VANCOUVER — Kate Ryan-Lloyd, the clerk of the Legislative Assembly of B.C., took to the stand in B.C. Supreme Court Wednesday to testify for special Crown prosecutors in their case against her predecessor, Craig James, who faces fraud and breach of trust charges.
Prompted by prosecutor David Butcher, Ryan-Lloyd stated that at no point during her time as deputy clerk did she receive direction that chamber attire — her robe, jacket and white shirt — could be interchanged with business attire.
The seemingly mundane detail relates to allegations of improper spending by James, including business suits he expensed with public funds.
Ryan-Lloyd is among key figures in James’s time as clerk, from 2011 until November 2018, when police escorted him out of the building, leaving then deputy clerk Ryan-Lloyd as the acting clerk, until her official permanent appointment in March 2020.
Ryan-Lloyd became deputy clerk in 2011 when James was appointed clerk, following the retirement of clerk George MacMinn. It was shortly after that, in February 2012, when James received a $257,988 retirement benefit — now the subject of a breach of trust allegation — whereas Ryan-Lloyd declined her own.
At issue is whether James skirted policies and/or improperly approved the benefit.
James is also accused of fraud in excess of $5,000 for personal expenditures billed to the legislature.
Butcher spent much of the first part of his examination establishing the roles and responsibilities of the Legislative Assembly, the non-partisan, autonomous entity with 300 staff members, headed by the clerk.
The clerk has administrative, CEO-type duties and assists in legislative procedures, Ryan-Lloyd confirmed.
Butcher questioned Ryan-Lloyd about how, in October 2019, the Legislative Assembly Management Committee laid out the clerk’s responsibilities ahead of its search for a permanent replacement. Ryan-Lloyd said it was a “wholesome” job description, noting how the clerk is to oversee the provisions of services and financial management plus implementation of internal controls.
James took notes during the testimony, but his criminal defence lawyers, Kevin Westell and James Cameron, have yet to cross-examine.
The court heard how Ryan-Lloyd, whose appointment as clerk was widely celebrated at the legislature, worked her way up the ranks from a research librarian in 1992 to a permanent officer in 2002.
