The Asian Star October 24 2015 by The Asian Star Newspaper

www.theasianstar.com Vol 14

Issue 39 Saturday, October 24, 2015

Tel: 604-591-5423

POLTECH: Rejuvenating skills

Page

Boris Poludo

Volkswagen testing 2nd engine for emissions

Page

How will Justin Trudeau keep all his promises?

By Umendra Singh

Check Inside for Details

ustin Trudeau has a problem. Which promises to keep and

which to break?? He made multiple promises during the long election campaign - many things promised to many people. So many promises that it will be impossible, even with the $10 billion deficit, to fulfill. So he will have to break some of those promises. Like the last time when the federal Liberals came in with a thumping majority in 1993, then Liberal leader, jean Chretien, broke his promise to get rid of the GST. Trudeau, a leader from a different generation, has promises to spend billions on infrastructure, reform the election rules, laws and processes, gay for Surrey’s light rail, pay for Vancouver’s Broadway corridor transportation system, pay for middle class tax breaks, pay for multiple First nations programs, pay for Navy ships to be built in Halifax and so on and so forth. And what is he going to do about the Senate? Continued on page 4

The new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family.

New parliament has 22 South Asian members

he new Canadian Parliament has 22 MP’s of South Asian origin, almost tripling the number from the previous parliament. And there are five turbaned Silks and 16 of the 22 are from the Punjab community. Fourteen of the 22 South Asian MPs are from Ontario and Quebec has also elected its first South Asian MP. British Columbia elected four South Asians --Sukh Dhaliwal (Surrey-Newton), Amarjit Sarai (Surrey Central) , Harjit Sajjan (Vancouver South) and Jati Sidhu (Maple Ridge), all Liberals from Metro Vancouver. Alberta elected three MP’s of South Asian origin. Sixteen, out of these 22 South Asian members, Continued on page 6

BC’s wish list for Trudeau keeps getting longer

he wish list for Justin Trudeau’s new government has grown as B.C. Premier Christy Clark pushes for action on climate change and softwood lumber, while mayors put their hands out for much-needed infrastructure money. Clark joined politicians Tuesday as they made bids for attention to their issues one day after Stephen Harper’s Conservatives were ousted from a decade-long grip on power. Clark said the federal government’s “wisest” move on climate would be following the lead already set by the provinces – in particular, B.C.’s carbon-pricing policies. The federal government should simply be taking the role of co-ordinator and not “start to fiddle with real success that we’ve seen,” she told reporters. Continued on page 6

Local

2 i Saturday, October 24, 2015

Richmond man says he killed his mother in a moment of madness

man calmly described for a jury Wednesday how he used a hammer to beat his mother to death and then disposed of her body in a suitcase. Yuan Xi Tang, 28, has pleaded not guilty

to the June 2012 first-degree murder of Lianjie Guo, 47, in a Richmond apartment. The Crown’s theory is that Tang felt his parents had too much control over his life and had planned out the grisly slaying. The

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do then?” asked Anderson. “Then I think my mother struggled a little,” said Tang. “Then it was as if she was trying to push me away. Then I used the hammer and struck her twice on the head.” “How hard?” said Anderson. “I believe I used my full force,” said Tang. “What was your intention then?” asked the defence lawyer. “I’m here and I can’t lie. I believe that at the time I intended to kill her.” Tang added that up to that moment, he did not want to kill his mom. With the blood seeping through the quilt and pillow, Tang said he was so scared that he sat on the floor for about 15 minutes. When he went to check and see if his mother was still breathing, he could not feel her heart beating, he said. Tang said he didn’t know how he was going to cover up the killing and “I even had the thought of killing my father as well.” “Then I thought that I was crazy, so I quickly abandoned that thought. After I had calmed down a bit, I thought that there was still a way of covering up this matter.” Tang said he grabbed a suitcase, stuffed his mother’s body inside and took the suitcase down to his vehicle. Then he drove over to an apartment, where he had been living unbeknownst to his parents and placed the suitcase into a storage locker. He returned to the apartment where he’d killed his mom and ran into his father, who asked where his mother was. “I was so scared, I did not know how to answer,” he said. “At the last moment I could only make up a very bad lie.” He said he told his dad that his mother was at the other apartment. Later, he changed the story to say that his mother was missing, he said. His father became anxious and demanded that he call police, which he did, he said. Tang’s testimony is expected to continue Thursday.

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jury heard Tang confess to the killing to undercover cops. But in his opening statement to the jury, Troy Anderson, Tang’s lawyer, said that the killing happened in a “moment of madness” and described how Tang’s parents had used corporal punishment on him growing up and had “exiled” him to Canada after rejecting his first girlfriend. Tang took the stand and described how he became anxious when his mother, who was visiting him from China with his father at the time, began going through his belongings before the couple’s departure back to China. When she found a document indicating he had rented a vehicle instead of buying it as he had told his parents, Tang said he was scared she would discover his lie and grabbed a hammer. “I took out the hammer from my school bag and hit the back of her head with it,” he said. “When you pulled out the hammer and struck her on the back of the head, what was your intention?” said Anderson. “I did not think that much. All I wanted to do, I did not want her to continue looking (at the rental agreement).” “How hard did you hit?” said Anderson. “I cannot describe how hard, but it was not full force,” said Tang. The accused said that after he hit his mom with the hammer, he noticed she was lying on the bed with her face up and her eyes open. “I was scared that she might find out that I was the one who hit her,” he said. “I offhandedly picked up half of the quilt and also the pillow and held it on her face.” “What did you

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LOCAL

Saturday, October 24, 2015 i 3

Parents of daycare victims upset that South Asian predator to be released

wo Metro Vancouver moms are “horrified” that unrepentant pedophile Latif Ahmad Tata will be back on the street two years after being found guilty of sexually assaulting little girls at his wife’s Maple Ridge daycare. “(It’s) really upsetting to me that this type of crime does not seem to be taken very seriously when you look at it in comparison to drug charges or gun charges,” said L, whose son attended Shining Stars Family Childcare for three years and had to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases and signs of sexual assault. “This clearly is a much, much bigger offence in my mind. There should be longer mandatory minimum sentences for sex crimes.” L spoke to the press on the condition of anonymity to protect her son’s identity. She said she was initially referred to the daycare by a family friend and did everything she could to make sure she was leaving her son in a safe place. When she received a call from the RCMP in 2013 about what Tata had done, she couldn’t believe it. “I was completely blindsided,” L said. “I thought it was a joke.” “I held him and just cried,” said the woman as she wiped away tears. Another mother, F, also spoke on the condition of anonymity. Two of F’s children attended the daycare, one of whom Tata admitted to sexually assaulting over the course of two years. He was initially accused of molesting four girls aged three to eight, but was finally charged with attacking two, aged two and four. Tata was sentenced to four years in jail, minus 218 days of credit for time served. He has served the statutory two-thirds of his sentence and will be released into the community on Nov. 7. According to parole board documents, Tata’s family wants him to live with them in Metro Vancouver. However, because the family does not believe Tata committed the offences, the board is concerned that he may again be given access to children. Instead, he will live in one of three halfway houses in Metro Vancouver for the rest of his term, after which he can live wherever he wants. Conditions of Tata’s statutory release include having no contact with his victims and their fami-

lies, avoiding places where children under 16 are likely to be and not travelling to or residing in Maple Ridge. But the victim’s families are still afraid of

TEL20151022_Diwali_SA_BC_Asian Star.indd 1

running into Tata. According to the parole board, Tata shows little remorse for his actions, refers to the sexual assaults as “accidents” and blames his offending on alcohol abuse. The

board also describes Tata -- who will get a disability pension when he is released and will work as a painter for a family member -- as “egocentric and narcissistic.”

2015-10-22 10:57 AM

4 i Saturday, October 24, 2015 Continued on page 1 Outgoing Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, fed up with the impossible task of reform

Senate, simply washed his hands of the whole affair by refusing to appoint any more Senators. And Trudeau, as Liberal leader, had kicked the Liberal Senators from Liberal caucus – basically saying “you don’t belong with us.”

EDITORIAL

How will Trudeau keep all his promises So will he follow Harper’s example and not nominate any to the Senate?? How will he appoint a Senator who is not a Liberal? He could just appoint non-Liberals to the Senate (what an innovative idea that would be? Although it will upset countless Liberals) But since he has set a precedent of ensuring Senators are not Liberals, he will have

to keep up with that practice – if he wants to appoint Senators and keep credibility at the same time.

Hurricane Patricia, headed for Mexico, called strongest in history Hurricane Patricia, the strongest storm recorded in the Western Hemisphere, was taking aim Friday at a stunning section of Mexico’s Pacific coast that includes the major commercial seaport of Manzanillo and the popular tourist destination of Puerto Vallarta. Patricia was speeding toward coastal areas as a monster Category 5 storm. Locals and tourists were either hunkering down or trying to make last-minute escapes ahead of what forecasters called a “potentially catastrophic landfall” in the afternoon or evening. “The National Hurricane Center in Miami has determined that this storm is the strongest storm ever seen on the American continent,” said Roberto Ramirez, executive director of Mexico’s National Water Commission, which includes the country’s meteorological service. “However, after considerable research … we have determined that there has never been a hurricane anywhere on the planet in all of history that has reached wind speeds of 325 kilometres per hour. Additionally, some international experts have already noted that this hurricane is the most powerful hurricane that has ever existed on the planet in all of history.” The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tweeted as much Friday morning. A spokesperson for the UN’s World Meteorological Organization said Patricia’s wind speeds are equivalent to those needed for a jet airliner to take off and stay aloft. Category 5 is the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale for hurricanes.

Liberals have long had a love affair with the Senate so it will be interesting to see what he does.

Saturday, October 24, 2015 i 5

Local

6 i Saturday, October 24, 2015

New parliament has 22 South Asian members From page 1 belong to Canadian Punjabi community. Only two new members belong to the Conservative Party. Among existing South Asian Conservatives, only Deepak Obhrai was able to save his seat from Calgary Forest Lawn riding. Bob Saroya is the only Conservative MP from GTA region who got elected from Markham-Unionville riding. First South Asian member from Quebec, Anju Dhillon, comes from Laval-Lachine-LaSalle riding, a South Asian stronghold in suburban Montreal. Two South Asian MP’s won

From page 1

BC’s wish list for Trudeau keeps getting longer

Clark has long had her flight booked for the upcoming United Nations climate change summit in Paris next month, she said, adding it will be Trudeau who must ultimately represent all the provincial leaders on the international stage. British Columbia’s premier also said Trudeau must jumpstart renegotiation of the softwood lumber agreement with the United States, which hasn’t been responsive to restarting talks. Although the deal made in 2006 expired last week, it remains in effect for another year and precludes the U.S. from bringing trade action against Canadian softwood lumber producers. “It is absolutely urgent,” Clark said. “My approach? What do we all do when you make a phone call and you can’t get through the first time? You keep calling.” While Trudeau has said he plans to run deficit budgets to rebuild Canada’s infrastructure, B.C. Finance Minister Mike de Jong said he expects the province to keep a tight rein on spending as it continues to produce balanced budgets. “We have been very clear from the outset what our approach to fiscal management is,” he said. Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson was buoyant as he hailed the election results as a “resounding win” for Canada’s big cities.

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first time from outside GTA; Bardish Chaggar won the Waterloo riding and Raj Saini has won the Kitchner Centre riding. Five new members of the parliament are turban-wearing Sikhs. First South Asian and turban-wearing Sikh member of Canadian parliament Gurbax Malhi got elected in 1993. He says that the community has got a long way in last 22 years. “ Sikh MP’s are 2.1 per cent of the parliament now and that is in proportion to our share in Canada’s population”.

“The cities need to be treated as constructive partners and we’re eager to reset that relationship,” he said. “Frankly, the past decade has been a lost opportunity for cities with the Conservative government.” He said voters clearly recognized that the Conservatives didn’t have a credible plan for affordable housing or transit, and voted accordingly. In early September, Trudeau promised that a Liberal government would work with Vancouver and the province to build rapid transit along Broadway, a major east-west artery in Vancouver. The province has committed to its share of the capital cost. Asked whether he trusted the B.C. government to match federal funds for other projects, Robertson said it had been a problem in the past. “In this situation, hopefully the B.C. government recognizes the importance of these investments and matches the federal dollars,” he said. Robertson has also long chastised the federal government for its restrictive drug laws, arguing they created a grey area that allowed illegal pot shops to flourish in Vancouver. The city has spent months reviewing and debating new regulations for dispensaries, and staff are currently working through 176 applications for licences. That work could be undone when Trudeau legalizes marijuana, if the new federal framework doesn’t line up with the city’s policies.

LOCAL

Saturday, October 24, 2015 i 7

Premier Christy Clark says she was unaware of triple deleting of government emails

hristy Clark says that until yesterday she had no idea what triple

deleting of emails was and, that as of today, she has ordered all political government staff and ministers to retain their sent emails, even those considered transitory. Speaking to reporters the day after B.C. Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denhamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s report into serious breaches of freedom of information laws by government staff was made public, Clark said that the practice of deleting email had been around a long time. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I thought that everything was being done properly, because thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really been no change in how things have been done for a decade,â&#x20AC;? Clark said. Asked if there would be repercussions for Michele Cadario, deputy chief of staff in the premierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office, Clark said that there would not.

The report identified Caderio as having routinely deleted emails in contravention of laws protecting the publicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right to hold politicians accountable for their actions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is difficult to overstate the seriousness of the problems that my office discovered in the course of this investigation,â&#x20AC;? Denham wrote in her report. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is important that the government take immediate action to restore public confidence in the access to information process.â&#x20AC;? On Friday, Clark said that there were inconsistencies in how the freedom of information act was interpreted, and that those inconsistencies would be addressed by the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contracting of former B.C. Privacy Commissioner David Loukadelis who, Clark said, would be training everyone in an effort to imple-

ment all of Denhamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recommendations.

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ELECTION 2015

8 i Saturday, October 24, 2015

Here’s what a Liberal Cabinet could look like as Justin Trudeau packs his bags for 24 Sussex Liberal rules may clear path for star candidates

Here’s a look at who could be in a Liberal cabinet, and some guesses at the positions they could occupy.

RCMP, the federal spy, border and correctional services and parole board — that might benefit from Bill Morneau (Toronto Centre): Leslie’s military experience and Finance from his last mission to improve The 52-yearthe armed forces’ efficiency and efold Morneau is fectiveness. In that portfolio, Leslie, a political new57, would sit on cabinet commitcomer but he is tee on foreign affairs and security an experienced alongside defence, foreign affairs Bay Street figand international development, ure. A safer which would still afford him a hand choice might be former Liberal finance minister in high-level DND decision-makRalph Goodale, but Morneau’s face ing. Bill Blair (Scarborough Southon the Liberal front bench would west): Defence The recently resignal Justin Trudeau’s campaign tired Toronto commitment to “change.” Marc Garneau (Westmount— police chief, in his early 60s, Ville-Marie): Foreign Affairs might also be At 66, Garneau better utilized was Canada’s in a portfolio first astronaut in that doesn’t space (1984) and make him direturned twice rectly responmore. He has sible for federal policing and dobeen opposition mestic spying, but still gives him a critic for foreign meaty post and a seat on the cabinet affairs, international trade and La Francophonie; committee in foreign affairs and sefor natural resources and industry curity. Jody Wilson-Raybould (Vancouand science and technology. He resigned as executive vice-president ver Granville): Environment Wi ls on-R ayof the Canadian Space Agency in bould, 44, is a for2005 to pursue a political career. Andrew Leslie (Orleans): Pub- mer Crown proslic Safety The obvious choice for ecutor, one-time chief the retired army lieutenant-gener- regional al from Orléans would be defence, for the Assembly of First Nations but that might and former treaty commissioner. be too close to She was personally recruited by his old career, Trudeau. She’d bring an important where he had indigenous sensibility to a crucial fans and critics. portfolio. He retired in 2011 as chief of Domitransformation nic Leblanc for the Canadian Forces. Public Safety Canada, created in (Beauséjour): Justice Lebthe aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 lanc, 47, has terrorist attacks, is an unwieldly extensive organization — responsible for the

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experience on Commons committees and as former Liberal critic for justice and Liberal House Leader. A longtime trusted friend of Trudeau’s, he holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick, and Mas-

ters of Law from Harvard Law School. Mark Holland (Ajax): House Leader Before he was defeated in his Ajax riding in 2011, Holland, 41, held several high-profile critic portfolios, including for natural resources public safety and national security. He is also a Trudeau insider.

