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."
In a report today, parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux estimates that a one-time tax of three per cent and five per cent on Canadians with net wealth over $10 million and $20 million respectively would yield between $44 billion and $61 billion.
A well-known American advocate of stronger Canada-U.S. ties helped state lawmakers from across the Midwest formally vent their bilateral frustrations Wednesday with an official request that the two countries "immediately" open their shared border to fully vaccinated travellers.
Dozens of temperature records were shattered during the period, including a Canadian record of 49.6 C in Lytton, B.C., the day before fire destroyed most of the community.
The order from the Cariboo Regional District covers roughly 1,000 properties south of 100 Mile House and 482 properties in the Canim Lake area, with residents warned of "immediate danger" from wildfires.
79.3% (3,674,169) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 47.3% (2,191,315) received their second dose.
