Ottawa Star - Volume 1 Issue 7

For all the latest news visit Ottawa Star.com

Ottawa Star www.OttawaStar.com • September 26, 2013 • Volume 1, Issue 7

For Canada & World News visit Ottawa Star.com

Public backlash intensifies on Quebec Charter’s crackdown on religious freedom

By Sangeetha Arya Be careful what you wish for, rightly warned the head of the Assembly of Quebec Catholic Bishops, to Parti Quebecois government. He felt the Quebec Charter of values and the push for a more secular state could seriously backfire and instead of a more secular Quebec, there would be more resistance: more protests in the street, and more women and children isolated at home in what he calls cultural “ghettos.”

Quebec Premier Pauline Marois should have kept this in mind before launching her infamous campaign for a “Charter of Quebec Values” that devalues religious

Miss America Nina Davuluri poses for photographers following her crowning in Atlantic City, N.J. For some who observe the progress of people of color in the U.S., Davuluri’s victory in the Miss America pageant shows that Indian-Americans can become icons even in parts of mainstream American culture that once seemed closed.

However not everyone agrees. See editorial in Page 6. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Continued on page 5

Suspicious activity: Two Middle Eastern men buying water at a store

By Paul Elias, The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO—Two men of Middle Eastern descent were reported buying pallets of water at a grocery store. A police sergeant reported concern about a doctor “who is very unfriendly.’’ And photographers of all races and nationali-

n Community

2

n Canada

5

n Opinion

6

n Entertainment

8

n World

12

n Business

14

ties have been reported taking snapshots of post offices, bridges, dams and other structures.

The American Civil Liberties Union and several other groups released 1,800 “suspicious activity reports’’, saying they show the inner-workings of a domestic surveillance program that is sweeping up innocent Americans and forever placing their names in a counterterrorism database.

Shortly after the 9-11 attacks, the U.S. federal government created a multibilliondollar information-sharing program meant to put local, state and federal officials together to analyze intelligence at sites called fusion centres.

Instead, according to a U.S. Senate report the Government Accountability Office and now the ACLU, the program has duplicated the work of other agencies, has Continued on page 13

New Canadians must swear allegiance to Queen

By Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press

TORONTO—Forcing would-be Canadians to take an oath to the Queen as a condition of citizenship is constitutional, even if it does violate free-speech rights, an Ontario court ruled last week.

In his ruling, Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward Morgan dismissed an application by three permanent residents, who argued the requirement was discriminatory and unjust.

“The oath of citizenship is a form of compelled speech,’’ Morgan states.

“But it is saved by Section 1 (of the charter) as a reasonable limit on the right of expression that is justifiable in a free and democratic society.’’

Morgan also ruled the oath does not violate either religious or equality rights as the applicants claimed.

Queen Elizabeth

Photo: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Selwyn Pieters, one of the lawyers involved, said they were considering an appeal.

“The finding that the oath violates freedom of expression is a positive step,’’ Pieters said.

Continued on page 5

Community

PAGE 2 • www.OttawaStar.com

Ottawa Star • September 26, 2013

Memory project preserves history of IndoCanadians in Ottawa

By Ellen O’Connor

The Algonquin Jazan College of Excellence. Photo: Algonquin College

Algonquin College adds Saudi Arabia to its growing list of campuses

By Ellen O’Connor

Earlier this September, Algonquin College welcomed the first group of students at the Algonquin Jazan College of Excellence located in Jazan, Saudi Arabia.

Algonquin won an international bid to manage operations at the English language campus, previously called Jazan Economic City Polytechnic. The college will work in a public-private partnership with the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, Saudi Arabia’s equivalent of Ontario’s Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. At the direction of TVTC, the campus will be male-only.

“This is a unique model in how deeply we’re operating the institution,” said Claude Brulé, Vice President of Academics at Algonquin College.

While Algonquin has had experience in the past with other international partner institutions with tasks such as verifying quality of instruction, hiring instructors, or validating graduation, this is the first time that Algonquin will manage all campus operations including staff and student recruitment, program development and delivery, quality assessment, college services, and facilities maintenance.

“It’s important because it signals our intent to be able to exploit our brand and what we do very well - applied education and training,” said Brulé. “Many parts of the world want to do more of this train-

ing in terms of economic training and development and they turn to Canada because they see we do this very well.”

Home to 2,000 students, the campus currently offers the two-year diploma programs Electrical Engineering Technician and Mechanical Technician – Industrial Millwright, along with a yearlong foundational year with a focus on developing students’ proficiency in English, math and IT. In September 2014, Algonquin plans to offer eight more diploma programs in Business – Accounting, Business – Marketing, Motive Power Technician, Truck and Coach Technician, Architectural Technician, Construction Engineering Technician, Facilities Technician, and Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technician.

Saudi Arabia is now a part of the growing list of countries where one can take an on-campus Algonquin College program of study, which includes China, India, Montenegro, and in 2014, Kuwait, which began construction this summer and is set to open next fall.

Although Algonquin also submitted a bid for a female campus, it was unsuccessful; however, there are four female campuses opening in Saudi Arabia this fall.

Algonquin College joins four other international institutions, TQ/Pearson (UK), Nescott (UK), Laureate International (US), and Mondragon (Spain), whose bids were also selected.

The Indo-Canadian Community Centre is working on a memory project to preserve history and inform future generations about the struggles and achievements of Indo-Canadians living in the national capital region.

“We’re looking at how Indo-Canadian society became what it is today, from the start until now,” said Dr. Indu Gambhir, past president of ICCC and a member of the memory project team.

The project will trace the history of the first Indo-Canadians to arrive in Ottawa, and will continue to develop the growth of the community to examine how both first generation immigrants and their children and grandchildren cope with the challenges they face today.

“We have two objectives here,” said Dr. Prabir Neogi, who came to Ottawa in 1971. “One is to leave a record for the community at large and the second is to pass on this record to the second and third generations of our own community.”

The concept of the memory project was formed in the summer of 2011 by Neogi, Gambhir, and Mr. Nand Tandan, Nand Tandan who immigrated to Ottawa in 1968 at age 29. Gambhir realized her grandchildren didn’t know how Ottawa was 50 years ago and how it has grown today.

“The third generation doesn’t realize there was no grocery store to get Indian groceries here,” said Gambhir, who immigrated to Ottawa in 1969 at age 25 and currently works as a physician.

“Simple things that they now take for granted – going to the supermarket and picking up Indian food – make you realize that this whole generation will never know what the initial people who came to Canada and settled in Ottawa did or established.”

As pioneer Indo-Canadians grow older and die, they take their memories with them and the collective memory of that generation fades away, said Gambhir.

The purpose of the memory project is to preserve the memories and history, as well as acknowledge the contribution of IndoCanadians to the Ottawa community.

The starting point of the timeline for the project is 1948 after India’s independence from British rule. Tandan says, “The time chose itself,” because prior to 1948 there were no Indo-Canadians living in Ottawa.

The group has already conducted 25 interviews for the project thus far. The first group of interviewees were early immigrants that came to Ottawa between the 1940’s and ‘60s, beginning with Ranjit Hall, a 96-year-old Indo-Canadian who immigrated to British Columbia, Canada as a young child in 1923.

“Ranjit was forced to cut his hair and it was a very painful thing for him,” said Tandan, reflecting on the interview with Hall. “He was bullied, harassed, and faced more problems a hundred years ago when they first immigrated to Canada.”

Although Hall’s father immigrated to Canada in 1914, he was not allowed to bring his wife, as was the case until the early 1920s. When Hall’s mother did immigrate, she was the only woman living in the small community where they settled. Hall later moved to Ottawa as an adult to work for the India High Commission of India and the government of Canada.

In each one-on-one interview conducted

by Tandan, Neogi, and Gambhir, a series of questions are asked, such as how and why they imPhoto courtesy: ICCC migrated to Canada, the process of adjustment including raising children and finding a job, discrimination or lack of, professional achievement, and contribution to the local and Indian community.

The team is now looking to begin conducting small focus groups with cohorts from the 1970s to ‘90s to represent the second and third generations of Indo-Canadians.

“The benefit of a focus group is that you get the collective memory,” said Gambhir. Neogi added that with the input of many people you may or may not get a consensus on an issue, but both are important to the project.

Along with interviews, the group is also using archival material from the India High Commission, Statistics Canada data and census data, as well as news articles.

They are hoping to have a preliminary showing of the project in July 2014 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Komagata Maru incident, when the Japanese steamship Komagata Maru sailed from Punjab, India to Vancouver, Canada and 356 of its 376 passengers were turned away and forced to return to India.

Community

Ottawa Star • September 26, 2013

www.OttawaStar.com • PAGE 3

Dancing at the sizzling summer finale of Latin Sparks. Photo: Ellen O’Connor

Sizzling summer finale of Latin Sparks lights up the Street

By Ellen O’Connor

Why travel thousands of kilometres to experience Latin American culture when you can get a taste of it at home in the heart of Ottawa.

From salsa to bachata and reggaeton, dance music of all kinds pulsed through the night sky as thousands moved their bodies to the beat at the summer finale of Latin Sparks on Saturday, Sept. 14.

The outdoor block party, held along Sparks Street from Metcalfe to O’Connor, was organized by The International, an Ottawabased company that provides the nation’s capital with events and programs to celebrate and unite different cultures.

“We’re creating a vibe that is very Latin American – dancing out on the streets,” said 24-year-old Carl Karamaoun, co-founder of The International along with his partner, Kareem Aly. “We’re not looking to attract only Latinos, but rather, we want an international crowd to come here and learn from the cultural experience.”

The International was launched in June 2012 with their first Latin Sparks event, held on a weekly basis with only about 200 people. This summer, it was held monthly on Sparks Street and the attendance grew to 2,000 with a mix of cultures all there for the shared reason to mingle, dance and celebrate what the city has to offer.

“We really tried to incorporate education with the entertainment twist,” said 24-year-old Aly. “You’re going to come here for the fun, but at the same time you’re interacting and learning about a new culture. You’re dancing the dance, tasting the food, hearing the language.

So we’re doing it in a more subtle way to help break those barriers between cultures.”

