The Asian Star February 3 2018

www.theasianstar.com Vol 17 - Issue 1

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Tel:604-591-5423

Attorney-General vows to reform ICBC to avoid ‘massive’ rate hikes for drivers

Indian parents’ desire for son has created 21 million unwanted girls

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Punjab and Haryana residents are major culprits in aborting female fetus

ttorney-General David Eby will introduce major reforms for the Insurance Corporation of B.C. this spring to avert “massive” rate hikes for drivers, but a forecast of a $1.3-billion loss for the Crown corporation will test the NDP government’s commitment to balance the budget.

David Eby said he is considering caps on payouts for minor injuries, increased premiums for high-risk drivers and tighter controls on auto-body repairs to contain a fastgrowing deficit in the coming year.

“This is a financial dumpster fire,” David Eby told a news conference on Monday, after the release of ICBC’s latest fiscal update.

Officials at the Attorney- Continued on page 6

The Indian government said Monday that there were more than 63 million women “missing” from its population, and that 2 million go “missing” across age groups every year due to abortion of female fetuses, disease, neglect and inadequate nutrition.

There are also 21 million unwanted girls, the government said.

The 2017-2018 estimate, released as part of the country’s annual economic survey, reinforced the work of researchers and social scientists, who have argued that decades of son preference in India and its parallel in China, the One Child policy, have produced a man-made demographic bubble of excess males – those now under 25 top 50 million – in the two countries and may have long-term impacts on crime, human trafficking, the overall savings rate and the ability of these excess males to find brides.

“We know that the sex ratio in India is highly skewed,” the government’s chief economic Continued on page 6

South Asian nightclub employee dies after trying to stop a fight in Vancouver A fight on the Granville Strip on last Saturday morning claimed the life of a nightclub employee in Vancouver. Police are investigating the incident. Police said a fight broke out inside the Cabana Lounge in the 1100-block of Granville St. at around 2:30 a.m. and then spilled onto the street. Police said nightclub employee Kalwinder Thind, 23, was injured trying to break up the fight

and later died in hospital. Several arrests were made, police said. Until recently, Thind worked as a sales associate at Richmond Chrysler.

Curtis Robinson of BarWatch Vancouver, an association that advocates for safe bars and nightclubs, said he was “horrified, saddened and extremely upset and angry about this incident.”

“This was a fine young man, who was working to supplement his [education]. It’s tragic.” This

Wealthy Chinese ‘ghost immigrants’ using empty homes to claim Canadian citizenship Some foreign investors, particularly those from China, are taking advantage of Canadian loopholes to become ghost immigrants, according to David Lesperance, a tax and immigration consultant with Lesperance & Associates. Lesperance cites one recent judge’s decision from a lawsuit in which the judge said Chinese millionaire Guoqing Fu bought multiple multi-million-dollar homes in Canada while claiming just $97 in worldwide income on his taxes. The judge’s 600-page ruling in the case was posted online earlier this month.

“That was really pushing the edge,” Lesperance told CTV’s Your Morning on Monday. He says the situation would have gone unnoticed if Fu’s family and Continued on page 9

isn’t the first violent incident to have occurred at Cabana Lounge. In 2016, a 22-year-old North Vancouver man was stabbed outside the nightclub. Police said homicide investigators are still working to collect evidence. Anyone with information on the incident is asked

Continued on page 7

Fake email membership admission by Todd Stone campaign shakes Liberal leadership race B.C. Liberal leadership candidate Todd Stone’s campaign admits it had to cancel 1,349 memberships it signed up with improper email addresses after concerns raised by auditors within the Liberal party.

Stone campaign co-chair Peter Fassbender said Friday that a social media marketing company the campaign had contracted, called Aggregate IQ, created domain names and email portals to attach email addresses to new members, who were mainly nonEnglish speaking Chinese residents from Richmond and IndoCanadian residents from Surrey.

Continued on page 7

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Saturday, February 3, 2018

Hindu Temple Burnaby moves into spacious new property as congregation grows their new temple, they will have one of the largest in North America.

Religions come together for interfaith pilgrimage, Satya Parkash, High spread words Priest of Hindu Temple, of peace Burnaby It will boast about 33,000 square feet of floor space and can host 800 worshippers.

It will also include a library, classrooms, a yoga studio and a banquet hall that can hold weddings and other ceremonies and events.

Satya Parkash is the high priest of Hindu Temple Burnaby.

Devendra Goel says 45 years ago, there were few Hindus in B.C. He says he was among a handful of those at that time who got together to buy the old church, which served them well for decades.

“The main foundation The congregation of Hindu Temple’s new facility on Marine Drive in Burnaby. was Diwali Festival,” he said of those days. “Since then, Vancouver, and we need bigger space,” it’s like a heritage building. In this building we said board member Nutan Dhakur. had, in the beginning, very few people. But “It’s a long, long dream and now we have now our membership is a good membership fulfilled our dream… we all are very, very happy.” and we are celebrating all the main festivals.”

Temple leaders say when the faithful move to “It has traditions, a heritage, it was cozy,” Thousands of devotees turned up for the official opening of The Hindu Temple, Burnaby at its new location on Marine Drive in Burnaby, BC next tot the old Hare Krishna Temple after 45 years The congregation of Hindu Temple Burnaby is now simply too big for the old, converted church near the intersection of Boundary Road and Hastings Street.

Volunteers decorate for Diwali, prepare for 10,000 people to come to Surrey temple “Every day new immigrants are coming here to British Columbia, and especially

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said another devotee, Aron Garg, who has been coming to the temple since 1972. “You knew everybody. It’s like a family, an extended family.”

Leaving the 45-year-old temple for a brand new facility is a bittersweet moment for many in the congregation.

A temple official said fundraising for the new temple on Marine Drive began about six years ago.

On Sunday, workers were seen putting on some of the final touches, affixing marble facades to columns, hauling out buckets of gravel by hand and rolling in handcart after handcart of kitchen supplies in milk crates.

Surrey to get urgent mental health care centre in 2019 Surrey Memorial Hospital will soon house a mental health and addictions centre that will make it easier to get psychiatric treatment and medications including Suboxone and methadone, the Fraser Health Authority announced Wednesday. The move was made as the province continues to grapple with its ongoing opioid epidemic, which claimed over 1,400 lives in B.C.in 2017. There were 148 fatal overdoses in Surrey last year. More than 1,420 people died of illicit-drug overdoses in B.C. in 2017, the ‘most tragic year ever’: coroner “We absolutely feel the urgency to address the opioid crisis,” said Anson Koo, the chief psychiatrist for the Fraser Health Authority.

“The demand for health and mental health services is [far outpacing] the percentage growth in Surrey.”

The facility is expected to open in 2019 and will offer mental health assessments 18 hours per day, seven days a week. It will provide

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Sunday was also the last day the congregation would use the old building, and dozens were gathered for worship as music and singing reverberated through the building.

“Our dream has come true, so you can imagine how happy we are,” said temple official Bushpanjli Matheroo.

Temple official Vikas Gautam says the old building has been sold and is expected to become a church once again.

Members of the congregation gathered one last time on Sunday before moving to their new temple.

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Koo says demand for mental health services in the city has created long wait times.

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EDITORIAL

Saturday, February 3, 2018

BC gov’t should return the money the previous Liberal regimes took from ICBC

Umendra Singh

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ttorney General and the Minister Responsible for ICBC, David Eby, says that the previous BC Liberal government raided ICBC coffers regularly and took approximately $3.2 billion to put in government’s general funds.

Well then, the government should return the $3.2 billion to ICBC and call the resulting

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deficit the Christy Clark deficit.

The $3.2 billion deficit would become a BC government deficit instead of an ICBC deficit.

Which reminds me that politicians such as Christy Clark and Gordon Campbell, both former Liberal premiers, should not be allowed to melt away anonymously into private life after running up deficits such as the one left behind at ICBC by Campbell

and Clark. They will both enjoy their full pensions, paid for by the public, while the BC taxpayers will be stuck with covering the $3.2 billion hole at ICBC created by the Campbell and Clark when they took that amount from ICBC for government operations. If nothing else, then the current do gooders running the BC government should at least make it illegal for government to take money from ICBC.

Corruption widespread at Surrey City Hall

Surrey municipal corruption scandal was minimized and presented as a one-time bribe taken by a bad apple, even though the city knew other developers were involved and the wrongdoing stretched back years. Kelly Rayter, assistant city solicitor, said that the municipality has collected some of the money from the developers who cheated but would not say how much or how many were involved. Rayter said internal and external audits in 2010 revealed the extent of the scheme — which involved developers paying

a planner under the table to avoid paying city fees and charges — and a civil suit was launched to recoup the city’s losses. In 2014, though, former planner Akonyu Geoffrey Akolo was sentenced to 15 months house arrest for trying to squeeze $30,000 out of just one developer, Jack Saran. The 48-year-old Akolo pleaded guilty to breach of trust and had to abide by an 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

Saran, who blew the whistle on Akolo after hearing his offers, claims his original concern about the scope of the scam was swept under

the carpet and that others involved were not prosecuted. The 68-year-old developer said that when he first went to municipal officials about Akolo in 2010 they were skeptical. “They told me these things don’t happen in city hall,� Saran said. “They basically told me to get lost, that’s all I can say.� When he then went to the Mounties, he claims they, too, did nothing and even tried to dissuade him.

He persevered and charges were laid, but Saran said he now has learned — after hiring a lawyer, filing FOI requests and reviewing the civil file — that the city has confirmed Akolo’s wrongdoing wasn’t restricted to his case.

Saran’s lawyer Rishi Gill, a former Crown prosecutor, added: “There is certainly much to be desired in the prosecution of white-collar crime in this country. It’s a systemic problem.�

The city’s civil suit, which remains open eight years later, included a $600,000-plus lien against Akolo’s home, Saran pointed out, and that he knows of one developer who paid back more than $300,000. Saran said he is unhappy even though some of the money has been recovered and feels there should have been greater publicity and those involved should have been named to act as a deterrent.

Rayter, who has handled the file since the beginning, acknowledged the administration of then-mayor-now-Liberal leadership hopeful Dianne Watts knew Akolo’s wrongdoing was more extensive.

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Saturday, February 3, 2018

Indian parents’ desire for son created 21 million unwanted girls From page 1 Arvind Subramanian, said at a news event Monday, noting that the study further showed that Indians have a “meta” son preference, which means that if they have girls, they’ll keep on having children until they get a boy. This has led to an estimated 21 million “unwanted” girls in India, who often get less nourishment and schooling than their brothers.

The study, looking at numbers for 2015-2016, showed that the sex ratio for different states in India worsened even as incomes improved; sociologists have long argued that India’s son preference not only occurs in poor rural families but also in middle and upper-middle classes, where tradition dictates a son will carry on the family business or inherit property,

though legally, a daughter can do so, too. In the northern farming states of Punjab and Haryana, for example, the sex ratio among infants to 6 year olds is 1,200 males per 1,000 females, even though they are among the wealthiest states.

“Perhaps the area where Indian society – and this goes beyond governments to civil society, communities, and households – needs to reflect on the most is what might be called ‘son preference’ where development is not proving to be an antidote,” the survey suggested.

The survey – which was given a pink cover as a nod to women’s empowerment – said that the country has made improvements in most overall gender indicators as the country’s wealth has also grown.

From page 1

Attorney-General vows to reform ICBC to avoid ‘massive’ rate hikes for drivers

ministry said on background that individual drivers are expected to be classified as highrisk if they rack up several traffic violations, or are involved in multiple vehicle accidents.

Details will be announced in the coming weeks, but Mr. Eby would not say whether the changes will be enough to prevent rate increases. Right now, ICBC does not have the minimum amount of capital that insurance companies are required to have so they can meet their obligations.

“I can tell you now, many of these initiatives will be difficult for many groups who have an interest in the status quo,” Mr. Eby said.

The minority NDP government took office last July, and Mr. Eby says it has taken until

now to get a clear picture of the finances at ICBC. He said the former Liberal government misled voters in the last election campaign by playing down ICBC’s financial challenges and suppressing internal warnings that tough action was needed to contain costs.

Mr. Eby said the current forecast would mean a rate increase of $400 a year for the average driver, which he called “massive.”

The Crown corporation is grappling with a rapid increase in the number of collisions, as well as the rising costs of those claims.

Mr. Eby noted that the Liberals had forecast a deficit of just $11-million for this year for ICBC. “Years of reckless decisions by the former government have undermined ICBC’s ability to deliver low-cost insurance to British Columbians,” he said. “… Now, British Columbians are facing the full consequences of the previous government’s decision to bury the truth.”

John Yap, the Liberal opposition critic for ICBC, said the NDP should have acted sooner. He noted that an Ernst & Young report with recommendations for fiscal remedies has been on Mr. Eby’s desk for seven months.

“David Eby has a blueprint for moving forward at ICBC, but keeps delaying any action and is allowing the problem to grow even worse under his watch,” Mr. Yap said in a statement.

The Ernst & Young report concluded that premiums for B.C. drivers could be reduced if the government would move away from a litigation-based system of claims settlement to a “no fault” model.

British Columbia is unique in Canada with its full tort system, where those who are injured have the right to sue for all damages in court without any legislated cap on payments.

As a result, 24 per cent of ICBC’s expenses are for legal fees, expert reports and related costs.

He repeated on Monday that his government will not consider the no-fault option “at this time.”

The Attorney-General also ruled out a financial bailout from taxpayers, saying structural changes are needed or ICBC will continue to pile up huge deficits. Even with the proposed changes, he said, the Crown corporation’s deficit will strain the provincial government’s overall financial picture.

Finance Minister Carole James will deliver her first full budget on Feb. 20. In last year’s election campaign, her party said it could balance the budget and deliver costly programs that include subsidized daycare, the elimination of Medical Services Plan premiums and a renters’ rebate.

In her fiscal update in November, Ms. James noted that record-breaking costs for fighting wildfires, rising vehicle-insurance claims and weaker income-tax revenues had reduced the expected surplus for the current fiscal year.

However, she maintained that the province’s strongly performing economy will allow new spending and a surplus. “I will bring forward a balanced budget,” Ms. James told reporters at that time.

LOCAL

Saturday, February 3, 2018 From page 1

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South Asian nightclub employee dies after trying to stop a fight in Vancouver

to call investigators at 604-717-2500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8478.

Meanwhile, Thind is being remembered as someone who would make everyone laugh.

“When he’d come into the room he would light up the room, he’d make everybody laugh,” said Nikki Cunningham, who worked with Thind at Richmond Chrysler. Cunningham said Thind was a “positive spirit” who was always kind.

Danny Mouro, who also worked with Thind at the dealership, says he couldn’t believe the news.

“It’s just tragic,” said Mouro. “He was definitely loved by everybody here. We were all devastated by the news today.” He said everyone at the dealership is grief-stricken for the family and wants “them to know that our hearts and prayers are with them.”

Hundreds attend candlelight vigil to honour slain Granville Street nightclub worker

Tod Stone Liberal leadership campaign From page 1 “It was an error in judgement made by the individual who was doing that data entry at AIQ,” Fassbender said in an interview. “It was not malicious or with the intent to do anything untoward. But we all agreed those memberships would not be allowed in the voting process.”

The problems began Jan. 26 when the party raised concerns about the authenticity of the memberships, said Fassbender.

“Todd was not involved in the day to day management of the campaign, that was his campaign team,” said Fassbender. “As soon as he found out there was an issue he asked, and the team had already started to, dive into the issue.”

At a subsequent meeting with the party’s rules committee, the party deemed the memberships invalid, and the Stone campaign agreed to remove them.

“Our understanding at that time was these were real people who had paid their membership but there was something that didn’t comply with the standards the party had set for emails,” said Fassbender.

The core of the allegations against Stone relate to his campaign allegedly registering domain names that it would use to then create numerous fake email addresses, which it would then assign to new members when registering them with the party. If true, the move could have theoretically allowed the Stone campaign to control registration on behalf of those members, collect their personal identification numbers from the party, and then vote on their behalf, which is not allowed under party rules.

Fassbender said it didn’t get that far, because the emails were flagged before any PINs were issued or any votes cast.

The disclosure raises questions about why Stone has spent several days publicly claiming his campaign had no more memberships disqualified than any other campaign, when it clearly had significant internal issues.

The party instituted stricter rules in 2017 to prevent against bulk voting, because in the 2011 leadership race won by Christy Clark the problem was so widespread that some campaigns were hosting “PIN parties” where they would mass vote on behalf of voters whose ID numbers they’d obtained.

www.theasianstar.com

Hundreds of friends, family and complete strangers braved the rain to pay tribute to Kalwinder Thind at the spot in Vancouver where he was killed. Thind — who also went by “Kal” or “Kris” — was an employee at the Cabana Lounge on Granville Street. Police say he was stabbed while trying to break up an alcohol-fuelled fight early Saturday morning.

Friends and family paid tribute to Kalwinder “Kal” Thind (pictured) on Wednesday night outside the Cabana Lounge on Granville Street. In the evening, around 6pm, people who knew Thind decorated a bollard and street light outside the Cabana

Lounge. They assembled a display of flowers rising several feet high: lilies, orchids and hydrangeas in shades of orange, yellow and pink. Police appeal for info about fight ‘fuelled by alcohol’ that killed Granville Street bouncer As the crowd swelled in size, Punjabi music played while organizers handed out candles. The police shut down a portion of the street due to the size of the crowd. Thind’s brother-in-law, Simran Bhullar, says those who knew the young man are sharing their memories of him with each other. “He loved being the centre of attention. He would come up to our house when he was here, and, like, ‘Whaddup!’ really loud. You knew he was

there,” he recalled.

“You looked forward to seeing him. He was a guy who would make fun of people, but he would do it in such a way that everyone was laughing and no one got angry at him because it came from a good place.” ‘Unbelievable heart’: Granville Street victim remembered by friends, coworkers Bhullar described Thind as a person who was sweet, caring and funny. He also said the loss has left a hole in the lives of people who knew him.

“He was already our hero,” he said.

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LOCAL

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Trans Mountain pipeline project will be built, prime minister vows The prime minister is standing his ground on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion as Alberta feuds with B.C. over new restrictions on shipments of bitumen that would flow through pipeline networks from Alberta to the West Coast. “We have a federal government to look out for the national interest above various disagreements within the provinces and we did exactly that on the Trans Mountain pipeline,” Justin Trudeau said in an interview Thursday with CBC Radio’s Edmonton AM. “I’m not going to opine on disagreements between the provinces in this case,” said Trudeau, who is in Edmonton for a town hall meeting at MacEwan University Thursday night, part of a series of meetings in Western Canada. “We’re just going to reiterate that

the decision we made was in the national interest and we’re going to move forward with that decision, which means we’re going to get the Trans Mountain pipeline built.” Alberta premier threatens economic retaliation against B.C. over bitumen restrictions B.C. not backing down on fight against pipeline expansion despite Alberta’s threats Alberta Premier Rachel Notley has threatened legal action and economic sanctions in retaliation against new spill restrictions in B.C. which would create another roadblock for the already-delayed Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion.

The $7.4-billion project was approved by the federal government in 2016.

‘We can’t continue to be trapped’ Trudeau

said the decision was environmentally and economically sound and the new sanctions will not succeed in derailing the project. “We know that getting our oil resources to new markets across the Pacific is absolutely essential,” Trudeau said. “We can’t continue to be trapped with the price differential we have in the American market. We need this pipeline and we’re going to move forward with it responsibly like I committed to.” B.C. creates more uncertainty for Trans Mountain with bitumen restriction B.C. is proposing to restrict any increase in diluted bitumen shipments while it conducts more spill response studies. Notley described the proposal as an “unconstitutional attack” and vowed to fight the policy in court.

George Heyman, B.C.’s minister of environment and climate change strategy, denied that it is sparking a constitutional crisis, saying his government is just doing its job.

