The Asian Star July 11 2020

www.theasianstar.com

Vol 19 - Issue 24

Saturday, July 11, 2020

It’s too early to relax as COVID-19 continues to circulate says Dr. Bonnie Henry 20 new cases confirmed in B.C., but no more deaths recorded onThursday Health officials have confirmed another 20 cases of COVID-19 in B.C., but no new deaths have been recorded in the last 24 hours, according to Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry. The province has seen a total of 3,028 cases of the novel coronavirus to date, of which 186 people have died and 175 cases remain active. As of Thursday, 17 people are in

hospital with the virus, including four in intensive care.

Henry reminded B r i t i s h Columbians that it’s far too early to fully relax and return to normal as the virus continues to circulate in the community and around the world. “Things can quickly escalate once again if we let our guard down,” she said. Until there is an effective treatment or a vaccine for the disease, Henry said,

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Anti-China protest outside Chinese Consulate in Vancouver

A large crowd including many South Asian protesters gathered outside Chinese Consulate in downton Vancouver last week. The protesters demand that China free Canadians it is holding as political hostages in China, also China should get out of Indian and Tibetan teritory.

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Trudeau govt has lost track of 34,700 illegal foreigners and refugees slated for removal Canada’s border agency has lost track of tens of thousands of foreign nationals it was supposed to deport from the country, according to a scathing new report from the federal auditor general.

“We concluded that the Canada Border Services Agency did not remove the majority of individuals who were subject to enforceable removal orders as soon as possible

Among the missing are 2,800 criminals to protect the integrity of the immigration system and maintain public safety,” says the report released to Parliament on Wednesday. The border agency’s efforts were hindered by poor data quality and basic flaws in case management, resulting in avoidable delays for thousands of cases, the audit by Auditor General Karen Hogan and her staff has found. Deficiencies

Trudeau Liberals to post $343B deficit as part of COVID-19 spending But opposition parties say deficit was high befor pandemic hit presents little in the way of a long-term plan to return the economy to pre-pandemic normalcy. Bill Morneau’s 2020 fiscal ‘snapshot’ “Some will criticize us on the cost of action,” Morneau said in a speech in the House of Commons today. “But our government knew that the cost of inaction would’ve been far greater. “Those who would have us do less ignore that, without government action, millions of jobs would have been lost, putting the burden of debt Continued on page 7

Finance Minister Bill Morneau tabled a fiscal snapshot today that shows the federal government’s deficit is expected to hit $343 billion this year — an eyepopping figure largely attributed to pandemic-related support programs that have pushed federal spending to a level not seen since the Second World War. The 168page snapshot offers a short-term economic analysis and a detailed account of what the government has spent already to shore up an economy on life support. It

in information sharing with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) also delayed cases, it said. “For example, the audit found that CBSA was unaware that it should have been monitoring 1,500 removal orders for enforcement,” the audit found. “A further 2,300 orders were delayed because of the poor flow of information between IRCC and CBSA.”

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Jamie Bacon pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in Surrey Six killings But families of victims unhappy with plea deal Jamie Bacon has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit the murder of Corey Lal in the Surrey Six killings in October 2007 and counselling someone to murder an associate in 2008. A first degree murder charge will be stayed at the time of sentencing. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kathleen Ker found Bacon guilty on both counts and set sentencing for July 23.

Sentencing will include victim impact statements, both in-person and some read into the record by the Crown.

Earlier story: As far as Eileen Mohan is concerned, Jamie Bacon has been playing the justice system for a fool for the past decade. The mother of one of six people killed in B.C.’s most notorious gangland slaying says she may be in court to watch Thursday — but she’ll get no satisfaction from seeing the gangster plead guilty to one count of conspiring to commit murder in relation to the 2007 Surrey Six killings.

Continued on page 6

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Vol 19 - Issue 24

Saturday, July 11, 2020

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Sikh business owner in US was told to “go back your country” before being run over by a car Sikh community members in Colorado and around the country are calling for hate crime charges in Jefferson County, two months after a Lakewood store owner was run over by a driver and told to “go back to your country” during a brutal assault that left the man hospitalized for months.

On Tuesday, 29 civil rights organizations and interfaith groups signed a letter, urging First Judicial District Attorney Pete Weir investigate the April 29 assault on Lakhwant Singh as a hate crime. “For us to be even able to address hate as community, that hate first has to be acknowledged,” said Nikki Singh, the Sikh Coalition’s policy and advocacy manager. “Not only will we hopefully get justice for Singh, but it sends a much larger message that hate is wrong. It doesn’t just affect one community, it affects lots of communities.”

Around 11 p.m. that day, Eric Breemen, 36, walked into Two Angels liquor store in Lakewood and started knocking over items on the shelf, Lakhwant Singh’s wife told investigators, according to an arrest affidavit.

As he was damaging the store, Breemen repeatedly told Singh and his wife to “go back to your country,” Nikki Singh said. When

Lakhwant Singh went outside to take a picture of Breemen’s license plate, the man allegedly struck Singh with his car, running him over with both the front and rear wheels, the arrest affidavit said. Breemen has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, among other charges, in connection with three alleged assaults that day, including Singh’s. He has not been charged with a bias-motivated crime.

Breemen, who remains in custody, will appear in court July 24 for a preliminary hearing.

Singh sustained multiple broken bones, including a spinal fracture and internal bleeding, and has been in the hospital or a rehabilitation facility since the incident, Nikki Singh said.

Meanwhile, his wife and children have had to pick up the slack at the store without him.

Pam Russell, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said the investigation remains open and they are communicating with the Sikh Coalition. “We’re still … deeply looking into this,” she said. The Sikh Coalition, and other organizations, believe the incident should be considered a hate crime

due to the comments made in the store, as well as Breemen identifying Singh as an “older Arab” in his police report, Nikki Singh said. The incident has galvanized the Sikh community across the country, as people have flooded the district attorney’s office with calls demanding justice. “We are deeply honored to have so

many different people standing with the Sikh community in our hour of need,” said Kanwarbir Singh Sandhu, Gurdwara President at Colorado Singh Sabha. “It is extremely important to all of us that the biases that drove Mr. Singh’s attacker to this hateful act are formally acknowledged by law enforcement.

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OPINION

By Jake Fuss and Tegan Hill, The Fraser Institute

Saturday, July 11, 2020

Federal tax hikes would do more harm than good

On July 8, the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will release a “snapshot” of federal finances, the first such update since the COVID-19 crisis began. The government may also soon look to raise taxes to try to increase government revenue, either to finance new spending or reduce the federal budget deficit.

But tax hikes will hurt Canada’s tax competitiveness and exacerbate our economic challenges, while likely not producing the additional revenue the government expects.

Since 2009, tax hikes at the federal and provincial levels have increased personal income tax (PIT) rates in every province. For example, the Trudeau government in 2015 raised the income tax rate on entrepreneurs,

professionals and business owners from 29 per cent to 33 per cent. In Canada and the United States, nine Canadian provinces are among the top 10 least-competitive tax jurisdictions in terms of the top combined personal income tax rate (that’s the federal rate plus the provincial/state rate). And Canada’s personal income tax rates are among the highest in the industrialized world. In 2018 (latest year of comparable data), Canada had the seventh-highest top combined tax rate among 36 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.

Why does this matter? Our high income tax rates discourage productive economic activity and put Canada at a competitive disadvantage in attracting and retaining skilled workers and entrepreneurs who drive innovation, investment and job creation. These are all things the economy needs more of, particularly as we look to recover from the COVID-19 recession. Canada has also lost its advantage on business taxes due to recent reforms in the U.S. A recent study from the University of Calgary demonstrated that, after accounting for provincial/state tax rates, the U.S. business tax rate (25.7 per cent) is lower than Canada’s (26.7 per cent) for the first time in more than a decade. Moreover, Canada now has the 10th highest business tax rate out of the 36 OECD countries, harming our ability to attract businesses and investment. There’s also growing concern that the government could expand capital gains taxes, which would also discourage entrepreneurship, investment and saving. Canada’s capital gains taxes are already higher than in many OECD countries, and several countries – such as Switzerland, New Zealand and Hong Kong – that have no capital gains taxes at all. Canadian governments have made the country less competitive partly in an effort to raise more revenue. However, taxpayers, especially upper-income earners, tend to respond to tax increases in ways that can reduce the tax revenue governments would otherwise collect.

