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."
Canada's annual report on exports of military equipment says in 2020 it sold approximately $1.966 billion in controlled military goods to international buyers compared to $3.757 billion in 2019.
The Kamloops Indian Residential School was Canada's largest such facility operated by the Roman Catholic Church between 1890 and 1969 before the federal government took it over as a day school until 1978, when it was closed.
A new paper lays out far-ranging "policy intentions," including diversifying the ownership of forest tenures, or harvesting rights, and establishing a framework for compensation in the event those rights are lost.
The service says 176 people died because of toxic illicit drugs in April, a 43 per cent increase from the same month last year, which means almost six British Columbians died of overdose every day.
There are currently 2,800 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Of the active cases, 254 individuals are currently hospitalized, 80 of whom are in ICU.
Ryerson University law professor Pamela Palmater says the United Nations' convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide applies to Canada's actions.
