speakers office is the first witness called.
She described the MLA expense system process that was in place.
MacKinnon is one of four MLA’s who were charged in 2011, a year after Auditor General Jacques Lapointe’s report on MLA expenses.
MacKinnon’s lawyer Joel Pink says the total amount of money involved in the allegations against his client is about $16,000.
Pink wouldn’t say how many witnesses, if any, he will call.
MacKinnon’s wife, NDP MLA Michele Raymond was in the court to support her husband as well as former Cape Breton Liberal MLA Danny Graham.
Five days have been set aside for the trial.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Rick Grant
