The Asian Star March 19 2022 by The Asian Star Newspaper

www.theasianstar.com Vol 21 - Issue 7

Saturday, March 19, 2022

Ukraine president Zelensky’s address to Congress was direct and unforgettable At 9am Eastern Time (1pm GMT) in a virtual address to Congress in Washington DC on last Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of Pearl Harbor and September 11th. “Americans, in your great history you have pages that would help you understand,” he said of the continuing attacks on Ukrainian cities. “We need you right now. Remember Pearl Harbor… Remember September 11th, a terrible day in 2001 when evil tried to turn your cities — independent territories — into battlefields. When you were attacked from

Experts in BC worry about next Covid-19 wave B.C.’s big danger with COVID-19 is that people will forget about the virus as restrictions ease, even as new waves surge in other countries, according to infectious disease experts. “At the Canucks game last night, every five minutes I heard someone say, ‘thank God COVID’s gone,’” said Dr. Brian Conway, president and medical director of the Vancouver Infectious Disease Centre. “I think that is probably my biggest concern, is that people are thinking that way.” B.C., he said, is likely to get a surge in new cases as restrictions are eased, but

the air. Our country experiences the same every day… Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people.” It was a similar address to the one he’d made the day before to the Canadian parliament and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Can you imagine the CN Tower in Toronto if it was hit by Russian bombs? I don’t wish that on anyone, but this is the reality we face,” he said then, before directly addressing Trudeau by his first name: “Justin, can you imagine you or your children hearing those explosions? Can you imagine that?”

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BC had the highest rate of hate crimes in the country during first year of COVID-19 pandemic Statistics Canada data shows crimes targeting race or ethnicity almost doubled Canada-wide in 2020. Data from the federal government released Thursday shows police-reported hate crimes spiked sharply across the country during the first year of the pandemic and that British Columbians had the highest rate. A detailed analysis on the number of hate crimes in 2020 published by Statistics Canada, shows them rising 37 per cent overall in Canada from 2019, with police reporting a total of 2,669 that year. In B.C., they rose 60 per cent and, when

adjusted for population, the incident rate was higher than any other province or territory. B.C. had 198 reported hate-crimes in 2020, which breaks down to about 10 incidents per 100,000 people. Ontario is second, with an incident rate of 7.9. Nationally, 2020 had the highest number of police-reported hate crimes since comparable data became available in 2009. The data also shows crimes targeting race or ethnicity almost doubled in 2020 compared to 2019.

Tim Hortons to open first India location in New Delhi 300 more locations to follow location in New Delhi later this year. Tim Hortons parent company Restaurant Brands International (QSR)(QSR.TO) says there are plans to open 300 locations in India over the next decade. “India is one of the world’s fastest growing markets for coffee and tea retail chains and Tims is thrilled to be opening there soon,” David Shear, president of RBI, said in a statement.

Tim Hortons is expanding, bringing its doubledoubles and Timbits to India as the chain looks to open hundreds of new locations around the world. The coffee and doughnut chain announced on Tuesday that it has reached an agreement with a joint venture owned by Apparel Group and Gate Partners and will open its first India

Continued on page 7

Why is India standing with Russia? Since the beginning of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the Indian government, and large segments of the Indian public, have firmly been on Putin’s side. Hashtags like #IStandWithPutin and #istandwithrussia trended on Indian social media, and the Indian government demonstrated – perhaps most notably by refusing to support UN resolutions condemning the invasion – that it is not willing to jeopardise its strong ties with Russia over Putin’s actions in Ukraine. India’s approach to the situation in Ukraine is hardly surprising or atypical. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties following India’s independence in 1947, relations

between Moscow and New Delhi have been shaped by a “high degree of political and strategic trust”. Across the years, Russia and India routinely took similar stances and supported each other on contentious international issues. From the very beginning, Moscow saw its alliance with India as essential for offsetting American and Chinese dominance in Asia. And India always enjoyed the leverage that support from a major power like Russia provided in international politics. In 1961, after India used its military to end Portuguese colonial sovereignty over Goa, Daman and Diu, for example, the US, the UK, France, and Turkey put forth a resolution

Muslim political party helped BJP win UP polls The allegation in the UP elections that AIMIM led by Asaduddin Owaisi, was actually a ‘B’ team of the Bhartiya Janata Party is not entire baseless if one takes a look at election results. On several seats Owaisi’s candidate have taken away votes that, if added to the SP-RLD combine, would have ensured the defeat of the BJP. For instance, in Bijnor, SPRLD got 95,720 while AIMIM got 2,290 votes. The BJP won the seat by getting 97,165 votes -- 1,445 more than the SP-RLD. The AIMIM had taken away 2,290 votes, allowing a win for the BJP. In Nakur, the BJP polled 1,03,771

votes while SP got 1,03,616. AIMIM got 3,591 votes that allowed BJP take the seat. Similarly, in Kursi seat in Barabanki, the BJP polled 1,18,614 votes while SP got 1,18,094 and AIMIM got 8,541 votes. In Sultanpur, the BJP won with 92,245 votes and SP got 90,857. The AIMIM had sliced away 5,251 votes. In Aurai assembly seat, the AIMIM took away 2,190 votes allowing BJP to win with 93,691 votes while the Samajwadi Party got 92,044 votes. In Shahganj, the BJP won with 76,035 votes and SP trailed with 70,370 votes. The AIMIM had taken away 7,070 votes. In Firozabad, Continued on page 7

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Saturday, March 19, 2022

RCMP looking for South Asian man accused of indecent act near Surrey school

BC reports 7 deaths as cases in hospital fall below 300 The number of COVID-19 cases in B.C. fell below 300 for the first time since Jan. 2, British Columbia health officials said Thursday as they reported seven additional deaths. There were 298 positive cases in the hospital system, an overnight drop of 31, including 49 cases in critical or intensive care. Officials also confirmed 240 new cases, however daily new case counts no longer reflect the true spread of the virus due to limitations on testing. Just eight outbreaks remained in healthcare facilities — seven in long-term care homes, and one at Surrey Memorial Hospital. As of Thursday, 87.8 per cent of B.C.’s population (90.8 per cent of those eligible)

have had one dose of vaccine, 84.1 per cent of B.C.’s population (86.9 per cent of those eligible) have had two doses, and 49.2 per cent of B.C.’s population (58.7 per cent of those eligible) have had three doses. People with two or more doses accounted for 83.5 per cent of cases over the past week and 72.4 per cent of hospitalizations over the past two weeks. Monthly B.C. CDC data continues to show unvaccinated people at a significantly higher risk of severe outcomes. From Feb. 8 to March 7, per 100,000 population, there were 117.2 unvaccinated cases in hospital, 27.2 unvaccinated cases in ICU and 13.8 deaths among the unvaccinated, compared to 39.7 vaccinated (two-dose) cases in hospital,

Surrey RCMP is releasing a sketch of a suspect from multiple indecent acts near a Newton high school. Police released a sketch of the suspect, describing him as South Asian, 30 to 40 years, old, “medium complexion,” dark hair, fivefoot-10, with an “average build.” He has stubble with a moustache. On March 2 Surrey RCMP received a report of a man “exposing and touching himself in the bushes near Princess Margaret Secondary School.” The high school is located at 12870 72 Ave. Police say “All incidents occurred in the morning between 8:20 to

8:30 a.m. and that the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about this incident, or who recognizes the suspect is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604599-0502, or Crime Stoppers, if they wish to remain anonymous, at 1-800-222-8477 or solvecrime.ca.

