The Asian Star June 26 2021

www.theasianstar.com Vol 20 - Issue 21

Saturday, June 26, 2021

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Mega heatwave to slam Metro Vancouver this weekend Soaring temperatures forecast for the Pacific Northwest, including Metro Vancouer and interior BC this weekend could shatter the 123-year-old record for the hottest day recorded in the month of June in Vancouver.

The worst heat will stretch from Saturday through Monday, with temperatures in the Legendary Indian sprinter Milkha Singh passes away after prolonged battle against Covid-19 Legendary Indian sprinter Milkha Singh passed away on Friday after developing complications, including fever and dropping of oxygen saturation level, following a bout with Covid-19 , in the Intensive Care Unit of the PGIMER hospital in Chandigarh.

Continued on page 8

Fired Winnipeg lab scientist listed as co-inventor on two Chinese govt patents The high-profile scientist who was fired from Canada’s top infectious disease lab collaborated with Chinese government scientists on inventions registered in Beijing, but closely related to her federal job, intellectual property documents indicate.

Xiangguo Qiu, who’s also under investigation by the RCMP, is listed as an inventor on two patents filed by official agencies in China in recent years. Qiu was a long-time federal civil servant when the patents were registered in 2017 and 2019 for innovations Continued on page 7

Pakistan’s Prime Minister refuses to condemn China’s Xinjiang crackdown Prime Minister Imran Khan refused to condemn the Chinese government’s alleged human rights abuses against the Muslimmajority Uyghur people in Xinjiang in an interview with Axios Sunday. When pressed on reports of widespread detention and abuse of Uyghurs, Khan said China had been “one of the greatest friends to us in our most difficult times,” and any conversations with Beijing on Xinjiang would happen “behind closed doors.”

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mid-30s. The previous record for June scorcher was 30.6 degrees.Robert Henson, is a meteorologist in Colorado. He says the region is set for one of the worst heatwaves in history,

which is concerning given that summer has barely begun.

“Your heat waves tend to peak in July and say, into August.

And here we are, still in late June,” he says.

Continued on page 6

BC politicians using taxpayer money to get elected

By Kris Sims, B.C. director Canadians Taxpayers Federation

If cheating taxpayers out of their money were a card game, politicians would beat the house every time. Politicians in British Columbia have taken around $30 million of your money over the past few years. They’re spending it on attack ads, lawn signs and junk mail. This money taken from taxpayers is officially called the per-vote subsidy, but it’s all just politician

welfare. Taxpayers pay $1.75 per vote that candidates get and political parties also get half of their campaign expenses paid for after an election. By the time the current payments are over, parties will have pulled about $30 million from taxpayers. This is wrong, and it needs to stop. This money is not funding for the non-partisan Elections B.C. It does not pay for little pencils, paper ballots and scrutineers’ badges at voting Continued on page 4

Indian farmer couple hit the jackpot when they accidentally grew worlds most expensive mangoes that can sell for upto $200 a piece When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

This statement has been modified to suit the story of Indian farmer Sankalp Singh Parihar who met a man on his train journey and chanced upon a special mango sapling for $33.

Life gave him the Japanese Miyazaki mango variety instead of lemons, and it turned out to be the world’s most expensive mango variety.

He lucked out with these Miyazaki Mangoes branded and sold as ‘Taiyo-no-Tomago’ or

Gas prices to hit ecordlevels in Metro Vancouver this weekend Gas analysts say fuel prices in Metro Vancouver could reach record levels this weekend. Drivers are expected to pay about $167.9 Thursday, but that could jump to as high as $1.75 by the weekend.

“We’re seeing unprecedented highs. We haven’t seen prices like this, going back to May 19, 2019,” said Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy.

Continued on page 7

‘Eggs of Sunshine’ in Japan. Rather than green or yellow, the skin of the Miyazaki mango is a flaming red and actually shaped like a giant dinosaur egg. A box of two Miyazaki mangoes was sold for half a million Japanese yen ($4,500) in 2019. On average, a single Miyazaki costs $50 and is considered a luxury gift, like premium chocolate, instead of an ordinary fruit. Parihar and his wife live in Madhya Pradesh and grow this mango.

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Saturday, June 26, 2021 Liberals take House Speaker to court to block release of unredacted records about fired scientists The Liberal government is taking the House of Commons Speaker to court, in an unprecedented move to prevent the release of uncensored documents to members of Parliament that offer insight into the firing of two scientists from Canada’s top infectious-disease laboratory.

The government said in a court filing that the disclosure of this information could not only jeopardize national security but also, possibly, Canada’s international relations. The AttorneyGeneral’s office filed an application in Federal Court on Monday requesting that information demanded by Speaker Anthony Rota on behalf

of the House of Commons stay secret. The legal challenge against a ruling of the House stunned opposition MPs, who were notified about the court application late Wednesday afternoon. An order of the House backed by a majority of MPs last Thursday called on the Public Health Agency to produce records it has been withholding from a Commons committee for months. Mr. Rota called the court action an “urgent matter” and vowed to vigorously fight the government, saying House of Commons

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OPINION

From page 1

Saturday, June 26, 2021

BC politicians using taxpayer money to get elected

stations. Instead, this money goes to political parties so they can spend it on their campaign offices, spamming your email and cluttering up your social media feeds with ads.

This is not about which team you usually root for, either. If you support the NDP, your tax dollars still go to the B.C. Liberals and vice

versa. Taxpayers didn’t knowingly wander into this campaign casino. So how did we wind up at this table, paying for these partisan games?

This grift started back in 2017 when the newly-elected NDP government claimed that politicians temporarily needed taxpayers’ money to wean themselves off of the big donations from unions and corporations. Just

a few years of mooched money to get them through the rough patch.

So much for temporary.

Today, politicians are trying to make sure that they keep getting this money from taxpayers permanently. MLAs just finished hearing arguments for and against keeping the money flowing during a special committee in Victoria.

This was predictable.

Political campaigns are a lot like gambling, and if you have money to play with that you don’t care about, it’s easy to get hooked. Even the usually conscientious cartoon mother Marge Simpson got a taste for the slot machine with a bucket full of money.

What makes this swindle even more unfair is that Premier John Horgan said he had no intention of making taxpayers pay for political parties during the 2017 election.

He said on CFAX radio: “At no time have I said that I prefer to make public dollars responsible for political parties.”

Let’s count our chips, because $30 million is a lot of money.

That could pay for the salaries of 50 new full-time paramedics for 10 years. Or it could cover the salaries of 115 new long-term care workers for five years. Instead, your tax dollars are paying for politicians to slag each other.

Political parties already get lots of government support in other ways. People who choose to donate to political parties get gold-plated tax credits that are much more generous than charities receive.If a political party gets a $100 donation, the government gives back a $75 tax credit. If Ronald McDonald House received a $100 donation, however, the tax credit is a mere $20.Do politicians believe they are more deserving of taxpayer funding than a charity that provides housing for the families of sick children? Political parties can raise their own money based on the worthiness of their platforms instead of pilfering it from taxpayers and democracy will survive. Here’s proof. We’ve had three general elections since the federal per-vote subsidy was cancelled in 2011 without any discernible lack of attack ads or lawn signs.

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Saturday, June 26, 2021

Liberals take House Speaker to court to block release of unredacted records about fired scientists law clerk Philippe Dufresne will prepare a legal defence. “The Speaker’s Office will defend the rights of the House. That is something I take very seriously,” Mr. Rota said. “The legal system does not have any jurisdiction over the operations of the House. We are our own jurisdiction. That is something we will fight tooth and nail to protect and we will continue to do that.” Conservative House Leader Gérard Deltell said he was taken aback that the Trudeau government would go to the federal court to challenge parliamentary privilege. “If the government does not respect the orders of the House of Commons, why should Canadians’ respect laws voted upon by the House of Commons?” he said. In the court filing, the government said the disclosure of the unredacted information would be “injurious to international relations or national defence or national security.”

Mr. Dufresne told MPs before a Commons committee Wednesday that “to his knowledge” the Canadian government has never before gone to court to try to elude an order of the House to produce documents. He said the House “has exclusive authority” when it comes to matters that fall under parliamentary privilege.

Justice Minister and Attorney-General David Lametti distanced himself from the court proceeding, saying officials in his department evoked a section of the Canada Evidence Act that is often used in national-security matters to keep sensitive information tightly under wraps. “As Attorney-General that decision has been delegated to department officials as is the normal course, so it is not going to be a decision that is partisan in any way,” he said. “I will never play politics with national security.”

RCMP preparing charges against Toronto IT worker who became ‘voice of ISIS,’ document reveals A former Toronto IT worker, known as the “voice of ISIS” because he narrated its gruesome execution videos, is being investigated by the RCMP for “serious terrorism offences,” a court document unsealed Tuesday reveals.

The RCMP alleged in the top-secret affidavit it had reason to believe Mohammed Khalifa, a Canadian citizen captured in Syria by U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in January 2019, had committed four terrorism offences. He remains in custody in Syria. The evidence against him includes papers that were uncovered by the U.S. military in Raqqa after ISIS was ousted from its former capital in October 2017, the RCMP affidavit alleged.