‘They’re both sort of right and they’re both a little bit wrong’ - Eric Adams, legal expert Eric Adams, an associate professor in the faculty of law at the University of Alberta specializing in constitutional law, said Notley’s claims that B.C. is breaking federal law are only partially correct. “They’re both sort of right and they’re both a little bit wrong,” Adams said.

“To the extent that B.C.’s jurisdiction is interfering with the ability of the pipeline to be constructed, they’re probably overreaching their constitutional jurisdiction.

Could bigger rent increases help ease housing crisis? Union of BC Municipalities thinks so The Union of B.C. Municipalities has put forward 32 recommendations that aim to ease the province’s housing crisis — including a proposal to increase how much landlords can raise the rent. It’s a move that’s drawing criticism from at least one group that represents Vancouver renters.

Currently, landlords in B.C. can only increase their tenants’ rent once a year by a percentage set by the province. In 2018, that amount was four per cent. But the UBCM says constricting rent increases too much can keep landlords from making significant improvements to their properties — especially for older rental stock that needs major repairs.

“We did hear loud and clear that the small amount that rents can go up won’t even cover the costs of maintaining the building,” said Greg Moore, chair of the UBCM’s housing committee and mayor of Port Coquitlam.

“They need a substantial improvement to keep up to today’s standards.” Moore pointed out that older, purpose-built rental buildings are often the most affordable homes, so it makes sense to keep them on the market for as long as possible.

The recommendations were spotty on the specifics of how the rent increase would work.

Moore explained that it was enough of a challenge for committee to put together the 32 recommendations since it was convened six months ago, prompted by a province-wide housing crisis. “There’s no one quick fix to this situation that we’re in,” he said, emphasizing the need for cooperation from the provincial and federal governments.

The UBCM recommends that the province raise the maximum allowable rent increase so landlords can invest in purpose-built housing.

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Guilty plea in Surrey homicide of Tarsem Dhaliwal four years ago A 36-year-old man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of 35-year-old Tarsem Dhaliwal four years ago.

Dhaliwal was reported missing on January 19, 2014, and was found two days later dead inside his vehicle in the Port Kells neighbourhood of Surrey.

Later that year, Randeep Singh Match was arrested in Abbotsford and charged with second-degree murder.

On Friday, Match, 36, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, according to the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.

IHIT spokesman Cpl. Frank Jang said it took time for investigators to secure all of the evidence relevant to this case.

“A guilty plea, in any homicide investigation, speaks to the efforts and dedication by all involved,” he said, in a statement.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 1.

Chilliwack home believed to be targeted, kills 1 man Police say a man was killed after shots were fired at a Chilliwack home Wednesday morning.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says Cody Isaacson, 28, was the victim of a shooting at about 6 a.m. PT in the 9200 block of Broadway.

Victim identified in targeted Chilliwack shooting Man dead after shooting in Chilliwack “It is

From page 1

still early in the investigation, but we believe Mr. Isaacson’s murder was targeted,” Cpl. Frank Jang said in a release. IHIT says Isaacson was found at the scene with gunshot wounds and was taken to hospital, but later died. Police say Isaccson was known to them.

Wealthy Chinese ‘ghost immigrants’ using empty homes to claim Canadian citizenship

partners, the Xia family, had not turned on each other and exposed their activities in court. Canada’s hottest markets have taken steps to curb this practice recently, by imposing foreign buyer taxes, as well as taxes on homes that sit vacant. “These were two parties...who fell out and decided to sue each other in civil court,” Lesperance said.

The judge’s ruling from the case indicates Fu “had a large and successful business in China,” yet he only claimed “a miniscule worldwide income of $97.11” on his Canadian income tax return, despite spending millions on three different homes. “This was an incredible assertion given the fact he owns one of the top 10 textile manufacturing and distribution companies, based in one of the biggest textile manufacturing centres of China,” the judge’s decision said. Lesperance says wealthy foreigners are using these tactics to game the Canadian system because no one is investigating to verify that they’re actually physically living in Canada. He says the Canadian immigration system isn’t really looking at these people, and that the Canada Revenue Agency isn’t focused on them because it lacks the resources to do so.

A spokesperson for the CRA said it works with provincial and municipal governments to enforce local tax and principal residency laws. “The government… is actively engaged in monitoring and addressing the overall health and stability of the housing market and financial system in Canada,” a spokesperson for the CRA said. The CRA says it recovered $117.9 million by conducting 4,471 audits from April 2015 to September 2017 in B.C. It also recovered $331.2 million through 21,280 audits conducted over that same period in Ontario. The highest penalty was almost $2.5 million, according to the agency’s website.

“It is important to note that the mandate of the CRA is to administer the tax legislation provided by the Department of Finance,” the CRA spokesperson said, adding that issues of immigration fall under the mandate of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. An IRCC spokesperson said the department is continually working to improve its systems to detect fraud. “The government of Canada takes any kind of citizenship or immigration fraud seriously,” a spokesperson told CTVNews.ca in a statement.

Homelessness and transit are priorities Mayor Hepner Ensuring people are no longer congregating and camping on 135A Street is top priority for Surrey mayor Linda Hepner as she prepares for this fall’s municipal election, which she hopes will see her win a second — and final — term as Surrey’s leader.

Also high on her list is seeing through funding approvals for two major transportation projects and “closing the book” on the debate about whether a light rail is the right choice for a rapid transit line connecting Surrey and Langley.

In an interview on Thursday, Hepner said getting people off 135A Street and into appropriate housing has been a priority for her since she took office in 2014. “(The situation) has been exacerbated over the last few year in terms of the numbers,” Hepner said, referring to the fact that there are more than 130 tents on the street. The 2017

Homeless Count found 602 homeless people throughout Surrey.

A Health Solutions Clinic is situated near tents that are set up along 135A street in Surrey, B.C., October 12, 2017. Arlen Redekop / PNG She said the Surrey Outreach Team, which launched a year ago and includes police and bylaw officers, has formed relationships with people camping on The Strip.

“I think that’s been the fundamentally important first step,” Hepner said, “and then the second step of getting them into housing is where we’re going to see the real change on 135A Street.”

It’s expected that by early spring there will be 160 units of short-term transitional housing on three sites in the City Centre area. Those will remain in place for two years and will be managed by Lookout Housing and Health Society.

LOCAL

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LOCAL

Saturday, February 3, 2018

BC surpasses Ontario as top location for film production A new report says British Columbia, the home of blockbuster movie shoots such as “Deadpool 2” and “Star Trek Beyond,” has surpassed Ontario as Canada’s top locale for film and television production for the first time. The report by the Canadian Media Producers Association says the 2016-2017 fiscal year was strong for Canada overall, with production volume in the country reaching

an all-time high of $8.38 billion. B.C. has always been in the top three provinces for film and TV shoots, but the association says this year its production volume hit $2.991 billion, just ahead of Ontario with $2.977 billion.

Quebec, with its thriving French-language industry, placed third with $1.754 billion in production volume.

Fort McMurray, Alberta, restaurant refuses to serve BC wine after proposed bitumen ban A restaurant in Fort McMurray, Alta., says if B.C. doesn’t want to take Alberta’s oil, they don’t have to take our wine.

Asti Trattoria Italiana announced on Facebook Thursday that it was removing all B.C. wines from its menu in response to the province’s restrictions on bitumen transport

from the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline. “While removing a few wines from our list may do very little, I hope other Alberta establishments will follow suit,” restaurant owner Karen Collins said in a post. “I wanted to ... make my own personal stance. It’s me, and you can either love me or hate me, but I feel that if there’s a way to get a message to the government (in B.C.), through an impact on your economy and through your industries, that industries there will lobby and end this lunacy. It’s crazy,” Collins told On The Coast host Gloria Macarenko. The decision to stop serving B.C. wine was inspired by a deep love for her community after seeing it hit hard by wildfires and unemployment.

“When we have a province that’s beside us that we consider a friendly province ... and we see them do something that has an impact on our economy here and our people, it’s very hurtful.” Collins said reaction to the Thursday morning post is better than she expected. In about six hours, she said it was shared 71 times and amassed more than 200 reactions. “I’m feeling a lot of love here in Fort McMurray. It was just a little post ... to really express how I felt as a resident here and as a business owner. It’s gone viral,” she said.

There were eight B.C. wines on their list and Collins said they were the restaurant’s best sellers, but she’s since replaced them with bottles from Italy, the U.S., New Zealand and Australia. “I can’t help support an economy in a province that won’t support us.”

She emphasized the support that Fort McMurray provided for the province’s Interior communities during B.C.’s wildfires over the summer.

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Saturday, February 3, 2018

Three BC gangsters charged in 2012 murders of South Asian rivals make brief court appearance Hells Angel Larry Amero and two men from his Wolfpack gang alliance appeared briefly by video link in B.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday, charged in connection with the 2012 murders of rivals Sandip Duhre and Sukh Dhak. Amero, Dean Wiwchar and Rabih “Robby” Alkhalil could be seen in separate sections of a split TV screen at the Vancouver Law Courts.

Last week, the VPD announced ‘significant’ arrests had been made in connection with the 2012 gang-related murders of Sandip Duhre and Sukhveer Dhak. Duhre, 36, was shot dead in January 2012 as he sat at a table inside the restaurant at the Sheraton Wall Centre on Burrard street. In 2012, sources said Duhre and Dhak were the leaders of a gang believed responsible for the fatal shooting of Red Scorpion Jonathan Bacon in an attack in front of a Kelowna hotel on a summer afternoon nearly seven years ago. Larry Ronald Amero, 40, has been arrested for conspiracy to commit Duhre’s murder and one count of conspiracy in connection with Dhak’s murder, police said in a statement. Amero was believed to have been with Bacon in a white Porsche SUV when Bacon was killed. The two other men charged in the 2012 slayings — Dean Michael Wiwchar and Rabih (Robby) Alkhalil — are currently in custody for a seperate targeted attack in Toronto.

Last year, Wiwchar and Alkhalil were among four men found guilty of arranging a brazen daytime killing at a crowded Toronto café as part of a feud among drug traffickers. Nicola Nero and Martino Caputo were also convicted.

The four had been on trial for the death of John Raposo, who was shot on the patio of the Sicilian Sidewalk Café on the afternoon of June 18, 2012, as soccer fans gathered to watch a Euro Cup game.

The group orchestrated the hit on their rival partly because they believed he had ratted Nero out to authorities, prosecutors said. Nero, Caputo and Alkhalil plotted to steal a 200-kilogram shipment of cocaine from Raposo, split the money between them and have him assassinated, court was told. The Crown relied partly on encrypted messages it said were exchanged by the men in the months leading up to the shooting. In at least one message, Wiwchar called himself a contract killer who commanded a $100,000 fee, the court heard.

Prosecutors alleged Wiwchar travelled from Vancouver for the job and donned an elaborate disguise in an effort to evade authorities.

Wiwchar’s alleged involvement in the murder of Duhre was brought up in a B.C. Supreme Court ruling in 2015, when Wiwchar was charged with possession of restricted firearms. SFU criminologist Rob Gordon suspects investigators had been gathering intelligence on the alleged attackers for years, but have felt greater pressure to clamp down on gang violence since the death of Alfred Wong — a 15-year-old bystander that was shot in a targeted attack on Broadway. As Vancouver copes with death of teen bystander, reality of gang violence reaches public eye “Police have known where [Larry Amero] was for a long time,” said Gordon.

“I think there was some pressure on the VPD and others to give a demonstration of their power and their capacity to arrest these guys — and so they did.” “There’s a lot of pressure placed on the government, which in turn trickles down onto the police [to] get these people under control, so the VPD and RCMP start running around looking

More than 1,420 people died of illicit-drug overdoses in BC last year The BC Coroners Service says more than 1,400 people died of an illicit drug overdose in the province in 2017, making it “the most tragic year ever,” according to the chief coroner.

Lisa Lapointe said the preliminary total for the year is at 1,422 — an increase of 43 per cent from 2016 — but that figure will grow as test results continue to come in.

Approximately 81 per cent of suspected

deaths last year involved the opioid fentanyl.

Lapointe said it was often combined with other illicit drugs — most often heroin, cocaine or methamphetamines.

“If not for fentanyl, we wouldn’t be seeing the deaths we’re seeing,” she said Wednesday.

A man walks past a mural by street artist Smokey D. about the fentanyl and opioid overdose crisis in Vancouver. Most of the overdose deaths in the province happened in that city.

Nearly 90 per cent of people who died were alone inside a home when they suffered an overdose. Four out of five were men, and more than half of all victims were between the ages of 30 and 49. Vancouver saw the highest number of deadly overdoses last year, followed by Surrey and Victoria. The coroners service said nobody died at any supervised consumption site or at any of the drug overdose prevention sites.

Naloxone temporarily blocks the effects of an opioid overdose to save lives. The number of deaths in 2017 had surpassed the 2016 record of 993 by October. The provincial health crisis, first declared in 2016, has continued into the new year: nine deaths were reported over five days in the B.C. Interior last week. Provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall, speaking on his last day before retirement, said the numbers show the province is still in the middle of an “epidemic of poisoning deaths.” Indigenous people in B.C. were also disproportionately affected by the crisis in 2017 — Dr. Patricia Daly said they accounted for 10 per cent of all illicit overdose deaths in B.C. last year, even though they only represent 3.4 per cent of the provincial population. However, Daly said there is a glimmer of hope in the numbers. She said statistics show a “significant decrease” in deaths over the last four months of 2017: an average of 96 deaths per month from September to December, compared with the first eight months of the year when there were more than 129 deaths per month. Daly said she’s “cautiously optimistic” about the 25 per cent drop. Lisa Lapointe, chief coroner with the BC Coroners Service, said Wednesday said the province “we wouldn’t be seeing the deaths we’re seeing ... if not for fentanyl.” Sarah Blyth is with the Overdose Prevention Society in Vancouver and has helped stop many overdose deaths in the city’s Downtown Eastside by setting up unsanctioned, pop-up supervised injection sites.

She says the crisis is affecting the province’s “most vulnerable” people. “It’s not surprising that we’re still in the middle of a crisis and that people are still dying,” said Blyth. “More action has to be taken — immediate action — with expanding safe access drug programs so that people are not taking a lethal dose of something that’s going to kill them.” She also said the stigma associated with drug addiction — something Kendall called a “chronic, relapsing health condition” —

for easy targets.”

Both Wiwchar and Alkhalil remain in custody out of the province, prosecutor Sandra Dworkin told Justice Janet Winteringham.

Amero, who was arrested in Ottawa on Thursday and charged with two counts of conspiracy to kill Duhre and Dhak, has been brought back to B.C. All three will appear again by video on Feb. 14. The Crown is proceeding by way of direct indictment, meaning the case will be heard at the Supreme Court level, bypassing a preliminary hearing in Provincial Court. The prosecution must now be completed within 30 months, according to a new time limit imposed on criminal cases by the Supreme Court of Canada in a 2016 ruling known as Jordan. Amero won a Jordan application last August in Quebec, where

he had been facing cocaine smuggling charges for almost five years while in pretrial custody.

He was released and the charges were stayed.

He then moved to Ottawa until his arrest by the Vancouver Police and their Ontario counterparts.

The new murder charge against Wiwchar, 32, was also laid Thursday, in connection with Duhre’s January 2012 assassination. The convicted hitman was also charged last week with conspiracy to commit the murder of Dhak in November 2012.

Alkhalil was already charged in 2013 in the Duhre murder and had made B.C. Provincial Court appearances on the charge. But he is now on the new indictment with his co-accused.

Wiwchar was earlier identified as the suspected Duhre hitman when he was on trial in B.C.

Surrey Mayor Hepner ‘frightened’ that gang prevention programs are needed in elementary schools Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner to respond to gang members but the got a stunning reality check at most serious ones aren’t there,” he Monday’s Anti-Gang Task Force said. meeting. She was told gang “They are working during the prevention programs need to day and what I mean by working is they’re actively involved in gangtarget students long before they related activities as opposed to get to high school. doing pro-social things.” McCuish “We have to look at whether says if you wait to intervene in the or not our programs — I think Surrey Mayor, lives of at-risk youth because they’re the majority start around Grade Linda Hepner in elementary school, you risk 7 — are too late,” Hepner said. losing them to criminal lifestyles.

“I think we have to get there “Trying to go into a school to solve the sooner.” Harsh reality Hepner’s comments followed a sobering presentation by SFU problem can be really ineffective if you’re trying criminologist Evan McCuish, who has done to focus on the most serious in violent youth,” he extensive research on violent young offenders said.Hepner launched the Mayor’s Anti-Gang who are incarcerated. He says 90 percent of Task Force last year to deal with gun and drug the gang-affiliated youths who are committing violence in the community. The committee will serious crimes drop out of school or are expelled. meet for the final time next month. The group “You can go to high schools and try to focus will then put together a report that will include on trying to prevent gang membership or trying recommendations to combat gang violence.

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Saturday, February 3, 2018

Former BC Liberal staffer sentenced for role in ‘Quick Wins’ scandal A former B.C. Liberal government staffer who was convicted in the Quick Wins scandal has received a nine-month conditional sentence to be served in the community.

In October, Brian Bonney pleaded guilty to one count of breach of trust in relation to the government’s plan to gain “quick wins” among the “ethnic” vote leading up to the provincial election in 2013. The wrongful conduct of Bonney, who was hired as a government communications director in 2011, included him using his time as a public servant for partisan political purposes.

The father of five directed the work of three community liaisons employed directly or indirectly by the government caucus or the B.C. Liberal party and also directed the work of community outreach workers.

In all of the activities he shared confidential information with people not authorized to receive it.

In imposing sentence on Bonney, Provincial Court Judge David St. Pierre said that in a free and democratic society, there was a legitimate and laudable expectation that a professional public service would support and implement the legislatively approved agenda of the government of the day. He said there was an equally laudable expectation that the public service would not work simply to serve a certain political party as opposed to serving all of the citizens who employ them. “It is this second expectation that Mr. Bonney failed to meet. In doing so, he breached the trust that the citizens of British Columbia had placed in him.” The judge pointed to a “compelling” example of how Bonney crossed the line in doing partisan political work while employed for the government, in an email dated April 23, 2012.

“In it, Mr. Bonney complains that he has

a full-time job with government but is being overwhelmed with emails from the minister’s office, the B.C. Liberal party, caucus and individuals associated to the Premier’s office.

Bonney was directed and encouraged by senior Liberals, but not to break the law: Defence Vaughn Palmer: ‘Quick wins’ amounted to little for NDP Former Liberal government staffer engaged in partisan politics in Quick Wins scandal: Crown The government strategy, which was leaked in 2013, indicated that Harry Bloy, the then-minister of state for multiculturalism, was responsible for implementation of the plan with Bonney identified as one of the leaders of the scheme, the judge noted.

“Mr. Bonney enthusiastically went to work on this plan, much of which was expressly designed to promote only Liberal party interests, while he was being paid from the public purse.” One of the activities the liaisons were directed to do was to organize meetings and “roundtables” involving ministers and MLAs and “ethnic” community groups and leaders, with the criteria often requested that there be something “in it” for the Liberal party. The motivation of Bonney, a former regional director and member of the executive of the B.C. Liberal Party who supported former premier Christy Clark’s leadership bid, was not for personal financial advantage or to gain a particular benefit for himself, said St. Pierre. “He simply believed that the Liberal party with their ‘free enterprise’ agenda was the only party that could effectively govern and that essentially, the ends justified the clandestine, partial and dishonest means he was engaged in,” the judge said.

Refugees crossing into BC on the rise, immigration group says On Nov. 18, 2017, Ribwar Omar, a 38-yearold Iraqi Kurd, arrived in Blaine, Wash., by bus. He stopped at a coffee shop, bought a hot chocolate and then, using the GPS on his phone, he made his way through a forest near the Peace Arch and crossed the border into Canada. Omar is awaiting a refugee hearing, one of 1,277 new refugee claimants that made their way on foot from Washington state to B.C. in 2017 and accessed services through the Immigrant Services Society of B.C. . New numbers released by the ISS show their group has tracked a 76-per-cent increase in individuals accessing their services that have applied for refugee status, and 90 per cent of those arrive the same way Omar did: by walking across the U.S./Canada border between Blaine and Surrey through Peace Arch Park.