Washington State approves $150 million to plan VancouverSeattle high-speed rail

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The legislature of Washington State has approved a spending measure of US$150 million (CA$192 million) to proceed with advanced planning work on the proposed Cascadia high-speed rail passenger service linking Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland. The funding is just one component of an approved 16-year, US$17 billion (CA$21.7 billion) comprehensive transportation expansion and improvement plan introduced by the Democrats. In the final vote on Thursday, it saw bi-partisan Republican support on the floor. During media availability following the decision, Governor Jay Inslee deemed the plan, called Move Ahead Washington, to be the “cleanest and greenest transportation package in the history of Washington.” The state government’s funding for the high-speed rail planning component takes advantage of up to US$700 million (CA$894 million) in matching federal funding that could be made available by President Joe Biden’s US$1 trillion (CA$1.28 trillion) national infrastructure plan. Funding from both the state and federal governments — potentially up to US$850 million (CA$1.09 billion) combined — would push the high-speed rail project to a new phase of advanced planning. This would include more detailed technical work, geotechnical studies, environmental impact studies, public consultation, and development on a business case and funding models. In December 2020, a report summarizing the project work-to-date stated the next step to move the project into further planning development would be to establish a new coordinating organization based on the tri-jurisdictional partnership agreement. Preliminary estimates made in 2019 put the total cost of detailed planning, final engineering and design, and construction of the project between US$24 billion (CA$30.7 billion) and US$42 billion (CA$53.6 billion), based on construction occurring from 2027 to 2024, with the service opening in 2035. As many as 30 roundtrips could be made per day every day of the year, depending on the scenario, using 260seat trains. It would see 2.1 million annual riders upon opening, with ridership growing to 3.3 million annually by 2055.

Saturday, March 19, 2022

BC increasing minimum wage to highest in Canada British Columbia’s minimum wage is the highest among the provinces in Canada, and it is about to go even higher. The province announced on Monday it is linking minimum wage increases to inflation, meaning that the wage will jump to $15.65 per hour on June 1, up from $15.20 an hour. “This is so wages keep pace in a predictable way. This provides certainty for businesses as well,” Minister of Labour Harry Bains said Monday. “This better reflects the challenges for workers. Workers need to be able to keep up with cost of living.” B.C. government announces minimum wage will increase to $15.65 on June 1 Metro Vancouver’s living wage is $20.52 an hour, report says — well above minimum wage The annual increases will be based on the average inflation increase of the year before. In 2021, six per cent of employees in B.C. earned minimum wage or less. Of those, 52 per cent were over the age of 25 and 58 per cent were women. Even with the increases, B.C. is still well short of a living wage. In Metro Vancouver, it’s $20.52 per hour. The province said they’re waiting on a report from the Fair Wages Commission

Teen targeted at Guildford home in latest Surrey gunfire Surrey RCMP says a 17-yearold was the target of a shooting in the city early Wednesday morning. Police confirmed shots were fired at a home in the 11200-block of Lansdowne Drive at 3:17 a.m. The teen is known to police, Mounties confirmed, and suffered non-life-threatening injuries. They were taken to the hospital and have since been released, police said. The investigation is in the early stages, but all indications are that it was targeted, RCMP said in a release. The shooting does not appear to be linked to the Lower Mainland gang conflict. “Anytime there is a shooting it is very concerning,” Surrey RCMP media relations officer, Const. Gurvinder Ghag said in a release. “There were multiple people inside the residence who were placed at risk as a result of this targeted shooting, thankfully no one was seriously injured.” Anyone with information about this incident, dash camera footage or video surveillance from the area is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-5990502, or Crime Stoppers, if they wish to remain anonymous, at 1-800-222-8477 or www.solvecrime.ca.

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before making a final decision on whether future increases could be higher than inflation. “We fully understand businesses are hurting and workers are still struggling living with some of the highest costs,” Bains said. “There is no link of job losses to minimum wage. We are now the highest (of the provinces) and our economy is one of the best in the country. We have 84,000 more workers working than pre-COVID.” Over the past five years, B.C.’s general minimum wage has gone up from $11.35 to $15.65 per hour. As of June 1, an increase of 2.8 per cent will also apply to the live-in camp leader and live-in home support worker minimum daily wages. “The increases to the minimum wage over the past few years have made a huge difference to me and my family,” Agnes Estimo, a cleaner at

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Saturday, March 19, 2022

OPINION By Joseph Quesnel Senior research associate Frontier Centre for Public Policy

Canada can still help provide Europe with energy security

Canada’s chattering classes – often more accustomed to playing the ineffectual dovish role – are rushing to prove their outrage over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and demonstrate their resolve to make Russian President Vladimir Putin pay. However, these are often the same

people who opposed Canadian gas pipelines, which could help fellow NATO countries. The Ukraine conflict reminds Canadians that access to stable and affordable energy has foreign policy importance. The good news is that the Western provinces can help address the problem. European countries are limited in their options

when it comes to forcing the Putin regime to rethink its invasion of a sovereign nation. Many of them are dependent on natural gas imports from Russia, and although they would love to leverage that, they simply can’t. German Economic Affairs Minister Robert Habeck recently stated he opposed banning energy imports from Russia because of justifiable concerns over rising energy prices in his country and the implications for their economy. The problem, of course, is that Germany lacks access to other energy imports to make up for the shortfall. About 55 per cent of Germany’s natural gas and 35 per cent of its oil comes from Russia. We should be very familiar with the litany of oil and gas pipelines that have been obstructed or killed over the last several years, mainly due to a policy environment hostile to the responsible development of energy resources. Both the Canadian and the American governments (the latter under President Joe Biden’s administration) have been too beholden to environmentalist interests and climate change hysteria to allow for the building of new international pipelines. For instance, the crafters of federal Bill C-69 thought it more important to ensure new energy projects in Canada met gender impact studies than ensuring we weren’t importing more oil to Eastern Canada from regimes that show blatant disrespect for women’s equality. But I digress. If the trans-Atlantic Canadian pipelines had been operational, Canada could have helped secure gas imports to European countries (the NATO nations that Russia opposes) and provided them with more needed leverage against Putin. In May 2021, a consortium of developers proposed the Neestanan utility corridor project to build a pipeline that would run from Alberta to a new Port Nelson seaport on Hudson Bay. The pipeline would also create a westward path for Manitoba’s surplus hydroelectric energy to reach the grids in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, March 19, 2022

Surrey police investigating after two cars destroyed in early morning arson Police are investigating after two cars were destroyed in an early morning arson a week ago in Surrey’s Fraser Heights neighbourhood. Surrey Fire Service called in police at around 2:40 a.m. on March 11 after two vehicles were damaged by fire in the 17700-block of 101 Avenue. A Surrey RCMP arson investigator and a Surrey Fire inspector determined the cars had been intentionally set on fire. “A motive has not yet been determined and the vehicle owners are not known to police,” said police in a news release.

Police have combed the area for witnesses and surveillance footage. Video footage retrieved showed two suspects arriving to the area on foot before leaving northbound by a footpath toward 101A Avenue. Investigators believe one of the arsonists may have had their clothing catch on fire and they may have been hurt. Anyone with information is asked to contact Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or www.solvecrime.ca.

Surrey’s Arshdeep Bains signs with Canucks after high-scoring season in WHL Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin announced on Friday (March 11) that the club has signed Surrey’s Arshdeep Bains to an entry-level contract. News of the signing is posted to nhl.com/canucks. “Bains, 21, has appeared in 55 games for the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League (WHL) this season collecting 82 points (30-5282) and 46 penalty minutes. He leads the league in both points (82) and assists (52), becoming the first player of South Asian descent to lead the WHL in points. “This

season, the 6’1”, 184-pound left winger collected 11 power play goals and 24 assists on the man advantage to help the Rebels boast the third-best power-play percentage in the league.” Arshdeep Bains will continue playing for Red Deer this spring, with an eye on cracking the Canucks lineup next season, for 2022-23. Reached Friday, Bains said “it’s pretty relieving” to sign with his hometown NHL team, and also tweeted that it was “a dream come true” to sign a contract with the Canucks.