Top Harper Ministers and NDP critics who lost their seats

Joe Oliver, Eglinton-Lawrence inance Minister Joe Oliver was among a handful of Toronto Conservatives who broke through in 2011, but as Canada’s biggest city returns mostly to ithe Liberals, Olver has been defeated by Marco Mendicino. Oliver took over the high-profile portfolio from Jim Flaherty, who died in 2014. Before finance, Oliver was Minister of Natural Resources, and spent much his time defending proposed pipelines, like Keystone XL, which has since stalled. Oliver stayed mostly out of the spotlight during the campaign, and cancelled a speech at a men’s club in August after critics suggested it was sexist. Julian Fantino, Vaughan-Woodbridge The former top cop in Toronto and at the Ontario Provincial Police snagged this suburban Toronto riding from the Liberals in a very close race during a 2010 by-election, and easily beat the Liberals in 2011, but has now been defeated by Liberal Francesco Sorbara. Fantino climbed the ranks quickly in Harper’s cabinet and was made Minister of Veterans Affairs in 2013, but didn’t last long in the top job. Fantino’s efforts to defend service centre closures, pension changes and a billion dollars of lapsed spending caused ire among veterans and he was demoted to associate minister earlier this year. Since then, he has been a vocal proponent for Tory tough-on-crime measures. Chris Alexander, Ajax—Pickering

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The outgoing Citizenship and Immigration Minister has lost his race in this new suburban Toronto riding to Liberal Mark Holland, who served as an MP from 2004 to 2011. A former diplomat, Alexander oversaw the controversial Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, which gave the minister powers to revoke Canadian citizenship from those dual-citizens convicted of treason, espionage or terrorism. Alexander was frequently asked by the media in recent years why progress on approval of Syrian refugees was going so slowly, and the questions intensified after it was revealed that family members of Alan Kurdi, a boy whose body famously washed up on a Turkish beach, had tried unsuccessfully to get to Canada. Bernard Valcourt, Madawaska— Restigouche The man who has served as Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development since 2013 has lost his New Brunswick seat to Liberal lawyer René Arseneault. Valcourt was first elected in 1984 and made a Minister of State by Brian Mulroney in 1986. He was demoted after a drunk driving accident in 1989 that cost him an eye. After a

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PERSON OF THE WEEK Chhavi Disawar

t’s been two years since Arvind moved from India to Canada. He is working for a restaurant and earning enough to support his family but there is something missing from his life. He hardly talks about his life back home but when he does; his eyes reflect his passion for engineering. A graduate from one of the most renowned organizations in India stagnated his skill after fighting the tough war of Canadian job market. Most of us who have emigrated from different countries would see our story in that of Arvind’s but none of us knows the right way to deal with it. Going to university or college needs commitment of time but majority of us migrate with our families and supporting them becomes one of our priorities as well. So, we end up giving our dreams.

Canada is a land of opportunities they say but where are those opportunities? That is one feeling they experience. There are people who experience and there are some who bring about a change. Boris Poludo is one of those people who fall in

Saturday, October 24, 2015 i 9

POLTECH: Rejuvenating skills the latter category. Poludo, along with his best friend Sergei has created a path towards success for those professionals who want to channelize their skills and talent towards their passions. The name of this path is Poludo Institute of Technology and Media (POLTECH). Unlike other colBoris Poludo in his office leges and schools, Poludo doesn’t believe in lengthy year round field of interest. They work for survival. We bring those people here and we give them an intensive one to three month training to refresh their knowledge and adapt that to Canadian market”, told Boris to The Asian Star. Apart from technical knowledge, students are taught skills to build resume, present themselves and connect them to people in the industry. Boris has been a consultant and a teacher for more than a decade. Ponting this out, Sergie told The Star that their main inspiration to get started was to help people pursue their passions.” We have highly professional teachers with extensive skill level and that makes us different”, marked Sergei. Poludo Institute of Technology and Media primarily focuses on Tech. industry but are slowly proceeding towards media industry. “Media is a very special passion of mine. I have education in music. I did sing in Russia and programs. Instead, all the programs they also gave performances for National Arts provide are short and crisp. “We focus on Centre, Ottawa”, added Boris. “Media is those individuals who already have experia very strong field and has loads of potenence in their field. All we do is, brush them tial. I myself have done sound engineering up for Canadian market”, said Boris. “Most in 1996 and now it’s my time to give back of the new immigrants don’t work in their to the community”, smiled Boris. Polu-

do’s media courses are of one month duration. The duration of one class is two hours and there are two classes in a week. Courses like Final Cut pro, film making, logic pro ex, music production are included in the curriculum. “Media courses would be taught by media pioneers from Italy. That is something big that is coming”, told Boris. Personal attention and skill enhancement are focal points of the organization. Boris has a strong profile as a councillor working with Telus, UBC, ICBC and some government organizations. That is where his experience in recognizing the skills of an individual comes in.” We not only give our students knowledge/skills but also provide them with the hands on experience with everything they would require in a real life scenario “, told Boris to The Asian Star. “My students are working with top shot Tech companies and they keep hiring new individuals through him.” The technology courses at Poludo Institution are very reasonable for any individual that makes learning easy for them. The fee includes all registration fee, software and learning materials. “Our courses are short but intense. So I always tell people to read constantly. We have presentations going on all the time. We believe in building confidence in people because that is how one can become a professional”, told Boris. POLTECH’s infrastructure gives a very positive and energetic vibe in itself and the classrooms are well equipped. Also there is an open space where musical events happen timely. “If you want to do an event, a concert, any meet up, this space facilitates 40 people and you can do it for free”, tod Boris. Boris holds an open free of cost essentials of job hunting and resume building sessions for techies every Saturday at 1:00 pm. For more details visit: http://poltech.ca/

Top Harper Ministers and NDP critics who lost their seats stint as New Brunswick’s Progressive Conservative leader, he was elected federally in 2011. Valcourt oversaw the Aboriginal portfolio during a time of heightened tensions. He was criticized this summer for turning down an invitation to attend the Assembly of First Nations general assembly. Paul Calandra, Markham—Stouffville The Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister has lost in this new suburban Toronto riding to Liberal Dr. Jane Philpott. Calandra often raised eyebrows for responses he gave in question period. After an NDP question about Nigel Wright, he said, “I do like flowers and, of course, with lemons I like to make lemonade. My two daughters, this summer, actually had a lemonade stand where they sold lemonade for five cents on the street. They did very well. I am very proud of them.” Another time, when NDP Leader Tom Mulcair asked about the mission in Iraq, Calandra instead spoke at length about a two-month-old Facebook comment by an unnamed NDP fundraiser who had criticized Israel. Calandra later offered a tearful apology for the answer. He was narrowly elected in 2008 to the riding of Oak Ridges—Markham and easily won re-election in 2011. Leona Aglukkaq, Nunavut Canada’s first-ever Inuk minister appears to have lost her race for Nunavut to Liberal Hunter Tootoo, who previously served as the speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut. Aglukkaq was given the health portfolio in 2008 and became Minister of the Environment after she easily won re-election in

2011. One of her last moves as minister was ordering a temporary halt to a planned sewage dump into the St. Lawrence River until after the election. Aglukkaq has faced repeated criticism for her government’s position on climate change. Critics pointed out that it wasn’t even mentioned in the last federal budget, to which Aglukkaq fired back that “no federal budget has done more for the environment.” Aglukkak also faced controversy for Tweeting her support of the seal hunt and polar bear hunting. Gail Shea, Egmont CTV projects the Liberals have taken all four ridings on Prince Edward Island, including Gail Shea’s, where Bobby Morrissey will be the next MP. Shea was first elected in 2008 and twice served as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. NDP shadow cabinet Megan Leslie, Halifax The NDP’s environment critic appears to be a victim of the Liberal tide in Atlantic Canada. Leslie pushed hard against the government to ban plastic microbeads, which they have now promised to phase out. She was also a loud voice demanding more action on climate change and an inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women. Leslie first won the Halifax riding in 2008 after it was vacated by former NDP Leader Alexa McDonough. Peter Stoffer, Sackville—Preston— Chezzetcook After winning six times -- the first time in 1997 by a mere 41 votes – the union activist

turned Nova Scotia MP has fallen to Liberal Darrell Samson. Stoffer served in many shadow cabinet roles, most recently as Veterans Affairs critic. Peggy Nash, Parkdale--High Park This Toronto riding has swung back to the Liberals under Arif Virani. Before she was first elected in 2006, Nash was a senior Canadian Auto Workers negotiator. She was also known for her work on food insecurity, affordable housing and assisting U.S. Iraq War Resisters. She served in the NDP shadow

cabinet as industry critic. Pat Martin - Winnipeg Centre After increasing his share of the vote in each election since 1997, Martin has this time been ousted by Robert Falcon Ouellette, a Winnipeg mayoral race runner-up and member of the Red Pheasant First Nation. Martin was well-known for his salty language inside and outside of the House of Commons. Paul Dewar, Ottawa Centre After serving his riding since 2006, the NDP Critic for Foreign Affairs has been defeated by Liberal lawyer Catherine McKenna.

The 16th annual Mahilpur Brotherhood reunion was organized by the Bains family in Surrey on October 17. Photo: Chandra Bodalia

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ELECTION 2015

Saturday, October 24, 2015 i 11

World leaders congratulate Trudeau on win

flood of congratulations poured in “It was also great meeting your daughter, from world leaders Tuesday follow- whom you had woken up early that day. Best ing Justin Trudeau’s election win, wishes.” The Chinese government expressed including detailed signals from Washington hope of building on existing relations: “Since about its priorities for Canada’s most import- the establishment of diplomatic ties 45 years ant bilateral relationship. A spokesman for ago, bilateral relations have made substantial progress thanks to President Barack Obama the concerted efforts described areas where the of both sides,” said U.S. hopes Canada contina foreign ministry ues the status quo: the fight spokeswoman. against Islamist rebels in In the U.S., one Iraq, and the Trans-Pacifpersistent critic of ic Partnership trade deal. Conservative cliHe also revealed hope for Sukh Dhaliwal celebrating with his supporter after last Monday night’s victory. mate-change policies improvement in one area: Photo: Chandra Bodalia expressed delight climate change. Josh Earabout a potential nest brushed off a suggestion that relations might suddenly change because the de- change in Canadian policy in time for next invariably mentioned the father-son dyprime minister someday. The BBC listed parting leader had repeatedly lectured the month’s climate talks. namic, in Canada’s first multi-generational seven policies supported by Trudeau, U.S. for stalling the Keystone XL pipeline. “I’m hopeful tonight’s election will put prime ministerial dynasty. The Associated including: possibly ending Canada’s air at“It would be short-sighted to reduce the re- Canada back in a leadership position,” said Press informed readers worldwide about tacks in Iraq, closer relations with Obama, lationship between our two countries to just former vice-president and presidential canthe Richard Nixon prophecy. At a state more refugees from Syria, fighting climate one issue,” Earnest said, going through that didate Al Gore. “Congratulations.” dinner in 1972, when Trudeau was a few change, better relations with Iran, legalizlist of other issues. “The fact is there are a World media ran stories speculating on what months old, the then-president toasted the ing marijuana, and an inquiry into missing whole range of issues where the United States a Trudeau win might mean. Most pieces baby’s arrival and joked that he’d become and murdered aboriginal women. and Canada worked effectively together to advance the interests of our two countries.” He said the president would be calling the next prime minister Tuesday afternoon. But he added that Obama would also be calling the outgoing prime minister — whom he thanked for his past work. “The United States is fortunate to have such a strong and close partnership with a country like Canada that does have this global influence,” Earnest said. “We certainly are appreciative of Prime Minister Harper’s efforts to strengthen that relationship. We look forward to building on that kind of progress when Mr. Trudeau takes over the Prime Minister’s Office.” He said he hoped the next government would continue fighting ISIL, and supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership — both areas where Trudeau has been less clear than Harper. But on climate change and the upcoming Paris talks, he added: “We believe it’s possible there’s more that Canada can do in this regard.” Congratulations for Trudeau rolled in from around the world. The leaders of Mexico, India and Italy sent laudatory messages to Trudeau, as did a number of left-leaning American critics of the now-defeated Conservative government. Mexico’s Enrique Pena Nieto • CREDIT CARDS DEBT • COLLECTION CALLS called the future prime min• LINE OF CREDIT • LEGAL ACTIONS ister and tweeted congratula• BUSINESS LOANS • GARNISHMENTS tions in Spanish: “Canada and • REVENUE CANADA DEBT • SEIZURE OF ASSETS Mexico have the opportunity (GST, PST, PAYROLL, TAXES) • INTEREST ON PAYMENTS to start a new chapter in their • ICBC • NEED TO DO relationship.” As noted by the • STUDENT LOAN BANKRUPTCY Washington Post, this is the first time since 2000 that the Call Now For A Free Confidential Appointment continent is led by three leftof-centre governments. Italy’s Matteo Renzi sent a Registered Credit Consultant Twitter message to Trudeau: “Looking forward to seeing Email: tahir@tahirmalik.ca you at G20; will work together to make the bonds between Canada and Italy ever stronger. SURREY: ABBOTSFORD: 2 LOCATIONS TO Good luck.” Narendra Modi 208-9200, Scott Road 200 A 2451 Clearbrook Rd SERVE YOU BETTER said: “I have fond memories of my visit to Canada in April ALSO PROVIDING SERVICES FROM TORONTO, MONTREAL, WINNIPEG, EDMONTON & CALGARY 2015 and my meeting with you,” he tweeted at Trudeau.

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12 i Saturday, October 24, 2015

Three Canadians arrested in $5-billion money-laundering scheme

oronto Police helped the FBI uncover a $5-billion fraud and money-laundering conspiracy in a case they say highlights the need for co-operation to track crime proceeds that cross borders more easily than ever. FBI officers and United States Postal Inspection Service investigators watched Thursday in Toronto police headquarters as Detective Sergeant Ian Nichol traced the evolution of the case, which led to charges against three Toronto-area residents and six south of the border. “We saw significant linkage with what was going on on the U.S. side … notes were compared, and lo and behold, we were onto something bigger than what we had originally,” Sgt. Nichol said. The three charged locally are alleged to have wired funds through accounts in

several countries, including the proceeds of “romance scams.” They came to police attention through a local case: a 63-yearold Canadian widow who was swindled of her life’s savings in 2014. “I will say, just as a personal anecdote, that we went to visit her in the wintertime and found her … at her home, and the heat was barely on,” said Deputy Constable Mike Kelly from the financial crimes unit. “She was wearing a jacket and mittens inside, and a jacket and hat, in her house. She’s been economically ruined.” The woman had begun what she believed was a romantic relationship with a man she met on a dating site; it turned out to be fabricated, Constable Kelly said. In the course of a few months, believing the man was facing emergencies, she handed over $609,000.

Liberals planning swift overhaul of controversial Anti-terrorism Act, or Bill C-51 2/10

he controversial security bill rammed through Parliament by the Conservative government in the spring is expected to be overhauled without delay by the new Liberal government, say party officials and other sources. Proposed legislation to add new measures and repeal some existing parts of the law, now known as the Anti-terrorism Act of 2015, or C-51, is already being drafted and is to be tabled early in the new parliamentary session. Consultations with the public and various experts are planned before the replacement legislation is put to a final House vote. The following is an open letter addressed to all members of Parliament and signed by more than 100 Canadian professors of law and related disciplines. Dear Members of Parliament, Please accept this collective open letter as an expression of the signatories’ deep concern that Bill C-51 (which the government

is calling the Anti-terrorism Act, 2015) is a dangerous piece of legislation in terms of its potential impacts on the rule of law, on constitutionally and internationally protected rights, and on the health of Canada’s democracy. The bill was brought in by the Conservatives after the killings in October 2014 of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent in Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu and Cpl. Nathan Cirillo in Ottawa by lone-wolf extremists. A key feature of the replacement legislation is expected to be the creation of a multi-party, joint House of Commons-Senate committee, sworn to secrecy and reporting to the prime minister and through him to Parliament. It would have a full-time staff, access to the necessary secret information and be tasked with strategic oversight of every government department and agency with national security responsibilities, according to a source familiar with the content.