For example, in response to a tax hike, taxpayers may work less, report less taxable income or shift income to other jurisdictions with lower tax rates to reduce their taxable income.

Jake Fuss and Tegan Hill are economists at the Fraser Institute.

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Saturday, July 11, 2020

Vancouver double homicide leads to arrest in Harrison Hot Springs A double homicide in East Vancouver led police across the Lower Mainland to a dumped vehicle in Chilliwack on Wednesday followed by an arrest in Harrison Hot Springs. Joseph Holland, 43 of Vancouver was arrested on Wednesday (July 8) in Harrison Hot Springs by the RCMP’s Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team (ERT) with assistance from Chilliwack and Agassiz RCMP, and the Vancouver Police Department’s (VPD) ERT. The two Vancouver homicide victims have been identified as 72-year-old Dennis Wragg and 68-year-old Paul Tonks, according to the VPD. The men were found dead inside a home near Commercial Drive and East 11th just after midnight. After the Tuesday homicides, the VPD identified a light-coloured minivan connected to the killings. On Wednesday, Mounties descended on the Ryder Lake area of

Chilliwack and identified three forestry roads in the Chilliwack River Valley to avoid. Four hours after an initial Tweet was sent out by the Upper Fraser Valley Regional Detachment of the RCMP for residents of Ryder Lake to avoid those roads, the detachment Tweeted the incident had “ended,” that at 7 p.m. on Wednesday report any unusual activity avoid confrontation with strangers.

Holland was arrested on Wednesday in a campground in the Village of Harrison Hot Springs, and he remains in custody. He is charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder with a firearm, and was due in Vancouver Provincial Court at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 9.

Surrey officer-impersonation scam continues ‘almost daily’ One month after warning of a scam involving individuals impersonating police or border officers demanding payment in exchange for waiving criminal charges, Surrey RCMP say the problem has not diminished. “We are still regularly receiving reports of those and in some situations, the victims have actually sent money,” Cpl. Joanie Sidhu said Thursday (July 9). “It’s almost daily that we’re receiving reports.”

On June 10, police issued a news release after receiving five reports from people saying an RCMP or Canada Border Services Agency officer had asked for a Bitcoin payment to address charges. Monday (July 6), they tweeted a reminder, including a heads-up that some of the scammers have also taken to spoofing the detachment’s non-emergency number.

Sidhu on Thursday would not disclose exactly

how much victims who fell for the scam had lost, citing the ongoing investigation, but said in some cases, the value was “in the thousands.”

Many victims were people who are new to Canada and unfamiliar with how police here operate, she noted, adding that the Mounties’ Diversity Unit is “coming up with ways to reach out to those communities and educate them,” in an effort to curb that trend. She emphasized that “in no circumstances will police call you and ask for any amount of money or Bitcoin.”

“Whatever awareness we can raise on this, we’d like to. It’s terrible,” she said.

Anyone who receives this type of call is asked to report the incident to the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502. To make an anonymous report, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or www.solvecrime.ca

COVID furloughs of federal employees cost $439M COVID-19 furloughs of federal employees have cost taxpayers more than $439.3 million, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

More than a quarter of Canadian government staffers took pandemic leave from work with pay, Treasury Board records show.

“This is about transparency,” said Conservative MP Kelly McCauley, who requested the figures. “Canadian taxpayers have a right to know it.”

The report to the Commons government operations committee said that from March 15-May 31, thousands of employees were given the OK to stay home from work with pay. Of 287,978 employees at federal departments and agencies, a total of 76,804 took paid leave, the equivalent of 27%.

The number of cases of COVID-19 infection among public servants was 423, by official estimate.

“These are not people working from home,” McCauley said. “These are people at home on paid leave. They are not working.”

The numbers have not been updated past June 1, he noted. “It could be up to $600 million by now,” he said. “It’s a stunning figure.”

Leave was granted for reasons like workers not being equipped to work remotely, familyrelated responsibilities such as childcare or having a family member who tested positive for COVID-19, or being at a high risk or living with someone at a high risk of severe illness.

The Treasury Board report did not reveal how many days’ leave were taken by employees on average.

“This type of leave has provided important supports for federal public servants across the country in times of need,” wrote staff.

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Saturday, July 11, 2020 It’s too early to relax as COVID-19 continues to circulate

From page 1 everyone should keep up with measures to prevent transmission — things like physical distancing and wearing masks when that isn’t possible. There are currently two active outbreaks in long-term care homes, and one in

the acute care unit of a hospital. As the number of outbreaks in long-term care continues to fall, Health Minister Adrian Dix says 61 facilities now have safety plans in place to allow some designated, non-essential visitors.

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Meanwhile, Henry said the province is still working on identifying a reliable antibody test to determine how many people have been infected and recovered without ever testing positive for COVID-19. But she said that when tests have been performed on anonymous samples taken from donated blood, it appears the infection rate is still quite low across B.C.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population.

There are no active outbreaks in the community, but recent public exposure events have officials urging British Columbians to be careful about expanding their social circles.

After cases in the No5 Orange strip club, Brandiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Exotic Show Lounge, and a downtown nightclub, the Hotel Belmont, all in Vancouver, health officials are looking into whether the rules for nightclubs are being followed or if they need changing.

On a national level, a group of health experts is advocating for government to shift to minimizing COVID-19 while allowing society to resume functioning, saying containing every case is not sustainable at this stage in the pandemic. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We need to accept that COVID-19 will be with us for some time and to find ways to deal with it,â&#x20AC;? the 18 experts wrote.

Jamie Bacon pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in Surrey Six killings She had hoped to see Bacon put away for decades. Instead, in Mohanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s view, he chose a moment when he faced a losing hand to reach a plea deal that most likely wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see him get old behind bars. And her son, Christopher, is still dead and gone forever. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You have no idea how much loss we have occurred. They stole Christopher and they stole our lives too,â&#x20AC;? Mohan says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It took him 13 years to plead guilty and 13 years weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been running around in circles. Had he been genuine, then he would have pleaded guilty a long time ago.â&#x20AC;?

With the entry of two guilty pleas in B.C. Supreme Court, Bacon will bring to a conclusion a criminal case that has tested the legal system for years. His lawyers say the leader of the Red Scorpion gang will plead guilty to conspiracy to commit the murder of Corey Lal, the intended target of a hit on Oct. 19, 2007 that spiralled out of control to become the deadliest gang shooting in B.C. history. Bacon has also agreed to plead guilty to counselling someone to commit the murder of an associate in 2008 as part of a separate retrial that had just begun in front of a jury in March before the proceedings were interrupted by COVID-19.

The Surrey Six murders threw a harsh spotlight on the deadly gang wars that have plagued the Lower Mainland for decades.

The Crown alleged that the Red Scorpions coveted a drug line run by Lal, and that when Lal

wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pay a â&#x20AC;&#x153;taxâ&#x20AC;? imposed for refusing to hand the line over, Bacon ordered him killed. According to various court proceedings, three members of the gang arrived at Lalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s apartment, shooting Lal, his brother and two associates in the back of the head, as well as two innocent bystanders, gasfitter Ed Schellenberg, who was fixing the furnace, and 22-year-old Christopher Mohan, who lived across the hall with his mother. The killers dragged Mohan inside the apartment when he chanced upon them after stepping out of his door. A total of six people have been charged in relation to the murders. Cody Haevischer and Matthew Johnston were sentenced to life in 2014 after being convicted of six counts of first-degree murder. Both men are appealing. Another killer â&#x20AC;&#x201D; known by court order as Person X â&#x20AC;&#x201D; pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder.

Two others pleaded guilty to breaking and entering to help the killers gain access to the suite and of obstructing justice by destroying evidence.

Michael Le, who was one of the founders of the Red Scorpions, pleaded guilty in 2014 to conspiracy to commit murder in exchange for testimony against Haevischer and Johnston.

Mohan says she was given no word of the plea deal and only spoke with the Crown about it after news of the arrangement emerged following a court appearance earlier this week.

