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."
With kids now back in school and the extra-contagious delta variant causing a huge jump in pediatric infections, many parents are anxiously awaiting vaccinations for their younger children.
Elections Canada says almost 6.8 million people voted early, most of them at advanced polls over a week ago, and the rest through special ballots cast by mail or at Elections Canada offices.
A video statement issued yesterday by Moore's family and police Chief Del Manak follows the assault on Manak one day earlier. A woman poured liquid on the chief as he was an invited guest at a memorial for Moore outside the British Columbia legislature.
Once inside the residence, signs of illicit drug activity were noted and Surrey RCMP was called to assist. Frontline police officers attended and discovered what they believed to be a Psilocybin mushroom drug laboratory. A woman was arrested at the scene, and later released pending further investigation.
The move follows $110 million in funding for a sustainable global opportunities strategy in March. UBC announced plans last year to divest the endowment of fossil fuel investments and a 45 per cent reduction of portfolio carbon emissions within 10 years.
Later the same day the officers executed the search warrant and located a number of items inside the residence including a 9mm Semi-Automatic Handgun; a fully automatic carbine rifle; ammunition; and 358 grams of suspected Fentanyl (approximately 3580 doses). The suspected fentanyl was packaged in a way that is consistent with street-level drug trafficking.
