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Low poll numbers forces Trudeau to cut immigration targets and pause population growth
Canada will reduce the number of new permanent residents to the country by 21 per cent by next year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced on Thursday.
It’s part of a major series of changes to immigration targets that Trudeau says aims to freeze population growth.
“We’re announcing that we will reduce the number of immigrants we bring in over the next three years, which will result in a pause in the population growth over the next two years,” Trudeau told reporters Thursday.
“We didn’t get the balance quite right.”
As reported on Wednesday, the federal government is reversing course on a plan to hold its immigration targets steady for 2026.
According to the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan, Canada will reduce the number of new permanent residents from 500,000 to 395,000 in
2025. Next year, 40 per cent of all new permanent residents will come from those temporary residents who are already here, Miller said while making the announcement.
The federal government said this number is expected to fall further to 380,000 by 2026 and 365,000 by 2027. Trudeau said that while the realities of the pandemic meant Canada needed more workers, the situation in the labour market had changed.
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Surrey to build designated ash scattering pier
City councillors in Surrey, B.C., have directed staff to move forward on building a place from where grieving families can scatter the ashes of deceased loved ones into the Fraser River.
"For many groups, ash scattering in water fosters a more profound sense of connection, bringing peace and closure and symbolizes the return of the individual to nature," reads a corporate report presented to councillors Monday night. Continued on Page 9...
Final BC election results won't be known until at least Sunday, could be as late as Monday
Voting officials say recounts in two ridings that could determine the outcome of British Columbia's election won't start until Sunday afternoon.
The initial count after the Oct. 19 election ended with neither Premier David Eby's NDP nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad securing the 47 ridings needed for a majority. Continued on Page 7...
To press Canada, India may share list of Khalistanis with Five Eyes nations
After Canada’s non-cooperative attitude towards Indian probe agencies’ repeated requests to seek inputs on Khalistani elements settled there, efforts are in the offing to share the same list of wanted extremists settled in the North American nation with the other Five Eyes countries. Highly placed sources indicated that the aim behind the move is to highlight Canada’s non-cooperative attitude and build counter pressure on it. Apart from Canada, the US, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand are part of the Five Eye nations. Continued on Page 8...
Embracing a Life of Learning and Giving
By Harvinder Sandhu:
A recent recipient of the Kings Medal, Tarlok Sablok and his wife Shabnam are icons in the South Asian community here in Vancouver since the late 1970s.
Hailing from a family in the commercial construction business, Mr. Sablok was already well-versed in the amount of work and effort needed to be successful. Already fluent in English, Tarlok started his first job here at an industrial company as a shipper/receiver. He also opened a small retail business, Global Spice, which his wife ran while helping him with his notary work as a legal secretary. In his fiftyplus years here in Canada, Tarlok has immersed himself in a number of community groups and professional associations while being a Notary Public and running his practice. Continued on Page 8...
A day after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced more than two dozen MPs who had been calling on him to step aside, he made it clear he intends to lead the Liberals into the next election.
It’s a move that at least one member of his caucus is calling “disappointing.”
“We’re going to continue to have great conversations about what is the best way to take on Pierre Poilievre in the next election,” he told reporters. “But that will happen with me as leader going into the next election.”
Asked directly if he would stay on after the Oct. 28 date some caucus members had reportedly asked for a clear answer by, the prime minister responded with just one word: “Yes.”
The prime minister was also asked if he would kick anyone out of caucus if dissent about his leadership continues. He said they have had “robust conversations” on how to move forward.
Liberal MP Sean Casey, who was one of three
members of caucus who confirmed that they signed the document calling for the prime minister to resign, said Trudeau’s announcement that he will stay on as leader just hours after members voiced their discontent is “disappointing.”
“I did my job by voicing what I was hearing from my constituents. Now it’s going to take my energy and to direct them to winning my seat and not on internal party matters. As far as I’m concerned, it’s closed,” he said.
The Charlottetown MP added that it’s ultimately the prime minister’s choice to make, but he doesn’t see the decision paying off.
“I wouldn’t call it delusional, but he’s seeing something that I don’t see, that my constituents don’t see,” Casey said. He added that while he disagrees with the prime minister, he agrees that Poilievre government would be the worst outcome and urged his colleagues not to vote or campaign against the current government.