Chris Friesen of the ISS calls it “the underground railroad.” B “We have seen single men, families of 12, 13, people in wheelchairs, pregnant women,” said Friesen, with the majority originating from Afghanistan, Iraq, Mexico, Iran and Colombia. Refugee Ribwar Omar with the shoes he wore while walking across the border to seek asylum in Canada.

Friesen and other advocates are concerned that the spike in the number of asylum seekers could increase as the weather warms-up. Last summer, over 7,000 asylum seekers entered Quebec through irregular border crossings.

The reason many asylum seekers are using irregular border crossings — through farmers fields or border parks — is because of the Safe Third Country agreement between Canada and the U.S. Under the deal refugee claimants are required to request refugee protection in the first safe country they arrive in, unless they qualify for an exception.

“This means that a refugee claimant who

came from the United States to Canada through an official border crossing could be detained and deported, or kept in the United States, forcibly impinging their ability to seek asylum in this country,” said Friesen.

Many of the refugee claimants are wellinformed about their rights, and will phone the RCMP to be picked up once they arrive in Canada. “The RCMP will drive them to Hornby Street to file their refugee claim, [and begin the process of settlement],” said Friesen.

“With the numbers that are coming in it is pushing us to the breaking point,” said Friesen, who called the situation “a bloody mess.”

Friesen said ISS is tracking two clear waves of refugee claimants. The first includes those, like Omar, who are able to obtain a legal visitor’s visa to the U.S., and use the United States as a transit point into Canada.

“This is quite new,” said Friesen.

The second stream of new asylum seekers is comprised of individuals who may have been in the U.S. for years, but are vulnerable to the Trump administration’s new policies, including accelerated deportations, the suspension of temporary protection agreements for Haitian and El Salvadoran immigrants, as well as Dreamers. Friesen said he has been in contact with provincial officials who are planning consultations next month on contingency plans to deal with the continued influx of asylum seekers. Eyob Naizghi, an Eritrean refugee who came to Canada 35 years ago, speaks at Vancouver City Hall as Mayor Gregor Robertson, centre, and Chris Friesen, settlement services director for the Immigrant Services Society of B.C., look on.

In a statement emailed to Postmedia News, the Ministry of Jobs, Trade and Technology said that 2,195 refugee claims were made in B.C. between January and November of last year.

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Judge convicts young gangster in 2015 Richmond park shooting A young gangster was convicted Thursday in the August 2015 attempt to kill his own associate in Richmond’s Dover Park.

Richmond Provincial Court Judge Bonnie Craig said the circumstantial evidence at trial proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Thomas Duong participated in the near-fatal shooting of Matin Pouyan on the night of Aug. 21, 2015. Craig agreed with the defence that there was no apparent motive behind the murder plot and that Duong and Pouyan had been seen hanging out together on the day of the shooting. But she also accepted the Crown’s submissions that events both before and after Pouyan was shot that night proved that Duong and his co-accused Sahad Askari planned to kill Pouyan, then disposed of the evidence. Pouyan was struck in his face and shoulder, but managed to make his way across Westminster Highway to seek help at a local gas station. He refused to cooperate with police. “This was a determined effort to shoot Mr. Pouyan that shows a clear intention to kill

him,” Craig said. Askari is believed to have fled Canada before charges were approved in the case. Craig heard that all three men were associated to the United Nations gang at the time of the shooting. All three were also under the surveillance by anti-gang police investigating an unrelated crime, details of which were not disclosed in Craig’s ruling.

One of the officers doing surveillance saw Askari and Duong get out of Askari’s Mercedes and walk into the park before seeing Pouyan arrive and park nearby. But there were no witnesses to the actual shooting. Three shots, then loud screaming, then a fourth shot were captured on a listening device planted on Askari’s car. Witnesses who lived near the park, including former solicitor-general Kash Heed, also testified about hearing the shots and the screams. Craig accepted that the only reasonable inference is that Askari and Duong agreed to meet Pouyan the park that night to carry out their plan.

BC gov’t strikes another blow to stop Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion The B.C. government has delivered another blow to the Kinder Morgan pipeline twinning project. The province announced plans Tuesday morning to put a restriction on the amount of diluted bitumen that can be transported by pipeline or rail until the province can better understand the ability to mitigate spills. “The potential for a diluted bitumen spill already poses significant risk to our inland and coastal environment and the thousands of existing tourism and marine harvesting jobs,” said B.C. Environment Minister George Heyman.

“British Columbians rightfully expect their government to defend B.C.’s coastline and our inland waterways, and the economic and environmental interests that are so important to the people in our province, and we are working hard to do just that.” Any restriction on the flow of diluted bitumen, or dilbit as it is known, would prohibit an expansion of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline.

The government is launching an independent scientific panel in February that will be responsible for determining whether the province has the ability to clean up spills.

The estimate is the report could take about two years to complete. The government wants specific research on the effects of a spill in B.C. and is also seeking consultation with industry, first nations and the public. The announcement comes as part of the province’s

second phase of regulations to improve response and recovery of potential spills.

The government is still looking at how it will enforce a measure to restrict the flow of dilbit.

“We will have all sorts of suggestions from people on how to implement this, on how to enforce it if we do and what the stands should be,” said Heyman. The federal government has approved the Kinder Morgan pipeline twinning. The $7.4-billion project will expand an existing 1,150-kilometre pipeline between Edmonton and Burnaby. The expansion would see three times more bitumen moved to the B.C. coast everyday and a seven-fold increase in tanker traffic. Before Tuesday’s announcement, Kinder Morgan was expected to have the project completed by Dec. 2020 depending on regulatory, permit and legal approvals. Tuesday’s announcement has widespread support from the Green Party, environmental and First Nation groups that oppose the pipeline twinning.

Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver took to Twitter to applaud Heyman and the government. “I am please to see Minister Heyman putting evidence and science front and centre in decision making,” said Weaver in a statement. Environmental groups were quick to point out this seems to them to look like an end to the Trans Mountain pipeline twinning.

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Premier Horgan’s mission Asia

Premier Horgan (2nd from right) & Minister Bruce Ralston (left) at Netmarble facility tour in Seoul, South Korea.

Trial lawyers call for independent review of ICBC from auditor general Trial lawyers are calling on BC’s auditor auditor general is the only one that can get to general to conduct an independent review of the bottom of this.” The B.C. government has British Columbia’s public auto insurer. ICBC’s vowed to make changes to address the financial losses jumped to a projected $1.3 billion by issues plaguing the crown corporation.

In a statement on Monday, B.C. Attorney the end of the fiscal year, up from $11 million General David Eby said he is estimated by the previous B.C. Liberal considering caps on payouts for minor government. A few months ago, the injuries, as well as improving road losses were said to be $200 million. safety and changing deductibles for Ron Nairne, a personal injury lawyer high-risk drivers. ICBC repair shops and co-chair of the Trial Lawyers Association of B.C.’s ICBC committee, deny union allegations of overbilling repair costs B.C.’s distracted drivers says an independent review is needed to get hit with higher insurance to get a clearer financial picture of the crown corporation. Nairne said there Ron Nairne, premiums Skyrocketing claims, both personal injury lawyer for injuries and repairs, have been has been “no clear information or blamed for ICBC rate hikes in the reliable information about what these numbers are — they are changing all the time. past.

The question is, why?”

ICBC injury claims are on the rise and An audit, conducted by Price water house closing in on $3 billion annually. Large loss Coopers, is expected to be released in two claims, with an average payout of $450,000, weeks. ICBC posts $935M in net losses in have gone up 80 per cent in the last year. Eby first 9 months of fiscal year But Nairne told says that some of the proposed changes might Stephen Quinn, host of CBC’s The Early be difficult for those with financial interest in Edition, that he and other trial lawyers are the status quo. But Nairne is adamant that a concerned that the forthcoming audit, like cap for minor injuries is not the solution.

“You can’t gloss over what’s a minor injury,” previous ones, won’t capture the full picture.

“We just don’t have faith in the fact that Nairne said. “The focus is on ensuring that those organizations will be able to access all bad drivers pay and … that there are fewer the information necessary,” he said. “The accidents.”

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Surrey says it is OK for public facilities to collect your private information There was a time when anyone wanting the near future according to Loehrich. a little exercise at the local pool, rink or rec She says the practice is also in place in Delta centre needed only the motivation and enough and Richmond, and it helps staff keep banned money to cover the price of admission. But patrons out of the public facilities. at the Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre Patrons in South Surrey, members of the public who want to swim some laps or lift a few weights are also being asked to provide their name, address and phone number in order to gain access to the facility. Sophie Loehrich, privacy and records manager for the City of Surrey, defends the practice as a way “to ensure the health and safety of patrons.” It’s time to rethink what information The City of Surrey wants to know the name, address and we share, says online security phone number every patron dropping in at one of its expert “It allows us to know who public rec facilities. is in our facilities and address medical emergencies,” she said.

“It also is for theft deterrent and operational wanting to drop-in for a work out at the efficiency and budgeting.”

Grandview Heights pool or gym are asked Banned patrons Not all City of Surrey to provide their name, phone number and facilities currently collect the private address, along with the price of admission. information of every patron, but they will in

Surrey mom says Shoppers Drug Mart messed up her epileptic daughter’s medication Cheryl Rose could tell something was wrong when she last picked up her daughter Hailey’s medication.

Hailey has epilepsy, and for 13 years she has taken a number of prescriptions to keep her seizures at bay. Family explains challenges handling their son’s epilepsy diagnosis Family explains challenges handling their son’s epilepsy diagnosis But when Rose last picked up her medication from a Shoppers Drug Mart in Surrey, she found that there was double the daily dose of one pill and another was missing altogether. “Is it my job to double check everything your pharmacist does? As a parent I do, but this is unacceptable,” she said.

“This is a month’s worth and only one week is correct.” Shoppers Drug Mart wouldn’t

comment, but a pharmacist told Global News that she’s reviewing the case with staff. There were 28 cases of medication-related mistakes reported in B.C. in 2017. Such mistakes are the second-most common complaint received by the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia.

Commission releases Metro Vancouver mobility pricing maps The independent commission studying mobility pricing in Metro Vancouver has released maps showing what decongestion charging could look like in the region. The seven maps were posted online Thursday to kick off the next phase of the commission’s work, which includes another round of public and stakeholder consultation and a final report to be presented to TransLink’s Mayors’ Council and board of directors.

“People can look at that and see how it could impact them,” commission chair Allan Seckel said of the maps. “It’s narrowing the conversation down to a smaller list of possibilities.” Last month, the commission released a report that outlined two possible policy approaches: congestion point charges — which involve charging someone a toll when they pass a certain congested point or location — and charging drivers for each kilometre they drive The four examples for congestion point charges include a cordon around downtown Vancouver; tolling each major bridge or tunnel crossing from south of the Fraser to the North Shore; putting in a cordon at entrances to the Burrard Peninsula — which includes Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster — and tolling congestion hot spots

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12 life-insurance agents from same Surrey agency lose licences for cheating on qualification test: council A dozen life insurance agents who worked together at the same brokerage in B.C. have lost their licences because they all conspired to cheat on their qualification tests, according to the provincial regulator.

The Insurance Council of B.C. said it’s a “very unusual ... level of cheating” that was unseen anywhere else in the country after a national audit — one that left the board with no choice but to cancel the agents’ licences.

‘Odd’ test pattern The 12 agents wrote their LLQP tests to earn their licences between October 2016 and June 2017.

All of them worked at a World Financial Group (WFG) branch in Surrey. Anyone who wants to become a life insurance agent in Canada needs to pass the LLQP — Life License Qualification Program — exam to prove they have basic knowledge to sell life insurance. Last fall, a third party ran a national audit to check for fishy patterns on tests results from across the country that could point to cheating.

Nearly two dozen red flags popped up in B.C. — there was an “odd” group of multiplechoice exams with answers, both right and

Gas prices climb in Metro Vancouver Lower Mainland drivers may be experiencing a bit of sticker shock this week as prices at the pump have climbed to an average of $1.479 per litre in most areas Tuesday.

“Vancouver has traditionally been subject to the highest prices for gasoline anywhere in North America and this certainly is the case today,” said gas price analyst Dan McTeague.

McTeague, of Gasbuddy. com, says a rise in prices is not the norm for this time of year.

“This is an unusual January in that we rarely see prices move up. If anything, they move down,” he said. “But a combination of oil prices moving up several dollars a barrel, shortages in the U.S. West Coast where we draw in a lot of our gasoline supply ... all of these things are contributing to the much higher prices,” McTeague said. Judging by the non-reaction of most to these eye-popping

prices, you get a sense as to how such high pump prices get a pass. I know that if US prices were $5.60 a gallon, (which is what Vancouver’s prices will be) governments, state and federal would be getting an earful McTeague says one of the contributing factors to high prices in the region is that we don’t produce enough gasoline in our own backyard.

“We have one small refinery, the Parkland Refinery over in Burnaby — 55,000 barrels a day, that’s just not enough to meet the demands for the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island to boot,” he said. Summer could see even higher prices McTeague says he expects prices to stay around $1.44 for the next few weeks before dropping mid-February to about $1.40.

Illegal ride-hailing services busted Twelve drivers illegally running ridehailing services in Richmond, B.C., have been reprimanded — including a new driver with an “N” licence and another with an expired one. “What it highlights is if a person uses one of these unregulated ride apps you’re getting into a stranger’s vehicle and there’s no guarantee of anything,” said Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie. In a written statement, the City of Richmond said the drivers were targeted as part of a joint effort between the city, the province’s Passenger Transportation Branch and RCMP over the past two weeks.

The PTB issued fines of $1,150 for the drivers, and the city issued each of the drivers tickets for: The city said companies including Longmao, Udi Kuaiche, RaccoonGo and Dingdang Carpool, launched ride-hailing apps and have been the subject of ongoing enforcement from the PTB since last fall.

Brodie said the services were difficult to detect — many of the illegal services only respond to people who speak Chinese or another language.

“Who knows who’s operating these apps. They’re probably in some other country — they’re certainly not in your city,” he said.

“And so you can’t enforce anything against the apps themselves, you have to take all your actions against the drivers.”

Richmond struggling to shut down unregulated ride-hailing services Ride hailing is illegal in British Columbia.

The province is still considering permitting services like Uber

wrong, that were nearly identical to one another. The provincial board immediately suspended 21 brokers licences after their exams were flagged. The council found they all came from the same brokerage and appeared to have used the same answer keys.

Paperwork Life insurance policies sold by cheating brokers are still valid. Liability

would fall to the World Financial Group, as the agency would’ve approved the packages when they were sold. After the investigations, the council moved to cancel 19 of those certificates. Twelve have accepted that ruling and seven have filed appeals.

Two are still pending. “Our concern was that anyone who had cheated on this exam,

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Hundreds remember bright, ambitious teen killed by stray bullet

A roundtable meeting was held by Minister Harry Bains and Parliamentary Secretary Ravi Kahlon with representatives of the Muslim community to commemorate one year anniversary of Quebec mosque shootings. The meeting was held in Vancouver.

Vancouver senior dies in Yaletown apartment fire A woman is dead following a fire at a Yaletown apartment on Wednesday night.

The fire broke out in a single suite in an apartment at 1033 Marinaside Cres. at around 11:30 p.m.

Inside the smoke-filled condo, firefighters found the body of a woman in her 80s.

It was Vancouver’s first fire fatality of 2018.

The woman’s name has not been released.

Cpt. Jonathan Gormick, with Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, said the blaze was

contained to the one suite.

He said fire investigators have determined the fire to be accidental.

Samson Wong wept Saturday as he apologized to his teenage son, saying he wishes he could have protected the young man from the stray bullet that took his life.

Alfred Wong was heading home to Coquitlam with his parents on Jan. 13 when a bullet pierced their vehicle on a Vancouver street, striking the 15-year-old. He died in hospital two days later.

Alfred Wong Vancouver police have said they believe the shooting was gangrelated.

“Alfred, forgive Mom and Dad. We tried to protect you,” Samson Wong said at his son’s memorial service on Saturday. “Mom and Dad have been talking. We wish the bullet went for our heart, not yours.”

Sobs could be heard throughout the Coquitlam Alliance Church as Wong spoke to the crowd of about 700 mourners, saying he still can’t accept or believe what has happened.

“Every morning when we wake up, we tell ourselves it was a dream, a bad dream,” he said.

Wilfred Wong speaks about his brother Alfred Wong, 15, seen on a television, who was an innocent victim of an alleged gang shooting, during a Vancouver Police news conference on Jan. 22. His son’s body lay a short distance away, dressed in a red plaid shirt and grey toque, in an open casket.

Wilfred Wong told the crowd Wilfred Wong that his younger brother was his “closest companion and an irreplaceable pillar” in his life.

Then-Toronto-mayoral front runner John Tory crosses paths with mayoral candidate Doug Ford at a Halloween Walk for Military Families in Toronto on Oct. 27, 2014. This week Tory said that if Ford won the PC leadership and he was mayor he would absolutely work with him. Under the Competition Act, penalties for price-fixing include fines of up to $25 million and imprisonment to a maximum term of 14 years, or both.

BC judge orders Chinese millionaire to show money to non-wife A BC judge has ordered a Chinese multimillionaire to provide documentation of his finances to a Vancouver woman bent on seeking spousal support in the aftermath of their short-lived Vegas wedding.

Peipei Li sued Lu Hua Rao for divorce after learning he was still married to his wife in China. But not before the pair partnered on a $20 million deal to invest in Lower Mainland real estate.

One B.C. Supreme Court justice had already thwarted Rao’s plans to have their break-up battle heard by a Chinese arbitration commission, as opposed to a Canadian divorce court.

Now, another has ruled that Li both has the right to seek spousal entitlements from their split and that Rao has three weeks to provide a complete picture of his wealth.

“This finding only relates to the right of the claimant to make a claim for spousal support

and property division,” Justice Carla Forth wrote in her decision. “It does not in any way impact on whether there is any merit in these claims in the context of the facts of this unique case.” Forth’s decision details a whirlwind romance that began in August 2015, when Li — who is in her early 30s — met Rao while he was on a trip to Vancouver.

Rao, who was in his 50s, had a wife and two sons back in China.

The pair went on dates and started corresponding via WeChat, a Chinese social media app.

“Ms. Li deposes that shortly after meeting, Mr. Rao told her that he had fallen in love with her and that he would buy her a house in Vancouver with the view that she would be ‘his woman,’ they have a baby, and start a life together,” the decision reads.

“She states that she inquired as to his marital status, and that he was separated from his wife and soon to be divorced.”

In September 2015, Rao bought Li a 1.28 carat diamond engagement ring, worth $34,400 during a trip to Seattle. The pair also allegedly incorporated a real estate firm and agreed Rao would contribute $20 million in exchange for half the company’s shares.

PeiPei Li and Lu Hua Rao tied the knot in Las Vegas in 2016. But things fell apart when Li learned that Rao already had a wife in China.

Li claimed that the following April Rao asked her to marry him as soon as possible and that he would buy her a house within a year” and that he had divorced his wife.” But Rao swore he told her twice that he was married and unwilling to divorce. Regardless, the pair travelled to Vegas that month and got married.

The court ruling says the pair opened a joint bank account in August 2016 and looked at houses worth up to $22 million. Li ultimately settled on a property that required a $1 million downpayment. At the same time, Li asked Rao for proof of his divorce so she could include him as her spouse on her Canadian permanent residency application. This is where things fell apart.

“Rao refused to give her a divorce certificate and stated that he did not wish to immigrate to Canada,” the ruling says.

Saturday, February 3, 2018

DREAM CARPET

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NATIONAL

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Police officer who allegedly ate pot edibles on duty called for help after ‘hallucinations’ Two Toronto police officers who allegedly ingested marijuana edibles, hallucinated and called for help while on duty Sunday have been suspended, CBC News has learned.