ELECTION 2015

Another Ruby Sahota wins Brampton North for Liberals

Conservatives’ draiberal Ruby Sahomatic cuts to family ta won the riding of reunification immiBrampton North, gration categories. helping end the one-term The moves infudomination of her city riated many in the by the Conservatives. riding’s large immi“I grew up in this riding, grant community. I’m raising my son in this Inder Chopra threw riding. I know how many his support behind people here feel. They want the Conservatives better health care, they want Brampton North Liberal candidate in 2011, after years Ruby Sahota (left) with son Nihal jobs. We’re going to make of backing Liberals. family reunification (under and husband Tej at the Red Rose Chopra thought the Banquet Hall on Derry Road East the immigration policy) Conservatives would on Monday October 19. simpler, faster,” Sahota said. With 110 polls reporting of 189, help make it easiSahota’s arrival at her Sahota was declared elected with er for immigrants victory party was met her leading incumbent Parm Gill to get their foreign by a loud roar. Shorteducation and exly after, she was declared the winner. perience recognized in Canada. Myra Mansour is confident Sahota will However, “We still have these forbe a strong representative. On Monday she eign credential barriers. The Consercast her ballot for the Liberal candidate. vatives did some work on the issue, “Parm Gill didn’t do anything that he but not what they were promising promised (after winning the old ridus. They didn’t take it far enough.” ing, Brampton-Springdale, in 2011). But he said Brampton’s South Asian com“Ruby will actually represent Brampton.” munity has matured, and will no longer just With a booming population, a growblindly throw its support behind a party ing immigrant community and a high because of affiliations created decades ago. unemployment rate, Brampton North The Liberals promised to increase featured a number of contentious issponsorship applications for parents and sues during the election campaign. grandparents to 10,000 annually and foBrampton North is one of the city’s new cus on family reunification. The NDP ridings, carved from parts of three forannounced it would remove the cap. mer ridings. Throughout the campaign Another key issue was the sputtering there was no clear front-runner between local manufacturing economy. The ConGill, Sahota and the NDP’s Martin Singh. servatives’ perceived failure to stimulate After being shut out in Brampton by the the economy was a major issue here. Liberals for almost two decades, the ConSahota and Singh promised to servatives in 2011 targeted “ethnic” ridings. bring in more jobs and investment. That helped Gill take the old riding of Gill, a business owner, said his parBrampton-Springdale, promising the arty’s “low-tax plan” was what votea’s large South Asian community imers at the door were responding to. migration reforms and a boost to the His message was largely that Brampton local manufacturing-based economy. North voters would suffer under the proBut after winning the election, many resposed tax policies of the Liberals and NDP. idents in the area were shocked by the

LOCAL

B.C. Transportation Minister Todd Stone admits to ‘triple deleting’ his emails

C Transportation Minister Todd Stone admitted Thursday that he has “triple deleted” his emails, despite a report published on the same day that condemned the practice. “I have triple deleted my emails from time to time,” said Stone. “Some emails are deleted, some emails are kept. That is, I think, how all British Columbians manage their email.” Stone didn’t say whether the emails he admitted deleting were personal or government-related. He did say that he and his staff “adhere 100 per cent” to the province’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Earlier on Thursday, the province’s information and privacy commissioner issued a report decrying the practice of “triple deleting” emails, which permanently deletes them from all government servers. According to the report, “triple deleting” means first moving an email to the com-

puter system’s “deleted” folder, expunging the email from the folder itself, and then manually overriding a backup that allows the system to recover deleted items for up to 14 days. Stone said he respects the commissioner’s interpretation of the information act, and again repeated that he hasn’t broken any rules. He said the province will closely examine her recommendations and will consider how best to act upon them. Hundreds of emails deleted daily Tim Duncan, the whistleblower who prompted the investigation, said he and his colleagues routinely did the same, thereby expunging their emails from government servers. “We were triple-deleting emails on a daily or a [twice] daily basis,” said Duncan. “It’s quite common to delete emails massively — not any one specific email, but hundreds of emails every night before you go home.” Duncan said there’s

A Jagriti Fundraiser was held by the Arya Samaj Society of BC on October 17 in Surrey. Pictured above are some of the guest sat the vent. Photo: Chandra Bodalia

Saturday, October 24, 2015 i 13

Limits to be places on city council election spending

he Wild West days of unlimited spending in municipal election campaigns are about to end. The provincial government has tabled legislation that will cap how much would-be mayors and councillors can spend on advertising and other costs in future election years, starting in 2018. The permitted spending amounts vary by the size of each municipality according to a population-based formula. It works out to $10,000 for mayoral candidates in cities of up to 10,000 people, rising to $89,250 for a population of 150,000, and reaching $149,250 for a city of 250,000. An extra 15 cents per capita is added after 250,000 for the biggest cities, meaning future mayors will be able to spend no more than $184,000 in Surrey and $205,000 in Vancouver. Spending by councillors, regional district directors and school trust-

ees would be capped at half the limit of mayors in their areas. “I think they’ve got this right,” said Dermod Travis, executive director for Integrity B.C., adding the sliding scale reflects the different needs of small and large communities. “It’s unfortunate the other half of the equation is not being tackled at the same time, which would be donations. But I think they’ve found a good middle for where those caps should be on expenses.” It will make it harder for well-funded candidates to use advertising firepower to beat their opponents, he predicted. “You’re going to see less money getting spent, which means candidates have to raise less money. Which means that they’re actually going to have to campaign more in terms of meeting voters rather than buying ads.”

no way of knowing what information was included in all those lost records.

“I suspect over the last couple of years there’s likely been very sensitive information deleted,” he said.

14 i Saturday, October 24, 2015

ELECTION 2015

Five B.C. priorities for Trudeau to address

Here are five priorities in B.C. that Justin Trudeau has promised to tackle as prime minister: 1. Marijuana The Liberals have promised to legalize marijuana for recreational use, arguing that too many young Canadians end up with criminal records for possessing small amounts of the drug. Trudeau has not said how soon legalization will happen because first the government will need to figure out how to tax and regulate weed. He said it could take a year or two before it is made legal. Legalization has been a huge election topic here in Vancouver, home to Prince of Pot and legalization activist Marc Emery, who spent five years in a U.S. prison for selling pot seeds on the Internet. This year’s annual 4/20 legalization rally drew an estimated 20,000 people into Vancouver’s downtown core. 2. Missing and murdered women Trudeau pledged to “immediately launch a national public inquiry” into the killings and abductions of indigenous women and girls. This is an important issue in

B.C., where 18 girls and women, many of them aboriginal, were murdered or went missing along the Highway of Tears in northern B.C. between 1969 and 2006. In October, Bob Zimmer, re-elected Monday as MP for Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies, came under fire for suggesting one of the main problems for aboriginal women was the fact they didn’t stay on the reserves. Stephen Harper repeatedly refused to hold an inquiry, calling the issue a law-and-order problem, and saying that police had solved most of the crimes. 3. Pipelines/oilspills Anti-pipeline protests draw large crowds in B.C., and dozens of demonstrators against Kinder Morgan’s proposed expansion were arrested on Burnaby Mountain. While Trudeau has voiced support for the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline and the Keystone XL pipeline, saying that Canada needs to get its resources to market, he also has said that the current

approval system is broken and designed to support the Conservative government’s objectives. The Liberals have pledged to overhaul the federal environmental review process so that projects in the works and in the future will establish the public trust. During a campaign stop in Vancouver, he also pledged to increase Canada’s coastal marine protected areas from 1.3 per cent to five per cent by 2017 and 10 per cent by 2020. He also reiterated his commitment to reopen the Kitsilano Coast Guard base to better assure public safety. Trudeau is opposed to oil tankers on B.C.’s north coast. 4. Transit infrastructure Trudeau has pledged to invest $20 billion more in transportation improvements over the next decade. He said it would be up to local governments to decide which projects get funded, but cited the proposed Broadway rapid transit line, Surrey’s light rail and increased SeaBus service as examples that could be funded under the Continued on page 15

Five prominent new Liberal MPs in Metro Vancouver British Columbians elected a record 17 Liberal members of parliament during Monday’s 42nd Canadian general election. The previous high for Grit representation in B.C. was 16 in 1968 during the first wave of Trudeau-mania — the one inspired by Pierre Elliott, Justin Pierre James’ father — when the province only had 23 federal ridings, compared to 42 now. The Liberal gains in B.C. — specifically the Lower Mainland — were dramatic. In the 2011 election, the party, under the leadership of Michael Ignatieff, claimed just two seats in B.C. Of the 15 new Liberal MPs, 13 are in Metro Vancouver. Here is a look at a five prominent new Liberal MPs: Jody Wilson-Raybould, Vancouver Granville The newly formed riding, formed after the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution, was supposed to be one most hotly contested races in B.C., but in the end Wilson-Raybould ran away with the victory by garnering 44 per cent of the votes. A 44-year-old former crown prosecutor served a regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations from 2009 until 2015, when she chose to run for federal politics. She is a member of the We Wai Kai Nation. Married to Dr. Tim Raybould, a Cambridge scholar and management consultant, Wilson-Raybould is the daughter of Bill Wilson, a lawyer and prominent aboriginal leader and uses Puglass — the native name given to her by her grandmother — as her Twitter handle. It means “a woman born to noble people.” Randeep Sarai, Surrey Centre Another new riding, Surrey Centre was formed from a portion of the former Surrey North, that was held by New Democrat Jasbir Sandhu. On Monday, Sarai, a political neophyte, easily defeated the incumbent by winning 45.1 per cent of the popular vote, compared to 30.1 per cent for Sandhu and 19.8 per cent of Conservative Sucha Thind. A lawyer who specializes in contract dispute and facility litigation, Sarai’s official Liberal bio says he was “a founder and has served as a Director of Virsa-Supporting Youth Strengthening Families Society and helped start South Asian Community Coalition Against Youth Violence which successfully championed for the creation of the Integrated Gang Task Force.” Harjit Sajjan, Vancouver South An 11-year veteran of the Vancouver Police Department and former Lieutenant-Colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces, Sajjan was touted as one of the Liberals’ “star candidates” heading into election and he lived up to his billing on Monday as wrestled the seat away from incumbent Conservative Wai Young. Sajjan captured 48.4 per cent of the vote, impressive for a first-time candidate. A highly decorated soldier, Sajjan served once in Bosnia and three times in Afghanistan. Born in a small town in India, Sajjan was five when he immigrated with his family

ELECTION 2015 to Canada. He is married Dr. Kuljit Kaur Sajjan, a family doctor, and they have two young children. Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country Goldsmith-Jones, a veteran of North Shore municipal politics, easily wrestled the traditionally Conservative riding away from two-term MP John Weston. Goldsmith-Jones, whose 12-year municipal government career including stints as a city councillor in North Vancouver and West Vancouver, and two terms as mayor of West Vancouver (2005-2011), captured twice as many votes (35,818 to 17,191) as Weston, her nearest competitor. Goldsmith-Jones stepped away from politics in 2011 to complete her executive MBA at Simon Fraser University, specializing in Aboriginal Business and Leadership. Terry Beech, Burnaby North-Seymour Beech pulled off a surprise Liberal win in the new riding that had been pegged as battleground between the Conservative Mike Little, a long-time councillor for the District of North Vancouver and New Democrat Carol Baird Ellan, former provincial court judge. At 18, Beech became the youngest person to ever be elected to public office in B.C. when he won a seat on Nanaimo council in 2002. After leaving public service, Beech attended Capilano University and Simon Fraser University before moving to England to earn his MBA from Oxford. As a tech CEO, he co-founded hiretheworld.com and was named one of “B.C.’s Top 40 Under 40” in 2013 by Business In Vancouver magazine.

Five BC priorities for Trudeau to address

plan. When asked for details of how projects would be funded, Trudeau said his government’s job would be to work with local officials. 5. Environment / Climate Change Notable in B.C. is that Trudeau promised to enact the Cohen Commission recommendations on declining sockeye salmon stocks in the Fraser River, conduct a review of the Conservatives’ changes to the Fisheries Act and elimination of the Navigable Waters Protection Act, and restore $40 million in ocean science and monitoring programs. The Liberal government says it is committed to combating climate change, and create national emissions reduction targets. Under the Liberal plan, provincial and territorial governments will design their own policies, including carbon pricing policies. Trudeau will attend the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Paris starting on Nov. 20, and has said that the Liberal government will hold a first ministers meeting on combating climate change within 90 days of the meeting.

Saturday, October 24, 2015 i 15

Harper exiting as PM and Conservative leader with long political legacy

he man who defied the odds time and again even as he defined Canadian politics over the past decade finally saw his time run out Monday night. A decade ago, Stephen Harper stood on stage in his adopted hometown of Calgary basking in triumph as he led the Conservatives to the first of what would be three successive election wins. On Monday, just before Harper took the same stage, an email went out from Conservative party president John Walsh announcing that Harper was stepping down. Harper, the email said, had asked for an interim Tory leader to be appointed by the caucus and for the party to begin the process of selecting a new leader. While Harper was re-elected Monday in Calgary Heritage, the message did not address his status as an MP. Harper made no mention of resigning in his speech to party members, but struck an upbeat tone in his remarks. “It has been an unbelievable honour to serve as your prime minister,” he told the cheering crowd. “We put it all on the line, we gave it every-

thing we have to give and we have no regrets whatsoever. Friends, how could we? We remain citizens of the best country in the world.” Tom Flanagan, the University of Calgary professor who served as Harper’s chief of staff when he was Opposition leader, said before the election that if Harper resigned he would leave a stable Conservative party that retained its base and fundraising prowess. But he said being out of office would be a significant adjustment for the former prime minister. “He has no hobbies that I know of besides that he like to jam with his friends,” said Flanagan, referring to Harper’s penchant for playing the piano. “He enjoys playing music, he likes watching hockey on TV . . . other than that, it’s all politics and work.” Harper leaves office as a divisive figure and his path to power was unlikely in the first place.

Frank Atkins, the University of Calgary economist who supervised Harper’s Master’s thesis, remembers the future prime minister as incredibly intelligent — but skeptical of elected politics. Years later, Harper inscribed a book for Atkins with the comment, “Frank, who would’ve guessed?” Atkins said before election day that he could envision Harper bringing his intellect to serve as a fellow or scholar-in-residence at a university. “I’d love to see him in a position like that but I don’t know whether anyone would offer that,” said Atkins, who added that he doesn’t expect Harper to head to the boardroom. “Stephen doesn’t strike me as a corporate board kind of guy.” Harper, who grew up in Toronto a teenaged fan of Pierre Trudeau, was drawn into politics in Calgary, first as an aide to Progressive Conservative MP Jim Hawkes, then as the policy chief for the fledgling Reform party and then as one of the first wave of Reform MPs elected in 1993.

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16 i Saturday, October 24, 2015

ELECTION 2015

NDP seats lost as Liberals take majority government

ontreal— The so-called “orange wave’’ created in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada by former NDP Leader Jack Layton went down the drain Monday night, taking much of the left-leaning party’s political strength with it. A visibly deflated Tom Mulcair, who prevailed in a long, difficult fight for his own riding of Outremont, delivered a subdued but gracious concession speech to a few hundred supporters at Montreal’s Palais de Congres. “With this election, Canadians have asked us all to work for them. We will not let them down,’’ the NDP leader said, hinting that the party will, at least during a majority Liberal government, resume its role as the conscience of Parliament. “We will be unwavering in our pursuit of better health care for Canadians. We will stand strong in our fight against climate change and to protect our land, air and water. We will be resolute in our efforts to build a true nation-to-nation relationship with First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples. “It’s on these priorities and many more that New Democrats will make real and lasting progress.’’ The party, which had taken such pride in being elevated to Official Opposition status four years ago, saw its seat count reduced to 44 from 95 with just under 20 per cent of the popular vote. Although disappointing, it returns New

Democrats to the more traditional levels of support they saw after the 2011 campaign, when they captured 30.9 per cent of the popular vote. How much of that implosion was due to the perception that the party had veered too far right and away from its traditional base is up for debate, although at the party’s last rally in Toronto, left-leaning supporters were handing out pamphlets and magazines to remind New Democrats who made up their constituency. Party insiders said that despite the devastating collapse of the party’s base of support, Mulcair intends to stay on as leader. The NDP will need all of the help it can get. Justin Trudeau’s Liberal tide swept away a number of the party’s experienced, articulate, incumbent MPs, some of whom have served in the House of Commons since 1997. If there was an upside, it is that the Conservatives are no longer in power, said Karl Belanger, a senior NDP strategist. “The first objective the NDP campaign set — the No. 1 priority — was to defeat Stephen Harper,’’ said Belanger. “Sounds like Canadians made that choice tonight. The Conservative government is gone, so now we can start to fix the damage Mr. Harper has created.’’ The party entered the 78-day campaign

riding high in the polls, but saw its lead evaporate halfway through, forcing it to spend the rest of the writ period trying to regain the upper hand. The momentum shifted for the NDP in mid-September, when the Conservatives chose to use the issue of women wearing the niqab at citizenship ceremonies as a wedge issue. Mulcair was forced to oppose it, a position unpopular among voters in the party’s base of power in Quebec. It not only blew up the NDP campaign, but it wrecked the Conservatives’ as well, Belanger said. “The Conservatives decided to blow up our campaign with the niqab. So they used that weapon and in the process they blew up their own campaign, so they have only themselves to blame.’’ Belanger said the NDP’s stand on the niqab was not unlike the one the NDP took against the Conservative anti-terror bill, Bill C-51, which he says was initially accepted by the public before the details became widely understood. The party placed a lot of emphasis on building a political machine during their time as Official Opposition — a fundraising and organizational structure that will survive the dramatic collapse. “We hoped this investment would bring good results,’’ said Belanger. “This kind

info@eyelevelrichmond.com www.eyelevelrichmond.com

Surrey selects its first Poet Laureate

aklikar is the author of Children of Air India, Un/authorized Exhibits and Interjections, which won the Canadian Authors Award for best book of Canadian poetry to be published in English. It was also a finalist for the B.C. Book prize Dorothy Livesay award. In addition, Saklikar co-edited the anthology The Revolving City: 51 Poems and the Stories Behind Them, an anthology that includes poetry performed during Lunch Poems at SFU, a poetry reading series that Saklikar helped establish. “A strong foundation of arts and culture is the hallmark of a thriving city,” said Mayor Linda Hepner.” As Surrey’s first Poet Laureate, Renée Sarojini Saklikar

