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."
Clayton Brooks Hayden plead guilty to 15 fraud related charges and was sentenced on November 16, 2021. He received a sentence of 15 months jail time, two years probation and was ordered to pay restitution to all 15 victims on the offences he plead guilty to.
Investigators discovered that Mohammed Movassaghi, 43, was running an illegal booze can and show lounge inside his 1,100-square-foot penthouse, packing it with hundreds of people, and violating Covid-19 health orders.
Sandhu's family came to Canada in the early 1960s and began farming about a decade later. Today, the 27-year-old and his parents grow a variety of berries and vegetables across about 120 hectares, while several other relatives have farms nearby in the Abbotsford area.
Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole has called for the government to immediately strengthen border screening in the face of a highly mutated new variant of COVID-19. The World Health Organization will meet Friday to discuss variant B.1.1.529, which originated in South Africa.
Rainstorms of increasing intensity are forecast to hit British Columbia over the coming days, prompting warnings for people to be prepared to evacuate. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said the biggest storm is expected to arrive Tuesday and people living in areas prone to flooding should be on alert.
The two investigations are not connected and criminality is not believed to be a factor in either death. Both investigations have been turned over to BC Coroners Service. The families of the deceased men have been notified.
