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 its latest financial system review, the Bank of Canada said Thursday that many households have taken on large mortgages compared with their income, limiting their flexibility to deal with an unforeseen financial shock like the loss of a job.
Over the last six years, the number of inactive wells has quintupled and those wells are staying quiet for longer — more than half have been inactive for more than a decad
Canada is expected to move ahead of the United States today in at least one of the markers in the race to herd immunity against COVID-19. By the end of the day nearly 49 per cent of all Canadians should have their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, pushing slightly ahead of the U.S. at just over 48 per cent.
Premier John Horgan is joining a news conference today with Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, where they are expected to announce the details.
f the active cases, 340 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 118 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.
While speaking with officers, Baez suddenly took off running and was able to get in the drivers seat of a car parked nearby. There was a brief struggle with officers as Baez attempted to start the car.
