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."
Police located one male victim suffering from gun shot wound. The male has been transported to local hospital where he is being treated for his injuries.
Burnaby Frontline officers attended the scene and confirmed the remains to be human. At this time, police suspect the person to be a victim of foul play.
At least five of the Ontario schools calling for jabs are members of the U15 group of major Canadian research universities — University of Toronto, University of Ottawa, Western University in London, Queen's University in Kingston and University of Waterloo.
The Trudeau government is promising to resettle 20,000 refugees who have already fled Afghanistan even as months of frustration turn to outright fear over the fate of hundreds of former interpreters and their families still stuck in the country.
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“This was a large scale marijuana grow-op,” he says. “The 7,400 plants that were seized were in various stages of growth. Officers secured about 100 pounds of dried marijuana that was being packaged for further distribution.”