Details of the investigation are contained in a document the RCMP filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to obtain

a production order requiring Global News to hand over recordings of its interview with Khalifa. The affidavit was signed by Const. Waleed Abousamak, a member of the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team, on Nov. 14, 2019, but Global News was unable to report on the matter until now. The RCMP has also served production orders on two Toronto companies where Khalifa allegedly worked, Kelly Services and CompuCom, as well as Seneca College, where he studied, and his banks, Scotiabank and TD. “The RCMP is investigating Mr. Khalifa for serious terrorism offences,” Const.

Abousamak wrote in his affidavit, which alleged Khalifa had been a “fighting soldier,” commander and employee of the ISIS Central Media Bureau.

China seeks probe into Indigenous children’s remains China and its allies called on Tuesday for an independent investigation into the discovery last month of the remains of more than 200 Indigenous children at a Canadian boarding school.

The remains of 215 children, some as young as three years old, were found in British Colombia at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, a discovery Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described as heartbreaking. “We call for a thorough and impartial investigation into all cases where crimes were committed against the Indigenous people, especially children, so as to bring those responsible to justice, and offer full remedy to victims,” Jiang Duan, a senior official at China’s mission to the UN in Geneva, told the Human Rights Council.

He read the statement out on behalf of countries including Russia, Belarus, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Venezuela. Canada later delivered a joint statement on behalf of more than 40 countries calling for access to China’s Xinjiang

region to look into alleged mass detention of Uighur Muslims.Trudeau, condemning what he called “the systemic abuse and human rights violations” in Xinjiang, said a Canadian truth and reconciliation commission had worked from 2008 to 2015 to address the mistreatment of the indigenous population.“Where is China’s truth and reconciliation commission? Where is their truth? Where is the openness that Canada has always shown and the responsibility that Canada has taken for the terrible mistakes of the past?” Trudeau asked.

“China is not recognising even that there is a problem … that is why Canadians and people from around the world are speaking up for people like the Uyghurs,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa.

Canada’s residential school system, which forcibly separated Indigenous children from their families, constituted “cultural genocide”, the commission that Trudeau referenced concluded in 2015.

For months, opposition MPs have been seeking unredacted records from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), that explain why Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, were fired from the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. The two scientists lost their security clearances, and the RCMP was called into investigate, in July, 2019.

They were dismissed in January. More than 250 pages of records have been withheld in their entirety and hundreds of others have been partly censored before being provided to MPs. They also relate to the March, 2019 transfer of deadly virus samples to the Wuhan Institute of Virology that was overseen by Dr. Qiu. On Monday, PHAC President Iain Stewart was called before the Commons and admonished by the Speaker for his repeated refusal to provide the requested records to MPs on the

special committee on Canada-China relations, including information on the transfer of Ebola and Henipah viruses to the Wuhan facility.

MPs had put in safeguards that would require the Commons law clerk to review the documents and redact information that could harm national security or a criminal investigation before making them public. However, Mr. Stewart notified the Attorney-General’s office on Sunday night that “sensitive or potentially injurious information” could be disclosed if he obeyed the order of the House of Commons. Former House of Commons law clerk Rob Walsh said the Federal Court should deny the Trudeau government’s request. “If the court is cognizant of parliamentary privilege, which is not always the case … then the government’s application won’t succeed,” he said. “This is House business; it’s not the court’s place to interfere.”

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Saturday, June 26, 2021

Mega heatwave to slame Metro Vancouver this weekend From page 1 “You don’t want to toy around with heat like this. It can be fatal, even at latitudes of the such you’re at. Check on folks, if there are folks you know who are maybe older or not very communicative, or might be cooped up in an apartment for several days. The heat builds up, right? And if you can’t get the heat out of your structure, then it can get uncomfortably hot not only in the day but

at night, and by the same token, your body doesn’t get a chance to cool down.”

Indian farmer couple hit the jackpot when they accidentally grew worlds most expensive mangoes that can sell for upto $200 a piece From page 1 To keep them safe (people stole mangoes from their orchard when news about its exorbitant price spread), they have stationed three security guards and nine dogs to protect this rare mango plantation. Parihar, who lives in the city of Jabalpur in central India, said, “I did not know what the mango breed was, but I named it Damini after my mother and planted it. I grew it [the sapling] like an ordinary mango plant, but a few months later, I saw that it had developed a beautiful red color.” He continued, “It was only when they offered me more than Rs 21,000 ($283) for it that I realized it was something valuable.”

According to Parihar, mangoes can

organically grow in India’s cool and moist climate without special attention. “Since I did not know what breed these mangoes were, I grew them like I would grow any ordinary Indian variety like the Alphonso,” he said.

Parihar has grown about 52 mangoes in his orchard and plans to keep growing this special mango variety until it can fill their entire orchard.

Fired Winnipeg lab scientist listed as co-inventor on two Chinese govt patents the Ebola and Marburg viruses, key focuses of her work at Winnipeg’s National Microbiology Laboratory. Qiu’s ouster from the lab remains cloaked in mystery and has been the subject of ongoing debate in Parliament, as opposition parties try, largely in vain, to obtain information on why she and husband Keding Cheng — another scientist at the lab — were let go. Qiu had extensive d e a l i n g s with China and Chinese scientists in recent years, including repeated trips to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a “level-four” disease lab like W i n n i p e g ’s .

One of the patents listing her as a coinventor — with five other people — was filed with the Chinese Nat i o n a l Intellectual

Property Administration by the country’s National Institutes for Food and Drug Control. It describes an “inhibitor for Ebola virus.” Qiu won fame in Canada for helping develop a treatment for Ebola, though the Chinese drug seems different.President of the Public Health Agency of Canada Iain Stewart, right, approaches the bar in the House of Commons to be admonished by the Speaker Anthony Rota on Monday, June 21, 2021. Head of Canada’s public health agency reprimanded for not providing unredacted documents requested by MPs The National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg where scientists Xiangguo Qiu and Keding Cheng worked until they were escorted out in July 2019, and finally fired in January 2021. The other patent that includes Qiu and six collaborators as inventors was registered by the Inspection and Quarantine Technology Center of Fujian province. It’s for a “detection method,” or test, for Marburg, a hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola. The federal Public Servants Inventions Act states that the federal government owns all inventions “made by a public servant that resulted from or is connected with his duties or employment.” And the legislation says a government employee cannot file a patent outside the country without the minister’s permission. Mark Johnson, a spokesman for the Public Health Agency of Canada, refused to comment on whether Qiu had obtained such permission. Asked if the agency — which administers the lab — was even aware of the patents, he said, “We cannot comment on this matter.”

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Saturday, June 26, 2021

Gas prices to hit ecord-levels in Metro Vancouver this weekend From page 1 That’s when prices reached an all time high of $172.9.

Now, problems at a refinery in Ferndale, Wash. have caused a drop in supply.

“This isn’t about just Vancouver and the usual garden variety gouging that we all like to think this is. It has a lot to do with supply drop shock. And of course, with added taxes here in our city, being the highest tax jurisdiction in North America with the highest prices, nothing is surprising,” explained McTeague.

He expects prices will remain high for the rest of the summer.

“Retail margins in Vancouver are skinny, seven cents, seven and a half cents a litre,” McTeague said. In comparison, it’s about 13 to 15 cents in Calgary and Edmonton. “Don’t blame the retailer if this has a lot to do with the market,” he said. McTeague says Metro Vancouver has the highest gas prices in the country because of a myriad of taxes. “If your destination takes you anywhere, as long as you’re outside of the area served by TransLink, gasoline prices drop substantially,” said the analyst. For example, drivers in B.C.’s Interior pay about 20 cents per litre less. With the U.S.-Canada border remaining shut due to the pandemic, drivers don’t have the option of heading to the United States to fill up either, where they would pay about $1.30 a litre.

McTeague is advising drivers to be mindful when taking a road trip this summer.

“Ensure your vehicles are maintained, the tires are pumped up and inflated properly, make sure that you use air conditioning sparingly,” he said.

Driving is becoming increasingly unaffordable in Metro Vancouver, McTeague, who spent many years as a member of Parliament, says it may be time for the province to step in.

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Saturday, June 26, 2021

Legendary Indian sprinter Milkha Singh passes away after prolonged battle against Covid-19 Milkha’s passing was confirmed by son Jeev Milkha Singh to The Indian Express.

The 91-year-old, who contracted Covid-19 last month, tested negative for the virus on Wednesday and was shifted to general ICU in another block of the hospital.

Milkha, popularly known as ‘Flying Sikh’, had suddenly developed fever on Thursday night and his oxygen saturation levels dipped. Milkha had been “stable” before this.

Milkha’s 85-year-old wife, Nirmal Kaur, who had also been infected by the virus,

passed away at a private hospital in Mohali on Sunday.

Milkha was admitted to PGIMER on 3 June after his oxygen levels dipped at home following treatment at the Fortis Hospital in Mohali for a week.

