Former B.C. legislature clerk’s cufflinks, whisky subject of indictment: Crown

VANCOUVER - Former clerk of the British Columbia legislature Craig James claimed bills starting from malt whisky to items of bags on the general public purse, a particular prosecutor stated Tuesday.

Brock Martland informed a B.C. Supreme Court docket Tuesday that James made dozens of non-public purchases and claimed them as skilled bills throughout journeys to the USA and United Kingdom.

James has pleaded not responsible to 2 counts of fraud over $5,000 and three counts of breach of belief by a public officer.

The courtroom has heard the Crown’s case rests on allegations referring to a $258,000 retirement allowance, a wooden splitter and trailer, and journey bills over the course of James’s tenure as clerk from 2011 till he was positioned on go away in 2018.

The clerk is the senior officer of the home, answerable for advising the Speaker on parliamentary process and performing key administrative capabilities of the legislature.

Martland’s colleague David Butcher described the clerk’s function on Monday because the “parliamentary equal of a CEO,” with accountability for managing the affairs and assets of the legislature.

“Crown alleges that Mr. James’s conduct, at completely different instances and in numerous methods, was a marked departure from the usual of accountable administration anticipated of an individual occupying one of many highest workplaces within the province,” Butcher stated.

Martland described to the courtroom receipts, memos, electronic mail exchanges and images of products referring to journey bills that had been entered as reveals within the case.

The purchases embrace a number of units of cufflinks, shirts and footwear, taking part in playing cards, postcards, whisky, whisky glasses, a baseball cap, an umbrella, erasers, planners, coasters, a leather-based thesaurus, luggage and several other books.

The journeys had been sometimes listed as alternatives for conferences with parliamentary counterparts in different jurisdictions, conferences and particular occasions, and James typically travelled with the sergeant-at-arms and Speaker.

In August 2015, the courtroom heard that James travelled with then-sergeant-at-arms Gary Lenz and their spouses to the U.Ok. for the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, the 600th anniversary of the primary appointment of the sergeant-at-armsand knowledgeable growth convention.

Amongst James’s expense claims in the course of the go to had been a Magna Carta pack of stamps for $76.50, a map of Parliament, a Home of Commons black pocket book, a number of books about Parliament, rainbow erasers and marble pens.

Martland famous purchases of port and a royal cookbook calendar had been struck from the receipts, signifying they weren't hunted for reimbursement and usually are not topic to the indictment.

Throughout one other go to to the U.Ok. in 2013, James claimed the equal of greater than $2,000 in purchases from Ede & Ravenscroft, a provider of ceremonial robes.

The invoice coated two pairs of footwear, 4 units of cufflinks and one tricorn hat, however Martland stated just one pair of footwear and one set of cufflinks are the topic of the indictment. The hat and a pair of footwear had been for then-Speaker Linda Reid, who was additionally on the journey, the courtroom heard.

Throughout the identical journey, he bought the equal of about $100 of malt whisky, two whisky glass units, two golf towels and a baseball cap from the Home of Lords present store.

James additionally purchased baggage on a number of events. In an electronic mail to monetary providers on the legislature, James justified the expense in July 2018:

“In reference to my buy of bags, please be suggested that the current purchases are meant to supply employees particularly members with baggage when travelling in a single day on official legislative meeting enterprise. I've acquired requests for service of this sort to be made accessible. Now we have a number of items now which I believe is sufficient and I don’t foresee any further purchases presently,” James wrote within the electronic mail, entered as an exhibit.

One other electronic mail from a monetary providers staffer notes the bags was saved within the clerk’s vault.

The case is unfolding in courtroom greater than three years after James was escorted from the legislature and suspended in 2018 after an RCMP investigation into allegations of misspending.

He started working on the legislature in 1987 and resigned in 2019.

This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Jan. 25, 2022.