Asian Star - February 11, 2017

100 95 75

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www.theasianstar.com AsianStar logo Saturday, April 25, 2015 6:42:48 PM

Vol 16 - Issue 02

SUHAAG Wedding Show

Saturday, February 11, 2017

More than 35 million Canadians: Census 2016 Metro Vancouver population growth outpaces national rate

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On Sunday, February 19th, the largest, longest running South Asian wedding show in North America will be launching at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford hotel in Surrey, BC. This year marks SUHAAG’s 20th anniversary in the industry and the brand is celebrating with the community by hosting an exclusive intimate affair on the West Coast.

Continued on Page 10...

ew census data shows the population of the metropolitan area of Vancouver outpaced the national growth rate over the last five years.

Statistics Canada released the first batch of numbers from the 2016 census on Wednesday and the population of what the government agency refers to as the census metropolitan area of Vancouver increased by 6.5 per cent since the last census in 2011.

Continued on Page 6...

NDP threatens to sue after hacking allegations by BC Liberals The NDP has threatened to sue Premier Christy Clark for alleging without proof that the party illegally hacked into a B.C. Liberal Party website.

NDP Leader John Horgan said the party has consulted a lawyer and will consider legal action against Clark unless she retracts the comments and issues a full public apology.

“This is extremely troubling,” he said. “The most powerful person in the province thinks it’s OK to just make stuff up. That is just absolutely wrong and it brings, I think, disrepute to the office.” “We saw them try to hack into our website the other day,” she said, referring to the NDP. Continued on Page 7...

Canada’s population increased to 35,151,728 last year largely driven by growth in the West, according to 2016 census data released Wednesday

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Italian woman donates Rs 28-lakh gold crown to Shirdi Saibaba A 72-year-old Italian woman, who claims to be a staunch devotee of Saibaba, has donated a gold crown worth about Rs 28 lakh to the famous temple in Shirdi(Maharastra).

Selini Doloras alias Sai Durga on Thursday donated the gold crown, weighing around 855 gm and studded with gems, to the temple, Shri Saibaba Sansthan trustee Sachin Tambe said.

The woman is a staunch follower of Saibaba for the past

nine years and visits Shirdi every month. Earlier, she had donated two ‘rudraksha’ (seed traditionally used for prayer beads) strings having gold covering, worth around Rs 25 lakh, to the Saibaba temple, Tambe said.

The woman said that she intended to build a huge Saibaba temple in Italy.

She kept a construction map of the proposed temple at the foot of Saibaba’s idol here on Thursday to seek his blessings.

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Warm spell after week-long snow storm in Metro Vancouver The Lower Mainland is starting to look like its old self again after a bout of wild winter weather saw big dumps of snow followed by hours of freezing rain in some parts of B.C.’s South Coast.

Environment Canada meteorologist Matt MacDonald said that beginning Friday, the Lower Mainland’s weather will become more typical, with expected highs of up to 7 C and rain showers tapering off around midday.

“The worst of it is definitely done. That was the last of the winter weather for quite some time now,” he said, adding it could get up to 15 C in Vancouver next week.

People in Vancouver have had a comparatively easy time over the last day or so, with freezing rain lasting for three hours late Wednesday night — compared to freezing rain for 13 and a half hours in Abbotsford on Wednesday and Thursday.

“It’s the worst type of precipitation,” MacDonald said. “It just creates an instantaneous sheet of ice. Most of Metro Vancouver dodged a bullet in that regard.”

Highways 3, 5, and 1 were all closed in both directions at various points on Thursday following the latest dump of

snow, with Highway 5 reopening in the mid-afternoon after an earlier crash was cleared.

In Vancouver, 13 people were sent to hospital Thursday morning after two

cars and a bus from a local seniors home collided in the intersection of Oak Street and 56th Avenue in Vancouver.

There have been numerous interruptions of SkyTrain, Canada Line and bus service because of this winter’s unusual weather, but a spokesperson for the transit authority was unable to estimate the total number of snow-related service delays this winter.

Ministry of Transportation staff have been working to keep the Alex Fraser

and the Port Mann bridges safe for travel throughout the winter.

“Crews have been working around the clock to closely monitor both bridges, and perform safety measures as necessary, such as spraying de-icing agent on the cross-beams of the Alex Fraser, and snow-clearing cable drops on the Port Mann,” a statement from the Ministry of Transportation read.

So far this winter, the Alex Fraser has been temporarily closed three times. The Port Mann has been relying on a snow-clearing cable collar drop system to clear snow off its 288 cables before it has a chance to build up, but did require a temporary closure on Thursday morning to drop the cables safely following a round of freezing rain.

B.C. Hydro crews were also hard at work Thursday restoring power across Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, and the Fraser Valley due to storm damage.

Meanwhile, Whistler recorded about 35 cm of snow during the storm. Vancouverarea ski hills were less lucky and had nothing but rain.

Sikh group calls for inquiry into United Kingdom’s role in Operation Bluestar A UK-based Sikh group has written to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office demanding a public inquiry into Britain’s alleged involvement in the 1984 Operation Bluestar.

Sikh Federation UK has been working on a report titled ‘Sacrificing Sikhs: The need for an investigation’, which claims to have evidence regarding the full extent of the UK’s alleged role in the military action.

“It is of crucial public importance that the allegations are investigated, in an effective and transparent manner,” reads the letter, addressed to Indian-origin foreign office minister Alok Sharma, in charge of India and the Pacific.

The letter goes on to claim that the 2014 Heywood Review, set up by then Prime Minister David Cameron into the exact nature of British involvement in Operation Bluestar, was “flawed” as it did not consider certain “directly relevant” material.

The FCO acknowledged the receipt of the letter, written by the group’s solicitors KRW Law last month. “The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is considering the points raised in your letter. You will receive a full response shortly,” the letter dated February 2 reads.

The latest exchange follows a call for a “fresh, independent investigation” into the issue by the UK Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in a letter to British Prime Minister Theresa May last

month.

“Given concerns regarding the effectiveness and integrity of the January 2014 review, I believe we must consider a fresh, independent investigation into this episode in British history. It is clear to me from my discussions with Sikh groups in the UK that there remains significant resentment that over the 30 years since this most appalling event, questions remain about the role which the United Kingdom played,” Corbyn said.

The Heywood Review had been ordered by Cameron in 2014 after documents released previously under the 30-year declassification rule had implied that British SAS commanders had advised the Indian government as it drew up plans for the removal of militants from the Sikh shrine.

“The report concludes that the nature of the UK’s assistance was purely advisory, limited and provided to the Indian government at an early stage in their planning,” William Hague, then UK foreign secretary, had told the House of Commons in February 2014.

However, Sikh Federation UK has maintained that some files recalled by the Foreign Office hold further information on the issue and has been calling for the secret documents to be made public.

It claims the report it has been compiling will reveal certain measures taken against the Sikh community in Britain in 1984 and 1985 by the then Margaret Thatcher-led government.

Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump to meet Monday Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he will discuss Canadian values and jobs with U.S. President Donald Trump when the pair meets in person for the first time Monday in Washington. During a visit to Iqaluit Thursday, Trudeau was asked whether he would raise the controversial U.S. travel ban with Trump, which affects people from seven majority-Muslim countries, as well as all refugees. "As everyone in Canada knows, I have two important responsibilities that stand out in the way we engage our neighbours to the south.

The first is, of course, to highlight Canadian values and principles and the things that keep our country strong," he said. "The second responsibility that I have, which we will very much be engaged in, is creating jobs and opportunity for Canadian citizens through the continued close integration on both sides of the border."

Conservative MP Gerry Ritz said Trudeau should avoid the temptation to go "overboard" in confronting the new president, despite the feedback he may be getting on social media. White House press secretary Sean Spicer echoed the statement during his daily briefing in Washington. “The president looks forward to a constructive conversation and strengthening the deep relationship between the United States and Canada,” he said. Three of Trudeau’s ministers — Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Finance Minister Bill Morneau — have made trips to Washington this week to lay the groundwork for these first face-to-face talks.

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opinion

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Saturday, February 11, 2017

Canada’s health-care system needs our help

By Danielle Martin There’s nothing like an American healthcare debate to make Canadians feel lucky.

Donald Trump’s first act as president was to sign an executive order taking the first step to repeal the Affordable Care Act. With the stroke of a pen, 20 million Americans may soon find themselves without health insurance.

Not that long ago, many Canadians faced the same challenge.

My grandparents Jacques and Sarah arrived in Montreal in 1951, having left behind everything and everyone they knew in Egypt.

The burden of building a new life in this new country fell heavily on Jacques’ shoulders. It was a role he assumed dutifully. Until, a year later, when he suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized for nine weeks.

The ordeal diminished him - physically and otherwise. Respiratory symptoms and other complications lingered. The cost of drugs and visits to the doctor were as crippling as the pain in his legs and he was barely able to work.

For my grandmother, the twin pressures of caring for an ailing husband and holding the family together became overwhelming.

It was, to say the least, a grinding existence.

The story ends with my grandfather’s death at the age of 54 in 1966 - the same year Parliament passed legislation to create medicare. Had it been in place, how different might my grandparents’ lives have been?

Our system of health care is about more than money and medicine. It’s about the values that define us as a society - are we there for one another when we’re at our most vulnerable? Do we place well-being above wealth? Do we believe that good health leads to good outcomes - like a stronger economy, more cohesive communities and more fulfilling lives?

Framed by the debates taking place south of the border, we should never take the answers for granted.

But let’s be honest - there are a variety of problems with Canada’s health-care system.

People struggle to find a family doctor.

They wait too long for specialist consultations and elective surgeries. Service could be better.

Outcomes should be boosted. Spending must be sufficient but it must also be sustainable.

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In my book, Better Now, I highlight six ideas that, if implemented, could produce important and wide-ranging transformation.

For example, there’s no reason we can’t ensure that every Canadian has access to a family doctor with whom they enjoy a trusting relationship. In fact, by working in teams with nurses, physiotherapists and pharmacists, we could deliver true patient-centred care.

Wait times for surgeries could be brought down by pooling lists among specialists. We can do a better job of protecting patients from adverse effects and outright harm by reducing unnecessary tests and procedures. And if we were to bring prescription medicines into medicare by creating a national pharmacare system, we could save money and provide everyone with access to life-saving drugs.

Ideas like these could unleash dramatic improvements in Canadian health care right away. All that’s required is the political and popular will. And, perhaps even more fundamentally, a commitment to maintaining the principle of universal access 100 that underpins our system and which is once 100 again under fire in the United States.

95 95Our system of universal health care is a 75 fundamental expression of our values and a 75testament to Canadians’ commitment to fairness. It’s built on the principle that care should be based upon need, not ability to pay.

25 That’s not a value that goes out of style.

25 5 If we believe that medicare is a worthy VICTOR BAINS 5 endeavour, then we must also live up to those 0 values and accept the responsibility to make 0 that system work - and work well. It’s time to make it better.

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Metro Vancouver population growth outpaces national rate Continued from Page 1...

The area’s growth rate was above the national growth rate of 5.0 per cent, while the population of British Columbia increased by 5.6 per cent.

The municipalities with the largest individual growth were Surrey at 10.6 per cent, the Township of Langley at 12.6 per cent, and the area comprising UBC and the Endownment Lands, at 24.2 per cent.

Census metropolitan areas do not conform to established municipal boundaries. Statistics Canada defines them as a metropolitan area with a population of at least 100,000, where the urban core of that area has at least 50,000 people.

Commuting patterns and other factors are used in determining these census metropolitan areas.

Looking at metropolitan areas this way takes into account the growing impact of suburban areas on Canada’s largest cities.

When the 2016 census was taken last May 10, the population of the census metropolitan area of Vancouver was 2,463,431, compared with 2,313,328 from the 2011 census. The population of the actual city of Vancouver was 631,486, up from from 603,502 in 2011.

The next largest census metropolitan areas in B.C. were Greater Victoria, Kelowna, and Abbotsford-Mission.

The census indicated that Vancouver ranked No. 3 among the country’s 35 census metropolitan areas.

Canada’s population on census day was 35,151,728, Statistics Canada reported.

The information published Wednesday is the first of several releases of data to come from Statistics Canada over the next year that will eventually paint a detailed picture of the country, right down to the local level — including age breakdowns of the population,

family makeup, languages spoken, immigration and ethnic origin, the level of education attained and income earned.

Future census releases will give more insight to explain the reasons behind the population changes — whether it’s related mostly to changes in birth and death rates, immigration or interprovincial migration.

At the provincial level, population levels in Alberta saw the highest increase at 11.6 per cent, followed by Saskatchewan (6.3 per cent) and Manitoba (5.8 per cent).

Growth in New Brunswick shrank by 0.5 per cent — the first time since 2006 a province has reported a negative growth rate.

British Columbia’s population levels increased by 5.6 per cent, compared with Ontario (4.6 per cent), Quebec (3.3 per cent), Prince Edward Island (1.9 per cent), Newfoundland and Labrador (1.0 per cent) and Nova Scotia (0.2 per cent).

Among the northern territories, the population grew by 12.7 per cent in the Northwest Territories, 5.8 per cent in the Nunavut and 0.8 per cent in Yukon.

Ontario is still the country’s most populous province, with a population of 13,448,494.

The population of other provinces and territories:

Quebec, 8,164,361.

British Columbia, 4,648,055.

Alberta, 4,067,175.

Manitoba, 1,278,365.

Saskatchewan, 1,098,352.

Nova Scotia, 923,598.

New Brunswick, 747,101.

Newfoundland and Labrador, 519,716.

Prince Edward Island, 142,907.

Northwest Territories, 41,786.

Nunavut, 35,944.

Yukon, 35,874.

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NDP threatens to sue after hacking allegations

by BC Liberals

Continued from Page 1...

She later added that “hacking into websites is illegal.”

Horgan insisted Wednesday that there is no truth to Clark’s claims. “She made this up,” he said. “I know nothing of any hacking involving my office, involving the NDP.” Clark, who was in Victoria Wednesday to meet with B.C. Liberal candidates on Vancouver Island, was unable to provide reporters with any evidence to support her allegations and instead accused the media of making too much of the issue.

“For me, I don’t want to get distracted by all the horse race, inside baseball politics that you guys [in the media] like to talk about, because I think people want to hear me talking about ideas and they want to hear me talking about what my plan is,” she said.

Horgan said Clark needs to take responsibility for maligning him and other members of the NDP. “I find it troubling that the premier of British Columbia believes it’s OK to make unfounded allegations and then make the case that it was ‘insider baseball’ that she doesn’t want to talk about,” he said. “She created the ball diamond, she threw the first pitch and it was a complete fabrication.” The B.C. Liberals first announced the alleged hacking Monday, claiming that over the weekend their “opponents” gained access to supporters’ feedback on the party’s Vancouver Island platform. The hackers also obtained the supporters’ names, email addresses and postal codes, the B.C. Liberals said.

Emile Scheffel, the party’s communications director, released a statement late Wednesday saying the party has traced the hack to an IP address at the Legislative Assembly in Victoria. But, like Clark, he offered no proof linking it the NDP. The controversy overshadowed Clark’s press event to introduce B.C. Liberal candidates running on Vancouver Island in the May 9 provincial election.

The B.C. Liberals hold two of the 14 MLA seats on the island and one of them — Don McRae of Comox Valley — is retiring from politics. Clark hopes to expand the party’s toehold by unveiling an Island-specific platform in the coming months.

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More than 35 million Canadians: Census 2016 Continued from Page 1...

Alberta had been the fastest-growing province in the 2006 and 2011 censuses as well. The rate of growth was higher than in 2011 in both Alberta and Manitoba, the only two provinces that registered an increased rate of growth from the last census.

It is important to note that the census was collected in May 2016, so does not fully take into account the recent economic slump in Alberta. “The census compares 2011 to 2016, and we’ve seen 15 strong years of growth in Alberta,� says Karen Mihorean, director general of the education, labour and income statistics branch of Statistics Canada.

Mihorean said Alberta is unique among Canadian provinces for having strong numbers in all three factors that contribute to population growth: immigration, interprovincial migration and new births.

British Columbia also grew faster than the national average, by 5.6 per cent. Just under 32 per cent of Canadians now live in the four western provinces, compared to 38.3 per cent in Ontario, 23.2 per cent in Quebec and 6.6 per cent in Atlantic Canada.

The four Atlantic provinces recorded the lowest growth in the country: 1.9 per cent in Prince Edward Island, one per cent in

Newfoundland and Labrador (where more deaths than births occurred in some years) and 0.2 per cent in Nova Scotia. New Brunswick’s population decreased by 0.5 per cent, the only province with a decline since 2011. “From East to West, population growth gets stronger and that’s a trend we’ve seen for the last few censuses,� says Mihorean. “In Atlantic Canada, it’s a case of seeing people leaving these provinces for other parts of the country.�

Ontario remained Canada’s most populous province at 13.4 million, an increase of 4.6 per cent from 2011.

But Ontario’s growth rate was lower than the national average for the second consecutive census period, the first time that has happened in more than half a century.

Quebec’s population grew 3.3 per cent to 8.2 million, followed by British Columbia at 4.6 million, Alberta at 4.1 million, Manitoba at 1.3 million and Saskatchewan at 1.1 million.

The population in Atlantic Canada was 2.3 million, with just under 924,000 residing in Nova Scotia.

The North was home to nearly 114,000, led by the Northwest Territories. The population of Nunavut, which at 12.7 per cent had the highest growth rate of any province or territory due to its high fertility rate, moved ahead of Yukon.

While the rate of growth slowed in Canada’s three largest metropolitan areas, 35.5 per cent of Canadians now call Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver home.

Toronto remains the country’s largest metropolitan area at 5.9 million, increasing by 6.2 per cent since 2011. Montreal’s population has surged past the four million mark to 4.1

million, while Vancouver’s population now stands at 2.5 million, up 6.5 per cent.

With growth of 14.6 per cent, the highest of any metropolitan area in the country, Calgary is now Canada’s fourth largest city at 1.4 million, moving ahead of Ottawa-Gatineau (1.3 million). Also at 1.3 million, Edmonton is the only other Canadian city with more than a million residents.

The six fastest metropolitan areas were all in Western Canada: Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Lethbridge, Alta., and Kelowna, B.C., with all but the last posting growth of more than 10 per cent.

At the other end of the country, however, all of Atlantic Canada’s metropolitan areas recorded a slower rate of growth than in 2011, while the population of Saint John fell by 2.2 per cent — largely due to residents moving to other parts of Canada.

Sylvan Lake, Alta., was the fastest-growing

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census agglomeration, growing by 19.6 per cent since 2011, while Campbellton (mostly in New Brunswick but partly in Quebec) had the greatest decrease at 9.3 per cent.

Among municipalities with at least 5,000 residents, Warman, Sask., had the highest rate of growth since 2011 at 55.1 per cent, followed by the Alberta communities of Blackfalds (48.1 per cent) and Cochrane (47.1 per cent).

Bonnyville, Alta., had the fastest rate of decrease at 12.9 per cent.

The population and dwelling counts mark the first set of data from the mandatory shortform 2016 census to be released by Statistics Canada. Further releases, including those related to gender, language, immigration and labour, will follow throughout 2017.

The data will assist decision-making across all levels of government and provide sociologists, demographers, urban planners and businesses with a wealth of information.

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LOCAL

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Sex workers enter industry because it’s more lucrative than low-paying service jobs Some sex workers are choosing the industry because it can be more lucrative and rewarding than low-paying service industry jobs, says a recent study by a researcher at the University of Victoria.

Prof. Cecilia Benoit, a scientist at the Centre for Addictions Research of B.C., said she’s heard a variety of reasons why sex workers get into the business through past studies, reasons that not only contradict the public perception of being coerced or exploited but also questions the efficacy of prostitution laws that are based on the notion all sex workers are victims.

Benoit decided to quantify and analyze the comments she had previously heard and began a study after receiving funds from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Her research team surveyed more than 200 female, male and transgender sex workers in six communities across Canada. My life is unconventional due to the gender dysphoria, so it allows me to express certain needs that I have through work While a third of sex workers who were surveyed entered the industry due to “critical life events,” such as abuse or neglect, Benoit said it was more surprising to find that a quarter found the work appealing.

“They like working in this line of

activity and they feel they are discovering themselves,” Benoit said in an interview.

A Vancouver sex worker said he got into the industry three years ago while he was a student in part to make money, but also to explore his sexuality and curiosity about the business. He asked that his name not be used because of fears of being stigmatized and harassed.

Prior to his involvement in sex work, he identified as being gay, but came to realize he is transgendered.

After discussions with his doctor about living with gender dysphoria, he said he decided that transitioning to a woman was not an option for him, at least in the near future.

But he decided to remain involved in sex work, seeing mostly men but also women and couples.

“My life is unconventional due to the gender dysphoria, so it allows me to express certain needs that I have through work,” he said.

His situation is not uncommon. While research into male sex workers is limited, a study by the University of British Columbia published last year found that the exploration of sexual and gender identity was a theme among male sex workers, with more than 70 per cent of study participants identifying as a gender or sexual minority.

Dutch man linked to Amanda Todd facing 11-year sentence for allegedly cyberbullying 34 young girls Dutch prosecutors on Thursday sought the maximum possible sentence — nearly 11 years — for a man charged with cyberbullying dozens of young girls and gay men and who is also wanted in Canada for his alleged involvement in a high-profile online abuse case.

In an emotional closing statement, prosecutor Annet Kramer urged judges at a court in Amsterdam to sentence the 38-year-old suspect, identified only as Aydin C., to 10 years and eight months in prison, saying he subjected some of his victims to years of emotional abuse.

“To do justice in any way to the gravity of the facts, and the refined way in which the suspect systematically put his own interests far above those of his victims, the prosecution believes that there is no room to impose anything other than the maximum sentence,” Kramer told judges at a high-

security Amsterdam courthouse, according to a written copy of her statement.

In Canada, C. faces a separate trial in the cyberbullying of Amanda Todd, a 15-year-old girl who drew global attention to online abuse

when she posted a YouTube video recounting her ordeal. She later took her own life.

In that case, C. faces charges including extortion, possession of child pornography and attempting to lure a child online.

SUHAAG Wedding Show, North America’s largest and longest running South Asian Lifestyle & Wedding brand, celebrates launch on the West Coast Continued from Page 1...

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Saturday, February 11, 2017

South Asian woman to go to murder trial next January after firing second lawyer A woman charged in an apparently unprovoked fatal stabbing in Toronto’s financial district is expected to stand trial next January.

Rohinie Bisesar is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 28-year-old Rosemarie Junor.

Junor, a newlywed medical technician, died several days after being stabbed at a Shoppers Drug Mart in Toronto’s popular underground PATH network of shops and restaurants on Dec. 11, 2015. During a court appearance on Wednesday, a judge scheduled Bisesar’s trial to begin on Jan. 8, 2018.

Bisesar’s lawyer was also removed from her case during the hearing, at her request, which means she now has to find a new one. It was the second time Bisesar asked for a new lawyer.

The case returns to court on Monday, when the Crown is expected to ask for a psychiatric assessment for Bisesar to determine if she can be found not criminally responsible — a

request the woman has already objected to.

“I do not want a psychiatric assessment.

That’s a great way to cover up what’s happening,” Bisesar said. “It’s not a psychiatric disorder.”

Justice John McMahon, who is presiding over the case, explained that the Crown is entitled to ask for an assessment in relation to whether Bisesar was not criminally responsible for the offence she’s charged with.

