Hammonds Plains-Lucasville MLA Rick Burns, along with his wife, were victims of blackmail.
In a statement Wednesday, Burns says, it was this week when hackers requested money.
His family refused to pay it.
“Because we refused to payment, the hackers accessed files on my devices. As punishment, personal images and videos of my wife were accessed and shared without our consent,” reads the statement.
Burns says it was a huge violation of privacy and completely unacceptable.
“This is bigger than me. This is a gross violation of my wife’s privacy, and we are both victims of a grotesque crime,” adds Burns. “I realize that being an elected official comes with increased scrutiny. No one signs up for having their privacy violated in this manner and no politician’s partner deserves to be targeted this way.”
Premier Tim Houston says he was deeply troubled to learn about what happened.
“No one should ever be subjected to this kind of violation,” says Houston in a statement.
He says when criminals target public officials with blackmail, they attempt to compromise the people Nova Scotians have chosen to represent them and “shake the very core of our democracy”.
“We cannot and will not accept a climate where serving your community in public life makes you and your family a target of extortion.”
The matter is being investigated by law enforcement.