Saturday night’s event kicked off at 10 p.m. with the first Latin dance workshop led by instructor and emcee, Roudi Benyoussef, of Ottawa’s Ritmo Baile Dance School. Partners weren’t needed as Benyoussef led the energetic crowd of 2,000 people in a step-by-step instruction of basic dance moves.

After each short workshop, DJ Rahim and DJ Chico played music as the crowd mingled and switched between dancing partners, with a few couples stealing the show as they dipped and twirled as if they’ve been dancing for years.

Two of those dancers were Geghani Panosian and Shakiru Atoro, both students in Ottawa, who have been attending Latin Sparks since it began.

“He’s a great lead, which is important because he makes me look good!” said Panosian about Atoro with a laugh.

Drinks, a buffet of food including puposas, tacos, enchiladas and quesadillas, prize giveaways, and animators were also featured, along with an 18-piece Brazilian Samba band as the big surprise of the night.

Aly and Karamaoun along with the 13 other members of The International who all live in Ottawa and represent various countries including Lebanon, Egypt, Slovakia, Serbia, and Jamaica, have worked to ensure The International is a good representation of what Canada is – a hub of multiculturalism.

“Growing up here in Ottawa we realize there is potential for some alternative entertainment,” said Aly, who is Egyptian-Canadian. “Twenty per cent of Canadians are born abroad, and that’s just first generation. Imagine second generation Canadians like myself who still identify with my culture.”

Aly and Karamaoun, who was born in Canada with a Polish mother and Lebanese father, said they identify themselves as global citizens, as they both speak different languages, have travelled and volunteered abroad, and live by the mandate ‘The world is my country.’

The International has plans for more cultural events and activities in the future, including the resurgence of International Nights, a dance event with pop hits played from around the world, and International Tongues, a language exchange that encourages people to actively practice a new language in a casual setting, both launched last year.

24 modern, unique and fully appointed luxury garden suites on Stittsville Main Street.

Featuring:

The Muse

Construction START BONUS on NOW till the end of August

$10,000 in design upgrades

PLUS 5-pc appliance package Starting low 300's

Early 2014 Occupancies

Sales Centre: The sales centre is open by appointment only.

613.482.2800 x112

Dharma Developments

1488 Stittsville Main Street (across from construction site)

Community

PAGE 4 • www.OttawaStar.com

Ottawa Star • September 26, 2013

Former Poet Laureate of Ottawa pens My Multi-Ethnic Friends & Other Stories

By Staff Reporter

My Multi-Ethnic Friends & Other Stories is Cyril Dabydeen’s latest volume which spans a range of narratives set in Canada and other parts of the world reflecting lived experiences. The Guyanese-born Canadian writer who lives in Ottawa has been publishing for many years; his work has appeared internationally in numerous literary magazines and anthologies.

Here in this new volume are shifting spaces and changing lives forming the core of Dabydeen’s stories. Tropical places with verdant greenery are subverted; his sometimes stark images supplant the traditionally exotic. In Canada’s northern hemisphere, Dabydeen’s immigrant and non-immigrant characters delve into memories; whether Greek, Italian, Russian or West Indian, for them new situations resonate in northwestern Ontario, Toronto or Detroit. They are even active in a mayoralty race heating up in Ottawa. It’s also a Muslim’s faith tested in Vancouver. Stories such as the title one and others like “Bearing Gifts,” “Believers,” “Look Who’s Coming,” and “In Transit” reflect ironic twists and styles.

Critics have described Dabydeen’s work as: “narratives that often contain the lyrical consolidations of images that are the mark of a poet” (Books in Canada); and, “His stories are seamless between past and present, fantasy and reality....a significant post-colonial writer” (World Literature Today).

A former Poet Laureate of Ottawa (1984-87), has published over 15 books, including eight collections of poetry. Some of his previous titles include My Brahmin Days, Play a Song Somebody: Selected Stories, Black Jesus and Other Stories, and North of the Equator. Dabydeen’s last novel, Drums of My Flesh, had been nominated for the prestigious IMPAC/Dublin Prize and won the

top Guyana Prize for fiction in 2007. He was also shortlisted for the City of Ottawa Book’s Prize. His poetry titles include Imaginary Origins: Selected Poems and Unanimous Night. Cyril recently edited Beyond Sangre Grande: Caribbean Writing Today. He has done over 300 readings from his books.

Dabydeen teaches Creative Writing at the University of Ottawa. He has twice juried for Canada’s Governor General’s Award. His varied career also includes extensive travel as a race relations/diversity specialist aligned to the federal and municipal governments. He holds post-graduate degrees from Queen’s University.

Cyril Dabydeen.

Syrian Canadians demand Canadian government to act

By Staff Reporter

Hundreds of demonstrators took to Parliament Hill on Saturday, September 14 to put pressure on the Canadian government to take action in Syria.

Children as young as three stood with their parents holding posters with photos of victims of Syria’s civil war.

Syrian-Canadians came to the nation’s capital from as far as Montreal and Toronto to make their voices heard.

“Bashar and Hitler are the same!

The only difference is their name!” the crowd chanted, referring to Syrian dictator Bashar Al-assad.

The rally came on the same day as American President Barack Obama announced a diplomatic agreement that calls for Syria to disclose and destroy their chemical weapons arsenal.

It is hoped that this agreement will avert a US strike on Syria, but whether Assad will rid himself of chemical weapons remains unclear.

There is little doubt that chemical weapons were used in Syria, but there is no international consensus that it was the Syrian regime who used them.

In an opinion piece in the New York

Hundreds of demonstrators took to Parliament Hill on Saturday, September 14. Photo: Michael Power

Times, Russian President Vladimir Putin defended the Syrian regime.

“No one doubts that poison gas was used in Syria. But there is every reason to believe it was used not by the Syrian Army, but by opposition forces, to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons, who would be siding with the fundamentalists. Reports that militants are preparing another attack - this

time against Israel - cannot be ignored.”

While the diplomatic solution that was agreed to ensures that there is no immediate strike on Syrian regime targets, that doesn’t guarantee that there won’t be one soon.

If the Syrian regime stalls or reneges on the agreement, a military strike is still an option. President Obama has indicated that should diplomatic efforts fail “the United States remains prepared to act,” he said.

Local Olympic athletes spearhead fundraiser for athletes of the Special Olympics

By Aaron L. Pope

Warm weather, blue skies and green grass brought nearly 150 Ottawans, Special Olympic athletes and some of Canada’s elite canoe and kayak athletes to the Ottawa Canoe club for the fourth annual Marathon of Sport Ottawa hosted by Motionball Ottawa.

While onlookers cheered from the sidelines, athletes of all stripes put on their game face and competed in out-

door sports like road hockey, volleyball and soccer with the purpose to reach the fundraising goal of $20,000 for Special Olympics Canada Foundation.

“What we do is raise money for the Special Olympics with the aim of engaging the younger generation,” said Ian Mortimer, coach at the Ottawa Canoe Club. “We educate people on special Olympians; integrate young people, young professionals and students with special Olympic athletes so

they can know how great they are to work with.”

Mortimer, who organized the event with the help of other canoe and kayak Olympians , said they were aiming to raise $20,000 this year to add to the almost $90,000 Ottawa Motionball has raised over the past four years.

Even though teams kept track of scores, wins and losses, everyone there was enjoying the opportunity to play alongside the Olympians they were raising money

for. In order to even up the teams, Olympic athletes were added to each team’s roster to join in and lend a hand.

Gabriel Beauchesne-Sevigny, who competed in canoeing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Chris Pellini who competed in kayaking, took sides on the field to show their support for the Special Olympics.

Sponsors include Ottawa Canoe Club, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and Canoe Kayak Canada.

Ottawa Star • September 26, 2013

Canada

www.OttawaStar.com • PAGE 5

New Canadians must swear allegiance to Queen Continued from page 1

“But it is disappointing that the ruling found the violation to be demonstrably justified.’’

The Citizenship Act requires applicants for citizenship to swear or affirm they will be “faithful and bear true allegiance to Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, her heirs and successors.’’

The long-time permanent residents oppose the oath on religious or conscientious grounds, saying pledging allegiance to Canada should be enough to become citizens.

They also noted that people born in Canada or abroad to Canadian parents

are automatically citizens and don’t have to take any such oath.

The federal government maintained that taking an oath to the Queen has been around since Confederation as a condition of “acquiring membership in the Canadian polity.’’

“The inability to enjoy the benefits of citizenship - to hold a Canadian passport and to vote - are amongst the costs reasonably borne by individuals whose personal beliefs run counter to Canada’s foundational heritage,’’ the government argued.

It also insisted the three are in Canada voluntarily, and their political and religious views enjoy constitutional protections.

In siding with the government, Morgan noted that freedom of expression includes the right not to express views, but said the applicants’ interpretation of the oath was somewhat extreme and showed a misunderstanding of its purpose.

They are, after all, free to oppose the monarch or advocate for its abolition, he said.

“The nation was born in debate rather than revolution,’’ the judge said.

“Differences of opinion freely expressed are the hallmarks of the Canadian political identity.’’

One of the applicants, Michael McAteer, 79, a retired journalist who immigrated almost 50 years ago, has said

his father was persecuted in Ireland for supporting Irish independence.

Swearing allegiance to the Queen would violate his conscience and betray his republican heritage, he told The Canadian Press.

Dror Bar-Natan, an Israeli, and Jamaican-born Simone Topey were the other applicants.

Reached in Geneva where he was travelling, Bar-Natan, a math professor, said he had not had a chance to see the ruling and was unable to comment directly. However, he said the trio would likely discuss an appeal.

Topey says Rastafarians regard the Queen as the “head of Babylon’’ and an oath would violate her deeply-held beliefs.

What Canadians earned and where they lived

By The Canadian Press

OTTAWA—Some highlights of the Statistics Canada’s 2011 National Household Survey data: n Fully one-quarter of Canadian households, about 3.3 million, spent 30 per cent or more of their total income on shelter, exceeding the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s “affordability threshold.’’ They paid an average of $1,259 a month, surpassing the 30 per cent mark by an average of $510. n Ten per cent of Canadians earned more than $80,400 in 2010, averaging $134,900; the top one per cent averaged $381,300, and 64 per cent of them lived in Ontario and Alberta. The bottom 90 per cent of Canadians earned an average of $28,000. n Men accounted for 79.5 per cent of the top one per cent earners, and 62 per cent were between 45 and 64 years of age.

