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."
Scientists say climate change is likely playing a role in this week's catastrophic flooding in British Columbia. Highways are blocked and communities have been evacuated after bucketing rain caused mudslides in several parts of the province.
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh wants the Liberal government to pay the cost of fixing Iqaluit's ongoing water emergency. The 8,000 people who live in Nunavut's capital haven't been able to drink their tap water since Oct. 12 when it was found to contain fuel.
The Green party is looking for an interim leader to take the helm before a fresh leadership election among its members. The troubled party, which has been beset by infighting and sniping, has accepted the resignation of Annamie Paul who last week stepped down.
Officers were called to Davie and Thurlow streets in response to a two-car collision between a Dodge Ram and a Toyota Prius. The impact of that collision resulted in the Dodge Ram skidding and hitting a wheelchair-bound man on the sidewalk of the intersection.
The James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to blast off Dec. 18 aboard the Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. The orbiting infrared observatory, a collaboration between NASA and the European and Canadian space agencies, will be 100 times more powerful than its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope launched in 1990.
Wilkinson is three weeks removed from the cabinet shuffle that made him the fourth natural resources minister in the last six years. Now after helming the environment department tasked with combating climate change, he's in charge of the department that regulates and promotes many of the products that cause it.