Renée Sarojini Saklikar has been selected as the first-ever Poet Laureate for Surrey. will creatively engage and connect with our community and will be a strong advocate for literacy and the literary arts.” Saklikar is one of three National Advocates for The Writer’s Union of Canada and a member of the League of Canadian Poets. Her poetry investigates, celebrates, and memorializes the poetry of place, particularly those stories integral to arrival, departure, settlement, and diaspora. In her role as Poet Laureate, she will work to create a legacy program of poetry-outreach that is multilingual and inter-cultural, in partnership with organizations in Surrey. She is interested in furthering grass-roots connections with youth, senior, and community groups. “We’re excited to welcome Renée as the Poet Laureate for Surrey,” said Meghan Savage, Information Services Librarian at Surrey Libraries and Poet Laureate Project Coordinator. “Renée demonstrates a strong passion and enthusiasm for connecting the people of Surrey through poetry.” The City of Surrey, Surrey Libraries, Cultural Development Advisory Committee, Surrey Arts Services, Surrey International Writers’ Conference, Arts Council of Surrey, Creative Writing at Simon Fraser University, Semiahmoo Arts, Surrey Muse, and Kwantlen Polytechnic Univer-

LOCAL

Saturday, October 24, 2015 i 17

Police called in on B.C. government email deletion

B.C. Liberal political staffer has resigned and his conduct has been referred to the RCMP by the Information and Privacy Commissioner after an investigation of his deletion of government emails that were being requested under freedom of information laws. Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said three investigations showed records were intentionally destroyed to avoid public release. One of those requests was was for records related to public hearings on risks of travelling along Highway 16 in northern B.C. NDP leader John Horgan said the investigation shows the conduct of B.C. Liberal government staffers, including Premier Christy Clark’s deputy

chief of staff Michele Cadario, reveals “a culture of deception, a culture of deceit, a culture of delete, delete, delete.” Citizens’ Services Minister Amrik Virk told reporters the reference to the RCMP is related to transportation ministry staffer George Gretes testifying under oath to the commissioner. Denham said Gretes lied about his actions while under oath. Virk said the government has accepted Gretes’ resignation and has called on former information and privacy commissioner David Loukidelis to respond to Denham’s finding that records were routinely deleted in violation of freedom of information legislation. Denham started investigating the Highway

Randeep Sarai at his victory celebration. Photo: Chandra Bodalia 16 information request after a complaint from Tim Duncan, made after Duncan left his job as executive assistant to Transportation Minister Todd Stone. Duncan told

the commissioner that Gretes deleted a series of emails from Duncan’s office computer in December 2014 after they were requested under freedom of information law.

riers and retailers who are moving quickly to give customers what they want — fast, cheap and dependable delivery of parcels full of goods they purchased online. “The

fitting room is a novel concept for online shoppers who want to try and return as quickly as possible,” Losier said. “The feedback so far has been very positive.”

New Canada Post test store boasts change room, self-serve, drive-thru

anada Post has launched an experiment to watch its own future unfold with a new test store that banks heavily on making its service a better way to help Canadians shop online. In the Toronto suburb of Richmond Hill, the Crown corporation recently opened an experimental store in an open air mall that boasts several innovations. Far from being a staid place where people line up to buy stamps, Canada Post calls the location a “parcel-pickup centre” that could be

a model for how future post offices look. The facility boasts a drive-thru area for picking up packages -— something the mail service says is a first in North America. There are also self-service kiosks, open 24/7, where people can send their own packages faster and more easily. There are even change rooms, so shoppers can try on clothes they’ve ordered online and easily return them if they don’t like the fit. The official unveiling is Oct. 29, and more similar locations are planned, but the Richmond Hill location is open and running. It’s all part of Canada Post’s push to modernize itself and capitalize on the growing e-commerce market. “This concept store is like a ‘lab,’ where we are testing various new features for customers as they gravitate more and more toward online shopping,” Cana-

Surrey selects its first Poet Laureate sity helped establish the Poet Laureate project and select the new Poet Laureate, which is a two-year honourary position. Saklikar will host writing consultations on the second Friday of each month. She is offering a free consultation on your poetry or prose. Writers are welcome to submit a maximum of 10 double-spaced pages. Registration is required at least one week prior to the consult date. Saklikar will read the manuscript before each 45-minute meeting. At the meeting, she may provide suggestions about editing, how to publish your work and how to work with editors and publishers. Consultations will take place at City Centre Library Nov. 13 and Dec. 11 and at Semiahmoo Arts Centre Jan. 8, Feb. 12 and March, 11, 2016. Saklikar is also the partner former BC NDP Leader, Adrian Dix.

da Post spokeswoman Anick Losier said. In addition to a drastic retrenchment from its core business of home letter delivery, Canada Post is competing with private car-

18 i Saturday, October 24, 2015

Saturday, 24, 2015 2015 i i 19 19Saturda Saturday, October August 29,

GARRY GREWAL

604-614-3400

Sutton Group Medallion Realty 7832 - 120 St., Surrey, BC V3W 3N2 Ph: 604.572.1211 Fax: 604.572.3216

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Vol. 6 No.10 - Saturday - October 24, 2015 - Tel: 604-591-5423 - E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com

Canadian house rise outstrips all but 3 other global markets

he year-over-year rise in the price of Canada’s housing in the second quarter of 2015 is one of the highest in the developed world, largely because of low interest rates, according to a report from Scotiabank. At 8.3 per cent, it lags markets such as Ireland (13.3 per cent) or Sweden (10.1 per cent), but is well ahead of the U.S. (5.4 per cent) or U.K. (5.6 per cent). The low Canadian dollar is increasing foreign demand for Canadian real estate, especially luxury real estate, said economist Adrienne Warren. “Traditionally, popular markets for foreign buyers include the U.S., the U.K., Australia and Canada,” Warren said in a report on global property trends. Low dollar makes Canadian housing cheap “Foreign exchange considerations are taking on a bigger role, increasing the attractiveness of properties in countries whose currencies have weakened at the expense of relatively stronger currency markets in the U.S. and the U.K.” Australia and Canada are among the countries that have seen a weakening currency and an escalation of housing prices this year, especially i n big urban markets such as

Sydney and Melbourne. Australian prices are up 8.3 per cent on the year, putting Canada in fourth place among the world’s hottest markets. Sydney now has the same affordability crisis that Vancouver is experiencing, with the median house price over $1 million Australian. With wealthy Chinese buyers finding property cheap, even after the devaluation of the yuan, there is continuing potential for prices to be pushed upward, especially luxury prices. At the same time, there is talk of a housing bubble, with Goldman Sachs estimated Sydney prices are overvalued by 20 per cent. Sound familiar? Talk of a housing bubble persists in Toronto and Vancouver.

Professional and Award Winning Service

Real estate website to allow new home purchase online with credit card

anada-wide real estate search site BuzzBuzzHome plans to launch a “buy now” button, allowing Canadians to instantly purchase a new construction condo or house online with nothing more than a credit card. No real estate agent, physical paperwork or sales centre 4 i will Saturday, July 25,“From 2015 your couch, visit be required. you can actually do the full transaction and

not have to leave the comfort of your home,” Matthew Slutsky, president and co-founder of Toronto-based BuzzBuzzHome, told CBC News. The novel concept is already raising concerns — no surprise in an established industry currently under siege by emerging technologies that threaten to shake up the traditional real estate model. Slutsky says

new technology is behind his “buy now” button. His company already has a system in place to receive real-time information about pre-built condo sales and price changes. He plans to post his button in January for new condos and, some months later, add prebuilt houses. Only developers who agree to participate will have their properties for sale online.

2 i Saturday, October 24, 2015

real estate / finance

BOLLYWOOD / FILM

Saturday, October 24, 2015 i 3

4 i Saturday, October 24, 2015

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Saturday, October 24, 2015 i 5

6 i Saturday, October 24, 2015

Spinach and Feta PasRecipe

Ingredients :

riginal recipe makes 4 servings, 1 (8 ounce) packagepenne pasta, 2 tablespoonsolive oil, 1/2 cupchopped onion, 1 clovegarlic, minced, 3 cupschopped tomatoes, 1 cupsliced fresh mushrooms, 2 cupsspinach leaves, packed, salt and pepper to taste, 1 pinchred pepper flakes, 8 ouncesfeta cheese, crumbled

Method:

1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in

boiling water until al dente; drain. 2.Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onion and garlic, and cook until golden brown. Mix in tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook 2 minutes more, until tomatoes are heated through and spinach is wilted. Reduce heat to medium, stir in pasta and feta cheese, and cook until heated through.

Tomato, Basil, Pasta This is a simple recipe, flavorful dish served at room temperature. This dish will refrigerate well and is just as good the next day for lunch as a cold pasta salad 1.Stir tomatoes, onion, olive oil, garlic, and basil together in a bowl. 2.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook fusilli in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until cooked through but firm to the bite, 12 minutes. Drain. 3.Toss warm pasta with feta cheese and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Stir tomato mixture into pasta and season with salt and pepper.

Ingredients :

riginal recipe makes 6 servingsChange Servings, 2 cupsdiced tomatoes, 1 smallonion, finely chopped, 6 tablespoonsolive oil 2 clovescrushed garlic, 6 leavesfresh basil, torn, 10 ouncesfusilli pasta, 3 tablespoonsgrated Parmesan cheese, or to taste, 1 1/2 cupscrumbled feta cheese, salt and ground black pepper to taste

Method:

Your f

avou

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BOLLYWOOD / FILM

Saturday, October 24, 2015 i 7

EYEGLASSES

Shaaandaar takes a strong opening A solo release this week, Vikas Bahl’s Shaandaar matched expectations with its opening of around 30 to 35 per cent pan India, the strength of numbers being greater up north and in the west, as compared to the south. If good word of mouth and anticipation prevails, the film could cross a 15 crore figure in its first day. The film might see some fall in collections on Friday due to the midweek release and will need positive reviews to carry it through the weekend.

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8 i Saturday, October 24, 2015

20 i Saturday, October 24, 2015

NATIONAL

Ottawa shooting: Day of chaos remembered 1 eryear later and his wife, Laureen Harper, and Jus-

crowd of about 2,000 people — including hundreds of soldiers, government officials and citizens — gathered at the National War Memorial in downtown Ottawa on Thursday to honour the two soldiers killed on their home soil last year, and to pay tribute to the families still adjusting to life without them and the first responders who stepped in to help. “It’s been one year. We continue to grieve, we continue to heal,” said Gov. Gen. David Johnston in his speech to mark “a painful anniversary.” Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, left, and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, right, were killed in unrelated attacks within days of each other in October 2014. A ceremony to mark a year since their deaths was held at the National War Memorial in Ottawa Thursday morning. The killing of 24-year-

to bravely stand on guard for old Cpl. Nathan Cirillo at the their country. Ours is to rememorial on Oct. 22, 2014, and member their sacrifice, and to the sounds and images of gunremember why they served.” fire ringing through the halls Plaque unveiled Cirilof Centre Block as security staff lo’s mother, Kathy Cirillo, and frightened parliamentarclutched her grandson, Marians raced through corridors, cus, flanked by the slain corclimbed out of windows and poral’s stepfather, two sisters locked themselves in meeting and other relatives. Vincent’s rooms to escape the gunman, mother, Thérèse Guérette, sat shocked the country and received Gen. Andrew Leslie, next to Vincent’s three sisters. media coverage worldwide. the former head of Next to the families, outgoJust two days earlier, 53-year-old Canada’s army ing Prime Minister Stephen Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent was struck and killed in a targeted but Harper and prime minister-designate unrelated hit and run in Saint-Jean-sur- Justin Trudeau sat side by side with their Richelieu, Que. “We remember them, and wives, rising together to lay a wreath at we honour their service to Canada,” John- the foot of the memorial. As they sat ston said. “Their duty was to defend us and back down, the two leaders shook hands. From right: Prime Minister Stephen Harp-

tin Trudeau, prime minister-designate of Canada, and his wife, Sophie GrégoireTrudeau, stood side by side at the ceremony. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press) A bugler sounded the Last Post, The Rouse and The Lament through an otherwise silent memorial plaza, and two minutes of silence were observed. Four CF-18 Hornet fighter jets flew past in missing man formation — one jet moving away from the others to signify lives lost. Johnston laid a wreath as well, accompanied by Cpl. Brandon Stevenson, the ceremonial guard who was standing sentry next to Cirillo the morning he was killed. Master Cpl. Kyle Button, who was also part of the ceremonial guard that day and was the first to give medical care to Cirillo, accompanied Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson.

Canadian cellphone, internet bills rising

C Public Service Announcement Program Launch: Workplace Integration for Mature Immigrants (WIMI 45+) If you’re an immigrant, 45 years or older and you want to get back into the job market then PICS has the program for you. Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS) Society is launching a new employment program called Workplace Integration for Mature Immigrants (WIMI 45+). This program partners with local community and business employers, to generate job placements for participants. To qualify for this program, you must be:  An Immigrant (either a PR or a Citizen) 45 years or older.  Unemployed or underemployed @ less than 20 hours per week  Non – EI receiver and out of School

Legally entitled to work in Canada  Job ready, committed and dedicated to finding a Job  Living in Mainland and Southwest of BC In this program, you will: Conduct assessment on Career Exploration Enhance your employment skills Learn Life Skills Enrich your job search experience Get Short Term Training Pair with a Mentor of your original profession Get job placement assistance  Establish Work Action Plan

      

The first session starts on November 2, 2015 at PICS Surrey Head Office located at #205 – 12725, 80th Avenue, Surrey, BC, V3W 3A6. For more information contact K. C. Chau at 604.596.7722 ext. 117 or via email at kcchau@pics.bc.ca

anadians are paying more for their communications services in a trend driven by increased spending on wireless and internet packages amid the growing popularity of video streaming services like Netflix. In a report issued Thursday, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said households spent an average of $203 per month on their communication services in 2014, up about $12 per month — or 6.2 per cent — from 2013. Viewing of traditional television has remained virtually unchanged, slipping to an overall average of 29 hours per week in 2014 from 29.8 in 2011, although there was a big difference

among age groups. (CRTC) Wireless and internet services accounted for most of the increase, rising by 14 and 10 per cent respectively, the regulator said in the first of its three-part 2015 Communications Monitoring Report. “In many cases . . . (consumers) are opting for faster and larger Internet packages, as well as using more data on their wireless devices,” the CRTC said, adding that prices for telephone, television and Internet services all increased at a rate higher than last year’s two per cent inflation rate. Meanwhile, the regulator said that for the first time, more Canadians subscribed exclusively to mobile wireless services than to landline telephones — 20 per cent versus 14 per cent.