A person can be found not criminally responsible if they were suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the offence that made it impossible for them to understand the nature and quality of what they did or impossible for them to understand that what they were doing was wrong.

McMahon explained that Bisesar would not have to raise the issue of being not criminally responsible at trial but if a jury found her not guilty, then the Crown could potentially bring up the NCR issue at that stage.

Coquihalla closed in both directions from Hope to Merritt, people trapped in cars After a night of freezing rain — with hundreds of people trapped in their cars — the Coquihalla (Highway 5) remains closed in both directions from Hope to Merritt.

Just before 9 a.m., VSA Highway Maintenance tweeted its crews would be handing out water, food and fuel to drivers stranded in the Nicola area.

As of 11:45 a.m., here’s the status of each major highway: • Highway 5 is closed in both directions from Hope to Merritt. Estimated time of opening is noon.

• Highway 3 is closed in both directions from Fernie to the Highway 93 junction. It is now open from Hope to Manning Park after being closed due to an avalanche hazard.

• Highway 1 is closed from Yale to the Highway 12 junction at Lytton because of a high avalanche hazard. There is no estimated time of it reopening. A further update is expected at 8 a.m. PT on Friday.

• Highway 1 has been reopened in Glacier National Park after a closure for avalanche control.

• Highway 99 is reopened in both directions south of Highway 12 junction in Lillooet.

• The Coquihalla is open between Merritt and Kamloops, but travel is not recommended unless absolutely necessary.

Highway 3 is now open from Sparwood to the B.C.-Alberta border after being closed Thursday night.

With cross-state routes in Washington state also closed, anyone attempting to reach the Interior of B.C. from the Lower Mainland, or vice-versa, will have to do so by plane.

One couple was stranded in their truck on the Coquihalla highway near Coldwater, about 30 kilometres south of Merritt.

“We talked to a couple truck drivers and they said in the 30 years this thing’s been open, it’s the worst conditions they’ve ever seen,” he said.

The pair said they were trying to get to Sun Peaks for the Family Day long weekend.

Freezing rain and icy, treacherous conditions shut down every major highway leading in and out of B.C.’s Lower Mainland last night, trapping hundreds of drivers — including an entire ringette team from Richmond.

Laura Takasaki with Richmond Ringette

spent the night on a bus with 48 people traveling to a girl’s ringette tournament in Kelowna. She said the bus has been stuck since 5:30 p.m. PT last night.

The athletes range in age from under 12 to 19.

“We watched a lot of movies — Grease and Mamma Mia,” she said. “We made about 60 sandwiches last night, and they’re all gone.”

Takasaki said they were lucky because it was warm — with the bus running all night long with plenty of gas in the tank — and there was food and a bathroom on board.

She described the road conditions as “a sheet of ice.”

“We were joking that we could put our skates on and skate the mountain,” she said.

Drive BC says it expects the highway will open no later than 2 p.m. PT.

LOCAL

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LOCAL

Saturday, February 11, 2017

New operating rooms will barely reduce surgery wait times, says iconic BC doctor Adding operating rooms to B.C. hospitals might seem like a win for people waiting for surgery. But according to popular B.C. doctor and researcher Pat McGeer, they won’t do much for the province’s backlog of surgeries.

Earlier this week, Vancouver General Hospital announced it would add 16

new operating rooms, while the province committed to investing $25 million to improve access to surgeries throughout B.C. But the UBC Faculty of Medicine professor and former longtime MLA Pat McGeer says the province’s notoriously long surgery wait lists aren’t the result of a lack of space or equipment. In fact, the bulk of B.C. operating rooms are closed after 4 p.m. PT and on the weekends.

McGeer says extra facilities would hardly make a dent in current waiting lists if they’re only open during office hours.

McGeer points to the absence of surgery wait lists prior to the federal prohibition of doctor fees and private billing that was made in 1984, ultimately leading to the reduced use of formerly round-the-clock operating rooms.

McGeer has been at the forefront of B.C.’s health care system for decades. The 89-year-

old is one of the leading authorities into Alzheimer’s, and recently testified at the B.C. Supreme Court over private medical clinic challenge of the province’s Medicare Protection Act. The case follows Vancouver surgeon Dr. Brian Day’s challenge of B.C.’s ban on certain private medical services as unconstitutional since it forces British Columbians to endure gruelling wait times for procedures.

McGeer testified that global budget restraints in B.C.’s health care system have forced health providers to shut down their operating rooms leading to delays in treatment.

He says private physicians could take over these facilities when they aren’t in use — if the provincial government allowed them to operate ​“It would be nice if this silly government case were settled so that these could be turned over to private clinics. They could take over as soon as they were closed, they could take over on weekends, and the waiting lists would then disappear.”

The debate between private and public health care in Canada has been longstanding.

However, in 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Quebec’s ban on private health care was unconstitutional. McGeer says there’s no reason why the Supreme Court of B.C. shouldn’t reach the same conclusion.

“The government should settle it right away.

Get rid of the bureaucracy, open the theatres, get rid of the waiting list. This is a situation where everybody will win.”

Big cities home to big share of 35 million Canadians Colin Basran is having growing pains.

In some ways a victim of his own success, the mayor of Kelowna has been struggling in recent years to rein in his city as it slowly spreads across the B.C. interior, testing his ability to provide core municipal services and build badly needed infrastructure.

Nor is the city’s middle-aged spread at all unique, according to the 2016 census data released Wednesday: Canada’s population of 35.15 million is settling in the bigger cities, ensuring they and their suburban neighbours keep growing, while small cities get smaller.

The three biggest metropolitan areas in the country — Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver — are now home to more than one-third of all Canadians with a combined population of 12.5 million, with almost one half living in Toronto and its suburban neighbours, the data shows.

Canada is once again the fastest growing country in the G7, Statistics Canada says in the first of what will be seven tranches of 2016 census data to be released over the course of the year. Wednesday’s release focused on population and dwellings; the next one, in May, will be focused on age and sex.

The latest figures also show that the once yawning gulf in growth rates between the spreading suburbs and their urban centres has continued to narrow, with young professionals and aging baby boomers alike opting for the downtown-condominium life.

The census shows that 82 per cent of Canadian population live in large and medium-sized cities across the country, one of the highest concentrations among G7 nations. Immigration has driven that change with new arrivals settling in urban centres as opposed to rural communities.

“The municipalities located on the edge of

the (census metropolitan areas) are growing faster than the municipalities located (in the centre) of the census metropolitan area,” said Laurent Martel, director of the demography division at Statistics Canada.

“Also the rural areas located outside the census metropolitan areas, but close to them, are also growing faster than rural areas much farther away, so that’s also a sign of an urban spread phenomenon.”

Canada’s rural population is aging at a much faster rate than those in the urban centres, which tend to attract younger families, said Michael Haan, a sociology professor at Western University in London, Ont. “Demographers call cities population sinks for a reason,” Haan said. “Imagine you had all sorts of water on a counter and it all just runs into the sink and it never comes out again.”

It’s why suburban lots over the years have become smaller, circuitous streets designed for cars are being replaced with a transitand-foot-friendly grid system, and dwellings are increasingly being designed to allow young families to age in place.

LOCAL

Saturday, February 11, 2017

New Westminster schools may soon become sanctuaries for undocumented children New Westminster schools are one step closer to becoming sanctuaries for children of families with precarious immigration status, who fear enrolling their children in schools will risk their security.

On Tuesday night, the education policy committee of the New Westminster Board of Education recommended approval of a sanctuary schools policy to go forward for a vote on Feb. 28.

According to the British Columbia School Act, all school age residents can attend a school in their district. But, school board vice-chair, Mark Gifford says some families have held their children back from school for months or even years out of fear of losing their children or being forced out of the country.

“It’s a scary experience for folks new to a country or who’ve been here for some time, and held off from engaging with big systems.

They seem scary sometimes, and kind of involve too much risk for folks to approach,” said Gifford.

Precarious immigration status refers to less than full legal status, and can include refugee applicants, undocumented entrants, and temporary workers.

The proposed sanctuary policy focuses on two key principles: access to all, and access without fear.

Access to all would ensure that all children who are residents of New Westminster are given equitable access to education, regardless of their immigrant status.

Access without fear focuses on making schools safe zones, where all children and families can expect the school and its staff will protect students’ personal information and not share it with any immigration authorities.

The sanctuary policy is the result of a year of consultation with community stakeholders, like Sanctuary Health, a community group who seeks to ensure that all people have access to essential services regardless of immigration status.

“I’m really excited about this policy moving forward, and I think that this means that children and families who were previously afraid or worried that they weren’t going to be able to access schools will know that the New Westminster school district stands behind them and is going to support them in being a part of the community and being a part of the school system,” said Tasha Nijjar with Sanctuary Health.

Gifford says that if the policy is approved the school board will adopt the changes in time for the 2017 school year.

Surrey clamps down on dangerous dogs with higher fees and fines Surrey city council has adopted a new animal control bylaw aimed at preventing vicious dog attacks and promoting responsible pet ownership.

Some of the key changes of the bylaw include fines ranging from $200 for failing to post a warning sign about a guard dog on a property to $1,000 for an unmuzzled, dangerous dog.

The bylaw also implements a new tiered system of registering dogs and a $500 annual licence fee for those deemed dangerous.

City officials say under the old bylaw a dog would have to physically attack someone before it could be deemed as dangerous, but they now have the ability to intervene when a dog is behaving aggressively before a bite or attack occurs.

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Vancouver General Hospital to get 16 new operating rooms in $102M upgrade Vancouver General Hospital is getting a $102-million upgrade which will boost surgeries at B.C.’s largest hospital by 13 per cent, or 2,200 surgeries annually.

The project announced Wednesday will include 16 new operating rooms, a 40-bed hospital unit for before and after surgery and infrastructure upgrades including heating, ventilation, electrical and plumbing. Dr. Marcel Dvorak, the senior medical director for Vancouver Coastal Health, said that their configuration and varying sizes make the system inefficient and inflexible.

“It’s like a Rubik’s cube where you don’t have space to move anything,” he said.

Dvorak said that emergency operations, which now account for 50 per cent of surgeries done at VGH, frequently displace scheduled surgeries. He said he hopes the newlyannounced ugprades will help resolve this issue. “It’s part of the answer. It gives us the physical plant. It gives us the rooms to address these issues. We have a bit to catch up on.”

According to Dvorak, 65 per cent of patients at VGH get their surgeries within the wait times deemed appropriate by specialists.

“We need to get that up to 90 per cent, and we think that with this new facility, we can do that,” he said. The upgrades will be funded by taxpayers and donors, via the B.C. government, Vancouver Coastal Health and

the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation.

VGH is the adult Level 1 Accredited Trauma Centre in B.C., and handles complex cases from around the province.

Currently, 16,800 surgeries are performed at VGH per year, which is expected to increase to 19,000 when the upgrades are complete in 2021. The project is expected to create 450 direct construction jobs, and other work in supplier industries, according to a government release.

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LOCAL

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Abbotsford homeless advocates struggling with burn out after long winter A long, gruelling winter is taking its toll on homeless advocates in Abbotsford, B.C. as the city braces for another winter storm tonight.

Pastor Jesse Wegenast is with the 5 and 2 Ministries and a harm reduction coordinator.

The city opened up a temporary 40-bed emergency winter shelter in early December, but it’s been operating at over capacity in

Canadian woman turned away from U.S. border after questions about religion, Trump

recent weeks. “We’re seeing overcrowding.

Sometimes we’re getting 200 per cent of our allocated guests, and of course, we’re not turning people away,” said Wegenast.

This winter the emergency shelter set a record in the Fraser Valley for being open 40 consecutive nights in a row, he said.

Volunteers have been driving around the city looking for vulnerable people and making sure they have shelter during the dangerously cold temperatures.

“It’s too cold ... Abbotsford is a huge geographic area so they are picking up people from all over the city and making sure they get inside,” Wegenast explained. He said the prolonged cold weather has put a tremendous strain on the resources and staff.

City council set to vote on taking province to court over Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion Vancouver city council is considering whether to take the provincial government to court over its approval of the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion project.

A motion introduced by city councilor Adriane Carr asks that the city request a judicial review of the provincial government’s decision to give the project its environmental approval. If it passes, the environmental permit issued by the province would be reviewed by a Supreme Court judge to ensure all conditions of approval have been met.

“If the City of Vancouver moves forward with a judicial review and if we win in court — which is my hope that we do —[the Kinder Morgan expansion pipeline] will require a new environmental assessment,” said Carr.

Carr says the province failed to appropriately consult with the public, which, she says, goes against provincial law. She also says the province hasn’t done thorough studies

on the potential damage of a bitumen spill on Vancouver’s harbour and the B.C. coast.

“To the best of my knowledge, they have not done the things that must be done to create a yes or a no response regarding an environmental assessment.” The project would twin the existing 1,150-kilometre pipeline between Edmonton, Alta., and Burnaby, B.C., increasing its capacity from 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000 barrels per day.

The provincial government approved the twinned pipeline project last month after Premier Christy Clark said all five conditions for support had been met, which includes a spill response strategy and consultation with First Nations. But Carr says the province didn’t do its due diligence and instead deferred to the federal government’s environmental approval, which includes 49 conditions imposed by the National Energy Board, rather than develop its own environmental assessment.

A woman from the Montreal suburb of Brossard says she was denied entry into the U.S. Saturday after being fingerprinted, photographed and questioned in detail about her religion and her views on U.S. President Donald Trump.

Fadwa Alaoui, a Moroccanborn Canadian citizen who is Muslim and wears a hijab, says she has used her Canadian passport to enter the United States many times without incident to visit her parents and brother, who live there.

On the weekend she was travelling with two of her children and an adult cousin, who all have Canadian passports. She said they planned to spend the day shopping in Burlington, Vt., but after four hours at the border they were turned back.

She said most of the questions that she faced at the Philipsburg border crossing focused on religion. Morocco is not among the seven predominantly Muslim countries targeted by a U.S. travel ban introduced by Trump that is now being disputed in the courts.

Alaoui said U.S. border agents asked to see her and her cousin’s cellphones. They asked for the passwords and then examined the phones for about an hour. Alaoui and her cousin were then questioned separately for about 45 minutes each.

“He said, ‘Do you practise? Which mosque do you go to? What is the name of the imam? How often do you go to the mosque?

What kind of discussions do you hear in the mosque? Does the imam talk to you directly?’” Alaoui said.

Canada looking at legality of enforcing Trump travel ban on Canadian soil She said she was also asked about the deadly shooting at a mosque in Quebec City

and if she knew any of the victims, and what she thought of Donald Trump’s policies.

Border agents also asked her about Arabic

videos on her phone. She said they were videos of daily prayers.

Alaoui said after the questioning, she waited about another hour. The border agents returned and told her she was being denied entry.

“They said, ‘You’re not allowed to go to the United States because we found videos on your phone that are against us,” Alaoui said.

“U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s top priority is the prevention of the entry of terrorists and their weapons into the United States, while facilitating legitimate trade and travel,” Long’s email read.

“CBP does not discriminate on the entry of foreign nationals to the United States based on religion, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation,” he continued.

He said travellers who feel they’ve wrongly been denied entry into the U.S. can file a written complaint on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website.

According to the agency, an average of 1.2 million people a day try to enter the U.S. at all crossings. Of those, an average of between 300 and 500 are denied entry for various reasons.

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B.C.’s Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations says he’s gearing up for what could be challenging and lengthy negotiations surrounding softwood lumber trade with the United States.

Yesterday, the provincial government and the B.C. Lumber Trade Council announced they will launch a lobbying campaign to try and convince their U.S. counterparts for an equitable softwood lumber deal.

“We’re not naive at all to the challenge,” Thomson said. “We’re going to be making all efforts. We have a great, collaborative working relationship with the federal government on it.” The softwood lumber industry has been one of the biggest trade disputes between the U.S. and Canada resulting in years of litigation. The last Canada-U.S. softwood lumber trade deal expired in 2015. In 2016, the American lumber industry filed a petition asking the U.S. Department of Commerce to investigate Canadian softwood lumber shipments, claiming Canadian lumber is being sold for less than fair value.

LOCAL

Saturday, February 11, 2017

BC centre releases new guidelines to treat opioid addiction British Columbia’s fledgling network for research into drug abuse has released new provincial guidelines for doctors and nurses on how to treat people addicted to opioids.

The new protocols, established by the B.C. Centre for Substance Use, will replace existing guidelines from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. The centre on substance use, which was launched last fall at the height of the opioid crisis, is involved in a wide range of activities around addiction and harm reduction.

The centre’s inaugural director, Dr. Evan Wood, and Health Minister Terry Lake revealed the new guidelines at a news conference Tuesday.

They also announced $5 million in immediate funding from the province for the research network, along with $1.9 million per year in additional ongoing support and a $1 million donation by private donor Peter Bull through the St. Paul’s Foundation.

Lake said the new guidelines will change the

way doctors and nurse practitioners deal with addicts. Among the changes: the guidelines discourage solitary withdrawal treatment and recommend buprenorphine and naloxone as first-line medications. ​“It’s a stepped approach to opioid addiction treatment and confirms what we’ve heard from other addictions experts: that buprenorphine with naloxone — most commonly known as suboxone — is the treatment option to try first for most patients.”

Experts say a fraction of doctors in B.C. are prescribing the drug.

Dr. Evan Wood, the centre’s inaugural director, told reporters the the new guidelines are a shift toward evidence- based treatment.

“We need to look at treatment options that will get people away from desperate circumstances where they’re using toxic street drugs,” Wood said.

The guidelines will take take effect in June 2017.

More than $1 million in cash seized in Vancouver Island drug bust Sidney/North Saanich RCMP say a large quantity of drugs has been seized as well as more than $1 million in cash after an investigation into a drug-trafficking ring on the Saanich Peninsula.

The RCMP detachment worked with Central Saanich police and Saanich cops to target a drug-production operation and several drug traffickers, said Sidney/North Saanich RCMP spokesman Cpl. Doug Wilson. A news conference will be held Tuesday to provide

more details.

“During the joint investigation, a number of search warrants were executed by police, which resulted in the seizure of large quantities of controlled substances, as well as over $1 million in cash,” Wilson said.

Many people have been arrested and charged in connection with the drug operation.

Wilson said some of the evidence seized in the probe will be on display at the news conference.

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TFSA tops the list of investment plans for newcomers It’s that time of year – and as we settle into new routines, new budgets and a new year, it’s also a chance to start things off right. But where do you start?

For people arriving in a new country, establishing personal and financial routines help. Many newcomers indicate that they make it a top priority to purchase an investment product shortly after arriving in Canada. In fact, a RBC poll revealed that of newcomers living in Canada five years or less, 71 per cent of them own an investment product, with a taxfree savings account (TFSA) being the most popular option at 40 per cent.

“Opening up a TFSA is a good option for new Canadians who wish to invest shortly after moving to Canada.

It is designed to help you save and invest money and the return you earn is tax free. You can withdraw funds whenever you need, making it a flexible way to save for your future goals,” explains Ivy Chiu, Senior Director, Multicultural Markets at RBC. “Additionally, you don’t need to have earned an income to be able to contribute to a TFSA. So newcomers can open up a TFSA and start saving right away.”

Here’s what to know about TFSAs: Eligibility: As a newcomer, you benefit from the fact that you don’t need earned income to accumulate contribution room. All Canadian tax residents who are at least 18 years of age have the same contribution room of $5,500

for 2017. You must be the age of majority in your province of residence and have a Social Insurance Number to open an account.

Contributions: You don’t need to have the full $5,500 to get started. Unused contribution room accumulates and can be carried over from year to year. If you withdraw from your TFSA, the full amount of your withdrawals can be put back in future years. Just be careful, as

re-contributing in the same calendar year can result in an over-contribution that is subject to penalty tax.

Tax Benefits: Income earned and TFSA withdrawals are not included as income for tax purposes. This means the TFSA offers a high degree of flexibility and will help to minimize your income tax. The money you deposit to your TFSA can help you achieve your short, medium or long term goals.

A TFSA is a great way to help save for your future. Talking to an RBC financial advisor can help you understand the benefits of a TFSA and the investment solutions that best fit your goals. Learn more about banking in Canada at rbc.com/newcomers.

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LOCAL

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Abbotsford residents praised for helping snowbound neighbours

The tragedy in a Quebec Mosque on January 29 has caused a lot of concern to Canadians everywhere. At this time,our Muslim brothers and sisters need a lot of support and solidarity. With this in mind,the management committee of India Cultural Centre of Canada Gurdwara Nanak Niwas on Richmond’s Highway to Heaven invited leaders of the BC Muslim Association and Jamea Mosque in Richmond to the Gurdwara on Sunday,February 5 to offer support in this hour of need. The Muslim community leaders were very appreciative of this gesture and thanked members of the Gurdwara management committee for their on-going support. It was mutually agreed to continue to work to-gether in fighting the curse of racism ,prejudice and hatred in our communities . Balwant Sanghera (604-836-8976)

$3.5 billion Massey bridge gets environmental nod The British Columbia government has granted an environmental assessment certificate for the 10-lane, $3.5-billion bridge to replace the Massey Tunnel over the Fraser River.

The approval comes with 33 conditions that are legally binding requirements that the Transportation Ministry must meet.

The government says the key findings

that helped the approval included that no significant adverse effects were likely to occur on fish and fish habitat and that the project would eliminate congestion delays and idling on the route between Richmond and Delta.

The construction will also mean replacing the interchanges of Westminster Highway, Steveston Highway and Highway 17A. The project will require various federal, provincial and local government permits to go ahead and the Environmental Assessment Office will work with other government agencies to ensure conditions are met.

Construction of the new bridge is expected to start this year with completion by 2022.

Luke and Adam Woods are the type of men you’d love to have as friends when stranded in a blinding snow storm with no help on the horizon.

The Abbotsford brothers, who clear snow for a living, were en route to clearing a parking lot late Sunday when they found out their neighbour Troy Rowand and Rowand’s daughter were stuck in whiteout conditions on a road in Sumas-Prairie, a rural part of Abbotsford which was particularly hard hit by gale-like winter weather over the weekend.

“It was whiteout, hard blowing, snowing with big drifts and we had to plow out 300 metres of snow to get to the cars,” said Luke Woods, 35, of their decision to save Rowand. “Nobody could get to them.

We helped two of them get out. The other car had a husband and wife.

“But it’s what you have to do. They’re neighbours.” For Rowand, seeing the Woods was like “a breath of fresh air, overwhelming.

Those boys are so determined if they say they’re going to do something. They’ll make it happen. It was tears of joy (when they

showed up).”

Rowand said he and his daughter spent 11 hours in the truck and that the snow had

reached the top of the hood. The Woods finally reached them at 2 a.m. Monday.

“By then, my daughter was crying. They cleared the snow in front of me and I drove out.” Abbotsford police commended people like the Woods for helping out during the blizzard. “We’re thanking farmers and residents who helped our officers dig these people out and make sure they were warm and safe,” said Const. Ian MacDonald, noting officers had to go in on foot to get to people trapped in vehicles.

BC’s new protocols for opioid abuse treatment criticised Drug users and harm-reduction advocates are calling British Columbia’s revamping of its clinical guidelines for treating opioid dependency a missed opportunity to expand heroin-assisted treatment – a controversial option has garnered support from the federal government amid the province’s worst overdose crisis on record.

