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."
More than 60 evacuation orders are in place across British Columbia, and there are nearly 120 evacuation alerts, which means people should be ready to leave within minutes.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Friday that B.C. may not be able to move to the next step in its COVID-19 restart plan as quickly as expected.
Richmond RCMP Mobile Enforcement Team subsequently arrested and held the man in-custody for allegedly breaching his order of prohibition in relation to children. Edward Gary Bolderson has been charged with 1 count of fail to comply with prohibitions regarding children, contrary to Section 161(4) of the Criminal Code of Canada.
A single vehicle collision into a tree in the 16000-block of 104th Avenue claims lives of 3 teenagers. The deceased have been identified Caleb Reimer, Ronin Sharma, and Parker Magnuson between the ages of 16-17 years old.
There are 6,345 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 150,657 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 129 individuals are in hospital and 59 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