POLITICS

Notable rookies headed to Parliament Hill

here will be many new faces around Parliament Hill when it finally returns. In fact, there will be the largest number of new MPs in the House of Commons since the 1993 election. The Liberal Party accomplished Kamal Khera, 26, is a registered nurse and the youngest new Liberal an impressive feat: member of Parliament. Hedy Fry, 74, is a doctor and longtime Liberal MP it vaulted from third place, and 34 seats, to a strong majority government in just one election. It added nearly 150 seats to its caucus on Oct. 19, including 136 rookies and 14 comeback MPs, drawing from every province and territory in the federation. Each election produces a crop of new MPs with impressive resumés. This time is no different, from Jody Wilson-Raybould, regional chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations, to human resources executive Bill Morneau, to prosecutor Marco Mendicino, to Seamus O’Regan, a veteran television broadcaster. But just who else is part of this new class of MPs? Canada’s ex-boy band MP There is a long history of sending lawyers and seasoned provincial politicians to the House of Commons, but former boy band Dianne Watts, the former mayor of members have been, well, notably absent — Surrey with outgoing PM Harper until this election. Meet the Liberal MP for the Quebec riding of Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Quebec City, albeit it with much less com-

Among the newly elected Liberal MPs are Harjit Sajjan, the first Sikh to command a regiment of the Canadian Army, Seamus O’Regan, a well-known former CTV broadcaster and Jody Wilson-Raybould, a former regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations. Peter Schiefke. Before joining the Liberals, Schiefke was national director of the Climate Reality Project, a group of environmentalists trained by former U.S. vice-president Al Gore on the science and impacts of climate change as well as solutions to address the climate crisis. But there’s another entry on his resume that caught our eye: his time as a member of the short-lived francopop sensation Inmotion, a group that produced the No. 1 hit “Sauve-Moi,” a gooey love ballad reminiscent of something ‘N Sync or the Backstreet Boys produced in the early years of the last decade. “Peter was the total package we were looking for, because he had great vocal harmony and lots of energy,” one his group members, Kashif Khan, said of Schiefke in Concordia’s student newspaper The Concordian. But even as his band was topping the pop charts, Schiefke still had politics in mind. “The reason I would like to go into politics is because I’ve seen the social values I’ve grown up with decompose,” he has said, lamenting the “worsening” of the Canadian social system. Schiefke might be able to start a Liberal caucus band with another newly elected Winnipeg Centre MP, Robert-Falcon Ouellette, who was a professional musician with La Fanfarniente della Strada Gypsy Band in

mercial success. They’re not the first MPs to take a stab at making it big on the Canadian music scene. New Democrats Andrew Cash, who just lost his seat, and Charlie Angus tried their hand — with some success — as punk rockers in the band L’Étranger in the 1980s. (Angus was later a member of the folk band Grievous Angels, and Cash went on to an international

Saturday, October 24, 2015

i 21

Trudeau won’t immdediately move in to PM’s residence at 24 Sussex

ustin Trudeau won’t immediately be moving his family into 24 Sussex Drive, his mother Margaret Trudeau said on Friday. Margaret Trudeau was being interviewed by CBC Radio’s Information Morning in Fredericton and was asked about her feelings about her son moving into the official residence of the prime minister. No, they’re not,” she said. “Twenty-four Sussex is in need — has been in need since I was there 40 years ago — of major infrastructure repair, and it simply hasn’t been done. “They’ll live somewhere else while — not decor, not fancy stuff — just plumbing and roofs and all the things that keep a house standing [are repaired].” An auditor general’s report in 2008 said urgent repairs were needed to 24 Sussex Drive, which was Justin Trudeau’s childhood home when his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was prime minister. In the 2008 auditor general’s report, the National Capital Commission said the home hadn’t had major renovations in 50

years and needed $10 million of work. It was stated the occupants would have to move out of the stone mansion for 12 to 15 months. The prime minister’s office responded in 2008 that Stephen Harper had no intention of moving out of the official residence until his term was up. The report found the windows, plumbing, electrical systems, heating and air conditioning at 24 Sussex Drive are all in poor to critical condition. The home also has no fire sprinklers and contains asbestos, which has been linked to disease, including lung cancer. In a 2014 interview with CBC News, Trudeau suggested his decision would be based on the advice he receives. “I’m going to listen to the experts at the National Capital Commission and others who will say what is needed in this situation,” he said. Margaret Trudeau (left) poses with son Justin’s wife Sophie and his two eldest children, son Xavier and daughter Ella-Grace, at his nomination meeting in Montreal last year.

solo career and later formed The Cash Brothers with his brother, Peter, of Skydiggers fame.) Youngest, oldest MPs The Orange Wave of the 2011 federal election produced a young crop of NDP MPs, including the socalled “McGill Four,” taking their name from the Montreal university they attended before getting their ticket to Ottawa. But only one of them survived the Crimson Tide of 2015: Matthew Dubé, the 27-year-old NDP MP for the Quebec riding of Chambly–Borduas. Kamal Khera, 26, is a registered nurse and the youngest new Liberal member of Parliament. Hedy Fry, 74, is a doctor and longtime Liberal MP. The youngest Liberal MP elected to Parliament in this election is Kamal Khera, a 26-year-old registered nurse who works in the oncology unit at St Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto, elected in the riding of Brampton West. But NDP MP Pierre-Luc Dusseault, who was re-elected in the riding of Sherbrooke, Que., still owns the title of the young-

est parliamentarian. Dusseault is just 24. As for the oldest? Vancouver Centre MP Hedy Fry, another longtime Liberal who unseated then-prime minister Kim Campbell in the 1993 election. She is 74. Louis Plamondon, of the Bloc Québécois, will retain his title as the longest continuously serving MP, having first been elected in 1984 as a member of Brian Mulroney’s Progressive Conservatives. The contingent of MPs with military service is at its highest levels since the middle of the last century. Several former combat soldiers were inspired to run for federal office during this election campaign and most flocked to the Liberal party, driven in part by the controversy surrounding the government’s handling of veterans and military issues. Under Stephen Harper’s watch, eight Veterans Affairs offices were closed, nearly $1 billion in defence spending lapsed and former minister Julian Fantino’s frequent posing with advocacy groups left hurt feelings.

22 i

CLASSIFIEDS

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Matrimonial

JOBS

Parents looking match for their Canadian 27 year old very handsome, jat sikh boy, 5’9”, graduate , well establisehd businessman. Girl must be well cultured, educated, Canadian citizen or permanent resident . Contact after 6pm 604-598-1987 - 778-387-1672

change diaper of infant, feeding, bathing, dressing, prepare children for rest period, escort child to school, prepare and serve nutritious meal and snacks, accompany to and from activities & appointments, light housekeeping, laundry, maintain safe environment at home, keep record of day-to-day activities, health and progress of children. Optional accomodation is available at no charge but this is not a condition of employment”

JOBS Western door manufacturing Ltd. located at #109-8250 124Street, Surrey BC V3W 3X9, has an immediate vacancy of Carpenter. We design and manufacture high end solid wood exterior doors, solid wood interior doors and custom doors. Full time permanent job position with wages of $25per hour. 35 to 40 hours per week. Job Duties includes Read & interpret drawings & sketches to determine specifications; Estimate height, width, length, & other proportions; Measure, cut, shape, & assemble materials using woodworking machines, power tools and hand tools; Build exterior doors, interior doors, custom doors with jams; Install hardware such as hinges, handles, catches using hand tools and power tools; Repair doors & replace panels of doors. Job requirement: High school with 2-3 years of experience. Trade certificate will be considered as an asset. If interested send resumes by email at westerndoormanufacturing@gmail. com ------------- September 5, 2015 “Balwinder Singh Singhmaar, resident of 15095 92Ave, Surrey, BC V3R 5V8 has a vacancy for In-home Child caregiver for infant child and 9 years old son. $10.25/hrs, Full Time, 40 hrs/ week. Applicant must have high school with minimum of 1 year of related experience within last 3 years or 6 months of full time training in caregiving. Job Duties includes Supervise and care for children, prepare formulas and

-------------- August 13 2015 Jun13_155 Long Haul Truck Drivers Reqd. Sal:$23.00/hr, 40hr/wk, +1yr exp. & Class A 0r 1 license reqd., FT/PT Duties: Operate, drive straight or articulated trucks to transport goods & materials on local routes or over long distances.Plan trip logistics & obtain required documentation to transport goods. Perform pre-trip & post-trip inspection of vehicle systems. Record cargo information, hours of service, distance travelled & fuel consumption.May perform emergency roadside repairs. Lang: English. Work at various location in Canada & USA. Contact: Balwinder from Metro Transport ltd.12772 82nd Ave, Surrey, V3W 3G1 E-mail your resume at metro_transport@yahoo.ca. ------------------------------Jun13_15

1 Optical Frame Fitter Reqd. Sal: $22.00/hr, 40hr/wk, +1yrs exp. or certification reqd., FT/ PT Duties: Obtain specifications for eyeglasses or contact lenses from a prescription. Assist clients in selecting eyeglasses. Grinding & polishing of lenses. Cut & edge lenses & fit lenses into frames. May supervise or manage activities of other opticians. Lang: English. Location: 12841 96 Avenue, Surrey, BC, V3V 6V9 Contact: Imran from Eye See 2020 Optical at opt_eyesee@yahoo.ca. ------------------------------Jun 06_15 Dosa Corner Restaurant

JOBS

Ltd in Vancouver Looking to hire an authentic south indian chef . This is a full time permanent position. $18.50/hr. 40hrs/week. Must have at least 3-5yrs experience in south indian cuisine & specialized knowledge in Dosas. Duties include Prepare & cook meals.kitchen management. Plan menus & quality. Orders food supplies. Mail your resume to selvamm164@ gmail.com or apply by person at DosaCorner Vancouver. 110-8248 Fraser Street. Vancouver. B.C.. V5X 3X6 Ph: 604-324-3672. -----------------------------------Seamstress required Seamstress (Tailor) needed Foam & Décor is looking for Full Time or Part Time Seamstress ( tailor) for drapery in Surrey. Salary will be provided @ 12 per hour. Please call 604-594-1882 Mayuri Indian foods inc is looking to hire an Ethnic Food Cook in Surrey BC. F/T & Perm.$17/hr. Must have at least 2-3 yrs experience in South Indian cuisine & specialized knowledge in Indian spicing. Duties: Prepare & Cook meals; Supervise Kitchen helpers; Plan menus; Ensure quality & determine food proportions; Monitor & order food supplies; Set up & oversee buffets; Manage kitchen operation. Mail resume or apply by person Mayuri indian cuisine , Unit 102A,12677 80th Ave., Surrey BC V3W 3A6 Fax: 604-572-3281 ------------------------------------English Classes for Adults Register for classes September 2-8 For more information,Visit: www. victoryesl.com Call: 604.755.7976 E-mail: victoryesl1@gmail.com ---------------------------Cook Require Curry junction Restaurant in White Rock need cook immediately, This is a full time permanent position for a experienced person, Depending on experience salary will be upto $21 per hr. with other benefits. Call:604-729-6741 or

candidates willing to travel all over the lower mainland and from Squamish to Hope. We also 604-385-1558 have opportunities in Edmonton, ---------------------------Alberta. Transworld Security Minimum qualification for these located at 2nd Floor, 5050, positions are completion of Kingsway, Burnaby BC V5H 4H2 secondary school and BST Justice is looking for a Static Guard, Training of BC. Static Guard Supervisor, Mobile Past experience is preferred but Supervisor and Field Manager. we are willing to train candidates These are permanent full-time positions. Static Guard pay rate who show eagerness to learn. For more information please visit our is $13.00 per hour plus vacation website at www.transworldsecupay. You would be required to rity.ca. patrol industrial and commercial Please email you resume to hr@ premises to prevent and detect transworldsecurity.ca. signs of intrusion and ensure ------------------------------------security of doors, windows and Retail Sales Supervisor gates. Answer alarms and in(6211); Saim’s Communication vestigate disturbances. Monitor Inc.,Surrey, British Columbia, and authorize entrance and (6211); Salary: $17:50/Hourly; departure of employees, visitors Positions Available: 2; Type: Fulland guests. Call police or fire departments in cases of emergency. Time; Minimum Education: High Circulate among visitors, patrons School; ,Description : Assign sales workers to duties and prepare and employees to preserve order work and protect property. schedules, Authorize payments Static Guard Supervisor pay rate by cheque and the return ofmeris $14.00 per hour plus vacation chandise , Sell merchandise pay. You would be required to to customers, Resolve problems oversee and supervise Static that arise, such as customercomGuards. You will need to ensure plaints and supply shortages, the duties of the Static Guards • Maintain specified inventory you supervise are being completand ordermerchandise, Prepare ed and the client’s needs are bereports regarding sales volumes, ing met. Field Manager pay rate merchandising and personnel matis $18.00 per hour plus vacation ters, Hire and train or arrange for the pay. You would be required to training of new report to the Director of Opersales staff, Ensure proper tagging, ations and you are responsible packing and displaying of products, for supporting, mentoring and Travel upto four different sites daily supervising the security officers and/or weekly as required, in the field. You will be required Resolve disputes related to custo manage the company’s field tomers and employees, Get daily operations and resources after reports from employees and submit business hours. Mobile Superreport to head office, Meeting with management and employees when visor pay rate is $18.00 per hour. required, Responsible to manage You would be required to provide repair department for products. ongoing leadership, direction Language Requirement:English is a and training. You need to ensure all standing orders and scheduled daily activities are carried To PLACE out for each shift. You will be YOUR required to discipline staff when AD IN THE necessary ASIAN STAR and ensure proper documentation is passed onto head office. CLASSIFIEDS You will have to investigate Section alarm responses and respond in a timely manner. You will need to communicate any concerns/ Please issues with Site Supervisor/ Call: Coordinator. The above opportunities suit 604-591-5423

JOBS

COMMUNITY Free Community Workshops & Activities November 2–8 Free Drop-In English Conversation Circle for Temporary Foreign Workers Meet new people and give support to your fellow TFW’s. Ask questions about housing, health, and employment concerns. Mondays, 6:30–8:30pm until December 14 MOSAIC Vancouver Community Room, 1720 Grant St 604 254 9626 ext 487 -----------------------------------------Public Speaking Without Panic: Learn Effective Strategies to Communicate with Confidence Learn strategies and techniques for building self-confidence to communicate your ideas and opinions in a group setting. Tuesdays, 6–8pm until November 10 1522 Commercial Drive, Vancouver 604 254 9626 -----------------------------------------------English Conversation Circle for New Westminster Newcomers Wednesdays, 10–11:30am until December 2 Fraserside Community Services Society, 2nd floor, 519–7th St, New Westminster 778 558 9011 Let’s Talk! Support Group for Newcomer Parents Learn about Canadian culture, multicultural parenting, financial literacy, leadership skills and more Thursdays, 1–2:45pm, until December 3 Lord Tweedsmuir Elementary School, 1714 8th Ave, New Westminster Yumi 604 345 7737 ---------------------------------------------------Seniors Club: Taichi Class Fridays, 9:30–11:30am Brentwood Community Resource Centre, 2055 Rosser Ave, Burnaby 604 292 3908 Crossing the US/Canadian Border November 4, 10am–12pm New Westminster Public Library, 716 6th Ave 604 438 8214 ext 114 ----------------------------------------------Ways to Improve Job Search Skills for \Work Permit Holders November 7: Creating effective résumés November 28: Different styles of cover letters December 5: Interview skills December 19: Stress management Saturdays, 10:30am–12pm MOSAIC Vancouver Community Room, 1720 Grant St ‘ Lam 604 254 9626 ext 258 ------------------------------------Legal Information Workshop:

Employment Standards Learn about your rights in the workplace! The workshop will provide an overview on employee and employer rights and responsibilities, including: the minimum wage, parental leave, working hours, filing complaints, holiday pay and more. November 8, 1–3pm MOSAIC Burnaby Centre for Immigrants, 5902 Kingsway 604 438 8214 ext 211 ----------------------------------------------Do You Have a Child with Autism? Free evening presentations in Punjabi Siblings, Parents, Grandparents and Neighbours — all are welcomed to these community events aimed at increasing awareness of the potential of children and adults with autism and the needs of their families for information and support. October 13, 2015 The Individualised Education Plan (IEP)—what the school is supposed to do and how the parent can support the IEP process Speaker: Raminder Kaur, Behaviour Consultant, posAbilities November 17, 2015 Advocacy Tools for Parents— how to help your child get the services they need Speaker: Deborah Pugh, Executive Director, ACT December 1, 2015 One Parent’s Journey in Autism— the important role that family plays in supporting their child with autism Speaker: Sunita Braich, Integration Support Teacher, Surrey School District Details: www.actcommunity.ca/events Organized by ACT’s South Asian Autism Awareness Committee ( ASAAP ) --------------------------------------Want To Be Self Employed? Register with PICS SelfEmployment Program PICS is calling all potential entrepreneurs in Delta, Surrey and Burnaby to join their next info session of Self Employment Program on October 14, 2015 at 2:30 PM at PICS Head office in Surrey. Through this program you will learn to develop self-employment skills, business plans, marketing plans. You will also learn how to arrange start-up funding and the best possible ways to manage your cash. What – PICS self-employment program info session When – Wednesday, October 14, 2015, 2:30 PM Where - PICS Head office - #205-12725-80th Avenue, Surrey How - Pre-register at deshpal.grewal@pics. bc.ca or sunil.rawat@pics.bc.ca . Or call Mr. Deshpal Grewal at 604-596-7722, Ext 126, or Mr. Sunil Rawat at 604-596-7722, Ext 128. Eligibility –BC Job seekers who are unemployed/

