Lawyer says he didn't advise B.C. Speaker on clerk's retirement benefit

A lawyer who advised British Columbia's former Speaker about a retirement allowance that is the subject of a criminal charge says the name of then-clerk Craig James never came up in those conversations.

Donald Farquhar told a B.C. Supreme Court trial for James that it was his legal opinion that all so-called table officers, who support the work of the clerk in the legislature, were eligible in 2011 for the retirement allowance, which has since been eliminated.

He says he never advised then-Speaker Bill Barisoff specifically about James's eligibility.

However, Farquhar says James had already asked him about being eligible for the benefit before he spoke to Barisoff.

James has pleaded not guilty to breach of trust and fraud relating to his claim of the $258,000 benefit and other expense claims during his time as clerk.

Lawyers for James have argued that he claimed the benefit after he and Barisoff sought legal advice from Farquhar.