The release of the province’s new guidelines on Tuesday – which take effect in June – came at the same time that health officials in Alberta announced a 25-per-cent increase in fentanyl-related deaths over the past year. New figures show that a record 343 people died of fentanyl-related overdoses in 2016, compared with 257 in 2015. (Alberta’s total illicit-drug overdoses for 2016 are not yet available.)

“Opioid overdoses and deaths are a public-

health crisis in Alberta,” said Alberta associate Health Minister Brandy Payne. “Everyone in this room knows the devastating impact fentanyl and other opioids are having on

families and communities.”

B.C.’s new guidelines, created by the recently formed B.C. Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU), place an emphasis on providing a broad range of options tailored to individual needs. The comprehensive document will replace existing guidelines by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. on prescribing the opioid-replacement therapies methadone and Suboxone – the trade name for buprenorphine-naloxone – in June. While the guidelines include a new tool – slow-release oral morphine – to the existing treatment options, some say they missed the opportunity to widen the availability of Supervised Injectable Opioid Assisted Treatment (siOAT).

This type of therapy is suitable for only about 5 per cent of all people on opioidassisted treatments, but these patients are the most vulnerable – and incur the largest societal costs. One person using illicit opioids costs society an estimated $48,000 a year, compared with about $25,000 on siOAT, according to Providence Health Care, a B.C. non-profit organization.

A handful of drug users who attended the media event in Vancouver expressed frustration and anger that the evidencesupported option is still strictly limited to about 100 people.

Saturday, February 11, 2017

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Saturday, February 11, 2017

Canadian dollar weaker as oil price slips The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart on Monday as oil prices fell and bond yields settled at a two-week low, with investors awaiting December trade data due on Tuesday and jobs numbers later in the week for signs of economic growth.

The loonie, as Canada’s currency is popularly known, had gained for two straight weeks on a combination of favorable economic data and greenback weakness.

Last week, it touched its strongest level since September.

The Canadian dollar CAD=D4 settled at C$1.3087 to the greenback, or 76.41 U.S. cents, weaker than the Bank of Canada’s official close on Friday of C$1.3028, or 76.76 U.S. cents.

The loonie traded in a range of C$1.3008 to C$1.3135.

“We spent two or three days trying to push through C$1.30 without any real success,” said Darcy Browne, managing director for foreign exchange sales at CIBC Capital Markets.

“It rallied up to C$1.3135, which is the 200day moving average, and got rejected pretty hard from there as well,” he said.

Economists polled by Reuters have a wide range of expectations for Tuesday’s data after Canada achieved its first trade surplus in more than two years in November.

The most optimistic see a C$1.5 billion surplus, while the most pessimistic expect a C$1.5 billion deficit. The median view is for a surplus of C$350 million after the surprise C$526 million surplus in the prior month.

Jobs data is due on Friday, with the market expecting no growth after a bumper 53,700 job gains in December.

U.S. crude oil CLc1 prices settled down 1.5 percent at $53.01 a barrel, while Brent LCOc1 lost 1.9 percent to $55.72.[O/R] Canadian government bond prices were higher across the maturity curve, with the twoyear CA2YT=RR price up 7.5 Canadian cents to yield 0.737 percent and the benchmark 10year CA10YT=RR rising 52 Canadian cents to yield 1.701 percent, its lowest settlement since Jan. 23.

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Canadians not so ‘exceptional’ when it comes to immigration and refugee views Canadians may not be as tolerant of refugees and immigrants as they might think, a new study concludes.

The study, a project of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC), also found that while attitudes among Canadians towards refugees and immigrants range largely from positive to benign, those views are not necessarily strongly held.

Study author Michael Donnelly, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, concludes that, as a result, there is potential for intolerant, anti-immigrant, and anti-refugee sentiment to increase.

For the study, Donnelly took recent international public opinion research about immigration and refugees and then designed a Canadian poll in order to compare Canadian attitudes against the country’s peers in the Western developed world. The poll was conducted by the firm Ipsos which surveyed 1,522 Canadians from January 18-27, well before either Trump announced his controversial immigration and refugee restrictions or before the shooting at the Quebec mosque which killed six Muslim worshippers. Respondents were invited to complete the online survey in either French or English.

The survey found that Canadians have what Donnelly described as an “impressive” knowledge of Canada’s immigration and refugee system and that most are satisfied with Canada’s multiculturalist approach to immigration policy. And yet, as Donnelly writes in the study, “Whatever is driving Canada’s exceptionally positive history of immigration and integration over the last

half century, it does not appear to be an exceptionally tolerant public.”

Indeed, Canada was neither most tolerant nor most intolerant but was around average compare to Europe and the U.S. on issues, for example, of how generous countries ought to be when considering a refugee application or whether immigrants from poor countries

ought be accepted.

But any tolerance by Canadians to be more generous towards refugees and immigrants is “soft” in the sense that, as Donnelly argues, there are a great many who could do not have strong opinions one way or the other.

For example, the survey found what Donnelly described as “surprisingly weak” opposition to the idea of stopping all immigration to Canada.

While about 45 per cent of those surveyed would oppose any policy that would end all immigration, just under 20 per cent would support such a policy while nearly 35 per cent said they would neither oppose nor support such a policy.

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LOCAL

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22 refugees enter Manitoba from USA last weekend The temperature dipped below –20 C as a large group of refugees trudged through snowy Manitoba fields near the U.S. border Saturday.

Farhan Ahmed says he couldn’t feel his fingers or toes as he walked about 12 kilometres along a road.

“It was very, very cold and it was icy that night,” Ahmed said.

Over the weekend, RCMP said, 22 people crossed the border near Emerson, about 100 kilometres south of Winnipeg — 19 on Saturday and three on Sunday.

Ahmed and his group, including a family with children, finally called 911 for help. RCMP brought them to a Canada Border Services Agency location where they could make refugee claims.

“They gave us heat. If we didn’t get that,

I couldn’t feel my hands. I couldn’t feel my hands. It was hard,” Ahmed said.

The number of asylum seekers crossing the Canada-U.S. border into Manitoba on foot instead of through official crossings has

drastically increased in the last few months, said Rita Chahal, executive director of Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council.

“In January alone there were about 39, 40 files opened,” she said.

Ten files were opened last week and, with the recent group over the weekend, Chahal said there will be at least 20 more this week.

Since April 2016, the council has opened 270 files, with a large increase in the fall.

Ahmed grew up in a small town in Somalia where his father was a local chief. In June 2014, Ahmed said, his father was murdered, and since he was the oldest son, his life was also threatened. “I … received calls that I would be next and I would be killed,” he said.

As a father of three and the breadwinner for his family, Ahmed had a tough choice. But in the end he decided to flee in order to find safety and freedom for his family elsewhere.

The last time he saw his wife was on June 23, 2014, three days after his father’s death.

His journey then led him to Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua,

U.S. Secretary of Defence James Mattis broke bread with his Canadian counterpart at the Pentagon on Monday, as President Donald Trump warned that countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization must “pay their fair share” of the alliance’s costs.

The tête-à-tête between Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Mr. Mattis – the first in-

“It’s been very unfair to us. We strongly support NATO, we only ask that all of the NATO members make their full and proper financial contributions to the NATO alliance, which many of them have not been doing,” Mr. Trump said at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. “Many of them have not even been close. And they have to do that.”

Despite this tension, Mr. Mattis and Mr. Sajjan put on a chummy show for the cameras as they greeted each other in a white-walled, blue-carpeted meeting room on the third floor of the Pentagon.

Mr. Mattis, a retired four-star general who led U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, praised Mr. Sajjan’s service as an intelligence officer in Afghanistan. Then he cracked a joke about “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the U.S. military’s former policy that banned gays and lesbians from serving openly.

“The Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry were the first troops that came in to reinforce us at Kandahar, and they were a welcome sight,” he said. “There was ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ in those days, but I was hugging and kissing every one of your guys coming out of the plane.”

Mr. Sajjan responded that Canada and the United States have a “relationship forged on the battlefield together.”

The pair, each with a six-person entourage, sat on opposite sides of a conference table for a 45-minute formal meeting, followed by

dinner.

Mr. Sajjan refused to answer questions about the meeting.

In a written statement issued by his office, the minister dodged the matter of Canada’s NATO spending, saying only that he discussed Canada’s willingness to lead troops in Eastern Europe. The alliance has been building up its presence in Ukraine and the surrounding countries in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expansionist designs in the

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person meeting between members of the Trump and Trudeau cabinets – took place mere hours after Mr. Trump told American troops that he would make his country’s allies pony up more to cover defence costs.

Canada currently spends about 1 per cent of GDP on defence, half of what NATO asks for.

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“Secretary Mattis and I … discussed multilateral issues, including our pledges to lead battle groups in support of NATO’s enhanced forward presence in Eastern Europe,” the statement read.

His spokeswoman played down the question of NATO spending. In an e-mail, Jordan Owens wrote there was “a brief discussion about defence investments and the need to continue to invest” at the meeting.

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Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico before he finally landed in the United States in October 2014. Ahmed said he was initially detained in Texas before being transferred to the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility.

He was kept in the facility, trying to make an asylum claim, until February 2015, when his application was denied and he was told he would be deported.

However, Ahmed said there was a mixup in paperwork, and he was released under supervision and moved in with family in Ohio. “They gave me work authorization and then I became a truck driver. I used to drive. I became a taxpayer,” he said.

“I was supporting my family in Somalia, my wife and my kids.”

Finally, life seemed to be going Ahmed’s way — but it wouldn’t last. Immigration officers showed up looking for Ahmed in Ohio last year while he was out driving.

Sajjan meets with Mattis as Trump warns NATO members must step up defence spending

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With electoral reform off the table, minister defends first-past-the-post Seven months after her predecessor described the current electoral system as “antiquated,” and one week after the Liberal government abandoned its pursuit of reform, the new minister of democratic institutions defended first-past-the-post during an appearance before a House of Commons committee.

“The first-past-the-post system may not be perfect — no electoral system is,” Karina Gould said Tuesday during an appearance before the procedure and House affairs committee.

“But it has served this country for 150 years and advances a number of democratic values that Canadians hold dear, such as strong local representation, stability and accountability.” The decision to abandon the Liberal Party’s commitment to implement a new electoral system was “difficult” but “responsible,” Gould said, citing a lack of consensus around the options.

Last July, while appearing before a special committee on electoral reform, Gould’s predecessor was notably more critical in her review of first-past-the-post.

“Some have pointed out that Canada is a mature, successful democracy whose citizens enjoy a high standard of living and a level

of political freedom that is the envy of the world. They question why we would consider changing such a successful democracy,” Maryam Monsef said. “Although I accept the premise of that thought, I do not agree with the conclusion. Simply pointing out that something works is not a reason not to try to make it better. First-pastthe-post is an antiquated system designed to meet the realities of 19th-century Canada and not designed to operate within our multiparty democracy.

“We require an electoral system that provides a stronger link between the democratic will of Canadians and election results.”

Gould said the public consultations on the issue — including hearings conducted by the special committee, a national tour by Monsef and an online survey — were “one of the largest and farthest-reaching consultations ever undertaken by the government of Canada.”

Most of Gould’s hour before Tuesday’s committee dealt with other matters within her mandate, including the threat of foreign hacking and establishing an independent commission to organize party leader debates during elections.

Ottawa rejects recommendation to raise retirement age A day after the federal Liberals’ economic advisory council recommended raising the age of retirement eligibility, the government is turning the idea down flat.

The council advised the government on Monday to raise the age at which workers can collect old age security and Canada Pension Plan benefits in order to keep people in the work force longer.

But Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says the government will stick to its election promise to set the age at 65 — a reversal of the previous Conservative government’s plan to raise the age to 67.

Duclos says moving back to age 67 would throw vulnerable seniors into poverty.

But he also says the government is looking at other incentives to keep workers in the work force longer, if they’re able and willing.

The growth council argued that raising the eligibility age would boost labour participation and add $56 billion to the country’s gross domestic product.

“We are not going to change that because we believe it’s important to protect our vulnerable seniors, those who find it impossible, for all sorts of reasons, to continue their labour force participation,” Duclos said after a cabinet meeting Tuesday morning.

“And second, we’re going to look very hard into ways to improve the incentives that other workers who are able and willing to continue their labour force participation can receive and benefit from in order to continue growing our economy.”

Recommendations from the growth council have had a lot of sway with policy makers in the past, and are expected to heavily influence the upcoming budget.

Should the government be able to open your letters to search for drugs?

The Gateway Postal Facility, in Mississauga, Ont., is the front line in a growing, and sometimes controversial, fight against fentanyl and other illegal opioids.

Thousands of packages in bland yellow, white and brown roll off of conveyer belts at the sorting station every minute, with more stacked waiting to be delivered.

But it would be a mistake to think that all of them are bills and purchases from Amazon, because street drugs are flowing into Canada by mail, including the powerful and potentially deadly opioid fentanyl. The federal government is set to increase the powers that Canada Border Services Agency has to open mail and snoop inside with Bill C-37.

CBSA officers are already examining packages, alongside Canada Post employees, in a secure underground sorting room inside the Mississauga sorting centre, one of the largest postal facilities in North America.

CBSA officers sift through and analyze the packages, setting aside some to be poked, X-rayed, even opened. By law right now, they can open only packages. Letters that weigh 30

grams or less can’t be touched without a court order or permission from the addressee.

Because criminals in China are responsible

for much of the fentanyl flooding into Canadian streets, country of origin is a red flag. Officers also check against a database of suspicious senders. Then, it goes into the X-Ray machine — similar to one you might see at an airport.

“You will see, often, it’s out of place, it’s an odd shape,” says a veteran CBSA officer who asked to remain anonymous.

When she sees orange circles on the scanner’s screen, she suspects a drugs shipment. “Like this one, I can definitely tell that it’s organic material. By the shape of this, I’m positive of what we are opening up here.

Saturday, February 11, 2017

NDP wants Liberal government to apologize for dropping electoral reform The NDP will ask Thursday that the House of Commons call on the government to apologize for breaking its promise to implement electoral reform.

The motion, which MPs will spend Thursday debating, suggests that “in the opinion of the House, the government misled Canadians on its platform and Throne Speech commitment ‘that 2015 will be the last federal election conducted under the firstpast-the-post voting system,’ and that the House call on the government to apologize to Canadians for breaking its promise.”

Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould announced last week that the Liberal government would no longer pursue its commitment to replace the current electoral system in time for the 2019 election.

The minister cited a lack of consensus on the issue, but the prime minister and a senior

Liberal subsequently pointed to concerns about moving to proportional representation and holding a referendum.

“We know that Mr. Trudeau was elected on the promise to alleviate and diminish cynicism in our politics,” NDP critic Nathan Cullen told reporters on Wednesday. “Well, he’s in fact made the promise worse by conducting himself so casually with his promises.”

New Democrats have since directed supporters to a petition, filed with the House of Commons, that has now received more than 80,000 signatures.

One Liberal MP, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, has publicly criticized the government’s decision. Mark Gerretsen, another Liberal MP, has expressed disappointment.

The NDP motion would likely come to a vote next week.

Federal Liberals struggle to recoup $70M paid in error due to Phoenix issues The federal government has overpaid close to $70 million to thousands of past and current employees as of December, and it has reached repayment agreements for only about a third of the money, according to internal documents obtained.

Since the government consolidated many separate payroll systems into the Phoenix pay system last spring, tens of thousands of public

servants have been underpaid, overpaid or not paid at all.

Many employees have reported problems getting paid correctly, and while Public Services and Procurement Canada has provided updates on how many cases are handled and left over from a June backlog of 80,000 cases, it hasn’t detailed how much money was involved.

But documents obtained reveal just how far the salary discrepancies go for thousands of overpaid public servants.

More than 26,000 employees have been overpaid a total of about $68.6 million, according to the documents. Only about a third of the money sent out in error — about $22.3 million — has been recovered, according to the documents.

While about half of the former and current employees across the country have been overpaid less than $2,000, some people have received more substantial payments.

At least 27 former or current workers — lawyers, project managers, researchers and senior advisers — have received more than $50,000 each in overpayments in the last year because of the Phoenix malfunction.

One ex-researcher even received, in error, a lump sum of $662,777. Another former senior adviser received several overpayments totalling $155,167, while a legal counsel was mistakenly transferred $81,714.

About one in every five cases of overpayment involves a former or current employee working in the National Capital Region.

One public servant said he has $40,000 in his bank account he’s afraid to touch. He spoke on condition of anonymity, because he is worried about his job.

Government of Canada wraps up consultations on how to make a more accessible Canada for people with disabilities Over the past five months, the Government of Canada has held public sessions across Canada as part of a consultation process to inform planned federal accessibility legislation.

The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, is leading discussions on the barriers to accessibility that Canadians face in their daily lives.

Since the launch of the consultations, Minister Qualtrough has received feedback from Canadians and stakeholders through thousands of online submissions and inperson sessions in 17 cities, touching every

province and territory. The Government of Canada has also held roundtable discussions with stakeholders across the country, and has engaged with more than 100 stakeholder organizations that are running or participating in complementary consultation activities.

On February 8, 2017, the Government of Canada will hold a final in-person session in Toronto at the Chelsea Hotel from 4:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. to ask Canadians what an accessible Canada means to them. The public consultation will continue online at Canada.ca/ Accessible-Canada until February 28, 2017.

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Indian-origin sculptor Anish Kapoor wins Genesis Prize, pledges to use the money to help refugees Renowned Indian-origin British sculptor Anish Kapoor, who has emerged as a champion of Syrian refugees’ rights, on Tuesday won Israel’s prestigious one million dollar Genesis Prize for his commitment to Jewish values.

Kapoor, 62, spoke out against “abhorrent government policies” towards refugees as he was named the recipient of this year’s Genesis prize, dubbed Jewish Nobel.

The prize committee, headed by Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky, acknowledged Kapoor as “one of the most influential and innovative artists of his generation”.

Kapoor joins Itzhak Perlman, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and actor-director Michael Douglas as recipients.

Kapoor, born in Mumbai to an Iraqi-origin Jewish mother and Indian father, said he will

donate the award money to help people who have fled war or persecution.

He said he would use the money to help alleviate the refugee crisis and try to expand the Jewish community’s engagement in a global effort to aid Syrian refugees.

More than 12.5 million Syrians, including 2.5 million children, have been displaced during the current political turmoil in the West Asian state, he noted.

“Jewish identity and history have witnessed recurring conditions of indifference, persecution and Holocaust. Repeatedly, we have had to repossess ourselves and reidentify our communities,” Kapoor said.

“As inheritors and carriers of Jewish values, it is unseemly, therefore, for us to ignore the plight of people who are persecuted, who have lost everything and had to flee as refugees in mortal danger,” he said.

NRI family to get payout over toy gun episode in UK A family of mixed Indian and Middle Eastern heritage has won compensation after two brothers, aged seven and five, were questioned by police over the toy guns they were playing with at a school in the East of England.

The boys were reported to Bedfordshire Police as being at risk of radicalisation in March last year but officers quickly concluded there was no issue of concern.

The school and the boys cannot be named to protect their identity as minors.

“I was told they had displayed signs that were worrying in terms of being reasonable indicators of being involved in terrorist activity. They had no other reason to believe they had any signs of extremism other than the colour of their skin,” the mother, of Indian

Hindu heritage, told BBC. “I understand that [terrorism] is a problem, but this is a rather blunt instrument with which to tackle it. There are some residual effects both boys have suffering nightmares. My younger boy fears he might taken away. We are trying to help them move on,” she said.

She claims being told that one of the boys had been speaking Arabic and talked about attending a mosque even though none of the family spoke Arabic and the children did not go to mosques.

Central Bedfordshire Council has since accepted the children were racially discriminated against and issued an apology as well as agreed to pay an undisclosed sum in compensation.

Members of UK ‘sex gang’ face deportation to Pakistan

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Four men convicted of grooming girls for sex in a case that fuelled racial tensions in Britain face deportation to Pakistan after a judge upheld a government decision on Thursday to strip them of British citizenship.

The ruling by an immigration tribunal clears the way for the men, all of Pakistani nationality, to be removed from Britain. They acquired British citizenship by naturalisation.

They were among nine men of Pakistani and Afghan descent convicted of luring girls as young as 13 into sexual encounters using alcohol and drugs. They were based in Rochdale, in northern England.

Among the four facing deportation is ringleader Shabir Ahmed, sentenced in 2012 to 22 years in jail. The other three are Adil Khan, Qari Abdul Rauf and Abdul Aziz. Ahmed, who was convicted of rape as well as other charges, remains in custody, while the other three men have been released on licence.

Khan, Rauf and Aziz were convicted on conspiracy and trafficking for sexual exploitation charges. Aziz was not convicted of having sexual intercourse with any child.

The judge at the hearing in the upper tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber, Mr Justice McClosky, described their crimes as “shocking, brutal and repulsive”.

His decision rejected claims concerning

human rights laws and a complaint of “disproportionate interference” with their rights.

The case centres on a decision by Prime Minister Theresa May, when she was home secretary, to strip the men’s citizenship “for the public good”.

The five victims of the gang who gave evidence in the 2012 trial were all white, and spoke of being raped, assaulted and traded for sex, being passed from man to man, and sometimes being too drunk to stop the abuses.

The men, ranging in age from 22 to 59, used various defences, including claiming the girls were prostitutes.

Rochdale MP Simon Dan­czuk said the four men who appeared at the tribunal on Thursday or­ ted “as soon as possible” should be dep­ saying “foreign-born criminals should not be able to hide behind human rights laws to avoid deportation”.

SOUTH ASIA

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Afghan diplomat shot dead at Karachi consulate

Bangladesh plans to relocate Rohingya Muslims Bangladesh is sticking to its plan to relocate Rohingya Muslims, who fled Myanmar in the face of persecution, from overcrowded and unhealthy camps in a southern coastal district to a low-lying island still not ready for human habitation.

Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali briefed about 60 diplomats and representatives of various agencies and sought their help to relocate the Rohingya to Thengar Char in eastern Bangladesh, a government statement said late Sunday.

More than 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have been living in Bangladesh for decades while about 66,000 more have crossed the border since October amid renewed persecution and targeted attacks by soldiers and majority Buddhists in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

The low-lying island proposed for the new camp is difficult to reach without boats and often becomes flooded.

Sri Lanka eyes China free trade deal this year, PM to visit in May Sri Lanka aims to finalise a free trade agreement with China this year and the country’s prime minister will visit Beijing in May, the Sri Lankan ambassador said on Saturday, amid rising concern in the South Asian nation about Chinese investment.

Hundreds of Sri Lankans clashed with police at the opening last month of a Chineseinvested industrial zone in the south, saying they would not be moved from their land.

It was the first time opposition to Chinese investments in Sri Lanka had turned violent.

China signed a deal with Sri Lanka late last year to further develop the strategic port of Hambantota and build a huge industrial zone nearby, a key part of Beijing’s ambitions to create a modern-day “Silk Road” across Asia.

Critics, including former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, an influential opposition politician who allowed China’s first investment into Sri Lanka when he was leader from 2005 to 2015, say Sri Lanka’s port deal grants overly generous terms to China.

19 feared dead in suicide blast at Afghan SC A suicide bomber on foot ripped through a crowd of Afghan Supreme Court employees today, killing at least 20 people and wounding 41 others in the second attack on government institutions in under a month.