More than two-thirds of Canada’s top one per cent have a university degree. n Sixty-nine per cent of households in Canada

—9.2 million out of 13.3 million—owned their dwelling in 2011, a marginal increase from 2006 compared with the more dramatic spikes in ownership of the previous 15 years. n 4.8 million Canadians, or 14.9 per cent, lived in low-income households in 2010. n About half a million tenant households lived in subsidized housing, with 37 per cent of them spending 30 per cent or more of total income on shelter costs. n In 2010, more than 95 per cent of Canadians aged 15 and older collected some form of income with a median total of $29,900; 70 per cent received some government transfers Canada Pension Plan, employment insurance, or old age security benefits, for example. n Government transfers comprised 41 per cent of total income for Canadians aged 65 and older, the bulk of it through pension income, old-age security benefits and guaranteed income supplement payments.

Screenshot courtesy of the Government of Quebec.

Public backlash intensifies on Quebec Charter’s crackdown on religious freedom Continued from page 1

minorities and offends basic notions of decency.

The Charter prohibits public servants from displaying “ostentatious” religious symbols such as hijabs, turbans, kippas, scarves, and skullcaps and will strip government life of religious symbolism. But she made an exception for the crucifix that hangs in the provincial legislature, arguing that it should remain as it is a cultural artifact from Quebec’s past, and also hinted that wearing a cross would also be okay. So under the guise of serving all equally in a

religiously neutral state, her government is sending an ugly and mixed message that some are less welcome than others.

This offends not only the Constitution, but also Quebec’s long tradition of tolerance, and this nation’s deeply held values.

It has left opposition politicians and cultural community leaders worrying just whose “values” will be protected by the proposed charter, and that it will be a without doubt a very discriminatory, divisive document.

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau has accused Quebec Premier Pauline Marois of playing “divi-

sive politics”. NDP leader Thomas Mulcair called it “unconstitutional” while Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney called it “Monty Python-esque.” Quebec Liberal leader Philippe Couillard says PQ plan will become law “over my dead body.”

Now more than ever before action is needed to defuse this mounting controversy. Quebec is headed for a showdown unless political leaders there find the courage to challenge this illadvised project.

Quebec can find its answer not by trampling over the minorities rights or by violating values that most Canadians hold dear but by promoting reasonable accommodation and promoting diversity within society. What could be more positive than a vibrant French-speaking culture that welcomes immigrants and accommodates their religious desire while insisting on a progressive set of basic rights? Quebec is largely that place today, and it is remarkable for it. This is the message Quebec political leaders should be spreading, rather than one of suspicion, hate and worry.

PAGE 6 • www.OttawaStar.com

Editorial

New Miss America’s victory reveals American dichotomy!

M

oments after, Nina Davuluri, created history by being the first contestant of Indian descent to be crowned 2014 Miss America, Twitter immediately exploded with appalling display of hateful tweets.

It was a blatant display of the dichotomy that exits in America with mindless and mean racist stereotyping racing ahead of the great ideals of justice, equality upheld and practiced by many Americans.

Racism has diminished, but it is still out there. There is a deep feeling for many that they are “forever on the periphery of being American, but not quite there.”

And a lot of the tweets were attacks on the fact that Nina

is the first Indian American to win the pageant and wear the crown. ‘’Miss America? You mean Miss 7-11,’’referring to the widespread ownership and management of convenience stores by people of Indian-origin.

Some associated her with the terrorist attack on the United States.

“Congratulations Al-Qaeda.

Our Miss America is one of you”.

“And the Arab wins Miss America. Classic”.

Yet the mean spirited outburst took a beating after thousands of Twitter users managed to drown the racist vitriol with messages of support and encouragement. One blog denounced the comments against

Ottawa Star 303 Moodie Dr, Suite 400, Ottawa, ON K2H 9R4 • 613.627.3869

Every effort is made by the Ottawa Star to ensure that information published is accurate. The Ottawa Star reserves the right to report unsolicited material being sent through to the publication. Reproduction in whole or in part of this publication is strictly prohibited without prior consent of the publisher.

Opinion the beauty queen and said “racists are being racist because Miss America isn’t white.”

“This world is so ignorant. #MissAmerica Indian or not had every right to gain the title of MissAmerica.”

“Stop hating, America.

She’s one of us...”

“I think it’s fabulous that @NinaDavuluri won #MissAmerica! America is about diversity. Not intolerance.”

Nina wasn’t surprised when there was a racist backlash; she ran on the platform of “celebrating diversity through cultural competence” and plans to attack stereotypes during her reign.

She brushed the comments aside and showed immense maturity. “I have to rise above that,” she said. “I always viewed myself first and foremost as American.”

Nina rightly put it, “For one negative tweet, I received dozens of positive tweets and support from not only Indians, but the American people across the country and ... the world for that matter. It’s been such an honor.”

Davuluri went all out to embrace being the first Indian American Miss America and was the first contestant to do a Bollywood performance. She explained that Miss America is “the girl next door” but that she has evolved. She’s not who she was 10 years ago, and the Miss America 10 years from now will be different too.

America has come a long way from the days when the beauty pageants where meant “only for the whites” to crowning Indian American 2014 Miss America. Racial controversies like these can serve as an opportunity to make America not only to tolerate but to celebrate diversity; where you are not hated or lambasted for having an American dream but where dreams do come true and anyone can regardless of their race or economic status live their American dream.

Editorial by Sangeetha Arya.

Publisher: Chandra Arya Chief Editor: Sangeetha Arya Editor: Ellen O’Connor Deputy Editor: Michael Power

Ottawa Star • September 26, 2013

Cultural engineering through clothing laws rarely work

By Fred Donnelly ROTHESAY, NB, Troy Media— How successful have past attempts to engineer culture through clothing regulation been?

Perhaps that is one question Quebec should be asking before it attempts to impose its “Charter of Values” on its citizens.

The supposed purpose of Quebec’s “Charter of Values” would restrict certain religiousinspired clothing and other apparel in some public sector occupations in an attempt to foster a neutral, secular social setting in governmental interactions with the public.

First, such efforts at cultural engineering are not without precedent. In pre-1700 western culture, these were known as “Sumptuary Laws” and were instituted by governments for one or more of three basic reasons; to curb spending on luxurious clothes especially imported fabrics, to promote local industry and to maintain distinctions of social class.

In 1571, England passed a so-called “flat cap” law requiring males over six years old to wear cloth caps on Sundays and public holidays or face a fine of three farthings (less than one penny). It was widely ignored, hard to enforce and finally abolished in 1597.

France tried equally unenforceable sumptuary laws in the 1630s to curb opulent clothing fashions. So did the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the New World during the period 1634 to 1651.

The concern of these English and somewhat puritanical colonists was that persons of “mean” [i.e. low]

Production: Benoit Deneault Joey Sabourin Editorial Contact Editor@OttawaStar.com

rank were wearing fancy clothes.

Sumptuary laws didn’t work, were too hard to enforce, contained exemptions for the rich and went against the long-term secular tendency in increasingly affluent western societies for common folk to try and dress more fashionably.

The banning of Scottish Highland kilts and tartans by the British government in 1746 merits special consideration, in part because this was a modernisation effort on the part of the English and the Lowland Scots after the rebellion of 1745/6. The law was eventually cancelled in 1782.

In the 1930s and early 1940s, the Nazis revived old medieval laws requiring Jews to wear a yellow star and sometimes a badge with the word “Jude” or “Juif ” on it. The purpose was to enable brutal discrimination against a portion of their population.

Proponents of the Quebec Charter of Values will argue that all this has nothing to do with them. Their proposal is the opposite to that of the Nazis, they will claim. The object of their legislation is to create a non-discriminatory public service environment for all citizens.

Today, people choose their clothing options based on such things as urbanization, industrialization, emigration to new lands, immigrant adoption of host society’s customs, the emancipation of women, social equality and increased affluence.

By contrast governmental efforts to engineer culture are weak and short-lived. Maybe the Quebec government should reconsider its plans in the light of the historical experience that such attempts at cultural engineering rarely work.

Troy Media Columnist Fred Donnelly’s career in journalism covers more than two decades. He writes on popular culture.

Sales: Gareth Dare GDare@OttawaStar.com 613.600.9705 Distribution COMET 2000 Printed by: Winchester Print & Stationery www.winchesterprint.com

Ottawa Star • September 26, 2013

Opinion

A woman takes part in a protest against Quebec’s proposed Values Charter in Montreal. The Canadian Press/Ryan Remiorz

Quebec’s ‘values’ charter right in principle, wrong in execution

By Brian Lee Crowley OTTAWA, Troy Media—The verdict is in: the English-Canadian commentariat is unanimous that Quebec’s proposed Charter of Values is both a stupid and a bad idea, incompatible with a multicultural society.

They are half right. It is a bad idea (and incredibly ineptly handled). It is not, however, a stupid one.

In their justified rush to condemn the Parti Quebecois’s fearmongering over the survival of the Québécois pur laine, these commentators have ignored that there is a legitimate debate to be had about how the private beliefs of state employees can and should intrude on their work.

Danielle Smith’s Wildrose Party harmed its chances in the last Alberta election by championing the idea that justices of the peace who

were conscientiously opposed to performing gay marriages should be exempted from doing so. What was the objection to such an exemption? Presumably that people who work for the state must be prepared to act on and enforce the state’s policies, and be neutral and even-handed in their treatment of all citizens. If the state decides that gays should be allowed to marry, those who work for the state must be prepared to set their private feelings aside and faithfully execute their public duty.

So how far is the state entitled to go in enforcing this neutrality? This is not a stupid question. On the contrary, its importance is magnified in a multicultural society composed of many groups and individuals of widely differing backgrounds and moral assumptions. In those circumstances, the state must be even more scrupulous; it must be neutral and be seen to be neutral. Otherwise government can easily lose its ability to be a trusted arbiter in social conflict and reliable enforcer of the rules.

Nor is it stupid to think that how the servants of the state

dress might matter enormously.

