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groceries rising at a faster rate than the all-items CPI every month since December 2021,” the report reads in part. Overall, that meant Canadians saw some pretty scary numbers next to their grocery bills and a major hit to their cost of living. For those who bought fresh fruit, they saw a jump of 11% last month, yikes! Poultry prices have risen sharply as well, up more than 9% from last year, blamed on reduced global supply as a result of the ongoing avian flu which has forced many farmers to cull their flocks. Edible fats and oils continue to be incredibly expensive, up 26%, as do coffee and tea, eggs, and cereal products. Canada’s Competition Bureau has launched an investigation into the rise in food prices. While Canadians are practically bleeding money at the grocery store, there has been some “savings” elsewhere, according to the report.

New details on guns, timeline of deadly Saanich bank shootout revealed in watchdog report

British Columbia’s civilianled police watchdog has cleared police officers’ fatal use of force in the midst of a shootout outside a Saanich bank last summer.

Six officers were wounded and two armed suspects were shot dead on June 28 after the pair entered a Bank of Montreal on Shelbourne Street around 11 a.m. and took hostages.

“(The suspects) had reacted to police presence with unbridled violence at the upper end of the scale that could reasonably be anticipated in a civilized society,” the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO) found in its Wednesday report.

“In those circumstances, (the suspects) posed a clear and imminent threat of death or grievous bodily harm to officers and to the public, and the use of lethal force in response was justified.” The investigation also revealed new details about the attack it described as a “series of dramatic and violent events” that occurred “in the space of mere seconds.” The reported stated that the two suspects, whom police have identified as 22-yearold twins Mathew and Isaac Auchterlonie, were prepared for violence with body armour and rigid leg protection tucked beneath their outer gear — windbreakers, balaclavas, gloves, and combat boots. The Auchterlonies, who hail from Duncan, carried 7.62-millimetre calibre SKS semiautomatic rifles with extended magazines.

BC pauses electricity connections for crypto mining, citing ‘massive’ consumption

The British Columbia government is temporarily suspending requests for electricity connections from cryptocurrency mining operations, saying the decision is aimed at preserving the power supply while supporting climate action and economic goals. A statement from the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation says 21 cryptocurrency projects are requesting a total of 1,403 megawatts, enough to power about 570,000 homes per year, or 2.1 million electric vehicles. It says the 18-month suspension will give the province and BC Hydro time to engage with industry and First Nations as a permanent framework for cryptocurrency operations is developed. Energy Minister Josie Osborne says in the statement that cryptocurrency mining consumes “massive amounts of electricity” by running high-powered computers around the clock, but adds “very few jobs” to the local economy. B.C.’s electricity is generated almost entirely by hydropower, and the province says it has attracted “unprecedented interest” from cryptocurrency miners. The statement says seven operational cryptocurrency mining projects and six more projects that are well advanced in the connection process won’t be affected by the suspension. Their consumption totals 273 megawatts.

The federal government has launched a onetime $500 housing benefit for low-income tenants. Though a good initiative in times of high inflation, the program is fraught with problems. Unless these problems are fixed – which is doable – the program will fail the people it aims to assist. The first problem is communication. The federal government is calling it a onetime top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit, although there is no program with this actual name. The name refers to a federal initiative administered by the provinces under different guises, like Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit and Saskatchewan Housing Benefit. This is already confusing, but it gets worse. Each province has its own eligibility criteria, which are different from the criteria for the one-time top-up, which is being delivered through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). People who are not eligible for the provincially delivered benefit may qualify for this one-time installment. But why would anyone apply for a top-up of a benefit they don’t receive? Also, people already receiving the benefit will not automatically get a top-up. If they are eligible, they have to apply separately. Communications matter because confusion leads to low take-up rates. That is what happened to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit. The second problem is that the income eligibility thresholds – $35,000 for families and $20,000 for individuals – don’t capture all tenants living in poverty. In 2020, the most recent year for which data is available, Canada’s official poverty line for a family of four varied between $38,600 and $50,600, depending on where the family lived. For single individuals, the poverty line was above $20,000 everywhere in the country except rural Quebec. In Toronto, it was $25,000. By design, the program excludes thousands of tenants living in poverty and paying too much in rent. Then there is the problem of trust. Can people be sure they won’t be penalized if they apply? People who receive social assistance are wary of government initiatives that give with one hand and take away with the other. It happens all the time. Provincial social assistance programs have yet to clarify how they will treat this additional $500 in income. Will recipients just lose other benefits? Will recipients have to fill out yet more forms and provide yet more justifications, generating more anxiety than security? Even people who have never received social assistance have reasons to be wary of benefits delivered by the CRA. Will it send letters to people two years from now asking them to pay back the $500 as it is doing with CERB? The federal government has been touting the program all week, but it has to be more than a media sound bite. The program needs to actually work. The fixes are simple. Rename the program. Increase thresholds so all low-income tenants are eligible. Promote www.theasianstar.com

