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 super-heated housing market in Metro Vancouver cooled slightly in May but the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board says sales still remained active.
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William Schabas, a professor at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom, said Canada likes to champion itself as a human rights supporter, but the discovery will hurt its reputation and make many people look at its activism with an amount of cynicism.
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A VPD officer was already in the building on another matter and was alerted to the incident by building staff. While trying to arrest him, the suspect bit the officer’s arm and tried to wrestle him to the ground.