Canada suddenly dropped gangster Goldy Brar from its wanted list: Indian envoy
Canada suddenly dropped the name of gangster Goldy Brar, who operates in the north American nation, from its wanted list of criminals, India’s recalled envoy Sanjay Verma has said.
In an interview, Verma said India had shared the names of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and Brar with Canadian authorities who had put the latter on the wanted list.
The senior diplomat also said the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was “wrong” and the truth must come out after a thorough investigation. “Nijjar was a terrorist to us, but anything that is extrajudicial, for any democracy, rule of law country, is wrong,” Verma said.
“We always told them that we want to reach to the bottom of the whole episode, so that you are satisfied, we are satisfied,” the diplomat said. He said Brar operated one gang in Canada but there are multiple similar groups in that country which
are not-so trans-national, but have a pan-Canada character.
“Goldy Brar was living in Canada. On our request, he was put on the wanted list. All of a sudden, he disappeared from the wanted list. What do I make out of it? Either he is arrested or he is no more wanted,” Verma said.
“So, when the turf war starts on drug trafficking or human trafficking and gunrunning, we have seen in various parts of the world that there are murders and killings,” he said.
Brar was believed to be a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and came into focus after he claimed responsibility for the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in May 2022. However, reports suggest that both were running separate gangs now.
Verma said India had shared the names of Brar and Bishnoi with Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
Khalistanis are Canada's 'deep assets': Envoy Verma
Khalistani extremists and terrorists are "deep assets" of Canada Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Indian High Commissioner to the country Sanjay Kumar Verma has alleged.
In an interview to Canada-based CTV News, Verma accused the Canadian government of "encouraging" Khalistani extremists". "Khalistani extremists are being encouraged all the time. This is my allegation. I also know that some of these Khalistani extremists and terrorists are deep assets of CSIS, again I'm not giving any evidence," the envoy said.
Verma, who was recalled by the Central Government after Ottawa labelled the High Commissioner and five other Indian diplomats as "persons of interest" in the killing of NIA-
designated terrorist Hardeep Nijjar, said the Canadian government must take his "core concerns seriously". "We only want the Canadian regime of the day, the government of the day to understand my core concerns sincerely rather than being bedfellows with those who are trying to challenge Indian sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.
"What happens in India will be decided by Indian citizens. These Khalistani extremists are not Indian citizens, they are Canadian citizens and no country should allow its citizens to challenge the sovereignty of another nation," he added. The envoy also denied all charges levelled against him by Ottawa in connection with the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
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PBO confirms carbon tax hitting Canadians hard
By Franco Terrazzano: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should appoint Bill Murray to cabinet because the fight over the carbon tax feels like Groundhog Day. In the film, Murray’s character is doomed to repeat the same day over and over until he makes some changes. In real life, Ottawa’s carbon tax has continually punished Canadians when they drive, stay warm, buy food, invest in the economy and create jobs. And the Parliamentary Budget Officer is doomed to keep confirming this.
The PBO released its third report confirming the carbon tax is costing Canadians. “The average household in each of the backstop provinces will see a net cost, paying more in the federal fuel charge and GST, as well as receiving lower incomes (due to the fuel charge), compared to the Canada Carbon Rebate they receive,” reads the latest PBO report.
By 2030, that cost jumps to $903.
Those are annual costs, so those numbers downplay the total cost over time. By the end of 2030, the carbon tax will have cost that average household up to a whopping $4,388, even after the rebates.
Even that downplays the total cost of carbon taxes. In its latest report, the PBO only crunched the costs for Trudeau’s consumer carbon tax. Trudeau also imposed an industrial carbon tax and buried another carbon tax in fuel regulations.
Carbon taxes cost so much because they hit almost all aspects of Canadian life.
Canada is a big place and the carbon tax makes getting around more expensive.
The carbon tax adds about $13 to fill up a minivan, about $20 to fill up a pickup, and about $200 to fill up a big rig truck.
Canada is a cold place and the carbon tax makes staying warm more expensive. The average household uses 2,385 cubic metres of natural gas per year, so the carbon tax costs families about $360 extra to heat their homes this year.