Drunken brawlers on St. Patrick’s Day might be particularly resistant to being arrested by a policeman wearing his Orange Order sash. A feminist might reasonably have reservations about handing her child over to a Muslim woman teacher

www.OttawaStar.com • PAGE 7 wearing a veil, fearing that this person would be unable to separate her private beliefs about the role of women from the official equality of the sexes professed by the state. A Tutsi, whose tribe suffered horrific massacres at the hands of the Hutus in Rwanda, might wonder what kind of care he would get from a surgeon who insisted on wearing traditional Hutu symbols.

So a policy that required government workers not to make ostentatious shows of their private beliefs in the course of performing their public duties could be justified. Nor would this, as many seem to believe, constitute “discrimination.” No one is forced to work for the government, and the devout of every religion have activities they are forbidden to engage in.

A pious Catholic wouldn’t work in an abortion clinic, a devout Jew could not accept a job that required her to work on Saturdays and an observant Muslim could not work as a bacon taster for a meat packer.

Does that mean these jobs “discriminate” against such people?

Not at all. It means that the devout have freely made certain choices that preclude some others. A person unwilling to subordinate their private beliefs to their public duties has made such a choice, understanding that there are both costs and benefits to their beliefs.

But requiring government employees to set aside the symbols of their private selves while on public duty is not the only possible policy consistent with state neutrality. The Canadian

alternative is based on trust, the presumption of innocence and a “least harm” principle. We trust that people who agree to work for the state do so in good faith and with the intention of honouring their duties, and we presume they are doing so until we have evidence to the contrary.

They may then be legitimately disciplined. We regard what they wear as largely immaterial until the individual’s behaviour gives us specific reasons to believe otherwise. We try to protect the neutrality of the state in ways that cause the least possible harm to people, including those who work for government. Requiring people to give up symbols of their beliefs does cause them harm, and we seek out alternatives that minimize that harm before hauling out the heavy cannon.

Finally, in this debate, motivation matters. Where the Quebec government has gone so badly wrong is in putting forward a policy that could be reasonably justified, but doing so in a way that makes it clear that reasoned pursuit of the public good is not its goal.

Instead the PQ is clearly seeking partisan political advantage by demonizing minorities and lending the prestige of the state to vastly overblown fears of cultural dilution among oldstock Quebeckers. That we must never accept.

Brian Lee Crowley (twitter.com/ brianleecrowley) is the Managing Director of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, an independent non-partisan public policy think-tank in Ottawa: macdonaldlaurier.ca. Article courtesy: www.troymedia.com

PAGE 8 • www.OttawaStar.com

Entertainment

Ottawa Star • September 26, 2013

Entertainment news in brief The Associated Press

After dropping out of Boston high school in 9th grade, actor Mark Wahlberg graduates BOSTON— Mark Wahlberg is now a high school g r a d u ate—25 years after dropping out of a Boston high school.

The 42year-old actorproducer finished his diploma requirements after taking classes online. He dropped out of Copley Square High School, now known as Snowden International School at Copley, in the 9th grade.

The Boston Globe reported Tuesday that Wahlberg wrote of the struggles he faced growing up surrounded by “drugs, violence and crime’’ in a column in The Huffington Post on Monday.

In the column he says he’s been taking classes and studying while on movie sets, travelling and at home.

In June 2012, Wahlberg announced he was going back to school with the help of Snowden headmaster Kerry Torndorf who enrolled Wahlberg in his school’s Accelerated Learning Academy.

McAfee ranks Lily Collins as the most ‘dangerous’ celeb to search online NEW YORK—If you’re curious about Lily Collins and head to the Internet to find out, beware—McAfee has ranked the actress as the most dangerous celeb to search for online.

Collins—who starred in movies such as “Mirror, Mirror’’ and “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones’’— posed the biggest risk of landing on a malicious site, according the computer security company; last year Emma Watson topped the list.

Female celebrities were the overwhelming lure to malware; Avril Lavigne, Sandra Bullock, Kathy Griffin and Zoe Saldana rounded out the top five; “Mad Men’’ star Jon Hamm was the only man in the top 10.

A person could be led to malware after doing a general search and clicking on dubious links, but risks increased when searchers added phrases like “free apps’’ or “nude photos.’’

Controversial JFK book, ‘The Death of a President,’ to be reissued in October NEW YORK—One of the most controversial books about John F. Kennedy, William Manchester’s “The Death of a President,’’ is being reissued as an e-book and paperback.

Little, Brown and Company announced Monday that “Death of a President’’ will be available Oct. 8. It’s currently out of print.

Manchester’s book had been authorized by the Kennedy family soon after JFK’s murder but was delayed after Jacqueline Kennedy threatened legal action to stop publication. She objected to plans to serialize the book and reportedly was concerned about passages that criticized then-President Lyndon Johnson, who had a tense relationship with the Kennedys.

Some material was removed. The book was published in 1967 and became a bestseller.

Numerous books are coming out this fall to mark the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination.

Bullock: ‘Gravity’ was like Cirque du Soleil TORONTO—Sandra Bullock says acting in the mind-blowing 3D space thriller “Gravity’’ was “more like being a part of Cirque du Soleil’’ than starring in a regular film.Directed by Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity’’ features Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts lost in space after an accident.

headlines the long list for the 2013 edition of the prize.

Boyden has been nominated for the $50,000 award for his novel “The Orenda.’’

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Giller Prize, created by businessman Jack Rabinovitch in memory of his wife, literary journalist Doris Giller.

This year’s jurors are former Giller winner Esi Edugyan, CanLit legend Margaret Atwood and American author Jonathan Lethem.

In addition to Boyden, David Gilmour is in the running for his novel “Extraordinary’’, Lynn Coady is up for the short story colllection “Hellgoing’’ and Craig Davidson is a contender for his novel “Cataract City.’’

The 13 longlisted titles were chosen from a field of 147 books, submitted by 61 publishers.

The short list will be announced Oct. 8 while the winner will be unveiled at a Nov. 5 gala.

Mandela movie gets ultimate stamp of approval

Harper Lee settles lawsuit she filed to secure copyright of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ NEW YORK—Harper Lee has settled the lawsuit she filed to secure the copyright to her classic novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird.’’

A federal judge in New York City approved the order last week dismissing the case against Samuel L. Pinkus, the son-in-law of Lee’s former literary agent, and companies he allegedly created. Two other defendants had been dropped from the suit a week earlier.

Gloria C. Phares, the Alabama author’s attorney, says the case had ended to Lee’s satisfaction. Defence attorney Vincent Carissimi said many people misconstrued the nature of the case and that Lee’s royalties were never in danger.

Filed in early May in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the suit alleged that Pinkus failed to properly protect the copyright after his father-in-law, Eugene Winick, became ill a decade ago.

Boyden, Winter, Gilmour among authors to make Giller Prize long list(CP) VANCOUVER—Former Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Joseph Boyden

the clip, and he said: ‘Is that me?’’’ the London-born Harris said in an interview.

“And then when Anant explained that it was Idris but with prosthetics ... he started to laugh.’’

Conrad Black returns to media landscape with TV show TO RO N TO — Conrad Black is set to return to the media landscape with a show premiering this fall on Vision TV. Black’s show, “The Zoomer,’’ will be filmed in front of a live studio audience and be co-hosted by Sony Music Canada president Denise Donlon.

As part of the show, Black will participate in panel interviews and provide his views on various issues, from the U.S. justice system, prison reform, religious persecution, and ageism, according to a news release.

Black, 69, once controlled the world’s third-largest English-language newspaper empire, which included the National Post.

Black served 37 months of a 42-month sentence in a Florida prison after he was convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice related to actions taken while he was head of Hollinger International. He was released in May of 2012.

“The Zoomer’’ will air on Mondays at 9 p.m. EST starting Oct. 7.

Microsoft tackles online music with free, streaming Xbox Music

TORONTO—The team behind the much-anticipated film “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’’ got the ultimate stamp of approval when the ailing former South African president saw some of it—and thought he was watching himself onscreen.

Naomie Harris, who plays ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in the ambitious biopic that’s making its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, says 95-year-old Nelson Mandela had a chance to see a clip from the movie at his home before he became critically ill.

It was a visually striking scene at the end of the movie when British actor Idris Elba, who stars as the legendary antiapartheid leader, is walking through a sun-drenched field in South Africa with a group of children following him.

“Mandela actually asked Anant Singh, our producer who showed him

Microsoft is making its Xbox Music streaming service available for free on the Web—even to those who don’t use Windows 8.

The expansion beyond Windows 8 devices and Xbox game consoles is intended to bring new customers into the software giant’s ecosystem of devices and services and could help it compete with other digital music offerings like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes. It’s also an acknowledgement that the music service hasn’t done much to drive sales of the Windows 8 operating system.

“They’ve said they’re going to be a devices and services company. We know they want to be a device company since they’re buying the Nokia phone division,’’ said Michael Turits, an analyst with Raymond James. “This kind of thing gives more credibility to the idea they’ll be more of a services company as well.’’

Ottawa Star • September 26, 2013

Entertainment

Jackman and Gyllenhaal top first rate cast in gripping, chilling ‘Prisoners’

By Jocelyn Noveck, The Associated Press

P

arenting involves countless mundane decisions—dozens a day. But as any parent knows, the potential for tragedy stemming from a wrong decision is never far from the surface of the mind. What if they go out and get hit by a car? What if I look away and they drown in the current? What if they get kidnapped?

No wonder the movies get so much mileage out of missing-children tales. But few—very few—handle it with the skill that director Denis Villeneuve and a terrific cast led by Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal bring to “Prisoners,’’ a suspense thriller that will stay with you long after the credits roll.

Jackman, we all know, is not only talented but so darned likable that it’s hard for him to break out of that ever-charming persona.

But here, in some of his best work to date, he manages it as a grief-stricken, panicked father who succumbs to his basest impulses in a race to find his young daughter’s captors.

And Gyllenhaal, in a less flashy but just as compelling performance, brings new depth to the well-worn role of brooding, driven detective. To the film’s credit, we don’t get much backstory on this character. A few small hints are all we need; the actor’s textured performance does the rest.