Union issues strike notice to CP Rail as groups ask Ottawa to prevent work stoppage Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. said Thursday it has received strike notice from the union representing its engineers, conductors and other train employees. The move is the latest escalation in a labour dispute at the Calgary-based railway that could result in a potential nation-wide work stoppage as early as 1 a.m. EST on Sunday. CP Rail indicated Wednesday night that it had issued a 72-hour notice to the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference of its plan to lock out almost 3,000 employees on Sunday, if the union and the company are unable to come to a negotiated settlement or agree to binding arbitration. Click to play video: ‘CP issues worker lockout notice, union responds with strike notice’ CP issues worker lockout notice, union responds with strike notice The two sides are at odds over 26 outstanding

issues, including wages, benefits and pensions. But Canadian business organizations are calling on Ottawa to prevent a potential work stoppage at Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., which could further hamper companies recovering from COVID-19 restrictions and supply chain problems. Roughly 45 industry groups said Thursday that any disruption would hinder Canada’s freight capacity and hurt the broader economy as it grapples with inflation, product shortages, rising fuel costs and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “Any disruption would further cripple Canada’s freight capacity and have a profound impact on not only rail shippers, but all shippers, including trucking and air, throughout the broader Canadian economy,” the groups said in a statement.

Federal minimum wage is increasing next month, but not to a living wage It’s not April Fool’s joke. The federal minimum wage is increasing by 55 cents on April 1, in accordance with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The federal minimum wage of $15 per hour came into effect on December 29, 2021. Beginning on April 1, the federal minimum wage will rise to $15.55 per hour. For those in provinces with a higher minimum wage, the higher salary will continue to be honoured. The federal minimum wage is to be adjusted each year to reflect changes to the CPI. This year’s increase reflects a 3.4% rise for those receiving federal minimum wage. While any

wage increase is better than nothing, $15.55 per hour is not enough money to live in any major city in the country. A living wage, according to Living Wage Canada, is “the hourly wage a worker needs to earn to cover their basic expenses and participate in their community.” Living Wage Canada reports that livable earnings in most major Canadian cities exceed $20 per hour. As of November 2021, the living wage in Ottawa is $18.60; in Toronto, it’s $22.08; in Metro Vancouver, the living wage is $20.52. As of December, the Government of Canada estimates 26,000 federally-regulated workers across the country make less than $15 per hour.

Saturday, March 19, 2022 LOCAL / NATIONAL

Defence minister says she’s considering ‘aggressive options’ to increase Canada’s military spending Defence Minister Anita Anand says she will present a range of military spending options to cabinet ahead of the upcoming spring budget — some of which could result in a significant jump in Canada’s defence spending. Some of the options could see Ottawa’s defence spending exceed two per cent of Canada’s GDP, Anand said. On Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on allied nations to spend a “minimum” of two per cent of GDP on defence. He warned the upcoming expansion of NATO’s deterrence and defence efforts in eastern Europe will “require major investments” by the allies. Canada currently spends 1.39 per cent of its GDP on the military, according to the latest NATO figures, and has had no plan to hit the long-established two per cent

target. Anand signalled that might change. “I personally am bringing forward aggressive options which would see [Canada], potentially, exceeding the two per cent level, hitting the two per cent level, and below the two per cent level,” she said. When spending options are prepared for the federal cabinet, senior bureaucrats routinely give ministers three options with pricetags. When it presented its defence policy almost five years ago, the Trudeau government projected defence spending would increase to nearly 1.5 per cent of GDP by 2024. But a recent report by the Parliamentary Budget Office showed that much of the capital spending on new equipment has been pushed off until later in the decade because of delays in major projects, such as new frigates for the navy and fighter jets for the air force.

Tofino becomes first municipality to ban all single-use plastic cutlery in BC The District of Tofino, B.C., has become the first municipality in the province to ban all single-use plastic utensils. The district had already banned plastic bags, straws and polystyrene takeout containers, but a bylaw amendment adopted last month added all plastic cutlery to the ban. Enforcement of the plastic ban will take effect on Aug. 22, giving businesses several months to make the transition to environmentally friendly utensils. Tofino made the decision after consultations

with environmental foundation Surfrider Pacific Rim, whose chairperson applauded the plastic ban in a statement last week. “The planet is beyond its ability to absorb the negative externalities of a linear economic system, and our communities are ready and willing to take more drastic action to curb the plastics crisis,” she added. “Our vision is to make the West Coast a leader in addressing plastic pollution in Canada, lighting the way for other locales to look to and follow.”

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Saturday, March 19, 2022 From page 1

Experts in BC worry about next Covid-19 wave

the disease can be kept in check will depend on how people stick to the basics — continuing to vaccinate people, washing hands, wearing masks in highrisk settings and staying home when sick. However, even as new cases surge in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and even New Zealand where officials fended off early waves with a zero-COVID policy, Conway doesn’t see “big red flags that are telling us we’re not doing the right thing,” in B.C. “If we’re reasonable, we will make our way through this,” Conway said. B.C. reported eight new deaths from COVID-19 Wednesday, bringing the total lives lost in the province to 2,953. Hospitalizations declined to 329, down from over 1,000 patients in hospital in January, with 51 patients in intensive care, a 22 per cent drop from a week ago. However, a week after B.C. lifted a lot of restrictions related to mask-wearing indoors and capacity restrictions in private venues, people should remain wary, said modelling expert Sarah Otto. “I think more in the sense of continuing to monitor the situation,” said Otto, a zoology professor at the University B.C. and member of the independent B.C. COVID-19 modelling team.“We’re lucky (in B.C.) relative to places like Denmark or Hong Kong,” Otto said, that

the BA.2 version of COVID’s Omicron variant didn’t take hold here as early as it did there. B.C.’s population built up immunity from people exposed to Omicron “on the way up to the peak as well as on the way down over the last month,” Otto said. “So that’s a lot of built-up immunity.” Based on that, Otto said the modelling group estimated that B.C. is likely to still get another surge in cases, but it won’t be as high or as steep as the initial Omicron wave, depending on how people react to the relaxation of restrictions. B.C. has clearly moved away from publichealth mandates, Otto said, “but I do hope that masks aren’t just all of a sudden thrown away,” because they have been proven to be effective in stemming infections in indoor settings.

Tim Hortons to open first India location in New Delhi From page 1

“This launch in India is another critical step in our continuing international expansion plans.” Tim Hortons is in the midst of an aggressive international expansion strategy, with a particular focus on China. The company opened its 400th location in China in January, less than three years after it started its first restaurant in the country. “We’re really excited about the progress we’re making in Tims in China,”

Muslim political party helped BJP win UP polls From page 1

the BJP reaches the victory stand with 1,12,509 and Samajwadi Party got 79,554 while AIMIM walked away with 18,898 votes. Political analysts feel that the AIMIM had forayed into UP politics with a definite aim to help BJP win by ensuring that the nonBJP votes do not consolidate at one place.

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BC to move to permanent daylight time once US House approves its bill Time may soon be up on seasonal time changes in B.C. On an issue that has taken its time, the B.C. government is ready to spring forward with permanent daylight saving time (DST) as soon as the United States signs off on national legislation. On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate turned back the hands of time by approving to get rid of the more than 100-year practice of changing the clocks twice a year. The U.S. House of Representatives must now take the time to review the bill. If it passes, the expectation is Washington, Oregon and California will move to permanent daylight time. British Columbia, and the three pacific states, switched to daylight time last weekend. Those three states have already passed state laws to stop the clocks from changing yet again. The argument to keep daylight time

permanently is that it would increase light at the end of the day and is already observed eight months of the year. On Tuesday, in a statement, B.C. Premier John Horgan’s office said British Columbians told them loud and clear they want to stop falling back and springing forward each year. In the most popular public consultation in the province’s history, 93 per cent of people indicated support for permanent daylight time. “For B.C. families who have just had to cope with the disruptions of changing the clocks, the U.S. Senate bill passed (Tuesday) brings us another step toward ending the time changes in our province for good,” the statement reads. “While the bill still requires congressional approval before it can go to President Biden to sign, we’re well positioned in B.C. to do away with the time changes once and for all and move to permanent DST.”

