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."
During a stop in Mississauga, Ont., Justin Trudeau says a re-elected Liberal government would procure enough vaccines to ensure all Canadians have access to free COVID-19 booster shots and any needed second-generation vaccines.
The Ministry of Health says in a statement that people who were not fully vaccinated accounted for 82.4 per cent of all COVID-19 cases and 86.4 per cent of hospitalizations between Aug. 11 and Tuesday this week.
The BC Wildfire Service says the nearly 900-square-kilometre Sparks Lake fire burning north of Kamloops Lake and east of Cache Creek is being held as of Thursday, meaning suppression has been sufficient to ensure the blaze is not likely to spread beyond its boundaries under current and forecasted conditions.
The British Department for Transport says they will still need to take COVID-19 tests within three days before leaving for the U.K. and another one two days after arriving. The change will take effect Aug. 30 at 4 a.m.
The woman, who says her friends call her Zak, asked her full name not be revealed due to safety concerns.She says she tried to leave the country before the deadline, but was beaten by Taliban members and pushed away from the airport gates in Kabul.