Saturday, October 24, 2015

underemployed and who have received EI in the past 3 years or Maternity Benefits in the past 5 years. Selected clients may be eligible to receive up to $300 per week for 48 weeks. Hurry seating is limited ! -------------------------------UBC celebrates its centennial anniversary Advanced Education Minister Andrew Wilkinson made the following statement in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the University of British Columbia.“This year marks the 100th anniversary of the University of British Columbia. Government established UBC with the passage of the University Act in 1908, and the university first opened its doors to students in 1915. UBC is the oldest post-secondary institution in British Columbia.“The university welcomed 379 students in its first year. A century later, approximately 60,000 students are enrolled at UBC at its campuses in Vancouver and the Okanagan, with more than 10,000 students graduating in 2014-15. The university is a significant contributor to the B.C. economy with an economic impact of $12.5 billion annually. “UBC has developed a reputation for excellence over the years. It is consistently ranked among the top universities in Canada and the world. UBC is also a world leader in innovation and scientific discovery in diverse fields. UBC faculty are leaders in medicine and biology, sequencing the SARS virus in record time and implementing the world’s leading treatment and prevention regime for HIV/AIDS. UBC graduates lead major international business consultancies and IT firms. “UBC has more than 300,000 alumni in 120 countries, including two Canadian Prime Ministers, and seven Nobel Prize winners in physics, economics and molecular biology. UBC faculty, alumni and researchers have won 69 Rhodes Scholarships and 65 Olympic medals and UBC graduates are prominent in the private, government and non-profit sectors of our society. “Congratulations to UBC students, staff, faculty and alumni on 100 years of academic success.” --------------------------------------Navratri Festival 2015 Join us for the biggest and best Garba of the year in Vancouver When: Tuesday October 13th to Wednesday October 21st Time: 6:30pm until late Where: **Riverside Signature Hall 201-13030 76th Ave, Surrey, BC Tickets: $3 - Monday - Thursday. $6 - Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Email: info@navratri.ca / or info@navratri.ca -----------------2015 Surrey Innovation Award Winners Announced At the September 30th Surrey Board of Trade Leadership Surrey Dialogue Lunch on ‘Surrey’s Transportation Future’ at Eaglequest Golf Course with Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner, Former Premier Mike Harcourt, Gordon Price of SFU, and a crowd of over 150 businesses, the Surrey Board of Trade proudly presented the 2nd Surrey Innovation Awards. “It is fitting that the Surrey Innovation Awards are being presented at the Surrey’s Transportation Future Lunch because our transportation problems require innovative solutions, and each of today’s winners exemplifies innovation, that is new ways of doing business. It is Surrey’s innovative companies that will meet the challenges of the new economy, expanding opportunity in the great city that is Surrey, improving lives locally and globally by transforming ideas and technology into commercial reality,” said Anita Huberman, CEO, Surrey Board of Trade. The 2015 Surrey Board of Trade, Surrey Innovation Award Winners are: 1. Young Innovator Category Recognizes the entrepreneurial spirit of an individual less than 30 years of age who has demonstrated innovative thinking through the research and/or development of a technology-related product or service WINNER: Empower Operations

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Corporation – GEORGE CHENG With more than 20 years of university research Empower Operations Corporation is built on world-leading, simulation-based design optimization techniques. Empower provides a flagship product, OASIS (Optimization Assisted System Integration Software) that offers efficient design exploration and optimization, engineer-centered interactive design environment and advanced visualization capabilities. Empower also offers optimization procedures that can be integrated with existing engineering simulation software. Empower Operations won the 2015 Coast Capital Savings Venture Prize and was featured in the Vancouver Sun and Business in Surrey. 2. Excellence in Innovation Awards Recognizes a company that has developed a new or improved technology, service, process or product by using creative methods and innovative thinking that has the potential to transform an industry sector or quality of life. WINNER: Vantek Innovations Since 2014, Vantek Innovations has developed the technology to create a safer environment for Emergency Response Vehicles. Vantek Innovations’ algorithm is to shut off the car stereo system and provide an audio message instructing the driver to pull over, even before they are aware of an Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) approaching. With the successful implementation of their software into passenger vehicles it will lower the collision/fatality rate, along with decreasing the response times by providing the ERV a safe and clear path to the accident/crime scene. Vantek Innovations is currently in discussion with multiple car manufacturer’s who have expressed interest in their software. 3. Organization Innovation Award Recognizes an organization that has developed a new or improved technology, service, process or product by using creative methods and innovative thinking that has the potential to transform quality of life WINNER: Pacific Community Resources Society The Pacific Community Resources Society (PCRS) Green Courier program was established to substitute the use of commercial couriers for regular inter-office mail between PCRS sites. The PCRS Green Courier program is able to provide respectful employment to persons presently and formerly part of the Ministry of House and Social Development funded Community Assistance Programs. The PCRS Green Courier program saved the agency 17-25% of the pre-existing courier budget in their first year of operation. Along with this, their greatest benefits have been addressing poverty, reducing the agency’s carbon footprint and providing employment to those coping with a variety of challenges. ----------------------------------------How to “winter ready” your vehicle Winter weather is quickly approaching, and the ministry would like to remind motorists that B.C.’s winter tire rules kick in as of tomorrow - Thursday, Oct. 1. Motorists will need to equip their vehicles with winter tires if they will be travelling on certain highways in the North, the Interior, the South Coast (such as the Sea to Sky route to Whistler and Pemberton) and Vancouver Island (such as the Malahat, Highway 14, Highway 4 and Highway 28). “It’s our annual reminder to drivers to ensure your vehicle has winter tires if you will be travelling on the designated routes, and to ensure the tires are in good condition, with appropriate traction,” said Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Todd Stone. “We want to be sure everyone is well prepared as they set out for driving this fall and winter. This means getting your vehicle winter ready, and remembering to always drive to the road conditions.” As a result of the technical analysis completed during the 2014 Rural Highway Safety and Speed Review, winter tires have been defined as those labelled with either the Mountain Snowflake symbol or the Mud and Snow (M+S) symbol. Winter tires must be in good condition with a minimum tread depth of 3.5 mm. Winter tires improve driving safety by providing better traction in snow, slush and icy

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Saturday, October 24, 2015

Business / Finance

EI numbers inch lower in August but still higher than last year

Zara owner passes Bill Gates to be world’s richest man — for about an hour

mancio Ortega, who transformed clothing group Inditex from a tiny family dressmaker into Spain’s biggest company, briefly overtook Bill Gates on Friday to become the world’s richest man. Although a 10 per cent surge in the share price of Microsoft later on Friday put the software firm’s founder Gates back on top, the brief appearance of Ortega at the summit of the Forbes “real time” global rich list was hailed in Spain as a milestone. Ortega has turned Zara into a byword in chic for the money-conscious, transforming the apparel business with its “fast fashion” model. Affordable imitations of catwalk designs can move from drawing-board to stores within two weeks, and poor sellers are

pulled off the shop floor even quicker. Gates retakes title quickly At one point on Friday, Forbes put Ortega’s fortune at $79.9 billion, pipping Gates. Later in the day, thanks to fluctuations in the euro as well as the surge in Microsoft, Gates had $79.3 billion and Ortega a mere $78.5 billion. But whether or not he can hold on to the title of world’s richest man, the 79-year-old’s fortunes are blossoming as Inditex shares have risen nearly 40 percent this year. He holds a 59.3 percent stake in what is now the world’s biggest fashion retailer, ahead of Gap and Hennes & Mauritz. It grew from humble beginnings in the rainy northern region of Galicia to more than 6,000 stores in some 90 countries with a stable of brands from high-end label Massimo Dutti to homewear chain Zara Home.

he number of C a n a dians receiving jobless benefits ticked down by 7,900 people in August compared to the previous month to 536,800. That’s a decrease of 1.4 per cent from July’s level, but the figure is still higher than the same period a year ago, Statistics Canada reported Thursday Most of the decrease came from Ontario, where the jobless rolls shrank by 3.9 per cent. That was the biggest decline in the province since April 2012. Quebec and Saskatchewan saw smaller decreases, at 1.9 and

1.1 per cent, r e s p e c t i v e l y. The figure increased by 5.8 per cent in Manitoba and by 2.6 per cent in Prince Edward Island. Ever ywhere else, the figure was largely unchanged from July to August. Although the overall number of people receiving EI benefits went down, the amount of people applying for claims increased by 4.9 per cent to 242,400. The claims number is a leading indicator of EI numbers down the line because who file a claim may end up ultimately drawing benefits and being added to the rolls of officially jobless.

Canadian dollar plunges as Bank of Canada stands pat at 0.5%

he Bank of Canada is keeping its benchmark interest rate right where it currently sits, at 0.5 per cent. The bank, led by Stephen Poloz, meets every six weeks to decide on monetary policy and has cut its trend-setting interest rate twice this year in a bid to stimulate Canada’s economy. The central bank’s interest rate influences the rates that borrowers and savers pay and earn for things like mortgages and savings accounts. The consensus view among 27 economists polled by Bloomberg ahead of the bank’s decision was for the bank to do exactly what it did — nothing. In explaining its reasoning, the bank said it kept its rate as is based on the impact of previous changes. “Canada’s economy has rebounded, as projected in July,” the bank said in a statement. The low Canadian dollar has helped most Canadian industries outside the resources sector, and household spending is expected to increase at what the bank calls a “moderate pace” moving forward. Future outlook downgraded That’s good enough news that the bank thinks there’s no need for any more monetary stimulus quite yet. But the future isn’t looking entirely rosy, either, because the bank downgraded its economic expectations for the rest of 2015 and the two years beyond that. The bank now thinks the economy will expand

by one per cent in 2015, by two per cent next year and up to 2.5 per cent growth in 2017. The bank’s next meeting to decide on interest rates is scheduled for Dec. 2. Economists don’t think the central bank is likely to move rates one way or the other at that meeting, either. But given the gloomy forecast, more stimulus down the line is certainly possible, some say. “We still anticipate that further weakness in energy-related business investment, combined with an underwhelming performance from non-energy exports and possibly even some signs of weakness in housing, will eventually prompt the Bank to lower rates to 0.25 per cent early next year,” said David Madani at Capital Economics. Indeed, the bank’s lowered outlook for the future was a much bigger story than its decision to sit on the sidelines on rate changes for now. The Canadian dollar plunged as soon as the report came out, losing 0.8 of a cent to 76.25 cents US as investors digested the reduced growth picture, and the likelihood that another rate cut is possible. By the end of the day it was down .94 of a cent at 76.11 cents US. All things being equal, rate cuts are a negative for a currency, as that makes investments denominated in that currency less attractive as investments.

Business / Finance Saturday, October 24, 2015

Canadians paid more for food, less for gasoline in September Canada’s consumer price index rose one per cent in September from a year earlier, down from the 1.3 per cent annual rate in August, because of deeper decline in gasoline prices in September, according to Statistics Canada. However, food prices soared, as the low loonie pushed up fresh vegetable prices by 11.5 per cent and the rise in meat prices hit 4.4 per cent. Overall, food prices were up 3.5 per cent from a year ago. Gasoline prices fell 18.8 per cent from this time last year, Statistics Canada said.

Core inflation, the inflation rate without the effect of volatile products such as gasoline and food, stood at 2.1 per cent, the same increase seen in August. This is a key measure, closely watched by the Bank of Canada when it makes its decisions about interest rates. The central bank’s target for core inflation is two per cent, and seeing CPI at or above that level should forestall any rate cuts by the bank and even push it to move sooner on a rate hike, depending on when the U.S. Federal Reserve moves to lift its benchmark rate.

Rogers profit spikes up 40%

ireless unit takes in biggest chunk of revenue at $1.97 billion The company that owns the Toronto Blue Jays, their home at the Rogers Centre and one of the country’s three largest wireless networks is reporting a big increase in third-quarter profit. Rogers Communications says it had $464 million of net income in the three months ended Sept. 30, up $132 million or nearly 40 per cent from the same time last year. Its adjusted net income was slightly higher at $472 million or 92 cents per share and total revenue from its telecommunications, media and sports businesses was $3.38 billion. The wireless business that includes

Rogers, Fido and Chatr services accounted for the biggest chunk of revenue at $1.97 billion, followed by cable television at $871 million and media at $473 million — all up from last year. Rogers chief executive Guy Laurence says the Toronto-based company has been making steady progress towards reviving its business and updating its technology, inlcluding a planned increase in the top speed of its residential Internet service. “To top it all, the Toronto Blue Jays made it to the American League Championship Series. It’s been amazing to see the city and the country rally behind Canada’s baseball team,” Laurence said.

Shaw sees profit surge 44% on sale of spectrum to Rogers

haw Communications Inc. ended its 2015 financial year with a bump in net income from its sale of wireless spectrum to rival Rogers Communications. Its net income was $276 million or 57 cents per share, up 44 per cent from last year. Shaw sold the wireless licences it had acquired for Western Canada to Rogers after abandoning plans to become a national wireless carrier. Revenue from Shaw’s cable, media and business services was up 6.3 per cent at $1.34 billion, compared with $1.26 billion

a year earlier. However, it admitted that it is losing customers because of aggressive competitor pricing and a change in regulations that ended the need for 30 days notice to disconnect cable. Its customer base fell 3.8 per cent to 5.3 million households or businesses. Net income for Shaw’s full financial year ended Aug. 31 was down nearly one per cent at $880 million or $1.80 per share, compared with $887 million or $1.84 per share in fiscal 2014. For 2016, the Calgary-based company projects flat or single-digit growth.

Europe’s central bank leaves rates on hold but will reassess in December

lobal slowdown means inflation is nowhere near target levels, despite stimulus program The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday, but left the door open for more stimulus, perhaps later in the year. After a policy meeting in Malta, President Mario Draghi said the ECB would review in December what more it could do to tackle threat of weak inflation. The ECB at that point could extend its quantitative easing bond-buying program or decide to push interest rates further into negative territory. Inflation in Europe is far too low at minus 0.1 per cent and unemployment remains at a stubborn 11 per cent. European economies showed signs of life earlier this year, but now the ECB

is worried about volatile emerging markets and falling commodity prices. The slowdown that has affected all global economies is rippling through the euro zone, even in powerhouse Germany. “We are ready to act if needed,” Draghi said Thursday, adding that the ECB governing council was “open to a whole menu of monetary policy instruments.” The ECB has already cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low of 0.05 per cent and charges a negative interest rate of 0.2 per cent to banks for leaving money on deposit. Draghi said monetary policy could not solve all of Europe’s economic woes and urged eurozone governments to use fiscal tools to bring growth and inflation in line. The euro fell against the U.S. dollar after the ECB meeting, to $1.1233.

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PUNJAB

Saturday, October 24, 2015

On Dasehra, protesters burn effigies of Badal, SGPC chief

embers of various Sikh organi- we have burnt the effigy of political and resations today burnt an effigy of ligious leaders who have been playing an political and religious persons anti-Sikh role by taking wrong decisions, into protest the sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth cluding pardon to Dera Sacha Sauda head.” Rampura said they wanted peace in the Sahib in Sangrur today. They burnt the effigy of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, state but the Badal government and Jathedars SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar, Deputy had been increasing resentment in the minds Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema, MLA Jagir Kaur and Takht jathedars. The protesters carried black flags and raised slogans against the Lambi: Activists of the Youth Congress today burnt the effigy of Chief MinBadal government. Gurister Parkash Singh Badal on the occasion of Dasehra at Lambi village in his naib Singh Rampura, or- home constituency. ganising secretary of SAD (Amritsar), said, “The Sikhs wanted to get of Sikhs every day. He said the activities of rid of the anti-Panth people. This is the rea- these leaders had compelled them to think son why on the occasion of Dasehra today, that the future of Sikhs was not safe in their hands. of the inefficacy of the Chief Minister.

Good News!

‘Panj Pyaras suspended at CM’s behest’

eacting against the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee suspending Panj Pyare, former president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee Paramjit Sarna said this was an attack on the basic tenets of Sikhism, religious institutions. The Shiromani Akali Dal (Delhi-UK) president Jasjit Singh UK said the Punjab Police should register a case against SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar for injuring the religious sentiments of the Sikh community. Paramjit Singh Sarna said the

20 held as Sikh protest at Indian embassy in UK turns violent

undreds of demonstrators of a group called ‘Sikh Lives Matter’ gathered for a sit-in protest on Thursday against the

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SGPC suspended Panj Pyare on the alleged direction of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. “Badal and his family are bent upon destroying the basic tenets of Sikhism and religious institutions like Akal Takht Sahib,” Sarna said. Sarna said the Panj Pyares were vested with the power to award religious punishment to the guilty after seeking explanation for religious offences. They had justifiably summoned the jathedars of Takhts in the light of the shattered sentiments of the Sikhs across the world by expending unconditional pardon to Dera Sacha Sauda chief.