Canadians need to eat and the carbon tax makes that more expensive too.
The carbon tax costs truckers about $2 billion this year and farmers about $1 billion by 2030. By making it more expensive for farmers to grow food and truckers to deliver food, the carbon tax makes it more expensive for everyone to buy food.
Canada’s economy relies on natural resources. The carbon tax will cost our economy $12 billion this year.
Final BC election results won't be known until at least
Sunday, could be as late as Monday
Continued from Page 1...
A total of 11 ridings are considered too close to declare. The B.C. NDP has been declared winners in 40 and leading in six. The Conservative Party of B.C. has won 40 ridings and is leading in five. The B.C. Greens have two seats.
That means recounts, as well as the tabulation of mail-in ballots, could still hand either party a majority or place them in a situation where negotiating with the Greens would be crucial to forming government. The election agency also says in a statement that screening of uncounted absentee and mail-in ballots has identified 65,000 votes provincewide that will also be tallied from Saturday until Monday, up from the previous estimate of 49,000. It says in a news release that a partial manual recount will also take place in Kelowna Centre, as
a result of a one-vote transcription discrepancy involving a single electronic tabulator, with the problem "likely due to election official error." But the recount there will only involve votes that passed through the tabulator in question, and the lead held by the Conservative candidate is 148 votes, wider than the 23-vote lead held by the NDP in Juan de Fuca-Malahat and the 95 votes in Surrey City Centre.
"A ballot account is a form completed by election officials showing the number of ballots issued and the votes for each candidate, based on the tabulator results tape," the agency explained. If the NDP hangs on to one or both of Surrey City Centre and Juan De Fuca—Malahat, the party will be in a position to return to power in a minority government if it secures Green support.
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His story on how he ended up in this profession is interesting. “I was talking to my neighbour who was a notary and he suggested I become a notary. I asked him how and he told me to meet the man in charge, a Dr. Bernard Holter. I meet the man and he liked me so much that within fifteen minutes of talking, he said I was selected to enter the notary course. I was surprised, stating I hadn’t even applied yet. Dr. Bernard repeated that I am selected and for me to proceed with the application.”
He came first in the exam. Then something amazing happened. The Society of Notary Public of British Columbia made a flyer showcasing him in the center with 8 other new notaries. This flyer was sent to banks, real estate companies, mortgage brokers, anywhere and everywhere. “I was the only Punjabi speaking person on the flyer and my business took off.” He shares how every Friday and Saturday he worked till 2 am
Embracing a Life of Learning and Giving
finishing the past week’s work since he was so busy. “About 20% of my business was from the gora community, the rest were all apnas.”
His business came from as far away as Prince George from the Punjabi communities living in many small towns in the interior and up north. They would mail in the documents and come down a week later to sign. Today he has handed over the practice to his younger son, Akash.
Asked if there were any challenges in handing over the reins, Mr. Tarlok shared this, “I had a superiority complex, up to the extent that whatever I say was right. I had an ego problem. We had decided to build a new office about 15-20 years ago, and I was clashing with my wife and son on design of this office. It had green carpet with red granite counters. I was not happy but was out-voted by my wife and son. When we had the grand opening, the very first person walking in exclaimed, ‘wow what a beautiful office. Who is the designer.’ This went on as more fellow notaries
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and clients came. All congratulated on how nice the new office was. I was humbled that what I thought was not good, was in-fact very good.”
This and many other experiences have helped him grow to be the person he is today.
Tarlok has many different interests other than having a successful notary business. His retail business was based on the South Asian community. He found a need in the ethnic market for spices; dry goods and cookware. So, he started importing products his community wanted and needed. One of the needs he identified early on was of proper pots to cook Indian masala dishes on flat electric stoves. The Indian cookware from India had rounded bottoms, and the stoves here were flat. This inspired him to create heavy flat-bottomed pots to cook Indian masala dishes. He had the design manufactured in India where it is popularly known as Canadian design and is still highly popular there.
I say knowledge, what I mean is knowledge makes you a good person, an interesting person. I never stop learning. I’ll pick up different subjects to learn about. I watch documentaries as a subject to study, every three months I switch to a new subject.”
