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 B.C. board says home sales in the region totalled 3,326 last month, a 6.3 per cent increase from the 3,128 sales recorded last July and an 11.6 per cent drop from the 3,762 homes sold in June.
Legal arguments are expected over the next few weeks from the Department of Justice and Meng's lawyers over whether she should be extradited to the United States.
COVID-19 cases in B.C. continued their upward march as the province reported more than 700 infections Tuesday over a four-day period, with more than half of those in the Interior where the vaccination rate is lower.
Recent showers were a welcome relief to firefighters, but the rain wasn't enough to make long-lasting impacts on wildfires that continue to burn in British Columbia, a Wildfires BC operations director said Tuesday.
81.4% (3,773,442) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 67.3% (3,121,311) received their second dose.
He will be the in the host chair of the Jas Johal show from 3-6pm weekday afternoons. He is replacing former afternoon host Lynda Steele who resigned in June.
