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."
Kenney told a news conference Tuesday that the vaccine passport, known in Alberta as the restriction exemption program, would end within hours — at midnight.
Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin read the speech from the throne in the legislature on Tuesday outlining the government's agenda as politicians return for a spring sitting expected to continue until June.
There are 24,372 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 306,888 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 986 COVID-positive individuals are in hospital and 146 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
This fraud usually includes a suspect calling a senior citizen pretending to be a law enforcement officer, lawyer, or the person’s grandson. The suspect tells them that their grandson has been arrested and requires bail money. In two of the three successful scams, someone actually attended the elderly person’s home to collect cash, debit and/or credit cards.
Planning for a census starts almost before Statistics Canada releases all the data from the current counts, given the complexity and scale of the exercise the agency runs every five years.
Trucks and other vehicles began parking on the highway near Coutts on Jan. 29 in solidarity with similar protests in Ottawa and across the country over vaccine mandates for cross-border truck drivers and broader public health measures.