Saturday, March 19, 2022

US Senate passes bill to make daylight saving time permanent The Senate passed a stop changing Daylight saving 2022 measure that would make their clocks, daylight saving time according to a permanent across the U.S. 2021 Economist/ Why it matters: If the YouGov poll. legislation clears the House What they’re and is signed into law by saying: “No more President Biden, it will dark afternoons mean Americans will no in the winter. No longer have to change more losing an their clocks twice a year. hour of sleep every The big picture: Health spring. We want groups have called for more sunshine On Sunday, March 13, an end to the seasonal during our most move your clocks 1 hour forward productive waking shifting of clocks, a ritual first adopted in the U.S. as daylight saving begins. hours,” Sen. Patty more than a century ago. Murray (D-Wash.) At a house hearing last week, health experts said on the Senate floor after the passage of the bill. cited sleep deprivation and health problems as But, but, but: In the 1970s — the last time negative effects associated with changing clocks. Congress made daylight saving time permanent Nearly two-thirds of Americans want to

Firefighters deliver baby in Morgan Crossing home Martyka Sutor and her husband Steven are expressing “heartfelt gratitude” after firefighters and paramedics helped deliver the couple’s second child on the bedroom floor of their Morgan Crossing-area home earlier this month. The home delivery, on March 4, was not part of the original plan, Martyka explained in an email to Peace Arch News, as the family’s new addition – a “perfect” daughter, Maia James – was not expected to arrive as quickly as she did. “(My) contractions started at 2:45 p.m. and labour progressed exponentially faster than expected,” Martyka said, adding that at shortly after 4 p.m., a few minutes after calling her sister to come and pick up the couple’s 18-month-old son, Arlo, so the parents could

head to Surrey Memorial Hospital, Steven found himself simultaneously holding Arlo in one arm, calling 911 while preparing “to catch the imminent bundle of joy.” “There was no stopping her,” Martyka said. Firefighters from Surrey’s Fire Hall 17 – located on 32 Avenue in Rosemary Heights – were the first to arrive at the home, followed a short time later by paramedics. Martyka heaped praise upon the first responders not just for their role in delivering the baby, but also for how they treated their toddler, Arlo. Though they did not find out until after the fact, while the home-birth was underway, some firefighters took the youngster out to their truck, and let him sit in the front seat while flashing the lights.

Suspects threatened bank staff with possible firearm during robbery: Surrey RCMP Mounties in Surrey are looking for two suspects they say threatened bank staff with a possible firearm during a robbery last week. The alleged robbery happened at a Bank of Montreal on Fraser Highway near 159 Street on March 9. Mounties were called shortly after 4:30 p.m. that day, but when they arrived at the scene minutes later, the suspects had already fled. Police said in a news release Tuesday they were told two men “threatened bank staff with a suspected firearm and demanded money.” Nobody was injured during the incident, but the suspects

reportedly got away “with a substantial amount of cash.” One suspect, the man carrying what was believed to be a firearm, is described by police as white and wearing a black hoodie with a light-coloured hood. He was also wearing a reflector vest and a black ski mask. The second suspect is described as a white man between 20 and 30 years old. He was wearing a red hooded jacket, black track pants with three white stripes and a white face mask. Anyone with information is asked to call investigators at 604-599-0502. Tips can also be left anonymously with Crime Stoppers.

Saturday, March 19, 2022

Supreme Court dismisses appeal to stop class action against RCMP for bullying The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear an appeal from the federal government trying to stop a class action against the RCMP over bullying and harassment. Last fall the Federal Court of Appeal upheld a judge’s order certifying the class action. In a decision today the Supreme Court dismissed with costs an application by government lawyers asking it to review that decision. As usual the Supreme Court gave no

reasons for the decision to dismiss the appeal. The lead plaintiffs in the class action, veteran RCMP members Geoffrey Greenwood and Todd Gray, say there was a culture of systemic intimidation and harassment in the force that was condoned by RCMP leadership. The federal government wanted the class action certification reviewed, arguing there are already administrative resolution processes in place for workplace harassment claims.

Ukrainian president Zelensky calls for no-fly zone in his address to Canadian Parliament In a historic moment, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Canadian Parliament, asking Canadians to imagine the horror Ukraine has experienced over the last 20 days. In Ukrainian, Zelenskyy said this is “an attempt to annihilate Ukrainian people.” “It’s actually a war against Ukrainian people,” he said. Zelenskyy also called for more support and to close airspace by instituting a no-fly zone, to stop the bombings as Russia is “destroying everything.” Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau speaks to the press as he arrives at the House of Commons on March 15, 2022, in Ottawa, Canada, to attend a virtual address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Canadian Parliament. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Zelenskyy a “friend” and a “champion of democracy,” which resulted in resounded applause in the House of Commons. “Your courage and the courage of your people inspires us all,” Trudeau said. “You’re

defending the right of Ukrainians to choose their own future and in doing so, you’re defending the values that form the pillars of all free democratic countries.” “Beyond that, you’re inspiring democracies and democratic leaders around the world to be more courageous, more united and to fight harder for what we believe in. You remind us that friends are always stronger together.” The prime minister announced that with European allies, sanctions are being imposed on 15 additional Russia officials, including government and military elites who are “complicit in this illegal war.” “Ukrainians are already paying incalculable human costs,” Trudeau said. “This illegal and unnecessary war is a grave mistake. Putin must stop it now.” “Ukrainians are standing up to authoritarianism and as parliamentarians united in this House today, and all Canadians, we stand with you. As friends, you can count on our unwavering and stedfast support.” Interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen called Vladimir Putin a “war

Someone in Vancouver just won $6 million in Lotto For the second time in a week, there is another multimillion-dollar winning ticket in the Lower Mainland. Someone who bought a Lotto 6/49 ticket in Vancouver matched all six winning numbers in Wednesday night’s draw. According to BCLC, that person hasn’t yet come forward, and we don’t know exactly where the ticket was purchased. In case you did buy one, the winning numbers are 1, 3, 8, 14, 15, and 16. Last week, an uncle-nephew duo scored a jackpot from Lotto 6/49, taking home an astounding $8 million. And on March 16, a Nanaimo resident matched all four numbers on their ticket to win the top Extra prize of $500,000. That’s pretty impressive, considering the

odds of winning a Lotto 6/49 jackpot are 1 in 13,983,816, and the odds of matching 4/4 on the Extra are 1 in 3,764,376. You might also like: “I didn’t believe it”: Chilliwack unclenephew duo take home $8M lotto win That’s a lotto money: Chilliwack lotto win lands local $8 million No one bought the winning ticket in Tuesday’s $55 million Lotto Max draw Whoever won the $6 million has 52 weeks from the draw date on their ticket to claim their prize. The draws happen on Wednesdays and Saturdays after 7:30 pm PT, and it seems like BC is on a lucky streak. Once they’ve got the goods, BCLC will announce their names and plans for their winnings.

BC premier raises concerns with prime minister about jobs if fish farms close Any federal government plans to move away from open-net pen salmon farms in British Columbia should come with transition help for the industry and workers, says Premier John Horgan. A letter dated March 10 from Horgan to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said concern is widespread on Vancouver Island that the federal government is poised to make a decision that could threaten hundreds of jobs and the economies of coastal communities. Federal Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray’s mandate letter includes the development of a transition plan from open-net pen salmon farming by 2025, coinciding with her department’s forthcoming decisions on whether to renew many fish farm licences and tenures in

coastal B.C. waters, says Horgan’s letter. It says the communities are concerned the federal government is poised to cut many, if not all, salmon farm licences in the coming weeks. “If true, this action would eliminate hundreds of jobs at a stroke and undermine the economies of dozens of communities,” says Horgan’s letter. “I urge you to provide assurance to the salmon farming sector that an appropriate transition program will be implemented, one that considers their interests and concerns.” The letter also says eliminating salmon farm licences “would fly in the face” of commitments by the federal and provincial governments to pursue the intentions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, considering some First Nations are exploring salmon farming.

