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."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is consulting the premiers about using the Emergencies Act as antigovernment blockades continue to paralyze Ottawa and shutter multiple border crossings with the United States.
Henry is about 30 kilograms lighter than when they left Nov. 27 to find a camp in the Fairy Creek area where people were protesting old-growth logging.
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In order to further our investigation, IHIT is releasing the name of the vctim, who has been identified as 57-year-old Sarbjeet Sander. Based on information gathered thus far, there appears to be no link to the ongoing Lower Mainland gang conflict. This incident is believed to be isolated and not random.
Anyone travelling within Canada by plane, passenger train or boat must be vaccinated against COVID-19, and international travellers are subject to COVID-19 test requirements.
Trudeau says the people still illegally blocking streets in Ottawa and border crossings to the United States must go home or face increasingly severe consequences that could ruin their lives.
