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."
Speaking while on a trip to the Netherlands ahead of back-to-back international summits, he says ministers are working this morning in Ottawa to meet a deadline to decide whether to appeal the Federal Court ruling that upheld two historic decisions from the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.
In Spring of 2021, the Surrey RCMP Drug Unit initiated an investigation into a drug trafficking network with ties to the Lower Mainland Gang Conflict. Through an extensive investigation, three residences in the Whalley area were identified as locations of interest.
It says in a statement that a salvage team was using thermal cameras to find remaining hot spots on the MV Zim Kingston after some of the containers caught fire last weekend. Active firefighting operations continued Thursday in containers that hold tires, it said.
Alberta's jobs minister says he heard rumours about his chief of staff raising a sexual harassment issue which she alleges led to her being fired by the premier’s office.
There are 4,961 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 196,858 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 434 individuals are in hospital and 155 are in intensive care.
In October 2006, Mukhtiar Panghali killed his wife Manjit through strangulation. As the investigation progressed, Manjit's burned body was found at a Delta beach. At the time of the killing Manjit was 31. Panghali was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years.