She fears Bacon will get a deal similar to the one reached by Le, who was sentenced to twelve years but saw his time behind bars reduced to three years and one month after receiving credit for time served. Like Le, Bacon was also originally charged with first-degree murder, which carries a life sentence without the possibility of parole for 25 years. The Crown dropped the more serious charge against Le as part of his plea, and now it appears theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll do the same for Bacon. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That is why I was very upset â&#x20AC;&#x201D; once bitten, twice shy,â&#x20AC;? says Mohan. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I know the process and when these people cut sweetheart deals like this.â&#x20AC;?

Bacon has been in jail since he was arrested in connection with the case in 2009. Pre-trial proceedings in the Surrey Six case took place over four and a half years, after which a stay was entered because the judge in the case found that police conduct during the investigation â&#x20AC;&#x153;contravened fundamental notions of justice and undermined the integrity of the justice system to the degree she could not permit the case to be tried.â&#x20AC;? The Crown appealed and the provinceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top court overturned the stay in May, ordering Baconâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trial to resume â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and setting the stage for the deal that resulted in this weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plea. The Appeal Courtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s abbreviated reasons detail the challenges police faced in trying to bring charges against Bacon and his associates.

The investigation involved more than 1,300 officers and 80 police informers who were up against â&#x20AC;&#x153;a disciplined organization that used tactics to defeat police techniques.â&#x20AC;? In allowing the trial to proceed, the appeal court judges concluded that while some abuses of process had occurred, there werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t enough to justify denying the public the right to see Baconâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guilt or innocence determined in a court of law. After Bacon enters a plea, a date will be set for sentencing. =Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s uncertain how much time Bacon will get.

He will likely receive a significant amount of credit for the time he has already spent behind bars.

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Saturday, July 11, 2020

Clinical trials for ayurvedic formulations against Covid-19 to be initiated in India, USA In a virtual interaction with a group of eminent Indian-American scientists, academics and doctors on Wednesday, Indian Ambassador to US Taranjit Singh Sandhu said the vast network of institutional engagements had brought scientific communities between the two countries together in the fight against Covid-19. “Our institutions have also been collaborating to promote ayurveda through joint research, teaching and training programs. Ayurvedic practitioners and researchers in both the countries are planning to initiate joint clinical trials of ayurvedic formulations against Covid-19,” Sandhu said. “Our scientists have been

exchanging knowledge and research resources on this front,” he said. The Indo-US Science Technology Forum (IUSSTF) has always been instrumental in promoting excellence in science, technology and innovation through collaborative activities.

To address Covid-19-related challenges, the IUSSTF had given a call to support joint research and start-up engagements. A large number of proposals are being reviewed on fast-track mode by the experts on both the sides, he said.

“Indian pharmaceutical companies are global leaders in producing affordable low-cost

Liberals to post $343B deficit as part of COVID-19 spending

medicines and vaccines and will play an important role in the fight against this pandemic,” Sandhu said. According to the ambassador, there are at least three ongoing collaborations between Indian vaccine companies with US-based institutions.

These collaborations would be beneficial not just to India and the US, but also for the billions who would need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 across the world, he noted.

Asserting that innovation would be the key driver in pandemic response and recovery, he said tech-companies and start-ups had already begun to take the lead in this direction.

From page 1

Former MLA Dave Hayer’s mother passed away

It is with heavy heart to announce the news of sad demise of Mrs. Baldev Kaur, mother of former MLA Dave Hayer and wife of late Tara Singh Hayer. Baldev Kaur Hayer was also mother of Rupinder Hayer (publisher of Indo Canadian Times Newspaper).

Baldev Kaur passed away peacefully on July 8 in Surrey at the age of 82. She had been battling with illness for last 4 months. She leaves behind one son, four daughters, many grandchildren, extended family members and friends. Due to Covid-19 and current restrictions only close family members will participate in funeral ceremony. Thank you all for your support.

debt onto families and jeopardizing Canada’s resilience.” Finance Minister Bill Morneau delivers an update on government spending and the economy in the House of Commons, followed by response from opposition MPs. NaN:NaN The government has rolled out big-ticket items in recent months like the Canada emergency relief benefit (CERB) — to help the sick and unemployed during the pandemic — and the Canada emergency wage subsidy (CEWS) to help businesses keep employees on the payroll amid massive shifts in sales and revenue.

The government also has created the Canada emergency business account (CEBA) to float partly forgivable loans to businesses in need, and has set aside some $9 billion to help students this summer. What we’ve learned from this fiscal snapshot: Deficit for 202021 rises to $343.2 billion from $34.4 billion projected before pandemic.

Net federal debt will hit $1.2 trillion.

Federal debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to rise to 49% in 2020-21 from 31% Direct federal support for Canadians and businesses: $212 billion.

COVID-19 slowdown has cost the federal treasury an additional $81.3 billion.

GDP will shrink by projected 6.8% this year — worst since the Great Depression.

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Saturday, July 11, 2020

China may win without fighting because of mis-steps by Indian political leaders

C

hina’s territorial revisionism has been unrelenting. Under Mao Zedong, China more than doubled its size by annexing Tibet and Xinjiang, making it the world’s fourthlargest country in area. Under Xi Jinping, China’s expansionism increasingly threatens its neighbours, big and small. Xi’s regime has just opened a new territorial front against one of the world’s smallest countries, Bhutan, by disputing its eastern borders. In this light, the outcome of China’s aggression against India will have an important bearing on Asian security. If the current India-China military disengagement ends up like the 2017 Doklam disengagement in making China the clear winner, an emboldened Xi regime will likely become a greater threat to neighbours. China’s strategy after its disastrous 1979 invasion of Vietnam has been to win without fighting. Deception, concealment and surprise have driven China’s repeated use of force — from seizing the Johnson Reef in 1988

and the Mischief Reef in 1995 to occupying the Scarborough Shoal in 2012 and now vantage locations in Ladakh. It has changed the South China Sea’s geopolitical map without firing a shot or incurring any international costs.

China has displayed its art of deception even in its disengagement process with India. The first accord of June 6 to disengage collapsed after the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) erected structures on Indian territory and then ambushed and killed Indian Army men on verification patrol. The disengagement process restarted after Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi seemed to let China off the hook with his June 19 speech at the all-party meeting. But the fresh

process became a ruse for PLA to encroach on two new Indian areas — the Depsang Y-Junction; and the Galwan Valley site of the ambush killings. India and China are now in their third disengagement series. But while the previous two abortive rounds followed militarylevel talks, the latest cycle is b e i n g driven politically.

We now know that Modi’s July 3 Ladakh v i s i t , and his tough words there, were essentially designed to create domestic political space for his government to seek de-escalation with China. Barely 48 hours after his visit, India and

China hammered out a disengagement deal.

Will the latest deal stick? Having encroached on key areas that overlook India’s defences, PLA is sitting pretty. A full return to status quo ante as sought by India seems remote, thanks to India’s own mixed signals. Moreover, by encroaching on additional areas behind the previous disengagement facade, China has armed itself with greater leverage to impose a revised status quo, including by applying the precept that “possession is nine-tenths of the law”.Disengagement (pullback of rival forces from close proximity), if not de-escalation (ending hostilities through demobilisation of forces), meshes well with China’s interest in presenting India a fait accompli. Removing the threat of an Indian counteroffensive or Indian tit-for-tat land grab will help China win without fighting.

This explains why China has accepted disengagement — but on its terms. This is illustrated in the Galwan Valley, where India has pulled back from its own territory and created a “buffer zone” on its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). These steps, though temporary, create a new, China-advantageous status quo that PLA could seek to enforce because it keeps India out of China’s newlyclaimed zone — the Galwan Valley. The risk that, like at Doklam, the current disengagement may not end well for India is high. Instead of demonstrating strength and resolve, India has displayed zeal to end the stand-off, despite its armed forces being mobilised for possible war.

At a time when the international environment is beginning to turn against China, India could have prolonged the standoff until winter to compel restoration of status quo ante. But, instead, it has kicked status quo ante down the road and settled merely for disengagement. This allows China to hold on its core territorial gains and trade the marginal occupied territories for Indian concessions, as part of its well-known “advance 10 miles and retreat six miles” strategy.

Far from imposing military costs, India has shied away even from trade actions against the aggressor, as if to preserve the option of another Modi-Xi summit. India’s steps so far (banning Chinese mobile apps and announcing an intent to restrict Chinese investment in some areas) have been designed to assuage public anger at home, but without imposing substantive costs on Beijing or damaging bilateral relations.

