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."
Online learning will be offered until the school's expected reopening on Oct. 4. The Ministry of Health reported 759 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C. on Wednesday, with 5,458 active cases provincewide.
RCMP say they responded to reports of shooting near Vernon and discovered a man's body at the scene. They say a man was arrested later the same day near Armstrong, B.C.
There are 5,458 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 173,215 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 324 individuals are in hospital and 157 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
Canada was to get 95 million doses of vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna by the end of September, but is about 20 million doses shy of that as of Wednesday.
The report from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C., makes six recommendations, including ensuring remote and Indigenous communities have robust communications systems in place where emergency officials can relay fast and accurate information about wildfires.
Former parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page says the Liberals may want to release the document in November and use it to introduce some spending and tax measures.