Both officers are under investigation by the force’s professional standards unit following an incident that happened Sunday, according to Mark Pugash, a spokesperson for Toronto Police Service. CBC News has learned the officers, who work at 13 Division, were on duty not far from the station at Eglinton Avenue West and Allen Road when they allegedly ingested pot edibles. Can pot cause hallucinations? Report of officers who allegedly ate edibles fuels debate Police

sources tell CBC News the officers began to complain of “hallucinations” and one made a call for an officer needing assistance. Both officers were found in a police vehicle and later treated in hospital. During the call, another officer responding to the scene slipped on ice and required medical attention.

That officer suffered a head injury. Over the weekend, Toronto police carried out a raid at Community Cannabis Clinic, a marijuana dispensary at St. Clair Avenue West near Dufferin Street. Sources tell marijuana edibles the officers ingested are believed to have come from this dispensary. It’s unclear if the officers participated in the raid over the weekend.

Police charge Bruce McArthur with 3 additional murders

Toronto’s alleged serial killer’: Toronto landscaper Bruce McArthur now faces three additional counts of first-degree murder, bringing the total to five in what police are calling a serial killing case that the city has never seen before. Det.-Sgt Hank Idsinga said Monday that investigators have reason to believe McArthur killed Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi and Dean Lisowick.

“What kind of case is this?” Idsinga asked rhetorically at a news conference. “It’s a serial killer.” Idsinga said there may be even more victims who have yet to be identified. “We do believe there are more and I have no idea how many more there are going to be.” Man

missing since 2010 was romantically involved with accused killer Bruce McArthur, says friend ‘A different standard’: Disappearances of men of colour not taken seriously enough, LGBT leader says McArthur, 66, was previously charged with two counts of firstdegree murder in the deaths of Selim Esen and Andrew Kinsman, who both disappeared in 2017. Police say Kayhan went missing in October 2012 and Mahmudi in August 2015. They believe Lisowick was killed in 2016 or 2017. Idsinga said police discovered dismembered remains in the bottom of large planters after searching a property linked to McArthur at Mallory Crescent in midtown Toronto. “There’s at least the remains of three people among those body parts,” said Idsinga.

Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi, Dean Lisowick McArthur now faces first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi and Dean Lisowick, left to right. He added that more DNA and other analysis is being done on the remains to determine the exact identities of the victims. Karen Fraser lived at the Mallory Crescent property with her husband and told CBC’s As It Happens McArthur would often store equipment — including large planters like the ones where the body parts were found — on her property in exchange for cutting grass. McArthur would do more for her, including helping her with charity work, she added. “He has been kind, helpful, helped with our charity work, doing floral gifts for silent auctions,” she said. “He went above and beyond what our original agreement was to

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh orders probe into harassment allegation involving MP Erin Weir NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announced Thursday there will be an independent investigation into an allegation of “harassing behaviour toward women” that has been made against NDP MP Erin Weir.

Weir says he welcomes an investigation to clear his name.

Singh was spurred into action after NDP MP Christine Moore emailed her colleagues with concerns about Weir’s behaviour.

‘I would not feel comfortable to meet with you alone.’

— NDP MP Christine Moore, to Erin Weir Weir had emailed his fellow NDP MPs on Tuesday to say that he would like to run for the position of caucus chair. Moore replied to Weir’s note with concerns about whether he should hold such a leadership position.

“You are the last person in the caucus I would like to see to get that position,” the Quebec MP responded, to both Weir and the other MPs. “There is too many women (mostly employee) complaint to me that you were harassing to them and as a women I would not feel comfortable to meet with you alone. Given what’s going on right now in the political world, I think you should really not run to avoid us any trouble.”

Speaking to reporters, Singh said the allegation was not sexual in nature.

‘I do not know what is being alleged.’

NATIONAL

Saturday, February 3, 2018

New trial ordered for Halifax taxi driver acquitted of sexual assault A new trial has been ordered for a Halifax cab driver who was acquitted of sexual assault in a case involving an intoxicated female passenger, but the complainant says she hasn’t decided yet whether she will testify again.

The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal released

“clearly a drunk can consent.” The Crown appealed that decision in November. The complainant said that while she doesn’t remember the incident itself, it’s been hanging over her head. She said she was partly disappointed by Wednesday’s decision, “Because it means that this whole thing isn’t over.”

“But overall I think that the message is clear and I’m happy that justice is coming through this time,” she said. “I feel at least as though this wasn’t all for nothing.”

The woman’s identity is protected by the court. ‘The judge’s error was twofold’ “We were pleased with the result of the decision, it was certainly what we advocated for before the court and we feel it’s the right decision,” said Crown Bassam Al-Rawi appears in Halifax Court on Thursday attorney Jennifer MacLellan, who spoke with the complainant on Wednesday. the decision on Wednesday in the case of “It’s difficult for her. She’s very brave and very Bassam Al-Rawi, whose trial attracted national patient. And she’s found herself in the centre attention last March after Judge Gregory of something that I’m sure no one would ever Lenehan declared in his oral decision that want to be in. But we had a good discussion

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UCP Leader Jason Kenney sworn in during ceremony at Alberta legislature Alberta’s new Opposition leader has officially been sworn in during a ceremony at the provincial legislature. Jason Kenney, leader of the United Conservative Party, won a byelection last month to become the legislature member for the constituency of Calgary Lougheed. The seat became available when United Conservative MLA Dave Rodney stepped down to allow Kenney to run. Kenney, a former federal cabinet minister, won the leadership of Alberta’s Progressive Conservatives in early 2017. He successfully arranged a merger with the Opposition Wildrose and then beat its leader, Brian Jean, to become head of the new party. Kenney will take his seat in the legislature when the spring sitting begins on March 8.

“In a few weeks time, when I take my seat and my place, it will be to act as leader of (the official Opposition) and I hope ... to do so in a constructive fashion,” he said at the swearing-

in ceremony Monday. Afterwards, Kenney gave a stump-style speech to his supporters at a downtown Edmonton hotel. He criticized the federal carbon tax, pledged to work hard for “common-sense solutions” and committed to raise the bar on discourse in the legislature.

Kenney left without taking questions from the media. Former federal cabinet minister Jason Kenney says winning a provincial by-election sends a ‘clear message’ to Alberta Premier Rachel Notley. The United Conservative Party leader won 71 per cent of the vote in the Calgary Lougheed riding.

As of December 20, 2017, we have temporarily removed commenting from our articles as we switch to a new provider. We are behind schedule, but we are still working hard to bring you a new commenting system as soon as possible. If you are looking to give feedback on our new site, please send it along to feedback@globeandmail. com. If you want to write a letter to the editor, please forward to letters@globeandmail.com.

Brian Mulroney’s daughter, Caroline, to run for Ontario PC leadership Caroline Mulroney, the daughter of former prime minister Brian Mulroney, will run for the Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership — a race that earlier in the day was also joined by former MPP Christine Elliott — sources with knowledge of her intentions told CBC Toronto. Mulroney has a law degree from New York University and work experience on Wall Street, but has never held elected office and has only rarely faced the media, though she had a quick interview with CBC’s Catherine Cullen at last year’s federal Conservative leadership convention. Elliott, who announced “I’m in” on Twitter on Thursday afternoon, confirming earlier reporting by CBC News, is the widow of Jim Flaherty, who served as finance minister in the Ontario government of then premier Mike Harris and federally under former prime minister Stephen Harper.

She is currently the province’s medical patient ombudsman — a position she was appointed to by Premier Kathleen Wynne. She is also a former deputy leader of the PCs and represented Whitby–Oshawa from 2006 until her resignation in 2015. Elliot previously ran for the party’s leadership twice but was defeated

by Tim Hudak, and later by Patrick Brown.

Brown resigned as leader following allegations

of sexual misconduct from two women.

Vic Fedeli, the party’s finance critic for the last five years, who also represents the northeastern Ontario riding of Nipissing, was chosen by caucus as temporary leader on Jan. 26.

However, he said Tuesday he will not run to be the permanent leader, instead pledging to fix the “rot” in his party. Fedeli opens up about aborted leadership bid, doubles down on ‘rot’ in PC infrastructure PC MPP and energy critic Todd Smith, who had indicated he was considering a run, announced Thursday on Facebook that he would not join the race, saying “fees established by the Party executive last night are simply too high.” Under those rules, leadership candidates must submit $100,000 in fees and deposits to run, with another $25,000 due later to access the party’s membership list. Each candidate’s campaign spending cannot exceed $750,000.

Votes will be cast electronically between March 2 and March 8, and the results will be announced March 10. The party’s leadership election organizing committee has said the

Tories would stick to a one-member, one-vote rule. Candidates — and any new members — must register with the party by Feb. 16. Elliott and Mulroney join former Toronto city councillor Doug Ford in the race, who announced his bid on Monday. On Twitter, Ford welcomed Elliot’s decision to run, saying: “I look forward

to talking about positive ideas for a stronger [Ontario PC Party] and how we’re going to beat [Wynne].” I’d like to welcome my friend @celliottability to the race. As I said, I respect my opponents. I look forward to talking about positive ideas for a stronger @OntarioPCParty and how were going to beat Wynne.

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NATIONAL

Saturday, February 3, 2018

CMHC says national housing market still ‘highly vulnerable’ for 6th straight quarter Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

(CMHC) says the country’s housing markets remain “highly vulnerable” overall for the sixth consecutive quarter with evidence of overvaluation and price acceleration, despite some improvements seen in Winnipeg and Saskatoon. In its latest quarterly housing market assessment released Tuesday, CMHC said it found the housing markets in Toronto, Hamilton, Vancouver and Victoria continue to be highly vulnerable due to price acceleration and overvaluation. “Our market assessment continues to show a high degree of vulnerability for the housing market at the overall national level because of the combination of price acceleration and overvaluation,” said CMHC

chief economist Bob Dugan in a release.

“Regional disparities remained, especially in terms of overvaluation, as some centres in B.C. and Ontario were still highly overvalued leading to an overall assessment of a high degree of vulnerability,” Dugan said. The federal housing agency said there is low evidence of overbuilding overall at the national level, but added that there are concerns around overbuilding in Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Regina. CHMC said the inventory of new but unsold homes and rental vacancy rates remain high in those markets. Despite recent easing in resale market conditions, Toronto’s housing market remained highly vulnerable, the CMHC report said.

Nearly 2,000 illegal border crossings stopped

by RCMP in December December 2017 brought a rise in the number of asylum seekers apprehended between formal entry points at the Canada-U.S. border.

New figures from the federal government show 1,978 people were stopped by the RCMP, up from 1,623 the month before.

The majority were stopped in Quebec, with others in Manitoba and British Columbia.

The December crossings still pale in comparison to a spike of over 5,000 people stopped in Quebec alone in August.

But, the figures make December the thirdbusiest month for illegal border crossings in 2017, despite months of work by the federal

government to stop the flow.

Asylum claims were also up, however, at official border crossings, with increases at both airports and land entry points.

Altogether, over 49,000 claims for asylum were filed in 2017, the statistics show.

The last time more than 40,000 claims were filed in Canada in a single year was 2001.

Liberal MPs are going back to the U.S. as part of the federal government’s efforts to dissuade new waves of asylum seekers from coming to Canada’s border. MP Pablo Rodriguez says he will engage with Central American communities in Texas.

As pipeline battle heats up, Alberta Premier calls on PM to show ‘greater’ leadership Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says she told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday he must do more to stop B.C. from blocking the Kinder-Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Notley said Trudeau’s statements on CBC Radio Edmonton AM earlier in the day — in which he described the dispute as an interprovincial matter — were not strong enough.

She said the prime minister needs to show “greater and clearer leadership” on the issue and “turn up the dial.” “This is not an AlbertaB.C. issue,” she said at a news conference at the Alberta legislature. “This is a Canada-B.C. issue.” ‘Sabre-rattling doesn’t get you very far’: B.C. premier downplays Alberta threats Notley said Alberta’s initial response to the dispute is to formally end talks with British Columbia on buying electricity on existing

transmission lines. Asked whether she was being tough enough with B.C., Notley said the response has consequences. Nenshi calls B.C.’s proposed restriction on bitumen shipments a ‘dangerous stunt’ “I would say suspending talks on a project that had the potential to deliver up to half a billion dollars a year to B.C. Hydro is not ‘not tough,’” she said. Notley added the discussions are not related to the Site C hydroelectric project in northern B.C., putting down speculation that the dispute could endanger talks on that issue. The province also plans to take the issue to court. “There are grounds for legal action, and we will be taking legal action,” she said. “But we want to make sure that we come up with the best legal strategy possible.”

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Elizabeth May orders investigation into allegations she bullied staff The Green Party of Canada has launched an investigation after allegations emerged that its leader Elizabeth May is guilty of workplace bullying and creating a toxic work environment. “In light of the...groundless, but still serious, charges against me I asked the Green Party executive director and the others in the party to please put in place an independent inquiry so we can put this matter to bed for good,” May told reporters in Ottawa.

The investigation will be carried out by a third party under the leadership of Sheila Block of the Toronto-based law firm Torys LLP. According to a statement from the party, the inquiry will take from two to four weeks, after which a report will be released to the public.

The statement said that May asked the party to launch the investigation after the Toronto Star reported the allegations on Jan. 27, and the Hill Times did the same on Jan. 29.

Green Party’s Elizabeth May accused of bullying in the workplace The allegations come from three former employees who allege May created a hostile work environment by yelling at and insulting employees.

CBC News spoke to all three employees and confirmed their allegations but also spoke to former employees who said the complaints are

overblown. In a statement, the party framed the allegations as coming from “disgruntled former staff.” ‘Not everybody likes me’ May said that she won the support of 94 per cent of her party at the last leadership review, but pointed out that the remaining six per cent wanted to oust her, just as others in the minority have in the past. “A woman leader of a federal political party has to be tough,” she said. “I do not regard having a backbone as a character flaw. I am staying on as leader. I will be doing the work that our members and supporters want me to do.”

May said that she has strong opinions, but if she ever lost her temper with anyone, she apologized right away. “Although it grieves me to say it, of the hundreds of people who have worked for me over the years and the thousands of people I’ve met, in my work both at Sierra Club and in the Green Party, not everybody likes me.

And that’s OK, I accept that, it’s life.”

Vanessa Brustolin, one of the complainants, said she worked for the Green Party from June to September of 2017 and during that time she said May bullied her. Brustolin did not give explicit details of the alleged abuse but did say that she was shouted at in public.

Senate passes bill to make O Canada lyrics gender neutral The Senate passed a bill that renders the national anthem gender neutral Wednesday despite the entrenched opposition of some Conservative senators.

The House of Commons overwhelmingly passed a private member’s bill in 2016 that would alter the national anthem by replacing “in all thy sons command” with “in all of us command” as part of a push to strike gendered language from O Canada.

The bill was first introduced by Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger, who died in 2016. It now must receive royal assent by the Governor General before it officially becomes law.

Since 1980, when O Canada officially became the country’s anthem, 12 bills have been introduced in the House to strip the gendered reference to “sons,” which some have argued is discriminatory. All attempts have failed until now. The song was written

by Robert Stanley Weir in 1908 and has been changed before — including an update that dates back to before the First World War

when the author added the line that later sparked so much debate. Weir, a poet and judge, changed “thou dost in us command” to “in all thy sons command.”

‘Very, very happy’ Independent Ontario Sen. Frances Lankin, the sponsor of Bélanger’s bill the upper house, said she was elated after the bill’s passage. “I’m very, very happy. There’s been 30 years plus of activity trying to make our national anthem, this important thing about our country, inclusive of all of us,” she said. “This may be small, it’s about two words, but it’s huge ... we can now sing it with pride knowing the law will support us in terms of the language. I’m proud to be part of the group that made this happen.” Independent Quebec Sen. Chantal Petitclerc, a former Paralympian who has been awarded 14 gold medals for wheelchair racing, said she was “jealous” of those athletes headed to Pyeongchang for the winter games, as they will finally be able to sing a gender neutral anthem —

Liberal Sen. Colin Kenny resigns months before December retirement date Sen. Colin Kenny will resign his seat months before his scheduled retirement date, CBC News has confirmed. The Senate Speaker’s office says it received a letter from Rideau Hall informing Speaker George Furey that Friday will be the Liberal senator’s last day. Kenny was due to retire in December when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 75. His departure, therefore, comes 10 months earlier than expected.

In a letter to Gov.-Gen. Julie Payette, dated Jan. 31, Kenny cited ill health as the reason for his resignation. “I think I have done my bit ... It has been my great privilege to serve my country over the last forty-four years, both in the office of Prime Minister (Pierre) Trudeau and as a member of the Senate,” Kenny said in the brief letter,

obtained by CBC News. Kenny, named to the Senate by former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, focused on military, defence and security issues over his 34-year tenure. He recently co-authored a report demanding the government spend more money on the armed forces or risk facing the wrath of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Complaints by former staff News of Kenny’s departure comes a day after his former staffer, Pascale Brisson, wrote an email to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asking him to reopen an investigation into her allegations, made in 2013, that Kenny subjected her to sexual harassment.

NATIONAL

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Saturday, February 3, 2018

Fight continues to ban ‘humiliating’ virginity test for newlyweds A movement to stop newly-wed brides from a nomadic tribal community having to take a virginity test has begun in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, and campaigners are determined to put an end to the “humiliating” practice, reports BBC Marathi’s Prajakta Dhulap.

Anita*, 22, says the ordeal of her

of any wedding conducted within the community and is enforced by the highly influential panchayat (local village council).

The couple are given a white sheet and taken to a hotel room rented by the village council or one of the families. They are expected to consummate the marriage while the two families and council members wait outside.

If the bride bleeds during intercourse she is seen as a virgin, and if she does not, the consequences can be severe.

Grooms are allowed to annul their marriages if their wives have not “proven” their purity, and the women in question are publicly humiliated and even beaten by family members because of the “shame” they have caused.

This continues despite many experts having debunked the A ‘humiliating’ virginity test for newlyweds women is theory that a woman always bleeds common in namdic Indian tribal society. the first time she has intercourse. wedding two years ago still reduces her “There can be many reasons a woman will not to tears every time she thinks about it. bleed the first time she has sex,” Dr Sonia Naik, Like the other women in the Kanjarbhat a Delhi-based gynaecologist, told the BBC. community - made up of around 200,000 “If the woman in question has done a lot of people and mostly found in Maharashtra sports or has masturbated there is a chance - Anita was forced to undergo a “virginity she will not bleed. Also a gentle partner can test” on her wedding night in order to help prevent bleeding even if it is the first ascertain whether or not she was “virtuous”. time the woman is having penetrative sex.”

The test is seen as an integral part

Goa taxi driver held for allegedly molesting tourist Police in the western Indian state of Goa have arrested a motorcycle taxi driver for allegedly molesting an American tourist on Saturday.

Isidore Fernandes was detained after the woman posted his picture on social media, describing the alleged incident.

She said he asked her for a kiss and when she refused, he tried forcing her hands underneath his clothes.

She asked people to share the post so he doesn’t “endanger another woman’s safety”.

In her Facebook post on Monday night, the woman said she had hired Mr Fernandes to drive her to dinner. She said he was “friendly” and they chatted as she saw no harm in a having a conversation wit him.

The scale of sexual abuse She said he offered to wait for her and drive her back to the hotel. When they were on their way back to the hotel, she said, he began “misbehaving”.

“He forced my hands and took them under his shirt and despite constantly telling him

to “keep it professional”, he took my hands further down over his pants,” she wrote.

He allegedly kept turning into lanes, claiming he was taking a shorter route, and then he told her he needed to pull over.

“He stopped his bike and before I could realise what was happening, his penis was in my hands,” she said.

She said she managed to escape - she threw some money at him and ran onto a busy road.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Several women alleged they were molested on New Year’s Eve in 2016 in Bangalore city In recent months, a growing number of women have spoken out about their experiences of sexual harassment.

It followed a campaign encouraging victims to share their stories of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour under the #metoo hashtag.