The legendary athlete was a fourtime Asian Games gold medallist and 1958 Commonwealth Games champion but his greatest performance remains the fourth-place finish in the 400m final of the 1960 Rome Olympics.

He also represented India in the 1956 and 1964 Olympics and was bestowed with the Padma Shri in 1959.

Construction to begin on $1.7 billion second hospital for Surrey

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Saturday, June 26, 2021 O’Toole accuses activists of ‘tearing down’ Canada after towns cancel Canada Day events Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said today he’s troubled by the cancellation of Canada Day celebrations in some municipalities and accused “a small group of activist voices” of continually talking down the country rather than acknowledging its many successes. In a speech at the final Conservative caucus meeting before the House of Commons goes on its summer break, O’Toole said that while Canada’s history is littered with injustice and wrongdoing, that doesn’t justify cancelling the nation’s birthday — a time to give thanks for “living in the greatest country in the world.”O’Toole said the recent Kamloops residential school discovery is “very troubling” and “dreadful.” He called it evidence of the

“grave injustices” committed against Indigenous peoples. But the reported discovery of these remains shouldn’t lead cities like Victoria, Penticton, B.C. and La Ronge, Sask. to do away with July 1 festivities altogether, O’Toole said.

People in Victoria form a ‘Living Flag’ for a Canada Day celebration. (Victoria Canada Day/Twitter) “I can’t stay silent when people want to cancel Canada Day. I’m very proud to be Canadian and I know most people are as well,” he said. “We are not a perfect country.

No country is. There is no place on this planet whose history can withstand close scrutiny. But there is a difference between acknowledging where we’ve fallen short and always tearing the country down.”

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Saturday, June 26, 2021 South Asian lawyer Kang suspended by B.C. Law Society after domestic violence incident

Narindar Pal Singh Kang was charged with assault and mischief in relation to a domestic altercation from 2018. Surrey lawyer Narindar Pal Kang has been handed a suspension from practicing by the BC Law Society after he was charged with assault and mischief in relation to a domestic altercation involving his spouse.

The suspension lasts for two months and begins on July 1.

The BC Law Society said in a news release that Kang reported the criminal charge to the Law Society and admitted that his actions constituted conduct unbecoming the profession.

Kang who is a prominent lawyer in Surrey, has also served as an immigration judge at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. The incident occurred on June 15, 2018 and the Law Society said Kang has conditionally admitted to one of five allegations that he committed acts against his spouse.

According to the hearing decision posted on the BC Law Society website, Kang and his spouse had returned home from a social function where he allegedly consumed alcohol and got into a heated verbal argument which escalated.

He is accused of forcefully grabbing his spouse’s arms and legs and striking her in the back of the head two or three times while using profane and verbally abusive language.

Kang’s spouse called 911 and reported the incident to police. He was charged with mischief and assault.

Hearing documents indicate that Kang’s spouse was not injured in the altercation.

The BC Law Society said he agreed to enter into a common law peace bond which was imposed for six months. He also accepted his role in the altercation was a “breach of the peace”. The Crown prosecutor

in the case directed a stay of proceedings in relation to the charges against Kang.

However, the Law Society characterized Kang’s actions as “criminal and violent conduct” and described it as “intimate partner violence.”

The panel said its role isn’t to determine whether a criminal offence occurred but rather to determine whether conduct unbecoming of the profession happened.

The law society acknowledged Kang is a well-respected lawyer with a long career who has taken responsibility for his actions and expressed both shame and remorse.

Tories to force House of Commons vote on motion to censure the defence minister Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole says his party will force the House of Commons to vote on a motion targeting Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan. Sajjan has been under heavy criticism since former military ombudsman Gary Walbourne revealed that he first flagged an allegation of sexual misconduct involving then-defence chief Jonathan Vance to the minister in March 2018. While Sajjan and the Liberal government

say he followed all proper procedures, O’Toole says the minister has consistently failed victims of sexual misconduct in the military.O’Toole alleges Sajjan has also misled Canadians about his military service and the need to buy second-hand fighter jets from Australia, and oversaw the failed prosecution of retired vice-admiral Mark Norman.

Renew relationship with Indigenous Peoples without trying to ‘cancel’ Canada: O’Toole Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole says he’s committed to a renewed nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous Peoples, but stands firm against so-called activist efforts to “cancel” Canada, particularly on July 1.

O’Toole offered his insights on the moment the country finds itself in to members of his caucus and staff gathered in Ottawa before

the House of Commons breaks for summer.

He called the discovery in British Columbia of what are believed to be the remains of 215 Indigenous children from a former residential school “a necessary awakening for our country.”

O’Toole pledged that a government led by him would be dedicated to a renewed relationship with Indigenous Peoples

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Saturday, June 26, 2021

17 Canadians a day died from opioids in 2020 Public Health Agency of Canada Canada’s public health agency says the COVID-19 pandemic drove an increasingly deadly overdose crisis last year that continues to take lives and corrode communities.

Grim new numbers from the agency show 6,214 people suffered opioid-related deaths in 2020 — 17 deaths per day on average — compared to 3,830 in 2019.

The numbers spiralled upward as the year wore on, peaking at 1,766 in the last three months of 2020 as health precautions narrowed access to services ranging from doctor visits to supervised consumption sites.

Restrictions on gatherings left some users isolated. Meanwhile Canada’s ongoing border restrictions disrupted the flow of illicit drugs, and dealers looking to stretch their limited supplies are more apt to add potentially toxic adulterants.

Health Canada is currently working with Vancouver on the city’s request for exemption from criminal provisions on simple possession of small amounts of drugs in a bid to treat consumption as a health issue rather than a crime.

At least 21,174 people have died from apparent opioid toxicity between 2016 and

2020, the Public Health Agency of Canada said.

Opioid-related deaths countrywide could climb as high as 2,000 per quarter in the first half of 2021, far surpassing the peak of nearly 1,200 in the last three months of 2018, according to modelling from the agency.

“The Covid-19 outbreak is worsening the already deadly and ongoing public health crisis of opioid overdoses and death,” the agency said on its website.

“It is having a tragic impact on people who use substances, their families and communities across Canada.”

Western Canada remains the hardest hit, accounting for half of all opioid toxicity deaths last year (numbers for Manitoba were not available). But rates have also risen in other regions.

About 85 per cent of all opioidrelated deaths last year occurred in British Columbia, Alberta or Ontario, according to agency figures. Some 77 per cent of victims were men aged 20 to 49.

Fentanyl has been a pernicious driver of the crisis, with 82 per cent of accidental deaths linked to the synthetic opioid, the agency said.

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Saturday, June 26, 2021

Telus launches PureFibre X, offers Canada’s fastest internet speeds Telus has launched PureFibre X on Thursday, in what the company says offers Canada’s fastest internet speeds, starting first in Calgary, Alberta.

PureFibre X offers download and upload speeds of 2.5 Gbps and will soon expand to other PureFibre communities in Alberta and B.C. “in the months ahead,” says Telus. “TELUS PureFibre X enables entrepreneurs, start-ups, home-based businesses and consumers with the fastest Internet speeds available anywhere in Canada. We look forward to connecting more of our fellow Albertans

in Calgary to TELUS PureFibre and supporting the community as it attracts new industries and innovators, supporting the jobs of today and those that have yet to be imagined,” said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO of TELUS, in an issued statement.

Telus also notes it is investing $2 billion to expand its PureFibre network to over 90 per cent of homes and businesses in Calgary. The company emphasizes PureFibre is “Western Canada’s largest and only 100 per cent pure fibre-tothe-home (FTTH) network,” likely a veiled jab at competitor Shaw.

Sajjan military assistant had inappropriate relationship while with Vancouver police An army reservist who was ordered suspended from the Vancouver Police Department for having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate has been working as a military assistant to Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan.

Sajjan’s office says the military was responsible for hiring Maj. Greg McCullough, and that neither the minister nor his staff knew about the complaint or disciplinary action taken against him while he was a sergeant in the Vancouver police. “Neither the minister nor staff were aware of the complaints to the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner or the disciplinary actions taken by the Vancouver Police Department,” spokesman Daniel Minden said in a statement.

“We expect all members of the Canadian Armed Forces to uphold the highest standards of professional conduct. The hiring process for military assistants is done by the Canadian Armed Forces.

We are looking into this matter further.”

Revelations about McCullough’s hiring come as Sajjan faces calls from the opposition to resign over his handling of sexual misconduct allegations involving the top brass, and concerns about an “Old Boys network” that protects senior officers from repercussions.

McCullough is a senior member of the same army reserve unit that Sajjan commanded before entering politics, the British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught’s Own) and both served on the Vancouver Police Department.

Asked about the relationship between the two, Minden said: “The minister did not work together with Maj. McCullough at the Vancouver Police Department.

They had met each other while serving as reservists in the British Columbia Regiment.”

Minden referred questions about when McCullough was hired, why the position was created and the process followed to the Department of National Defence.

