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24 minute read
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not authorized by the Gurdwaras / Temples and fraudulently used our names and logos.” Representatives from Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara and Darbar Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji later added their signatures as well.“On 12 December 2022, a letter was sent to you which we strongly condemn (the Letter”),” this second letter states. “The letter is not reflective of our opinion and position,” this second letter states. “We recognize that there are some people that want to make Surrey’s policing decision political and create divisive in our community. Our Gurdwaras’ and Temples’ are places of faith and worship. Our attendees have different political views which have nothing to do with their religion.” Narinder Singh, president of Gurdwara Dukh Nivaran Sahib at 152 Street and 68 Avenue, was one of those who signed the Dec. 14 warning letter. “We don’t know who wrote that letter on 12 December.” Singh told the NowLeader on Thursday. “They used our logos, they used our name but we have nothing of our know about that you know.
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Significant’ winter storm, freezing rains & snow alert issued for BC’s South Coast
Starting from Thursday evening, residents of the South Coast and Vancouver Island can expect heavy snow followed by freezing rain and rain, localized strong winds, and a localized windchill of -25 due to arctic outflow winds, and then localized flooding in heavy rain. Thursday, December 22nd, ready or not, BC, will have yet another significant snowfall, along with some ice potentially, it is on the way just in time to put holiday travel plans in peril. Freezing rain is expected during the transition from snow to rain, which could cause significant impacts on the road conditions.
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Coquitlam mayor, city manager at centre of legal action alleging leak of confidential information to Spanish company
Investigators in Edmonton are looking to speak with about 100 kids who they believe may have been lured and abused by a man charged with more than a dozen sexual offences. Imesh Ratnayake, 21, was arrested in July on allegations of sexual assault, sexual interference and making and transmitting child pornography. On Tuesday, Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) announced an additional 18 charges including sexual assault, luring a child and obtaining sexual services for consideration from a child. There are six known victims aged 11 to 13 years old and all are from the Edmonton area, investigators said. Additional victims may be located anywhere in the world. “There was a degree of transactional behaviour involved in these incidents,” Sgt. Kerry Shima said.
“Our investigative theory is that Mr. Ratnayake was luring the children using things like vapes, marijuana and alcohol.” Ratnayake contacted the kids on Snapchat, Shima said. “We need parents to be on board with their kids and their applications and start talking about what these apps are used for. Have your kids teach you stuff,” he suggested. “Enhancing digital literacy is a really big part of that. Sometimes when we ask our kids to teach us things, it generates a level of trust too.” Keeping tabs on kids, their devices and multiple apps is a lot easier said than done, according to a spokesperson with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection. “To say that parents need to know, or can know, everything that their child is engaged in online is just unrealistic.
We are now hearing from the family of Harpreet Kaur Gill (pictured), who was stabbed to death in Surrey earlier this month, after her loved ones arrived in Canada from India.
In an exclusive interview with OMNI TV on Tuesday, Harpreet’s father, Jasbir Singh Bajwa, says he learned about his daughter’s death from his son.
“We never imagined. We were shocked. ‘What has happened to our daughter? She has been murdered? How? Why?’,” he recalled.
On Dec. 7, the 40-year-old woman was found in her home on 66 Avenue and 127 Street with multiple stab wounds. She later died on her way to the hospital.
On Dec. 16, the Surrey RCMP said that Gill’s husband, Navinder Gill, had been charged with second-degree murder. - Surrey stabbing suspect was husband of victim: IHIT - Husband charged with murder in Surrey stabbing
Bajwa says his daughter worked as a science teacher in India and Australia before getting married in 2011. He says his daughter and her husband moved with their small family to Canada in 2015.
When she arrived in B.C., Bajwa says Harpreet worked to get her teaching credentials, eventually getting a job in Maple Ridge.