Recently, a Bollywood actress claimed she was molested on a domestic flight in India by another passenger - she said

Sky is the limit for India-US relationship: Nikki Haley Noting that President Donald Trump is very fond of his country’s growing relationship with India, a top American diplomat has said that “sky is the limit” for this bilateral relationship.

Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for being aggressive in pursuing economic and administrative reforms, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, told a select gathering high-achiever Indian-Americans that the Trump administration had also undertaken a similar operation.

It makes sense for the two democracies, having so much in common values to work together, Haley said in her remarks during her luncheon meeting hosted by the Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Singh Sarna, at his residence on Tuesday.

The luncheon, organised at a very short notice, was attended by some of the top Indian-Americans from across the country.

“It is always a delight to see the sense of pride that Ambassador Haley has in her Indian roots, and the high value she attaches to the India-US relationship even as she plays such a prominent role in the American political sphere,” Sarna told PTI a day after.

Haley said when she entered the Trump Administration, she desperately wanted to see the US-India relations to be very strong “which wasn’t the case during the last two presidencies”.

“It didn’t make sense to me because when you look at the values, they’re the same.

When you look at the work ethic and what they believe from a corporate standpoint-the same. When you look at the research and all the things that we do, these two democracies have so much in common,” she said.

It makes sense for the two countries to be friends, the top Indian-American in the Trump administration said.

“We’re seeing a growing interest, and a growing relationship and seeing that happen. The President is very very fond of what is happening with India, growing that relationship, trying to make sure that we do more with India,” Haley said.

“I think that sky’s the limit now. We are going to continue to try and show the values of India to the United States and continue trying to show the values of the US to India,” she said.

Indian Air Force officer detained for leaking info from Headquarters IAF’s counter-intelligence wing has detained a senior officer posted at the Air Headquarters here for allegedly leaking classified documents to a woman among other persons, in what is suspected to be an espionage ring being run from Pakistan.

The officer, a Group Captain (equivalent to a Colonel in the Army), was allegedly using his smart phone to click pictures of classified documents at the Air Headquarters and then using the popular messaging platform “WhatsApp” to transmit them to the woman, whose identity is not yet clear, said sources.

The officer, who had access to a certain level of secret documents and plans due to his posting at the Air Headquarters, had apparently got to know the woman initially

through the social networking website “Facebook”. There is suspicion that the officer could have been “honeytrapped and compromised” by the woman at some stage during their relationship, and could have been in touch with his “handlers” for the last few months.

“The Group Captain, who is a parajumping instructor but not from the flying branch, is being interrogated after being taken into custody from the Race Course Road area.

It is being ascertained whether he is part of some larger espionage ring,” said a source.

But the IAF, on being contacted, refused to say anything on the matter. Sources, on their part, said it was during “routine counter intelligence surveillance” being conducted by the IAF’s Central Security and Investigation

PUNJAB

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Bravery of young man recognized who saved 15 lives, awarded Rs 1 lakh Recognising the bravery of 17-year-old Karanbir Singh, who had saved 15 children after their school bus fell off a bridge at Muhawa village in 2016, Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu today gave him a reward of Rs 1 lakh from his own pocket.

The minister, who drove to the residence of Karanbir, also announced Rs 10 lakh for the repair of vulnerable bridges in the border belt.

Karanbir Singh (left) was awarded Rs 1 lakh.

Amid objection by some affected residents who had lost protest, but in vain. We had no objection their children in the mishap, a committee to that the minister recognised Karanbir’s oversee the repair work was constituted in the bravery, but it was his duty to at least listen name of Karanbir, who also received bravery to the affected parents as well,” he said. award from PM Narendra Modi on January 24.

Even more than a year after the mishap, the “killer” bridge still does not have the mandatory safety railing. The Muhawa panchayat had provided around Rs 8 lakh, but the money was spent on the repair and widening of the bridge.

Sidhu said: “I am honoured to meet the little hero. He had saved many precious lives.

Karanbir had desired that the bridges be repaired. We will get the work done on priority.”

Karanbir said: “It was an unexpected visit of the minister. I am thankful for the reward.”

Former sarpanch of Muhawa village Gurnam Singh, whose seven-year-old grandson Robinpreet had died in the mishap, objected that none of the parents who lost their children were put in the committee formed by Sidhu. “We have lodged our

Gounder’s social media handlers arrested The Jagraon police have arrested three alleged social media handlers of slain gangster Vicky Gounder’s gang. The trio had allegedly posted a threat to avenge Gounder’s killing on Facebook. They had threatened that they would kill two policemen each to avenge one killing.

Those arrested have been identified as Karajpal Singh of Basti Punjab Singhwala, Zira, Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi, of Dham Talwandi Khurd village, near Jagraon and Gurjit Singh of Badala village. The police have also seized 500 gram of heroin, six pistols and the mobile phone from which the accused allegedly posted the threat on Facebook.

The accused were arrested from near Galib Kalan village in Jagraon. “The police received a tip-off about their presence in the Jagraon area, following which a naka was laid. The police spotted three persons travelling in a Toyota Innova (PB 131717). When signalled to stop, its driver sped away. The police team gave them a chase and nabbed them at some distance.

When searched, the police recovered 500 gm of heroin and six pistols,” said SSP Surjit Singh.

The police said Karjpal Singh is a close relative of slain gangster Prema Lahoria.

“During the preliminary interrogation, Gurpreet Singh disclosed that a few years ago he met gangster Neeta Deol in Dubai. It was through Neeta that he came in contact with Gounder. After returning to Punjab, Gopi met various gangsters in jails and helped them financially,”he said.

23

Girls allege torture as controversy over the death of DSP and Constable continues In the thick of controversy over the death of DSP Baljinder Singh Sandhu and Constable Lal Singh, and with two girl students alleging torture at his hands, Jaito SHO Gurmeet Singh was today shifted to the Faridkot Police Lines, hours after Punjab DGP Suresh Arora attended the cremation of the two officials.

Later in the day, a delegation of students and farmers submitted a memorandum to Faridkot SSP Nanak Singh, demanding “legal action” against the SHO, blaming him for the death of his colleagues and for the “third-degree” torture of students Gurmeet Kaur and Sukhpreet Kaur, who were admitted to Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital today.

They were rounded up with two others on January 29 after the DSP’s death at the Punjabi University Regional Centre in Jaito.

With multiple contusions on their face and body, the girls alleged that the SHO wanted to implicate some students in a false case. Gurmeet and Sukhpreet claimed the SHO on January 12 picked up three students, two boys and a girl, while they were waiting for a bus. The boys were brutally thrashed in lockup. The girl was roughed up. Enraged, Jaito students demanded an unconditional apology.

“DSP Baljinder Singh prevailed upon the SHO to tender an apology, but he did not show up. The students then launched an agitation on January 29.

To torpedo their stir, the SHO sent his goons. Upset with the SHO’s behaviour, the DSP shot himself out of frustration,” Gurmeet Kaur said. Faridkot SSP said the allegation of torture would be investigated.

24

INDIA

Saturday, February 3, 2018

AIIMS docs to examine rape victim, says SC Concerned over the well-being of an eightmonth-old rape victim, the Supreme Court today directed a team of two doctors from AIIMS to examine her. The infant’s condition is said to be critical. The order by a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra came after advocate AA Srivastava mentioned a petition seeking urgent hearing.

The Bench directed that the doctors must decide whether she needed to be shifted to AIIMS or if additional facilities were required at the children’s hospital.

Allegedly violated at home by her 28-year-old cousin on Sunday, the infant has undergone a three-hour surgery at Kalawati Sharan Children’s Hospital.

The court asked Additional Solicitor Generals Tushar Mehta, PS Narasimha and Pinky Anand

Outcry after eight-month-old baby raped An eight-month-old baby girl has been raped, allegedly by her cousin, in the Indian capital Delhi.

Police say she is in a critical condition after being admitted to hospital on Sunday. They have arrested the 28-year-old cousin.

Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal, who visited the girl, described her injuries as “horrific”.

to arrange for the visit of the AIIMS team. Earlier, the petitioner said the child needed better care and citing a similar case in Chandigarh, demanded compensation for the victim.

The debate over sexual violence in India has grown after the fatal gang rape of a female student in 2012.

The rape of the baby girl happened on Sunday but came to light on Monday after local media reported it.

Ms Maliwal tweeted that the baby had undergone a three-hour operation and that her cries could be heard in the hospital.

India slips 10 ranks to 42 on democracy index India has slipped to 42nd place on an even as it scored well on electoral process annual Global Democracy Index amid “rise and pluralism (9.17). It has not managed to of conservative religious ideologies” and score so well on other four parameters— increase in vigilantism and violence against political culture, functioning of government, minorities as well as other dissenting voices. political participation and civil liberties.

This year’s report which also measured While Norway has again topped the list, followed by Iceland and Sweden, compiled by the state of media freedom around the world the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), India noted that in India, media is “partially free”.

Moreover, journalists are at risk from has moved down from 32nd place last year and government, remains classified among military and non“flawed democracies”. state actors and The index ranks 165 radical groups, independent states and and the threat two territories on the basis of violence has a of five categories: electoral chilling effect on process and pluralism, civil media coverage. liberties, the functioning “India has also of government, political become a more participation and dangerous place political culture. The list for journalists, has been divided into e s p e c i a l l y four broad categories— Chhattisgarh full democracy, flawed A woman gets her cheeks pierced with democracy, hybrid regime a metal skewer in South Indian city of Chennai and Jammu and Kashmir.

The and authoritarian regime.

The US (ranked 21), Japan, Italy, France, authorities there have restricted freedom of Israel, Singapore and Hong Kong have also the press, closed down several newspapers and been named among “flawed democracies”. The heavily controlled mobile internet services.

EIU is the research and analysis division of the Several journalists were murdered in India UK-based media behemoth ‘The Economist in 2017, as in the previous year,” it noted.

In the 2017 Democracy Index, the average Group’. Created in 1946, the EIU describes itself as having over 70 years of experience global score fell from 5.52 in 2016 to 5.48 (on a “in helping businesses, financial firms and scale of 0 to 10). Some 89 countries experienced governments to understand how the world is a decline in their total score compared with changing and how that creates opportunities 2016. 27 recorded an improvement. The to be seized and risks to be managed”. other 51 countries stagnated, as their scores Top-ranked Norway has been given remained unchanged compared with 2016.

Almost one-half (49.3 per cent) of the world’s an overall score of 9.87 with perfectten scores for electoral process and population lives in a democracy of some sort, pluralism; political participation and although only 4.5 per cent reside in a “full political culture. Only top-19 countries democracy”, down from 8.9 per cent in 2015 as have been classified as “full democracies”. a result of the US being demoted from a “full India’s overall score has fallen to 7.23 points, democracy” to a “flawed democracy” in 2016.

Don’t interfere, let govt handle Rohingya case, Centre tells SC The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that Rohingya immigrants had a right to demand basic amenities including education and healthcare.

The rights body, through senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, told a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud that the Rohingya, who are already in India, had the right to approach the SC to assert their rights to basic amenities.

“Refugees all over the world have got this right and the Indian Supreme Court has been sensitive enough not to apply a lower standard for refugees,” Subramanium said.

The NHRC had earlier opposed the Centre’s August 8 circular for identification and deportation of illegal Rohingya immigrants+

. On October 13, the court had told the government that it would like to examine the Rohingya’s plea for refuge in India while not undermining the Centre’s concern about the security threat posed by some among the illegal migrants from Rakhine province of Myanmar.

Sai Tamhankar talks about her role in upcoming Marathi film ‘Raakshas’ Sai Tamhankar talks about her role in upcoming Marathi film ‘Raakshas’ Appearing for some refugees, advocate Prashant Bhushan said though the Centre had not deported Rohingya, it was stopping entry of more refugees despite knowing that they faced persecution by Myanmarese forces. “The BSF must be ordered to stop pushing back Rohingya refugees and allow them to enter India,” he said.

INDIA

Saturday, February 3, 2018

25

Congress seeks probe into Justice Loya’s death, cites ‘disturbing’ circumstances

Describing as highly suspicious the circumstances leading to the November 30, 2014, death of special CBI judge BH Loya hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case, the Congress today demanded an SC-monitored

inquiry into the matter. A battery of Congress leaders led by ex-minister Kapil Sibal appeared in party headquarters this evening with Nagpur-based advocate-activist Satish Uke and said Judge Loya had once complained to

Uke about pressures around the case and sought his help to ease that pressure.

According to Congress, Uke had later tried to help Judge Loya through Delhi-based lawyer Prashant Bhushan who had, after

looking at the evidence, said it was not enough to move court.

Importantly, Sibal said, “In July 2017, Satish Uke came to me and spoke of how two Nagpurbased contacts of Judge Loya had approached him to help the latter in the case. At the time,

Rebel judges favour panel of future CJIs to end roster row

Air Canada’s 787 Dreamliner non-stop Vancouver-Delhi Flights Become Year-Round Beginning June 2018

The four seniormost judges of the Supreme Court — who rebelled against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra over alleged arbitrary allocation of work — have proposed setting up a panel of future CJIs to suggest measures to resolve the ongoing crisis. Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, MB Lokur and Kurian Joseph made the proposal after consulting the future CJIs — Justices SA Bobde, NV Ramana, Uday U Lalit and DY Chandrachud, sources privy to the discussions said. Justice Gogoi is supposed to succeed Justice Misra as the next CJI on October 3, if the line of succession is not disturbed. The rebel judges wanted the panel of future CJIs to suggest a transparent institutional mechanism for allocation of cases in accordance with the roster notified by the Supreme Court’s Registry. Second, the rebel judges also wanted the CJI to announce setting up of the panel of future CJIs to the media — a demand Justice Misra is hesitant to accept as he has chosen not to go public about internal squabbling of the judiciary.

CJI Misra has been asserting that he is the master of roster even as the four seniormost rebel judges questioned the arbitrary allocation of work and demanded transparency. Under the present system, nobody, except the CJI, knows what the roster is and which Bench can hear what type of cases.

In an unprecedented move, the four seniormost judges of the Supreme Court had on January 12 held a press conference and accused CJI Misra of arbitrarily allocating work to his colleagues. The situation in the top court was “not in order� and many “less than desirable� things had taken place, they had said.

Since then, there have been several rounds of talks between the two camps as well as mediation by Bar Council of India chairman Manan K Mishra and Supreme Court Bar Association president Vikas Singh, but the stalemate continues.

A meeting between the two sides expected to be held on Wednesday could not take place as Justice Chelameswar was on leave. CJI Misra and two of the rebel judges were seen together

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ir Canada announced that its current seasonal non-stop Vancouver-Delhi flights will become year-round starting June 8, 2018.

These flights are now available for purchase at aircanada.com, through the Air Canada app and through travel agents. “Customer response to our nonstop Vancouver-Delhi seasonal flights initially launched in 2016 has been extremely positive, and we are very pleased to extend the only flights between Western Canada and India to year-round beginning in June. Our flights to Delhi from our YVR trans-Pacific hub onboard our state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner offers the shortest elapsed flying time from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles to the Indian subcontinent, and coupled with our streamlined and seamless connections process at YVR, means a savings of 3-5 hours compared to journeys connecting in Europe or Asia,� said Benjamin Smith, President, Passenger Airlines at Air Canada. “Our nonstop Vancouver to Delhi flights together with our nonstop Toronto to Delhi and Mumbai flights represent three year-round routes to India launched within the last two and a half years. Air Canada is committing close to $1.5 billion worth of aircraft between Canada and India, underscoring our commitment to this vibrant market and to our continuing strategic, global expansion.� “People in B.C. will benefit from the two-way tourism and business opportunities created through Air Canada’s first year-round direct service between Vancouver and Delhi,� said B.C. Premier John Horgan. “This new flight helps build on B.C.’s growing business relationships and people-to-people connections with India, the country of origin for over 230,000 British Columbians.� “Air Canada’s decision to extend their Delhi service throughout the year is fantastic news! Our local community will now have the opportunity to travel on the revolutionary Dreamliner year-round,�

said Craig Richmond, President & CEO, Vancouver Airport Authority. “I’d like to extend congratulations for this accomplishment—it is no easy feat to secure year-round service so soon after launching seasonal service. We are thrilled that Air Canada is seeing such great success at YVR, their preferred trans-Pacific hub.� “Delighted to learn that Air Canada will fly non-stop from Vancouver to New Delhi throughout the year. This will have a tremendous beneficial effect on trade, travel and tourism between BC and India,� added Vivek A. Savkur, President & CEO BC- India

Business Network. FlightPadmaavat faces a total blackout on the day of its scheduled release on Thursday in at least four big states — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Bihar — with cinema and multi Air Canada has optimized connections to and from the carrier’s extensive Western Canada and Western U.S. network through the airline’s YVR hub, and in Delhi, Star Alliance partner Air India offers excellent connectivity across the Indian subcontinent. Air Canada’s flights to India operate with the airline’s state-of-the-art Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner configured in three cabins with 30 International Business Class lie-flat suites, 21 Premium Economy and 247 Economy Class seats. All flights feature multilingual crews, and offer personal in-flight entertainment which includes Bollywood hits and acclaimed multi-lingual art-house films.

Additionally, all flights provide for Aeroplan accumulation and redemption, Star Alliance reciprocal benefits, and for eligible customers, priority check-in, Maple Leaf Lounge access, priority boarding and other benefits. Later this year, Air Canada will launch additional new international non-stop services including:

Toronto to: Shannon (Ireland), Porto (Portugal), Zagreb (Croatia), Bucharest (Romania), Buenos Aires (Argentina) Montreal to: Tokyo-Narita (Japan), Dublin (Ireland), Bucharest (Romania), Lisbon (Portugal) Vancouver to: Paris (France), Zurich (Switzerland) About Air Canada Air Canada is Canada’s largest domestic and international airline serving more than 200 airports on six continents. Canada’s flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2016 served close to 45 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 64 airports in Canada, 60 in the United States and 98 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America.

Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world’s most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,300 airports in 191 countries. Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a FourStar ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax, which also named Air Canada the 2017 Best Airline in North America. For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com/media, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.

SOURCE Air Canada For further information: Isabelle Arthur (Montreal), Isabelle.arthur@ aircanada.ca, 514 422-5788; Peter Fitzpatrick (Toronto), peter. fitzpatrick@aircanada.ca, 416 263-5576; Angela Mah (Vancouver), angela.mah@ aircanada.ca, 604 270-5741; Internet: aircanada.com https://aircanada. mediaro om.com/2018-01-30-AirCanadas-787-Dreamliner-non-stopVancouverDelhi-Flights-Become-Year-RoundBeginning-June-2018

26

SOUTH ASIA

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Sri Lanka still using draconian anti-terror laws: HRW Sri Lanka’s government is still using draconian anti-terror laws that give police sweeping powers to arrest and detain suspects despite promising to abolish them, Human Rights Watch said today.

The Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) allows the detention of suspects for long periods without trial and was widely used during the decades-long civil war that ended in 2009.

The government of President Maithripala Sirisena promised to abolish the act after it was elected in 2015, but has so far failed to do so.

“The Sri Lankan government has been all talk and no action on repealing the reviled PTA,” said HRW’s Asia director Brad Adams as the rights group released a new report

detailing alleged abuses under the act.

“Replacing this draconian counterterrorism law with one that meets international standards should be an urgent priority if the government is serious about protecting human rights.”

Lanka says more than 80 detainees are still being held under the act, although local rights activists believe the true number could be in the hundreds.

War without Witnesses.

The UN ran away.Mort Walker HRW said it found the PTA was a “significant contributing factor” toward the persistence of torture in Sri Lanka nearly a decade after the end of the civil war.

Indonesian president in Bangladesh to discuss Rohingya refugees crisis Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is in Bangladesh on a visit to sprawling refugee camps for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled Myanmar. Jokowi is expected to fly Sunday to Cox’s Bazar, the main town where the camps are located.