Former Delta high school instructor banned from teaching after caught in Surrey Creep Catchers sting A former Delta high school instructor has been banned from teaching after he was caught trying to meet a child he communicated with online four years ago in a Surrey Creep Catchers sting.

The B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation has cancelled Simon William Isbister’s certificate of qualification, calling his actions “very serious misconduct that undermines the public confidence in the education system.”

In 2017, Isbister posted an ad in the “Casual Encounters” section of Craigslist looking for someone to meet up with him and another person, according to the commissioner’s decision, which Isbister has agreed is true.

He responded to someone called Sierra, who claimed to be 18 but later said she was 13.

Sierra shared a photo of the bottom half of a girl’s face with a tongue piercing.

It was actually a message sent from the vigilante group Surrey Creep Catchers.

Isbister responded in writing by saying “Ahh,

hi! Thanks for your note. 13 is very young though. Not sure how I feel about that,” according to the agreed statement of facts. She replied: “lol.

No worries I’m mature, and attracted to older guys.” He asked Sierra if she had “played” with many older guys and she responded “a couple.” He replied “lucky them.” Isbister then said he wanted to meet her but was nervous, and, according to the agreed statement of facts, he asked for her phone number. After an exchange of texts, they eventually agreed to meet at a Tim Horton’s restaurant around 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 27, 2017.

He texted Sierra asking if she had had a previous date which he described as “kinda hot.” She asked him to buy her a hot chocolate so she would know who he was.

Isbister bought the hot chocolate and was then approached by a member of the Surrey Creep Catchers. The member filmed the interaction and asked Isbister if he knew who they were. Isbister replied “I can guess,” according to the agreed statement of facts.

BC Liberal statement on National Indigenous Peoples Day Press release

Interim Leader of the Official Opposition Shirley Bond and BC Liberal Critic for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Peter Milobar released the following joint statement today for National Indigenous Peoples Day: “Every June we celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day and honour the history, culture, and contributions of Indigenous people throughout the country.

“This year we mark this national event at a painful time for the more than 1.8 million First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people after the horrific discovery of the remains of 215 children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School site.

“We want to acknowledge the strength of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc people, led by Chief Rosanne Casimir, who have carried out the heart-wrenching and careful work to find those lost children and bring some answers to the families who loved them.

“But this is only the beginning.

“As Canadians, we must all take

this journey together and re-affirm our commitment towards working to achieve meaningful reconciliation.

“Reconciliation requires not only that we address the past head on, but also look forward to creating a brighter future for everyone who calls this land home and celebrate the unique cultures, histories, traditions, and contributions of all 203 First Nations here in B.C. “This National Indigenous Peoples Day is a time to mourn, but it also serves as an opportunity to truly think about which direction we wish to take together and how we can shape a better future by working to achieve equality and prosperity for all.

“The BC Liberal Caucus hopes everyone across the province will join us in recognizing National Indigenous Peoples Day, listening to Indigenous voices, working towards meaningful reconciliation, and recognizing the strength of all First Nations bands in B.C. and their valuable contributions to our province.”

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Saturday, June 26, 2021 Vancouver Police forecast almost $5-million deficit by year’s end The Vancouver Police Department predicts it will be over budget by $4.98 million by the end of the year — the first time in 16 years — and points to city council’s decision not to fully fund its 2021 budget request as the reason for the expected deficit. The department outlined its financial situation in a report that goes before the Vancouver Police Board Thursday.

“In previous years, the council-approved VPD budget has equalled the board’s submission,” the report said. “However, as council voted a significant decrease to the VPD’s 2021 budget, the year-end projection is volatile and, at this time, depending on the events in the city, management’s best estimate is that the VPD will

be over budget by $4.98 million by year end.”

Those “events” include, but are not limited to, escalating gang violence, a growing number of protests and an easing of COVID-19 provincial health orders that translates to more public activity.

The report noted the first quarter of the year also saw police respond to the Strathcona Park encampment and investigate a dramatic rise in anti-Asian hate crimes. Drug-fueled street disorder also persists in the Downtown Eastside.

Management anticipated the department would likely be under budget in the first part of the year — which it is, by $568,396 — but predicted the deficit would incur as the year comes to a close.

Two-thirds of Canadians say governments shouldn’t lift all Covid-19 restrictions: poll A new poll suggests about two-thirds of Canadians believe that governments should not lift all restrictions related to Covid-19.

Sixty-nine per cent of respondents to an online survey

by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies say restrictions should stay in place as people continue to get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.

Leger executive vice-president Christian Bourque said Canadians are still fairly prudent and careful regarding lifting the restrictions. “I believe they’re waiting until the end of the vaccination campaign, or at least until governments say that they’ve reached all of their targets, potentially to

sort of relax a little bit,” he said in an interview.

“We’ll see this number change once governments have said that they’ve reached their vaccination targets. So, a few more weeks at least.”

The online poll of 1,542 adult Canadians was carried out June 18 to 20, and it cannot be assigned a margin of error because internet-based surveys are not considered random samples.

Bourque said the pandemic has impacted the wellness of many Canadians as they have been exercising less, gaining weight, drinking more alcohol and smoking more cannabis.

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Hundreds of bodies found in unmarked graves at former Saskatchewan residential school A Saskatchewan First Nation says it has made the “horrific and shocking discovery” of hundreds of unmarked graves — many believed to be children — near a former residential school, with a total expected to be over three times higher than the 215 discovered recently in Kamloops, B.C., according to a source briefed on the file.

Leaders of the Cowessess First Nation, a roughly two hour drive east of Regina, are expected to reveal details of the macabre discovery near what was once the Marieval Indian Residential School during a press conference Thursday morning, as well as the latest count of newly-identified remains.

19 best online deals in the Canadian retail space right now “The number of unmarked graves will be the most significantly substantial to date in Canada,” says an advisory published Wednesday evening by the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, which represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan.

The remains are in unmarked graves in a communal gravesite first used in 1885 but eventually taken over by the Marieval Indian Residential School, founded and operated by the Roman Catholic Church beginning in 1899 on what was then the Marieval Reserve.

Administration of the school was handed over to the federal government in 1969 and then the Cowessess First Nation in 1987 before being closed in 1997.

Everything but the church, rectory and cemetery was demolished shortly after, according to National Centre

for Truth and Reconciliation records.

The First Nation teamed up with an underground radar detection team from Saskatchewan Polytechnic to begin the search just over three weeks ago. In an interview in late May, Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme told the Regina LeaderPost that he did not know how many people’s remains might be discovered. It is estimated that only one third of graves are marked.

“The pain is real, the pain is there and the pain hasn’t gone away. As we heal, every Cowessess citizen has a family member in that gravesite. To know there’s some unmarked, it continues the pain,” Delorme told the newspaper, adding that the goal was to “identify, to mark and to build a monument in honouring and recognizing the bodies that lay (there).”

The discovery comes less than a month after the “unthinkable” discovery of the remains of 215 Indigenous children — some as young as three years old — in unmarked graves near the Kamloops Indian Residential School outside Kamloops, B.C. James Daschuk, a University of Regina health and Indigenous history researcher, applauded chief Delorme’s decision to pursue these searches despite the “horrific” findings likely to emerge.

“As terrible, and I mean absolutely freaking terrible as this is, what we’re seeing is the community taking their story back,” said Daschuk in an interview Wednesday. “I think this is this is going to be a pretty important time for healing for the affected communities. But this should also be a serious time for reflection and then action on that reflection for all Canadians.”

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Peter Routledge to become next head of Canada’s national banking regulator Canada’s banking regulator will be led by Peter Routledge, taking over for current head Jeremy Rudin, who is retiring.

Routledge, who is the current chief executive of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), begins his sevenyear term as Superintendent of Financial Institutions on Tuesday. He takes on the role as Canada sets its sights on a recovery in the pandemic-ravaged economy. Prior to

joining the CDIC in 2018, Routledge worked as a senior advisor at the Department of Finance, where he advised on policy issues including financial stability, housing and financial services competition.

In his previous role as managing director of research at National Bank

Dr. Bonnie Henry says BC’s progress on pandemic ‘good news’ Advancing to the next step in B.C.’s easing of pandemic-related restrictions now appears to be just a matter of waiting for the date to arrive as provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Wednesday that targets are being met.

Despite a lag in vaccinations in some parts of the province, notably in the B.C. Peace, Henry said the goal of delivering first shots to at least 70 per cent of adults has been met “here in the north and across B.C.” Low case counts and declining hospitalizations from COVID-19 also play role and the region and it’s looking good on those two fronts as well as Henry noted that no new cases were reported in Northern Health on Wednesday. Active cases stood at 52 with six in hospital of which five were in intensive care, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

“As immunization goes up and transmission goes down, we’re all that much more protected,” Henry said in an interview. “That’s really good news.”

The move to Step 3 of the province’s vaccine rollout strategy is set to occur on Canada Day. Among other things, it will mean a return to usual for indoor and outdoor personal

gatherings although masks and careful social contact will remain recommended.

Henry was in Prince George this week to visit with health care providers on the front line of treating patients and delivering vaccinations.