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Sikh demonstration outside the Indian Embassy here against alleged police brutality in Punjab turned violent, at alleged police brutality against Sikhs in Punjab, but the initially peaceful demonstration turned violent forcing police to cordon off the area around the Indian mission in central London. The police said they were aware of a “planned demonstration” at the Indian High Commission but were forced to take action as the protesters blocked roads causing disruption. “Whilst it was initially a peaceful protest, the demonstrators blocked the roadway at the Aldwych and caused significant disruption to the central London road network,” the Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement. “Police liaison officers attempted to negotiate with those present, in order to facilitate peaceful protest and minimise the disruption to the public,” it said. “Additional officers, including those from the Mounted Branch, were mobilised to the area and a small group of protesters became violent towards police,” the statement added. During the altercation, one police officer suffered a head injury and was taken to hospital. No other persons were reported to be injured, they said. At this stage, police believe a number of offences may have been committed.

Panthic bodies to form panel to probe sacrilege

everal panthic organisations (comprising preachers) today announced to form a “People’s Committee” to probe the sacrilege incident at Bargari village. A former high court Judge and a retired senior police officer would be part of the committee, whose names would be revealed soon. They opposed the arrest of two brothers in the sacrilege case. Addressing mediapersos, Panthpreet Singh, Ranjeet Singh Dhadrian, Daler Singh Kheri and Sukhjeet Singh Khosa of Satkar Committee said they refused to accept the involvement of Rupinder Singh and Jaswinder Singh in the sacrilege incident as claimed by the police. Panthpreet Singh put forth certain examples of “fabricated and fictitious” stories of the state police. He alleged the police claim of receipt of foreign funds by Rupinder too fell flat with the NRIs saying that the money was meant for those injured in police firing, including Rupinder, and not for any other purpose

fOOD INDIA

6 i Saturday - April 4, 2015

ndia’s capital Delhi, closed a stretch of road to vehicles for a few hours on Thursday, as part of a “car free day”. A 6km (4 mile) stretch of road from the Red Fort to the India Gate monument in the city centre only allowed public transport from 07:00 to 12:00. Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal led a group of cyclists on the route to promote alternative forms of transport. However, many questioned its effectiveness, as the streets were

Delhi car free day fails to convince

Saturday, October 24, 2015

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An estimated 8.4 million cars ply its roads every single day.

largely empty due to a public holiday. The state government hopes to mark “car free day” once a month in a bid to combat pollution. In May 2014, the World Health Organization announced that Delhi’s air is nearly twice as toxic as that of Beijing, which was believed to be the most polluted city in the world.

Top UN official charged with accepting bribes from Chinese to stall reforms

he arrest of former president of the UN General Assembly, John Ashe, on charges of bribery by the Chinese has vindicated India’s suspicion that key top level officials in the UN system were being paid off to delay or scuttle the Security Council reform process, among other things. Earlier this month, Ashe, former envoy from Antigua & Barbuda was charged by US attorney Preet Bharara for accepting a bribe of $1.3 million from Chinese businessmen and officials for support for a multi-billion dollar “south south” UN-sponsored conference centre in casino capital Macau. Bharara’s

complaint also stated that other Chinese nationals paid Ashe hundreds of thousands of dollars to facilitate their businesses in Antigua. While only some of the details of the bribery processes have been made public, they are enough to provide a clue to the methods China uses to influence UN processes. For India, the more important part of the corruption charges against Ashe is the claim that the former GA president was reportedly paid to further Chinese interests. A part of this, they believe, has to do with influencing the progress of UN Security Council reform which China

chicken (nocomplaint butter)against Masala AAP files police Minister Singh overbut ‘dog remark’ Your favouriteVK butter chicken without the he Aam Aadmi Party on Friday plaint,” Bhardwaj said. Ashutosh alleged butter filed a and police added complaint calories! against that Singh’s remarks amounted to a vio-

Ingredients • 250g boneless chicken • 2tbsp rapeseed oil • 1 medium red onion • 3 large tomatoes • ½ cup cashew nuts • 100g tomato puree • 1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves • 100ml low fat cream • 1tsp garam masala • 1tsp red chilli powder • 1tbsp ginger- garlic paste • 2tbsp thick low fat yoghurt • salt to taste

Union minister V K Singh over lation of the SC/ST Act and said that the his controversial Procedure:“dog” remark on the Dalit police “assured” the delegation of conductkilling Marinate in Faridabad and demanded an garlic ing paste an investigation into the matter the chicken with thethat ginger and the yoghurt for 20 min.that soak the cashew in warm water for 15 minutes.chop the onions and tomatoes. Heat 1 tbsp FIR beoil registered against him under the SC/ hashot snowballed into a major political to a pan. sear the chicken pieces in the oil for 1 minute on each side torow. a golden colour. remove the chicken pieces. in the same pan, add 1tbsp oil and the chopped ST Act.onions. Party legislators Bhardwaj, toldred us that needgaram to takemasala powder and cook on medium flame till the tomatoes are tender (approx. 4-5 saute till aSaurabh translucent pink. Add“The the police tomatoes, chilithey powder, Visheshminutes). Ravi, Rakhi Birla, Hajarilal Chaupermission from the thesoaked higher-ups as filing remove from flame and run in a blender with cashews to make a smooth paste. return to the pan and add the tomato puree. Bring to a boil and add han and Ashutosh any till casethe under the SC/ST Act requires thespokesperson chicken pieces. simmermet for police 4-5 minutes chicken is cooked. Add theaplow fat cream and simmer for 2 minutes. Broil the fenugreek leaves on a pan. crush the officialsfenugreek at the Central Prasad proval from a DCP-rank leavesDelhi’s over the curryNagar and remove from fire. serve hot.officer,” Ashutosh police station in this regard. “The police told said, adding that Singh’s status as a minister us that they will first inquire into the com- should not “affect it”.

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Saturday, October 24, 2015

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INDIA

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Shiv Sena uses beef unrest to attack Modi government Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday severely slammed the BJP for the recent spate of killings in north India over consumption of beef. “Either stop killing people on the beef issue or, if you have guts, declare India a Hindu Rashtra and introduce the Uniform Civil Code across the country,” said the Shiv Sena president. Accusing the Modi regime of adopting a soft line vis-a-vis Pakistan, Thackeray dared the Centre to storm into the neighbouring country. “Lord Rama walked into Ravana’s empire and put him to death,” he said and stated categorically that the Sena would not change its stripes. “We will not compromise on our basic ideology. We are firm on Hinduttva. We won’t tolerate kid-

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Protests after Dalit children burnt alive in caste attack

glove treatment of Pakistan by India,” he said, unveiling the Sena’s agenda as BJP’s ally. In a major blow to the Sangh Parivar, Thackeray said the Sena’s Hindutva was not Brahmanical. “We don’t believe in the Hindutva of ‘shendi’ (tuft of hair) and ‘janve’ (the sacred thread), or the Vedas,” he said. “The Dadri massacre has brought a bad name to the country, and not spraying of ink on Sudheendra Kulkarni’s face,” Thackeray said and condemned the Dadri killing. He was addressing the Sena’s annual Dussehra jamboree at Shivaji Park. “Stop peeping into homes to find out if people eat beef. Let people eat whatever they want.

rotesters have blocked a key highway in India to protest against the death of two children who were burnt alive in an arson attack near the capital Delhi. A toddler and a nine-month old died after their home in Faridabad town was set on fire early on Tuesday, allegedly by upper-caste men. Three people were arrested and police said they were looking for nine others. The parents of the children were also injured and their mother is reported to be still in a critical condition. Security has been tightened in the area after a rise in tensions over the incident. On Tuesday, several young men blocked roads in Faridabad, demand-

ing action against those behind the crime. Many more joined them on Wednesday, local television reported. The infant and his two-year-old sister were both asleep in their home in Faridabad district, about 25 miles (40km) outside Delhi, when the attackers doused the building with petrol and set it alight.“We were sleeping when they poured petrol from the window. I smelled the petrol and tried to wake up my wife but by then the fire had started. My children died in the fire,” the father, identified as Jitender, told the Press Trust of India news agency. “They had threatened me that they will finish my family, that I should never return to the village,” he added.

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Saturday, October 24, 2015

INDIA

Beef lynching premeditated, says inquiry

commission of inquiry in India has concluded that the lynching of a man over rumours he kept and consumed beef was premeditated and not spontaneous. A panel from the National Commission for Minorities visited the village of Bisada, near Delhi, where Mohammad Akhlaq, a Muslim, was beaten to death. It said a Hindu temple had been used to plan the attack. Government ministers

from the Hindu nationalist BJP have said the incident was a spontaneous expression of anger. In recent weeks three Muslim men have been killed by Hindus accusing them of eating or smuggling beef. Mr Akhlaq’s killing sparked furious debate about religious tolerance, with some criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi

for not condemning the attack sooner. Two weeks later he called it “sad and undesirable”.

FIR says Hardik wanted to wage war against state

The 27-page FIR filed by the city crime branch against Hardik Patel and five others under serious charges of sedition says that the leader allegedly instigated his community to adopt violent means to “wage war” against the Gujarat Government. The probe agency has put transcripts of various telephonic conversations and speeches of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) members and its convener Hardik Patel—wherein they allegedly instigated the agitators to wage war against the state government. The complaint against PAAS leaders is for inciting violence in the state on August 25-26 and even after that. “The conversation made by some members of the core committee of PAAS and the agitators clearly shows that they had been instigating Patel community and asking them to attack and burn public property and also asking them to wage war to overthrow the duly elected Government of Gujarat,” reads

Draft Bill bars foreigners from hiring surrogates in India

oreigners won’t be allowed to hire surrogates in India according to the new draft Bill the government is finalising to monitor the unregulated infertility treatment market in India. Departing from past thinking of permitting only married women to act as surrogates, the new Bill allows single women – divorced or widowed – also to rent wombs in the interest of equality of reproductive rights. The Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) Regulation Bill, currently in the works in the Health Ministry, will for the first time in the history of infertility treatment in India, provide a legal framework for the Rs 25,000-crore strong market where exploitation of surrogates is

common. Under consultation for a decade, the Bill was first shaped by the previous UPA regime. The 2012 draft banned only those foreigners from hiring Indian surrogates whose own countries of origin didn’t recognise commercial surrogacy as Indian practices. A majority of the European nations don’t permit surrogacy. Some such as the UK allow altruistic surrogacy where women rent wombs for a cause rather than money. Further consultations on the pending Bill have led to fresh thinking that seeks a blanket ban on foreigners hiring surrogates in India and expansion of the definition of foreigners to include Non Resident Indians (NRIs), Persons of Indian Origin and Overseas Citizens of India.

Uber taxi driver guilty of rape

pleased he has now been n Indian court brought to justice. “Safety is has found an a priority for Uber and we’ve Uber taxi drivmade many improvements er guilty of raping a female in terms of new technology, passenger last year in Delhi. enhanced background checks Shiv Kumar Yadav has also and better 24/7 customer supbeen convicted of criminal port - as a result of the lessons intimidation and kidnapwe learned from this awful ping. He had pleaded not case.” The woman had also guilty. A 26-year-old womfiled a lawsuit against the seran was taken to a secluded vice in a US court, which was area and raped after bookShiv Kumar Yadav in police custody later settled out of court. The ing a journey home with issue of sexual assault has been Uber in December. Delhi later banned Uber and several other web-based taxi firms, accus- high on the agenda in India since a 23-yearing them of failing to carry out adequate driver old student was gang-raped and murdered on checks. The company apologised for the in- a bus in Delhi in December 2012. The case cident at the time and acknowledged that it prompted global outrage and a tightening of “must do better”. The president of Uber India, laws on sexual violence. Correspondents say Amit Jain, welcomed the verdict. Media cap- tougher laws have failed to bring down the tionThe court found Shiv Kumar Yadav guilty number of rape cases and a series of high-proof raping a female passenger last year in Delhi, file crimes have taken place since then. Last week there was outrage in the capital after two as Pratiksha Ghildial reports “Sexual assault is a terrible crime and we’re children were raped on the same day.

NRI Indian-origin politician sworn in as Mayor of German city

ndian-origin politician Ashok Sridharan has been sworn in as the Mayor of Bonn, pledging to make the former German capital a major investment destination and the European hub of UN institutions. 49-year-old Sridharan, who is the son of a migrant from India and a German mother was sworn in during a ceremony in Bonn’s municipal council on Thursday in presence of the councillors and representatives of the public. As a candidate of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Sridharan had polled 50.06 per cent of the votes in the mayoral election on September 13 to wrest power from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which ruled the city for more than 21 years. Sridharan is the first person of Indi-

an-origin to become the head of administration in a major German city. He kicked off his five-year term on Wednesday by symbolically taking over the power from his SPD predecessor Juergen Nimptsch, who retired after six years in office. Nimptsch announced at the end of last year that he will not seek another term when his current term expires in October. In his maiden address to the city council, Sridharan pledged to work for building up Bonn as a location for investments, as a centre for international conferences and as a European hub of UN agencies and institutions. He said he would engage himself together with the German federal government to attract more UN institutions and non-governmental organisations to the former German capital, which already hosts about a dozen UN agencies.

2 Indians accused of conspiring to smuggle people into US Two Indian nationals conspired with an undercover federal agent to smuggle people from Thailand to New Jersey, prosecutors said on Thursday. Nileshkumar Patel and Harsad Mehta were arrested Wednesday at Newark Liberty International Airport and were remanded into custody after a brief appearance before a judge Thursday on smuggling and conspiracy charges. Messages left seeking comment from attorneys for the men weren’t immediately returned. Patel and Mehta met with an undercover Homeland Security Investigations agent on multiple occasions in Bangkok starting in April 2014 and paid the agent $35,000 to $50,000 to have six Indians smuggled into New Jersey even though they didn’t have legal clearance to come to America, Special Agent Douglas Doherty said in a criminal complaint. Patel was involved in all six cases, and Mehta in four, prosecutors said.

The sting operation began in June 2013 when an HSI investigation revealed a smuggling operation that was “attempting to find methods to illegally smuggle aliens from India to the United States,” Doherty said. The investigation found that the organization recruited Indians and others to pay them to get them to the United States. Patel began contacting the undercover agent, whom he believed was a smuggler, telling him he wanted to “discuss sending ‘packages’ to the United States,” Doherty said. Patel later told the agent that he had been smuggling people into the United States since 1998, Doherty said. The undercover agent met on various occasions with the men in Bangkok from April 2014 to January 2015, Doherty said. There, prosecutors said, they agreed to pay a $10,000 down payment for each individual with the rest promised to be paid when the people arrived in the US.

FIJI

Green light for sugar refinery plans

lans to establish a sugar refinery in Labasa will proceed with urgency, says Ministry of Sugar Permanent Secretary Viliame Gucake. With less than two years to go before the European Union terminates preferential quota access for Fiji raw sugar, he said, work would be stepped up for diversification projects such as the refinery, cogeneration plants and an ethanol production facility. “We are looking at producing specialised sugars with different packaging which is something that Mauritius has been doing since 2006,” he said. Speaking on the eve of his return from visiting the Mauritius sugar industry, Gucake said there were many lessons that could be learned from the East

Daylight saving

An eleven-week daylight saving period will begin on November 1 The Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations, in a statement, said “clocks will move forward by one hour at 2am to 3am on November 2, and will move back one hour from 3am to 2am on Sunday, January 18 next year. “The extra hour of daylight in the evenings will run until Sunday 17 January, 2016, when clocks go back an hour at 3am to 2am,” the statement said. “It may be most convenient for people to advance their clocks by one hour before going to bed on Saturday 31 October.” The Daylight Saving Order was issued and gazetted by the Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations.

African State. “In terms of the sugar refinery, we are not looking at exporting products to the EU. The cost of shipping alone would make locally refined sugar uncompetitive. We are looking at supplying the domestic and regional markets and markets in Australia and New Zealand.” Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand representatives facilitating a recent workshop in Nadi highlighted the need for the sugar industry to diversify from producing only raw sugar to other sugar products.

Saturday, October 24, 2015 i 31

Police charge two who tied toddler to a post

wo people appeared before the Nasinu Magistrates Court yesterday afternoon for their alleged involvement in tying up a child to a post and taking a picture that went viral on social media. A 16-year-old and 42-year-old Josevata Davui appeared before Magistrate Sufia Hamza, both charged with one count of wrongful confinement. The duo, who were represented by the Legal Aid Commission, are related to the three-year-old. They are alleged to have wrongfully confined the child to a post with a copper wire on October 19

this year. The juvenile accused’s lawyer, Lice Manulevu, requested bail indicating the juvenile was a high school student and preparing for his exams. Police prosecutor Inspector Feroz Khan objected to bail, saying this was a case of public and national interest. Inspector Khan objected to bail on the grounds of Section 15 of the Welfare Decree 2010, which states every child has a right to protection from harm or likely harm and families have the primary responsibility for the physical, psychological and emotional wellbeing of their children.