The assailant detonated the device in the parking lot as employees were boarding a bus to go home, leaving bodies and dismembered limbs scattered around the area, with women and children among the casualties.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast in the snow-laden Afghan capital, but it occurred as the Taliban are ramping up their nationwide insurgency even in the peak winter months when fighting usually abates.

“My father and I were exiting through the parking lot when a huge blast hit us,” said a witness, breaking down in tears. “My father is dead now. How will I live without him?”

The piercingly loud explosion shook nearby buildings, smashing windows and blasting

debris onto the streets.

Police blocked off the road around the high-profile compound located near the US embassy as panicked relatives of court employees began to gather and ambulances and fire trucks rushed to the scene.

“Twenty people were killed (including 3 women & one child), and 41 others were injured in today’s suicide attack in #Kabul,” health ministry official Wahidullah Mayar wrote on Twitter.

The ministry warned the toll could rise still further.

There were scenes of desperation at the Italian-run Emergency hospital in Kabul as anxious civilians looking for missing relatives searched through the ambulances that brought the dead and wounded.

President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack in a statement, calling it a “crime against humanity and an unforgivable act”.

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on a junior diplomat Mohammad Zaki Uro, killing him on the spot and wounding another consulate official,” senior police official Azad Khan told AFP. Paramilitary Rangers and a heavy police contingent surrounded the consulate immediately after the attack amid fears of a

possible extremist assault.

“There was nothing of the sort and it seems the guard had some sort of personal grudge with the diplomat,” Khan said.

The guard has been arrested, he said, and an investigation launched.

The consulate is located in Karachi’s upscale Clifton neighbourhood.

The missions of Indonesia, the United Kingdom and France are nearby.

Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and a major business and industrial hub, is rife with political, sectarian and ethnic militancy.

A strategic operation in the city by security forces in recent years has brought a lull in violence, but scattered attacks still take place.

Note: Programme can be change.

An Afghan guard with a “personal grudge” shot dead a junior diplomat inside the Afghan consulate in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi on Monday, police said.

“The guard, Rehmat Ullah, opened fire

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india

Saturday, February 11, 2017

BJP leaders’ ‘dhandli’ in Khattar dept charge The functioning of the Haryana Power Department, headed by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, has been questioned for its alleged acts of “omission and commission” by a ruling BJP MLA and a senior minister.

In a letter to Khattar, Gurugram MLA Umesh Agarwal has pointed fingers at tendering of power meters and purchase of material amounting to over Rs 800 crore.

Agarwal claimed the date and conditions of tenders for purchase of meters in the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) have been deferred and changed thrice.

The MLA, when contacted, said, “It is not for the first time that corruption in power utilities has been pointed to Khattar by BJP leaders. But these have been ignored so far.”

“In the last meeting of BJP’s Legislature Party held at the CM’s residence on January 24, even Cabinet Minister Ram Bilas Sharma pointed

out that purchases worth Rs 800 crore have been made in power utilities bypassing the high-powered purchase committee. Khattar summoned Shatrujit Kapur, chairman of the two discoms, in the presence of MLAs, who said he will inquire and get back. However, we are yet to get answers,” Agarwal said.

In the letter dated February 6, Agarwal alleged “dhandli” (fraud) in tender notice QD736 pertaining to the purchase of 13.9 lakh meters for domestic power connections.

The letter reads, “As head of the department, in a meeting pertaining to this tender on May 19, 2016, you instructed officers of DHBVN to allow a fair competition among bidders and restrict the purchase cost to Rs 85-90 crore and companies with turnover of half the cost of the tender be allowed to bid. The objective was to allow maximum number of suppliers to participate.

PM’s raincoat barb shuts down Parliament The Rajya Sabha today saw repeated adjournments and was unable to function as the Opposition raised objections to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks made a day earlier. In the Lok Sabha too, the Congress today staged a walkout during Zero Hour in protest against the chair’s ruling of not allowing its floor leader Mallikarjun Kharge from raising the party’s objection to Modi’s “raincoat” remark against his predecessor Manmohan Singh.

In the Rajya Sabha, the Opposition parties were particularly agitated over the remarks the PM made with reference to former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Indira Gandhi, alleging Modi used “abusive” and “insulting” language.

The members demanded an apology from the PM over his remarks. The House was first adjourned till noon and then till 2 pm.

Congress’ Anand Sharma said Rule 238 disallowed use of offensive expression during a debate. “Prime Minister yesterday insulted the memory of Indira Gandhi. He has dragged political debate to a new low… he was abusive… we will oppose him,” he said.

The Congress was joined in by the CPM and JD(U) saying they were not given an opportunity to seek clarifications during the debate yesterday despite Chairman Hamid Ansari citing precedence and tradition of the House that gave members the right to seek such response after Prime Minister or a minister’s statement.

But it was not just the Congress members who were agitated but AIADMK counterparts also entered the well of the House demanding that Tamil Nadu Governor Vidyasagar Rao should discharge his Constitutional duty by

swearing in VK Sasikala as Chief Minister without wasting any further time.

In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan ruled that the matter relating to the other House could not be raised amid noisy scene created by members of the treasury benches.

Congress members first trooped into the Well raising slogans “Prime Minister mafi mango (PM should apologise)” and “Prime Minister shame, shame...” and then walked out of the

House.

74 missing defence men ‘in Pak custody’ Seventy-four missing defence personnel are believed to be in Pakistan’s custody but whose presence has not been acknowledged so far by that country, the government said.

Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh said the government has raised the matter with the Pakistan Government on numerous occasions, including at high levels.

AI to get 4 more dreamliners this year Air India is scheduled to take delivery of the four remaining dreamliners — Boeing 787-8 planes — this year with the last one to be delivered in October. The airline has acquired 23 dreamliners from September 2012 to January 9, 2017, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha told the Lok Sabha, acknowledging the aircraft ‘have experienced technical reliability issues’ since induction.

Wife claims BSF jawan husband missing The wife of a BSF jawan, who had gone public alleging poor quality food being served, today filed a habeas corpus plea in the Delhi High Court claiming that her husband was untraceable for the past three days.

BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav had on January 9 posted a video on Facebook showing a meal box comprising a watery soup-like dal, which he said had only turmeric and salt and a burnt chapatti.

He had said this was what jawans were served at mealtime on duty at places, including the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, and that jawans often went to bed on an empty stomach.

Pursuant to the video going viral on the

social media, the Prime Minister’s Office had sought a detailed report.

A PIL was also filed in the Delhi High Court seeking a direction to the government to depute higher officers to supervise cooking and its distribution.

It sought a status report on the quality of food served to soldiers along the LoC. It had also directed BSF to produce the investigation report and the steps taken with regard to the allegations levelled.

Now less than a month after the PIL was filed, Yadav’s wife has sought a probe into his disappearance as well as the recent rejection of his plea for voluntary retirement.

Sasikala stakes claim to form government Suspense continued tonight over whether VK Sasikala will be sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after she staked claim to form the government at a meeting with Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, who has not yet given any indication as to what course of action he will take.

Hours after caretaker Chief Minister O Panneerselvam visited Rao, Sasikala called on the Governor at Raj Bhavan and gave him the letter staking claim to

form government and containing the names of supporting MLAs who elected her as AIADMK Legislature Party leader on Sunday. She also submitted individual letters of support furnished by AIADMK MLAs. Though there was no immediate word on what the Governor proposed to do, some reports suggested he wanted to obtain further legal opinion before taking any action.

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INDIA

Saturday, February 11, 2017

State poll funding inconsistent with reality The government today said in the Lok Sabha that it was open to all suggestions on political funding but requested the political parties to stop finding problems with the solutions that had been found to address the issue.

Responding to the debate on the Union Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while saying he “was open to discussing state funding of elections” as suggested by the Trinamool Congress, added, “Optimism on state funding arises from the presumption that once state funding is done, elections will only be fought with the money provided by the state and no private money will be used. This presumption is not consistent with the Indian reality.”

Jaitley was responding to TMC MP Saugata Roy’s remarks that elections should be funded by the state and also to BJD leader Bhartruhari

Cinema owner to serve 1-yr jail term over fatal fire

The Supreme Court today ordered Gopal Ansal (68) to surrender in four weeks after it sentenced him to one year in jail for the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy that claimed 59 lives.

A three-Judge Bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, however, refused to review its order regarding Sushil Ansal (77), who was let off after paying a fine of Rs 30 crore in view of his old age and poor health.

The top court had earlier held the Ansal brothers guilty of criminal negligence and fined them Rs 30 crore each but did not sentence them to a jail term beyond the period already spent in Tihar during the trial. In view of his old age and poor health, the court said Sushil would not be sent to jail. It gave the same relief to Gopal on the ground of parity.

By a 2:1 verdict, the Bench today said the principle of parity could not be applied to Gopal as he didn’t have that kind of health problems. Both brothers, owners of Uphaar Cinema in South Delhi, have already paid Rs 30 crore each as fine which is to be used for building a trauma centre.

The period of four months and 20 days for which Gopal remained in jail during the trial is likely to be deducted from the oneyear prison term. Justices Gogoi and Kurian Joseph partially reviewed the earlier order and decided to send Gopal to jail while Justice AK Goyal declined the review.

Association for Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) representative Neelam Krishnamurty, who lost both her children, said: “l should not have come to court. I have already lost faith in the judiciary.” The convict and AVUT have the option of filing a curative petition, the last legal remedy.

Mahtab’s apprehensions on electoral bonds Jaitley announced in his Budget speech earlier.

Reserving the larger debate on political funding until the discussions on the Finance Bill in the next half of the Budget Session starting March 9, Jaitley said, “We welcome any improvements but please don’t suggest problems for every solution. Because otherwise the status quo will continue.”

The FM said in the Budget speech that people will be allowed to buy electoral bonds from banks for grant to political parties. He also said the cash donation limit for parties will be reduced to Rs 2,000, instead of Rs 20,000 in line with the Election Commission’s directives. Jaitley said digital donations to parties was the best form and would revive the system where political workers would volunteer small donations to parties.

27

Gujrat realtor who disclosed Rs 13k cr may go scot-free The Income Tax Department is believed to have taken its hands off the little-known property dealer of Ahmedabad Mahesh Shah who shot into limelight through his sensational disclosure of unaccounted wealth of over Rs 13,860 crore and later backed out without paying even the first of the four tranches of income tax.

Giving an indication that Shah, against whom the department was earlier threatening to launch criminal proceedings, might ultimately go scot-free despite his misleading claims, the department sources pointed out that no case was possible against him under the voluntary Income Declaration Scheme (IDS).

“As far as the department is concerned, the case has reached a dead end. The department has limited legal recourse. Even the IDS clause reads that in case of non-payment of tax on amount declared, the disclosure is nullified and is deemed never to have been

made,” sources said. “The declaration in form thus holds no value and to the best of our understanding, no action can now be initiated against him.”

AAP’s Gujarat unit has ridiculed the department’s inaction against Shah and its refusal to dig into the case further. “This is not just laughable but sad and painful. It is the same department that has approached the EC to derecognise AAP,” an AAP spokesman said.

28

FIJI

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Nadi, Lautoka, Ba and Tavua areas flooded Education Minister Dr. Mahendra Reddy says that all schools will remain open today.

However he says that parents should decide what will be best for their children based on where they live and the location of their school.

Police Officers in the Western Division are urging members of the public to be mindful of their safety in light of the weather situation.

Divisional Police Commander West SSP Marika Kotoisuva is currently in Nadi and has asked people to consider their movements to avoid getting caught in situations that could be a safety threat.

A number of areas in Nadi, Lautoka, Ba and Tavua are flooded this hour.

Nadi Town end area near the Nadi Temple

and Nadi bus stand are now affected by flood waters. Nadi Back Road, San Bruno road, Mate road, Nabila road, Solovi bridge, Qeleloa bridge and Malakua bridge are closed to all traffic.

The water level is also rising rapidly at Navo Bridge.

Police have also confirmed that heavy rain continues in Ba. Busabusa flats, Natutu flats, Nawaqa-rua flats, Votua flats, Vutuni back rd, Namosau rd, Rarawai flats, Varadoli cemetry rd, Vunisamaloa rd, Veisaru Back rd, Moto rd, Mataniqara rd, Itatoko bridge and Toge bridge, Toge flats, Balevuto bridge, Navala bridge, Vutuni bridge and Marini-tawa bridge in Ba are closed to all traffic due to flooding.

Couple ties the knot at Samabula Senior Citizens Home It is a dream come true for 32-year-old Shabnam Nisha and 36-year-old Neel Roop as

they were the first couple to tie the knot at the Senior Citizens Home in Samabula.

Nisha who is a person living with disability since birth has been living in the home for 4 months since her eviction last year and is currently pregnant with their first child.

Speaking at the matrimonial ceremony today, Nisha says that living with a disability is a unique challenge in life and she advised people with disabilities not to put themselves down and to strive for their goals in life.

The couple are bound to move into a HART home provided by the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation, after their marriage.

Parliament passes Bills after heated debate After a heated debate, Parliament passed four important Bills yesterday.

The Bills are: * Public Order Amendment Bill 2017; * Financial Transaction Reporting Amendment Bill 2017; * Workmen’s Compensation Amendment Bill 2017 and * Value-added Tax Amendment Bill 2017 The amendment to the Public Order Act tabled by Mr Sayed-Khaiyum now removes the requirement for a permit when organising or convening a meeting or procession in a public place. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum told Parliament while there would no longer be any requirement for a permit for a meeting in

a public place, a permit would still be required for a meeting organised or convened in a public park or on a public road.

He said the restriction to having permits for meetings only in public parks and public roads ensured that the safety, security and interests of others who used the parks and roads were not affected.

Contrary to the definition of public place, the proposed definition of public park and public road in the Bill only refers to any highway, public street, public road, public park or garden, any sea beach, river bank, public bridge, wharf, jetty, lane, footway, square, court, alley or passage whether a thoroughfare or not.

62-year-old father sentenced to 13 years and 9 months for rape A 62-year-old father has been sentenced to 13 years and nine months imprisonment for raping a 13-yearold girl. While sentencing the man, High Court Judge Justice Vincent Perera says the man had abused his position of authority and trust.

Perera says the man had exploited the victim’s vulnerability.

The first incident happened on the 30th of December, 2011 when the victim was 13-years-old and living with the man’s family in Rotuma.

The non-parole period has been set for 10 years and nine months.

FTA raises serious concern about private cars operating as illegal taxis in the West The Fiji Taxi Association has raised serious concerns about private cars operating as illegal taxis in the Western Division.

General Secretary Rishi Ram says they are providing services 24 hours in the west but if the private cars continue to intervene then this will be difficult for them.

He claims that Minister for Transport, Parveen Bala earlier said that the taxis in the Western Division are not providing services 24 hours and that is why the private cars operate as taxis. Ram says that this is the livelihood of so many taxi drivers and they even provide services

A JOINT investigation involving Fijian, Australian and New Zealand authorities resulted in a high seas sting last week that netted 1.4 tonnes of cocaine worth an estimated $A312 million ($F490m).

According to the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the bust is the biggest ever intercepted

by Australian authorities.

As a result of the sting, six men including a 54-year-old dual Swiss/Fijian national have been charged by the AFP. The dual Swiss/Fijian national was captured with another man on Thursday evening aboard the sailing vessel Elakha that was carrying the cocaine with an estimated weight of 1422 kilograms.

The investigation included support from

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doing anything about them. Meanwhile Bala says that Rishi Ram should ask himself why there are illegal taxis. He says if they look closely at the situation there are illegal taxi operators because there is a gap which the taxi operators are not filling.

$490m drug bust

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5

through mobile or radio telephones. He says these private cars are not even covered under any 3rd Party Policy and the Minister is not

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the New Zealand Customs Service (NZCS), Organised Financial Crime Agency of New Zealand (OFCANZ), the Fijian Transnational Crime Unit, French Polynesian authorities and Australian Border Force (ABF).

It stemmed from intelligence received by the AFP from the NZCS in 2014 about a conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs into Australia.

Police spokesperson Ana Naisoro confirmed Fiji had assisted in the investigation that spanned two-and-a-half years.

“Local authorities from the Fiji Police (Force) and Fiji Navy have been working closely with Australian authorities with regards to this major operation,” Ms Naisoro said.

PAKISTAN

Saturday, February 11, 2017

6.3-magnitude earthquake strikes off Pakistan coast A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Pakistan’s Balochistan province on Wednesday, but there were no reports of casualties.

According to the meteorological department, the quake struck at 3:04 AM (local time), with the epicentre 23-km southwest of the coastal town of Pasni at a depth of 10-km. Officials said that so far no losses have been reported from the area, but they were assessing the situation.

“The epicentre of the quake was 90 kilometres south of the town of Turbat which is just off the coast and the depth was just below the seabed,” an official of the Pakistan Meteorological Department said.

The tremor was felt in the strategic port of Gwadar, where China has invested heavily

in developing a port linked to the USD 46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), as well as Makran and Pasni areas of Balochistan.

The quake struck Pakistan, just two days after a moderate intensity earthquake measuring 5.8 on Richter Scale hit north India, tremors of which were felt in Delhi, followed by another quake on Tuesday measuring 3.6 in Uttarakhand.

Earlier, Reema Zuberi of National Disaster Management Authority had confirmed quake of 6.6 magnitude.

Dawn reported that Commissioner of Makran Division Bashir Bangulzai said that a complete survey of the Makran division had been conducted and no damage or casualties were found.

Fighter jets escort Pakistani plane to London’s Stansted Airport A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight was escorted to London’s Stansted Airport by fighter jets on Tuesday after after

a passenger became disruptive, police and the British military said.

The air force said RAF Typhoon jets were launched from an eastern England air base

Tuesday afternoon, and that the plane “was intercepted and safely escorted to Stansted Airport,” north of the British capital.

Stansted said the plane was a Pakistan International Airlines flight from Lahore bound for London’s Heathrow Airport.

Essex Police said that the diversion was due to a “disruptive passenger.” It said officers were speaking to people on the plane and the airport remained open.

The force said “this is not believed to be a hijack situation or terror matter.”

The airport said the plane was likely to continue its journey to Heathrow once police had finished their inquiries.

Saudi Arabia deports 39,000 Pakistanis in 4 months over visa violations Some 39,000 Pakistani nationals have been deported from Saudi Arabia in the past four months for visa violations even as a top security official has ordered a “thorough scrutiny” of Pakistanis allowed in to the Kingdom amid concern that some of them could be IS sympathisers.

Saudi Arabia deported about 39,000 Pakistanis from the Kingdom in the past four months for violating the rules of residence and work, Saudi Gazette reported on Tuesday, quoting informed security sources as saying. The sources also told the paper that the involvement of a number of Pakistani nationals in some terrorist actions orchestrated by Daesh, the so-called Islamic State, is a cause of public and societal worry. They said a number of Pakistanis were held in the crimes of drug trafficking, thefts, forgery and physical assault. Against this backdrop, Abdullah AlSadoun, chairman of the security committee of the Shoura Council, called for “thoroughly scrutinizing” the Pakistanis before they are recruited for work in the Kingdom. He asked for more closer coordination with the concerned authorities in Pakistan to thoroughly check those coming to work in the Kingdom due to the involvement of a number of Pakistanis in security issues, the report said.

Pakistan could be included in immigration ban list in future, says White House Sadoun said the political and religious inclinations of the Pakistanis coming to work in the Kingdom should be known to both sides before they are recruited for work.

“Pakistan itself is plagued with terrorism due to its close proximity with Afghanistan.

The Taliban extremist movement was itself born in Pakistan,” he said.

Meanwhile, according to Nafithat Tawasul (communications window) of the Interior Ministry, they are 82 Pakistani suspects of

terror and security issues who are currently held in intelligence prisons.

According to the report, as many as 15 Pakistanis, including a woman, were nabbed following the recent terrorist operations in AlHarazat and Al-Naseem districts in Jeddah.

The ministry recalled that last Ramadan, Abdullah Ghulzar Khan, a Pakistani, exploded himself at the car park of Dr. Soliman Fakheeh Hospital near the US consulate in Jeddah.

He lived in the Kingdom for 12 years with his wife and her parents. He had arrived in Saudi Arabia on a private driver’s visa.

Last year, the security forces had foiled a terrorist operation in which two Pakistanis, a Syrian and a Sudanese were held for plotting to explode Al-Jawhara Stadium in Jeddah where more than 60,000 spectators were gathered to watch a soccer match between the national teams of the Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

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PUNJAB

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Slight rise in turnout in re-polling Repolling was today held at 48 polling stations of five Punjab Assembly segments.

Barring Majitha, all Assembly segments saw a marginal increase in the number of votes polled. Sangrur recorded a turnout of 81.09 per cent, up by 0.88 per cent, elevating the

district from the fifth to the third spot in poll percentage.

In Muktsar, the polling was 83.07 per cent compared to 82.9 per cent on February 4. In Sardulgarh and Moga, where a booth in each of these segments saw re-polling, the change in percenatge was insignificant.

Repolling at Booth No. 145 of the Moga Assembly constituency saw 81.26 per cent voter turnout against 76.84 per cent on February 4. In Korwala village of Sardulgarh, there was an increase of seven votes compared

to the total 1,142 votes polled on February 4.

It recorded 90.33 per cent votes compared to 89.8 per cent on February 4.

However, in Majitha, the voting percentage saw a marginal fall — from 78.77 per cent to 78.57 per cent.

While in Sardulgarh re-polling was ordered owing to a defect in EVMs, it was malfunctioning voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) electronic voting machines on February 4 that necessitated a repoll at other polling stations.

Defective VVPAT machines had interrupted polling in at least 45 polling stations in the Majitha, Muktsar and Sangrur Assembly segments. Election Commission officials said only seven VVPAT machines had developed a snag during mock polling this time.

“Four machines in Majitha, two in Muktsar and one in Sangrur developed snags. All of them were replaced well before polling at 8 am”, said a senior official. There were no reports of violence.

In Majitha, Cabinet Minister and SAD candidate Bikram Singh Majithia is locked in a keen contest against Congress and AAP candidates Sukhjinder Raj Singh Lali and Himmat Singh Shergill.

CAG questions free flights for babas and leaders Free flights for “babas” and politicians in helicopters at the exchequer’s cost may cost dear to the Badal government, as the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has written to the Department of Civil Aviation to explain the public interest behind the rides.

Sources said that following the scrutiny of the department’s records, the CAG has noticed that the department utilised the aircraft/helicopters for its VIPs, VVIPS and state-honoured guests from May 1, 2013, to January 31, 2016, without mentioning the purpose of the journey — whether it was in public interest or for personal use.

The CAG said expenditure on flights was Rs 26 crore in around three years — Rs 25 crore on hired helicopters and Rs 1 crore on the

state-owned helicopter.

In its communication to the state’s Director, Civil Aviation, the CAG specified to the department that every journey by VVIPs and VIPs of the state government in the public transport should be in the public interest. It also said the utilisation of the aircraft shouldn’t be for personal purpose.

Earlier in its complaint, AAP’s RTI Cell — on which the CAG acted — had alleged that the purpose of flight in the bills as well as in the logbooks of the helicopters had been left blank. The helicopter made 68 trips to take Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal to their native village Badal in Muktsar district and 43 trips to their farmhouse in Haryana’s Balasar village.