“I think they’re doing a really impressive job here and this is not a surprise to me. I talk with Northern Health pretty much every day about how things are going,” Henry said.

Henry acknowledged challenges in delivering doses to some areas of the province. Like she did during a conference call with provincial media earlier this week, she emphasized getting doses out to people who can’t make it into the larger centres.

“Now that we’ve got a lot of vaccines, we can start looking at how do we take it to people instead of only relying on the large clinics that we’ve had and really, here in the north, taking this ‘all-of-the-community’ approach has been really effective,” Henry said in reference to sending health care providers into the smaller communities to deliver jabs.

“Going back to that and going back into communitiesandcatchingpeopleupwhomissed it the last time is going to be really important.”

Financial, he led the team that oversaw equity, fixed income and derivatives research on Canadian financial institutions.

He was also head of the financial institutions group at ratings agency Moody’s Canada. “He has distinguished himself in both the public and private sectors and I know his

leadership and eye for innovation will be of immense value, particularly as we navigate the end of the COVID crisis and Canada’s economic recovery,” Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement.

Rudin retires from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) on Monday after serving seven years with the banking regulator. He announced his retirement from the public service in December.

BC man nicknamed ‘Trap Maker’ one of 20 people arrested in $61M Toronto drug bust A Surrey man dubbed the “Trap Maker” by Toronto police is one of 20 people arrested as part of a $61 million drug seizure. The suspects are facing 182 charges in total after cocaine, crystal meth and marijuana were seized in what authorities are calling the largest drug seizure in Toronto Police Service history.

“Project Brisa” allegedly found a group of smugglers using trap door compartments in tractortrailers to move up to 100 kilograms of drugs at a time from Mexico and California into Canada via Ontario border crossings. Investigators allege the traps were built and installed by a 43-year-old man from Surrey, identified as Jason Hall.

CTV News obtained Hall’s address through court documents and neighbours say there was a large search of the property about two weeks ago. “It was really early in the morning all of a sudden police had this whole area all shut down and they wouldn’t even let me out

of the yard,” said neighbour Robert Nowak.

“I figured something serious had happened there, I couldn’t believe how many police cars were here.” Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton with Surrey RCMP said she couldn’t comment on the investigation as it is being conducted by Toronto police, but in an email said: “I can say that Mr. Hall has no previous criminal convictions in B.C. that I am aware of.” In May, police executed 35 search warrants in Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area, Sarnia, London, Guelph, Kitchener, Montreal, Halifax, Surrey, Calgary and Winnipeg.

They allegedly seized 444 kilograms of cocaine, 157 kilograms of crystal meth, 427 kilograms of marijuana and 300 oxycodone pills. They also found $966,000 in cash and seized five tractor-trailers and several other vehicles including a Mercedes G-Wagon.

LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, June 26, 2021 CRA audits of ultra-wealthy Canadians yield zero prosecutions, convictions Data from the Canada Revenue Agency shows its recent efforts to combat tax evasion by the super-rich have resulted in zero prosecutions or convictions.

In response to a question tabled in Parliament by NDP MP Matthew Green, the CRA said it referred 44 cases on individuals whose net worth topped $50 million to its criminal investigations program since 2015.

Only two of those cases proceeded to federal prosecutors, with no charges laid afterward.

The lack of prosecutions follows more than 6,770 audits of ultra-wealthy Canadians over the past six years.

It also comes amid a roughly 3,000 per cent increase in spending on the agency’s high-net-worth compliance program between 2015 and 2019 due to a beefed-up

workforce, according to an October report from the parliamentary budget officer.

Green said federal authorities avoid pursuing Canada’s biggest tax cheats but go after small business owners who don’t pay their taxes under a “two-tiered system” pocked with “loopholes.”

“The CRA is not pursuing Canada’s largest and most egregious tax cheats. And yet for a small mom-and-pop shop, if you don’t pay your taxes long enough — two or three years — then they will absolutely go in and garnish your wages … because they know you don’t have the ability to take it to court,” he said.

“There’s a tax code for the ultra-wealthy … and then there’s a tax code for the rest of us,” Green said. “The rich are taking advantage of the holes in our tax system. And this Liberal government continues to allow them to do so.”

BC’s big power surplus Greater electric vehicle adoption is expected to increase the demand for electricity in BC, but only in the south coast region. Otherwise, BC is expected to have a surplus of power and no need for additional generating capacity until after 2032, according a long-awaited integrated resource plan from B.C. Hydro.

BC Hydro has released its draft Integrated Resource Plan, which had been delayed for two years to allow BC Hydro address the long-term impacts expected from the Clean BC plan, which includes increased electrification of sectors like transportation.

There have been questions about how long B.C. will have a surplus of power, once Site C dam is finished and begins generating power. And the answer to that, according to the IRP, is about a decade.

“BC Hydro is well positioned to serve our customers’ province-wide electricity needs for most of the next decade, before the addition of

any new clean resources,” BC Hydro states in its plan. “Our integrated system is currently in surplus, which we expect to continue for several years.”

Additional demand for power can be met in part through conservation measures like demandside management and energy efficiency. BC Hydro estimates it can save about 700 megawatts (MW) of power (more than half the generating capacity of Site C dam) through things like energy efficiency, and industrial load curtailment “At a system-wide level, before demand-side measures, new energy needs are not expected to occur until fiscal 2029, while capacity needs are not expected to occur until fiscal 2032,” the IRP states.

“However, growing demand for electricity on the South Coast of the province means we expect to need additional regional capacity resources in fiscal 2027.”

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Military ombudsman blasts Liberal govt ‘inaction’ over sexual misconduct, demands more independence The military ombudsman is demanding the federal government give his office “full independence” from the department of national defence and the minister’s office during a press conference where he lambasted the government for advancing “political interests” instead of addressing the sexual misconduct crisis in the Canadian Armed Forces. In a position paper presented Tuesday, National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces Ombudsman Gregory Lick also noted that his office is the victim of “subtle and insidious” attempts by the federal department to “exert control” over its work and investigations. “The ongoing sexual misconduct scandal within the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence is moving from crisis to tragedy,” Lick began during a press conference Tuesday. His speech was remarkable for its bluntness and critical tone and tenor towards government, coming from an ombudsman who is still in post (Lick was nominated by the

Liberal government in 2018). He took offense to the government’s “inaction” when addressing the sexual misconduct crisis within the CAF, said that internal mechanisms meant to support victims of misconduct have gone from “broken” to “collapsed” and denounced the fact that most promises for change have turned into “checklist exercises.” “When leaders turn a blind eye to our recommendations and concerns in order to advance political interests and their own self-preservation or career advancement, it is the members of the defence community that suffer the consequences. It is clear that inaction is rewarded far more than action,” Lick said. “In the four months since the most recent outbreak of multiple accusations of sexual misconduct, the actions of the Minister of National Defence, senior government and military officials have bitterly proved this point. The erratic behaviour of leadership defies common sense or reason. The concept of Ministerial accountability has been absent,” he continued.

Canadian dollar steadies as exporter confidence soars The Canadian dollar was little changed against the greenback on Thursday as a dip in oil prices offset domestic data showing confidence among exporters has surged to its highest level in more than 20 years. Export Development Canada’s Trade Confidence Index jumped 19% from end2020 to mid-2021 amid mounting optimism that a sustained global economic recovery is underway. One of Canada’s major exports is oil. It fell 0.5% to $72.74 a barrel but held close to its highest level in almost three years, supported by drawdowns in U.S. inventories and accelerating German economic activity.

The Canadian dollar was trading nearly unchanged at 1.2299 to the greenback, or 81.31

U.S. cents, after trading in arange of 1.2282 to 1.2314. It has gained 1.3% this week, clawing back some of the previous week’s decline, as the market reassessed a hawkish shift in guidance by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Investors have been struggling to interpret signals from the Fed about how hot it is willing to let inflation run before it begins unwinding pandemic-era monetary stimulus.Preliminary data for May from Statistics Canada showed factory sales rising 1% from April and wholesale trade up 1.1%. Canadian government bond yields eased across the curve, tracking the move in U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year was down about 1 basis point at 1.411% but holding well above the 3-1/2-month low it hit last Friday at 1.364%.

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Rancher with a Detached Double Garage. Substantially updated home, ready to move in. The home features 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, all on one level. Recent updates includes, fresh paint throughout and newer flooring. Nice home with 2 gas fireplaces, stainless steel appliances, quartz counter tops, white shaker cabinets, tile back splash. Spacious rooms, great floor plan with a south facing private back yard. Large, fenced yard with privacy and lots of parking for vehicles and RV on a lane access. Close to all amenities including schools, parks, recreation, shopping and transit. You won't be disappointed, set up your viewing today.