Saturday, March 19, 2022

BCREA reports average home prices in BC up 25 percent with “market conditions extremely tight” The average price of a home in British Columbia has increased by 24.9 percent. This comes as the B.C. Real Estate Association reports that the number of homes for sale is well below the threshold for a balanced market. In February 2022, the average price rose to $1.109 million. That’s nearly 25 percent over the $887,866 average price in February 2021. Last month’s average price also marks an increase from the January 2022 level of $1,042,169. There were 16,306 homes for sale in February 2022. The BCREA report Monday (March 14) indicates that this level is 19.2 percent below the total of 20,185 homes available for buyers in February 2021. The association noted that around 40,000

listings are needed for a balanced market. In the report, BCREA chief economist Brendon Ogmundson noted that “demand continues to be quite strong”. “There are some encouraging signs that listings are recovering from historical lows, but there is a very long way to go before markets achieve balance,” Ogmundson said. The BCREA report includes a graph to illustrate the situation. A balanced market requires a sales-to-listings ratio of 12 percent to 20 percent. A ratio above 20 percent means it’s a seller’s market. In February 2022, the ratio in B.C. was 54.6 percent. A total of 8,902 homes were sold across the province in February 2022. It’s an increase from the 6,138 sales in January this year.

Inflation rate hits a three-decade high The consumer price index (CPI) increased 5.1 per cent in January from a year earlier, marking the first time the index has exceeded five per cent since September 1991, Statistics Canada reported on Feb. 16. Inflation at that pace guarantees the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates at the conclusion of its next round of policy deliberations on March 2, and could stoke debate over whether Governor Tiff Macklem and his deputies will lift borrowing costs by a half point instead of the customary quarter-point increase. Macklem, who opted against raising the benchmark rate last month, has said repeatedly since December that he’s “uncomfortable” with inflation that has surged well past the central bank’s target of two per cent. The latest reading will rekindle worries that the Bank of Canada made a mistake by passing on an opportunity to raise interest rates in

January and will now have to play catchup. To be sure, the Bank of Canada won’t be surprised by the CPI’s jump to 5.1 per cent from 4.8 per cent in December. The central bank’s latest economic outlook has the price index posting year-over-year increases that average 5.1 per cent over the first quarter. But Macklem won’t like some of the details in Statistics Canada’s latest checks on the hundreds of goods and services it monitors to get a reading of overall price pressures. Excluding gasoline, the CPI increased 4.3 per cent from January 2020, the biggest gain since Statistics Canada introduced the measure in 1999 to get a cleaner read on underlying cost pressures because oil prices are so volatile. The new report shows inflationary pressures that began with commodity prices is now spreading throughout the economy. The CPI surged 0.9 per cent from December, the largest onemonth increase since January 2017.

Average Canadian house price hits $816,720 — up 20% in past year The price of the average Canadian home hit $816,720 in February, its highest level on record, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. The group, which represents 100,000 realtors across the country, said Tuesday that it was the second-busiest February ever for home selling, just behind the all-time high hit last year. Some 58,209 homes changed hands during the month, and a surge in new listings in the latter half of the month suggests that momentum may carry over into strong sales in March, too. Macklem says Bank of Canada needs to raise rates to put a lid on inflation expectations The $816,720 average selling price is an increase of 20 per cent compared to last year’s level. CREA says the average selling price can be misleading since it is skewed by sales in big expensive markets like Toronto and Vancouver. Simply removing those two cities from the numbers shaves more than $178,000 off the average, the realtor group notes, which is why it tabulates a second number, known as the House Price Index, to adjust for the volume and type of housing being sold.

But that metric is also going up at its fastest pace on record, up 29 per cent since last year. It increased at 3.5 per cent in the month of February alone — also the biggest monthly jump on record. The pandemic has had a counterintuitive impact on Canada’s housing market. In March and April of 2020, sales volumes and price growth slowed to a crawl as buyers reacted to the uncertainty by keeping their wallets closed. But in the almost two years since, the market has been on an absolute tear, with record-low borrowing costs — which were kept in place to stimulate the economy through the pandemic — fuelling a thus far insatiable demand for housing. For those in the thick of that demand wave, the frenzy can be overwhelming, which is why some buyers are resorting to some unconventional methods just to get into the market. Lauren Schreiber and her husband have been looking to buy a home for themselves and their two children for a while now without success.

LOCAL / NATIONAL

Dollar decouples from oil, adding to central bank’s inflation headaches As the Russia-Ukraine crisis propels crude oil to its highest level in 14 years, the historic link between the Canadian dollar and energy prices has weakened, leaving the Bank of Canada with one less tool to fight inflation. The normal tight relationship between the Canadian dollar and oil has typically meant the central bank could rely on a stronger currency to ease inflation pressures brought on by higher energy prices. Gains for the loonie would reduce the cost of Canada’s imports. But not so in the current cycle, with the crisis also hurting the outlook for the global economy, a negative for risk-sensitive currencies like the loonie, and driving demand for the safe-haven U.S. dollar. “There is a kink in the CAD-oil relationship,” said Eric Theoret, global macro strategist at Manulife Investment Management. “You are not getting the currency strength that would dampen inflation.” The last time oil was above $100 a barrel, in 2014, the Canadian dollar was at 1.09 per U.S. dollar, or nearly 92 U.S. cents. It is currently at about 1.28. Meanwhile, the 3-month rolling correlation between the Canadian dollar and oil has fallen to 0.3 from 0.9 in December, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, moving closer to the zero threshold that would indicate no connection. “What we’ve seen over the last month or two has definitely been a quite significant outlier in what has been historically a very steady and pretty consistent relationship,” said Shaun

Osborne, chief currency strategist at Scotiabank. “We would probably be in a situation here where the Bank (of Canada) would not be pushing back against the idea of a stronger Canadian dollar.” Canada’s central bank has pledged to tame inflation, which reached a 30-year high of 5.1% in January. Last Wednesday, it raised its key interest rate for the first time in three years and made clear more hikes are on the way. Inflation could move even higher over the coming months due to surging commodity prices, economists say. Higher energy prices will ultimately benefit the loonie over the coming year, say strategists in a Reuters poll, but due to an improvement in Canada’s terms of trade, or the ratio of its export prices to import prices, rather than an expected increase in investment. Canadian companies are wary of spending aggressively to grow oil production after the pain of 2020’s pandemic-induced oil price collapse. Investors are demanding strict capital discipline, while environmental opposition to new fossil fuel projects and the Canadian government’s plans to cap carbon emissions are also deterring growth. “The era of ‘drill, baby drill’ is over in America and it’s the same kind of discipline in Canada,” said Adam Button, chief currency analyst at ForexLive, referring to a political slogan of the U.S. Republican Party. “Oil isn’t the driver (of the Canadian dollar) it once was,” Button said.

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Saturday, March 19, 2022

When Hrithik quit smoking We often see disclaimers of No Smoking in theatres but despite that people still don’t give up smoking. Back in the day, there were a lot of actors like Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Ranbir Kapoor among others, who were chain smokers. But soon these actors started living healthier lifestyles; similarly, Hrithik Roshan had also decided to quit the habit after he stumbled upon a book called The Easy Way to Quit Smoking by Allen Carr. Back in 2012, the Krrish actor had said that he tried various ways to quit smoking but nothing worked, However, his life changed after he read the book. Interestingly, the actor got so encouraged by Allen’s work that he bought

40 copies so that he can distribute them to his industry friends, like, Sanjay Dutt, Shah Rukh Khan, Farhan Akhtar and Bobby Deol. As reported by IANS, Hrithik Roshan spoke about his smoking habit in an event, he told, “I wanted to give up smoking. I tried quitting five times before and failed. I tried nicotine patches and other methods, but nothing worked. I wanted to kick the habit so I began researching how to. I spoke to people who had quit, went online and read articles, saw testimonials of people on YouTube. I kept checking, and then finally I came across this book Alan Carr’s Easy Way To Stop Smoking, I ordered that book and the day I finished the book was the day I smoked my last ciggie.”