Largest solar power system established

he largest solar power system in the country and biggest agriculture solar powered facility in the Pacific has been established at Future Farms Ltd’s Rooster Chicken Ba outlet. The 500-kilowatt installation has generated 664,000kW of green energy and in the process replaced 195,000 litres of diesel. Future Farms Ltd, a subsidiary of BSP

Life, said the environmental benefits were equivalent to the planting of 11,700 trees. “We are constantly looking for ways to optimise our operations,” said Stanley Raniga, general manager at Future Farms. “Energy is an important consideration, and solar is a natural fit for our poultry farm because we leverage the hectares of roof space on our sheds in a productive way. “Tak-

ing care of the environment by reducing carbon emissions is also good for the community, good for our staff and important for Fiji.” Director Sunergise Fiji Ajay Raniga said the partnership with Future Farms was exciting for business, the environment and the solar industry. “They are pioneers in the adoption of sustainable energy for the agricultural sector in the region.

Four teachers investigated The Ministry of Education has stressed there is a “No Drug Policy” during school hours after four teachers were placed under investigation for alleged consumption of alcohol in a classroom.The teachers allegedly consumed alcohol in the classroom of a school in Navua. The matter only came to light after the teachers posted pictures on Facebook. A statement by the ministry said the No Drug Policy was introduced in 2012 to create a safe learning environment for students. The ministry has yet to determinee whether the approval was given by the school management.

SR I CH OWDE S HW ARI AS T RO LO G Y C EN TR E

“The initial solar deployment, launched in 2013, proved the technical and economic viability of solar for industrial farm operations, and has led to this expansion. “Future Farms is a role model that will trigger other enterprises to assess their solar potential,” he said. Raniga said the expansion of Future Farms solar grid was in line with Government’s commitment to meet 90 per cent of Fiji’s energy needs through renewable energy and plans to reduce carbon emissions before 2030.

• Bringing Loved Ones Back

PAKISTAN

32 i Saturday, October 24, 2015

Pakistan’s Kashmir card losing sting as Mohajirs and Baloch raise their azadi cry in US

hile all eyes were on the fireworks between Pakistan and India inside the United Nations last week, demonstrations by a large group of Mohajirs against the Pakistani establishment - largely unnoticed by a media focused on what was happening within the UN - is revealing the new fault lines in a country that has long believed it can unfasten Jammu & Kashmir from the Indian union. Videos of the protest demonstrations are only now appearing in the social media, causing consternation in Pakistan, where talk show hosts are aghast that a country that is trying to put Kashmir on the negotiating table with India is having trouble with a section of its own people who were primarily

be boiling at this.’’ Videos of the demonstrations show hundreds of protesters chanting ‘’Azadi’’ (freedom), which is the rallying cry for some separatist Kashmiris in J&K. The US wing of MQM organized the demonstration.

he US has “categorically ruled out” any kind of negotiations with Pakistan on India-type civil nuclear deal, terming the reports in American media “completely false”. “Let me state categorically, we have not entered into negotiations on 123 Agreement with Pakistan nor are we seeking an exception for Pakistan within the nuclear supplier group in order to facilitate civil nuclear exports,” a senior Administration official said after US President Barack Obama met Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif here yesterday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, was responding to questions on reports appearing in the American media that the US was considering a civil nuclear deal with Pakistan.

No US role in Indo-Pak peace process

he US has categorically ruled out any role for itself in Indo-Pak peace

process unless both the countries jointly ask for it, according to a senior official who asserted that the best way to resolve issues is through direct dialogue between the two neighbours.“President (Barack) Obama and his interlocutors discussed with the Prime Minister (Nawaz Sharif) and his team the situation in the LoC (Line of Control). Pakistan has often made a request for the United States to be engaged in it,” the Administration official told Indian reporters

responsible for the formation of Pakistan. Mohajir is a term used for Muslim refugees from India who migrated to Pakistan after seeking a separate homeland. ‘’Shocking... completely shocking. I have no words for this,’’ exclaimed Marvi Memon, a ruling party lawmaker in Pakistan after watching clips of the protests outside UN. ‘’Azadi has been attained in 1947. If they have issues they should negotiate with the Government of Pakistan...the blood of every Pakistani will

yesterday. “(During the meeting) we affirmed the US commitment that we would be engaged only if this is something that India and Pakistan would like. This is not any change in any policy of the United States. This has been a reiteration of the continued policy of the United states for both countries to work out these issues bilat-

erally and of course we and other countries would be willing to provide facilitating and other supporting role if India and Pakistan together ask for,” the official added.

Sharif promises to act against LeT, Hafiz

ashmir and violence along the LoC figured in a joint statement issued by US President Barack Obama and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, both of whom called for a “sustained and resilient” Indo-Pak dialogue process to resolve all outstanding issues. The references to Indo-Pak ties and the need to resolve all outstanding disputes, including Kashmir, between the two countries were contained in a statement by the two leaders released by the Pakistan Foreign Office.

Obama and Sharif underlined that improvement in Pakistan-India bilateral relations would “greatly enhance” prospects for lasting peace, stability, and prosperity in the region, according to the statement. The two leaders also expressed concern over violence along the Line of Control, and pledged their support for confidence-building measures and “effective mechanisms” that are acceptable to both parties, it said.

US rules out any India-like civil nuclear deal with Pak

“There is no such thing as a nuclear deal, which has been reported in the media is some short of a civilian nuclear package alleged to be something like that the US concluded with India 10 years ago. “Let me just assure you categorically that the press allegations of a 123 agreement with Pakistan are completely false,” the official added. Pakistan has made it clear its interest in civilian nuclear cooperation and it is called socio-economic imperative because of energy shortfalls, the official noted. Leaders of the two countries, however, did discuss on Pakistan’s nuclear safety and security, which is an ongoing discussion. The 123 Agreement signed between the US and India is known as Indo-US nuclear deal. The framework for this agreement was done in 2005.

US snubs Pakistan’s complaint about Indian interference in Balochistan

he Obama adminisrefers about them submittration on Wednesting to US three dossiers day asked Pakistan on India’s role in Balochto put in “additional efforts istan and other parts of Pato target all terrorists in its kistan. Have you received territory,” while declining to those dossiers - three doceven acknowledge Islamabad’s uments from Pakistanis? complaint about alleged IndiS P O K E S M A N an interference in Balochistan JOHN KIRBY: I’m not Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz and other parts of Pakistan. Sharif meeting US President Obama on aware that we have. Washington’s public snub October 22 in Washington. Q U E S T I O N : was delivered soon after a Can you take this meeting between Secretary of State John Ker- question - confirm it or deny it? ry and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz SharJOHN KIRBY: I will take the quesif during which the Pakistani side reportedly tion. I don’t know how much depresented three dossiers on “India’s role in tail we’re going to be able to get into. Balochistan and other parts of Pakistan.” But QUESTION: Just say yes or no. Have you reneither Kerry nor his aides acknowledged ceived those documents from Pakistan or no? the dossier or the charges, and attempts to JOHN KIRBY: I said I’ll take the question. raise it at the daily state department briefKerry himself made no mention of the ing ended in embarrassment for Pakistan. dossier in a brief tweet about his meeting The exchanges went as follows: with Sharif during which he said they disQUESTION: The Pakistani handout also cussed “security, regional, global issues.”

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Manufacturing sales inch down to $52.1 billion in August

anadian manufacturing sales tracks. One major exception was the declined by 0.2 per cent to motor vehicle assembly industry, which $ 5 2 . 1 rebounded from billion in August, plant shutdowns in the first monthly July to increase 6.7 decline after three per cent to $5.7 bilconsecutive months lion. That’s the highof growth. The bigest sales for Canada’s gest declines came in motor vehicle assemthe petroleum and bly industry since coal product, motor March 2007. vehicle parts, and Sales declined in aerospace product five provinces in AuCanadian car part plants had their gust, with Quebec, and parts industries, best month for sales since March 2007. Alberta and New Statistics Canada reported Friday. Brunswick posting the largest decreasAll in all sales were lower in eight of es. Higher sales in Ontario largely offset the 21 industries that the data agency these declines.

UAW ratifies contract with Fiat Chrysler, union says on website

embers of the United Auto Workers in the U.S. have voted to ratify a new four-year collective bargaining agreement with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles by a 77 per cent majority According to the union’s website, the results of the voting are as follows: It’s the second time in a month that Fiat Chrysler’s 40,000 union members at 23 U.S. factories voted on a contract. A previous deal was soundly rejected largely because it didn’t eliminate a much-hated two-tiered pay system. A union local in Belvidere, Illinois, with 4,200 workers voted 81 percent in favor of the new deal, according to its website. The plant makes the Dodge Dart compact car. Also, 84 percent of production workers at a metal stamping plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, north of Detroit also voted yes. Skilled trades workers at the plant voted 64 percent in favor, according to postings on the union website. The new agreement gives raises to all workers and eliminates the two tiers over eight years. The union will use the Fiat Chrysler deal as a template for talks with Ford and General Motors. It was unclear Thursday whether the union would pick one company to focus on or try to negotiate with both. UAW President Dennis Williams says Ford and GM make more money and should be able to pay more, a statement that conflicts with company goals of cutting labor costs to bring them more in line with foreign automakers with U.S. factories. Two-tier wages ‘unsustainable’ The new agreement with Fiat Chrysler

will gradually eliminate the tiered pay system that the union agreed to in 2007 when all three Detroit automakers were in financial trouble, bringing all U.S. factory workers to the same wage over eight years. But members have resented the varying pay, and the company’s current CEO, Sergio Marchionne — who took over when Chrysler merged with Italian automaker Fiat in 2009 — has called the two-tier wages “unsustainable.” Under the new agreement, workers with four or more years of experience will make the top $29 US hourly wage within four years; workers with less experience will make between $22.50 US and $28 US in four years and top wages in eight years. About 45 percent of FCA’s U.S. hourly workers are lower-tiered workers who now make wages as low as $15.78 US per hour. For a typical member with two years in, the UAW said the agreement is worth $44,000 US over four years. $3,000-$4,000 US bonuses Like the previous agreement, the new contract promises the first raises in nine years for the highest-paid workers, who now start at $28 US per hour. Top-tier workers will get a $4,000 US bonus; lower-tier workers will get $3,000 US. The previous contract promised $3,000 US bonuses for all workers. Workers from both tiers banded together to defeat the previous contract, saying they deserved a bigger share of Fiat Chrysler’s profits after giving up raises and bonuses when the company was struggling. The new agreement calls for a $5.3 billion US investment in U.S. plants, as the previous agreement did, but this time the UAW spelled out which plants would get that investment.

GM likely to lay off 500 as it cuts 2nd shift at Detroit-area plant General Motors Co. says it’s cutting the second shift at its Orion Assembly plant in suburban Detroit in a move that’s expected to result in about 500 hourly worker layoffs. GM says Friday the change takes effect in January and is designed to align production at the plant in Oakland County’s Orion Township with demand. Since 2010, GM has invested $962 million at Orion Assembly, including $405 million

in the past year for the Chevrolet Bolt and another new vehicle. The Chevrolet Sonic and Buick Verano are made at the plant. The announcement comes a day after Detroit-based GM said it plans to bring back a second shift at its Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant, adding more than 1,200 jobs. GM says affected Orion Assembly workers could transfer there or elsewhere.

Saturday, October 24, 2015 i 33

Volkswagen testing 2nd engine for emissions-cheating software A second Volkswagen diesel engine sold in Canada may have been fitted with software to cheat on emissions tests, the company revealed on Thursday. VW had previously admitted that the software was installed on cars with the EA 189 diesel engine built to the “Euro 5” emissions standard. Consumers blindsided by Volkswagen’s emissions test rigging Could Volkswagen scandal be diesel’s death knell? The company is now checking whether older models with the EA 288 diesel motor built to the same emissions standard may also have the software, a spokesman said. The 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine was introduced in 2012. A Volkswagen Canada spokesman said cars with this engine are being tested by regulators here for the “cheat device,” which switches on emissions controls for nitrogen oxide in testing conditions but switches them off during real-world driving. The vehicles equipped with this engine have been under a stop-sale notice in Canada since Sept. 21 and will remain so until a resolution is found,

the VW Canada spokesman said. There is as yet no timetable for a recall, he added. U.S. cars affected, but not EU vehicles They were included in the original count of affected Volkswagen products issued by Environment Canada, which amounted to more than 100,000 cars. Volkswagen says as many as 70,000 U.S. vehicles may have the EA 288 engine, but it believes vehicles sold in Europe do not have the software. Until now, the scandal has been centred on the EA 189 diesel engine, a four-cylinder engine introduced in 2009 which is known to have the software. The Euro 5 emissions standards, implemented in 2009, set emissions levels for European cars and light trucks. The Volkswagen emissions scandal has revealed the degree to which North American regulators relied on the EU to test diesel engines. Diesel engines generally have lower carbon emissions than gasoline engines, but higher emissions of particulates and nitrogen oxide, which can cause smog and contribute to asthma and respiratory problems.

34 i Saturday, October 24, 2015

SOUTH ASIA

Sri Lankan troops committed war crimes: probe panel

llegations that the Sri Lankan army committed war crimes during the bloody conflict with Tamil rebels are “credible”, a government probe panel has said and backed UNHRC’s recommendation that foreign judges should have a role in domestic inquiry. “There are credible allegations which, if proved to the required standard, may show that some members of the armed forces committed acts during the final phase of the war that amounted to war crimes giving rise to individual criminal responsibility,” the probe panel commissioned by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa said a 178-page report. The report by retired judge Maxwell Paranagama also called for an independent judicial investigation into war crimes allegations. The report, the report dated August 2015 was tabled in parliament on Tuesday. The panel proposed to set up a

separate war crimes division within the Sri Lankan legal system. Paranagama said that there were evidence to suggest that footage obtained by the Channel 4 documentary No Fire Zone showing Sri Lankan soldiers executing Tamil prisoners was genuine. “The Commission is of the view that the material shown in Channel 4 - shorn of its theatrical and dramatic presentation and of the occasionally extravagant language used -- does show, however, that there was material enough to justify a judge-led investigation,” the Paranagama commission said. Sri Lanka’s military at the time had dismissed the documentary as a fabrication. On the allegation that Sri Lanka had executed surrendering top members of the LTTE at the end of war, the panel contended that despite some conflicting evidence, the underlying matrix is such that these alleged illegal killings, together with other

such killings of those who surrendered, must be the subject of an independent judge-led investigation. To that list for investigation, must be added the cases of all those who were hors de combat and allegedly perished while in the cusThe report by retired judge Maxwell Paranagama also called for an tody of the Sri independent judicial investigation into war crimes allegations. Lanka army, the ranagama panel recommended that interreport said. Backing the last month’s national judges should have a role to ensure UN Human Rights Council report, the Pa- the credibility of any investigation into war crimes.

Taliban leader Torek Agha designated as global terrorist by US

he US on Tuesday designated senior Taliban leader Torek Agha as a global terrorist, who is accused of funneling millions of dollars from the Gulf countries to Taliban coffers and planning assassination of Afghan government officials. Agha has been slapped with sanctions and designated as a global terrorist for his role as a key Taliban fund-raiser and member of a Taliban leadership council responsible for facilitating external funding and military operations in Afghanistan, the US Department of Treasury said. As a result of US action, any property or interest in property of the designated person subject to US jurisdiction is frozen.

Top Bangladesh politician jailed for 13 years

Bangladesh court today jailed a former mayor of Dhaka for 13 years for corruption in absentia, a prosecutor said, a fresh blow to the beleaguered opposition which called the charges politically motivated. An anti-graft court found Sadeque Hossain Khoka, now living in the United States, guilty of amassing wealth illegally and of concealing information about his income. “He was sentenced to 13 years in jail in total for the two charges,” Mosharraf Hossain, prosecutor for the country’s Anti Corruption Commission, told AFP. “The judge also ordered confiscation of 100.5 million taka ($1.3 million) in illegally acquired property,” he said. Khoka, 63, is a vice-chairman of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and was mayor of the capital Dhaka for nearly ten years until 2011.

New govt in Nepal facing hard times in festive season The Indian government may have agreed to ease the transit of some trucks into Nepal but the annual Dasain (Dussehra) festival this year will be a subdued affair in the Himalayan country. Food and fuel are still premium items, while the K P Oli government is being asked to push through amendments to a constitution that would accommodate the aspirations of the Madhesis. Nepal, which attracted praise from global activists for being sensitive to LGBT persons in the constitution, is now getting flak from human rights organizations for the

Saturday, October 24, 2015 i 35

36 i Saturday, October 24, 2015