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."
A government bill seeking to ban conversion therapy has cleared the House of Commons and is on its way to the Senate. Erin O'Toole had been set to once again allow his caucus to have a free vote on the bill, but also pledged that his MPs would work to get it passed quickly.
Amita Kuttner, the new interim Green leader, says they will be ready to take tough disciplinary action to deal with party members who "have been at each other's throats." The astrophysicist, who is nonbinary, says they want to "listen and love" to "heal" the party, which has been riven by infighting and accusations of racism and antisemitism.
The official announcement from Public Services and Procurement Canada comes nearly a week after The Canadian Press first reported Boeing had been told its bid for the $19-billion fighter-jet contract did not meet Canada's requirements.
Flood warnings have been issued for several major rivers in British Columbia's Fraser Valley and Interior following a series of major storms that are crossing the province. The B.C. government's River Forecast Centre has issued warnings around the Tulameen, Similkameen, Coldwater and Lower Nicola rivers, as well as Spius Creek.
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In September 2021, McCarty, who used an alias, allegedly contacted and communicated with a 14-year-old Surrey youth, on social media. He then allegedly groomed the youth for a sexual purpose, and coerced them to create, and distribute self-exploitive sexual material.
