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."
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, families weren't permitted on the wharf in Halifax for the traditional sendoff as the HMCS Montreal pulled away from the jetty and its 240 crew members set off for the six-month deployment.
Statistics Canada reported Wednesday that the annual pace of inflation climbed in December to 4.8 per cent, a pace that hasn't been seen since September 1991.
Sean Fraser, Canada's minister responsible for refugees, says the latest arrivals are among a total of 7,000 refugees that have now been airlifted to various parts of Canada.
On January 19, 2022 shortly after 3:00 a.m. Surrey RCMP responded to the report of shots fired inside a warming center in the 10600-block of King George Boulevard. Two people were located with injuries believed to be gunshot wounds. Both victims were transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and have since been released.
Environment and Climate Change Canada says in a news release that Hang Hing Herbal Medicine Ltd. was fined $75,000 for importing an endangered species without a permit.
There are 37,167 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 258,417 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 854 COVID-positive individuals are in hospital and 112 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
