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."
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy says the second phase of its free day-use pass pilot program rolls out June 22 in five provincial parks, four of them on the south coast.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spent his last day in Europe on Tuesday thanking leaders and local workers for getting COVID-19 vaccines to Canada, saying there is no "silver bullet" that results in shots being available around the world.
In her annual report tabled in Parliament today, information commissioner Caroline Maynard says working remotely has meant using different tools, such as online meeting technology and instant messaging.
Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion says former Liberal MP Yasmin Ratansi violated Parliament's conflict of interest code when she hired her sister in her constituency office.
There have been 4 new COVID-19 related deaths over a 3 day period, for a total of 1,734 deaths in British Columbia. 75.9% of all adults in B.C. and 74.1% of those 12 and older have now received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