Shah Rukh Khan spotted Shah Rukh Khan made a stylish appearance at the airport as he headed to Spain to shoot for his next film ‘Pathaan’. The actor wore a black t-shirt with a cool blue jacket over it and black pants. The actor was also sporting a blue bandana and black shades. SRK was supposed to shoot for the film in Spain in October, however, due to Omicron outbreak and his son Aryan Khan’s case, the filming was delayed. Now, the film team will be shooting the action and song

sequences in the country. The first look of the film was dropped recently over the internet and it garnered a lot appreciation from the masses. Helmed by Siddharth Anand, the movie is slated to hit the theatres on January 25, 2023. Shah Rukh Khan’s shooting for Pathan was put on hold due to the Covid pandemic and now King Khan resumes after nearly 2 years of the shoot being put on hold.

Evergreen Dharmendra Sushmita Sen got a compliment from veteran actor Dharmendra as she shared a selfie clicked inside her car. She covered her head with a scarf in the picture and wore large sunglasses. “The dancing lights, purple hues & reflecting mountains!!! A beautiful journey captured with a selfie,” she wrote. Commenting on her picture, Dharmendra wrote ‘great’, along with a thumbs-up emoji. Replying to a Twitter user who had retweeted it, he wrote, “Ambreen, it gives me great happiness to read something loving and affectionate. Jeetie raho (Live long).” Dharmendra also showered love on Sushmita. “Ek nek rooh…ek himmat var khatoon (A

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pure soul, a courageous woman)…lots of love to her,” he wrote in a follow-up tweet. Sushmita replied, “A blessing saved & cherished forever, sir @aapkadharam. Lots of love & huge respect from a dancing heart!!! Aap jaisa dil sab ko naseeb ho (May everyone be as large-hearted as you)!!!”

Saturday, March 19, 2022

Vidya Balan all set to impress audience Vidya Balan ventured into the OTT universe with her film Shakuntala Devi back in July 2020 when the pandemic was in full swing. Her second OTT release was Sherni which got her a lot of rave reviews and now she is all set for her next OTT show with Shefali Shah in Jalsa. Recently an entertainment portal reported on Vidya’s perspective on the rise of OTT platforms, “Vidya is excited about Jalsa. During 2020, Shakuntala Devi was one of the first films to hit OTT and it had a successful run. Vidya then followed it up with Sherni, where she played a wildlife conservationist and that outing got great feedback, too. Jalsa is a continuation of the same phase in Vidya’s career and its an all-new trend that she’s pioneering, the same way she did a few years ago when she championed and led the cause of women-oriented films and lead characters.” This is her second collaboration with director Suresh Triveni for Jalsa after their film Tumhari Sulu. Jalsa is her first screen outing

with Shefali Shah which also has Rohini Hattangadi and Iqbal Khan playing important roles. The magazine Verve featured her as one of India’s “Young Power Women” and wrote, “In a reel world peopled by size zero-toned bodies and prettyas-a-picture heroines, Vidya comes across as completely real and natural – a woman who has followed her own instincts and dared to live her destiny by being her own person and not morphing herself to fit into any conventional slot.” Two years later, the magazine listed her as a power icon.[196] In 2018, The Economic Times considered Vidya to be one of the most prominent celebrity brand ambassadors in India. In 2014, Vidya was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for her contributions to the entertainment industry. The following year, she received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Rai University; the university also named a scholarship program for underprivileged girls after her.

Ashok Kumar 13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001

One of the greatest actors of Indiam cinema Ashok Kumar was born as Kumudlal Ganguly on 13 October , 1911. Also known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and fondly called Dadamoni. Ashok Kumar was a great actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was member of the cinematic, charismatic Ganguly family. He was honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1988, the highest national award for cinema artists, by the Government of India and also received the Padma Bhushan in 1999 for his contributions to Indian cinema. Ashok Kumar was born Kumudlal Ganguly to a Bengali Hindu Brahmin family in Bhagalpur, Bengal Presidency, British India (present-day Bihar, India). His father, Kunjlal Ganguly, was a lawyer while his mother, Gouri Devi, was a house wife. Kumudlal was the eldest of four children. His only sister was Sati Devi.

Next was his brother, Kalyan, more than 14 years younger (born in1927), who later took the screen name Anoop Kumar. The youngest of the family was Abhas Kumar Ganguly (born in 1929), whose screen name was Kishore Kumar (one of the best artist, actor, and singer). Although the eldest by several years, Kumudlal Ganguly outlived all his siblings. While still teenager and well before he had even given thought to a career in films, the young Kumudlal was married to Shobha, a girl of his own Brahmin community and similar family background Ashok Kumar was educated at Presidency College of the University of Calcutta, Kolkata, where he studied to become a lawyer. However, his heart was not in his law studies. Ganguly was more interested in cinema, in which he dreamt of working as technician.

Saturday, March 19, 2022

LOCAL / NATIONAL Five Indian students killed in Toronto crash

Five Indian students were killed in Toronto last weekend. Police say Jaspinder Singh, 21, Karanpal Singh, 22, Mohit Chouhan, 23, Harpreet Singh, 24, were pronounced dead at the scene of highway 401 crash. A man who was a beacon of pride for his small village in India is among five people killed in a horrifying crash on Highway 401 this weekend. Tw e n t y - t h r e e - y e a r old Pawan Kumar moved to Canada from Lilas, a village of 2,600 in the state of Haryana two years ago. Indo-Canadian community mourns five students who died in Hwy. 401 crash Ontario Provincial Police say Kumar was one of eight people in a van hit by a tractor trailer along Highway 401 at 3:45 a.m. Saturday. OPP Const. Maggie Pickett says just before the collision, the van stopped in a live lane of the highway between Belleville and Trenton and one person got out. Pickettcouldnotsaywhythevanhadstopped. The driver of the truck and the person who got out of the van were not

hurt. Five men were killed and two other people were seriously injured. Jayani says his Kumar is the youngest of five siblings with a reputation for being very sweet. When Jayani’s father died from COVID-19 last year, he said Kumar was calling offering money or other help. Kumar’s family had been counting on him to thrive in Canada, and help them. “When he left we were all feeling proud, that our boy has gone to Canada to study. No one from the village had ever done that before,” Jayani said. “If family member becomes a success it improves the lives of all the family members.” Kumar’s family is desperate to bring his body back to India for a proper goodbye. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with the effort. The High Commissioner of India to Canada says the Consulate General is also supporting the friends of victims. A religious service for the men killed is being planned for this weekend in Brampton.

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Employment levels in Surrey continue to rise beyond pre-pandemic levels: Report Employment in Surrey, as of February 2022, has increased by 1.7 per cent from pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest labour market report from the Surrey Board of Trade. Released Wednesday (March 16), the Surrey Board of Trade notes the city’s economic recovery from the pandemic “continues to be driven by a two-pronged strength: knowledge-based industries and resource industries.” As of last month, employment in Surrey was up about 4,900 jobs – or 1.7 per cent – from before the pandemic in February, 2020, “and almost 30,000 higher

than the lowest job levels in April, 2020.” “Improvement continues in Surrey – in December 2021, seven out of 15 industry categories had job levels still below February 2020,” notes Anita Huberman, president and CEO of the board. “But two months later, in February 2022, we see a significant improvement where only three of 15 industries are still below pre-pandemic job levels.” The board notes that jobs in the construction industry are still down more than 8,655 jobs (down 26.5 per cent).

Medicago’s Canada-made COVID-19 vaccine faces WHO rejection due to tobacco industry ties The first COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by a Canadian company will “very likely” not get the green light for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO) due to its ties to the tobacco industry. Dr. Mariângela Simão, WHO’s assistant director-general for access to medicines and health products, spoke about the vaccine during a press briefing Wednesday. “Due to its connections — it’s owned by tobacco company Philip Morris International — so the process is put on hold because it’s well known that the WHO and UN have a very strict policy regarding engagement with tobacco and arms industries,” she said. “So the process is on hold. “It’s very likely that it will not be accepted for emergency list using by WHO.”

