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."
The report comes less than a month after chief coroner Lisa Lapointe said January to June was the deadliest ever for drug toxicity in B.C. With data from July added, the report says the 1,204 suspected illicit drug toxicity deaths are the highest ever in the first seven months of a year — 28 per cent above the same period last year.
British Columbia has recorded another 652 cases of COVID-19 and 2 related deaths, according to an update posted after officials announced new regional restrictions for part of the Lower Mainland. There has been an uptick in coronavirus hospitalizations to 316, up from 303 on Monday, with 141 patients in ICU.
The committee recommends long-term care residents and people living in seniors' homes receive another shot of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine — like Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna — as long as it has been six months since their last shot.
A message left with his lawyer was not immediately returned and Movassaghi has not responded to the forfeiture action, but court documents show he has until mid-October to reply.
Organized events like weddings or conferences will be limited to 10 people, or 50 people outside, unless everyone is fully vaccinated, which can be verified on the province's vaccine passport.
Harp is taking over the role from Ron Knight who is stepping down after 11 years serving as Board Chair since 2010. Harp has been on the Foundation’s Board of Directors since 2014 and served as the Vice-Chair for the past year.