In 1967, a weak India, while recovering from the 1962 and 1965 wars, gave China a bloody nose. But in 2017 and again now, after its soldiers displayed extraordinary bravery in tackling China’s aggression, a nucleararmed India hastily sought disengagement.

Its decision-makers remain loath to fundamentally change the China policy even when faced with aggression.

Bite by bite, China has been nibbling away at India’s borderlands, even as successive Indian PMs have sought to appease it. When political calculations trump military factors and a nation lives by empty rhetoric, it can win neither war nor peace.

The present path risks locking India in a “no war, no peace” situation with China and imposing mounting security costs. This path aids China’s time-tested strategy of attrition, friction and containment to harass, encumber, encircle, deceive and weigh India down.

If India wants Himalayan peace, it must make China pay for its aggression to help create a deterrent effect. The present aggression — the most serious since the 1960s — resulted from India letting China off the hook too easily in 2017, allowing it to capture Doklam. And if China emerges the winner from the current crisis, its next aggression could be worse. Only a chastened China saddled with high costs and loss of face will rein in its aggressive expansionism.

Saturday, July 11, 2020

BC Parents will learn more about back to school plan in three weeks, says govt It’s a lingering question for families across the province: Exactly what will the return to school look like in the fall during the ongoing pandemic?

According to the education ministry, answers are on the way in the coming weeks, but B.C. is still facing questions about why the details aren’t being made available sooner. BC Liberal MLA for Richmond Queensborough Jas Johal said other provinces, including Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, already either have plans in place or a set date to announce their plans.

“I’m not sure why we can’t do this here,” Johal said. “This is a tremendous amount of concern for parents. They need to start making plans in regards to babysitting, in regards to daycare, in regards to their own work.” During question period, Education Minister Rob Fleming said a plan will be published in three weeks. Speaking to reporters, Fleming said the goal is to have as many kids back in school as is deemed safe. “That is the goal, to have school instruction resume five days a week, and we will continue to monitor what is possible based on the conditions on the ground,” he said. Over the summer, a provincially appointed steering committee along with working groups including teachers, parent organizations,

and school administrators are developing the return plan. Fleming said more than one plan is actually required, due to the fact it’s hard to predict what the virus may do in the fall. “My advice to parents would be, if they have a K to 7 kid in particular, would be to plan a return to school.”

Fleming said. “Right now it looks unlikely that we’ll be back to full-time instruction in schools,” Mooring said, and added those working on the plan are also looking at how the previous school year ended. “What was happening in June was really not sustainable for teachers and really needs to be looked at in terms of the student experience as well.” Mooring said the planning process is complicated, and needs to be carefully done to ensure there’s a broad base of education provided, and all students have true access, which she said was also an issue in June and earlier in the spring.

“We were in an emergency situation starting in March, and so everyone understood that it was not ideal,” she said. “It’s still going to be difficult in September, but we have the opportunity to do some planning to make sure the experience is better for everyone.”

Vancouver drivers now need to slow to 30 km/h in school zones, around the clock The City of Vancouver is moving ahead with plans to make residential streets safer by implementing 30 km/h zones around schools and playgrounds for all hours of the day. It will also create a “slow zone” in the Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood in East Vancouver. Traffic calming measures have already been introduced in the area that is bound by Clark Drive, 1st Avenue, Commercial Drive and Grandview Highway North. Now the city will test an official speed-limit reduction by posting signs to let drivers know that the speed limit is 30 km/h.

All Vancouver streets have speed limits of 50 km/h under the Motor Vehicle Act unless otherwise posted, however, the city has been considering a blanket reduction in speed limits on local streets. New slow-zone in the East Vancouver neighbourhood of GrandviewWoodland where the speed limit will be 30 km/h.

In the past, school zones speed reductions have been limited to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on school days.

All-day parking, reduced speed limit now in effect on Strathcona’s Prior Street

Longtime Grandview-Woodland community activist Jak King said promoting slower traffic on streets in the neighbourhood allows people to feel safer using other modes of transportation.

“We see a lot of cycling in the neighborhood and we’ve put in quite a few bike lanes and bike diversions to do that already. I think we’ll see more of that. It seems to be a fairly fit neighborhood so why not?” He said the changes are welcome since there have been concerns in the neighbourhood due to plans to remove the viaducts which connect eastern neighbourhoods to the downtown core.

They expect that could lead to more vehicle traffic on residential streets in the future.

City council also approved the development of a pilot program with the B.C. government to reduce speed limits on local streets so that privately owned mobility devices could be used including e-scooters and electric monowheels which are one-wheeled machines similar to unicycle. The devices are illegal on Vancouver streets, but could be used on protected bike lanes and local streets during the test project.

Govt has lost track of 34,700 illegal foreigners From page 1

Files gathering dust The CBSA also had thousands of files that were left untouched for years, with some being high priority removals, the audit said. The border agency had also lost track of 34,700 individuals and was not conducting the regular follow-ups to locate them, meaning CBSA officials failed to open their files at least every three years, or once a year for people with criminal histories, the audit said.

“Without a reliable inventory of removal orders, the agency could not effectively prioritize removals according to risk and complexity. We also found cases in which the agency was unaware that removal orders had been issued,” the report said. “Many cases we examined were also stalled because officers had done little to overcome impediments like missing travel documents.”

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Police chiefs call on federal government to decriminalize possession of illicit drugs for personal use As Canada continues to battle an opioid epidemic, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police is calling on federal lawmakers to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of illegal drugs for personal consumption.

CACP’s president, Chief Constable Adam Palmer, said it’s time to rethink how police and governments approach the use and abuse of illegal drugs in order to save lives.

“Arresting individuals for simple possession of illicit drugs has proven to be ineffective. It does not save lives,” Palmer said. “The CACP recognizes substance use and addiction as a public health issue. Being addicted to a controlled substance is not a crime and should not be treated as such.

“We recommend that Canada’s enforcementbased approach for possession be replaced

with a health care approach that diverts people from the criminal justice system.”

CACP is a non-profit that represents about 1,300 police chiefs from federal, First Nations, provincial, regional, transportation and military police services across the country.

Palmer said that, as an alternative to the criminal model, partnerships could be formed between social services, police, the health care

sector and governments to make sure drug users get access to the treatment they need.

Palmer said the focus of police efforts should be on cracking down on drug trafficking and the illegal production and importation of drugs — a task the police are better suited to address.

Palmer said such a shift in policing would require changes at the federal level to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Anti-China protest outside Chinese Consulate in Vancouver

A large crowd including many South Asians protested outside Chinese Consulate in downton Vancouver last week. The protesters demand that China free Canadians it is holding as political hostages in China, also China should get out of Indian and Tibetan teritory.

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Khalsa Business Centre

128th Street, 84th Ave., Surrey, BC

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LNG expansion proposal in Delta under scrutiny Fortis B.C. wants to expand the small liquefied natural gas plant on Tilbury Island in Delta, which has already begun exporting a trickle of the hydrocarbon offshore while LNG Canada has just begun construction of its massive $18-billion export facility at Kitimat.

Fortis B.C.’s $3-billion project, which would involve a more-than-10-fold expansion from its existing production, would still be a fraction

of LNG Canada’s proposed output. But the Phase 2 expansion would increase LNG storage capacity at Tilbury, which Fortis B.C. views as necessary, and could potentially tap into rising demand for LNG as fuel for ships, said Ian Finke, director of LNG operations for Fortis B.C. “It’s a pretty big consideration,” Finke said about the marine fuel option. “We’re in discussions with a number of potential

B.C. sets terms to review police, mental health, race relations The B.C. government has fulfilled its promise to review the role of police in maintaining public order amid protests about excessive force and racism that have spilled over from the United States.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth announced an all-party committee of MLAs, to review the Police Act and recommend changes, as police forces across B.C. grapple with incidents of mental illness and alcohol and drug abuse that occupy much of their time. The committee is to

report on its recommendations by May 14, 2021.

Two former RCMP officers have been appointed to serve on the committee, SurreyGuildford MLA Garry Begg and Prince GeorgeMackenzie MLA Mike Morris. Also on the committee are Skeena MLA Ellis Ross, Saanich North and the Islands MLA Adam Olsen, SurreyGreen Timbers MLA Rachna Singh, ParksvilleQualicum MLA Michelle Stilwell, North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA Bowinn Ma and Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons.

