Will the 'whole truth' come out of the Fage trial?

A year ago the hottest political news in the province occurred the night former provincial Tory cabinet minister Ernie Fage was allegedly involved in a hit and run in Halifax.

Fage has since gone to court and plead not guilty to the charge of failing to remain at the scene of an accident. The former minister is believed to have left a downtown watering hole after drinking with other politicians to celebrate the end of the legislative session and crashed into the back of a car containing two sports editors from a prominent newspaper, with a photographer stopping at the scene. The optics look bad.

The case is heating up again as Fage returns to court Nov. 15 and 16. Reports from Province House indicate that as many as 30 government members and staff have been subpoenaed to appear at the trial.

House Speaker Alfie MacLeod has not, though he is said to have driven by the scene as it was happening and later called Premier Rodney MacDonald’s staff.

Premier MacDonald said at the time he didn’t know anything about the incident.

Alfie MacLeod could have stopped last November to lend assistance, like any Samaritan could if they had just witnessed an accident.

Instead of staying put, Fage allegedly decided to drive away while being filmed parking his leased vehicle in an underground garage and refusing to speak to the occupants of the other vehicle who followed and videoed him.

The three witnesses indicated they could smell alcohol on Fage’s breath and that he was “stumbling” after the crash.

The maximum sentence for the charge, if Fage is convicted, is six months incarceration, a fine and the loss of his driver’s license. The maximum sentence for his political career could be never getting elected again.

The ball is in Fage’s court, but he has not shown any indication that he is taking responsibility for his actions.

The public will decide on Ernie Fage’s political future but political parties usually have a way of finding a job for members who have ‘fallen from grace.’

If the trial proves Fage was in fact drunk and drove away after he rear-ended another car, his sentence will, we trust, be equal to any person, regardless of background, who committed a similar crime.

Fage appears to be cornered, but some believe that feeling any sympathy for the man is difficult given the contrite way he handled the case from the start.

Many believe Fage received preferential treatment because of his position in government at the time.

The judge will decide if Fage leaves the courthouse a free man driving a leased car or, if he receives a punishment, see to it that he stays grounded for a while – studying his drivers handbook, perhaps.