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 woman was pinned under the dump truck, and bystanders and the driver of the dump truck assisted her with emergency first aid. This file remains under investigation.
To be eligible, travellers must have allowed at least 14 days to pass since their last vaccine shot and show proof of a negative molecular test for COVID-19 that's no more than 72 hours old.
The London stop is the latest Liberal tour event to be sidetracked by the arrival of what Trudeau called an "anti-vaxxer mob" but the first where he was physically assaulted.
The province had confirmed that a vaccine card system would begin Sept. 13, requiring proof of at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine in order to enter restaurants, movies, ticketed sporting events and many other non-essential venues.
The mayor of Surrey says he was “verbally assaulted” and hit by a car on Saturday. Doug McCallum says the incident happened when he was out grocery shopping.
West Vancouver Police have taken one man into custody and laid charges against 20 year old Dilpreet Sandhu on 2 counts of Criminal Negligence, in the operation of a motor vehicle, causing death.