“She was so busy, working five days a week as a teacher,” he recalled. The victim’s father says the couple was happy when they first immigrated to Canada. However, Bajwa says things changed when Harpreet’s inlaws moved in, claiming her husband became more aggressive. Bajwa says while he sensed there was unhappiness in his daughter’s family life, Harpreet remained positive. “I have myself heard that she was not happy at all. In life, she was very charming. Very thankful … very positive towards life, motivational towards others, towards students,” he said. As Navinder Gill awaits trial for a charge of second-degree murder in connection with Harpreet’s death, Bajwa is hoping for justice. “I again pray to the Canadian police, which are one of the best police in the world, and in the Canadian law and the Canadian government that the culprit who killed my daughter mercilessly, must be punished to the highest degree, so it should be a great lesson to the others who dare to take such steps to diminish life. Nobody has the right to take the life of a human being,” he said. Bajwa is also hoping to receive custody of his daughter’s three kids. “I love my grandchildren very much. My wife … my son, we love them,” he said. Meanwhile, a GoFundMe campaign has been set up to support Harpreet’s family with costs associated with travel and her funeral.
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and of Anika Calder’s electronic devices. It is alleged that Calder, a former Acciona employee and Steblin’s daughter, took photos on her personal cell phone from her father’s laptop of a sensitive report that came before Metro Vancouver directors during a closed meeting in January. That confidential report, which sought the termination of the Acciona contract, as well as advice on future legal action against the company, was accessed using Stewart’s unique ID and password, the court papers read.
The application states that Calder then passed on Metro Vancouver’s report to her employer, which in March sued the regional authority for wrongful termination of its contract. In May, Acciona notified Metro’s legal team that it had Metro’s confidential report in its possession and at least four other Acciona employees had seen it. When Acciona didn’t co-operate in a joint investigation with Metro on disclosure, the regional authority launched the petition to save the evidence and to stop all recipients from reproducing or making further copies of Metro’s confidential document.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau received a national security briefing this fall in which he was told China’s consulate in Toronto had targeted 11 candidates in the 2019 federal election, but that security agencies had found no evidence of covert funding by Beijing, according to two sources with direct knowledge.
The sources said David Vigneault, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, provided the briefing to Mr. Trudeau and his national security adviser Jody Thomas. Weeks later, in November, Mr. Trudeau met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia, and complained to him about interference in Canadian domestic affairs.
Mr. Trudeau was informed in the briefing that there was no evidence of Chinese money secretly flowing to the 11 candidates, all of whom were running in the Greater Toronto Area. He was also told there was no indication China’s interference efforts had helped elect any of them, despite the consulate’s attempts to promote the campaigns on social media and in Chinese-language media outlets. The CSIS director told Mr. Trudeau that the spy agency had no evidence any of the candidates – a mixture of Liberals and Conservatives – were compromised by China, the sources said. Most of the candidates were Liberals, but the sources would not provide a breakdown of party affiliations.
