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 latest report from the Crown utility says record-breaking heat between June and August in many parts of the province killed trees or weakened their root systems.
Under the proposed legislation, foreign cruise ships carrying more than 1,000 passengers can bypass Canadian ports if they wish. Ian Robertson, the CEO of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, said the bill would hurt Victoria and British Columbia's economy.
The office Trudeau runs as MP for Papineau in Montreal — not prime minister — submitted the charge on his office expenses in March. It submitted another eight-cent “copy charge” last September.
About 30 per cent of active cases are located in the Fraser Health region, followed by nearly 26 per cent in Interior Health, 18 per cent in Vancouver Coastal Health, close to 15 per cent in the North and 11 per cent in Island Health. There are 23 active outbreaks in health-care settings, including three hospitals.
The suspect, a 64-year old man from Richmond, was located and arrested a short time later. Investigators are now looking for dash-cam video that may have recorded the suspect’s vehicle in various locations as the events transpired.
One of the suspect had gone so far as to sew a pocket into their undies, specifically for hiding illicit drugs. In total officers seized 11 grams of methamphetamine, 31 grams of cocaine, 7.81 grams of fentanyl and over $8000 in cash. All four of the vehicles were seized as offence related property.