A guidance document from WHO on its website from March 2 shows the evaluation process for each COVID-19 vaccine submitted for review. Medicago’s COVID-19 vaccine is listed as “not accepted” in the organization’s expression of interest phase. The Quebec-based biopharmaceutical company’s vaccine marks the world’s firstever plant-based jab for human use. The vaccine, called Covifenz, is comprised of two doses that must be administered 21 days apart, based on evidence from clinical trials. The company submitted its last phase of data, which included 30,000 volunteers, for regulatory review by Health Canada in December 2021. The latter approved Medicago’s vaccine for use in late February, for people aged between 18 and 64.

Saturday, March 19, 2022

Canada will scrap pre-arrival COVID-19 testing rules for vaccinated travellers from April 1 Canada is scrapping its pre-arrival COVID-19 testing requirement for fully vaccinated travellers, the federal government announced on Thursday. Starting April 1, vaccinated travellers won’t need to track down a COVID-19 test in the last day before their vacation ends. “Today’s announcement is encouraging, but let us remember that all measures are subject to review,” said Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, speaking to reporters Thursday morning. “We will continue to adjust them as the epidemiological situation here in Canada and abroad evolves.” Currently, all travellers entering Canada — regardless of vaccination status — have to show proof of a negative COVID-19

antigen test, taken within 24 hours of their flight or arrival at Canada’s border. As an alternative, they can show proof of a negative PCR test from within the previous 72 hours. But starting next month, travellers who are fully vaccinated — with two doses of an approved COVID-19 vaccine — won’t have to show either. Fully vaccinated travellers might still have to undergo random testing when they arrive in Canada, but they don’t have to quarantine while awaiting their results, Duclos added. Unvaccinated and partially vaccinated travellers will be subject to a molecular test both when they arrive and again eight days later. They also have to quarantine for 14 days.

Economists worry sanctions on Russia may depress housing market where Canadians can afford to buy homes again As Canada continues to impose sanctions on the Russian Oligarchs who prop up both the Putin regime and our overinflated housing market, economists warn this may cause a real estate crash so bad that Canadians are once again able to buy homes in Canada. “Obviously the war in Ukraine is not ideal. In housing terms it’s like an unfinished basement and no ground floor powder room rolled into one,” said real estate agent Heather Christenson. “But if these sanctions continue we may be creating a situation far worse: where a huge slice of the housing supply isn’t snapped up by foreign billionaires looking to shelter their

money in Canada, thereby allowing local buyers back into the market.” “As an agent I’d even have to show people properties in person and talk to them about which kid gets which bedroom. No more quick facetime tours followed by an international wire transfer.” Numerous banks and mortgage brokers have expressed similar concerns, noting that sanctions often harm innocent people, like the banks and mortgage brokers who are currently getting rich off a system average Canadians have no chance to break into. “When you drive by a downtown condo at 8pm, do you like seeing all the windows lit up as families spend time together, or do you prefer the cold darkness that says ‘no one has ever lived here, and the property value has doubled in the last 5 years,” asked one economic analyst.

LOCAL / NATIONAL

CP Rail will lock out 3,000 conductors and engineers if they don’t have a deal with the union by Sunday Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. will lock out 3,000 conductors and locomotive engineers if union officials won’t make a deal by this Sunday, March 20, the company said. CP and Teamsters Canada have been negotiating a new collective agreement since September, and union members earlier this month voted to authorize a strike if necessary. While a strike was possible as of March 16, the union hadn’t yet opted for one. CP said it decided on a lockout to avoid dragging out the situation indefinitely.“Delaying resolution would only make things worse,” CP chief executive Keith Creel said in a news release. “We take this action with a view to bringing this uncertainty to an end.” Hours after CP gave notice of the March 20 lockout, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference said the union intends to strike on the same day, according to a statement

from federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan. He urged both parties to “consider making the compromises necessary to reach a deal” before the March 20 deadline. “We understand what’s at stake,” O’Regan said in a Tweet on March 16, adding that he and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra are monitoring the situation. Canadian business and agricultural leaders have been warning that a work stoppage at the railway would be “catastrophic” for the flow of goods across the country, at a time when supply chain disruptions have already driven up food costs to a level not seen in almost 13 years. This growing season, Canadian grain farmers are under more pressure than usual to produce a good crop, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has destabilized farming operations in one of the world’s most important graingrowing regions.

Some experts say Canada is dropping its COVID-19 guard too quickly As COVID-19-related public health restrictions continue to ease across Canada, experts are split on whether officials are letting their guard down too quickly. The federal government is expected to announce Thursday that it is ending pre-arrival testing requirements for vaccinated travellers entering Canada by April 1, sources tell Global News. The decision comes as nearly all remaining provincial mask mandates are set to be lifted across the country by Monday, with plans to eliminate all remaining restrictions by the end of April. While experts say they welcome the end of pre-arrival testing, they are wary about what lifting other public health measures could mean

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for the pandemic in Canada — and whether governments will bring them back if needed. “For all we know, this is a temporary ceasefire in the pandemic,” said Kerry Bowman, a bioethicist and assistant professor at the University of Toronto. “If it is, then we all need a break and we should have that break. But if there is a need for restrictions in the future, they need to make sense for that future moment, not for what worked six months ago.” Bowman pointed to the decline in COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations nationally, which have indeed fallen from the record-breaking totals seen at the peak of the Omicron variant wave in late December and early January.

Saturday, March 19, 2022

INDIA

Saturday, March 19, 2022

India’s oil purchase from Russia won’t violate US sanctions, but is morally wrong

India’s purchase of oil and gas from Russia will not violate US sanctions but “our message to any country continues to be that obviously abide by the sanctions that we have put in place and recommended,” said White House spokesperson Jen Psaki. Asked about India’s plan to buy discounted crude oil from Russia, she did not think it would violate US sanctions, but sought to make “a moral appeal to cut off petroleum commerce”.

However, NATO allies of the US continue to import Russian gas and petroleum. — India taking up Russia’s offer of discounted crude oil would not be a violation of American sanctions on Moscow, the White House has said, as it also underlined that countries should also think about “where you want to stand” amidst Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden last week announced a ban on Russian oil and gas imports over the country’s invasion of Ukraine, targeting the main artery of Russia’s economy. “Our message to any country continues to be that abide by the sanctions that we have put in place and recommended,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference on Tuesday.

Asked about a media report on the possibility that India could take up the Russian offer of discounted crude oil, Psaki said, “I don’t believe this would be violating that (sanctions).” “But also think about where you want to stand when history books are written at this moment in time. Support for the Russian leadership is support for an invasion that obviously is having a devastating impact,” Psaki added.