UAD to raise Golden Temple replica row United Akali Dal (UAD) leaders today announced to raise the issue of a Golden Temple replica at Mastuana Sahib, Sangrur, in the upcoming Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) elections. It will also start a protest march in Punjab. In 2009, the Akal Takht had directed the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to get changes done in the design of the replica and fill the sarovar (tank) with sand.

“The Takht also directed the SGPC to remove the bridge and change the rooftop design. But neither the Mastuana gurdwara authorities nor the SGPC took the issue seriously. The Takht edict has not been

implemented completely,” alleged Jathedar Parshotam Phaguwala, state general secretary of UAD, after a meeting of party leaders here. Phaguwala said they had decided to distribute literature in New Delhi to expose the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders and the SGPC. “We are also planning to start protests across the state after our state-level executive committee meeting this week in Jalandhar,” he said.

After an inspection, a probe panel of the SGPC in 2009 had alleged that the Mastuana Sahib sect was trying to replicate Sikhism’s holiest shrine. On its report, the Akal Takht Jathedar had issued a ‘hukamnama’.

Re-poll peaceful at 48 booths in Punjab Re-polling at 48 polling stations of the Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency and the five Assembly segments went peacefully on Thursday with no untoward incident being reported. Brisk voting was witnessed in the re-poll which was ordered following malfunctioning in VVPATs and EVMs during the February 4 elections.

Most of the polling stations where the repoll was held registered a healthy turnout.

However, at some polling booths in Majitha Assembly the re-poll percentage registered a slight drop, varying between 2-10 percentage points.

The combined average of the re-polling

booths in Amritsar district stood at over 76 per cent.

Muktsar (nearly 90 per cent), Sangrur (85.68 per cent), Sardulgarh (over 90 per cent)

and Moga (81.26 per cent) registered healthy voting percentage.

8 injured as 6 vehicles pile up on Delhi-Ludhiana road Eight people were injured as six vehicles piled up due to fog on the Delhi-Ludhiana national highway on Thursday morning.

Six people were admitted to Sidhu Hospital in Doraha, and two were referred to Appollo Hospital in Ludhiana. The pile-up was reported near Rajgarh Bridge at Doraha.

The vehicles involved in the collision were a roadways bus, two Innovas, an Ertiga, a Scorpio and an Indica. Police have reached the spot.

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FRUITICANA

Saturday, February 11, 2017

1

Saturday, February 11, 2017 Saturday, February 11, 2017

Mind Your Own F****ng Business

Social media gives us an opportunity to take a peek at the personal lives of our films stars. Be it an American pop star posing nude while pregnant or a Bollywood star flaunting her gym-honed bod in a bikini, we are all praise for the displays.

But the double standards start when the ladies of the small screen do the same. They too have tens of thousands of followers on social media, be it Instagram

or Twitter, but as soon as they post a picture which shows off even a hint of skin, the trolls come out. Because they play conservative women on TV, they are expected to be pallu-clad and coy in real life too. And when a young TV star decides to sport a bikini for a photoshoot or in real life, they face vile abuse on social media and the word ‘slut’, is thrown around a lot. The time is right to talk to people who matter in this controversy.

SRK BEATS Salman and Akshay to become the Best Actor of 2016 While 2016 has already ended, the awards season for the year has just begun. While a few awards shows have already taken place, a couple of them

will take place over the next few weeks.

We have saw quite a few power packed performances last year, especially from Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Shahid Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan and Sushant Singh Rajput. But who was the Best Actor of 2016 according to you? Well, we got to tell you that we got a huge response for all of you and throughout the last month, the stars have been interchanging their positions in the poll. Out of the six nominees we had given, fans chose Shah Rukh Khan as the Best Actor of 2016!

48/200 Girls Shortlisted For B-Town’s New Hottie, Karan Deol Sunny Deol, who is all set to launch his son, Karan Deol, in Bollywood, is busy auditioning young girls –17-19 years old -- to star opposite him (Karan) in his debut film.

The venture goes on floors later this month and will be produced under Sunny’s home banner, Vijeta Films.

We hear, out of the 200 girls that auditioned for the part, 48 have been shortlisted. Sunny will now audition the selected candidates to finally zero in on one.

Says a source, “Both papa Sunny and grandfather Dharmendra are extremely involved in the project. Once Sunny

shortlists candidates, he brings their videos home to consult Dharmendra. They are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that they pick the right girl.”

Adds the source, “Karan will join Sunny once he has shortlisted 10 girls who could play his love interest in the film.”

While it is being rumoured that the film will be titled Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas (a famous song picturised on Dharmendra and Raakhee in Blackmail), there is no official announcement from the Deols in that regard.

Sunny is clear that he will choose a girl from Delhi since the film is largely based in and around the Capital.

After Going Nude In A Bathtub, Ileana Strikes Another Objectionable Pose?

Ileana D’Cruz has been an outspoken champion of body positivity and recently grabbed headlines after she posed nude in the bathtub for a series of portraits by boyfriend, photographer Andrew Kneebone.

The Barfi! actress is at it again. She is back with another pose, this time with her boyfriend.

Ileana captioned it as: “Shameless & I refuse to change.”

And it looks like she is daring the trolls to spew venom again.

When trolls questioned her, she hit back at them. Ileana is currently shooting for Mubarakan opposite Arjun

Kapoor. The film also stars Anil Kapoor, and Suniel Shetty’s daughter Athiya who made her Bollywood debut in Salman Khan produced Hero which was directed

by Nikhil Advani. Ileana’s other release

this year will be Ajay Devgn starrer Baadshaho.

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BREAK-UP SONG Saturday, February 11, 2017 FOR V-DAY »P18

mid-day

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Thursday 09.02.2017

Bollywood

Big B leads star alumni to renovate college audi Top Bollywood guns unite to pool in R7 crore to fund Delhi alma mater Kirori Mal’s crumbling theatre

Ranveer’s rapper doppelganger Naezy roped in to script dialogues for film inspired by his life MOHAR BASU mohar.basu@mid-day.com

(From left) Ali Abbas Zafar, Amitabh Bachchan and Satish Kaushik at the alumni meet of Kirori Mal College in Juhu yesterday. Also present at the event were filmmakers Kabir Khan and Vijay Krishna Acharya. PIC/SNEHA KHARABE Continued from page 1 RECENTLY, veteran actor-filmmaker Satish Kaushik, an alumnus of the college, got the industry’s top guns to pitch in for their alma mater’s renovation. “It was disheartening to see the auditorium in a dilapidated state. Some time ago, the college [authorities] decided to raze it. I spoke to the current principal about it and we decided to raise funds,” he explains.

The first name that came to Kaushik’s mind was that of Bachchan’s. “He is our torch bearer and was gracious enough to lend support [to the initiative]. In fact, it was Amitji who came up with the idea of making a video with the star

alumni appealing for funds. He also agreed to visit the college in April,” he informs.

The cost of renovation is pegged at R7 crore, and the college has hired a renowned architect for the purpose. The design has been finalised too. “We plan to convert it into a state-of-the-art auditorium and name it after one of our professors, Frank Thakurdas, who was instrumental in shaping our careers.

We also intend to raise money through other means. Proceeds from some of my plays in Delhi will go into rebuilding the theatre. I have also requested Anupam Kher to do the same.”

At an event held in the city yesterday, Bachchan revealed he has donated R51 lakh to the cause. “I studied science at Kirori Mal from 1959-62, but Prof Thakurdas, who taught us English, encouraged me to pursue theatre. Those years of learning have stayed with me and help me till date. I have seen the condition of the theatre where I performed and it is really sad. That’s why we have joined hands to resurrect it.”

Sultan director Ali Abbas Zafar, who also graduated from Kirori Mal, says, “Our professor, Keval Arora, has been addressing this issue for a while and we want to assure them [authorities] that we are joining in.”

Zafar has planned a few musical shows to garner funds: “The music of all three of my films (Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Gunday and Sultan) is popular. I am requesting artistes to come together for a concert of sorts at the college to raise funds.”

(2015) and saw the video of my song, Aafat. She was surprised that Mumbai slums have so much I AM feeling blessed,” says rapper talent. Our first meeting was at Naezy. His rags-to-riches story has Blue Frog in Lower Parel (shut been widely reported, and re- since last August) where we were cently, got Bollywood interested. performing for MTV Indies (off air Naezy aka Naved Shaikh is a gully since last September). A common rapper from a Kurla slum on friend, Ankur Tiwari, arranged a whom Zoya Akhtar’s next project few more meetings,” he reveals.

Zoya then happened to watch a is based.

“I have been working on this documentary titled Bombay 70 project for the past 18 months. based on Naezy and decided to Zoya first heard of me while she make a film on him, he says, was editing Dil Dhadakne Do adding, “Zoya also met the documentary’s director to discuss the basic plot. She and I had heart-to-heart chats on my journey; she wanted to crack the ambience of my slum. I was shocked when Zoya came visiting, because she makes movies about rich people (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Dil Dhakadne Do). She also met my friends to understand my background.”

Though Naezy is yet to read the script’s final draft, he has daunting tasks ahead of him. Zoya, he says, wants him to pen dialogues and train

‘I like the guy.

He is versatile. I have no doubts that he can effortlessly play an emperor in Padmavati and a rapper in this film’ Rapper Naezy on Ranveer

‘I have seen the condition of the theatre where I performed and it is really sad. That’s why we have joined hands to resurrect it’ Amitabh Bachchan, who has donated R51 lakh

Feb

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Alif

*ing: Neelima Azeem, Hussain Bhavna

Feb

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Jolly LLB 2

*ing: Akshay Kumar, Huma Qureshi

New Released Bollywood Films Feb Irada

Ranveer to get the body language and diction right. “The dialogues are in Hindi and English, but once we are on board, we will help turn it the way we speak. She also intends to retain some of my original tracks in the film. Ankur will supervise the music.”

The 25-year-old has met Ranveer quite a few times and is glad that the actor has promoted him on multiple platforms. “I like the guy. We worked together for a song in Hey Bro (2015). He is a versatile actor and I have no doubts that he can effortlessly play an emperor in Padmavati and a rapper in this film.”

He admits he was perturbed about lending his story to the big screen. “I didn’t want the film to become a dramatic mess. I shared my worries with Zoya and she explained that there is bound to be some fiction in the narrative. [But] I am certain this film will change the way hip-hop is perceived in India. Here, it has a negative image because of mainstream artistes.

Originally, it isn’t about passing lewd comments at women. My focus is on bringing about a change in society and mindsets.”

As a parting shot, he says the film is only the beginning. “I have my own battles to fight —convincing parents to pursue this art. But, I know I have found my calling.”

17

*ing: Arshad Warsi, Naseeruddin Shah

Feb

17

The Ghazi Attack *ing: Rana Daggubati, Taapsee Pannu

Feb

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Runningshaadi *ing: Amit Sadh, Taapsee Pannu

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Bollywood

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Will Shraddha Return To Yash Raj Films With Thugs Of Hindostan?

Shraddha is shortlisted for YRF’s next with Aamir Khan. If she signs the dotted line, Shraddha will finally star in a Yash Raj Film after her fallout with Aditya Chopra.

Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Chopra’s equation has a history attached to it. But before we resurface on that, know the latest development which concerns both of them.

Shraddha Kapoor has been shortlisted as the leading lady for YRF’s next ventureThugs Of Hindostan starring Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan.

As of now, there are 4 to 5 heroines in the race- one of them is Shraddha Kapoor. This list also includes an A-list actress, Vaani Kapoor and a few newcomers.

We hear that Shraddha gave a look test for the film a few days back which was reportedly liked a lot by the film’s director Victor, Aamir and ALSO Aditya Chopra.

That’s how Shraddha got shortlisted.

If she gets finalised and Shraddha accepts the offer, this will be her first Yash Raj Film after she had a fallout with the company’s head honcho-Aditya Chopra.

You may recall that Shraddha walked out of a 3-film deal with YRF to sign Mohit Suri’s Aashiqui 2. It was definitely a gamble worth it, but it soured her equation with the YRF scion. Adi was upset to such an extent that he refused to produce Shaad Ali’s OK Jaanu, which featured Shraddha as the female lead. It was then produced by

Jhanvi Kapoor BANNED from clicking selfies!

Sridevi is extremely protective of her daughters Jhanvi and Khushi. The actress has been taking keen interest in grooming her young girls, who are Bollywood ready.

Sridevi has now issued a new diktat to her betis and apparently they cannot click/post any selfies. Yes, a source close to the Kapoors informed that Sridevi has asked Jhanvi and Khushi to stop posting selfies on social media. Well, which means that we might now stop seeing some candid clicks of the young Kapoor gals on Instagram. In fact, after we spoke to our source we went on to check out Jhanvi Kapoor’s pictures on social media and realised that indeed the lady has stopped posting selfies, now her Instagram account is filled with proper clicks that almost look like photoshoot pictures. Well, buzz was that Karan Johar was supposed to launch Jhanvi alongside Tiger Shroff in Student Of The Year sequel. It was also said that Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh’s daughter Sara Ali Khan was in the running for this movie. However, news soon died down and we now hear that KJo plans to introduce Jhanvi and Shahid Kapoor’s brother Ishaan Khattar in Sairat‘s Hindi version.

Dharma production along with Mani Ratnam.

However, for the longest time Shraddha was living in a dream world thinking that Adi was fine with her, simply because YRF hadn’t raised any objection against her using their gym.

But then, last year YRF tweeted birthday wishes for Shraddha and we are sure they would have uploaded it after Adi’s approval

which hinted that Aditya has finally forgiven Shraddha.

So now, if she stars in Thugs Of Hindostan, this will be Shraddha’s first proper YRF film.

She has earlier starred in Luv Ka The End in 2011 which was a Y-Films production (subsidiary of Yash Raj Films), although this was before she had rubbed Aditya Chopra the wrong way.

Let’s wait and watch, who wins the race to star opposite Aamir Khan in Thugs Of Hindostan.

4

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Bollywood Horoscope

New CAT FIGHT In Bollywood:

Aries

Libra

March 21 - April 20

Sept. 24 - Oct 22

Refuse to get involved in idle chatter; it will only make you look bad. You can get others to do things for you but be sure not to overpay them or lend them money. You are best to look into investments that will grow in value over an extended period of time. Sudden changes of heart may cause disruptions in your domestic scene.

Your lucky day this week will be Tuesday.

They didn’t fully under stand what was expected. Don’t make any rash decisions that may affect friendships. Be sure to get involved with those who can introduce you to unusual forms of entertainment. You will be highly sensitive to comments made by your lover.

Your lucky day this week will be Monday.

Taurus

Scorpio

April 21 - May 20

Oct 23 - Nov 22

Your irritability may drive your loved ones crazy. If your lover tries to curtail your freedom, it may lead to conflict. You may have problems with skin, bones, or teeth if you haven’t been taking proper care of yourself. Move forward if you want to turn your life around.

Your lucky day this week will be Saturday.

You’ll find you’re detail oriented this week. It’s time you let your true feelings out. Your outgoing nature will surprise others this week. Don’t let your emotional upset interfere with your professional objectives.

Your lucky day this week will be Friday.

Gemini

Sagitarius

May 20 - June 21

Nov 23 - Dec 22

Take time to talk things over. Travel for business or pleasure. You can expect your mate to get fed up and make the choices for you or back off completely. Opportunities for new romantic encounters will unfold through the social events you attend. Use your energy wisely.

Your lucky day this week will be Wednesday.

Do your chores and get on with the things you enjoy doing. Leave your checkbook and credit cards at home. You must not let fellow workers take advantage of your fine talents. It might be time to shake a leg and do a personal makeover.

Your lucky day this week will be Wednesday.

Cancer

Capricorn

June 22 - July 23

Dec 23 - Jan 20

You will have problems with coworkers if you are too extreme about doing things perfectly. Your pursuits may end up being fruit less. You will meet potential new mates through friends or relatives. Your ability to help others will win you points.

Your lucky day this week will be Friday.

Leo

Your ability to converse with charm will entice someone you may have had an interest in for some time now. You will have problems with coworkers if you are too extreme about doing things perfectly.

Payoff all your debts before you go out and celebrate. Stick to your own projects and by the end of the day you’ll shine.

Aquarius

June 24 - August 23

Jan 21 - Feb 19

You can make financial gains if you are prepared to take a risk. Discord may arise with someone you’re close to. Sooner or later your partner will have had enough.

Your attitudes are changing rapidly.

Your lucky day this week will be Saturday.

Virgo

Property investments, insurance, taxes, or inheritance should bring you financial gains. Expect to have more people on your domestic scene. Opposition is present and you should be prepared to counteract it as best you can. Partnerships will be favorable and contracts can be signed.

Your lucky day this week will be Monday.

Pisces

August 24 - Sept 24

Feb 20 - March 20

Be careful not to overexert yourself. New interests are preoccupying your time. Catch up on your reading and correspondence.

Sudden changes concerning coworkers may surprise you.

Your lucky day this week will be Tuesday.

A female colleague may cause problems for you. You will not be able to trust someone you work with. Your talents might just be discovered. Purchases will be well worth it and they will last a long time.

Your lucky day this week will be Thursday.

Esha Gupta Vs Adah Sharma Vidyut Jammwal’s Commando 2 is in news for all the wrong reasons as the villain of the film Freddy Daruwala got a little too drunk at Sophie Choudry’s birthday bash at Manish Malhotra’s house. His antics grew louder by the second. While initially everyone around seemed to be entertained by his histrionics, it became annoying after a while.

Freddy kept downing drinks until he couldn’t stand still forcing the guests to keep everything aside and take care of Freddy. Not cool!

And today this film is in news again for a wrong reason! We hear that the leading ladies of the film Esha Gupta and Adah Sharma are not getting along too well! And between the two, Esha is the unhappy soul!

Esha Gupta is not pleased with the promotional strategy of the film. Esha feels she is hardly being put on the forefront during promotions.

Interestingly, the new song from the film, Hare Ram Hare Krishna, shows Adah Sharma more prominently than Esha. We also hear that Esha felt, in most of the shots

Adah was the highlight while she was at the back foot.

Fair enough Esha! After all, this long-

legged lass has done more films than Adah. She has worked with some big names from the industry including Akshay Kumar in Rustom. So, one tends to feel awkward in such situations.

Commando 2 is an action film, directed

by Deven Bhojani and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. The film is a sequel to the 2013 film Commando. The film is scheduled to release on March 3.

Disha Patani DROPPED From SOTY 2, Sara Ali Khan To Romance Tiger After months of considering a number of actors for the sequel of his 2012 high school romance drama, Student Of The Year (SOTY), Karan Johar had finally zeroed in on Tiger Shroff, Disha Patani and TV actress Tara Sutaria.

However, SOTY 2 will see a change of cast. While Tiger will play the male lead, his girlfriend, Disha Patani is no more a part of the film. We hear, Tara is also unlikely to make it to the final cut.

The hunt for the second girl has restarted.

What caused the celebrated filmmaker to change his mind, you ask?

Well, buzz is, after speculations of Sara Ali Khan’s debut project opposite Hrithik Roshan taking time to kick-off, Amrita Singh had a chat with Karan a few days ago. Amrita expressed to Karan that she is keen that her daughter is launched by the filmmaker.

And now, we hear that Disha and Tara will not be doing the film.

Says a source, “Naturally, Disha is disappointed. She had kept a chunk of dates aside for SOTY 2 and may now have an

empty date diary.”

This is not the first time that the M.S. Dhoni actress has been ousted from a

project. She had earlier lost out on Tiger Shroff and Shradhha Kapoor-starrer Baaghi 2.

On the other hand, it’s a big moment for Sara Ali Khan who is now gearing up for the sequel to SOTY, the first part of which had propelled Alia, Sidharth and Varun to stardom.

Bollywood personalities’ birthdays

Sherlyn Chopra February 11

Mohnish behl February 14

Randhir Kapoor February 15

Arunoday singh February 16

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Eshwar Shakti

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Saturday, February 11, 2017

Movie Review

Jolly LLB 2: A Bollywood Entertainer Of A Rebel With A Cause Law and behold. The judge out here is as sweet as choc-o-fudge, his expresssionless wonder of an attendant never does budge.

And there are scattershot moments when – vis-à -vis the court’s cleanliness and general orderliness, our nyayadhish goes wink-winknudge-nudge.

Needless to add, the jocose judge of State vs Jolly LLB 2, written-directed by Subash Kapoor, is the show-stealer of the second edition of the thodasa jolly ho jaaye franchise.

Niiice. The BIG question though is whether the encore piece is as compelling and cracklingly crisp as the first outing of Jollywood.

Nope, sob and sigh, it isn’t.

However, if you’re the sort who abhors odious comparisons, here’s a 148-minuter which is surely a notch or two above the commonplace. After all, it has something purposeful to state, besides

moving at a fairly brisk clip. Hurray, hip hip.

A wrap-up speechlet informs you that the ratio between pending court cases and the man-power to judge them is woefully

abysmal. Got that, thank you. Trolley over, then, to a mohalla of courts and tin-shed chambers. Since it’s Lucknow, there’s much

paan chewing, banter about kababs, and uh oh khullam khulla cheating at school examinations. In this milieu, apna Jolly (Akshay Kumar), born to a clerk, can neither bite nor bark, never mind his certified lawyer’s degree.

Eeeee.

Of indeterminate age, Jolly-ho commits a grave error and is pricked by that thorn called conscience. Now, he must redeem himself by winning the case of a lifetime, involving terrorist activities (which means a quickie trip to Kashmir under snow), handling a whisky-swigging wife (Huma Qureshi, disappointingly vapid) who longs to wear Gucci outfits.

Other activities entail bathing a tubby son, enduring a nightmare straight out of a horror flick and assuring a rather confused dad about how there’s always a light-bulb at the end of a tunnel. All work, no play (unless you count a Holi splash), by now, are getting your goatee. Ho-ho-hum.

Gratifyingly the second-half gets to the nitty-gritty of the subject, grabbing you by the collar. Jolly assumes the responsibilty of a rebel with a cause, especially during the extended finale where there must be ‘khoon ka khoon and paani ka paani’ once and for all.

Jolly’s opposing lawyer, a smoothie shake (Annu Kapoor) pulls out every vile trick in the book to defend a creepier than a snake police officer (Kumud Mishra). Next: believe it or faint a dharna ensues in the grungy courtroom. And chances of fair justice are as remote as a business class air-trip to the

moon.

To avoid spoilers suffice it to say, the penultimate scenes and even the end vignette are a zinger. All quite entertainingly and plausibly done. Caution: don’t expect the hard realism of the Marathi film Courtroom or Saeed Mirza’s Mohan Joshi Haazir Ho here. Thoroughly at home in the la la land of a fantasy world, director Subhash Kapoor uses the Bollywood matrix to make his points on the the Kafkaesque legal system effectively enough.

On the minus side, the music score is nothing to hum-de-hum about. Anil Mohile’s background score often shouts for volume control. And the cinematography is so overlit on occasion that your reach for your dark glasses (not Gucci).

Excessive references are needlessly made to Bollywood to raise a titter. Seriously, do you expect even the zaniest lawyer to ask someone in the dock, “So when do you think Salman Khan will get married?� And hello Alia Bhatt is referred to a lovable brand of Madhubala, Madhuri Dixit and more. Cute? Hardly.

Overwhelmingly, insights are offered not only into legalese (a menu card offers rates for getting the grossly guilty off the hook) but also into quite a few aspects of trifling with the scourge of terrorism. Doubtlessly, there’s a storyline with a firm spine here.

