Russell Vincent MacKinnon (born October 4, 1953) is a land surveyor and politician in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, Canada. He represented Cape Breton West

Cape Breton West

Cape Breton West is a provincial electoral district in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly....

 in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly

Nova Scotia House of Assembly

The Nova Scotia Legislature, consisting of Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant Governor and the House of Assembly, is the legislative branch of the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada...

 from 1988 to 1995 and then from 1998 to 2006 as a Liberal and then Independent member.

He was born in Grand Mira South, Nova Scotia, the son of Neil Helarius MacKinnon and was educated at the Nova Scotia Land Survey Institute. In 1973, he married Gail Ann MacGillivary. He served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Labour.

MacKinnon resigned his seat in 1995 and was reelected in 1998. He sat as an independent from April 2005 and did not run for reelection in 2006.

On February 14, 2011, it was announced that MacKinnon was among four people facing criminal charges in connection with the RCMP investigation into 2010s MLA expense scandal

Nova Scotia Parliamentary Expenses scandal

The Nova Scotia Parliamentary Expenses Scandal is a political scandal in the province of Nova Scotia in 2010.-Background:Part-way through the first session of the 61st General Assembly, the NDP, under Premier Darrell Dexter, announced that it would "eliminate an MLA severance payment as well as...

. MacKinnon was charged with fraud exceeding $5,000, breach of trust by a public officer, and 8 counts of uttering a forged document.