Truly delightful fully renovated 6 bedroom basement entry home sits on rectangular 7920 sf flat lot in most demanding area Aldergrove Langley.Main floor features 3 bed ,2 bath with new kitchen /island ,new flooring,new tiles , new woodwork,new fixtures,splash back,granite counters,new tiles,new cabinet, new windows,new zebra drapes,4 new washrooms & much more .Newly built 3 bedroom unauthorized basement suite with rear separate entry.Excellent renovated covered 333 sf Patio & deck.Landscape front & fully fenced back yard. Storage shed.Walking distance to both schools,shopping,community center with pools,water Park,ice arena,playing fields& to all

Nicely maintained and updated, split entry home on large fully fenced, lot with lane access. Excellent location with walking distance to everything. Upstairs features traditional layout with good sized living room, great kitchen with new appliances, dining room with walkout to southern exposed sundeck with n/g hookup for barbeques and 3 good sized bedrooms. Downstairs features large recroom and flexroom areas with 2 more bedrooms, 3 piece bath and separate entry. Suite potential.

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Truly delightful huge basement entry app. 7200 sqft. home sits on rectangular 9965 sqft. lot. House features 11 bedrooms & 10 washrooms build by good reputation builders. Main floor has 5 bedrooms & 4 bath with huge family room,living room,kitchen,& spice kitchen.Ground level basement has 27'x15' media room with bar & washroom for upstairs use.House has 3 spacious ground level basement suites (3 bed.+3 bed & bachelor suite).Total rent of the suites is $3500/month.Very nice tenants.Easy access to Pattulo bridge, Port Mann bridge & shopping center.Motivated sellers.Easy to show.

NORTH DELTA! - Starter family home or holding property - 2 level 4 bedroom home has been was been well maintained - 3 bedroom up and 1 bedroom down. Fully finished basement with great suite potential - separate entry. Lots of parking for cars and RV - private yard with large covered deck - great patio area.

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Absolutely gorgeous family-home with TWO mortgage helper suites and plenty of room on the main floor with 4 large bedrooms, master bedroom with a walk-in closet and ensuite bathroom, multiple living areas with 2 fireplaces, and a spacious kitchen. Kitchen lets out to a large covered sun-deck to enjoy a cup of coffee in the summer or host a BBQ. Large backyard with a brand new fully-surrounded fence with plenty of room for children or pets. Entire property is beautifully landscaped with a large decorative palm tree and multiple fruit trees including fig, apple, pear and cherry trees.

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This well-maintained family home w/3-beds up, suite-potential down and a detached workshop/garage has everything you and your family needs, all located centrally. It's a 5 -10min drive to Guildford Town Centre & Hwy 1; only a 3min drive to Gateway Skytrain Station. The 2level home has a brand-new furnace, dishwasher & washing machine +plenty of other extras including a mobile accessible alarm system and a cozy living room gas fireplace for winter nights. The back deck located off the dining room is perfect for summer barbecues! In addition to the carport and the driveway that fits up to 4-5 vehicles, the 10,200sf lot (60x170) has a massive 1100sf detached workshop that will hold 3 cars, an RV or boat, and meet all of your storage needs.

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Saturday, June 26, 2021

INDIA

Saturday, June 26, 2021

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The Rs 75,000-crore plan by which Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance wants to propel India into a green future Reliance Industries has laid out an ambitious plan worth Rs 75,000 crore to pivot towards green energy as its chief Mukesh Ambani announced that the company will look to cut down its carbon footprint to nil by 2035 and join in the efforts to bridge the green energy divide “in India and globally.” For this, the company shared an elaborate strategy that will see it rolling out its “New Energy and New Materials business” to achieve and aid the goal of a “rapid transition to a new era of green, clean and renewable energy”. In the process, the Reliance Industries chairman said, the company “will make its New Energy business a truly global business”.

Addressing shareholders at the virtual AGM on Thursday, Ambani said that fossil fuels are nearing the end of the road and the world needs to swiftly and decisively embrace green energy by moving “from dialogue to action, from commitment to urgent implementation on the ground” “The age of fossil fuels, which powered economic growth globally for nearly three centuries, cannot continue much longer. The huge quantities

of carbon it has emitted into the environment have endangered life on Earth,” Ambani said.

Referring to his announcement last year that in 15 years, that is, by 2035, the company will become “net carbon zero”, Ambani said

the mission throws up three key questions: “1. How do we increase our energy production while drastically reducing our carbon emission content?

“2. How do we meet India’s growing energy

needs through domestic sources of energy, and not by importing carbon intensive fuels?

“3. How do we do so in a self-reliant and affordablewaywhichbenefits1.35billionIndians?”

Converted 1,000 non-Muslims to Islam by marrying them to Muslims boasts ISI’s conversion module head I converted 1,000 non-Muslims to Islam by marrying them all to Muslims, Mohammad Umar Gautam boasted before the police. A man who had converted from Hinduism to Islam boasted before the police that he had managed to convert over a 1,000 people to Islam by luring them with money, marriages and jobs.

Umar along with Mufti Qazi Jahangir Alam Qasm from Delhi’s Jamia Nagar were arrested by the police for running an outfit involved in converting deaf and dumb students and other poor people to Islam in Uttar Pradesh with funding from the Pakistan’s ISI. The arrests were made by Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad following the registration of an FIR in the case at Lucknow’s ATS police station. Gautam lived in Batla House of Jamia Nagar, the infamous site of September 2008 encounter between the Special Cell of Delhi police and Indian Mujahideen operatives, in which Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma was gunned down by terrorists, two of whom were shot dead and two arrested, while two other had escaped. Kumar said Gautam, who is himself a convert to Islam from Hinduism, boasted to the police of having converted at least 1,000 people to Islam, luring them with marriage, money and jobs. Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said that during interrogation, Gautam boasted and said, “ I converted at least 1,000 non-Muslims to Islam, marrying them all to Muslims.” The outfit that they ran is named Islamic Dawah Center, having access of funds from Pakistan’s ISI and other foreign agencies, said Kumar.

The ADGP said the ATS had been working on the case on the intelligence that some people were getting funds from ISI and other foreign agencies for converting poor people to Islam and spreading communal enmity in the society.

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Saturday, June 26, 2021

TELUS commits $1 million to champion Canadian small business Small business owners can apply to receive $10,000 and personalized local advertising Canadians encouraged to support their favourite small business using #StandWithOwners for a chance to win a $500 gift card

I

n its second year supporting small businesses through its national #StandWithOwners initiative, TELUS is doubling its commitment by investing $1 million to promote these vitally important organizations in 2021. Small business owners have demonstrated incredible strength and ingenuity as they pivoted and innovated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and TELUS is proudly supporting them with funding, localized advertising, and mentorship as they move forward. “We continue to be inspired by the courage and determination of Canadian small business owners as they navigate long periods of lockdown and evolving restrictions to keep their dreams alive,” said Navin Arora, Executive Vice-president, TELUS and President, TELUS Business Solutions. “With nearly 69% of Canada’s

total private labour force being employed by small businesses,1 it has never been more important to rally behind and stand with owners. As we renew our commitment, we are asking Canadians to make one too.

Commit to supporting your favourite small business this year. Together we can recognize and champion the owners that make our communities so special.” Canadians and small businesses alike can participate in 4UBOE8JUI0XOFST t 5&-64 4NBMM #VTJOFTT Application: Owners can apply to receive $10,000 and personalized local advertising campaigns to help fuel awareness and drive revenue for their bbusiness. Winners will be chosen weekly and showcased on telus.com/ standwithowners. t Rallying the community:

Canadians are invited to take action and make a commitment to stand with their favourite small business this year. Whether it’s buying your fruit and vegetables from a farmers market, ordering from your favourite local restaurant, or shopping at a family-owned flower shop, Canadians can show their support on social media by tagging their chosen business and using the hashtag #StandWithOwners. Bonus: participating Canadians will be entered to win a $500 gift card towards the small business they’ve nominated. t Expert advice: TELUS is engaging industry experts and will launch a series of online resources that will help guide small business owners to develop

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effective digital marketing campaigns to drive awareness and sales. 1 Based on a study from the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Small Business Branch t Health & wellness virtual panel: Following a year of pandemic-induced regulations, 48% of owners say they have experienced mental health challenges.2 To help owners prioritize their mental and physical wellbeing, TELUS is hosting a virtual panel with experts to discuss ways that owners can better look after themselves and their employees.

TELUS has a longstanding history of supporting Canadian small businesses and entrepreneurship through programs such as Pollinator Fund, TELUS Ventures, TELUS Pitch, and Stand With Owners. To learn more about this year’s campaign and how to get involved, visit telus.com/standwithowners.

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Indian Passport 84th most powerful in the World, visa free access to 58 countries Indian passport, ranked 84th in the world’s most powerful passport index 2020, can get you visa-free entry to 58 destinations worldwide, according to a new report. Based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Henley & Partners has come out with a passport index where countries are ranked according to the number of destinations their passport holder can access without a prior visa.

