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."
Solicitor General Mike Farnworth says the government is increasing its grant funding to the Ending Violence Association of B.C. to help it provide more community-based sexual assault response service programs.
On May 14, 2021, officers attended an address in the 5700 blk of Telegraph Trail after neighbours reported sounds of what seemed to be dogs in distress. The officers determined that the animals were safe and sound, but were unable to locate any residents at the time.
The moment marks the MP's second Zoom lapse after he made headlines around the world last month when he appeared naked on an internal parliamentary feed of virtual question period.
The early deficit figure for the 12-month period between April 2020 to March 2021 compares to a deficit of $21.8 billion over the preceding fiscal year.
Trudeau has previously said he hopes to attend the meeting, which runs from June 11 to 13, but he has not yet confirmed and his office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
