Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 01 Mar, 2022 01:30 PM
VANCOUVER - A special prosecutor says British Columbia's former clerk of the legislative assembly used public funds to enrich himself in "glaring and egregious" ways.
Brock Martland made the allegation as he began closing arguments in the Crown's case against Craig James, who has pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud over $5,000 and three counts of breach of trust.
James's defence is expected to present its case Wednesday.
Martland says that as the most senior officer of the legislature, James held a position akin to the CEO and was responsible for financial stewardship of the institution.
He accused James of acting outside of his duties by picking up a wood splitter and trailer for the legislature and storing them at home for a year, exploiting a weakness in the system to award himself a $258,000 retirement benefit and charging souvenirs to the public purse.
Martland says public trust in government officials is a critical part of a functioning democracy, and he alleged that James violated that trust.
"This case is about trust, specifically the public trust that we place in government officials," Martland told the court on Tuesday.
"Our position is that the public trust was violated repeatedly and extensively by Craig James."
Several rivers in British Columbia were under flood warnings on Wednesday as hundreds of homes remained evacuated because of heavy rainfall. There were 12 evacuation orders involving 350 homes in the Fraser Valley Regional District in its coverage area from Boston Bar to Abbotsford.
In B.C., the highest rates of fatal overdose are in the urban Vancouver health region, at 44.6 per 100,000 people, and the remote northern region, where the rate is 42.8 per 100,000.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says November home sales increased by almost 12 per cent from last year as demand continued to outpace supply. The B.C. board says sales for the month amounted to 3,428, up from 3,064 last November but down from 3,494 in October 2021.
Rumours of the bike stash began circulating last week, after social media posts suggested someone was using a Gastown rooftop to store the stolen bikes. Officers began investigating, and quickly determined that the bikes were being lowered to the rooftop by rope from a neighbouring building. After getting several tips, they pinpointed the stash spot and moved in to seize nine bikes on November 22.
There are 2,936 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 213,394 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 301 individuals are in hospital and 98 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
A 45-year-old man was shot during the early morning hours of Nov 29th in Surrey. Surrey RCMP were called to the 9600 block of 135 Street and found the man suffering from life threatening injuries.