Charles and Camilla’s visit to Canada for Platinum Jubilee cost RCMP nearly $450,000
Canadian taxpayers spent at least $1 million hosting King Charles III, who was then Prince of Wales, when he visited Canada earlier this year. The RCMP provided a breakdown of the nearly $450,000 in costs it incurred for the three-day visit this past May by Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, who was then Duchess of Cornwall. The Mounties spent around $235,000 on travel and about another $212,000 on overtime. They say there may be additional costs to process, adding that the totals do not include regular salary costs, benefit plans or supporting units. The price tag is merely a portion of what the visit cost taxpayers, as other departments such as Canadian Heritage, were involved in hosting the royals during their travels to Newfoundland, Ottawa and the Northwest Territories. The Department of National Defence says it also spent around $568,000. “This includes the costs of flying the Airbus Polaris and associated support services to transport members of the Royal Family, along with personnel for the royal tour as identified by
Experts are warning against drawing conclusions on whether Canada is getting a good deal for the F-35, given the large startup costs associated with buying and fielding a new fighter jet, which include much-needed upgrades to the Air Force’s physical and digital infrastructure. While a formal announcement has not been made, The Canadian Press reported on Tuesday that the Department of National Defence has received authorization to spend $7 billion on an initial set of 16 F-35s and associated gear. While that works out to about $450 million per plane, which is about four times more than the publicly reported cost of the aircraft, the total includes weapons and spare parts, new facilities to house and maintain the fighter jets and upgrades to the military’s computer networks. Experts say those infrastructure and network upgrades are necessary given the state of the Air Force’s current facilities and the advanced nature of the F-35 compared to the CF-18s, and they almost certainly account for most of the $7 billion. “What’s occurred here is they basically front-loaded every single cost that wasn’t related to the acquisition of the aircraft,” said F-35 expert Richard Shimooka of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. “Hangars, labs and support equipment. They’ll probably buy all of the terminals and support equipment right off the bat.” The Liberal government has repeatedly promised to buy a total of 88 new fighters to replace Canada’s aging CF-18s,
Alberta sees largest population increase ever: StatsCan data
Alberta’s population grew by nearly 60,000 people between July and September of this year — more than in any other year since Statistics Canada began estimating populations in 1951. StatsCan estimates the population of Alberta as of the start of October to be 4,601,314 people. That’s 58,203 more than three months before. The 1.28 per cent increase is a proportional growth that rivals some of the biggest growth periods in Alberta history and shows the return of a stronger economy, according to analysts. “We have recently been seeing increases in inflows towards Alberta, and that was normal during periods of high oil prices. But what makes this pretty unusual is just the sheer magnitude of it,” said economist Trevor Tombe with the University of Calgary.
“The scale of it is pretty stark, and a lot of folks coming in from B.C. and Ontario as well, potentially a sign of strengthening economic conditions here relative to elsewhere, and more affordable housing, in particular.” Historically, population increases have been tied to high prices in oil and economic growth, Tombe says, and this boom appears to be no different. There was also a drop in the number of people leaving Alberta, which tends to be less sensitive to oil prices, but he says the cost of living elsewhere may be playing a role. “I think it would be fair to say that the Alberta economy has been doing reasonably well for the last couple of years, and that’s made it more attractive,” said Janet Lane of the Canada West Foundation.
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Canada, China set aside differences to help COP15 nature talks succeed: Guilbeault
The international biodiversity framework reached Monday in Montreal was possible because Canada and China were able to set aside their diplomatic differences to co-lead the negotiations, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said as the summit came to a close. And the agreement will bind the two countries together, because it is named after the cities in China and Canada where it was negotiated. Though China officially hosted the COP15 event, the final negotiations were ultimately moved from Kunming to Montreal because of China’s COVID-19 policies. The Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity agreement is being lauded by governments and nature experts as a historic deal meant to turn the tide on the devastating impacts humanity is having on wildlife and critical ecosystems. The 196 parties to the agreement are now aiming to set aside 30 per cent of their land and marine territories as conservation areas by 2030, reduce the use of pesticides and harmful plastics, increase urban green spaces, ensure sustainable use of wild species and reduce overconsumption and food waste. “We’ve achieved a Montreal moment for nature,” Guilbeault said Tuesday at the final press conference for COP15. “The Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework is a major win for our planet and for all of humanity.” Canada was asked to host the talks in Montreal because it’s the city that houses the UN biodiversity secretariat offices. While China remained the official host, Canada took on logistics and had a bigger influence over the ambition of the talks.
