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."
In front of the institution's brick entrance, Singh told reporters that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must make good on his six-year-old pledge to fulfil all 94 calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Security footage shows one man push the victim down. Another man helps the victim up and they all walk towards a lane near Granville and Smithe streets. While in the lane, the victim was assaulted and had his wallet taken. The three suspects appear to be South Asian and in their early 20s.
The need for blood products tailed off dramatically 16 months ago as the pandemic brought travel to a near standstill and all but the most critical surgeries were cancelled.
Under the proposed rules, a digital safety commissioner would help enforce a new regime that requires social media companies to weed out child pornography, terrorist content, hate speech and other harmful posts.
The U.S. Geological Survey says an 8.2 magnitude quake hit off the Alaska Peninsula roughly 800 kilometres southwest of Anchorage at about 9:15 p.m. Pacific time.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, announced a two-phased approach Wednesday to eliminate the few remaining public health orders in the province.