Jackman is Keller Dover, a carpenter in a Pennsylvania town, and a survivalist who believes diligent preparation is the key to avoiding disaster. His basement is packed with supplies. But that won’t help him on the cold and grey Thanksgiving evening when his young daughter and her friend go missing.

What ensues is two and a half hours of unrelenting tension, punctuated by clever twists in Aaron Guzikowski’s firstrate script. Many movies this long don’t earn their length; here, there’s little flab.

In less talented hands, the story could lapse into the maudlin. But Ville-

www.OttawaStar.com • PAGE 9 neuve, director of the Oscar-nominated “Incendies,’’ seems to know just how far to go; only one moment feels less than authentic, but it would be a spoiler to mention it.

Kudos to cinematographer Roger Deakins, whose evocation of a chilly late fall in Pennsylvania will leave you instinctively searching for a blanket.

Even the moody music by Icelandic composer Johan Johannsson will make you shiver. Just try getting it out of your head as you leave the theatre.

Next generation of stars find famous family names bring pressure and perks

By Diana Mehta, The Canadian Press

TORONTO—What’s in a (family) name?

Quite a bit, apparently, when it comes to the next generation of actors and directors trying to make their way in the film world.

This year’s cinematic offerings at the Toronto International Film Festival featured a slew of young movie makers and up-and-coming stars with famous last names who are trying to step beyond the shadow of their well-known relatives.

But while having a recognizable surname can certainly have its perks, it seems a memorable moniker also brings certain pressures.

Colin Hanks, the witty son of the famed

Tom Hanks, knows all too well what it’s like to be compared to his popular father.

The younger Hanks noted that while his last name creates a point of interest, he’s stopped stressing over unfair comparisons to his dad.

Sarah Sutherland is already learning to think along the same lines.

The 25-year-old said being the daughter of Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland— perhaps best known for his leading role on TV’s action-packed “24’’ —and the granddaughter of esteemed actor Donald Sutherland does come with “certain assumptions’’ But the budding actress, who was promoting her new movie “Beneath the Harvest Sky’’ at TIFF, hopes she can

come to be known for her own work, and not just her name.

From an outsider’s perspective, being a famous child, grandchild, niece or nephew in the film world certainly seems a double-edged sword, according to at least one TIFF programmer.

“There would be the benefit of being able to meet people, having a little bit of an open door, networking around,’’ said Jane Schoettle, who helped select films for this year’s festival.

“The baggage of course is there is undoubtedly a much harsher spotlight on you when you do start producing your first work because everyone either has expectations from the familial line.’’

Canada

PAGE 10 • www.OttawaStar.com

Ottawa Star • September 26, 2013

Canada news in brief The Canadian Press

Bill would strip licence from teachers guilty of sex abuse or child pornography TORONTO—Ontario’s governing Liberals have introduced a bill that would automatically strip certificates from teachers found guilty of sexual abuse or child pornography charges.

Education Minister Liz Sandals says the bill would also ensure that they must wait five years before they can apply for reinstatement.

She says the bill would also require school boards to tell the Ontario College of Teachers when they have dismissed a teacher for misconduct or restricted their duties.

Sandals says the College would be required to make public all the decisions by its discipline committee.

It would also allow the College to share information with a school board if the subject of a complaint poses an “immediate risk’’ to a student.

Accusers in sexual abuse case should be charged with perjury HALIFAX—A former Cape Breton man accused of sexually abusing boys in the 1970s says two of his accusers should face perjury charges.

In April, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld a lower court ruling that quashed all of the charges against Ernest Fenwick MacIntosh.

Lawyer Brian Casey confirms his client submitted a letter to Nova Scotia Justice Minister Ross Landry asking him to consider charges against two men, who MacIntosh only identifies by initials.

But Casey says that at this point it’s unlikely perjury charges will be laid.

A Justice Department spokeswoman says the department has received MacIntosh’s letter, but she says the department has already rejected the request, though she couldn’t say why.

The letter refers to the two men by the initials DRS and JH, but the appeal court decision doesn’t make reference to a JH.

Four members of the Canadian Forces charged with drug possession HALIFAX—Four members of the Canadian military have been charged with drug-related offences following an investigation by the Force’s National Investigation Service.

The military says able seaman Colin Beswick, who is based in Halifax on HMCS Montreal, was charged earlier with drug trafficking and possession, and possession of a prohibited weapon.

Master Cpl. Andrew Pollett, able seaman David Oldenhof and ordinary seaman Alexander DeMontmorency were charged with drug possession.

All are based at CFB Halifax.

The case is being handled by the military justice system.

$2B class action lawsuit over abuse at Ontario institution TORONTO—A Toronto court has begin hearing a two-billion-dollar class-action lawsuit against the provincial government.

The suit filed by former residents of an Ontario institution for the developmentally disabled alleges they suffered almost daily humiliation and abuse.

Plaintiffs Marie Slark and Patricia Seth say children whose behaviour earned them a “black mark’’ were kicked and struck by their peers at staff ’s insistence.

Slark, Seth and thousands of other former residents are alleging systemic neglect and abuse at the Orillia, Ont., facility, which the province operated for 133 years.

The suit covers those institutionalized at the centre between 1945 and 2009, many of whom are now aged or dying.

In its submissions to the court, the province acknowledges there were incidents of abuse, but insists these were isolated and did not stem from neglect.

Handle with care: guns, grenades arriving in Canada by postal mail

Guns

Photo: Augustas Didzgalvis

OTTAWA—A newly declassified RCMP report says criminals are using the Canadian postal system to transport illicit goods including guns, grenades, dangerous chemicals and, in one case, even a rocket launcher.

The criminal intelligence report says counterfeit items— from fake Olympic hockey sweaters to bogus passports—as well as drugs such as cocaine and heroin are also coming into Grenade Photo: Wikipedia the country through Canada Post.

The report calls for greater collaboration between police and postal officials to detect the contraband, noting legislation limits the ability of police to search and seize mail.

It says handguns, ammunition, brass knuckles, body armour, hand gre-

nades, stun guns and signal jamming devices are being shipped to Canada from abroad.

Incoming Tim Hortons CEO reviewing everything from coffee cups to doughnuts

OAKVILLE—Tim Hortons’ new chief executive is reconsidering everything from coffee cup sizes to doughnut selection.

Marc Caira says he wants to make it easier and faster to order at the counter because customers want a “flawless’’ experience.

That will likely include simplifying the company’s menu, which at this point includes a rotating selection of more than 60 types of doughnuts, and no less than five different coffee cup sizes.

Caira said his past experience as an executive at Nestle’s South American operations means he comes to Tim Hortons with an open mind, and thinking like a customer.

Caira said the company needs to consider launching innovative platforms it can build on, rather than just new products. Hot lunches has been a popular focus for the company over the past year, and soon it could expand into more options angled at dinner-hour customers.

Canadians can opt out of creepy behavioural ads TORONTO—Canadians who get spooked every time they see online advertisements that seem to be based on their web browsing history now have a tool available to stop some of the snooping ads. The Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada has launched http://youradchoices.ca to opt out of so-called behavioural advertising.

Growing reluctance by consumers to spend on air travel OTTAWA—A new study says Canadian air carriers are facing declines in both industry profits and profit margins because of a growing reluctance by consumers to spend on air travel.

The Conference Board of Canada says the pricing power of airlines is fading because Canadians are tightening household budgets as a result of high indebtedness, weak consumer confidence and sluggish job creation.

Airline traffic is growing at a slower pace than last year, as people cut back on leisure trips overseas.

The Conference Board said the outlook is somewhat brighter for workrelated travel, as the recovering U.S. economy recovery offers opportunities for Canadian exporters and may increase business travel between the two countries.

Canada Post working on same day deliveries for online orders

TORONTO—Four major retail brands and Canada Post are launching a sameday delivery service for online orders in the Toronto area.

The Delivered Tonight e-commerce service is a pilot project with Best Buy, Future Shop, Indigo and Walmart.

Reports in local newspapers say the service is generally aiming to deliver parcels between 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. if they’re ordered by 12:30 p.m.

The exact cut-off times for orders and prices will vary by retailer.

Walmart.ca is testing the service by upgrading some orders placed before 11:30 a.m. to free same-day delivery.

The other three will charge $13.95 per order for same-day delivery, with cut off times varying between 11 a.m. for Best Buy and Future Shop and 12:30 p.m. for Indigo.

Fewer Canadians living from paycheque to paycheque TORONTO—A new study by the Canadian Payroll Association suggests fewer Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque compared with last year.

Of those polled, 42 per cent said they would be in financial trouble if their pay was delayed by even one week, down from 47 last year.

However, the Canadian Payroll Association says the long-term financial outlook for many Canadians remains “troubling.’’

The survey says 40 per cent of employed Canadians are spending all of - or more than - their net pay.

And almost half - 45 per cent - of those polled are putting only five per cent or less of their pay into savings.

Meanwhile, the survey also noted that a “disturbing’’ 47 per cent of respondents age 50 or older are still less than a quarter of the way to their retirement savings goals.

“There is a huge gap between how much money people say they will need to retire and how much they are actually saving for retirement,’’ the survey said.

Ottawa Star • September 26, 2013

Canada

www.OttawaStar.com • PAGE 11

Public Works gives up Canadians were targets at trying to collect millions dawn of chemical warfare era a century ago of dollars lost to fraudster

By Steve Rennie, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA—The federal government has quietly abandoned any hope of getting back millions of dollars misappropriated by a former public servant, newly released documents show.

A Public Works employee stationed in the German city of Koblenz transferred $3.3 million of government money into three personal bank accounts. The employee made 18 transfers to banks in the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium between April and June of 2004.

Public Works identifies its former employee as Sean Banks, who was the senior accounts payable clerk in Koblenz.

He turned himself in to German police in June 2004 and spent part of a six-year prison sentence there before being deported to the United States in 2007.

“It was discovered that payments were processed without authorization and that the mandatory financial procedures had been by-passed,’’ Public Works spokesman Pierre-Alain Bujold said in an email.

An accomplice, Manfred Josef Hendriks, spent two years in a Ger-

man jail, the documents say. Claus Burg, a suspected third accomplice, was never found.