Vancouver Coastal Health’s computers hit with cyberattack Vancouver Coastal Health was the victim of a cyberattack this spring, the health authority said Wednesday.

According to VCH, hackers hit on May 21, attacking the computer system used for its employee and family assistance program, a counselling and wellness service for VCH workers. Data stored on the systems was encrypted by ransomware, a form of malicious software.

No patient data was on this system, VCH said.

Upon learning of the cyberattack,

the health authority immediately hired external cybersecurity experts and reported the incident to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

An investigation is now complete, and the VCH says there is no evidence that data has been removed or misused from the computers. Nevertheless the health authority is reaching out to clients who used employee assistance between 2015 and 2020 to inform them about the incident, and to offer free credit monitoring, as a precaution.

customers” due to new rules to reduce emissions from ships adopted by the International Maritime Organization.

“That’s really driving a lot of the big shipping companies to need to look at using cleanerburning fuels for their ships. And so that’s really creating a lot of market demand,” Finke said.

A small amount of LNG, transported via specialized tanks the size of shipping containers, has been exported to China since

2017, Finke said. The bigger opportunities for using LNG as fuel in shipping or export would come with a separate project for a marine jetty adjacent to the Tilbury LNG plant.

In February, Fortis B.C. submitted a draft of the expansion for review by the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, and is now in the middle of a public engagement period related to the document.

Vancouver’s empty homes tax revenue being used for more than 250 affordable homes Revenue from Vancouver’s empty homes tax will soon be used to construct 269 units of affordable housing in the city.

The announcement came the day after council voted in favour of giving out more than $8 million in grants to four different organizations to build social h o u s i n g .

Finnish Care Home, Lee’s Senior Housing and the Salvation Army will all receive less than $1 million each, while the Aboriginal Land Trust and Lu’ma Aboriginal Housing Society will receive more than $6.2 million for its development. The city says the funding comes from empty homes tax revenue, which was set up in 2017 to encourage home owners in

the city to live in their house or rent it out.

“As well as returning more homes to the rental market, the empty homes tax is providing revenue to fund projects which will create new homes for our friends and neighbours, helping keep our communities strong and the people we love close by,” said Mayor Kennedy Stewart in a news release.

“With these grants – the first from the new program funded by EHT – a proposed housing project is more likely to attract funding from other partners, including more senior levels of government.”

More funding may be issued to social or coop housing projects through city’s $25-million Community Housing Incentive Program.

Saturday, July 11, 2020 Independent investigator’s report to determine range, extent of anti-Indigenous racism in health-care system Independent investigator Mary Ellen TurpelLafond said Thursday that her investigation into B.C.’s health-care system will be multi-phased, wide-ranging, and will seek to determine the range and extent of anti-Indigenous racism in the system, and how it affects patient care.

“This investigation is not trying to discover whether racism exists in B.C.’s health-care system.

It does exist,” she said during a news conference.

On June 19, Provincial Health Minister Adrian Dix announced that B.C. would be investigating allegations health-care staff in emergency rooms were playing a “game” to guess the blood-alcohol level of Indigenous patients. Dix appointed former judge TurpelLafond to investigate. Turpel-Lafond said the purpose of the investigation is not to “name and shame,” but will be a truth-telling exercise. She encouraged Indigenous people to come forward with their stories, as well as

people working in the health-care system who may have been bystanders to racist actions.

“You will face no incrimination in your workplace,” she said.

Turpel-Lafond also said that as B.C. experiences two simultaneous health crises, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the overdose epidemic, she does not want to discourage Indigenous people from seeking care.

“Do not hesitate to seek and get the health care that might be needed if you’re an Indigenous person,” she said.

Turpel-Lafond said a report will be made public within months. Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC), the governing body for Métis in B.C., later said health-care staff called the game “The Price Is Right.” Physicians and nurses try to guess the blood-alcohol level of incoming patients they presumed to be Indigenous, without going over.

Indigenous leader Ed John pleads not guilty to historic sex charges An Indigenous leader and former British Columbia cabinet minister has pleaded not guilty to sex charges dating back more than 40 years.

The plea was entered on behalf of Ed John, a former leader of the First Nations Summit, in Prince George provincial court on Wednesday in response to four counts of having sexual intercourse with a female without her consent.

The charges against the 71-year-old relate to incidents alleged to have occurred in the Prince George area between May and September 1974 involving one person. John’s lawyer entered the plea by telephone on behalf of his client, who did not appear in court.

The case is scheduled to return to court on

July 16 to fix a date for a preliminary hearing.

John, who is also a hereditary chief of the Tl’azt’en Nation near Fort St. James, completed an eleventh consecutive term as a leader of the First Nations Summit political executive last year but did not run again.

He served in former New Democrat premier Ujjal Dosanjh’s cabinet as minister of children and families from November 2000 to June 2001.

JohnisagraduateofthelawschoolattheUniversity of British Columbia and holds an honorary degree from the University of Northern B.C..

He was appointed as a special adviser on Indigenous children in care in 2015 by former B.C. Liberal premier Christy Clark.

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8 in 10 Canadians want border with US to remain closed due to virus concerns: poll An overwhelming majority of Canadians want their government to keep the border with the U.S. closed as the U.S. continues to be ravaged by the coronavirus.

In a poll released Wednesday by Nanos Research obtained by The Globe and Mail, 81 percent of Canadian adults called for the border to remain closed for non-essential travel.

Just 14 percent of respondents said that they would be supportive of the border opening in areas where infection rates are low, possibly signaling a broad mistrust for the U.S.’s handling of the pandemic.

Only 3 percent wished the border would open immediately without restrictions.

Canada’s border with the U.S. closed

Parents still waiting for back-to-school plans from NDP Press release Dan Davies, MLA for Peace River-North and Opposition Critic for Education, pressed Education Minister Rob Fleming during today’s Question Period on why the NDP will not reveal its 2020/21 K-12 education plan.

“Parents and students have been patient as schools dealt with COVID-19 and managed the uncertainty of this past school year but now they are getting anxious and expect the government to have a plan in place for the fall,” said Davies. “Parents still don’t have any info about what the coming school year will look like and that’s just not good enough.”

Both Quebec and Saskatchewan have already announced plans to reopen classrooms in September based on guidelines put out in May and June. Ontario and Alberta have both announced they will have reopening plans for their school plans in place by

August 4. Under pressure from Davies during Question Period, Education Minister Rob Fleming promised a plan “in three weeks.”

“Although we would have loved to see an education plan in place back in June as we saw in other provinces, this new timeframe would at least provide enough lead time to safely prepare classrooms and for parents to make plans to arrange child care,” added Davies. “We look forward to following up with the Minister in three weeks time to ensure he produces a viable and transparent education plan that will give parents the flexibility to prepare for the upcoming school year as safely as possible.”

The BC Liberals have repeatedly called on the government to have a plan in place no later than B.C. Day so students, parents, and teachers have enough time to plan for the 2020/21 school year and plan to hold the Education Minister to this commitment.

to nonessential foreign travelers in the spring as the coronavirus pandemic hit North American shores. Under current directives, the border restrictions were extended until at least July 21.

“The response is actually quite surprising considering we are a border country that relies on the United States for our livelihood … [it] suggests that Canadians have a very high level of anxiety about what’s happening in the pandemic in the United States,” Nik Nanos of Nanos Research said.

The news comes as the U.S. has been an explosion of cases in the South and Western parts of the country. States including Florida, Texas and Arizona have recorded thousands of confirmed cases per day, and hospitals in these areas have reported flooded ICUs as a result.

The U.S. has confirmed more than 3 million cases of the coronavirus within its borders and more than 130,000 deaths from the disease, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Recent COVID-19 cases at Metro Vancouver businesses worry experts Recent cases of COVID-19 at Metro Vancouver businesses are cause for concern, say experts, because it can be difficult to trace people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus.

Public notices about cases at a convenience store, fast-food restaurant, bar and two strip clubs have come out since B.C. has moved into the third phase of its reopening plan on June 25.

“I think it is alarming that very casual contact in a brief retail interaction, for example, could be a problem because we don’t know who we’ve contacted, and we might not even remember going to 7-Eleven,” said Caroline Colijn, an infectious disease modeller and mathematics professor at Simon Fraser University.