On Saturday, he met Bangladesh’s President M. Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar since August, after Myanmar security forces began ``clearance operations’’ in the wake of attacks by Rohingya insurgents on police posts. The UN has described the campaign as ethnic cleansing. Bangladesh and Myanmar have signed a deal to repatriate

Afghan President refuses condolence call from Pakistan PM Afghan President Ashraf Ghani refused to speak to Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi when the latter telephoned to offer condolences following a devastating terror attack in Kabul, the media reported.

Abbasi telephoned Ghani “in connection with the spate of recent attacks in Afghanistan.”

The Afghan daily said Ghani had sent a delegation to Islamabad “to hand over evidence related to recent attacks in Kabul” to be shared with the Pakistan Army. Kabul accuses Islamabad of backing terrorist groups in Afghanistan.

Cambodian charges against 2 Canadian women over ‘pornographic’ dance party could lead to year in jail Two Canadian women are among several foreigners in Cambodia facing charges of producing pornographic photos during a party near the country’s famed Angkor Wat temple.

A news release from the Cambodian National Police lists Eden Kazoleas, 20, and Jessica Drolet, 25, and eight men as being detained in the northwestern town of Siem Reap. CTV News reports that Kazoleas is from Drayton Valley, Alta.

“This is really, really concerning,” her aunt Donna Kazoleas told CTV. “Eden is a very, very good kid. She is very outgoing.

She doesn’t smoke. She doesn’t drink.”

A Cambodian prosecutor Samrith Sokhon said Monday that the 10 foreigners — including five from the United Kingdom, and one each from Norway, Netherlands and New Zealand —

Magnitude 6.1 quake rattles Afghanistan and Pakistan

Rohingya refugees

the Rohingya, though international agencies say few are likely to return voluntarily due to safety concerns. According to the deal, the return must be voluntary and global rights groups say the refugees, including many children, are still traumatized.

A strong magnitude 6.1 earthquake rattled Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday, including the capital cities of both countries, killing a young girl and injuring 15 others, officials said.

People gather outside their shops after a severe earthquake is felt in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018. A strong magnitude-6.1 earthquake rattled Pakistan and Afghanistan, including the capital cities of both countries, damaging mud-brick homes in southwestern Pakistan and killing a girl and wounding five other people, officials said. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

APImages.com More photos » People gather outside their shops after a severe earthquake is felt in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018. A strong magnitude-6.1 earthquake rattled Pakistan and Afghanistan, including the capital cities of both countries, damaging mud-brick homes in southwestern Pakistan and killing a girl and wounding five other people, officials said.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake’s center was in northeast Afghanistan near the Pakistan border, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of Jarm in the Hindu Kush region.

27

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Ride-sharing firm Ola to enter Australia India’s ride-sharing company Ola is entering the Australian market in what will be the firm’s first international venture.

It plans to first launch in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth and says it will soon start recruiting drivers.

The Australian taxi-hailing app industry is dominated by Uber - Ola’s biggest rival in India.

Bangalore-based Ola was set up in 2011 and has grown rapidly as more people bought smartphones.

It now claims to have about 125 million users in India, with around one million drivers across more than 110 cities.

‘Excited’ Ola, which still needs regulatory approval to launch in Australia, said it would

offer a “high-quality and affordable travel experience”. “We are very excited about launching Ola in Australia and see immense potential for the ride-sharing ecosystem which embraces new technology and innovation,” said Ola’s chief executive and co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal. Both Uber and Ola have received heavy investment from Japan’s Softbank. A deal last week saw Softbank lead a consortium that bought a chunk of US company. Home-grown Ola has been in a fierce battle with Uber since the San Francisco-based firm opened up shop in India in 2013.

India & Pakistan considering proposal to release disabled, elderly prisoners

India’s budget 2018:

Bold on vision, short on outlays and focused on polls Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s delivered this government’s fifth and last full Budget amid subdued economic growth, challenging fiscal situation and farm distress. What makes it all the more important is the upcoming elections in

eight states this year and the General Election next year, all of which put tough demands on it.

Highlights from Budget 2018 Fiscal deficit is 3.5% of GDP at Rs 5.95 lakh crore in 2017-18. Projecting fiscal deficit to be 3.3% of GDP in the next fiscal * No personal income tax changes * Growth in direct taxes (till Jan 15) is 18.7 % * Surcharge of 10% on income above Rs 50 lakh but less than Rs 1 cr to be continued next year; .. * Corporate Tax of 25% extended to companies with turnover up to Rs 250 cr in financial year 2016-17 * Incentives for Senior citizens: Exemptions in income of Rs 10,000 from Banks FD and post offices * Senior citizens to get Rs 50,000 per annum exemption * The government’s emphasis will be on generating higher incomes for farmers, by helping them produce more with lesser cost, and in turn, earn higher income for their produce. * Finance ministrer stressed on the fact that India’s agricultural production is at a record high level today. 275 million tonne foodgrains and 300 million tonne fruits and

Pakistan and India are considering a proposal to release elderly and disabled prisoners on humanitarian grounds, a media report said today.

The idea was discussed during meetings between the two countries that a list of disabled and officials of the two sides, showing existence of communication amidst older-than-70 inmates would be compiled tensions along the Line of Control, Dawn and swapped on an emergency basis.

Delegations of doctors and medical online reported, citing official documents of the interior ministry and the Foreign Office. experts from both countries will also travel “During highlevel discussions in past weeks, officials from both countries deliberated over a plan to release imprisoned citizens that fall into the following three categories - prisoners over 70 years of age, mentally disabled and hearing or speech impaired persons and female prisoners,” the paper said.

Citing documents obtained by DawnNews, a TV channel owned by the N NDEP PENDENT CHOOL AP PPROVED AND A FUNDE D BY same group, it said Ministry of External TR REET URR REY Affairs had summoned Pakistan’s high commissioner in New Delhi a few days ago and proposed that both the countries should accelerate the process to exchange prisoners in the three categories.

OB BIND ARVA AR CHOOL L “In a meeting held in Bangkok on December 26 last year, the National Security OB BIND ARVA AR CHOOL L Advisers (NSAs) of India and Pakistan had also agreed to take steps for the imminent OB BIND ARVA AR CHOOL L release of prisoners who are elderly or disabled or females, on humanitarian grounds, OB BIND ARVA AR CHOOL L the documents show,” it said.

It said the NSAs had also agreed on OB BIND ARVA AR CHOOL L a proposal to revive the mechanism of OB BIND ARVA AR CHOOL L Pakistan-India Joint Judicial Committee on Prisoners, which has been inactive since October 2013.

It was also agreed during meetings between officials of

vegetable have been produced in the country. * The minister said the government wants farmers to earn 1.5 times the production cost, Extend the facility of Kisan credit card to fisheries and for animal husbandry * Rs 10,000 crore set aside for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Fund * 8 crore poor women will get new LPG connections. * PM Saubhagya Yojana: 4 crore poor people will get power connection. * The government will spend Rs 16,000 crore on this scheme. v * Govt plans to construct 2 crore toilets in next fiscal year under Swach Bharat Mission * Government target house for all by 2022. 51 lakh houses have been constructed affordable houses in rural and further 50 lakh houses in urban * 1 cr houses to be built under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in rural areas * National livelihood scheme gets Rs 5,750 crore . * In 2018-19, ministries will be able to spend Rs 14.34 lakh crores for creation of livelihood in rural areas. * Govt gives Rs 9,975 crore for social security schemes for the nex .. * Govt to increase digital intensity in education. Technology to be the biggest driver in improving quality of education: FM Jaitley * Rs. 1 lakh crore allocated to revitalisation and upgradation of education sector.

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FIJI

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Heavy rain forecast for Fiji A heavy rain alert is now in force for whole of the Fiji Group. Director of the Fiji Meteorological Service, Arvind Kumar said an active trough of low pressure with associated cloud, rain and thunderstorms to the west of Fiji was anticipated to gradually move over the country. Mr Kumar said within this trough, embedded lows were expected to develop and remain slow moving near Fiji over the next few days.

“Expect wet weather conditions with occasional rain becoming heavy and frequent overnight and spreading to other parts of Fiji,” Mr Kumar said. “There is a high chance of rainfall exceeding 100mm in 24 hours and in areas of localised and frequent heavy rain, flooding of low-lying areas and catchment level is elevated with the forecasted rainy conditions for the rest of this week. “The current situation is closely monitored and any alert and warning will be issued as appropriate.”

Mr Kumar said it was noted that a king tide of more than two metres was also predicted this week, which further elevated the risk of flooding

of low-lying areas and catchments because of the backflow of water given that rain was predicted to continue around most parts of the country.

Director of the National Disaster Management Office, Anare Leweniqila said in the event of a flood, members of the public needed to take serious precautionary measures, they should know their emergency contacts, know their nearest evacuation centres and prepare a family emergency kit should the need of evacuation arise.

Susan Kiran appointed as acting PS The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Philip Davies has resigned. Public Service Commission Chairman Vishnu Mohan has accepted Davies’ resignation on which he cited personal reasons for his decision which takes effect immediately. Davies will be leaving the Ministry to spend time with his family in the

United Kingdom.

Susan Kiran, with the agreement of the Prime Minister, has been appointed as the Acting Permanent Secretary of Health. This appointment takes effect immediately while Kiran continues to hold the office of Cabinet Secretary.

22 people charged with 24 separate sexual offences in January - DPP The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has confirmed that they have charged 22 people with 24 separate sexual offences in January this year. The DPP’s Office states that there was one incident of gang rape where 5 men allegedly raped a 50-year-old woman during a home invasion in Tavua.

The 5 men have also been charged with aggravated robbery.

A 24-year-old man has been charged with the rape of another 24-yearold man in Labasa. The alleged incident happened while both men were returning from a nightclub. A 22-year-old man who allegedly raped a 35-year-old tourist at a resort along the Coral Coast has also been charged.

In another incident, a 22-year-old man was charged with the defilement of a 15-year-old girl at a girl’s hostel in the Northern Division.

There were two separate cases of marital

rape in January where a 46-year-old man and a 27-year-old man have been charged with raping their wives. There were 7 incidents where the victims and the accused were related to one another. In one incident a 54-year-old grandfather was charged with rape and sexual assault of his 6-year-old granddaughter. The alleged offence happened when the victim was alone at home with the grandfather and in another incident a 60-year-old uncle was charged with sexual assault and indecent assault of his 8-year-old niece. A 36-year-old man has also been charged with raping his 26-year-old sister after a drinking party. There was one incident where a 20-year-old man was charged with raping his 13-year-old cousin. A 17-yearold juvenile was also charged with raping a 13-year-old girl from his village.

Foreign workers to cut sugarcane Sugar Cane Growers Council says it has been inundated with calls from farmers about Government’s plan to bring in foreign cutters. CEO Sundresh Chetty said growers were relieved that labourers would be brought in to address labour shortage issues.

“They are very keen because the shortage of labourers over the past few years has been a real issue,” he said.

“Apart from the great difficulty farmers are facing in finding cutters, and when they do, many of them face even more problems with the unrealistic demands for grog, certain types of food and more. “We applaud the move

by Government and especially by the Sugar Ministry’s permanent secretary Yogesh Karan in facilitating these cutters for the farmers.”

Last week, Mr Karan said canecutters from

sugar-producing Asian countries would be recruited for the new harvest season beginning in June. He said a few Asian countries from where labour could be sourced had been identified.

NFP condemns politicisation of temples by PM & AG The National Federation Party says Government is mixing religion with politics and has described it as a despicable and shameful act. NFP Leader Professor Biman Prasad says Tuesday night’s speech by the Attorney General on behalf of the Prime Minister was a classic case of how Government is using places of worship to preach politics and shamelessly accuse

Opposition political parties. Professor Prasad said it was hypocritical of the Fiji First Government to preach misinformation, lies and cheap politics in a temple when it had accused others of doing so, in particular the Methodist Church of Fiji that for some years was prevented by the Bainimarama regime from holding its annual conference “It is a blatant lie that opposition parties have not

condemned desecration of temples. We have done so through the media right at the outset, called for a full-scale police investigation and harsher penalties for those found guilty of such acts”. “We even visited three temples that were desecrated”.

We don’t have to publicise our visits unlike Government that indulges in gutter level and cheap politics with a daily newspaper that benefits from taxpayer’s funds through exclusive government advertising in tow to capture their visits”. Professor Prasad said both the PM and AG should learn from the Police Commissioner who outlined what the Force is doing in terms of investigating offences of desecration and increasing police visibility.

Appeal for donations for Namosi fire victims The Holy Spirit Parish in the province of Namosi yesterday uploaded a post on Facebook seeking donations for the victims of a fire that destroyed a home in Qilai Village, in Namosi.

According to the post, the three bedroom house was destroyed on Tuesday afternoon.

This was confirmed by Police spokeswoman Ana Naisoro who said that the house belonged to a 63-year-old man and the cause of fire was yet to be determined.

The Parish Disaster Response team was asking for donations of any sort for 65-year-old Viliseno Nataro, Kato Kanawale, 63, Ana Maria, 29, Vikatoria Maramakula, 23, and six more family members.

The parish is making an open request for anyone wishing to donate to contact them on 3556136, 714 1651 (Fr Robati

Tebaiuea on 9069675).

The National Fire Authority was not able confirm the fire when contacted.

PAKISTAN

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Senator removed from Senate and jailed for one month for contempt of court In latest development the Supreme Court of Pakistan sentenced a senator to one-month jail, Rs 50,000 fine and barred him from holding public office for the next five years as it announced its verdict in the contempt of court case against Nehal Hashmi. A threemember bench of the apex court headed

by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, comprising Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Dost Mohammad — The bench also dismissed an unconditional apology, which Hashmi submitted to the court on January 24 for his threatening video messages against accountability bureau.

National accountability bureau (NAB) rejects Sharif’s objections to supplementary case in Panama scandal An accountability court rejected ousted, disqualified former prime minister Nawaz Sharif ’s objections to the supplementary case filed against him and his family by the country’s anti-graft body over properties in London.

The court holding trial in corruption cases against Sharif and his family decided that the supplementary case would be made part of the record in the Avenfield flats case. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on January 22 filed a supplementary case with the accountability court’s registrar in Islamabad which is already trying Sharif and his family, two sons Hussain and Hassan, daughter Maryam, and son-in-law Safdar for alleged corruption in three cases. The

cases are related to the Panama Papers scandal that had forced the 68-year-old prime minister to resign. Accompanied by daughter Maryam and son-in-law Safdar, Sharif appeared in the court located in Islamabad. During the hearing, conducted by Judge Muhammad Bashir, Nawaz Sharif ’s lawyer Khawaja Haris raised an objection over the supplementary reference, saying there is nothing new in it. “The reference has been filed in line with the JIT report and no Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) report has so far been filed,” said Haris. According to him, the NAB had said that a supplementary reference would be filed when new evidence is found against the suspects but that is not the case.

Supreme Court gives verdict in case filed 100 yrs ago in British India The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday gave its verdict in a 100-year-old property inheritance case that had started in a court in Rajasthan in 1918. The property case, which dates back to 1918, was about a dispute over the inheritance of 700 acres (5,600 kanals) of land in Bahawalpur, a region that was regarded as part of the Rajputana States before the partition. Following the partition, the case was transferred to a trial court in Bahawalpur, a city in Pakistan’s Punjab province. In 2005, the case was transferred

to the apex court .

The complainants, who travelled from Bahawalpur to Islamabad for the hearing, claimed their elder Shahabuddin, son of Sher Khan, was the owner of the land. He had died in 1918, and the dispute had been going on since then. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar heard the case. While announcing the verdict, the CJP said the property should be distributed among the heirs under the Islamic law.

Man flees country after killing medical student for refusing to marry him The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has got red warrants issued for the arrest of aledged murderer Mujahid Afridi, the main suspect in the Asma Rani murder case. Also Chief justice of Pakistan took a suo motu notice of murder of medical student in northwestern Kohat district, she was allegedly shot dead for refusing a marriage proposal.

Mujahidullah Afridi Mujahidullah allegedly killed Asma

Rani, a student of medical college in Abbottabad hill-station, for refusing a marriage proposal from him on January 28. The suspect fled the country.

On Tuesday chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar sought a report from KPP Asma Rani (Khyber Paktunkhwa) provincial police chief in 24 hours. He also sought an explanation regarding how the accused managed to flee the country.

High Court issues notices to Nawaz Sharif and aides on contempt of court petition Legal woes of ousted prime minister Nawaz Maryam in her address said: “The SC judges Sharif and his family mounted again when a had asked Imran Khan PTI Pakistan Tehreektop court issued notices to them for allegedly e-Insaf chairman) to file a petition so that committing contempt of court during a rally they could oust Nawaz Sharif as he (Khan) in Punjab last week. Lahore High had failed to make that happen through protest movement. The Court issued notices to the federal judges acted as lawyers of Imran government, Election Commission Khan and they were party against (EC) of Pakistan and the Pakistan Nawaz Sharif.” The petitioner Electronic Media Regulatory further said Sharif and Maryam Authority (Pemra) to submit their reply by February 14. had constantly belittling the SC judges since last July and their Petitioner Amina Malik told tirade was going unnoticed. the court that Sharif, his daughter “They pointed fingers at the Maryam, son-in-law Capt (retd.) honesty, bravery and upholding Safdar, Interior Minister Talal Nawaz Sharif rule of law. If they are not stopped Chaudhry and Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah verbally attacked Supreme they will continue attacking the judiciary,” the Court judges on last Saturday’s rally in petitioner said, requesting the LHC to initiate Jaranwala (some 150-km from Lahore) for contempt of court proceedings against the disqualifying Sharif from the office of prime respondents under the Contempt of Court minister. She said Maryam made the most Ordinance, 2003, read with Article 204 of the adverse remarks about the five judges who Constitution. handed down disqualification to Sharif.

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NRI

Saturday, February 3, 2018

UK Police arrest 6 men for murder of Indian-origin jeweller The British Police made a sixth arrest in connection with the kidnapping and murder of Indianorigin jeweller Ramniklal Jogiya, (pictured) who was found dead in Leicester last week. The 74-yearold had gone missing as he walked home from work and was forced into a vehicle by masked men. “The 20-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of kidnap and murder and is currently in police custody where he will be questioned by detectives,� Leicestershire Police said. Two other men, aged 18 and 22, both of whom are from Leicester, were arrested on suspicion of kidnap and murder and remain in police custody. Three other Leicester men, aged 19, 20, and 23, were charged with kidnap and robbery of Jogiya. They appeared before

Two Indian-Americans inducted into US National Inventors Hall of Fame

Leicester Magistrates’ Court today and were remanded to appear at Leicester Crown Court on February 28. Jogiya, the father of three sons, was last seen on CCTV locking up and leaving the family’s jewellery store Vama on Belgrave Road – known as the Golden Mile due to its row of jewellery shops, mostly run by Indian-origin merchants. His family issued a statement through Leicestershire Police expressing their devastation at his death and paid tribute to a loved member of their “close knit family�. The statement said, “Ramniklal was a loyal, gentle man who was passionate about his family. “He was a doting husband, father, granddad, brother and uncle, who loved nothing more than spending time with his family.

Indian techie found dead in his apartment in Texas An Indian software engineer was found dead at his apartment where he was living as a paying guest in the US state of Texas, according to officials.

Venkannagari Krishna Chaitanya, 30, who moved to the US three years ago, was living as a paying guest in Arlington, a suburb of Dallas in Texas, said sources at the Indian Consulate here. When Chaitanya did not came out of his room for a long time, his landlord broke in and found his body.

Chaitanya was working in Cognizant Technologies on a Southeast Airlines project.

The authorities in the US have informed

Chaitanya’s family in Telangana about his death. living alone, away from family in an alien culture, can be quite depressing.Know THE Truth “We are in touch with the family in India and coordinating transportation of the mortal remains to India as soon as possible,� Houston Consulate General Anupam Ray’s office sources told PTI. The cause of Chaitanya’s death is “not known�, sources at the Houston Consulate said, adding that his body has been sent for postmortem.