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Guru Nanak Food Bank ‘soft opened’ Monday in the former Southridge Hardware at 112th St. and 84th Ave. Members of Delta council and school board joined other local dignitaries for the soft opening of the new North Delta food bank on Monday afternoon. Surrey-based Guru Nanak Food Bank’s new North Delta facility — located next door to the Delta Lion Pub in the former Southridge Hardware (11188 84th Ave.) — opened its doors at 1 p.m. on Dec. 19, marking the first sevenday-a-week food bank to open in not just North Delta but the city overall.

At 6,500 square feet, the North Delta location is the largest of GNFB’s three storefronts. GNFB operates out its flagship location in Surrey (101 – 15299 68 Ave.), which opened July 1, 2020, and also maintains an outlet in Abbotsford, which opened to the public on Feb. 6, 2022. “Our ‘No Boundaries’ facility will serve all comers regardless of faith or city of residence, and one day in week would be dedicated to serve the seniors,” GNFB general secretary Neeraj Walia said in a press release ahead of Monday’s opening. The food bank will begin offering its dedicated day for seniors in January.

NRI woman pleads guilty in decade long global tech support scam that spanned the U.S., Canada and India

An Edison woman has pled guilty in her alleged role in connection with a decade long transnational technical support scam that generated $10 million in proceeds from at least more than 20,000 victims, many of whom were elderly, in the United States and Canada, according to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey.

Meghna Kumar, 50, pled guilty on Dec. 14 by videoconference before Judge Michael Hammer in Newark federal court to an information charging her with engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity based on her role in the scheme, according to a press release through the United States Attorney District of New Jersey.

Kumar’s guilty plea along with the indictment of five men in the alleged scam was announced on Dec. 16.

Gagan Lamba, 41, and Harshad Madaan, 34, both of New Delhi, India; Jayant Bhatia, 33, of Ontario, Canada, and Vikash Gupta, 33, of Faridabad, India, are all charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, and substantive violations of wire fraud and computer fraud, according to the press release. Lamba, Madaan, Bhatia, and a fifth defendant, Kulwinder Singh, 34, of Richmond Hill, N.Y., are also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. Bhatia has been charged with offenses related to his participation in the high-tech fraud scheme, according to the press release. Authorities in India apprehended Madaan on Dec. 14 and Gupta on Dec. 15 on local charges for their involvement in the tech support scheme. Lamba remains at large. Bhatia was apprehended by Canadian authorities pursuant to a provisional arrest request from the United States. Singh was apprehended at his home in New York, and he made his initial appearance on Dec. 14 before Hammer in Newark federal court and was released on a $100,000 unsecured bond, according to the press release.

Coquitlam mayor, city manager at centre of legal action alleging leak of confidential information to Spanish company

Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart and city manager Peter Steblin are named in a court petition by Metro Vancouver alleging that confidential information was leaked in January to a company that Metro Vancouver was about to sue. In court papers filed last Friday (Dec. 16) at BC Supreme Court in Vancouver, Metro Vancouver is seeking an order to preserve evidence about the unauthorized disclosure to Acciona, the Spanish firm hired by Metro Vancouver in 2017 — and then fired in early 2022 — to design and construct the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant (NSWWTP) to replace the Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment Plant. The petition states that Metro Vancouver wants to conduct a forensic audit of Acciona’s computer systems and

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The congressional inquiry into last year’s riot at the United States Capitol on Monday voted to refer criminal charges against former President Donald Trump to the Justice Department. The House Select Committee blamed Trump for the violent attack on the Capitol by his supporters. Slamming Trump for summoning the mob to the Capitol nearly two years ago, the committee’s chairperson, Bennie Thompson criticized the former president for undermining faith in the democratic system. “If the faith is broken, so is our democracy. Donald Trump broke that faith,” Thompson said. The bipartisan committee unanimously recommended he be charged with insurrection, obstructing an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and conspiracy to make a false statement. Trump: ‘Attempt to sideline me’ Later on Monday, Trump hit back, accusing House lawmakers of recommending “fake charges” against him as part of an attempt to stop him from running for the White House in future. “This whole business of prosecuting me is just like impeachment was — a partisan attempt to sideline me and the Republican Party,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. Last month, Trump outlined his intention to run for the White House in 2024.