Ontario man denied his jackpot win for not having any photo ID
A Welland, Ontario man who reeled in a jackpot at a slot machine said he’s been kept out of collecting his winnings because he doesn’t have a photo ID. Anthony Michael said he was unaware of the identification requirement when he visited the casino in Etobicoke last month. “I said to the casino I just want to get my money and never to go back there again,” he told CTV News Toronto. Ontario casinos are required by law to verify the ID of anyone who wins more than $3,000 as an anti-money laundering measure. Michael said he visited Woodbine Casino on Nov. 18 to try the slot machines and won $4,133.50 in just a few minutes of playing. But he didn’t have the ID required to collect his winnings because of a health issue. “I suffer from epilepsy. I’m 52 years of age and I have had it since I was 15. It’s one of the reasons I don’t drive, so no driver’s licence,” Michael said. Michael argued that the law seemed to suit the casino’s interest. “The fact that you don’t need to show identification when you’re spending thousands of dollars or hundreds of dollars when you’re gambling, you don’t have to show ID, but to collect your winnings you do,” said Michael. The casino responded to CTV’s inquiry, saying it is “not aware of any exemption that could apply.” “We welcome the opportunity to pay out his winnings once he is able to produce the necessary identification, per AGCO’s regulations,” the casino said. Michael said he is planning to get a government ID but was told it could take until February to arrive.
The baggage claim at Vancouver’s airport is a nightmare after the snow storm
A luggage nightmare is underway at Vancouver International Airport following a terrible snowstorm that halted hundreds of flights and stranded thousands of passengers. Pictures and video of the baggage claim at YVR show hundreds of bags piled up at the carousels late Tuesday night. Apparently, things got so out of hand that RCMP had to be called to the airport to respond to an argument over the luggage. YVR said it is working to help, but passengers waiting for baggage will need to speak with their airline or go through the airline’s online portal. Many people have taken to social media to say that getting through to those phone lines has been next to impossible due to the high call demand. And there’s more snow coming. This is not the news travellers wanted to hear after anxiously waiting for a rescheduled flight in time for Christmas.
Vancouver International Airport says it is preparing for “severe weather” coming Thursday, with flakes set to arrive in the evening through to Friday. It comes as a cold air warning remains in place for most of Western Canada, further impacting travel woes in several airports due to deicing efforts. The impact of the weather is being felt by the hundreds of people still stranded at YVR on Wednesday and those unable to fly into Vancouver due to a 48-hour cutback on international flights. That’s bad news for many who have holiday plans. “YVR is doing everything in our power to prepare for severe weather that’s expected tomorrow. Detailed information will be provided in advance of that system. Passengers expecting to fly today and this week are strongly encouraged to check with their airline before coming to YVR.
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More than $2.7M paid to 50 claimants of serious injury connected to a vaccine in Canada
According to new statistics, Canada’s Vaccine Injury Support Program has approved or paid out more than $2.7 million to claimants since the program opened in 2021. So far, 50 claims of a serious and permanent injury connected to a vaccine authorized by Health Canada have been approved. Between June 2021 and Dec 1, 2022, the program received 1,299 claims, 209 of which were determined to be inadmissible because they either didn’t meet the eligibility criteria or had incomplete information. Of the remaining claims, 221 have been fully assessed by the program’s medical review board, while 48 are pending medical review board assessment and 662 claims are in the process of collecting medical records, which is usually the longest step in the assessment process, according to the Vaccine Injury Support Program (VISP). The VISP previously released statistics in the summer, but this is the first time they have disclosed the total amount of financial support paid to claimants thus far. The program, which was first announced in December 2020, officially started accepting claims in June 2021. To be eligible for compensation, you must have suffered a serious and permanent injury connected to a vaccine authorized by Health Canada that was administered in Canada after December 8, 2020. The program includes all vaccines that provide protection against preventable diseases, including, but not limited to, COVID-19 vaccines. It’s unclear how much each person whose claim has been approved received in compensation, or which vaccine their claim pertained to. A serious or permanent injury is defined as “a severe, life-threatening or life-altering injury that may require inperson hospitalization, or a prolongation of existing hospitalization, and results in persistent or significant disability or incapacity, or where the outcome is a congenital malformation or death.” Serious reactions to vaccines are rare. According to data from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), only one in 10,000 people have experienced a serious reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine, for instance.