Over to the acting quotient. Akshay Kumar is absolutely inspired and believable. Fingers crossed that the actor won’t return to those rowdy rascala type of brain-marauders. Annu Kapoor as the quicksilver tongued-lawyer is perfect-o. And there’s a wonderfully-nuanced cameo by Sayani Gupta, as a young Muslim woman driven to despair. Hopefully, Ms Gupta is here to stay.

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Saturday, February 11, 2017

Chicken Biryani

Ingredients - 1 Basmati rice - 3 cups Chicken- 1 lb (1/2 kg) Onion -1 large/2 small Tomato - 2 ( finely chopped or crushed) Ginger garlic paste -1 tsp Coriander leaves - ¼ cup (finely chopped) Mint leaves - ¼ cup (finely chopped) Green chillies - 5 no’s (finely chopped) Oil -3 tbsp Ghee - 3 tbsp Yoghurt -1/4 cup Water Coconut milk mixture - 4.5 cups Salt - to taste Chilly powder - 2 tsp ( or as needed) Fennel Powder - 2 tbsp Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp Ingredients-2 ( For Marination) Salt - ¼ tsp Lemon juice /Yoghurt - 2 tblsp Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Cumin Powder - 1 tsp Garam Masala - 1 tsp Pepper powder - ½ tsp Chilly Powder - 1 tsp Ginger garlic paste -1 tsp Garam Masala Bay leaf - 2 Cinnamon - 4 Star Anise - 2 Cloves -5 Cardamom -3 Method In a heavy deep vessel/ pressure cooker heat oil and ghee together. Once it gets heated up, add the whole garam masala. You can grind the garam masala and add it if you do not like whole masala coming in your mouth.

Slowly add onions along with chopped green chillies.

When onions turn slightly brown and crispy add ginger garlic paste, chopped coriander and mint leaves.

Next add tomatoes and sauté for a while till the oil separates.

Now add marinated chicken along with turmeric powder, chilly powder, fennel powder, yoghurt and salt. Sauté everything for 5-10 minutes until it thickens to a gravy consistency.

Foodie

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26 HITLIST

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Bollywood

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Quantico to go off air?

Friday, February 10, 2017 | www.mid-day.com | twitter.com/mid_day | epaper.mid-day.com

FESTIVE CHEER

The 67th Berlin International Film Festival kicked off yesterday. Gurinder

Chaddha’s Viceroy’s House, Saturday, February 11,starring 2017Huma Qureshi and late Om Puri, premieres on February 12. The film is an official selection

Waiting in the wings Shah Rukh Khan often speaks about daughter Suhana’s acting skills and her theatrical aspirations. During promotions of Raees, he had told hitlist, “Suhana has expressed her desire to become an actor, but she needs to complete her education first. I have often told her that she will have to work five times harder than me, get paid 10 times lesser than I do and will require a lot of patience and perseverance to be successful.”

It seems Suhana is pursuing her dream, dedicatedly.

A video from the teenager’s school drama went viral recently. A modern twist on the fairy tale, Cinderella, it has Suhana play an ambitious wannabe actress, showing a range of expressions. It won’t be long before she makes her debut.

Looks like it is the end of the road for Priyanka Chopra’s debut TV series, Quantico. Or is it?

The Cancel Bear, a television ratings tracking system in the US, has slotted the show in the ‘likely to be cancelled’ category. Quantico, which had a rating of 0.76, was moved to the Monday slot last month.

However, the ratings have dipped further. The Cancel Bear states, “Quantico probably won’t move much higher than its current ratings this season.

It is what it is at this point, and that’s a show ABC should cut ties with at season’s end.”

Beijing buzz Yesterday, Deepika Padukone was in Beijing, China, for the premiere of her debut Hollywood film, XXX: Return of Xander Cage with co-star Vin Diesel and director DJ Caruso. Dippy chose a white halter-neck gown.

Vin, on the other hand, decided to tog up in his trademark Xander Cage fur coat. The film has reportedly done a worldwide business of $152 million. Time to score in China now.

Sweat under the sky Show of hands Farhan Akhtar buried himself under sand while filming The Fakir of Venice. He did not want to use a body double since he wanted to experience what it feels like although only his hands would show.

Mohenjo Daro (2016) actress Pooja Hegde hardly, if ever, gives workout a miss. She believes the world is her gym. She made time for a quick workout session in the woods of Ooty, where she is shooting for an ad.

Be on top of celebrity gossip with www.mid-day.com

TELLY TATTLE

One-take show for Khiladi Akshay Kumar was on the set of comedy show, Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hai, to promote his next. The cast and crew were awestruck seeing him deliver shots in a single take.

Apparently, the shoot was supposed to go on for 12 hours, but got over in two hours flat. A unit hand says, “The crew was ready for a 12hour shoot, but Akshay delivered his lines so well that it was done quickly. He even gave tips to the actors.” Shubhangi Atre, who plays Angoori on the show, says, “We have seen Akshay on screen, and heard stories of how he works. I am glad we got to see that in

SuShant, chumma de de real life. He taught me a lot in just a few hours.” Being a morning person, the star was keen to get done with the shoot by noon, and he ensured that. Attaboy!

Sushant Singh Rajput (left) prefers to blow kisses than shake a leg during a song shoot for Raabta in Amritsar yesterday.

Rumoured ladylove Kriti Sanon is his co-star in the movie, which will mark producer Dinesh Vijan’s directorial debut. PIC/PTI

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Saturday, February 11, 2017

Entertainment

9

The Real & Inspirational Story Behind Roger Federer’s Comeback From Injury To Win The Australian Open Roger Federer’s sensational comeback to professional tennis will be remembered as one of the finest moments of the open era. Not only did he overcome a massive mental block but also nursed his already deteriorating knee to be fit for the first grand slam of the year.

At 35, Federer is rewriting the rules of the game which heavily favors the young and agile with incredible speed and reflexes. In a recent interview with Time magazine, Federer shed some light on how his comeback was successful and what actually went into preparations for this season.

“The knee was screaming for a rest. That’s when I made the tough decision [to end his season], and we started doing rehab, with quad exercises. I eased into fitness, a little running, a little side shuffling, a little sprinting. And eventually you can do more and more hours a day, more days in a row, and eventually I got into tennis,” Federer explained.

Fitness is an integral part of modern tennis and Federer, having rediscovered his form lately, is now totally immersed in understanding what aspects of his physical self need to be developed to compete with younger players.

“We’re mixing

fitness and tennis. And at the end of October we were going kind of full out already, but in short bursts of time, not too long, not too many days in a row, always a sufficient break. Because I took six months off, I actually had sufficient time to get through all the processes we were looking forward to. Then at the end, all of December, I was going all out. It was just being clever with my scheduling, making sure I’m not getting hurt,” said Federer.

While Nadal had a better record against Federer in grand slam finals, this Australian Open saw a different

man turn up at the Rod Laver arena and most of it has to do with Federer’s improved mental strength. “My mental toughness has always been overshadowed by my virtuosity,

my shot-making, my technique, my grace. That’s why when I lose, it seems like, “Oh, he didn’t play so well.” And when I win, it looks so easy. I had that already when I was a little boy.

You know, “Why don’t you try harder?” I mean, honestly I tried everything that I possibly could. Just because I don’t sweat like crazy and I don’t grunt, I don’t have this face on when I hit the shot like I’m in pain, doesn’t mean I’m not trying hard. It’s just how I play. Sorry,” Federer told Time.

It’ll be an interesting season with Federer and Nadal both back in the running for grand slam titles. And now we’ll see whether Djokovic and Murray raise their game to match these all-time greats.

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Saturday, February 11, 2017

Classifieds JOBS

JOBS Mechanic

Nanny Required We need a nanny or a student to take care of our old mother immediately at our Richmond home.

Salary will be based on experience. Resident will be provided If required.

Please call :604-2703875 ------------- Dec 31-2016 Vacancy for Diesel Mechanic A trucking company, Planet Pride Logistics, located at 11411 Shell Road, Richmond BC V7A3W7 has immediate vacancies for Diesel

Job Title: Diesel Mechanic Number of positions:1 Term of employment: Full time, Permanent Position with 40 hours per week Job location: 11411 Shell Road, Richmond BC V7A 3W7 Hours of work: 40 hours per week Shifts: Weekdays, Weekends, Evenings Salary: $30 per hour for 40 hours per week, overtime after 40 hours at the rate of 1.5 times Benefits: Two weeks of paid vacation Requirement: Completion of High

Bus Driver required urgently Gobind Sarvar School, located at 8820 – 168 Street, Surrey, B.C. is looking for a school bus driver living in Abbotsford area.

If you are licensed to drive a school bus, please email your resume and driver’s abstract to: info@gobindsarvar.ca or call Jaspreet at 604-930-2122 for further details.

South Indian food cook wanted

Required South Indian food cook immediately Please contact:

604-312-9297

JOBS

JOBS

MATRIMONIAL

school with minimum of 2 years of experience as Diesel mechanic

and alignments including bearing loads, gear tooth contact, valve mechanism, governors, oil systems, control linkages, clutches and traction units.

• Verifies vehicle performance by conducting test drives; adjusting controls and systems.

Language : English Work location: 31792Harris Road Abbotsford BC , Canada.

Wage Rate: $ 15.00/ hour . 40 hrs. week . 4 % Vacation pay .

Duties: • Determine truck condition by conducting inspections and diagnose tests to detect faults and malfunctioning.

• Keep truck available for use by completing preventive maintenance schedules such as changing oil, checking batteries, lubricating machinery, installing components and part upgrades.

• Diagnose faults by using computerized and other testing equipment to determine the extent of repair • Correct equipment deficiencies by removing, repairing, adjusting, overhauling, assembling, disassembling, and replacing major assemblies, subassemblies, component parts or system, such as power and drive train, electrical, air conditioning, fuel, emission, brake, steering, hydraulics; making adjustments

How to Apply: Please send your resume at planetpride.logistics@ gmail.com or fax at 778297-4402 Only those who meet our basic expectations will be contacted for an interview.

We thank you for your interest in our company!

------------- Dec 24-2016 Crown Farms Ltd. located at Abbotsford BC is looking for 1 f/t permanent Farm Supervisor to join us as soon as possible .

Number of Positions: 1 Job type: full time, permanent Education :Requirement: Completion of high school or equivalent Experience :Requirement: 2 years related experience

Job Duties: - Co-ordinate and supervise the work of general farm workers and harvesting labourers - Supervise and oversee growing and other croprelated operations - Develop work schedules and establish procedures - Ensure farm safety and bio-security procedures are followed - Maintain quality control and production records.

Work Conditions: Outside, Physically demanding . Job involves walking , standing and bending frequently.

Security : Criminal record check required .

Contact Person : Sukhwinder Sidhu Ph: 778-908-7091 Interested applicants please email resume at crownfarms@outlook. com . Only shortlisted applicants will be called for interview . No walk in please .

--------------- Nov 19-2016

LOOKING FOR CLASS 1 TRUCK DRIVER A trucking company, Planet Pride Logistics, located at 11411 Shell Road, Richmond BC V7A3W7 has immediate vacancies for 5 Long Haul Truck Drivers.

Term of employment: Full time, Permanent Position Shifts: Weekdays, Weekends, Evenings Salary: $23.50 per hour for 50 hours per week, overtime after 60 hours of the rate of 1.5 times with Vacation pay of 4%.

Requirement: Class 1 driving license with Air brake endorsement

Duties: Drive and operate company’s long haul trucks within all over Canada, receive and relay information to central dispatcher, maintain log book, bill of landing. Do pre-trip, en-route, posttrip inspection for any mechanical or body defect, reports incidents to the manager immediately and accurately.

Please send your resume at planetpride.logistics@ gmail.com or fax at 778-297-4402 Gill to Furmaan Kaur Gill

Saturday, February 11, 2017 South Asian Seniors - Bingo On The House January 15th 2017 ( Sunday ) from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm.

Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey invites South Asian Adults/ Senior members and non members also to come and play Bingo for the sake of fun during and make some new friends, on January 15th 2017( Sunday ) from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at Shanti Niketan hall 8321 - 140th street Surrey B.C. Please bring only two dollars with you to play 2 games, do not worry if you do not know how to play, members will explain you the game just for the sake of fun. Tea & light snacks will be served after the game is over. Please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator at 604 - 507 - 9945 for further details. Project funded by Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program for Hindi speaking Seniors.

-----------------------------------------Free Self Employment Program offered by PICS Are you unemployed or working less than 20 hours per week? Are you thinking of launching your own business?

Join PICS for an information session on PICS’ Self Employment Program at one of PICS Offices: Suite 205, 12725 80th Ave, Surrey – Every 2nd Wednesday of the month OR 8153 Main St (near Marine Dr), Vancouver – Every 3rd Wednesday of

the month All info sessions are from 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM This program offers • Business Start-Up Training • Business Plan Writing • Business Advisor Support • Networking Events • Support During Business Launch Period Seating is limited. To attend a session, please pre-register at Katarina.Low@ pics.bc.ca or 604-596-7722 Ext 150 -----------------------------------------Dear Devotees and Well Wishers of Sri Ganesh Temple, Please be advised that due to prevailing weather conditions, the temple administration has decided to alter the start time of Thiruvempavai to 7 am instead of 5 am, every day.

The Abishekam for tomorrow has also been moved to 6 am instead of 4:30 am.

On behalf of Sri Ganesh Temple Society of BC, Shankar Velupillai, Secretary -----------------------------------------South Asian Seniors are planning to visit Australia & New Zealand through 13 days cruise and 2 days extra tour of Sydney (Australia) total 16 days including travel time. The cruise itinerary starts from Sydney (Australia) on November 17th 2017, one day visit at each of these ports, Melbourne (Australia), Burnie (Tasmania- Australia), Wellington (New Zealand), Napier (New Zealand),

FOR LEASE Two retail units 3000sqft #130/140 - 304785 Cardinal Ave Abbotsford

(604) 725-6734 / (604) 595-1445

Community News Tauranga (New Zealand), Auckland (New Zealand), Bay of Islands (New Zealand) and back to Sydney (Australia).

Every port the ship Norwegian Jewel will stop, all seniors will go for city tour by bus. All arrangements will be made for your air travel from Vancouver to Sydney (Australia) and return from Sydney to Vancouver, Cruise bookings, all port city excursions, city visits of Sydney (Australia), hotel stay in Sydney, food ( Pure Vegetarian or Non Vegetarian as per your choice) during Sydney City visits, also local bus pick up from Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple Surrey to Vancouver airport & back to Temple on return from Vancouver airport. The total tour will be of 16/ 17 days including travel time from 14th November 2017 to 2nd December 2017. The travel insurance with Medical Coverage, Cancellation, Interruption and Baggage loss is a must, which you can arrange yourself or get the one we arrange for the whole group Insurance at a reasonable price to cover Basic Medical Coverage, Cancellation, Interruption, & Baggage Loss etc. The maximum cost for the whole trip to cover everything including return air tickets will be approximately $ 4,500.00 US Dollars per person. All staterooms are Double occupancy, so you should select your partner to share the stateroom with you on the ship. If you are interested to join South Asian group of Seniors, you should be in good health to walk independently, can afford the Luxury in life for 16/ 17 days, then only call. The

11

entire amount $ 4,500.00 US Dollars or Equal ant Canadian Dollars as per present Bank rates will be spent on you only and will be taken from you in 4 installments with intervals. You will have to pay me $ 750.00 US Dollars per person for Cruise deposit to confirm your stateroom, and if you don’t have your travel insurance as mentioned above then you have to pay me $ 205.00 US Dollars per person for group travel Insurance in addition to cruise deposit.

Please remember the Travel insurance once purchased can not be cancelled or transferred to somebody else. The final payment for the cruise is due by 20th June 2017 and you will be able to pay through your credit card directly to Cruise Web. For the other payments for Air Travel, Port City Excursions and hotel stay & food expenses etc. you will be informed time to time. The prices I have negotiated for the cruise are the rock bottom prices which can not be held for long and we are getting two amenities free, Gratuity for 13 days Cruise is Free and Cocktail Drinks are free for 13 days of Cruise for Ocean view cabins and above.

Inside cabins will have only one Amenity Free of your choice. I have only room for two more couples or 4 friends to share two cabins on the ship, So don’t miss the chance of enjoying the Luxury in life for 16/ 17 days to visit Australia & New Zealand and call Surendra Handa Organizer/ Tel. 604 - 507 - 9945.

17 HITLIST

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mid-day

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Hitlist

Reacting to the ongoing political crisis in Tamil Nadu, Kamal Haasan on Wednesday took to Twitter to say, “Don’t break Tamil Nadu. I promise, all India will fight for Tamil Nadu in a civil war of ahimsa. None might die, but the ignorant will come [out] alive.”

REMAKE PLAN

Priyadarshan is keen to remake Malayalam film, Oppam (2016), starring Saturday, February 2017of Rangrezz (2013) featuring Jackky Mohanlal in Hindi.

Post the11, debacle Bhagnani, the filmmaker had been concentrating on South films

On the rocks

Virat to promote Anushka’s next?

‘Don’t break Tamil Nadu’

Thursday, February 9, 2017 | www.mid-day.com | twitter.com/mid_day | epaper.mid-day.com

Anushka Sharma and Indian cricket skipper Virat Kohli haven’t made their relationship official yet. However, lately, the celebrity couple has been making public appearances together. They accompanied each other to Manish Malhotra’s birthday bash and Yuvraj Singh’s wedding. Now, we hear the actress has brought her beau on board the publicity campaign of her next, Phillauri. A source informs, “Though it’s too early to talk about Virat’s plan of action, he will certainly promote the movie on digital platforms. He is proud of Anushka’s work, and wants to lend his support to the project. Whether he makes it to any promotional event is yet to be decided.”

Shahid’s li’l princess Yesterday, Shahid Kapoor introduced his five-month-old daughter, Misha, to the world by posting a black and white photo of her with wife Mira. The baby was born on August 26 last year.

Until now, the tot has been bundled up in public, and recently, the actor teased fans with a snap of the baby shrouded, revealing just its toes.

Cover-up act

Now that he has begun work on Abhay Chopra’s Ittefaq, Sidharth Malhotra has been hiding his short mane under a cap.

The film is a remake of BR Chopra’s 1969 production of the same name. It starred Rajesh Khanna and Nanda.

Though Kaka did not sport a crew cut, Sid wants to add a personal touch to the role, and opted for a hair cut. The film is set in contemporary times, so a chic, short cut was apt.

Sid’s character has grey shades to it too.

Be on top of celebrity gossip with www.mid-day.com

Actor-singer Ayushmann Khurrana is now brushing up his bartending skills.

He has joined a liquor maker’s campaign to bring Scotch lovers together. As part of the initiative, he turned bartender at a hip Lower Parel bar recently.

He took clubbers by surprise as he suddenly arrived and made lighthearted conversation while mixing and serving drinks.

Reactions of guests were captured on a hidden camera. Ayushmann feels he did a fine job and was told, “Let’s drink to your success in your new role.”

This, while Ayushmann is a teetotaller himself.

A home for Pintu While shooting for Fukrey Returns at Film City, Richa Chadha noticed a stray dog howling in pain. Being an animal lover, she stopped the shoot to attend to the ailing canine. The film’s unit is now taking care of the dog, who Richa calls Pintu.

The actress wants to take him home, but cannot since she already has two cats.

She is now looking for a happy home for Pintu.

Scholarships in Om Puri’s memory

(Left to right) Om Puri’s wife Nandita and son Ishaan with Shyam Benegal at a condolence meeting on Tuesday

To mark a month of his passing away, a condolence meeting to mourn Om Puri was held on Tuesday at the YB Chavan auditorium. On the occasion, the acting legend’s estranged wife, Nandita, announced a students’ scholarship in his memory at the National School of Drama (Delhi) and the Film and Television Institute of India (Pune) in presence of filmmaker Shyam Bengal. Puri, 66, passed away on January 6 following a cardiac arrest.

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Saturday, April 2, 2016

i 5

Saturday, 2, 2016 Saturday, April April 2, 2016 i 5i 5

Vol. 6 No. 31 Saturday - April 2, 2016 - Tel: - Tel: 604-591-5423 E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com 604-591-5423 - -E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com Tel: 604-591-5423 E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com Vol. 6 No. 31 - Saturday - April 2, 2016 - Tel: 604-591-5423 - E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com

No. 31 - -February Saturday Vol. 8 No.Vol. 02 -6 Saturday 11, 2017- April 2, 2016

Vancouver’s skyline riseamid amid an office-tower building boom Vancouver’s skyline toto rise an office-tower building boom Vancouver has the highest proportion of empty, For Chinese home buyers, Seattle is the new Vancouver Vancouver’s skyline to rise amid an office-tower building boom next two years due to competition. it Suisse tower is optimistic his building next two years due to competition. it Suisse tower is optimistic his building will will he $240-million $240-million Credit CreditSuisse/ Suisse/ Mr.Mr. Shokri others expect he Shokri andand others say say theythey expect When Anna Riley, awill Seattle-area real-estate released Tuesday

by S&P CoreLogic CaseThe landlords who will likely suffer The landlords who likely suffer next two years due to competition. start to fill as the completion date gets closer. underused homes in 35 years start to fill as the completion date gets closer. it Suisse tower is optimistic his building will SwissRealtower tower theheart heart many of the new towers to start signing SwissReal ininthe of of many of the new towers to start signing tenant he $240-million Credit Suisse/ Mr. Shokri and others say tenant they expect agent, held an open house for a new $2.3 Shiller Indices, which found prices there

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a result oflandlords the current are ownas aasresult of the current boom are ownThe who boom will likely suffer Franz Gehriger, the of CEO ofgets SwissReal Franzstart Gehriger, CEO SwissReal to fill as the the completion date closer.

Vancouver will leases as they getstudies touse completion.

That downtown Vancouver will be leases astwo they get closer to completion.

Thattenant SwissReal tower inbethe of many ofcloser the new towers to startdifferent signing Homesdowntown left vacant or not used as heart The very listing in theMr. tonyShokri cityShokri ofsaid.

Bellevue increased by more than 10% over the same ers million of older buildings, Asare late ers of older buildings, Mr. said.

As as a result of the current boom ownGroup who bought the original historic Group who bought the original historic Franz Gehriger, the CEO of SwissReal completed ininless year, sosofar,far, will is methodologies, partly in Vancouver, completedresidences lessthan than year,butbut is partly because companies intoVancouver, downtown Vancouver be because leases ascompanies they getdifferent closer completion.

That primary ina aMetro Vancouver “vastly data setswell, lastnew month, the pool of prospective buyers was month in 2015. developments in the well, new developments in the suburbs, building in 2002 parters of older buildings, Mr.suburbs, Shokri said.stock-exchange As stock-exchange building 2002 before partGroup who theinbefore original historic only one tenant has signed up to move in. which do want to be in new, energy-efficient only one tenant has signed up to move in. which do want to be in new, energy-efficient completed in less than a year, but so far, is partly because companies in Vancouver, now account for 6.5 per cent of the region’s and vastly different standards” as to whatwhich different from the usual assortment of tech Some places bought that have been favorites for have already experienced higher nering with Credit Suisse to develop it, said which have already experienced higher well, new developments in the suburbs, The has committed for a a10th buildings, operate on short timelines. nering with Credit Suisseinto2002 develop it,partsaid stock-exchange building before Thetenant tenant has committed for 10th of move buildings, tend to operate onMr. only one tenant has signed upof to in. tend which do want to be inshort new, energy-efficient housing stock, adding fuel to concerns that constitutes antoempty home, Yantimelines. said. magnates, sports stars and chief executives.