Two Indian Americans - Sumita Mitra and Arogyaswami Paulraj - have been inducted into the US Patent Office’s National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHoF) this year.

The NIHoF honours “people responsible for the greatest technological advances that make human, social and economic progress possible.� Mitra, an alumnus of Presidency College, Kolkata, and Calcutta University, was honoured for inventing the first dental filling material to include nanoparticles. “The new composite filling material, called Filtek Supreme Universal Restorative, is a versatile material that could be used for restoring teeth in any area of the mouth; mimicked the beauty of natural teeth; had better polish retention;

and exhibited superior strength than existing dental composites,� the release from NIHoF said. The product line has been used in more than 600 million dental restorations worldwide, according to 3M, the American conglomerate that Mitra worked for 32 years before retiring in 2010 to start an R&D consulting company with her husband. Mitra, 69, was a chemist at 3M Oral Care, the dental products division of 3M, best known for its Post-it notes and Scotchgard fabric protector. Her inventions have led to a number of breakthrough dental technologies, including nanocomposites and dental adhesives. Paulraj, professor emeritus at Stanford, has been recognized for his 1992 US patent on MIMO -

Indian professionals in UK protest being branded ‘threat to national security’ Highly skilled Indian migrants joined a protest by South Asians outside 10 Downing Street on Tuesday, airing their fury about having their applications for indefinite leave to remain refused or being forced to wait years for a decision with their passports confiscated.

A man in the protest chanted “Who are we?�

They replied, “Highly skilled!� He said: “What do we want?� They cried “Justice.�

Most were migrants on tier 1 visas who had applications for indefinite leave to remain turned down because of mistakes in their tax returns. In the refusal letters, the home office branded them as “undesirable� and “a threat to national security�. Some were given 14 days to leave, whilst others were allowed to stay and appeal, but not to work.

The refusal of 32-year-old Aditi Bhardwaj’s application for indefinite leave to remain cost

her a ÂŁ80,000 business and her marriage. She came to the UK from Delhi as a student, then in 2016 applied for permanent residency as a dependent on her spouse’s visa. At the time she was about to open a restaurant in which she had invested ÂŁ80,000. But the home office was not convinced she had lived consecutively in the UK for 10 years and turned her down. “I was not able to go ahead with opening my restaurant and it put so much strain on our marriage we separated. I suffered so much with the home office,â€? she said, adding, “I have lived here 15 years so it is not an easy step to go back to India.â€? Mumbaikar Nisha Mohite, 32, was working on a tier 1 visa as a quality assurance officer. She has had two applications for permanent residency declined because of an amendment in her tax return. She was unable to visit her sick grandmother

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FRUITICANA

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan together again in Karan Johar’s ‘Shiddat’?

Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt, who have worked together in three films, will reportedly be seen romancing each other in filmmaker Karan Johar’s next production venture Shiddat.

The movie will be helmed by 2 States director, Abhishek Varman. If reports are to be believed, Shiddat is a two-hero film and will go on the floors next year.

A source revealed that the script of the film is in the early stage and Abhishek along with Karan and Alia are working on it. Speculations about actor Arjun Kapoor playing the parallel lead were also doing rounds, but the details about the second hero is kept under wraps.

However, official conformation on the same is still awaited.

If these reports turn out to be true then

this will be Alia and Varun’s fourth film together. Both the actors made their debut with Student of the Year. After that they worked in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Badrinath ki Dulhania. The chemistry between the two actors was liked by the audiences.

S

SRK takes Katrina Kaif and Anushka on a rickshaw ride

hah Rukh Khan is currently working on Aanand L Rai’s ‘Zero’, where he will be essaying the role of a dwarf.

The teaser of the film has already created a lot of interest among everyone.

Now, the actor shared an interesting picture from the sets of the film.

Taking to Instagram, SRK shared a picture of himself with his co-stars Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma. In the click, he can be seen driving a cycle rickshaw with the two actresses sitting behind. All three are dressed in white tops and blue denims and are sporting big smiles for the camera. It definitely looked like the three had a blast together and King Khan felt so too as he captioned the picture as, “Best memories begin with insane ideas...Girls taking me along for a ride called #Zero @aanandlrai @katrinakaif @anushkasharma.�

Kat says she trusts Shah Rukh Khan blindly Katrina Kaif is working for the second

time with Shah Rukh Khan in director Aanand L Rai’s ‘Zero’ after playing his love interest in ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’. According to the reports, Katrina has claimed that she can trust King Khan blindly as far as the film is concerned as SRK is personally looking into the technical details in terms of VFX, CGI and graphics and has hired the best people in the field for the same.

The actress is reportedly very happy with the response the film’s teaser has received and is sure it will be one of a kind film that we all will be proud of.

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Saturday, February 3, 2018

HOROSCOPE Aries '* # 2 '% The lunar eclipse in your leisure sector could dominate events, so this could be quite an emotional week. This eclipse can be like a turbocharged full moon, so you could see changes occurring in your social life and in the way you spend your leisure time. If you

to step back. Relationships begun at this time can have a fated quality and may not work out as you hope. In general, though, your social life looks pleasantly spicy.

Taurus 2 '* # '%

eye with a family member, this could be due to the lunar eclipse. You may feel strongly about an issue and not want to back down. If you can put yourself in his or her shoes, you might see

compromise. Later in the week, chatty Mercury enters your sector of ambition, so it might be time to discuss your plans with someone who can help you.

Gemini '% # 3 '* Be careful about what you commit to or promise this week, because the lunar eclipse in your sector of talk and thought could make it hard to follow through. You might have one plan, but the cosmos might have another, so you could have no option but to go with the ! " #

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know that another one will open for you very soon.

Cancer 3 '' # 3 ') % $ this time, because the lunar eclipse in your

bring an ongoing issue to the surface. If this

no longer be able to do so. Events could encourage you out into the open where you

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this may be, it could also be a tremendous release and relief for you.

Leo 3 '4 # 2 ') The week ahead could be a turning point for you, because the lunar eclipse in your sign could ring in changes regarding certain relationships. Feelings may intensify over the days ahead, with the midweek eclipse perhaps "

future of a key bond. If your relationship is strong, this can be a positive change. However, if things have been going downhill for you, you

Virgo 2 '4 # '4 An issue that has been buried could come to the surface around midweek as the lunar eclipse stirs up your feelings. It might show itself in your dreams or perhaps in a general unease that you want to investigate. It might help to take some time out and lighten your schedule. Doing so could allow you to connect more deeply with this matter, understand where it comes from, and "

much better as result.

Libra

Preity Zinta rings in birthday with Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha and Bobby Deol

'4 # 5 '' There could be a few alterations to your social life, because the lunar eclipse in your friendship zone could ring in key changes.

A friend could move out of your social circle, or you might have to make new

also possible that your time with a certain

time to move on. If so, this is all part of the

Scorpio 5 ') # 6 ! ''

spotlight this week, so it would be just as well to showcase your skills and be seen in the best possible light. However, with a lunar eclipse in your sector of goals and ambitions, this might be easier said than done. A goal or opportunity

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were delayed. The weekend looks particularly buoyant and delightful, so make the most of it.

Preity Zinta is celebrating her birthday today. And her post on social media is proof that she had a blast ringing in her birthday with her B-town friends Bobby Deol, Salman Khan, Iulia Vantur, Sonakshi Sinha, among others.

The ‘Veer Zaara’ actress shared a collage of pics from the intimate bash along with the caption, “Thank you all for all the wonderful birthday wishes So humbled and so touched by all the good wishes Loads of love! #AboutLastNight .�

Apart from posing for a number of selfies with her besties, Preity also shared a picture of her beautiful chocolate cake with a message that read, “Happy Birthday Zinta.� While we didn’t spot Preity’s hubby Gene Goodenough in the pictures, we are sure the two will have a blissful year ahead.

Preity Zinta was born 31 January 1975

. She has appeared in Hindi films of Bollywood, as well as Telugu, Punjabi and English language films. After graduating with degrees in English honours and criminal p s yc h o l o g y, Zinta made her acting debut in Dil Se.. in 1998, followed by a role in Soldier in the same year.

These performances earned her a Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut, and she was later recognised for her role as a teenaged single mother in Kya Kehna (2000). She subsequently established a career with a variety of character type roles.

Capricorn 7 ') # 3 '% This could be a week of radical change, because the lunar eclipse in your sector of transformation is encouraging you to let go of the past. Your instincts may be telling you that if "

any conditions and situations in your life that no

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no hurry. The intention to act can be a positive start.

Aquarius 3 '* # 8 *$ Key bonds could go through some changes this week with a lunar eclipse in your sector of relating. An issue that has been bugging you could come to the surface for resolution. If your relationship is strong, this turbocharged full moon will allow you to clear the air and

) " been getting on very well with someone, the coming days could bring the realization that

Pisces 8 '% # '% Try to lighten your schedule this week if you can. This is because the lunar eclipse in your sector of lifestyle and wellness could see your energy level dip. You might reach a point where you need to make decisions about your overall health and how to ensure that you stay " #

sector of your chart suggests making time for !

work. Acknowledging these can allow you to feel revitalized.

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DEEPTI NAVAL FEBRUARY 3

URMILA MATONDKAR FEBRUARY 4

ABHISHEK BACHCHAN FEBRUARY 5

AMRITA SINGH FEBRUARY 9

Bollywood

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Film review: ‘The Window’

S

tory: A talented yet deeply troubled screenplay writer Lekh Kapoor wants to break free from the shackles of conventional storytelling, but ends up taking up the job of rewriting the script of a Tamil blockbuster. His life takes a U-turn when a mysterious girl becomes the object of his obsession.

Review: A wannabe revolutionary in the field of screenplay writing, Lekh Kapoor (Amit Kumar Vashisth) is let-down by the boisterous ways of showbiz industry and resolves to introduce an unconventional technique of storytelling that does not conform to the protocols of how a script is

supposed to be written. But his henchman Irfan, who goes to painful lengths to find work for his ‘genius’ friend, convinces him to take up a job in the space of commercial cinema for making ends meet.

Worn out, shattered from the wounds of an ugly marriage with Ayesha (Preeti Sharma) and highly delusional, Lekh begins writing his script, only to chance upon Maya (Teena Singh) who goes on to become the object of his obsession. The recurring theme in ‘The Window’ is a wholehearted writer’s plight in this unforgiving industry and the myth that pathos alone can bring out the artistic genius in a storyteller. Director VK Choudhary’s version of struggle in an unstable profession seems unrealistic in parts. The film’s frequent deviation from the plot, only adds salt to the injured script.

Amit Kumar Vashisth as the shabbily dressed, aloof and enraged Lekh is the highlight of the film. Despite the script going haywire after the first 30 minutes, he stays true to his character of utter lunacy and situational depression. Probably in a different setting, with a much tighter script, we will get to see an even finer version of this first-rate actor. His partner-in-crime Preeti Sharma’s naivety is required to balance things out in this otherwise ladenwith-screams indie flick. The camera work and its subsequent editing have damaged ‘The Window’ ‘beyond repair. Young director VK Choudhary sets out to tell the tale of a revolutionary.

Feb

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KAALAKAANDI *ing: Saif Ali Khan and Sobhita Dhulipala

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4

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Atif Aslam & Neha Kakkar in Vancouver for Mother’s Day concert With some of the most popular songs between them in 2017 & 2018 , Pakistan’s ATIF ASLAM & India’s NEHA KAKKAR are way up on popularity charts and KVP Entertainers is bringing them together for a Musical Bonanza on Mother’s Day as they perform their evergreen songs at Vancouver’s iconic Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Sunday , May 13nth 2018 at 7 PM .

For tickets and more info call: Kamal’s Video Palace , Surrey (604)833-1977 or (604)592-9777 ( www.kvpentertainers.com ) and www.vtixonline.com

63rd Jio Filmfare Awards 2018 The 63rd Jio Filmfare Awards 2018 saw the biggest and brightest stars in the film industry assemble under one roof to celebrate and honour the best of Bollywood. While Shah Rukh Khan, Karan Johar, Ranveer Singh, Sunny Leone and Akshay Kumar’s performances on-stage were some of the highlights of the night, there were a handful of moments off-stage that also demanded attention. One of these priceless moments was that shared between Ranbir

Kapoor and his co-stars Dia Mirza and Alia Bhatt.

The hunk, who will be seen sharing screen-space with Dia in the Dutt biopic, came together for a selfie along with his ‘Brahmastra’ co-star and Best Actress nominee of the night, Alia. Joining the three for the picture was good friend Arjun Kapoor. The stars sure seemed to have had a wonderful time bonding with each other apart from enjoying the award show

Sexual harassment:

Actors speak out on Bollywood’s open secret The casting director had one hand pressed to the phone at his ear; the other, according to a police complaint, he rested on Reena Saini’s thigh. “He was casting for TV serials,” Saini, 26, recalls. “One day he called me for an audition. And when I reached the place he said, come into my car and talk, I’m in a hurry.”

While the car idled in Mumbai traffic, and his young nephew sat in the backseat, Saini says the casting director, Sohan Thakur, started to grope her. “It made me so embarrassed,” the Bollywood hopeful says. “I didn’t know if it was intentional, or by mistake. I was numb, I was freaked out.” #MeToo movement named Time magazine’s Person of the Year After she squirmed from the vehicle, she says Thakur called her with a warning not to share the incident.

“He told me, if you say this to anyone, it will be your minus in the industry,” she says. “People won’t see you as a good girl.” Thakur denies the allegations, and has said in a detailed response on Facebook that CCTV evidence supports his account of events and that he will be suing for defamation. Swara Bhasker is now an established, award-winning actor in Bollywood, the Mumbai film industry. But she was fairly new to the business when one director started incessantly texting her on set. It soon escalated to requests for “intense” one-on-one meetings.

“He started saying he needed to fall in love with my character,” she says. “He would always call me on the pretext of discussing this lovemaking scene – and I’d go and he’d always be drinking.” Late one evening he knocked on her door while drunk, she says, and demanded she hug him. To endure the project, Bhasker was forced to enlist another crew member as her chaperone. “Now I understand why in the olden days the actresses used to take their mothers on shoots,” she says. Stories of sexual assault and harassment are among several shared with the Guardian by women in Indian film industries. All of those interviewed said the mass unmasking of abusers in the media and entertainment worlds of the US, UK and elsewhere was long overdue in India – but were doubtful such a reckoning would occur any time soon in the world’s largest producer of films. None could identify an offender accused of crimes on the scale of the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who has now been accused of rape by multiple women – allegations Weinstein denies. But what is endemic, they say, is a deeply entrenched culture of actors – mostly women, but some men – being pressured to exchange sexual favours for roles and the

promise of fame. “The casting couch is one of Indian cinema’s most open secrets,” says Anna MM Vetticad, a journalist and author on the film industry. “It is always very subtle,” says Bhasker. “People try to insinuate that there are 10,000 girls for one role – so what can you do?” “They make situations uncomfortable and load choices in a way where if women want to get ahead, you have to do certain things,” another prominent actor, Tisca Chopra, says. Both women say they have resisted the “casting couch” even when it cost them work. “I have lost roles,” Bhasker says.

“I know the directors who won’t answer my calls because I made it clear I would not get into that relationship situation.”

Criticism of this culture is usually expressed as accusations that women are “sleeping their way to the top”, says Vetticad, “instead of pointing to the excruciating pressures women are subjected to in India’s heavily male-dominated industries”.

She adds: “Male producers, directors and actors have the power to make and break these women’s careers, and so routinely and aggressively proposition them, or at the very least let it be known that a willingness to grant sexual favours would help a woman professionally.”

“It definitely is a problem,” agrees Amit Behl, the senior joint secretary of the Cine and TV Artists Association in Mumbai. Tens of thousands of young actors arrive in film hubs such as Mumbai each year hoping to emulate superstars such as Deepika Padukone or Aamir Khan. “Mentally, in terms of awareness of the laws, they’ve just come from small towns with big dreams – they face maximum exploitation,” Behl says. As in other countries, sexual harassment is likely rampant across the Indian workforce, he adds, but is especially acute in industries such as cinema, where a huge pool of workers, poor regulations and artistic discretion vest enormous power in employers. “It’s an insecure industry in which people take advantage of each other because of this insecurity,” he says. This year, a shocking allegation roused the women of one Indian film industry into action. In February in Kerala state, centre of Mollywood, the Malayalam film world, a prominent female actor was bundled into a car and sexually assaulted for several hours before being dumped on the street.

5

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Film : ‘Padmaavati’

Raveena Tandon runs into ‘old friend’ Sanjay Dutt on a flight Sanjay Dutt may have undergone some troubles during his younger days but he also made a ton of friends in the industry. Now, the veteran actor recently ran into one such friend in an unexpected manner. Sanju and Raveena Tandon bumped into each other on a flight.

Taking to Instagram, Raveena shared a picture of herself with Sanjay. In the click, the two can be seen posing together on board a flight with a big smile on their faces. Turns out that the two bumped into each other which the actress mentioned in her caption as she said, “#GuessWhoOnFlightWithMe

Rani Padmavati (Deepika Padukone) the wife of Maharawal Ratan Singh (Shahid Kapoor), is known for her beauty and valour in 13th century India. She captures the fancy of the reigning Sultan of Delhi, the tyrant Alauddin Khilji (Ranveer Singh), who becomes obsessed with her and goes to great lengths to fulfill his greed. Based on a Sufi poem of the same name written in 1540 by Malik Muhammad Jayasi, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has added his own flair and interpretation to ‘Padmaavat’, giving it a fairy-tale sheen. This makes

all the controversy pointless, and pale in comparison to the spectacle that unfolds.

Bhansali reunites with two of his favourite leads in recent times - Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, but adds Shahid Kapoor to complete this trio of commendable acting talent. Shahid is steadfast and unflappable as Maharawal Ratan Singh - the ruler of Mewar, brimming with Rajput pride. He brings a regal aura to the character that warrants him winning the confidence and loyalty of the Mewar kingdom and more importantly, Rani Padmavati’s heart.

Sooraj Pancholi charged over death of model, actor Jiah Khan A court in Mumbai has charged the Bollywood actor Sooraj Pancholi son of Aditya Pancholi with abetting the suicide of his former partner, the actor Jiah Khan, who was found dead in her apartment

relationship with Pancholi for nine months when she killed herself. According to Indian police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) she had spent two days with Pancholi in his flat before her death. Pancholi was 22 at the time.

Khan’s mother, Rabiya Khan, who lives in London, has long claimed her daughter was murdered and has fought to have Pancholi convicted. Pancholi’s parents, Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, are well known in Bollywood and have fought equally ferociously to defend their son, arguing that Khan was emotionally unstable and had attempted suicide in the past. Until now the case Pancholi is accused of abetting suicide of fellow actor had moved around the Mumbai police, the CBI and the courts without making Jiah Khan, who died in Mumbai in 2013 progress. In September, in an open letter by her mother in June 2013. Jiah Khan to the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, made a sensational debut in the industry, Rabiya Khan alleged that CBI officials had starring opposite the veteran actor Amitabh deliberately distorted certain information.

“All forensic evidence strongly suggests that Bachchan in the 2007 film Nishabd.

Jiah Khan was 25 and had been in a Jiah was murdered and then hanged to make

#oldfriendships only grow stronger with time ! Hours flyby when you having fun!

Old memories,films,friends..”

6

Bollywood

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Kat turns Alia’s style guru Kaif says Bhatt must include vibrant hues in her wardrobe MOHAR BASU mohar.basu@mid-day.com WHILE having shed the pounds since her debut in Bollywood, Alia Bhatt has also upped her style game to get her sartorial choices on point.

And though the young actor has many admirers rooting for her wardrobe, buddy Katrina Kaif seems to harbour a different opinion.

Having recently turned up on the set of Neha Dhupia’s chat show that brings the industry’s popular friends together, Kaif apparently alluded to finding Bhatt’s palette relatively muted. A source from the set tells midday, “During a segment called Scary Spice, Katrina, commenting on Alia’s sense of fashion, stated that she isn’t particularly fond of how the latter dresses. She said that she would like to see Alia don more vibrant shades.” The duo’s outing on the show which will air on Colors Infinity over the weekend, says the source, inspired many laughs.