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A few weeks after death of veteran actor and former CINTAA President Vikram Gokhale, a prayer meet in his remembrance was hosted by CINTAA (Cine and TV
Artistes’ Association) members in Mumbai on Wednesday evening. The prayer meet was attended by actor-comedian Johnny Lever, actors Rajeshwari Sachdev, Dalip Tahil among other CINTAA members. Vikram Gokhale made his film debut in 1971 with Amitabh Bachchan’s Parwana. In 2010, he received the National Award for Best Actor for his work in the Marathi film Anumati. He also forayed into direction with the Marathi film Aaghaat. CINTAA announced a prayer meet for the late actor. The caption on the post read: “In loving and everlasting memory of CINTAA erstwhile President Late Vikram Gokhle ji, who left all of us for his heavenly abode on 26th November, a prayer meeting is being organized.” Promoted Vikram Gokhale, during his extensive career, featured in Marathi as well as Hindi films, including Amitabh Bachchan’s Agneepath and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, starring Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Ajay Devgn. In the recent years, he starred in films like Mission Mangal, Hichki, Aiyaari, Bang Bang!, De Dana Dan and Bhool Bhulaiyaa, among others.
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Community news
South Asian Adults& Seniors - Celebrate Christmas Get Together & Group Birthday on Dec. 26th 2022 (Monday), At Ultimate Banquet hall # 200- 8072 - 120th Street, Surrey, BC from 6.00 pm to 9.30 pm, entry by invitation and by paid, contributions only . Appetizers both Vegetarian & Non vegetarian &soft drinks will be served first, after the Musical program is over then
cake cutting ceremony will take place and the dinner with both the vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes will be served. ---------------------------------Yoga classes will be running as usual on Thursday the Dec. 22nd 2022 and on Monday the Dec. 26th 2022 from 10.00 am to 11.15, am For more info call: 604 - 507 - 9945 for registration or further details.
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Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone are creating a heavy buzz on the Internet owing to the release of their recent song Jhoome Jo Pathaan. Now, the choreographer Bosco Martis has shared some BTS pictures from the sets of Jhoome Jo Pathaan, and we can’t take our eyes off Shah Rukh. In the images, Bosco is posing with the superstar (who is showing off his chiselled abs and sporting long hair). Both are twinning in black ensembles and stylishly posing for the camera. However, before posing for the camera, SRK was “shy” to show his abs, as per Bosco. Along with the photos, the choreographer dropped a long post thanking SRK for the pictures.
He wrote, “This is undoubtedly one of the best pictures I have on my Insta page . Been so lucky to get this picture I know you were very shy to click this one . And you were also so shy to show your Abs Sir.. It’s a treasured moment for me for a life time. Thank so much @iamsrk for nailing our moves and posing for this picture . All this and picture credit goes to @poojadadlani02 I really sneaked this one . Hope we all enjoy our glorious #pathaan.” He also mentioned Deepika Padukone in his post and called her the “epitome of glamour”. He wrote, “@deepikapadukone you are the epitome of glamour shining and looking super hot . My best wishes to my team.”