Public Works opened an office in Koblenz, which serves as its European headquarters, in 1957. The office mostly deals with military procurement for National Defence.

Each year, it issues some 900 contract documents and does about $170 million in business.

The federal government launched civil suits against Banks in 2004 and Hendriks in 2007. So far, the government has managed to recover only $358,000 - or around 10 per cent - of the misappropriated money.

The collection agency hired by Public Works reported that Banks lived with his partner in a home valued at US$43,000.

Searches failed to turn up any money stashed in domestic and offshore bank accounts, nor did the agency find any cash in places such as Germany, Switzerland, the Cayman Islands and Saudi Arabia.

Based on Banks’ meagre assets, Public Works stopped trying to collect money from him.

By John Ward, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA—Gas warfare, which recently killed hundreds of people in Syria, actually began on a sunny morning almost a century ago, and among its first victims were hundreds of Canadians.

That grim event opened decades of Canadian involvement in chemical war.

The Canadian army used gas hundreds of times in the First World War and Canadian scientists experimented with and created tonnes of gas weapons and even germ weapons during the Second World War. Those scientists, based at Suffield, Alta., and in Ottawa, even used thousands of Canadian soldiers as guinea pigs for their poison-gas tests, something an indignant report 60 years later would describe as “unfathomable.’’

Poison-gas warfare is nothing new, although the modern chemicals of choice, such as sarin, are far deadlier than their predecessors.

In April 1915, the 1st Canadian division was stationed in trench lines near Ypres in Belgium.

The trench stalemate was only a month old and the German army had decided that a new weapon, chlorine gas, might be the breakthrough tool it needed.

The Germans brought up 6,000 cylinders of gas - like the man-high tanks that propane comes in today. Chlorine was a plentiful byproduct of the German chemical industry.

The engineers waited for the right wind to blow toward the opposing trench lines. The moment came on a warm spring morning.

The valves were turned and a cloud of greenish-yellow gas floated between the trench lines. It first drifted over two French divisions on the Canadian flank and sent men streaming in terror, choking and gasping.

Then the Canadians got it.

Lester Stevens, who was with the 8th Battalion in the division, described the looming cloud years later in an interview archived by Veterans Affairs. He said the soldiers first thought it was just smoke.

“Then when it came along towards us, it turned green, a greeny yellow colour, chlorine gas, it was,’’ he said.

“It came up and went over the trenches and it stayed, not as high as a person, all the way across.

“Two fellows, one on my right and one on my left dropped and eventually they got them to hospital but they both died.’’

Despite the shock, the Canadians fell back, then held their ground and repulsed the attack. Stalemate resumed.

PAGE 12 • www.OttawaStar.com

World

Ottawa Star • September 26, 2013

In Britain, emotive debate about the Muslim veil tempered by a streak of pragmatism

By Jill Lawless, The Associated Press

LONDON—In Britain last week, a judge struck a blow for religious freedom. Or for secularism. It all depends on whom you ask.

Judge Peter Murphy ruled that a female Muslim defendant may stand trial wearing a face-covering veil - but must remove it when giving evidence. The compromise ruling

had some insisting it backs a woman’s religious right to wear the veil, and others saying it shows British justice remains independent and won’t bow to religious demands.

But both the court ruling and the interpretations of it suggest that Britain is facing the issue with a streak of pragmatism, and there is little appetite from the centreright coalition government for a ban like that introduced

Restrictions on use of Muslim veils around the world

By The Associated Press

Many countries and courts have taken action over the past decade to regulate, restrict or ban the use of Muslim veils and headscarves in public. Here is a look at the issue around the world: n FRANCE AND BELGIUM: In April 2011, France became the first European nation to ban the public use of veils, both face-covering niqabs and full-body burqas. A 2004 law also bans Muslim hijab headscarves and other prominent religious symbols from being worn in state schools. Belgium followed France in banning the wearing of niqabs and burqas in public in July 2011. n ITALY: Since the 1970s Italian law has forbidden the covering of the face in public. n GERMANY: Has no national law restricting the wearing of Muslim veils. Half of Germany’s 16 state governments today outlaw the wearing of both headscarves and veils by teachers. n SPAIN: Since 2010 more than a dozen cities passed laws outlawing the wearing of niqabs and burqas in public. But Spain’s Supreme Court in February 2013 threw out these ordinances as unconstitutional. n NETHERLANDS: The country’s previous centre-

right coalition had planned to ban the public donning of niqabs and burqas, but that bill was shelved in 2012 when the government collapsed and was replaced by left-wing rivals. n CANADA: In 2011 the government made it illegal for women to wear face-covering garments at citizenship ceremonies. In 2012 the Supreme Court issued a rare split decision on whether women could cover their faces on the witness stand; four judges said it depended on the circumstances, two said witnesses should never cover their face, and one said a Muslim witness should never be ordered to remove her veil. n UNITED STATES: America has no laws restricting the use of veils or headscarves because it conflicts with constitutional rights to freedom of speech. n TURKEY: Islamicstyle headscarves and full robes are banned in schools and in government offices. A similar ban for university students was relaxed. n TUNISIA: Headscarves and full veils are banned from public buildings and schools. n SYRIA: In 2011, Syrian President Bashar Assad reversed a decision that bans teachers from wearing the niqab. The government had banned the veil in July 2010.

in France (see story on Muslim veils).

This is a country where many politicians agree with the aide to former Prime Minister Tony Blair who famously said: “We don’t do religion.’’

“I don’t think the government should tell women what they should be wearing,’’ Home Secretary Theresa May, the country’s interior minister, said.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg agreed: “We

shouldn’t end up like other countries issuing edicts or laws from Parliament telling people what they should or should not wear.’’

The ruling did not please everyone. The National Secular Society said the judge should have banned the veil entirely.

But many others, from Muslim groups to tabloid newspapers, fell somewhere in the middle. The populist Sun tabloid called for a ban on full-face

veils in schools, courts, hospitals, banks and airports, but not in public streets or parks.

The majority of Muslims, and non-Muslims, agree there are some places where it is necessary to show one’s face - for example at border points, in the classroom or in court.

But some Muslims fear the debate is being fueled by antiIslamic bigotry rather than rational arguments about the role of religion in society.

US, Russia deal on Syria props up Assad, deals major blow to beleaguered rebels

By Zeina Karam, The Associated Press

BEIRUT—For Syria’s divided and beleaguered rebels, the creeping realization that there will not be a decisive Western military intervention on their behalf is a huge psychological blow.

President Bashar Assad’s regime has gained strength, largely because the world community is concerned that if he is toppled the result may be an Islamist Syria in the grip of al-Qaida.

The immediate result has been an uptick past week in fighting between moderate and jihadi rebels.

The long-term outcome is likely to be a prolonged war of attrition that continues the slow destruction of Syria as a coherent state and further fans the flames of sectarian hatred and extremism in a turbulent Middle East.

Only two weeks ago, the Obama administration appeared poised to launch a U.S. military strike against the Syrian regime but reversed course after an ambitious agreement between the U.S. and Russia calling for an inventory of Syria’s chemical weapons program within a week, and for all its components to be removed from the country or destroyed by mid-2014.

Assad immediately signed on.

Opposition forces say that by agreeing to relinquish his chemical weapons stockpile,

Syrian President Bashar Assad. Photo: Fabio Rodrigues Pozzebom/Wikipedia.

Assad successfully removed the threat of U.S. military action while giving up very little in exchange. Unlike the regime’s warplanes, which have pushed back rebel advances and pummeled opposition-held territory, chemical weapons are not seen as crucial to the regime’s survival or military strategy.

Last week, gunmen from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, an al-Qaida offshoot, overran a town near the border with Turkey after raging battles during which they expelled fighters from the mainstream Western-backed

Free Syrian Army.

Veteran Syrian opposition figure Kamal Labwani said the world is now witnessing the birth of an “Islamic, extremist state capable of destabilizing countries from Pakistan to North Africa.’’

Bruce Hoffman, director of the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University, said Syria has become more central than Iraq to al-Qaida’s brand.

“It brings al-Qaida within striking distance of the United States’ three biggest allies in the region: Turkey, Jordan, and Israel,’’ he said.

Ottawa Star • September 26, 2013

World

www.OttawaStar.com • PAGE 13

World news in brief The Associated Press

British police officers want “privately operated drunk tanks.’’

LONDON—British police chiefs say that privately run holding facilities should look after the nation’s drunks, and then charge them for the care.

Chief Constable Adrian Lee, who speaks on alcohol policy for the Association of Chief Police officers, said he didn’t see why it was the responsibility of the public to pay for the care of someone “who has chosen to go out and get so drunk that they cannot look after themselves.’’

Authorities have spent years debating how to curb Britain’s relatively high rate of alcohol consumption. In England alone, one recent estimate pegged the cost of alcohol abuse at 12.6 billion pounds ($20.1 billion.)

But Britain’s Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, rejected what it described as “privately operated drunk tanks.’’

Iran’s president says Obama sent him a ‘positive and constructive’ letter WASHINGTON—Iranian President Hasan Rouhani says in an interview that he received a “positive and constructive’’ letter from President Barack Obama congratulating him on his election.

Rouhani told NBC News, quote, “It could be subtle and tiny steps for a very important future.’’

NBC separately quoted Rouhani as saying his administration will never develop nuclear weapons and that he has full authority to make a deal with the West on the disputed nuclear program.

Ugandan official: African Union to debate mass exit from ICC KAMPALA, Uganda—An upcoming summit of the African Union will debate the possible exit of some African countries from the International Criminal Court, Uganda’s deputy foreign minister said as the trial of Kenya’s deputy president proceeded at The Hague.

Okello Oryem said that Uganda,

whose president has questioned the ICC’s credibility, would be compelled to quit the Rome Statute that created the court if a “summit-level’’ recommendation is made in solidarity with the leaders of Kenya who face criminal charges at The Hague over their alleged roles in post-election violence that killed more than 1,000 people in 2007-08.

The ICC has come under strong criticism from some African leaders who say it disproportionately targets Africans.

The international court has indicted only Africans so far.

Thirty-four African countries, including Nigeria and South Africa, have signed the Rome Statute.