Their unlikely but heart-

warming camaraderie that developed in a celebrity trainer’s Pilates studio was attention-grabbing, given that few leading ladies of Bollywood are able to strike a friendship of this kind. “They revealed that they grew fond of each other while spending time together at the Bandra gym. Alia said that Katrina usually needs a partner to work out with, and finds one in her,” says the source. Their conversations inevitably trickled into “their favourite place”, Bandra’s Salt Water Cafe, where they apparently spend several hours in discussion.

As is commonplace in the film industry, the duo received attention for their publicised break-ups. We hear, they found solace in one another when dealing with the turmoil.

“Alia confessed that Katrina has always given her relationship advice in times of need. Katrina was seen taking on a philosophical tone.”

The set of TV show Bepannaah at Cinevistaas caught fire last month

Additional support for Cinevistaas fire victim After studio offers 35 lakh as compensation to family of deceased audio assistant, recordist association provides further financial help

THE HITLIST TEAM hitlist@mid-day.com A DAY after it was revealed that the family of audio assistant Gopi Varma, who lost his life at a city studio on January 6, would receive compensation worth 35 lakh, the Association of Sound Recordists has also decided to offer a helping hand.

The charred body of Varma, 20, was found at Kanjurmarg’s Cinevistaas studio, where a fire broke out on the set of Jennifer Winget-starrer TV show Bepannaah.

BN Tiwari, president, Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) says, “An approximate amount of 5 lakh will be collected through the Association of Sound Recordists and handed over to his family.” The development comes a day after Vijay Singh Phoolka, one of the partners of the studio, had apparently offered 35 lakh as

Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt and Neha Dhupia on the set of the chat show

‘We will start an education fund in Gopi Varma’s name soon’

‘Alia confessed that Katrina has always given her relationship advice, in times of need’

BN Tiwari, FWICE

A source

president

Gopi Varma compensation to the family “Following a meeting held be tween FWICE and him [Singh yesterday, he said tha Cinevistaas will also be willing to give a family member a job, Tiwari said.

The studio, he stated, would offer the family member a job of his/her desire. Alluding to the interest of Varma’s brothe in graphic designing, Tiwar adds, “They can have whateve job they want. If the brothe wants a graphic designing job or one in the sound depart ment, we will be happy to offe him that. Also, we will start an education fund in Gopi’s name for members of the [studio’s sound association.”

Varma’s body was recovered after his father arrived at the studio to complain about hi missing son, who was working on the set.

Sonam asks for 400 to buy sanitary napkins!

MOHAR BASU mohar.basu@mid-day.com CLOSE on the heels of the release of Pad Man that addresses menstrual hygiene, Sonam Kapoor has unveiled a video urging citizens to make affordable monetary contributions to improve the situation of women in rural India.

The spoken word piece on Blush channel is a collaboration between Kapoor and Vatsalya Foundation, which works towards the betterment of the less privileged. Kapoor is seen urging people to make a minimum contribution of 400 to the foundation to facilitate a year-round supply of sanitary pads to women in various parts of the country.

Kapoor tells mid-day, “The

average woman has periods for 3,000 days in her life. It affects all women, but is a topic that nobody wants to discuss.

We wish to encourage an open discussion on the subject so that menstruation isn’t looked down upon.”

Highlighting the plight of Still from the video rural women in their menses, the piece sees Kapoor listing Dry mud, ash and unclean the ways in which temporary clothes, Kapoor is seen stating sanitary napkins are created. in the video, make for alterna-

tives to pads. The practice, she says, can evidently lead to infections. Titled, #AbSamjhautaNahin, it also features Pad Man co-star Akshay Kumar, who has been propagating the subject since he began working on the venture. Swathi Mukherjee, director of the organisation, says, “Inaccessibility to sanitary pads is among the primary reasons behind girls dropping out of schools.”

7

Bollywood

Saturday, February 3, 2018

CS/SATEJ SHINDE, SHADAB KHAN, PTI, YOGEN SHAH

Varun Dhawan

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Yami Gautam

Zareen Khan

JUST IN

Sameera Reddy Shriya Saran

STYLE TALK Whether they’re strutting on the ramp or simply cheering from the front row, Bollywood stars up the fashion quotient at an ongoing fashion gala in the city

FAMILY TIME Helen

Shilpa Shetty enjoys a movie outing with hubby Raj Kundra, son Viaan and mother Sunanda. The Khan-daan, on the other hand, bonds over a scrumptious lunch at a suburban restaurant

Huma Qureshi

Arpita Khan Sharma with Ahil and Alvira Agnihotri Salim Khan

Diana Penty Saqib Saleem

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Classifieds / Jobs

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Name change I, Manveer Singh, son of Maninder Pal Singh Bumrah, holder of Indian Passport No. N6895227 issued at Vancouver Canada , on 08/04/2016, permanent resident of H. No.2, Street 12, Ajit Nagar, Jalandhar ,Punjab, India, and presently residing at 6520 123 A Street, Surrey BC Canada V3W 1P7, do hereby change my name from Manveer Singh to Manveer Singh Bumrah with immediate effect.

Name change I, Maninder Pal Singh Bumrah father of Harkirat Kaur holder of Indian Passport No. H6155365 issued at Jalandhar , on 08/01/2010, permanent resident of H. No.2, Street 12, Ajit Nagar, Jalandhar ,Punjab, India, and presently residing at 6520-123 A Street, Surrey BC Canada V3W 1P7, do hereby change the name of my daughter from Harkirat Kaur to Harkirat Kaur Bumrah with immediate effect.

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Community news Lohana Cultural Association of BC cordially invites all to the occasion of Shree Jalaram Bapa’s 13 7th Punya tithi on Saturday February 17, 201 8at Shiv Mandir, 5600 Dorset St Burnaby.

Priti Bhojan will be served at 5.30pm onwards followed by Satsang and Kirtan from 7.00pm to 8.30pm .

For more info: Vasant Lakhani (604) 987 -1925 --------------------------------------------------South Asian Seniors - Manage your Anger through Yoga & Meditation, Swami Ashwini Prajnaa on 28th January 2018 from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm.

Vedic Seniors Parivar Center of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey invites South Asian Adults, Senior members and also nonmembers to attend a very important presentation on Manage your Anger through

Yoga & Meditation by Swami Ashwini Prajnaa a Yoga Expert from 1st Humanity Fellowship New Brunswick Canada on 28th January 2018 (Sunday) from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at Shanti Niketan hall of Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple 8321 - 140th street Surrey BC.

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Vol. 9 No. 1

Saturday - February 3, 2018

Vancouver vigilantes take housing matters into their own hands Alec Smecher had put a deposit down on the rental apartment near Commercial Drive, but the landlady called the next day to say she’d rented to someone else. She said she’d tear up his cheque. They had an agreement, and what she did might be actionable, he thought. Later, when he saw the woman was renting another suite in her five-bedroom house on Airbnb, it pushed him over the edge.

Now, Mr. Smecher has become something of a housing vigilante, joining a growing number of Vancouverites, frustrated by an unaffordable city and a lack of solutions.

Mr. Smecher has narrowed his focus to Vancouver landlords renting out laneway

houses because, being self-contained, they are easy to spot. If it is a regular Airbnb rental and it has hundreds of reviews, it would be obvious that the owner is renting it illegally.

Because Mr. Smecher is a software developer, he’s able to do some programming to search for words on the Airbnb site, such as “cottage,” “laneway” or “coach house.” He found a total of 75 laneway houses he is certain are being used as Airbnb rentals instead of housing for locals. (Renting laneway homes for shortterm rental is prohibited and homeowners can face fines, according to new rules announced by the City of Vancouver last year). “I view laneway-type housing fairly ideal for raising a family,” he explains. “I have found enough that it makes a compelling story – 75 full-time Vancouver rentals are available now on a single site and these are homes intended as housing stock. Some are three-bedroom – they are beautiful places,” he says, showing me pictures of newly finished kitchens with granite counters and living rooms with fireplaces. “There are plenty of people here who are part of the problem.” Mr. Smecher is on a mission to return the homes to the housing stock, to help turn around a near-zero vacancy rate. He has reported his findings to the city and he intends to do a

Continued on next pages

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14

Real Estate

In Vancouver, a ‘single family’ house often isn’t Fifty three per cent of Vancouver residents rent their homes and it would be easy to assume that those renters are living in dense, central and mid-rise neighbourhoods such as the West End. You might also assume that the so-called “single family home” areas are pretty much exclusive to homeowners.

But new data shows that renters are distributed around the city at levels that go against stereotypes. West Point Grey, with its big, expensive detached houses, is 38 per cent renter households.

Kerrisdale is 36.8 per cent renters. Shaughnessy, with its stock of old and new mansions, is made up of 30 per cent renters.

Urban planner Andy Yan, director of Simon Fraser University’s City Program, analyzed the new 2016 census data and charted his findings.

“Before I did this, I would have guessed 10 per cent tops, in some of these neighbourhoods, because you do have these clusters of rentals scattered around. I wouldn’t have guessed the minimum is 22 per cent, never mind way more than that in West Point Grey.”

The data serve to remind us that residential zoning doesn’t necessarily reflect the way people are living in those neighbourhoods, Mr. Yan says. For example, he says 24 per cent of all renter households are living in the so-called “single family home” areas that provide an “invisible affordability often ignored by development pundits.”

That means that in terms of planning,

we should be sensitive to how people are actually using housing types, he says.

Zoning changes can be the ruin of an established community. It’s not enough to rezone without examining how that housing is being used, and by whom – not if the goal is to create affordable housing while keeping people within the community.

“There’s the city on a zoning schedule and there’s the city that is lived by people,” Mr.

Yan says. “Do you really know your city, or do you base your opinions on stereotypes instead of what is happening on the ground, and who is actually living there?”

No matter where people stand on Vancouver’shousingcrisis,everyoneagreeswe need a lot more purpose-built rental housing.

However, Mr. Yan argues that simply aiming to increase density of market housing could cause more harm than good in vulnerable neighbourhoods and there’s evidence that it already has.

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Housing price increases in Fraser Valley outpace Vancouver The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation says demand for less expensive condominiums and apartments in North Delta, Surrey and Langley has inflated prices at a sharper rate than in Vancouver.

The CMHC’s latest Housing Market Assessment for the first quarter of 2018 shows that year-over-year increases in property sales under the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) were 15 per cent compared to 10.4 per cent under the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

The largest increases were for apartments or condominiums, some of which increased more than 50 per cent, according to the CMHC. The increases are based on the benchmark price composite, which tracks changes to middle-range or typical homes and excludes extreme high-end and low-end properties.

‘Most affordable units’ Eric Bond, a regional analyst with CMHC, says people are seeking out property in the Fraser Valley for a simple reason.

“Those municipalities have some of the most affordable units in the region, particularly for condos,” he said.

“For first-time buyers, given the price increases we’ve seen in the rest of the region, often those units are what’s most interesting to them.”

The prices in CMHC’s report are further evidence that people are scrambling to find something affordable outside of Vancouver or other areas.

‘This is an ugly market’: A look at Langley, Abbotsford and Chilliwack real estate However, it now appears that moving to the Fraser Valley is no longer an option to avoid sticker shock.

Statistics from the FVREB from December show the benchmark price for a townhouse went from $417,200 in 2016 to $513,100 in 2017.

Apartments increased from $276,600 in 2016 to $388,600 in 2017.

“So we’ve now seen some strong price increases in those areas due to the demand for that more affordable product,” said Bond.

The CMHC says overall single detached home prices increased 2.8 per cent in the area covered by REBGV, while townhouses and apartments were up 13.6 per cent and 19.7 per cent, respectively.

The report says the increases are due to a low number of active listings on the resale market.

“The resulting low inventories of homes for sale continues to put upward pressure on prices,” it said.

Meanwhile, the assessment continues to paint a gloomy picture for housing in areas like Vancouver and Victoria.

Housing markets there continue to be “highly vulnerable” due to price acceleration and overvaluation. CMHC says national housing market still ‘highly vulnerable’ for 6th straight quarter

Vancouver vigilantes take housing matters into their own hands Freedom of Information request to determine what enforcement is being taken. Mr. Smecher’s is only one type of activism. Others vigilantes seek to spread information about fraudulent behaviour, map out empty houses or petition government. They share a common sense that things have gone wrong in Vancouver and government inaction means they’ve got to act. Mr. Smecher wonders whether politicians fully comprehend the situation.

Unless you’ve searched for housing in the past couple of years, he says, you wouldn’t really see how dire it is. “I’ve been living in a one-bedroom with my five-yearold daughter, looking for years now for suitable long-term housing. I want to play in my band, show my art, I want to set down long-term roots and I’m constantly bounced around units, with a feeling of uncertainty about where I’m going to live next year,” he says. “Everyone is in the same boat, unless you happened to hit the lottery two decades ago. My kind of activism is what people have to do, but in their own way. “People are feeling a frustration, an inability to act, and really, a bottled up anger that they aren’t finding an outlet for.

And that’s got to go somewhere. I really fear for the election coming up, if people aren’t given a sense that things are changing.”

Mr. Smecher, who’s in his 30s, lives in his one-bedroom apartment near Commercial Drive, an area he’s lived in his entire adult life – although it’s becoming increasingly difficult. His daughter’s bed is a nook in the living room, partitioned off with a curtain. As she grows older, he knows he’ll

need a bigger space and he worries he won’t be able to find one. His previous rental was a nice $2,250-a-month basement unit that was sold after he’d lived in it for 10 months. He’s been on a co-op waiting list for several years.

He’s got his challenges, he says but he sees others who are worse off, such as people living in cars and vans around a nearby industrial area. They’re the ones getting bumped out entirely.

Raymond Wong, a 42-year-old technologist who lives in Burnaby, launched a petition demanding the provincial government set up a 2-per-cent speculation tax, create a special task force on corruption, work with Canada Revenue Agency to tackle tax evasion and money laundering and ban developers from marketing overseas, among several other measures. Mr. Wong is a member of citizen group Housing Action for Local Taxpayers.

He has about 900 signatures on his change. org petition so far, which he plans to present prior to the February provincial budget. A lot of people have high expectations for the budget, he says. “It’s not right, it’s almost like the whole system is rigged against local taxpayers … I don’t know how it even came to this,” says Mr. Wong, who’d just come from a radio interview.

“It motivated me even more … You hear one story and think, ‘This is bad.’ But then there are more. “I believe because they hear these stories, there are more people taking action.

That being said, a lot of people have given up on government because government policies have failed us. They have turned a blind eye.

They’ve accepted the money laundering, the speculation. They wanted to collect more taxes and didn’t care.”

Real Estate

Saturday, February 3, 2018

15

Vancouver in middle of the pack when it comes to density The city of Vancovuer has 5,493 people per square kilometre as of the 2016 Census — 13th out of 30 global cities measured by the Fraser Institute. “We find Canadian cities are much less dense than comparable American cities,” said Josef Filipowicz, a policy analyst with the Fraser Institute, who wrote the study.

“Canadian cities, including Vancouver and Toronto, which are experiencing an affordability crunch, can accommodate much more housing supply. There’s lots of room to grow, especially upwards, if that’s what those cities want to do.” The population density of London and New York City is approximately double that of Vancouver. The densest city the Fraser Institute measured was Hong Kong,

with 25,719 people per square kilometre — 468 per cent higher than Vancouver. ‘We’re comparing very old cities with young ones’ Filipowicz says the report shows the City of Vancouver could increase density, because there’s no correlation between higher density and a decrease in liveability standards.

“There’s a road map. These cities have already done this type of density, and it means Vancouver has a lot of room to catch up if they want to boost the housing supply ... which, in the short-term, is incredibly important for stemming home prices,” said Filipowicz.

But Brent Toderian, the city’s former chief planner, says it’s a simplistic way of looking at the data. “At best, it’s a mathematical

exercise. And you could debate it, because not all municipal boundaries are created equal.

Some include suburbs, some don’t, and we’re comparing very old cities with younger ones like Vancouver,” he said. He argues there are important reasons for cities to consider higher density — from sustainability to liveability and affordability — but targets shouldn’t be created arbitrarily based on other cities. “It’s a bit of a subjective thing. What people perceive as dense, it varies by cities, by cultures. So factually and mathematically, we could accommodate much more density.

I’m much more interested in the “so what?” of that,” he said. Large portions of the City of Vancouver have less then 10 dwellings per

Latest property assessment data shows big increases for many condo and townhouse Condominium and townhouse owners throughout Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley will likely get a shock when they open their property assessment notices this week, thanks to a region-wide increase in strata property values. On Tuesday, B.C. Assessment released its 2018 property assessment data, that showed across Greater Vancouver there were assessment increases in the five- to 35-per-cent range between July 1, 2016 and July 1, 2017. In the Fraser Valley, the increases ranged from 10 to 40 per cent. “The strata market is quite different. It’s been very robust — it’s really outstripped the single-family market,” said B.C. Assessment spokesperson Tina Ireland.

Last month, the authority sent warning letters to 67,000 homeowners, telling them to expect above average increases on their 2018 property assessment notices.

According to B.C. Assessment data, Vancouver strata homes went up on average 15.2 per cent over the previous year’s assessment, while in Surrey they went up 23.8 per cent. The City of Langley saw an even bigger jump — 26.2 per cent. A typical strata townhouse in Whistler Village went up 30 per cent, while a townhouse in Squamish’s Garibaldi Estates saw a 20-per-cent increase. “I think the extent to which things really cooled down in single family but not in condos was very, very striking because we tend to think of condos as something where you can add more supply, and single family it’s harder to add more supply,” said Tsur Somerville, professor and director of the University of B.C.’s Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate.

Since the assessments took place on July 1, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver president Jill Oudil said the trend has continued. “Detached has calmed a bit, although it’s still what we consider a balanced market,” she said. “Condos and townhomes

haven’t changed as far as both being in high demand.” Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore, who also chairs the Metro Vancouver board of directors, said it’s not a surprise to see condo and townhouse assessments going up. It happened in Vancouver a number of years ago, and now the suburbs are catching up. Strata residential values went up about 20 per cent in PoCo, and a typical low-rise condo in the city’s downtown saw a 28 per cent increase. “What I hear most about is not necessarily the assessment percentage going up, it’s how unaffordable it is for people to now even afford a condo in the suburbs,” Moore said. Somerville agreed that the affordability of condos and townhomes is “worrisome.” “When you see a lot of price appreciation in the thing that’s really the entry level product, then you’re really more concerned about people being shut out, particularly when you see these kind of increases out in the Fraser Valley,” he said.\ The single-family home market was “really quite stable, especially in the core areas of Vancouver — Vancouver, Richmond, North Shore, Burnaby,” said Ireland.

Urban areas of Greater Vancouver saw changes that ranged from a decrease of five per cent to an increase of 15 per cent. Rural areas of Greater Vancouver saw a similar range, with the upper end hitting 25 per cent.

For example, in Vancouver single-family home assessments went up on average 1.6 per cent, Richmond went up 2.5 per cent and Burnaby went up 2.6 per cent.

“We start moving out to the Fraser Valley — so even out Coquitlam way, into Surrey and Abbotsford — seeing more in the 10- to 20-per-cent range for the 2018 assessment,” Ireland said. Detached homes in the Fraser Valley saw anything from a decrease of five per cent to an increase of 25 per cent.

#106 - 7565 132 St. Surrey, BC 604.572.3005

hectare because of zoning regulations.

The City of Vancouver is currently embarking on a new strategy that promotes gentle densification in neighbourhoods that have long been dominated by single-family homes, a step Toderian supports. “There’s all sorts of ways to strategically densify that doesn’t reflect high density, high towers,” he said. “It’s always been the case in Vancouver: if we focus on a qualitative conversation about density, how we do it well, actually improving our livability and our quality of life, I’ve got a lot more confidence in that kind of conversation.”

16

Garry Grewal

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