While Japan continues to top the list of the world’s most powerful passport as it fetches visa-free access to 191 countries, India’s rank has dropped from 82nd spot in

2019 to 84th in 2020. World’s top 10 most powerful passports: 1) Japan: Visa-free entry to 191 countries 2) Singapore: 190 countries 3) Germany, South Korea: 189 4) Finland, Italy: 188 5) Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain: 187 6) France, Sweden: 186 7) Austria, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland: 185 8) Belgium, Greece, Norway, UK, USA: 184 9) Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Malta, New Zealand: 183 10) Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia: 181

Brazil probes vaccine contract with India’s Bharat Biotech Brazilian federal prosecutors have opened an investigation into a contract worth 1.6 billion reals ($320m) for 20 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine made by India’s Bharat Biotech, according to a document seen by Reuters.

The prosecutor-general’s office (PGR) cited comparatively high prices, speedy talks and pending regulatory approvals as red flags for the Bharat contract signed in February, before similar deals with Pfizer Inc and Johnson & Johnson. Bharat did not respond to a request for comment outside of business hours in India.

The Bharat contract has also drawn scrutiny from a Brazilian Senate inquiry, which called for testimony on Wednesday from the head of Precisa Medicamentos, Bharat’s intermediary in Brasilia.

Justifying the preliminary probe, prosecutors flagged in a document dated June 16 that Precisa’s partners include Global Saude, a company accused of selling but not delivering medicine to the Ministry of Health in a case under investigation by police.

Precisa said it had no knowledge of the prosecutors’ probe and it was open to cooperating with Senate investigators. In a statement, the company said its talks with the health ministry were transparent and the price of Bharat’s vaccine in Brazil was the same charged in more than a dozen other countries. The Ministry of Health said in a statement on Tuesday that no payment of any kind had been made to Precisa and that its legal department was analysing the case.

When will India’s third wave of Covid-19 begin?

India’s brutal second wave of Covid-19 has barely receded and there’s already talk about the next wave.

As pockets of the country begin to lift restrictions, a mathematical model by the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, published this week, has predicted three scenarios for a possible third wave in the country. The model assumes most Covid-19 restrictions will be lifted by July 15. In the worst-case scenario, India could see as many as 500,000 cases a day, with a peak

by September (the second wave peaked at around 400,000 cases in May). In the best-case scenario, daily cases could be at 200,000 a day.

Both scenarios envision that a third wave would be significantly larger than India’s first wave, where cases reached a peak of 98,000 a day in September 2020. The researchers wrote that effective vaccination programmes could bring down this peak, but do not clarify to what extent.

Some health experts like Dr Randeep

Guleria, director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, India’s premier public hospital, fear that a third wave could begin as early as in the next six or eight weeks.

Health officials in the western state of Maharashtra, one of the worst-hit states during the second wave, have said that if all restrictions are lifted, as they have begun to in pockets of the state, it could see another wave within the next fortnight.

India has only fully vaccinated about 4% of its population., raising fears that a third wave of Covid-19 cases in the country could result in a disastrous number of hospitalizations and deaths, even as it recovers from the devastation of previous infections.

But as is the case with pandemicrelated scientific modelling, these projections are highly dependent on what happens now, as India’s second wave recedes and vaccinations pick up.

Will India’s third wave be worse than its second?

India declares Delta Plus Covid-19 ‘variant of concern’; warns 3 states With a new Covid variant being detected in Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, the Indian government has gone in for a significant change in risk appraisal, from ‘variant of interest’ to ‘variant of concern.’

The centre urged people to avoid large gatherings and maintain Covidappropriate behaviour. The new variant was found in 22 samples in Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Jalgaon districts in Maharashtra, Palakkad and Pathanamthitta in Kerala and Bhopal and Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh.

The government has directed immediate containment measures including preventing crowds being formed, intermingling of people, prompt contact tracing and extensive testing.

“Broadly speaking, both Covishield and Covaxin are effective against the Delta variant,” said Rajesh Bhushan, the health secretary.

However, the new variant, Delta-plus (also known as AY.1 variant or B.1.617.2.1) is seen as one of the most dangerous Covid-19 variants.

The Delta-plus variant was detected during genome sequencing of samples by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG), a group of 10 national laboratories. In March, genome sequencing by the consortium revealed variants of concern and a novel variant in India.

Experts have warned that the new variant could be more dangerous and could trigger off the third-wave in India.

Opposition parties talk of need for ‘credible alternative’ for next elections A discussion among leaders from several BJP’s opposition parties and likeminded activitists concluded that there is a need to thrash out a “credible alternative vision” to attract people even as they emphasised that they were not speaking of a new “front” just yet. The meeting at the residence of NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar turned out to be a free-wheeling discussion on challenges facing

the country, ranging from economy to geopolitics to Covid to social harmony.

Sources said Trinamool vice-president Yashwant Sinha, who convened the meeting at Pawar’s residence under the banner of his “nonpolitical” forum Rashtra Manch, said right at the start of the session that more efforts would be made in future to ensure that the forum became bigger and more inclusive.

Nepal Prime Minister Oli claims Yoga originated in Nepal, not in India Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has stoked yet another controversy by claiming that Yoga originated in his country, not in India, a view not shared by a leading expert here. Speaking at a function organised to observe the International Yoga Day on June 21 at the Prime Minister’s residence in Baluwatar, Oli said that India was not even born as a separate country when Yoga originated in “this part of the world”. “Yoga originated from this part of the globe. It originated from Uttarakhand, in particular, Nepal was the place of origin of Yoga,” he said.

Some 15,000 years ago, Shambhunath or Shiva propounded the practices of Yoga. Later on, Maharshi Patanjali developed the philosophy of Yoga in a more refined and systematic manner, he said. “Yoga doesn’t belong to any particular religion or religious sect,” Oli said.

“Shiva started the practice of Yoga on the longest day on the Earth, which lies on June 21 as per the Gregorian calendar. Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi proposed to observe International Yoga Day on the same day, for which we all should be pleased,” Oli said.

India fifth largest recipient of inflows in world with $64 billion FDI in 2020, says UN The World Investment Report 2021 by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), released Monday, said global FDI flows have been severely hit by the pandemic and they plunged by 35 per cent in 2020 to USD 1 trillion from USD 1.5 trillion the previous year. Lockdowns caused by COVID-19 around the world slowed down existing investment projects.

India received USD 64 billion in Foreign Direct Investment in 2020, the fifth largest recipient of inflows in the world, according to a UN report which said the COVID-19 second wave in the country weighs heavily on the country’s overall economic activities but its strong fundamentals provide optimism for the medium term.

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Saturday, June 26, 2021

Punjab Police inspector stabbed his sister-in-law to death, injured his brother over water supply dispute An Assistant Sub-Inspector Police stabbed to death his sister-in-law and injured his brother following an altercation over the issue of water supply at Ram Darbar last night.

The suspect, Harswaroop, posted at the Police Headquarters, used to have arguments with his brother Prem Nath Sagar, staying on the first floor of the house, over the supply of water.

Prem used to complain that the water supply did not reach the first floor, which always led

to arguments between him and Harswaroop.

The duo had an altercation again following which Harswaroop allegedly stabbed Prem with a knife. He also stabbed Prem’s wife Divya.

The police were informed and the injured couple was rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, where Divya succumbed to the injury while Prem’s condition is stated to be serious.

Big fat weddings in Punjab a passé Big fat Punjabi weddings are a passé now, blame it on the pandemic. Once the budget of wedding photography used to run in crores in Amritsar offering employment to a large number of professionals, but now, the profession is seeing a steep downturn due to the Covid-19 pandemic for the last one-and-a-half years.

Restrictions imposed in the wake of Covid-19 such as not having more than

20 persons at a marriage ceremony, unable to travel in flights or trains have made once big fat Punjabi wedding a pygmy affair.

There are hundreds of photo studios in the city catering to wedding photography.

Nearly 20 of these cater to high-end marriages engaging them for Rs 2 lakh and above. So, the high-end shops used to engage 10 to 20 persons to discharge the job efficiently. Barring a few, a majority

NRI businessman becomes latest passenger to have Air India solo flight to Dubai Dubai-based businessman and philanthropist Surinder Pal Singh Oberoi became the latest passenger to have an entire plane to himself while flying from India to the UAE. Oberoi, who was in Gurdaspur yesterday to scout for land to establish a pathological laboratory, drove to the Amritsar airport around midnight to catch

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the early-morning flight (AI 929) to Dubai.

The businessman, who had bought a ticket for 740 dirhums (Rs 14,800), was caught by surprise when told by the Air India staff that he could not board the plane without assigning any valid reason. “They simply kept on saying that I could not board the aircraft. I tried to reason out with them but to no avail.

Pakistan

Prime Minister refuses to condemn China’s Xinjiang crackdown Up to 2 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are believed to have been placed in a sprawling network of detention centers across Xinjiang in recent years, according to the US State Department. Many former detainees allege they were subjected to attempted indoctrination, physical abuse and even sterilization. The United States government and several Western parliaments have labeled China’s actions in Xinjiang as genocide. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks to Axios in an interview broadcast on Sunday.

But Khan said Beijing had denied reports

of widespread abuses of Uyghur Muslims in private conversations with Islamabad.

“We respect the way they are ...

How come this is such a big issue in the Western world? Why are the people of Kashmir ignored? It is much more relevant,” he said. The disputed Muslim-majority region of Kashmir has been the epicenter of an often violent territorial struggle between India and Pakistan. In 2019, India officially split the former state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, giving New Delhi greater control over their affairs.