Tarlok shares his latest subject to study is on evolution; how the earth is billions of years old whereas the human race in its current form has only been around about 100 thousand years.
“Knowledge has made me very interesting.”
Tarlok is a past Director on the Board of Directors of The Society of Notaries Public of B.C. and the first South Asian, forty years back. He is the past Chair of the Vancouver Chapter of The Society, current Vice-president of Diabetes Association, and a recipient of the King’s Medal.
He is a creative person who has acted in movies here, and in India. He has provided training to RCMP officers on Punjabi culture. He has given many motivation talks to numerous organizations as that is another passion of his, helping people. “Helping people has become my mission because it rewards.”
He shares stories, he has many and they are all good, of helping people understand themselves. And, how these same people then reminded him of his talk with them that helped them go forward in their lives. His focus has always been to help and uplift the person in-front of him. One story is of an RCMP officer that Tarlok ran into in Ottawa while there to receive the Kings Medal.
The RCMP fellow approached and reminded Tarlok how his training on Punjabi culture impacted positively on this officer’s field work.
“Everybody knows knowledge is power. I go further and say knowledge is motivation, knowledge is meditation, knowledge is your strength, knowledge is your involvement. When
His other positions in volunteering are; Chairman for the South Asian Community Working Group of United Way, BC and Vancouver Societies of Notary Publics, and the Fraser Street Merchants Association. Most recently, he was elected as the Zonal Chair for the Canadian Diabetes Society.
Tarlok believes honesty, hard work, and perseverance will help anyone succeed. That is how he built his notary practice. The giving of time and self to help people, everyone who walked into his office, is how he built his life here. His other positions in volunteering are; Chairman for the South Asian Community Working Group of United Way, BC and Vancouver Societies of Notary Publics, and the Fraser Street Merchants Association. Most recently, he was elected as the Zonal Chair for the Canadian Diabetes Society.
Tarlok believes honesty, hard work, and perseverance will help anyone succeed. That is how he built his notary practice. The giving of time and self to help people, everyone who walked into his office, is how he built his life here.
To press Canada, India may share list of Khalistanis with Five Eyes nations
Continued from Page 1...
Top sources informed The Tribune that this is one of the several options which the government is currently mulling, and though things are in the preliminary stage, the aim is that by sharing the same list of wanted extremists in Canada with the other Five Eye nations, New Delhi would try and leverage this by putting pressure on Ottawa. This is an option which is being looked at, and may be taken forward, depending on how the current diplomatic imbroglio between India and Canada pans out, sources further said. They explained that by sharing the same list of
extremists which was given to Canada, with other Five Eye nations, Canada’s non-cooperation towards India’s repeated requests to share inputs on these elements could be amplified.
At the same time through this option, India also plans to seek assistance of the other four nations of the grouping towards making Canada see reason behind India’s request, sources said. India is learnt to have sought intelligence from Canada regarding eight extremists/gangsters based in Canada, who are linked to Khalistani terrorism and separatism, and have alleged connections with Pakistani agents.
Canada slashing immigration targets, eyes ‘pause’ on population growth
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According to the plans laid out last year, the federal government said it would maintain previously-set targets of welcoming 485,000 new permanent residents in 2024 and 500,000 new permanent residents for 2025. According to last year’s plan, the number would stay at 500,000 in 2026 and “stabilize.”
Thursday’s plan also lays out levels of temporary residents, with the aim of reducing temporary resident volumes to less than five per cent of the general population. Canada plans to welcome 445,901 temporary residents by 2025, which will be reduced to 445,662 in 2026.
Surrey to build designated ash scattering pier
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Councillors passed recommendations in the report to press ahead with choosing between two sites — Brownsville Bar Park or the Surrey Public Wharf — and spend up to $3.8 million or $2.5 million for either of the two options, with the Surrey Public Wharf being the least expensive. "This project reflects our commitment to supporting residents in their most vulnerable times and will provide the opportunity for those in our community to engage in this sacred ritual while ensuring dignity and respect," said Mayor Brenda Locke in a statement. The scattering of ashes is currently allowed at 'scattering garden' at Sunnyside Cemetery, said the city.
