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."
They say officers from Salmo responded with the local fire department to as many as four brush fires northwest of the intersection of Highways 6 and 3 on Saturday.
80.7% (3,742,081) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 62.3% (2,887,730) have received their second dose.
As the hustle and bustle of life commitments continues to take over the working population, creating senior care facilities is becoming a pressing necessity.
It's not unheard of for federal benefits to flow to a person after their death, often as a result of lags in reporting to federal authorities from provinces and territories that are responsible for collecting information about a person's death.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada and its Customs and Immigration Union announced Tuesday its members may strike as soon as Aug. 6, three days before fully vaccinated U.S. citizens will be able to visit Canada without having to quarantine for two weeks.