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How much Ranbir & Alia ’s fantasy drama need to make a HIT
Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt starrer Brahmastra are all set to be released on September 9, 2022. Brahmastra is the first film in the trilogy film was announced by Dharma Productions. The lead actors including Ranbir and Alia are busy seen promoting their upcoming film in full swing. Netizens are constantly trending #BoycottBrahmastra and stars are requesting their fans to watch the film. Questions are being raised about whether their film is able to create money at the box office? How many box office numbers will Brahmastra make for it to be declared a hit? Well, in an interview with IndiaToday. in, trade analyst Akshaye Rathi gave an approximate estimate of box office calculations about Brahmastra . The film is reportedly made on a budget of over Rs 300 crore and the makers want to give viewers an experience for a lifetime. The actors worked in the film for five years now. As per a report in IndiaToday.in, Akshaye said that in the case of Brahmastra, it is different from most films. He even added saying that films produced by Disney like Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, the way the platform is looking to create profit. But to create IPS that generates profit for years is important. Brahmastra has been trending on the Entertainment He even said that Brahmastra is one of those films wherein makers want to create diverse IPs as they will want to monetise for years. He said, ‘While Rs 100 crore may not be enough, even if we manage to achieve a figure between Rs 200250 crore, I think it will be enough to warrant taking this universe forward, with more characters coming out of it. Rs 250 crore will not be close enough to recover the investment of this film but will be enough to establish the universe.’ Akshaye concluded by saying that the Astraverse is an attempt to make something like a Multiverse out of India. Directed by Ayan Mukerji, the fantasy drama will also feature Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna, Mouni Roy in lead roles.
Kriti Sanon has been popular model before becoming Bollywood star. She made her name in Bollywood by herself. She was born on 27th July 1990 in Delhi. After modeling, she made her acting debut in a Telugu movie. Her first Bollywood movie was ‘Heropanti’ for which she won the Award as the best debut female. Besides that, she has completed her Bachelor of Technology degree in Electronics and Communication. She did also acting in movie ‘Dilwale’ which was one of the highest gross eaning movies of that year. Her first release in 2022 came with Bachchhan Paandey, marking her second collaboration with Kumar. The film was a box office bomb, grossing ₹69 crore (US$8.6 million) against a budget of ₹180 crore (US$23 million). Sanon will reunite with Shroff in Vikas Bahl’s action film Ganapath and Dhawan in the horror comedy Bhediya. She will play Janaki in Om Raut’s film Adipurush (2023), costarring Prabhas and Saif Ali Khan. She will also reteam with Aaryan in Shehzada, a remake of the Telugulanguage film Ala
I will be a very simple bride
Sonakshi Sinha got her fans enticed after she posted pictures of hers in a bridal look, recently on social media. Not just her followers, even her alleged boyfriend Zaheer Iqbal reacted to her pics, excitedly, by posting a comment that read, “Shaadi pakki ho gayi? Bataya bhi nahi?” Just like many other occasions, this time too Sonakshi slipped into her bridal mode for work and promotions. Earlier this year, the actress had walked looking like a bride at Bombay Times Fashion Week. Having been there and done that, the Dabangg actress now has a different idea in mind when it comes to dressing up for her own wedding.
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Karisma Kapoor is ready for the party
Christmas 2022 is around the corner, and celebs are keeping us updated by sharing their stunning pictures on their Instagram handles. The recent actress to join the list is Karisma Kapoor. A while ago, she shared some gorgeous photos in a printed green dress paired with black boots. She has styled her hair into a sleek top bun and is sporting maroon lipstick to accentuate her look. Sharing the post, Karisma wrote, “Ready,Steady,Christmas #tistheseason #christmasiscoming.” Soon after she shared the post, Shibani Dandekar was quick to drop a comment: “wowser,” followed by a fire and heart emoticon. Karisma Kapoor keeps treating her Insta family to beautiful pictures of herself. A few days ago, she shared an adorable post sending birthday wishes to her nephew and Kareena Kapoor’s son Taimur. She shared a picture from his Star Warsthemed party and captioned it as “Happy birthday to our jaan Tim Tim. Big boy now.
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An exciting piece of news for Salman Khan fans in Kolkata. If all goes according to plan, the Bollywood superstar will be in Kolkata in January next year to perform in a major event at Eco Park. Not only Salman but several other stars including Sonakshi Sinha, Jacqueline Fernandez, Prabhu Deva, Ayush Sharma, and Guru Randhawa will also accompany him. The program was officially announced on Monday. Salman’s brother Sohel Khan and his personal security guard Shera have already visited Kolkata to inspect the security measures of the venue where the actor will be performing live.
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