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."
Police say a suspect is in custody after officers responded to reports of a shooter at an RCMP detachment in northern British Columbia Cpl. Madonna Saunderson says there are no reported injuries at this time.
On November 25, 2021, at approximately 12:00 p.m., Surrey RCMP responded the report of a shooting in the 2900-block of 160 Street. One man was shot in the driveway of a residence. The victim was taken to local hospital with what is believed to be non-life threatening injuries.
The new survey says 743 homicides were reported by Canadian police in 2020 — a figure that was the most since 1991 and includes the 22 victims of a gunman's rampage that began in Portapique, N.S., in April of last year.
Freeland was responding today to criticism in the House of Commons from Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong who said the Liberal government is not being effective against a series of protectionist trade measures by the Biden administration.
The flooding hit on Nov. 15, with a subsequent mudslide wiping out the highway and destroying or damaging dozens of properties in the area. B.C.'s Ministry of Transportation did not return an immediate request for comment on an estimate on how long repairs to the highway would take.
Amita Kuttner, an expert in black holes, was appointed Wednesday by the Greens' Federal Council to lead the party until a new leader is elected next year. Kuttner, 30, will be the youngest person as well as the first trans person and person of east-Asian descent to lead a federal political party.