In the past two weeks, Vancouver Coastal Health’s public health unit has issued notices

about possible exposures at the No. 5 Orange strip club, Hotel Belmont bar and nightclub, and Brandi’s Exotic Show Lounge.

McDonald’s temporarily closed two Metro Vancouver restaurants and 7-Eleven temporarily closed a Vancouver store for cleaning and sanitization after a staff member at each tested positive.

John Horgan’s NDP leave strata residents with no hope of relief Press release After a week of questions and no real answers, BC Liberal Critic for Housing Todd Stone is expressing his frustration about the NDP’s lack of action on the strata crisis.

“All week we’ve been asking John Horgan and the NDP when condo and townhome owners can expect some sort of relief from skyrocketing strata fees. All they have done is point to empty legislation that will make absolutely no difference for those currently

caught in this crisis,” said Stone. “There are thousands of people looking for this government to act now and provide them with some sort of immediate relief, and yet the Housing Minister will only commit to more consultations and ‘solutions’ that will take years to improve the situation.”

The BC Liberals have been hearing from a growing number of British Columbians caught in this crisis: Marilyn from Richmond has lives in a strata that has been denied insurance solely because it is located in Richmond and has a high earthquake risk. Her broker is dealing with at least 10 other stratas that have also been unable to find insurance.

Leanne from Penticton said her rowhouse strata complex is facing an 800 per cent increase as no one else will insure them due to the age of their building.

Her strata will likely be forced to go with this policy due to lack of other available options and this will nearly bankrupt them.

Walt from Williams Lake is a member of a nonprofit housing society. They were paying $18,000 a year and now the cheapest premium quote they can find is $200,000 (this is a staggering 1000 per cent increase).

Bob and Susan from Kelowna have seen their water deductible go from $15,000, up to $150,000 and their premium increase from $84,000, up to $387,000. This will drive their monthly strata fees up by $200 a month.

“Thousands of people across the province are at risk of losing their homes and are in dire need of relief,” concluded Stone. “This crisis first began over a year ago and it is high time the government took immediate action to provide condo and townhome owners with solutions that will actually help them in the short term. Consultations and delayed action will do nothing to help those who desperately need relief now.”

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Canada has handled coronavirus outbreak better than US - PM Trudeau Canada has handled the coronavirus outbreak better than many of its allies, including the United States, said Justin Trudeau on Wednesday, in a rare public comment on the faltering effort to contain the pandemic in the US. Canada – with a population a tenth of the size of the United States – has so far recorded 8,711 deaths and 106,167 cases and Trudeau said the situation was stabilizing, although some hotspots remained.

In contrast, the United States on Wednesday surpassed more than 3m cases and 131,000

deaths. Authorities have reported alarming upswings of daily case loads in roughly two dozen states over the past two weeks.

“We were able to control the virus better than many of our allies, particularly including our neighbor,” Trudeau told a briefing, saying this would help efforts to restart the economy.

Canada and the United States have blocked non-essential travel between the two nations

BC govt appeals court order returning clubhouses to Hells Angels The B.C. government is appealing a court ruling that rejected its claim that three Hells Angels clubhouses in Vancouver, Kelowna and Nanaimo should be forfeited as instruments of criminal activity.

The June 11 ruling by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Barry Davies also found that part of the Civil Forfeiture Act was unconstitutional and outside of the jurisdiction of the provincial government.

B.C. government appeals court order returning clubhouses to Hells Angels This week, B.C.’s attorney-general filed an appeal of Davies’ finding on the act itself, while the Director of Civil Forfeiture is appealing the decision against forfeiting the three clubhouses.

In the notice of appeal, the director is seeking to have Davies’ order overturned and to grant his original request to have the proceeds of the sale of all three clubhouses forfeited to the government.

The long-running civil case began in November 2007 when the director filed a lawsuit seeking the Nanaimo clubhouse’s forfeiture after an RCMP raid.

In 2012, the civil forfeiture case was expanded to include both the East End clubhouse at 3598 East Georgia St. in Vancouver and one in Kelowna at 837 Ellis St. Also that year, the Hells Angels counter-sued the government, making their successful claim that the Civil Forfeiture Act is unconstitutional.

The Hells Angels have had access to both the Kelowna and East End clubhouses throughout the proceedings, but the Nanaimo chapter was prevented from entering the dilapidated building at 805 Victoria Rd. until last month.

Postmedia observed club members putting up a new illuminated sign there on June 26.

And the bikers still operate a newer clubhouse they developed on a neighbouring property.

Bear killed after smashing through screen door of Vancouver family’s home It was the second encounter between the bear family of three and the Port Coquitlam residents in less than a week A black bear mother attempting to rip open a sliding glass door into a Port Coquitlam home was killed by conservation officers over the weekend after the owners’ screams failed to scare off the ursine visitor.

Conservation officers had first been called to the Burke Mountain neighbourhood on June 28 after reports that a sow and her two cubs of the year had smashed through a screen door and were found pilfering a freezer.

When officers from the BC Conservation Officer Service arrived, the family of bears was found outside, and a round of rubber bullets was used to scare them off, according to BCCOS Insp. Murray Smith, who is responsible for the Lower Mainland.

Six days later the bears had returned, again smashing through the screen door — only this time the sow approached an interior sliding glass door leading to the main area of the house.

“The bear was shaking the glass door, and biting the handle trying to open the door,” said Insp.

Murray. “The residents were screaming at them telling them to get away and they wouldn’t leave.”

When the conservation officers arrived they found the family outside. Chasing the cubs up a tree, they were tranquilized and sent to the wildlife rehabilitation centre, Critter Care, in Langley.

The mother, on the other hand, was killed due to safety concerns for the residents.

“She’s gone in the house twice, the human presence hasn’t scared her,” said Insp. Murray, “We really worry about people and bears in close proximity.”

The episode sparked a heated debate on the community’s local Facebook page, with some claiming that conservation officers had tried to keep the euthanization of the sow a secret.

“Conversation officers are being quiet about it because they know people don’t like it,” Maja Lakhani told the Tri-City News, who pointed to the over 30 bears put down last year in the Tri-Cities.

Others were blunter in their accusations.

“They’re just lying about it. They’re out there killing bears and we’re sick and tired of it,” said Michelle Joyce.

After checking with his officers, Insp. Murray saidtheremayhavebeensomemiscommunication, but that BCCOS officers strive for transparency and don’t lie to residents about operations.

“That’s not the way we operate as an organization,” he said.

since March and are discussing whether to extend the ban when it expires on 21 July.

Justin Trudeau snubs Nafta meeting with Trump in Washington In a poll this week, more than 80% of Canadians said the shared border should remain off limits for travellers.

Canadian health officials said the death toll could hit 8,900 by 17 July.

Deputy chief public health officer Howard Njoo said the outbreak was largely under control, while stressing measures such as contact tracing and quarantine would still be essential.

“If we relax too much or too soon, the epidemic will most likely rebound, with explosive growth as a distinct possibility,”

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau didn’t recuse himself from cabinet decision on WE Charity Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he did not recuse himself from his government’s decision to award WE Charity the contract to administer a student volunteer grant program — despite his family’s multiple ties to the charity.

The contract with WE to administer the $900-million Canada Student Service Grant was cancelled on Friday and the Conflict

of Interest and Ethics Commissioner is investigating Mr. Trudeau’s role and whether he broke ethics laws – given he and his wife participate at WE Charity events and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau is an ambassador for the charity and hosts a podcast for the organization.

WE was to be paid at least $19.5 million

Ontario’s illegal border crossers cost was $81M: Auditor Ontario spent about $81 million on illegal border crossers over a 16-month period, not the $200 million the Doug Ford government told the public, a new report by the auditor general has found.

The report says staff with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services provided the inflated figure, which appears to reflect the cost of providing services to all refugee claimants.

The Ford government said publicly that $200 million has been spent in Ontario on services for people crossing into Canada

Highlights of Bill Morneau’s 2020 fiscal ‘snapshot’ Finance Minister Bill Morneau has delivered an update on federal spending and economic projections linked to the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Morneau has said today’s statement is more a “fiscal snapshot” than the traditional economic and fiscal statement that comes between budgets.