A mass exit of African countries from the ICC “would weaken its political and practical ability to seek justice for victims of atrocity,’’ said David Crane, a law professor at Syracuse University in the U.S.

Friday the 13th: Would you board flight 666 to HEL? Finnair’s flight tackles airline taboos HELSINKI, Finland—For superstitious travellers, that might be tempting fate.

But Finnair passengers on AY666 to Helsinki - which has the 3 letter designation HEL—don’t seem too bothered. The flight was almost full.

“It has been quite a joke among the pilots’’ said veteran Finnair pilot Juha-Pekka Keidasto, who flew the Airbus A320 from Copenhagen to Helsinki. “I’m not a superstitious man. It’s only a coincidence for me.’’

The daily flight AY666 from Copenhagen to Helsinki fell on Friday the 13th twice in 2013. Friday the 13th is considered bad luck in many countries and the number 666 also has strong negative biblical associations.

“Less than 100 years ago, the number 13 did not have this sinister meaning; it’s quite recent in the north,’’ said Ulo Valk, professor of comparative folklore at the University of Tartu in Estonia.

“There are 12 hours, 12 months and in Christianity 12 apostles and this is a divine number. Add one more and it brings in a certain element of chaos,’’ he said.

US woman’s last name too long for driver’s license HONOLULU - A U.S. woman’s last name is so long that she can’t get a driver’s license with her correct name. Janice “Lokelani’’ Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele is fighting to make it happen.

The documents only have room for 35 characters, so Hawaii County instead issued her driver’s license and her state ID with the last letter of her name chopped off. And it omitted her first name.

Her name has 35 letters plus a mark used in the Hawaiian alphabet, called an okina.

Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele got the name when she married her Hawaiian husband in 1992. He used only the one name, which his grandfather gave him. The name came to his grandfather in a dream that also told him he would have a grandson.

The name has layers of meanings.

One, she said, is “When there is chaos and confusion, you are one that will stand up and get people to focus in one direction and come out of the chaos.’’ It also references the origins of her and her husband’s family.

China urges joint efforts to denuclearize North Korea after reports it is restarting reactor BEIJING—Beijing called for joint efforts to denuclearize the Korea Peninsula following reports that North Korea may be restarting a plutonium nuclear reactor.

“To achieve denuclearization and to maintain peace and stability is what China has been advocating,’’ Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said. “It takes efforts from all sides.’’

A U.S. research institute said that a recent satellite image appears to show North Korea is restarting its 5-megawatt reactor at the Nyongbyon nuclear facility, which was shuttered in 2007 under the terms of a six-nation disarmament agreement.

North Korea threatened in April to restart the reactor but has since toned down its inflammatory rhetoric and stepped up diplomacy with rival South Korea.

Chinese microblogger who questioned oil refinery plan is detained on rare business charge BEIJING—A well-known Chinese microblogger who has for years raised questions about government policies and actions—most recently a plan to build an oil refinery—has been detained on a seldom-used charge involving registering a business.

Supporters of Dong Rubin say his detention in the southern Chinese city of Kunming is retribution by authorities for his activism.

“If they want to punish you, they can always find an excuse,’’ Dong’s friend Zheng Xiejian said. “They could not find any wrongdoing against Dong and had to settle on this obscure charge.’’

Dong’s lawyer, Xiao Dongzhi, confirmed his client’s detention, saying he was charged with inflating the amount of his business’ capital when he registered it. Xiao noted that there was no victim in the transaction and that the charge is rarely levelled against anyone.

Pope gets good deal on used car; intends to drive VATICAN CITY—Pope Francis now has his own mini popemobile after getting a good deal on a used car that he plans to drive himself.

Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini, says Francis accepted the 1984 Renault 4, donated for free by a priest in northern Italy who used it to visit poor parishioners. The four-door car, in papal white, is manual shift and has a new engine. Benedettini told The AP on Wednesday: “The pope intends to drive it.’’

The donor, the 79-year-old Rev. Renzo Zocca, says he took Francis for a short drive in the car at the Vatican on Saturday and that Francis told him he knows how to drive it.

Zocca said he thinks Francis will use it for short commutes on Vatican grounds.

Suspicious activity: Two men of Middle Eastern descent buying water at a grocery store Continued from page 1

appeared rudderless and hasn’t directly been responsible for any terror-related prosecutions. According to the Government Accountability Office, the government maintains 77 fusion centres throughout the country and their operations are funded by federal and local sources.

The documents do not appear to show valuable counterterrorism intelligence.

A report from Bakersfield, phoned in to a police officer by a “close personal friend,’’ describes two men who appear to be of Middle Eastern descent stocking up on water.

Another report shows a Lodi police sergeant “reporting on a suspicious individual in his neighbourhood.’’ The sergeant, whose name was redacted, said he “has been long concerned about a residence in his neighbourhood occupied by a Middle Eastern male adult physician who is very unfriendly.’’

A third report states, “An off-duty supervising dispatcher with Sacramento P.D. noticed a female subject taking pictures of the outside of the post office in Folsom on Riley Street this morning. The female departed as a passenger in a silver Mazda.’’

The fusion centre project was a target of a blistering Congressional report last year complaining that too many innocent Americans engaging in routine and harmless behaviour have become ensnared in the program.

“We want the administration to stop targeting racial and religious minorities,’’ ACLU lawyer Linda Lye said.

A Senate report last year concluded that the program has improperly collected information and produced little valuable intelligence on terrorism.

It was a scathing evaluation of what the Department of Homeland Security has held up as a crown jewel of its security efforts.

Business

PAGE 14 • www.OttawaStar.com

Ottawa Star • September 26, 2013

A stroll past cars you might not be able to afford

By David McHugh and Sarah Dilorenzo, The Associated Press

F

RANKFURT, Germany—Maybe we can’t buy—but we can look. The best thing about an auto show is the chance to gawk at and sit in cars most people can’t afford. So here’s a look at eight of the most striking and expensive new vehicles that were on display at the Frankfurt Auto Show.

FERRARI 458 SPECIALE Should you need to accelerate to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometres per hour) in 3 seconds flat and go twice as fast again in another 6.1 seconds, 124 mph. With its dipped hood, this is your car. The Speciale, the 458 Speciale is slighter and flaunting Ferrari’s most powerful V-8 engine ever, has spoilers less muscular-looking than the that swing out to increase downtypical Ferrari. At Frankfurt, it draft and keep it pinned to the was shown in Ferrari red, with a road above 93 mph. Top speed blue-and-white racing stripe that is above 202 mph. Ferrari is also traces the hood, roof and trunk proud of how quickly it can stop: of the car. The price in Italy starts in 400 feet (122 metres), from at 238,000 euros ($315,000).

SMART FOURJOY CONCEPT: No roof, no doors, no back window—but a place to hang a skateboard on top. This whimsical, not-for-sale design study from Daimler AG’s Smart is intended to introduce design elements for a future forfour four-seat model. look, though the concept car’s The company says the forfour expected next year will in fact have front and rear end likely reflect the doors and a more conventional eventual production model.

LAMBORGHINI GALLARDO LP 570-4 SQUADRA CORSE A street version of the company’s Super Trofeo racing machine, the low-slung Squadra Corse shows its pedigree with an aerodynamic rear spoiler to keep it on the road at high speed. It has the same

V-10 engine as the race car. Step on the gas and it spits out an intimidating roar. 0-100kph (0-62mph) in 3.4 seconds, top speed 320 kph (200 mph). On sale for anyone with 191,100 euros ($254,300) to spare, not including tax.

ASTON MARTIN CC100 The first thing you’ll need to drive this racer is a helmet— and a sunny day. Modeled on the 1950s DBR1 race car, the CC100 has no windscreen, no roof and cutouts in the sides.

The 100 stands for Aston Martin’s 100th anniversary and is embossed on the car’s long, el-

egant hood, just like a racing number. It looks ready for the track, but it’s entirely street-legal.

The V-12 engine can go from rest to 62 mph in a little over four seconds. Top speed: 180 mph.

ROLLS-ROYCE CELESTIAL PHANTOM: This special edition is meant to commemorate the 10th anniversary of production at the company’s Goodwood plant in England. So the ceiling lights up with the exact pattern of the night sky on Jan. 1, 2003, astronomically verified. The

interior is made with different fine leathers, a wool carpet, and door compartments smoothly lined with cashmere. A beverage cooler keeps the champagne cold in back, and the clock in the partition between you and your chauffeur has four diamonds in it.

BENTLEY GT V8 S: This smoothly contoured coupe with a big grille was presented in dazzling white at Frankfurt. Its 4.0 litre, twinturbocharged V8 puts out 528 horsepower for an exhilarating but still smooth luxury ride. The car has “a little bit more power, a little bit more

performance’’ for fans of the luxury brand, says Kevin Rose, Bentley’s marketing director.

There’s a convertible version.

They’re taking orders for early next year: In the US: $194,600 coupe, $214,000 convertible; in Britain 139,000 pounds coupe, 152,900 pound convertible, including sales tax.

BUGATTI VEYRON 16.4 GRAND SPORT: ate from 0 to 62 mph in 2.6 Bugatti declared this the seconds. At Frankfurt, the world’s fastest roadster after car was shown with two difit reached a speed of 408.84 ferent exteriors: one alumikph (254.04 mph) on a German test track. The 16-cylnum-clad—for 1.96 million inder engine, visible in the euros ($2.6 million)—and back of the car, packs 1,200 one black carbon fiber—for horsepower and can acceler2.28 million euros.

PORSCHE 918 SPYDER: Porsche calls it the supercar of the future: a plug-in hybrid with a monstrous 887 horsepower from a V-8 internal combustion racing engine and two electric motors.

Drive carefully and it can get mileage of up to 3.0 litres per 100 kilometres, or 72 miles per gallon. Or,

go zero to 100 kph (0-62 mph) in a blazing 2.8 seconds. Your choice.

768,026 euros in Germany including sales tax ($1.02 million).

Foreign buyers fuelling sales in Canadian luxury real estate market

By Alexandra Posadzki, The Canadian Press

TORONTO—Sales of luxury homes will likely gain momentum in the fall, fuelled by demand from international investors, according a new report from real estate sales and marketing company Sotheby’s International Realty Canada.