Chinese in recent years—including London, vacancy rates in recent years, may have the main group interested in leasing Vancouvacancy rates in already recent years, may have which have experienced higher the a state AsAs he he said, prices inthein the newnew thenering mainwith group interested in VancouCredit Suisse to leasing develop it, said Mr. Yan said increasing of with buyers visited the Australia and, most recently, New York—are the370,000 370,000square square feet– –leaving leaving a stateofforofa 10th well, said, the The feet tenant has committed ofwell, buildings, tend toprices operate on short timelines. troubleTwenty asvacancy theygroups compete each other. ver office space these days is the technology rates in recent years, may have trouble as they compete with each other. emptiness that is unusual for an office sky- buildings will likely come down in the 4 i Saturday, July 25, 2015 the main group interested in leasing Vancouver office space these days is the technology popularity of short-term rental property in the Seattle metro area—and all of rolling out policies that discourage the is370,000 square feetoffice – leaving of Saturday, As well, said, prices in in the new emptiness that unusual for an sky- a state buildings will likely come 4 i Julyhe 25, 2015down In Vancouver, the co-developer of the Cred- sector. Those companies make their deci-foreign scraper in this city. Even so, a huge shift in trouble as they compete with each other. purchasers.

In Vancouver, the co-developer of the Credver office space these days make is the technology sector.

Those companies their deciplatforms like Airbnb likely them were Chinese. emptiness thatso, is unusual for aninoffice sky- buildings will likely come scraper in this city. Even a huge shift 4 i Saturday, July 25, 2015down in the business tenancy is expected as the region In Vancouver, the co-developer of the Credsector.

Those companies make their deciplayed a role in the increase of “Every single one, ” said Ms. Riley, an agent In the U.K. in late 2014, the cost of buying scraperisinexpected this city. as Even a huge shift in business tenancy theso,region experiences something it has not seen be8,500 more empty or underused at Windermere Real Estate, noting that homes valued at more than £937,000, or $1.17 business tenancy expected as experiences something it hasisboom not seen be-the region fore: an office-tower building much units in the region over the past Asian investors had typically, before last year, million at current exchange rates, went up experiencesbuilding something it has not seen bean office-tower boom much offore: which is speculative construction rathfive years. accounted for about a quarter of the firm’s on a sliding scale, rising to a 12% tax on the an office-tower building boom much whichforis fore: speculative construction ratherof than specific committed tenants.

“These would take units off prospective buyers. portion of a sale over £1.5 million. In April, which is committed speculative construction rather“This thanis kind forofofspecific tenants. uncharted territory for Vanthe rental market – that’s the Chinese real-estate buyers are suddenly an additional 3% was tacked on to the sale er ofthan for specific committed couver, ” said Mehdi Shokri, aterritory principal with “This is kind uncharted for Van- tenants. difference between 2011 and descending on the Seattle region. Some are price of homes for foreign buyers or for those “Thisteam isShokri, kindatofAvison uncharted territory the capital markets Young. couver, ” said Mehdi a principal with for Van2016,” he said. “[That’s when] lured by perceptions the coastal couver, ” said Mehdi Shokri, a principal with “But I don’t see a big disaster occurring. ” the capital markets team at Avison Young. short-term rentals became really city is a bargain, others by warm The ICredit Suisse is onlyteam the at most Avison “But don’tthe seecapital a tower bigmarkets disaster occurring. ” Young. in vogue in terms of residential memories of the 2013 Chinese visible and furthest of aasecond I along don’t see big disaster The Credit“But Suisse tower is only thewave mostoccurring.” real estate holdings.” film “Finding Mr. Right,” which of new office towers planned fortower VancouThe Credit Suisse iswave only visible and furthest alongare of hollowing a second real estate speculators out the most The City of Vancouver has said in previous put Seattle on the pop-culture ver and somevisible key suburbs.

A first cluster and planned furthest ofprices, a secondreports wave that about 1,000 out of Airbnb’s radar there. neighbourhoods and driving along up Vancounew office towers for ofoftowers – some twooffice million square feet –for Vancouof new towers planned according to a new based on the latest roughly 5,000 listings appeared to be for The biggest draw, though, ver built and downtown some key study suburbs.

Athree first cluster was in the past years. ver and some key suburbs.

A first cluster census data. apartments rented out year-round. might be the fact that it isn’t ofAnother towers – 11 some two million square feet office developments are – of towers – some two million square feet – Last year, 66,719 empty or underutilized Councillor Geoff Meggs, governing Vision Vancouver.

In August, the was built downtown in theofpast three years. proposed within blocks Credit Suwas built downtown inVancouver, the past threeVancouver years. units were recorded in and around party’s pointperson on housing, Canadian province of British Another 11 tower officeat developments isse’s Exchange Howe and Westare Another 11 office developments arethe city’s plan to crack down on short Columbia imposed a 15% tax which represents the highest proportion in said Pender streets, evenblocks while the office-va-Suproposed within of Credit proposed within blocks of of Creditterm Su-rentals, by restricting them to someone’s on foreign investment in the the past 35inyears, said Andy Yan, director cancy the tower region to inch isse’s rate Exchange atcontinues Howe and West isse’s Exchange tower at Howe and West Simon Fraser University’s City Program. primary residence, is undergoing its final city, which until recently was a up as a result of the firstwhile wave the of building.

Pender streets, even office-vaNumbers Mr. Yan previously crunched public consultation.

And by next year, the popular destination for Chinese.

Pender streets, even while the office-vaBut commercial brokerscontinues say the city is cancy rate insix thepublished region to inch from the past censuses showed cancy rate in the regiontowers. continues tocity’s inchnew tax on empty homes will bring new The tax applies to anyone who isn’t a citizen renting out their properties. not about to be populated by ghost up percentage as a result of of the first wave of the homes in first andbuilding. around data that hopefully shows fewer empty or or permanent resident of Canada and buys a Australia bars foreigners from purchasing up asthese a result of the wave of building.

But commercial brokers say the isthe underused Vancouver hovered around 3 or 4 percity cent homes, he said. home in metro Vancouver. resale properties, and some states also have But commercial brokers say city is not about be about populated ghost until 2006, to when that jumped to just towers. over 6 towers.

If 2,000 of these units were rented to The provincial government says the tax imposed taxes on foreign purchasers. In New not to be by populated by ghost per cent and remained at that level until last long-term tenants it would really improve policy is aimed at making homes in the city York, the mayor last week proposed a 2.5% tax year’s census. “I didn’t expect it to go up [in Vancouver’s near-zero rental vacancy rate, he more affordable for local residents, who on properties of $2 million or more, a favorite 2016], I had actually thought it would remain added. In the census data released Wednesday, have seen prices soar by nearly 50% over the category of foreigners. stable or the same or even possibly go down,” the City of Vancouver again had the highest past three years. The city of Vancouver also Mike O’Brien, a Seattle City Council Mr. Yan said. “It really shows the challenges percentage of these empty or underutilized introduced a separate vacancy tax of 1% on member, said he is exploring measures, in trying to house the region.” units in the region at 8.2 per cent, trailed by the assessed value of an empty property. including a vacancy tax, to combat another His estimates of empty and underutilized Surrey at 6.2 per cent and Burnaby at 5.9 per The moves have had a chilling effect. Web trend that has irked Vancouver residents: units in Vancouver are more than double the cent, according to Mr. Yan. searches in China for Vancouver properties foreign investors who leave homes vacant and 10,800 found by a city-commissioned study, Next to Edmonton, Metro Vancouver had dropped 37% in December compared with a untended. “It baffles me that people would which was published last year before council the highest percentage of these units out of year ago, according to Juwai.com, an online buy real estate here and not fill it up,” he said. proposed its own vacancy tax.

Canada’s 10 most populous metro regions, real-estate portal that targets Chinese home Stella Guo, a third-year university student That analysis examined BC Hydro Mr. Yan said. Edmonton had a rate 6.6 per seekers. from China, and her family recently purchased electricity data for the city’s 225,000 homes cent and, after Metro Vancouver, came Seattle, by contrast, is red hot. Searches two waterfront properties in Seattle for more over a decade and found that by 2014, just Ottawa-Gattineau at 6.2 per cent, but both for Seattle properties in China jumped 125% than $5 million each. The family owns a under 5 per cent were empty for a year or those regions have populations less than half year-over-year in November, after increasing Chinese development company and is looking more. the size of Metro Vancouver, Mr. Yan said.

71% in October, according to Juwai. They rose at building projects in the northwestern U.S. 1.8% in December.

Ms. Guo, who attends college in Arizona, Kyle Moss, a real-estate agent at Redfin, said she doesn’t plan to live in Seattle full-time said he received a call from a Chinese man but wanted a place for her and her family to within 72 hours of the tax passing who said he relax on vacation and was drawn to Seattle’s represented 20 families interested in buying temperate climate, according to answers to real estate in Seattle. Mr. Moss said for some, emailed questions provided by her real-estate the appeal is being near family and friends agent, Robert Pong, senior global real-estate who own in Vancouver, 120 miles away. adviser at Realogics Sotheby’s International It is too early to quantify the effect of Realty.

Chinese interest on Seattle’s home sales, and Lili Shang, an agent at the Seattle-area no one tracks the ethnicities of buyers in agency, said she is seeing many Chinese particular markets. But the sudden surge in families and investors looking to sell property interest in Seattle comes at a time when it in Vancouver and move their money to Seattle already ranks among the nation’s hottest real- because of the tax. “I think people realize estate markets. It led the U.S. in home-price that Vancouver is no more a fun place to do growth in November, according to a report investments,” she said.

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BC’s Construction Workforce Poised for Growth The ramp-up of major projects in B.C., from proposed transportation, pipeline and LNG projects to highway and bridgework will bolster the province’s construction workforce by 24 percent, or almost 17,000 workers over the next five years, according to the latest labour market forecast released today by BuildForce Canada.

“It’s potentially the most rapid rise we’ve seen in B.C.’s construction workforce in the past decade,” said Rosemary Sparks, Executive Director of BuildForce Canada. “The pace and magnitude of many of these proposed projects will require the steady recruitment of new workers from the local workforce and from outside construction or outside the province to meet labour demands, especially in remote locations.”

BuildForce Canada’s 2017-2026 Construction and Maintenance Looking

Forward forecast shows proposed transportation, pipeline, and LNG and mining investments are the primary driver behind B.C.’s construction job growth from now to the peak in 2021. Industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) building also continues on an upward trend, while new housing is expected to cycle down this year, following a period of extended expansion.

BuildForce Canada’s forecast also shows: • F o l l o w i n g peak levels of activity, residential employment is expected to decline by about 15 percent workforce over the scenario period; • R e n o v a t i o n and maintenance work is expected to exceed new housing by 2022, accounting for almost twothirds of residential employment; • The need to replace as many as 40,000 baby boomers retiring from construction in the next ten years.

“The retirement of 21 percent of B.C.’s construction workforce compounds the challenge for recruiters,” added Sparks.

“Attracting more women and indigenous people to construction could be a big part of the solution in filling that skills gap. Right now they make up just four percent of the province’s skilled construction workforce.”

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Toronto Real Estate Board releases outlook report for 2017 atTEconomic Summit Vol. 6 No. 31

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Saturday - April 2, 2016

- Tel: 604-591-5423 -

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Vancouver’s skyline to rise amid an office-tower building

The report provides a look forward into the 2017 housing market and tackles top-of-mind issues, including consumer intentions, foreign buying activity in the Greater Toronto Area, impact of transportation infrastructure on housing affordability, and the lack of housing supply.

“This report will be extremely useful to anyone with an interest in the housing market in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, including REALTORS® and their clients, housing industry stakeholders, and all levels of government.

One standout for me in the research conducted by Ipsos was the continued importance of the REALTOR®. Over 80 per cent of likely buyers are planning on engaging the services of a REALTOR® in their purchase this year. This shows the value TREB Member REALTORS® add to the transaction. Home ownership is a great investment and TREB Member REALTORS® are professionals who will expertly guide you through each step of the process,” said TREB President Larry Cerqua.

TREB is forecasting another strong year for home sales through its MLS® System in 2017, with more than 100,000 sales forecast for the third consecutive year. Between 104,500 and 115,500 home sales are expected this year, with a point forecast of 110,000 – down slightly from 113,133 sales reported by GTA REALTORS® in 2016. Ipsos, on behalf of TREB, undertook a home buyers survey in November 2016. The survey focused on consumer buying intentions in 2017. Compared to a similar survey conducted at the end of 2015, the number of likely buyers was down slightly. However, GTA households still seemed upbeat about ownership housing. This included first-time buyers, whose share of overall buying intentions increased to 53 per cent from 49 per cent a year earlier. “While changes to federal mortgage lending guidelines and higher borrowing costs may impact some would-be home buyers, the big impediment will be the lack of inventory.

Active listings at the end of December were at their lowest point since before the year 2000.

It is unlikely that the shortage of listings will improve to any great degree over the course of the next year. This will put a ceiling on sales growth,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis.

As a result of very strong demand for ownership housing up against an extremely constrained supply of listings in 2017, doubledigit annual rates of price growth are expected to remain in place for the majority of home types across the GTA. The growth rate for the average selling price will be between 10 and 16 per cent with an average price range between $800,000 and $850,000. TREB’s point forecast for the average selling price is $825,000.

Low-rise home types, including detached and semi-detached houses and townhouses, will experience the strongest annual rates of price growth, but the condominium apartment market segment will remain tight as well.

The Ipsos home buyers survey confirmed that likely home buyers are expecting to see strong home price increases in 2017. However, Ipsos also found that the average home buyer is planning on making a substantial down payment – 27.6 per cent for all recent home buyers combined and 23.9 per cent for firsttime home buyers. The sources of home buyers’ down payments were also quite diverse,

he $240-million Credit Suisse/ SwissReal tower in the heart of downtown Vancouver will be completed in less than a year, but so far, only one tenant has signed up to move in.

The tenant has committed for a 10th of the 370,000 square feet – leaving a state of emptiness that is unusual for an office skyscraper in this city. Even so, a huge shift in business tenancy is expected as the region experiences something it has not seen before: an office-tower building boom much of which is speculative construction rather than for specific committed tenants.

“This is kind of uncharted territory for Vancouver,” said Mehdi Shokri, a principal with the capital markets team at Avison Young.

“But I don’t see a big disaster occurring.”

The Credit Suisse tower is only the most visible and furthest along of a second wave of new office towers planned for Vancouver and some key suburbs. A first cluster of towers – some two million square feet – was built downtown in the past three years.

Another 11 office developments are proposed within blocks of Credit Suisse’s Exchange tower at Howe and West Pender streets, even while the office-vacancy rate in the region continues to inch up as a result of the first wave of building.

But commercial brokers say the city is not about to be populated by ghost towers.

Mr. Shokri and others say they expect many of the new towers to start signing tenant leases as they get closer to completion. That is partly because companies in Vancouver, which do want to be in new, energy-efficient buildings, tend to operate on short timelines.

As well, he said, prices in the new buildings will likely come 4 i Saturday, July 25, 2015down in the

next two years due to competition.

The landlords who will likely suffer as a result of the current boom are owners of older buildings, Mr. Shokri said. As well, new developments in the suburbs, which have already experienced higher vacancy rates in recent years, may have trouble as they compete with each other.

In Vancouver, the co-developer of the Cred-

including savings within and outside an RRSP, gifts from friends/family and equity built up in their current dwelling.

Despite relatively large down payment percentages, home price growth has obviously been a concern from an affordability perspective. The policy reaction to date has been focused on the demand side of the price growth equation. Changes to federal mortgage lending guidelines and ruminations about a foreign buyers tax for the GTA dominated the headlines in the second half of 2016.

A foreign buyer tax in the GTA would be misguided. In order to obtain actual empirical data on foreign buying activity in the GTA, as opposed to conjecture, TREB commissioned Ipsos in November 2016 to survey its Members, who acted on behalf of home buyers during the preceding 12 months, as to foreign buying activity in the region. Key findings were as follows: • Only an estimated 4.9 per cent of GTA transactions, in which TREB Members acted on behalf of a buyer, involved a foreign purchaser.

• The great majority of foreign buyers purchased a home as a primary residence (40%), to rent out to tenants in an extremely tight GTA rental market (25%), or for another family member to live in (15%).

• Less than 2% of REALTORS® had been involved in a transaction for a foreign buyer which they knew was impacted by the foreign buyer tax in British Columbia.

An additional land transfer tax on foreign buyers could have unintended consequences, including: • Tighter market conditions and stronger price growth in neighboring communities/ regions without a tax; • Less rental supply, because the number of investors looking to purchase and rent out a property could decline; and • A potential negative impact on immigration. It is important to remember that population growth in the GTA, on net, is driven by immigration.

“Housing affordability, and affordable home ownership in particular, is a growing concern.

Home prices will increase well above the rate of inflation and income growth in 2017, as the supply of listings remains very constrained.

While governments have been focusing their policy solutions on allaying demand, what is needed are policies that focus on the lack of available homes for sale and for rent. The public, private, and not-for-profit sectors need to come together to focus on innovative solutions to the housing supply issue,” said TREB CEO John DiMichele.

In addition to analyzing market fundamentals influencing demand, supply, price growth, and, ultimately, affordability, TREB had Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis undertake a study on how improved transit infrastructure, and particularly the Metrolinx Regional Express Rail plan, can impact housing affordability.

The study found that the impact of RER on affordability is largely positive in the regions making up the GTA and surrounding GGH, especially when residents take advantage of the new transportation infrastructure and switch their mode of commuting. Improved transit infrastructure can also add price premiums of up to 12 per cent to a home’s value. The findings of CANCEA’s study are summarized in the report.

it Suisse tow start to fill a Franz G Group wh stock-excha nering with the main gr ver office sp sector. Tho

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Saturday, April 2, 2016

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Saturday, February 11, 2017 -

Saturday - April 2, 2016

Real Estate

15

Demand diversifies for Fraser Valley real estate in January

- Tel: 604-591-5423 -

E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com

couver’s skyline to rise amid an office-tower building boom

edit Suisse/ he heart of er will be , but so far, to move in. or a 10th of ng a state of n office skyhuge shift in s the region not seen beboom much uction rathted tenants. tory for Vanrincipal with vison Young. r occurring.” nly the most second wave for Vancoufirst cluster square feet – three years. pments are Credit Sue and West he office-vanues to inch of building. y the city is host towers.

Mr. Shokri and others say they expect many of the new towers to start signing tenant leases as they get closer to completion. That is partly because companies in Vancouver, which do want to be in new, energy-efficient buildings, tend to operate on short timelines.

As well, he said, prices in the new buildings will likely come 4 i Saturday, July 25, 2015down in the

next two years due to competition.

The landlords who will likely suffer as a result of the current boom are owners of older buildings, Mr. Shokri said. As well, new developments in the suburbs, which have already experienced higher vacancy rates in recent years, may have trouble as they compete with each other.

In Vancouver, the co-developer of the Cred-

it Suisse tower is optimistic his building will start to fill as the completion date gets closer.

Franz Gehriger, the CEO of SwissReal Group who bought the original historic stock-exchange building in 2002 before partnering with Credit Suisse to develop it, said the main group interested in leasing Vancouver office space these days is the technology sector. Those companies make their deci-

Fraser Valley real estate kicked-off the New Year strong with sales reaching above the tenyear average for January, and a healthy intake of new inventory.

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board processed 976 sales of all property types on its MLS in January, a decrease of 27.1% compared to the 1,338 sales in January of last year, and a 1% increase compared to the 966 sales in December 2016.

Of the 976 sales processed last month, 212 were townhouses and 276 were apartments, representing exactly half of the month’s market activity.

The Board received 2,178 new listings in January, a significant 162.7% increase from December 2016, and a 13.2% decrease compared to January 2016’s 2,510 new listings.

In January the total active inventory for the Fraser Valley was 4,401 listings, a decrease of 8.1% year-over-year and the lowest level seen for a January in ten years.

However, active inventory increased by 12% month-over-month compared to December’s 3,930 active listings. For the Fraser Valley region, the average number of days to sell a single family detached home in January 2017

was 49 days, compared to 33 days in January 2016.

HPI Benchmark Price Activity • Single Family Detached: At $856,300, the Benchmark price for a single family detached home in the Valley did not change compared to December 2016, and increased 24.3 per cent compared to January 2016.

• Townhomes: At $420,400 the Benchmark price for a townhome in the Fraser Valley

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next two years due to competition.

The landlords who will likely suffer as a result of the current boom are owners of older buildings, Mr. Shokri said. As well, new developments in the suburbs, which have already experienced higher vacancy rates in recent years, may have trouble as they compete with each other.

In Vancouver, the co-developer of the Cred-

it Suisse tow start to fill a Franz G Group wh stock-excha nering with the main gr ver office sp sector. Tho

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Lunch long erm and t Afternoon T courtyard and pond! Well maintained property with laminate floors, crown moulding and neutral paint.

This open floor In addition, this beautiful café offers so much more! Reservations for is ed. limit oday Callor et f &mor details.

LADIES APPAREL BOUTIQUE FOR SALE

ONE IN

2006-2007 2004-2005 2008-2009 2004-2005 2013-2014 2008-2009

#106 Group 7565 132 St.,Coast Surrey.

BC. Sutton - West Realty PH:604-572-3005 FAX: 778-574-4174 #106 7565 132 St., Surrey. BC. PH:604-572-3005 FAX: 778-574-4174

Saturday - April 2, 2016

he $240-million Credit Suisse/ Mr. Shokri and others say they expect SwissReal tower in the heart of many of the new towers to start signing tenant downtown Vancouver will be leases as they get closer to completion. That completed in less than a year, but so far, is partly because companies in Vancouver, only one tenant has signed up to move in. which do want to be in new, energy-efficient The tenant has committed for a 10th of buildings, tend to operate on short timelines. the 370,000 square feet – leaving a state of As well, he said, prices in the new emptiness that is unusual for an office sky- buildings will likely come 4 i Saturday, July 25, 2015down in the scraper in this city. Even so, a huge shift in business tenancy is expected as the region experiences something it has not seen before: an office-tower building boom much of which is speculative construction rather than for specific committed tenants.

“This is kind of uncharted territory for Vancouver,” said Mehdi Shokri, a principal with the capital markets team at Avison Young.

“But I don’t see a big disaster occurring.”

The Credit Suisse tower is only the most visible and furthest along of a MASTER second wave PLATINUM of new office towers planned for VancouAWARD AWARD ver and some key suburbs. A first cluster of towers – some two million square feet – was built downtown in the past three years.

Another 11 office developments are proposed within blocks of Credit Suisse’s Exchange tower at Howe and West Pender streets, even while the office-vacancy rate in the region continues to inch up as a result of the first wave of building.

But commercial brokers say the city is not about to be populated by ghost towers.

DIAMOND AWARD

WINNER OF FVREB’s TOP ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

-

Vancouver’s skyline to rise amid an office-tower building

BUSINESS OR ALE S F

ATTENTION TRUCKERS!