Morneau was forced to put off his spring budget in March after the devastating economic effects of the pandemic became clearer.

Here are some of the highlights: Annual deficit The deficit for 2020-21 is expected to rise to $343.2 billion from the $34.4 billion deficit projected before the pandemic.

A big chunk of that additional deficit can be attributed to the $212 billion in direct support measures the federal government is providing to individuals and businesses.

GDP decline The Canadian economy is projected to shrink by 6.8 per cent this year before bouncing back by 5.5 per cent next year, making this crisis the worst economic contraction since the Great Depression. The economy is expected to decline in 2020-21 more than twice as much as it did in 2009-10 in response to the global financial crisis. Debt-to-GDP ratio Due to the the financial supports provided by the federal government, the federal debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to rise from 31 per cent in 2019-20 to 49 per cent in 2020-21.

Job losses Between February and April, 5.5 million Canadians either lost their jobs or saw their work hours significantly reduced. Those losses pushed the unemployment rate to 13.7 per cent in May — the highest rise on record — from a pre-crisis low of 5.5 per cent in January.

Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) As of July 3, 688,000 applicants have been approved for roughly $27.41 billion in CEBA loans — $7 billion of which is forgivable if the loan is paid back before December 31, 2022. The cost of the program is expected to rise to $13.7 billion by the time it ends.

Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) The total estimated impact of the Canada emergency wage subsidy will be $82.3 billion.

That is an increase from the $45 billion estimate provided by the government last month and reflects the proposed extension and broadening of eligibility for the program.

Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) As of June 28, the CERB has provided over $53 billion in benefit payments to 8.16 million Canadians. That amount is expected to rise to $80 billion based on the eight-week extension and significant take-up of the program.

Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) To date, it has provided over $1.4 billion to over 600,000 applicants, which is expected to rise to $5.2 billion by the time it winds down.

on foot illegally, a tab it said should be picked up by the federal government.

“The accuracy of information provided by the ministry to the minister for the public announcement was far off the mark,” auditor general Bonnie Lysyk said. “Senior government officials need to ensure the accuracy of the information provided to government for public announcements and decision-making.”

The Justin Trudeau government, which had responsibility for the border, covered about $15 million of the $81 million tab in Ontario, Lysyk reported.

to administer the program, with $5 million of that going to partner organizations.

After the Prime Minister’s Office refused to answer repeated questions about cabinet’s role in the decision and whether Mr. Trudeau had recused himself from the talks, the Prime Minister made

his involvement clear at a Wednesday press conference on Parliament Hill.

Mr. Trudeau said cabinet made the final decision on the contract, which he said was first recommended by civil servants.

Hesaidhedidn’tremovehimselffromthetalks because of his experience working with youth.

11 Million Canadians have received COVID-19 emergency benefit, wage subsidy: Trudeau Nearly 11 million Canadians have received financial support via two COVID-19 benefit programs, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a Wednesday (July 8) press briefing on Parliament Hill.

Trudeau acknowledged the high cost of COVID aid programs, but said the “cost of doing nothing would have been far more.”

“When the pandemic first hit, a lot of people lost their jobs overnight,” he said.

Although Ottawa has unveiled a variety of financial top-ups to help amid the pandemic, the two biggest ones have been the Canada

Emergency Response Benefit(CERB), which provides $500 a week for out-of-work Canadians until September, and the wage subsidy, which helps employers cover payroll costs.

So far, both programs have paid out funds to nearly 11 million Canadians, mostly through the emergency response benefit.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau is expected to provide a fiscal snapshot later on Wednesday. Health officials will also provide an update on the COVID-19 outbreak.

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As Asian deals disappear, India becomes unlikely M & A hotspot Mukesh Ambani’s ambitious courtship of international investors has helped turn India into a rare bright spot for dealmaking in 2020, a shift that bankers say is likely to continue as the battle for the country’s digital economy heats up.

Thanks in large part to $15 billion of investments in Ambani’s technology venture from the likes of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB ). and Silver Lake Partners, India accounts for more than 12% of announced deals in the Asia

Pacific region so far this year, the highest ratio since at least 1998. The country’s tally has jumped 18% from a year ago to $55.3 billion, defying an 18% slide for the region, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

With half a billion Internet users and growing, India

India explores options to bar Chinese firms from Ladakh solar project India is exploring ways to bar Chinese firms from participating in a mega 7.5 gigawatts (GW) solar project in Ladakh including a 900km strategic transmission link to transport surplus power to other parts of the country, said two people aware of the development.

This comes amid India’s effort to leverage its growing power sector market to prepare an economic response against China following the recent clashes in Ladakh, which led to the killing of 20 Indian Army personnel.

Hostilities between the Himalayan neighbours have since dialled down a notch though India continues to upgrade border infrastructure.

A foreign firm is allowed to participate in the

tender for the solar project either on a standalone basis, or as a member of a consortium.

State-run Solar Energy Corp. of India (SECI) is running the selection process for setting up the 7.5GW of grid connected solar projects in Leh and Kargil districts, and will sign a 35-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the successful bidders. Bids can be submitted until 31 July.

“The tender is yet to be finalised. While it is an international competitive bid, whatever is needed to discourage Chinese firms from getting involved in this critical project will be done. We are working on it,” said a senior government official, requesting anonymity.

Gangster Vikas Dubey arrested in Ujjain Gangster Vikas Dubey, wanted in connection with the Kanpur ambush in which eight policemen were killed, was arrested from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, an official said.

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra confirmed the development. He told reporters that Dubey is in the state police’s custody in Ujjain. Meanwhile, two more aides of Dubey were gunned down in separate encounters in Uttar Pradesh, police said.

While Kartikeya alias Prabhat was killed in Kanpur when he tried to flee from police custody, Praveen alias Bauwa Dubey was shot

dead in an encounter in Etawah, they added.

Kartikeya, who was arrested from Faridabad on Wednesday, was being brought to Kanpur on transit remand when he snatched the pistol of a policeman and tried to flee, ADG, Law and Order Prashant Kumar said.

“The encounter took place in the Panki area of Kanpur when a police team was bringing Kartikeya alias Prabhat from Faridabad to Kanpur on transit remand. The police vehicle had a flat tyre. Taking advantage of the situation, Kartikeya tried to flee after snatching the pistol of a policeman,” he said.

is witnessing pitched battles in everything from e-commerce and content streaming to messaging and digital payments -similar to the early days of China’s digital boom. The sector’s importance has only increased this year as the

Covid-19 pandemic pushed India to impose the world’s biggest lockdown in late March.

“India has become one of the busiest markets for M&A in Asia,” said Kerwin Clayton, cohead of M&A for Asia Pacific at JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM ) & Co. “Global companies and investment funds are pondering more options to enter India, in a similar way to what happened with China a decade or so ago.”

Health care underfunded, delivery poor: World Bank report In a presentation to the 15th Finance Commission on Tuesday, the World Bank is learnt to have flagged “fault lines” in India’s well being system which have been uncovered attributable to Covid-19.

While acknowledging the “significant progress” made in India’s well being system through the years, the World Bank Group on Health, Nutrition and Population is claimed to have famous in its presentation that there have been “large, persistent health gaps among states” and that Covid-19 had uncovered these.

The finance fee is consulting the World Bank forward of deciding the allocation of funds for the well being sector. Commission chairman NK Singh has already introduced particular chapter would for the primary time be included in its report on well being and that an elevated fund allocation was within the offing.

The financial institution’s presentation is learnt to have pointed to inadequate give attention to core public well being features like disease surveillance, testing and call tracing; weaknesses in service supply regardless of enhancements in entry, excessive variations in high quality of care, insufficient consideration to city well being techniques and in municipalities, moreover weak public financing for well being.

India’s authorities well being spending at

just a little over 1% of gross home product is among the many lowest on the earth.

The excessive ranges of out-of-pocket financing for well being is identified as a threat issue for impoverishment — the presentation identified that 60 million Indians had been pushed into poverty yearly because of excessive spending on healthcare.

The World Health Organization recommends out-of-pocket spending be 15-20% of complete well being spending.

The World Bank group’s report additionally famous the “collateral damage” that non-Covid healthcare had suffered amid the pandemic.

While 90% of these reporting an ailment search outdoors medical recommendation in regular occasions, through the lockdown solely about 40% did so, it identified.