Audacious defence budget needs to stay on paper It’s good for everyone Decoding Pakistan’s actions can be a difficult game. There are so many intertwined threads and hidden agendas that analysing them can be exhausting. But the task is necessary, especially when this volatile country hikes its defence allocation by a reported 6.28 per cent. That’s a lot for anyone, but especially Pakistan, which has trouble paying its bills. Added to that is speculation that the defence rise is tied to the concessions that Pakistan expects from the US in its policy on Afghanistan. There’s no end to the audacity of Rawalpindi, but that bluff can be called, for many reasons. The cards are simply not falling right.

Defence budget and Pakistan’s economy First, the budget itself. The unseemly brawl during the budget session was bad enough, with

mostly treasury benches resorting to violence and name-calling. But the devil lies in the details of those budget papers being thrown around. Actual expenditure for the defence services, which in India covers several pages of detailed information, is so short as to be a parody. The total for ‘Defence Services’ is PKR 1.37 trillion, far more than what the federal government transfers to its provinces. That figure doesn’t include pensions pegged at PKR 360 billion and the Armed Forces Development Program at PKR 340 billion.

There are other heads that are opaque, including the Defence Services Miscellaneous and Security Deposits, which runs to more than PKR 184 million. Add all of this up, and the total is far above the stated figure.

Pakistan & Russia to further strengthen and diversify bilateral relations Pakistan and Russia on Wednesday expressed their resolve to deepen and diversify the bilateral relationship. The announcement was made at meeting between Pakistan’s National Security Adviser and Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolai

Platonovich Patrushev in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

During the meeting, they also exchanged views on the regional security and the latest situation in Afghanistan. The Russian Secretary of the Security Council also invited the National Security Advisor to visit Moscow.

FIJI 308 new Covid-19 cases – 153 from Qauia 308 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed - 297 cases are from the Lami-Nausori Containment Zone, and 11 are from Tramline Nadi.

Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 218 of the cases in Lami-SuvaNausori are from existing areas of interest.

This includes 153 cases from Qauia in Lami.

12 cases are from new areas of interest that include Goodman Fielder, Gounder Shipping,

Nausori Police Barracks and Saint Giles Hospital.

Doctor Fong says the remaining cases are contacts of known cases, or cases that were seen in screening clinics and were swabbed.

The distribution of new cases can be seen on the map provided on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.

He says in the interest of safeguarding patient privacy, locations of cases on the map indicate the general area a case comes from and are not exact.

Australian & New Zealand companies earning millions through sale of sugary drinks to Pacific Islands battling obesity crisis The biggest cause of death in the Pacific is diet-related chronic disease, and in some Pacific island countries up to 90 per cent of populations were overweight, according to The World Health Organization (WHO).

Though the reasons behind the Pacific’s obesity epidemic are complex, the multimillion-dollar export of junk food and sugary drinks into the region is considered a key driver.

And there is new evidence the problem is getting worse.

In a recent study, Deakin University researchers found that companies in Australia, the United

States and New Zealand made a combined total of more than $US414 million ($549 million) over 15 years by selling juices, soft drinks, cordial and other bottled beverages into the Pacific.

That’s resulted in an increase of sugarsweetened beverages in the Pacific by an average of “0.3 kilograms per person, per year”.

Those drinks are often cheaper and more valued than healthier options, with Ms Hawea, a dietetics lecturer at Fiji National University, saying many people prefer imported junk foods that often have no nutritional value.

Fiji’s Covid-19 infections explode Fiji has recorded 279 new infections of COVID-19 in the 24 hour period ending at 8am yesterday marking its highest singleday count since the start of the outbreak.

Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong, says this is a new daily record and out of these cases 46 are from existing containment

zones or quarantine facilities in Nadi.

“The remaining 233 cases are from the Lami-Nausori containment Zone, 196 of which are from existing areas of concern – that means they are either from known clusters or they have a potential link to an existing case.”

All 279 of these new patients are currently in isolation at home or in a facility.

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Saturday, June 26, 2021

What’s behind Modi’s surprise talks with Kashmir leaders?

T

wo years after stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its autonomy and detaining thousands during a harsh lockdown, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an unexpected meeting with the region’s top leaders. During the meeting, Modi promised to hold polls in Jammu and Kashmir and indicated his government would permit and observe local elections in the region, a major reversal of his policy since August 2019. Modi, however, did not specify when these polls would be held. There was no official announcement about the Thursday meeting’s agenda, but Modi tweeted after the meeting that his government was looking to conduct polls in the region soon “so that J&K gets an elected government”.

Modi called the meeting “an important step ... towards a developed and progressive Jammu & Kashmir”. His aide and Home Minister Amit Shah said an exercise to fix boundaries of constituencies and elections were “important milestones in restoring statehood, as promised in Parliament”.

In August 2019, Modi placed hundreds under house arrest overnight and downgraded Jammu and Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status, moving it under central rule. The government then announced the state’s bifurcation into two federally administered provinces – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. For months afterwards, the region remained under a communications blackout with a heavy security presence, while the Modi administration tried to introduce controversial laws that critics said were aimed at bringing about a demographic change. But the surprise meeting signals a change in this heavy-handed approach. Leaders from different parties were invited, including former state chief

ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, and Mehbooba Mufti. The father-and-son duo were released in March last year, while Mufti was freed in October after spending 14 months in detention.

Experts believe Modi’s aboutturn might have been dictated by geopolitical considerations in India’s neighbourhood rather than domestic concerns. Aparna Pande, director of the Washington-based Hudson Institute’s Initiative on the Future of India and South Asia, said Thursday’s developments could be linked to the ongoing rapprochement between rivals India and Pakistan In February, the nuclear-armed neighbours unexpectedly announced that they would uphold a 2003 ceasefire agreement. In the following months, New Delhi and Islamabad have taken baby steps towards re-establishing ties, from allowing sporting visits to resolving long-standing disputes over visas for diplomatic staff as well as holding talks over water-sharing after a gap of nearly three years. This slowly growing bonhomie hit a roadblock earlier this month when Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said his country was ready to restart talks with India only if New Delhi provided a road map towards restoring the special status of Kashmir.

Pande said she believed the key to Thursday’s meeting lay in that demand.

“There is a realisation in New Delhi that unless Kashmir is part of [the discussions], Islamabad might not be ready to talk,” she said. “So India wants to do something to build Pakistan’s confidence, and this might be the first step.”

But Islamabad’s original demand for the region – that New Delhi restore Jammu and Kashmir’s special status – might be difficult for the Modi administration to accept. Stripping the region of its autonomy had long been part

Bengal CM slams Centre for ‘Victimising’ former Chief Secretary

B

engal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday slammed the Centre for “victimising” her former top bureaucrat Alapan Bandyopadhyay, against whom the union government has initiated penalty proceedings that could deprive him of post-retirement benefits.

Banerjee said that IAS and IPS officers of the country are in solidarity with the former West Bengal chief secretary, as it is the “battle of every bureaucrat”.

“The Centre must realise it is victimising an official who lost his brother, nephew and mother within a span of 15-20 days… and he is in mental agony because he has worked for the country all his life, and now he is being treated in such a manner… This is irresponsible behaviour and we will not allow this,” she told reporters.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has sent Bandyopadhyay, now an advisor to the chief minister, a “memorandum” mentioning the charges and giving him 30 days to reply, officials had said on Monday.

He has been warned of major penalty proceedings, which allows the central government to withhold pension or gratuity, or both, either in full or in part. The CM said

Bandyopadhyay, a 1987-batch IAS officer (retired), has always worked with dedication, determination and devotion, and he is authorised to take any action as part of his response to the Centre.

“Our government will give him full support,” Banerjee asserted.

She also said the union government is not abiding by the law in its actions against Bandyopadhyay.

“You cannot forcibly change rules because the country has a Constitution. It (central government) is turning into a selfish giant…

Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and the Congress party, too, had a massive majority, but even he had never done something like this,” Banerjee said. The Centre had on May 28 sought services of Bandyopadhyay, barely a few days after he was given a threemonth extension beyond the date of his superannuation (May 31), and asked the state government to relieve him immediately with a direction to him to report at DoPT, New Delhi.

The DoPT had sent him a reminder after he failed to report in response to its May 28th order.

As the tussle between the Centre and the state continued over the order, Mamata Banerjee on May 31 said that Bandyopadhyay has “retired” and been appointed as her advisor for three years.

of the Hindu nationalist agenda of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); home minister Amit Shah, the prime minister’s closest aide, had called the special status the “root of terrorism” and the biggest obstacle in integrating Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India.

Should the restoration be off the table, Pande said, New Delhi might be

looking at the second-best alternative.

“India can’t bring back Article 370 [of the constitution, which acknowledged the special status], but what it can do is to bring back the rest,” Pande said. “So, there is a move to do everything to return to the situation before August 2019, where there are political parties, there is a political apparatus, there is a Kashmir state.”

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