PITA PIT FRANCHISE

Magni�icent luxury estate situate don 8.5 acres with over 8100 sq. ft of living space. Home includes 6 bdrms, 8 washrooms, a separate guest house and fruit 5 acres Pita has blueberry plants as well. This Wellstand. established Pit stunning home possesses every luxury possible with high ceilings, crown molding, stainless steel Franchise in rapid growing appliances,Granite counter tops, open �loor plan, large gym room, grand patio, sundecks, built in vacuum, top of the line security system, separate wok kitchen and much more! gorgeous home is situated in the Brentwood area ofThis Burnaby! middle of serene farmland yet only two minutes away from Aldergrove Town centre and with quick access R are oppor tunit y to to Hwy #1. The second house is rented as well as fruit stall.Rare opportunity to advantage of this stunning purchase a well established home! Call today for a personal viewing.

Attention Truckers! Permitted use for Transportation Industry and more. IL zoned The perfect turn key operation for those with a flair for fashion and wanting to run their own business!

Located in the uptownOR DistrictFofALE New West busyGINA commercialRE area.Take advantage ACREAGE S in theIN ASKATCHEWAN - of 3 businesses S in land available. Two side by side lots that are one: 1. One year established Ladies Apparel & accessories Boutique 2. Complete professional alteration to be sold together. House is since franchise surrounded by highrises, residences, new established with love and a business owners delight don't miss this ATGRE INVES TMENT ORTUNITY! OPP in the same premises but segregated from the boutique. 3. Full website with two demolished. Commercial Land only. Please developments, commercial businesses and more. This opportunity!

Please oach do staff, not ealtor contact orappry f business listing an with full workshop r location does school hot lunches and a large amount of info required. es, and acr el Hot velopment and PRIME OFFICE SPACE FOR LEASEAsking $75,000 INDIAN RESTAURANT FOR SALE online stores, social media presence and first page SEO4for alterations five star reviews.

Owner selling duede contact for more details. Asking $649,000 catering ordering as well! Do not approach staff please site vailable a to the in next level withthe egina, of R this turn key business your ideas! City Prime office space on street level available for lease. Excellent location prime area Indian cuisine to health issues this is the perfect opportunity to take contact listing realtor for more details. Asking $209,000 each. not Saskatchewan.

Prime location, Price is excluding inventory. Please contact for more details on this unique business. Asking $109,900 Perfect for a variety of usessteel including daycare, and take Lowf lease high traffic Established custom abrication and dine in business. aluminum eatout.Gr opportunity our area to own run y to be missed! or e Contact mor f martial arts Church use. with welding business withorservices that Central include:location aluminum custom and stock trailers, NEW LEASING OPPORTUNITY Contractand forrepair, more details.

Asking $109,000 details.

GROCERY STORE FOR SALE IN DOWNTOWN AREA mobile welding service, crane fabrication, fabrication of residential gates, security bars and much The Mann Corporate Centre is comprised of 23,000 square feet of 'A' Class office/retail space great exposure to Scott Rd. Contact for more details. more! Mon– Fri operation closed on weekends. Please contact me for more details on this hard to MORE 1000 Oa custom open floor 12,000 . forTyour preference.

AIL S.F The & RET ACEOFFICE SP Ideal business opportunity well established Grocery and convenience store in busy downtown over three floors.

A brand new facility with plan come by opportunity! Asking $149,000 FOR flexibility ALEandSallowsASE & LE designed to provide maximum for area. Excellent sales and profit. Full service store including UPS, cigarettes, world wide money Mann Corporate centre has beenAVAILABLE PRIME OFFICE SPACE FOR LEASE many types of professional users who are seeking a high quality facility with great exposure.

For sale Prime 1489 Sq ft office space for sale in busy retail/office complex in Surrey. transfers withDream Western union, slushies, Pizza or alehot dogs, FS fruits, vegetables, halal meats, atm, general Highlights include: State of the art facility with modern finishes, Underground secured Ideal for a variety office types.

Visible from business 152 and centrally Established IndianofSweets and Restaurant locatedlocated. in high Asking traf�ic area of Scott Rd, Surrey.

Perfect opportunity o andour own t excellent y lease bossterms surrounded by tons of parking provided. Free on site surface parking, more than 3 parking stalls per 1000 Sq ft. 24/7 groceries,vcleaning supplies more.be Low rent, Wide ariety egetarian v v menu eets. with xpanded Can sw tobe egetarian add e dishes non to the $350,000 with ell this and established w Pizza & turn key Indian 13737 96 ve, Central location entre A with City HD recording privilege. easy access to allCmajor routes. menu. Catering services provided regular clientele. Seating for 50. Complete turn key restaurant residential buildings commercial businesses.

Perfect opportunity grab this security with Cuisine in y. unning Langle R successfull y or f FOB access and intercom. Please contact listing realtor for details on remaining space, square footage and pricing details. great business opportunity! Asking $129,000 #705 $465,000, #706 $335,000 PHARMASAVE FRANCHISE money making business it is gone! Contact details. Asking $189,900 the veLast ears before y�ixcellent with yedailfor more sales.

Special occasions and even Private plan includes a large living room with gasShowers, f/p which Birthdays, open up ton Anniversaries, the spacious eating area. Extra large kitchen with lots of Wedding ceremonies. Wait...there's more! This beautiful treasure of a cabinets and counter space. Large laundrybusiness room, inoffers floor radiant heat,select extra shelving closets, 2 parking stallslinens, and storage gorgeous apparel,infurnishings, jewelry, gifts, locker. Great location with easy access tovintage shopping,treasures transit & Highway 91 & 99.

PleaseA call listing realtor for more info. and home décor. beautiful, breathtaking turnkey operation this is a chance to own a niche business created and Asking $329,900

PAYAL BUSINESS CENTRE - 82 Ave & 128 St

CUSTOM TEELS &ABRICATION F BUSINESSOR ALEFS BUSINESS OR F SALE

PIZZA

&

INDIAN

Asset Sale- DBA "Pharmasave" well established franchise operating since June 2012. Increasing annual script count of approx 12,000/annum. Approx 2400 sq ft of ground floor space leased space w/5 year, 5yr, 5 yr lease + 1 st right refusal to tenant option to purchase the building. Open six days/week (6) doctor offices, High end Fantastic opportunity to run your own Pizza & Indian Cuisine Kroll software, and Oscarfood, CRM software use. Lease area of 2,400 sq.ft.

Customized improvements. business!

Excellent rated in4.5/5 by customers open 7 daystenancy a Business is runbusy professionally by atake Healthout Carewith Groupavailability Company- enormous expansionifpotential! Owner will week, very location for seating desired.

Tons of tourists central to major sites in Hope provide training.

Contact me foryear moreround, details. Asking $899,000

BUSINESS OR F SALE

N LIS EW TIN G

CUISINE

and integral area near grocery stores, city hall, local police station, motels and cinema. Well established, great sales and a complete turn key operation that will not last long! Asking $199,000

UNITS OR F SALE &

BUSINESS PIZZA & CURRY RESTAURANT FOR SALE

Close o ys t Da Inn, estern The & Best W Westward Inn o also eyhound the closeGr t station, taxi op st bus y stand and man Establishednear & turny. keycellent restaurant Prime apartments bPizza &ExCurry location & ey for sale. ation. turn oper location Thisk and is opportunity o not be Asking t missed! $139,900 complete turn key operation. Full kitchen in place and complete take out and

COLLECTION / CREDIT COMPANY FOR SALE- ONE IN A MILLION OPPORTUNITY! delivery service.Reasonable parking for space. Onlinesale ordering, Hair lease alonand S ample Business 23 years Established Credit Company for sale. Retail and Commercial collections, Located on media , Hwy verdale F Cloea,all ell arin place w for established business, y your o full website, raser social presence you! Make maintain, higher monthl y evenue. Asking r $69,900 CONVENIENCE & MINI MAR T entrepreneurial Judgments, Tenancy Order Collection, loansTORE andSoutstanding invoices.Take dreams come true.

Contact for more details.

Asking $109,000 Don't miss this to run yourbusiness own buyopportunity.

ConvenienceAsking store/Mini advantage of chance this unique niche $229,000

mart! This well established business is well or-ganized, excellent set up, with all your essential sundries for sale as well as lottery AND the licensing to sell Pizza at this location! Busy area near parks, schools, residences it is the perfect small business! Ample of Well known and established Lighthouse Franchise on King George & 80th in Surrey. Take out opportunity to add your ideas to an already turn key operation! establishment andgreat Partysmall Orders are also handled.

The website for all franchise locations is www.lighthouse.menu and they are on Facebook Don't miss this business prospect!

Asking $149,000

BUSINESS FOR SALE

LIGHTHOUSE

INDIAN

CUISINE

as well. This business has been established in 2009 and has been run by the same owner since this time. As it is a take out and delivery.

Establishment there is not a liquor license at this location. Asking $549,000

SIGNAGE & PRINTING BUSINESS FOR SALE

8321

CAFÉ FOR SALE

cellent 128 Ex locationSt

Asking in

businesses

uses.

Asking

ATTENTION FOREIGN MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS!!!

2 BABY ULTRASOUNDUNITS FRANCHISES FOR SALE! OR ALE F S

$349,000

(15299 VE)

$209,000 busy space theClose

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Well established .Babyvestment UltrasoundinFranchise, 3D/4D ultrasound (not diagnostic), Private clinic for pregnant moms.ey Excellent opportunity o etail twefront r stor units in al Plaza Full turn key operation this easy to run niche market business e,is perfectStor for oindividuals or couples with is sale. Gr$899,000 Currently ocery leased to this or a Asking units f tw Medical/Health industry backgrounds. Beautifully set up office, low lease rate, excellent hours and easy to run with low overhead expenses. Professionals and New Immigrants with a healthcare background this is a perfect opportunity! Burnaby and Abbotsford locations available. Asking $125,000 each location

INVESTOR Of�ic NEWNG I LIST

Don't miss this rare opportunity to own your own busy Lighthouse Indian Cuisine Franchise! Prime location in Brickyard Station Plaza this fantastic business has Take out and dine in, beautiful décor, quality kitchen, Full Liquor license and full Indian Cuisine 95Menu.

AveComplete & 152 940 sqft. is available for franchise. Contact me today for further turnSt., key operation enablesof�ice you to bespace your own boss with this established lease 2nd �loor including 3 small of�ices, meeting room info. on Asking $389,000 and reception. Also available 9400 sqft. space for lease.

LOTS OF EXPOSURE.

UNIT FOR SALE

In Mughal Garden plaza 2 units available, approx 4875 sqft.Already leased to long term tenants, to be sold together. Asking $1.25 million

a

Contact for more info on this opportunity. Asking Only $69,000

17358

104A VE

A

RES TAURANT OR F ALE S

SURREY VERAS BURGER FRANCHISE FOR SALE

building

to be your own boss! Contact listing realtor for more details. Price : $339,000

J.J AINI S

PLAZA

VERAS BURGER FRANCHISE

8077 eas t KING GEORGE BLVD. The perfect retail

corner unit in busy plaza move in ready. Approx 1200 sq ft perfect for fast food, of�ice or retail Looking close for the perfect franchise well look no more! Established and award space. Easy access to highway, to all winning Vera's in busy Meadow Town Center with major anchors like amenities on Busy King George Hwy.Burgers Great Opportunity contact me today. Superstore, Cineplex Odeon, and many major Financial Institutions and major

retailers. Fully turn key operation with extra large patio, good lease, low franchise fees and beer licence. Current absentee owner this business is a great opportunity to be your own boss and take it to the next level! Asking $229,900

AUTO

BOD Y SHOPOR FSALE

Established auto y or bod shop our sale f own y! be boss y toda L NE IST W Well established ell anduto equipped e w Car A Center which IN G offers complete car &epair. truck inspection, service The ect perf opportunity our to own run businessy with a well ecognized r and established ve . automoti center Contact realtor or ef mor Askingdetails. $139,000

AUTO /TRANSMISSION/CAR REPAIR IN LOWER MAINLAND

Over 37 year well established Auto repair / Transmission Repair / car repair in

NEW G IN LIST

OFFICE ACE SP Large OR shop, ASE F3 Bays, LEample storage space available. the Lower Mainland.

8927

St Currently . 1100 of�ice or sqftand models vailable space lease inf a transmissions, services all makes of re manufactured automatic and standard, clutches, This is a confidential listing ar on eet 152nsd ey. in str differentials.

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PAYAL BUSINESS CENTRE - 82 Ave & 128 St Approx.

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11925

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. 4500 of�ice sqft vailable. ec. space Rea, conference oom. ery r V y nicel

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D SOLUNIT FOR LEASE

SOL

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ara small of�ice, oom andlunch designed and �inished.

growing area makes this an ideal location for your office. Contact listing realtor NEWNG I LIST

Station, restaurant and Public Transit. This space has 2 offices inside and lunch room as well as washroom. Perfect for Accountants, Notary, Great opportunity to get into a Franchised and or other consulting or Lawyer. The space can also be Immigration Located in a busy commercial plaza in the NE ED easy to operate CandyL business!

This established IST W DUCuses as well. 1260 Sq. ft. converted INGPark Shopping heart of Surrey. Lots of traf�ic and close to franchise is located in Ocean Centerfor various REretail

NEW FRANCHISE

OFFICE SPACE FOR LEASE

J.J SAINI PLAZA

BEAUTIFUL TURN KEY A SPALON / OR FSALES

Investment Opportunity in Hope.

7200 Sq. ft large Lot Fully near major anchor Safeway. This rapidly growing franchise currently has 22 locations within BC and Located in the heart in Payal Business Centre, this office is professionally designed. 5 offices, renovated home closeof Surrey to the Alberta. With unique product Imported from the US and UK this franchise is completely turn –key Downtown core.area, 2 separate bed, 2lunch bath reception room and full washroom. 1200 Sq ft Gross lease +gst. This easy to run and $20.00/sq full trainingftprovided. business is perfect for a couple and for those 850 sq.ft home to use as a rental Established auto body shop for sale be your own boss today! wanting to try their hand at being an entrepreneur.

Asking $79,900 property. Asking $349,000 Well established and well equipped Auto Care Center which offers complete car &

OFFICE SPACE FOR SALE QUIZNOS FRANCHISE FOR SALE

Excellent opportunity to own your own franchise! Well established and recognized

Established Indian Sweets and Restaurant business located in high Quiznos Subs in Port Coquitlam will enable you to achieve your entrepreneurial traffic area of Scott Rd, Surrey. Wide variety vegetarian menu with dreams! Busy plaza with Earls, Safeway, Scotiabank, McDonalds, Bosley Pet Valu and much more! Residences and commercial businesses all around sweets. Can be expanded to add non vegetarian dishes to the menu. makes this an ideal location. Owners have run it for several years Catering services provided regular clientele. Seating for 50. Complete and are now ready to retire. Contact me for more details regarding turn key restaurant great business opportunity! Asking $129,000 this business opportunity. Asking $119,000

and

sqft

r

UNIT OR FASE LE ON T 72 & 132 Available for lease. Opp JR Furniture. Good mix of warehouse and of�ice space. Centrally can be run from home or elsewhere. The exclusive Franchise territory for Maple Ridge, Pitt plaza Banquet in Halls, Surr DONAIR BUSINESS located in light industrial zoning.

APARTMENT Meadows and Mission is for sale. Fantastic recession proof business that enable children Of�ice for eat vestment sale! In Gr from 3-13+ learn and build withALE Lego bricks.

FOR S Teach the fundamentals of S.T.E.M. (science, FOR ALE S #1 1016 Sq cellent xposure, Ft e 12,000 op S.F. ExRETAIL t �loor of�ice y space Khalsa within the MORE 1000 TO & OFFICE SPACE technology, engineering & mathematics).

This unique business offers in School Workshops, Amazing opportunity to be your own boss! ,6960ey Surr 120 St Cent er x. comple ull ea F ar eddesignat or oom f classr space and addition Established After Schoolving EnrichmentliClasses, Week long Summer camps, Birthday Parties, preDonair School food outlet in prime busy Business AVAILABLE FOR SALE & LEASE Perfect space with of�ice space. ake vantage T ad ons of ofxposure t om visual fr . 128th e af�ic High st tr area in Langley.

Already steady clientele from Classes and the Kidz Night1000 out programs.

Realtor for128 more info2 on this cornerPlease of listing ft and 84.

CD zoning allows v over sq contact gr in opportunity . $325,000.00 the ous numer businesses ounding, surr tons complexof eat vestment unique opportunity. Asking $79,000 bedroom with den 2traf�ic and lots of opportunity to expand the #2. 1920 sq ft of second vate �loor of�ices, droom,of�iceboar space. bath corned unit in business further. Low lease, and great area reception ea,ar chenette. kit cellent Ex xposure, e op t �loor of�ice y space wit Harleen dens.

Gar make this the perfect turn key operation to own Khalsa Business er Cent x. comple ake vantage T ad ons of of xposure t visual fr e om 8077 KING GEORGE BLVD. Great unit available for lease facing King Asking location. centr busy $289,900 Surr your own business today!

Asking $99,000 The perfect second floor office space for lease Within busy Triton Centre. Busy and 128th af�ic xcomple eat tr tovestment gr inGas opportunity . $550,000 George Blvd.. Greatstvisual and High retail exposure.

Close shopping,

forORTUNITY more details. 1985 Sq.ft.

OPP

Approx. 3100 SF of office space available for sale in the busiest plaza in Surrey. Close to Banquet Halls, retailshops & offices. Asking $749,000

BUSINESS FOR SALE

T

Two adjoining of�ices in a new across om fr SMH. ht Can or be boug Wellleased established Vera's busy Fraser ogether t Burger orfFranchise otal located a onspace t Highway of in an Cloverdale. Well maintained. establishment full turn key operation ready for you 1600 sqft ate. or separ

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CENTRE oom/of�ice showr r Center

2590 sqft . etail R ande CUISINE space for LIGHTHOUSE sale INDIAN Asking $649,000

N LIS EW TIN G

LEARNING CENTRE FOR SALE

ACE VAILABLE SP A

., Surrey.

-

SO

ITALIAN

units long

Unique and established opportunity to make your entrepreneurial dream come true! This beautiful Café in the heart of White OFFICE Rock is a small business owners ACE SP OR ALE F S dream!

Tastefully decorated 3100 excellent breakfast and lunch fmenu ofandsalerarely Approx. vailableSFor of�ice in ey. found…Liquor license as well! Outdoor seating back and front of premises, retailshops & Asking tons ofof�ices. $749,000 parking and many, many more high rises coming in the area currently make this a business owners dream come true.UNIT Turn keyORbusiness you! BUSINESS ALE Fready T and S waiting AA forKHALS Confidentiality agreement to be signed beforeopportunity! viewing the Take vantage ad will eat of have vestment in this gr business. ound Ideal etail/�loor Gr high $149,900 ceilings eys in busy Surr Khalsa Business Asking

OPPOR

Large loading door at the back of the unit. name with two locations in Whistler and one in Squamish this turn key operation will enable you to develop your passion into a profitable career. With excellent Fully carpeted office space lots windows support from the founders, this BC based company is looking for individuals who allowing plenty of light, security alarm believe in health and are community driven and are wanting to utilize that to let Entrepreneurial juices Contact cuisine for more details on the Green Moustache Atheir treasure gem offlow!

Italian tucked away and 2 bathrooms. Contact for NEmore W info. term in tenants, to be sold Franchise and joining the Green Moustache family on W.4th!

Asking $99,000 Hope! Open for lunch and dinner this quaint LISTING restaurant serves traditional Italian classics in a fantastic atmosphere and ambiance. Perfect casual dining for locals as well as tourist traf�ic.

Attention centers,ready Early Childhood related businesses, Teachers and others with Educational backgrounds that Turn keylearning operation for youEducation to implement plaza. enjoy dreams working with Your dream to own your business has arrived. Reputable and your as children! a restaurant owner!

Asking $219,000 established Bricks 4Kidz Franchise has over 320 franchises worldwide! This unique business

TOWING COMPANYOR FORFSALES UNIT ALE

Established and reputable towing company that serves clients throughout In den Mughal plaza Gar 2 theavailable, Lower Mainland. to run your ownsqft turn key business to oxIdeal opportunity appr .Already 4875 leased AskingAsking $279,900 $1.25 million in a niche market. Contacttogether. for more details.

FRANCHISE TUNITY

PIZZA BUSINESS FORDSALE SOL LD

GREEN MOUSTACHE FRANCHISE FOR UNIT AT 83tAVE & 130 ST Fully �inished y sideata sideSALE b orunits str otalFORaLEASE f Are you passionate healthy lifestyle? you ready to takesqft of ox.about appr 5540 . Arevailable A or f sale. o unit in anClose t Ample Corner excellent location. your passion and belief in healthy organic foods and juices to the Port K and joinIndustrial y Eas o access t and in the warehouse. next level??ells Look no further The Greenea.

Moustache ar Family space bothboth office with their latest franchise locationaci�ic on 1 W. 4th in Vancouver.

Already an established ossing.

Highway hway Hig and Ptruck cr

N LIS EW TIN G

Don't miss this rare opportunity to own your own busy Lighthouse Indian Cuisine Franchise! Prime location in Brickyard Station Plaza this fantastic business has Take out and dine in, beautiful décor, quality Great opportunity to run your own signage and printing business! This established turn key operation offers all kitchen, Full Liquor license and full Indian Cuisine Menu. Complete varieties banners and signs, vehicle wraps, lettering LED Channel & 3D letters and awning turn keyof operation enables you window to be graphics your &own boss with this canopies and window graphics.

Establishedme for five years,for low lease, built upinfo. clientele make this a great business established franchise.

Contact today further Asking opportunity! Contact me for more details. Asking $99,000 $389,000

RETAIL

GREAT

Great ranchise F opportunity ed! yjust Bus list Coquitlam Cent er Mall or location oss Chop N Be your own boss!

Established Pizza business for sale. Excellent location fin South Surrey withont tons to expand andlong! grow.

Only $69,000.00!

Franchise!

W of opportunity last Asking $158,800

LE ASE

ITALIAN RESTAURANT FOR SALE

A treasure gem of Italian cuisine tucked away in Hope! Open for lunch and dinner this quaint restaurant serves traditional Italian classics in a fantastic atmosphere and ambiance. Perfect casual dining for locals as well as tourist traffic. Turn key operation ready for you to implement your dreams as a restaurant owner! Asking $219,000

INVESTOR OPPORTUNITY

Investment Opportunity in Hope. 7200 Sq. ft large Lot Fully renovated home close to the Downtown core. 2 bed, 2 bath 850 sq.ft home to use as a rental property. Asking $349,000

public transportation, restaurants, of�ice and retail shops. Established recently the spa and salon offers modern décor up to date equipment/furnishings. Excellent turn key operation. Asking R $60,000

AUTO BODY SHOP FOR SALE

truck inspection, service and repair. The perfect opportunity to run your own business with a well recognized and established automotive center. Contact realtor for more details. Asking $109,000

EDUCED29/07

Office for sale! Great Investment #1 1016 Sq Ft Excellent exposure, top floor office space within the busy Khalsa Business Center complex. Full area designated for classroom space and additional office space. Take advantage of tons of visual exposure from 128th st. High traffic complex great investment opportunity. $325,000 #2. 1920 sq ft of second floor office space. Includes 10 private offices, boardroom, reception area, kitchenette.

Excellent exposure, top floor office space within the busy Khalsa Business Center complex. Take advantage of tons of visual exposure from 128th st. High traffic complex great investment opportunity. $550,000

27/01