It added that hospitalisation among the many poor as seen by the PM-Jan Arogya Yojana programme confirmed a decline of 64% through the early lockdown and 51% through the full 10 weeks. There was a 25% fall in deliveries at hospitals and a 64% decline in most cancers care.

Tuberculosis notification in April 2020 was 84% decrease than in April 2019.

The presentation mentioned one latest research estimated 95,000 further TB deaths over the following 5 years because of the collateral results of Covid-19.

PUNJAB

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Quit NDA over hike in fuel price, Punjab CM dares Sukhbir Badal Asking SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal to stop “parroting the lines of his political masters in the BJP”, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday dared him to quit the ruling coalition at the Centre before resorting to protests against the state’s decision to increase the VAT on fuel.

Reacting to the protests led by Sukhbir with “social-distancing norms thrown to the wind”, Capt Amarinder said instead of putting the lives of people at risk with his politically motivated acts, the SAD president should pressurise the Central Government to roll back the manifold increase

in petrol and diesel prices since the beginning of Unlock 1.0 in the country. “What made the hike even more abominable is the fact that the crude prices internationally showed a remarkable downward trend during this period,” he said.

23 people arrested for forging late Maharaja’s will

High drama over Covid-19 victim’s cremation High drama was witnessed near the cremation ground at Guru Ki Nagri, Mandi Gobindgarh, when a Health Department team brought the body of a Covid-19 victim for cremation there.

Some locals, led by former councillor and BJP leader Tejinder Singh Rehal, gathered in front of the ground and opposed the cremation. They demanded that the victim should be cremated at the main cremation ground of the town.

Following the protest, Amloh SDM Anand

Sagar Sharma and other officials intervened.

They tried to persuade the locals not to oppose the cremation as the place had been earmarked by the administration for the cremation of Covid victims. When the locals did not relent, cops were deployed and the cremation was performed as per the protocol.

While talking to mediapersons, Rehal said they were opposed to the cremation as the cremation ground was located close to a residential area and the grain market.

The Chief Minister pointed out that since 2016, the NDA government, in which the SAD was a partner, had increased taxes on diesel by 900 per cent and on petrol by 700 per cent. The prices of fuel in India were now among the highest in the world, he claimed.

A daughter of late Maharaja Harinder Singh of the erstwhile Faridkot estate has lodged a complaint against 23 persons for allegedly forging the Maharaja’s will with the alleged motive of grabbing and misappropriating movable and immovable property worth over Rs 25,000 crore.

On the complaint of Amrit Kaur (86), the police today registered a criminal case against the chairman and vice-chairman of the Mehrawal Khewaji Trust, a judicial officer, chairman of the Faridkot Improvement

Trust, two advocates and 17 others.

Jai Chand and Nisha, the chairman and vice-chairperson, respectively, of the trust, are children of late Deepinder Kaur, another daughter of the late Maharaja. Deepinder, who was based in Kolkata, died last year.

The HC held the controversial ‘will’, which had divested Amrit Kaur of rights in the property, was a forged document.

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PAKISTAN

Saturday, July 11, 2020

PM Khan inaugurates first-ever infectious diseases hospital as COVID-19 cases cross 240,000 Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated Pakistan’s first-ever specialised hospital for infectious diseases on Thursday in Islamabad to meet the increasing challenges posed by the coronavirus that has

claimed nearly 5,000 lives and infected over 240,000 people in the country.

The 250-bed Isolation Hospital and Infectious Treatment Centre (IHITC)wasbuiltinrecord40days.

Provincial govt announces Rs 1 cr financial aid package for Sikhs killed in train accident Province of Khyber Pakhtun-khwa (KPK) announced financial aid of Rs one crore for the families of 21 Sikh pilgrims who were killed in train accident last week. KPK Chief Minister’s assistant, Wazir Zada made the announcement during his visit to Gurdwara Bhai Joga Singh in Peshawar and expressed condolences over sad demise of the Sikh pilgrims.

Each of the affected Sikh families who were

killed in the accident will be given Rs five lakh financial assistance, Wazir Zada said.

Twenty-one Pakistani Sikh pilgrims were killed when a minibus in which they were travelling was hit by a train near Sheikhupura, Punjab in on Friday.

“It was a tragic incident and the entire humanity was saddened over it, the govt of KPK stood by its minorities in difficult times,” he said.

Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority suspends licenses of 34 more pilots Pakistan’s civil aviation authority suspends 34 more pilots of holding fake aviation licenses and degrees, according to media reports. Last week, the national flag carrier terminated the services of 52 employees on various charges, including fake degrees.

PIA has grounded more than 140 pilots after it was revealed in the Parliament that some of them held ‘dubious and fake’ licenses.

According to notification issued by Civil Aviation Authority, licenses of 34 more pilots will

remain suspended till the inquiry against them has not been completed. Meanwhile, European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ordered its 32 member states to bar Pakistani pilots from working, following reports of fake licenses being issued to them, the report added.

The EASA has asked its member countries for details of the pilots. The letter sent to the member states by the EASA stated that the CAA has revealed irregularities in the issuance of 40 per cent of licences.

Man files $20 bn damages against USA for ‘COVID-19 outbreak’ A resident of Lahore, Raza Ali on Wednesday filed petition in Civil Courts through Advocate Zille Hussain alleging that US was responsible for the losses suffered by him and Pakistan due to coronavirus as it was behind unchecked spread of the pandemic.

Civil Judge Kamran Karamat issued notices to the US embassy Islamabad, US consul general in Lahore, US secretary of defence through consul general (Lahore) and

the ministry of foreign affairs for August 7.

He said his family members are also suffering and their health is so compromised that they may not be able to live a healthy life ever.

“Unchecked spread of COVID-19 in the US caused its spread over the world including Pakistan. The defendants are responsible for the colossal death toll, misery, and economic disasters they inflicted on the world, including

Fiji Kiwi-Fiji-Indian student from Wellington College named co-Dux of 2019 and Prime Minister’s Award Liam James Sahay Anderson, a half FijiIndian and half Kiwi-European descent student of Wellington College was awarded as co-Dux for the year 2019 as he excelled in his academics scoring a total of eight scholarships in the year 2019 from his College.

His co-Dux Nicholas Patel gained a total of five scholarships, with 4 at ‘outstanding level’.

Recognising his excellence in academics,

he was also named as the receipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for 2019.

Minister of Education, Chris Hipkins announced his name on 8 May this month.

Liam is currently pursuing Bachelor of Science from Victoria University of Wellington majoring in Chemistry and Physics, sitting courses in Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Mathematics and Spanish.

Man who drugged and raped woman to serve sentence once arrested A man who drugged, abused, and raped a woman at a hotel in Nadi has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by High Court Judge Justice Chamath Morais.

Saiyad Khan was found guilty and convicted of a count of rape following a trial which lasted for two days in his absence.

Justice Morais said Khan was the employer of the woman.

The woman worked for Khan to earn money for her University studies.

Justice Morais said instead of helping her, Khan drugged the woman and preyed upon her.

The Judge said the trial took place

in Khan’s absence as he left the country violating his bail conditions.

Khan has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 7 years.

Justice Morais said Khan has been in remand for this case from 1st October 2016 to 18th October 2018.

The Judge said accordingly, Khan has been been in custody for 18 days and the period he was in custody will be regarded as a period of imprisonment already served.

This means Khan will serve 9 years, 11 months, and 12 days and the non-parole period is 6 years, 11 months, and 12 days.

Total Fiji to invest $8 million in its business and re-opens Lautoka Service Station As many businesses are struggling to sustain themselves, Total Fiji has made an investment of $8 million for plans they will be rolling out in the next few months.

During the re-opening of the Lautoka Service Station, Total Fiji Managing Director Kazi Rahman says they have undertaken an aggressive investment program, even in the current environment, to create new stations, pipelines and storage facilities and expand, upgrade

and renovate some of their existing stations.

He has also confirmed that despite economic challenges, all their partners operating the Total stations throughout Fiji have fully retained their workforce with no reduction in wages, paid leaves or hours worked.

Rahman says private sector investment plays a crucial role by generating employment and injecting money in the local economy and even if business is tough today.

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Saturday, July 11, 2020

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Saturday, July 11, 2020