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 grim milestone means six in every 10,000 Canadians died of COVID-19 since March 9, 2020, when the country's first COVID-19 death was reported. Canada surpassed 20,000 deaths at the end of January.
Canada's first homegrown vaccine for COVID-19 is showing promising antibody results in hundreds of participants in a Phase 2 trial and could be ready for a final authorization request this summer.
A group of four tourism and hospitality industry associations reacted to B.C.'s budget announced last month, saying in a news release at the time that tourism-related spending was welcome, but it may not be enough to save some businesses before ongoing travel restrictions are lifted.
Brig.-Gen. Krista Brodie will now be responsible for managing the country’s vaccine distribution and rollout efforts, which are expected to ramp up in the coming weeks as millions of shots arrive in the country ahead of summer.
