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."
British Columbia health officials say COVID-19 immunization records entered into the provincial immunization registry that are suspected to be fraudulent are being reported to law enforcement.
Winter weather is made its way back into southern B.C. with Environment Canada issuing heavy snowfall warnings for several areas. Snow fell right across Metro Vancouver for a good chunk of the day Tuesday, bringing up to 20 centimetres of snow in some areas.
The federal government is vastly reducing the number of Liberal MPs present in the House of Commons due to the lightning spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. In addition, government House leader Mark Holland says all regional and national Liberal caucus meetings Wednesday will be entirely virtual.
There are 3,171 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 218,001 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 191 individuals are in hospital and 81 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
The cost of resettling Afghan refugees in Canada is expected to be $1.3 billion over six years, starting in the current fiscal year, and $66.6 million in future years. Last week, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said he expects it will take two years to fulfil the government's promise to bring 40,000 Afghan refugees to Canada.
The cases are included in new infection modelling released today that also shows overall COVID-19 cases rising on Vancouver Island, driven by outbreaks at the University of Victoria and a religious gathering in the northern part of the island.