The report suggests the largest proportion of foreign buyers will be from China, Russia, the Middle East, India and the U.S. Elli Davis, a sales representative with Royal LePage in Toronto, says many foreigners buy condos for their children to live in while they attend school in Canada.

“I’m seeing a lot of foreign names on showings of all of my listings,’’ said Davis.

“More foreign names than not.’’

The Sotheby’s report says the highend condo market in the Greater Toronto Area has rebounded after a slower start to the year, a trend that is expected to continue into the fall.

“There were a lot of numbers that were starting to look worrisome in Toronto,’’ said Sotheby’s president and chief executive Ross McCredie.

However, while some economists are cautioning about an oversupply of condos about to hit the Toronto market, McCred-

ie notes that there are far fewer high-end units available.

“It’s not like the $600,000 shoebox condos where you’d have investors buying them and looking to renting them out,’’ he said.

“If it’s a well-built building in a good location, people want to live there, so it’s more about lifestyle than pure investment.’’

McCredie also notes that those in the market for a luxury home are less likely to be deterred by short-term fluctuations.

“They’re not first-time homebuyers,’’ he said.

“They’ve seen cycles before. Most of our clients remember what it was like in

the early 80s and the early 90s, when you had major corrections, so they’re not going into these markets blindly.’’

Sales of luxury homes are also expected to gain traction in Calgary and Vancouver and remain balanced in Montreal, according to Sotheby’s.

Sotheby’s said sales of high-end homes worth at least $1 million were up in major Canadian urban markets in the first half of the year compared with the second half of 2012.

Sales were up 65 per cent in Vancouver, 67 per cent in Calgary, 61 per cent in Toronto and 29 per cent in Montreal.

Ottawa Star • September 26, 2013

Business

www.OttawaStar.com • PAGE 15

Business news in brief The Canadian Press

Starbucks says guns are not welcome in its stores

Car charger maker Ecotality files for bankruptcy protection

NEW YORK—Starbucks ran full-page ads in major newspapers, telling customers that guns are no longer welcome in its cafes. But Starbucks is stopping short of an outright ban, exposing the fine line it needs to walk on a highly divisive issue.

The move comes as the company has finds itself at the centre of a fight it didn’t start. In recent months, gun control advocates have been pressuring Starbucks to ban firearms, while supporters of gun rights have celebrated the company’s decision to defer to local laws. About a month ago, Starbucks shut down a store in Newtown, Conn. early to avoid a demonstration by gun rights advocates. They had planned to stage a “Starbucks Appreciation Day,’’ bringing their firearms and turning the company into an unwitting supporter of gun rights.

The AP was provided a picture of a memo to Starbucks employees. The document instructs workers not to confront customers or ask them to leave solely for carrying a weapon.

NEW YORK—Ecotality, which makes charging systems for electric vehicles, says it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company had said in August that it might be forced into a sale or bankruptcy filing after disappointing sales and a suspension of payments from the federal government.

The San Francisco company makes charging and power-storage systems for electric vehicles under the Blink and Minit Charger brands, including charging stations for the Nissan Leaf. It also does testing for government agencies, auto makers and utilities. Ecotality has received more than $100 million in funding from the US Department of Energy.

Window of opportunity could close on LNG exports CALGARY—CIBC executive and former Conservative cabinet minister Jim Prentice says there’s nothing more urgent right now for Canada than to get into the liquefied natural gas export game.

Prentice says Canada must push ahead with a much greater sense of urgency or risk having Asian buyers seek supplies from competitors such as Australia and the United States. A number of multibillion-dollar projects are in the works to chill natural gas from northeastern B.C. into a liquid state and ship it across the Pacific to energy-hungry countries such as China, Japan and South Korea.

Challenges include royalty regime that would promote an LNG industry, filling labour shortages, managing environmental risks brought on by increased West Coast tanker traffic, supplying the LNG facilities with electricity and solving contract standoffs between buyers and sellers over the price of the gas.

Workplace now has jobs that didn’t exist a decade ago TORONTO—Online job site Workopolis says jobs like zumba fitness instructor, big data analyst and search engine optimization specialist are occupations that didn’t exist a decade ago but among those experiencing rapid growth these days.

Workopolis says that close to 300,000 jobs went unfilled in the second quarter of 2013, indicating there are opportunities for young professionals. Other jobs that Workopolis says didn’t exist 10 years ago include online community manager, mobile applications developer, sustainability expert and elder-care services co-ordinator.

Jobs such as administrative assistant, customer service representative, merchandiser and personal banking officer trainee are among the top 10 jobs that Workopolis says are most in demand for students and new graduates.

Detroit bankruptcy: Deals better than ‘horrendous’ litigation DETROIT—Eastern Michigan’s chief federal judge, Gerald Rosen told a courtroom packed with lawyers last week that deals between Detroit and its creditors would be better than years of “horrendous’’ litigation in the largest public bankruptcy in U.S. history.

Rosen said instant agreements would be unrealistic, but he urged all sides to talk frequently about how to strike a deal.

He said “years of litigation, disputing issues in the courts, is horrendous.’’

Rosen joked during his remarks, saying the marble walls in his courtroom belong to the federal government, not the city, and can’t be sold to satisfy creditors.

He said the courthouse had many places for parties to meet, including the marshal’s lockup “if you want to spend the night.’’

Number of Hispanic owned businesses in US double NEW YORK—The number of Hispanicowned businesses in the U.S. is expected to nearly double this year from 2002.

A study released by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Geoscape, a company that provides demographics data, projects there will be nearly 3.2 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the country in 2013, up from nearly 1.7 million in 2002.

The study projects that there will be more than 866,000 Hispanic-owned businesses in the South Atlantic this year, compared with nearly 796,000 in the Pacific.

The surge in Hispanic-owned businesses reflects the rapid growth of the Hispanic population. The number of Hispanics counted in the U.S. census in 2012 rose 2.2 per cent from 2011 to 53 million.

Yahoo says company now has 800 million users SAN FRANCISCO—Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer says the Internet company now has about 800 million worldwide users, a 20 per cent increase since she was lured away from Google 15 months ago to steer a turnaround.

Mayer says the figure for the 800 million Yahoo users doesn’t include the traffic that the company has picked up from its $1.1 billion acquisition of Internet blogging service Tumblr earlier this year.

BlackBerry set to lobby Ottawa on foreign takeover rules TORONTO—Blackberry is planning on lobbying Ottawa over foreign takeover rules, amid unconfirmed reports that a takeover by major Canadian pension plans is unlikely.

The troubled smartphone maker registered with the federal lobbyist regis-

World’s largest online crowdfunding platform now open to Canadians

By Ethan Lou, The Canadian Press

TORONTO—Canadian entrepreneurs seeking financial support got a boost Monday as the world’s largest online crowdfunding platform officially moved north of the border.

New York-based Kickstarter’s cofounder Yancey Strickler says the company had long wanted to move into Canada but was kept away due to financial regulations.

Kickstarter’s crowdfunding model, in which investors pledge cash toward a project or business in exchange for products

and perks, only grants money to entrepreneurs if the entire funding goal is met.

If the target is not met by a set date, the money goes back to those who pledged.

Strickler said regulatory “red tape’’ slowed Kickstarter’s expansion into Canada.

“It’s not specific to Canada. We have a very unique model. People are only charged if funding goals are met,’’ he said.

“As we expand into other countries, there’s just a lot of work that has to go into place.’’

Kickstarter was founded in 2008 and has since raised over $775 million

for more than 48,000 projects.

Strickler said that while the Canadian crowdfunding scene is currently dominated by another platform, Indiegogo, he is confident Kickstarter will prevail.

Kickstarter claims it has raised more than six times as much money as Indiegogo has, while 40 projects have generated more than $1 million in pledges, versus only four for Indiegogo.

“The success rate, the people who use the site and the size of the community— pretty much every box you can check—Kick-

try to discuss the Investment Canada Act with lawmakers, records show.

The Investment Canada Act governs large foreign investments in Canada and makes it mandatory for Ottawa to review all direct investments over $344 million.

One third of all food produced worldwide gets wasted ROME—The U.N. food agency says one-third of all food produced in the world gets wasted, amounting to a loss of $750 billion a year.

The Rome-based Food and Agricultural Organization said in a report Wednesday that food in developing countries is wasted mostly due to poor harvesting techniques, while in high-income areas the primary cause of waste is careless consumer behaviour.

The report said food waste hurts the environment by causing unnecessary carbon emissions, extra water consumption and the reduction of biodiversity as farming takes over more land. The most serious areas of waste are of cereals in Asia and meat in wealthy regions and Latin America.

Ottawa gets tough on tax avoidance software EDMONTON—The federal government is cracking down on businesses that use computer software to skip paying taxes.

“Some businesses have been using electronic suppression-of-sales software, also commonly known as Zapper software, to hide their sales so that they can avoid paying the GST, the HST and income taxes that they owe on this income,’’ said federal Revenue Minister Kerry-Lynne Findlay at a news conference in Edmonton.

Findlay said as of Jan. 1, the penalties for infractions will increase dramatically —possession of zapper software will cost business owners $5,000 for a first offence and $50,000 for subsequent offences.

Creators of the software, if the taxman can find them, face a fine of $10,000 for the first offence and $100,000 if caught again.

Quebec is using “black box’’ monitors to record transactions on every restaurant cash register in the province. starter is clearly a great service,’’ said Strickler.

A notable Kickstarter success story was the Pebble smartwatch project launched last year by Waterloo, Ont., native Eric Migicovsky.

The project to build a watch that wirelessly links to a smartphone raised $10.3 million within a month, and eventually garnered an additional $15 million through investors.

There are now more than 3,000 Canadian projects currently seeking funding on Kickstarter.

The vice-president of research for the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, Doug Bruce, said entrepreneurs would benefit if they could woo investors with the promise of equity in their company and not just perks.



 Oct 19th, 2013, 5.30 pm onwards.

Brookstreet Hotel Key Note Speaker: Suneet Singh Tulli, CEO - Datawind

Special Address by His Excellency Nirmal Kumar Varma, High Commissioner of India to Canada

 For Corporate Tables and Individual tickets: register@icobc.org 