Justice Minister Peter MacKay's wife says her husband hasn't received a fair shake over recent comments attributed to him about female judges.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam MacKay has written to the Globe and Mail saying MacKay's comments to a group of lawyers was misrepresented in the media.

The Toronto Star reported that MacKay indicated women were reluctant to become judges because they were afraid of being sent away on the circuit courts.

MacKay has been widely criticized as a result. He has said he is trying to encourage more women to serve on the bench.

Afshin-Jam MacKay writes that organizers of the meeting have refused to release an audio recording of MacKay's remarks and instead ran to what she called the anti-Conservative media.

She says the media reports are based on hearsay and she likens them to a National Enquirer-TMZ mentality.

While in Antigonish, N.S., on Friday, MacKay was asked to respond to the comments he is alleged to have made about female judges and mothers. However, the justice minister refused to comment.

With files from CBC News