Indian-American undocumented dreamer tells lawmakers she’d be forced to leave US without change in immigration system An Indian-American documented dreamer has told lawmakers that she would be forced to leave the US, where she has spent her entire life since the age of four, in eight months in the absence of any meaningful legislative reforms in immigration system that addressed the major issue of aged-out kids. Dreamers are basically undocumented immigrants who enter the US as children

with parents. There are nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants, including over five lakh from India, according to a policy document issued by the Biden campaign in November 2020. “Without a change in eight months, I will be forced to leave, not only my home of 20 years but also my mom who is my only family left,” Athulya Rajakumar, a 23-year-old recent graduate of the University of Texas at Austin from the Moody

College of Communication, told members of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship and Border Safety on Tuesday. Testifying before the subcommittee during a hearing on “Removing Barriers to Legal Migration,” the Indian-American told the Senators that over 5,000 documented dreamers face this every year. “Erin, a nursing graduate was forced to selfdeport last summer in the midst of a pandemic...a

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Saturday, March 19, 2022

India Over 2.16 lakh doses given to children aged 12 to 14 More than 2.16 lakh doses were administered to 12-14 years age group on Wednesday on the first day of the drive. Total eligible children in the segment are over 4 crore. The inoculation of children in the age group of 12 to 14 years started with Corbevax vaccine. Besides, the government has also decided to waive the condition of comorbidity for those above 60 years in order to receive the precaution dose. “Taking the Covid-19 vaccination campaign forward, under the ‘#SabkoVaccineMuftVaccine’ campaign led by PM @NarendraModi ji, the Covid vaccination of children in the age group of 12-14 has started

from today. All the people of 60+ ages will also be able to get precaution doses from today. Let’s secure the country together, get the vaccine,” Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted. Two doses of Biological E’s intramuscular vaccine Corbevax would be administered to the beneficiaries in the 12 to 14 years age group in an interval of 28 days, the guidelines said.As of March 1, 2021, there were 4.7 crore children aged 12 and 13 years in the country. Also, the precaution dose can now be administered to all people aged 60 years and above.

997 nominees lose deposit in Punjab The Election Commission (EC) has collected Rs 85.90 lakh after forfeiting security deposits (Rs 10,000 per candidate) of 997 candidates out of 1,304 nominees who contested the 2022 Assembly poll on 117 segments. Prominent among those whose security desposit has been forfeited include a former Chief Minister and five former ministers. As many as 33 candidates of the Congress got their security deposits forfeited. A candidate contesting the Assembly poll has to deposit Rs10,000 as a security at the time of filing his nomination paper. The SC candidate needs to deposit Rs 5,000. Out of 997 candidates, as many as 276 nominees lost their security deposits (Rs 13.80 lakh) from 34 reserved constituencies, while

the EC pocketed Rs 72,21,000 from the remaining 721 candidates. As per the EC guidelines, a candidate contesting the Assembly poll has to deposit Rs 10,000 as a security at the time of filing his nomination paper. The SC candidate needs to deposit Rs 5,000. Out of 997 candidates, as many as 276 nominees lost their security deposits (Rs 13.80 lakh) from 34 reserved constituencies, while the EC pocketed Rs 72,21,000 from the remaining 721 candidates. Among all the segments, security deposits of 18 candidates (highest) have been forfeited in Patiala Rural. A total of 16 candidates (out of 19 and 18 nominees) lost their security deposits in Sahnewal and Payal, respectively.

Saturday, March 19, 2022

India Goods exported to Uzbekistan through Pakistan and Afghanistan first time Trucks carrying 140 tonnes of cargo, mostly sugar from India, departed Kabul on Wednesday for the Uzbek capital Tashkent, the Voice of America reported on Wednesday.

The shipment arrived in the Afghan capital a day earlier from Pakistan via the Torkham border crossing between the countries, a spokesperson of the Taliban’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce Maulana Zaheer was quoted as saying in the report.The ministry organised a special ceremony to facilitate the transit of the Indian goods, hailing it as a major step towards turning Afghanistan into a key trade link between Central and South Asia. The commercial cargo originated from Mumbai and travelled through the Karachi seaport in Pakistan earlier this month before being trucked to its Uzbek importer under a recently inked bilateral transit trade agreement between Pakistan and Uzbekistan, a Pakistani official told the state-owned American radio broadcaster.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed the agreement along with several other documents during his two-day official visit to Islamabad in early March. The Pakistani official emphasised that the Uzbekistan-bound Indian commercial consignment was a privately-arranged activity under the agreement and had no government involvement from any of the four countries. “It will now become a regular activity, and Uzbekistan will be able to import goods from anywhere through Pakistani seaports,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media. The Taliban authorities are bound to facilitate the trade activity because Uzbekistan, a landlocked country like Afghanistan, also has rights to access Pakistani ports to conduct international trade, the official said. Islamabad allows Kabul to use its ports and land and air routes to conduct trade with other countries under a long-running bilateral arrangement known as the AfghanistanPakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA). Under the APTTA, Afghan traders are allowed to export their goods to India through Pakistani land, air and sea routes, but they can import Indian goods only through seaports because of strained ties between Islamabad and New Delhi. However, Pakistan recently allowed India to use its land routes to transport 50,000 tonnes of wheat in humanitarian assistance.

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Saturday, March 19, 2022

Congress Party fires its five state chiefs after drubbing defeat in elections India’s opposition Congress party on Tuesday fired its local chiefs of five states after humiliating defeat in recent elections, as it tries to reinvent itself ahead of the next national election in 2024 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party is expected to win. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) thrashed Congress in last two general elections in 2014 and 2019. Having ruled the country for much of its independent history, Indian National Congress is now in power in only three of out of 31 major states and federal territories of India. It lost power in Punjab last week to decade-old party, while BJP retained control of four other states where elections were held in the past month. A Congress spokesperson said its president Sonia Gandhi had asked state party heads

of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur to resign “in order to facilitate reorganisation” of their local units. The party’s top leadership met on Sunday to analyse the losses, during which Gandhi and her two children who are in senior positions had offered to resign. Senior Congress members, however, said they would continue to back the NehruGandhi family, which has controlled the party for decades since the time of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Congress said in a statement on Sunday it “unanimously reaffirms its faith in the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and requests the Congress president to lead from the front, address the organisational weaknesses, effect necessary and comprehensive organisational changes in order to take on the political challenges”.

India to dump Nigeria’s crude oil for cheap Russian crude Russia is currently auctioning its crude below the market price to willing buyers as Europe and United States severe ties with Kremlin over its ongoing show of military strength in Ukraine. Reports said India may take up Russian offer to buy crude oil and other commodities which is currently sold at huge discount. Two Indian officials told that PM Modi wants to keep the country’s ties with Russia and would buy a lot “Russia is offering oil and other commodities

at heavy discount. We will be happy to take that,” one of the officials said. The official added that such trade required preparatory work including transportation, insurance cover and getting the right blend of crude, but once that was done India would take Russia up on its offer. India, which imports 80 percent of its oil needs, usually buys only about 2 percent to 3 percent from Russia but in the last four years shifted its attention to Nigerian crude. Apart from oil, India is also looking for cheaper fertilizer from Russia and its ally Belarus, according to one of the officials.

80% foreign medical graduates fail India’s licence exam Every year, thousands of Indians with medical degrees from foreign universities appear for the Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE) — a screening test conducted by the National Board of Examination (NBE) and mandated by the National Medical Commission (previously Medical Council of India) — to qualify for practise in their own country. On an average, less than 20 per cent of them are able to clear it, according to NBE data. Foreign medical graduates from countries like Russia, Ukraine, China, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Nepal, among others, are allowed to practise in India only after they have

cleared the FMGE. However, MBBS graduates from the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand do not need to take the exam. In 2019, 25.79 per cent of foreign graduates cleared the FMGE, while the percentage was 14.68 in 2020 and 23.83 in 2021. The figures in years preceding 2019 were even lower. So, what do the nearly 80 per cent graduates do after failing to clear this test? While some give up on their dream to pursue medicine and adopt a different career path, others cling to it, especially since there is no cap on the number of attempts for the biannual FMGE.

Ambani-owned media helping BJP’s win in recent elections A media startup owned by Asia’s richest billionaire has been accused of helping India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) win elections. NEWJ, a subsidiary of Jio Platforms which is owned by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group, has paid for a series of advertisements on Facebook, according to a media investigation by the Reporters’ Collective. The campaign helped push the BJP’s agenda on Indian social media just before the 2019 parliamentary elections in the country. The investigation, which studied all 536,070 political advertisements placed on Facebook and Instagram between February 2019 and November 2020, revealed that Ambani’s NEWJ constantly published surrogate or ghost advertisements that favoured the BJP. For instance, in one such ad, NEWJ falsely claimed that the BJP’s Pragya Thakur, a terroraccused Hindu supremacist leader who was

contesting polls from Bhopal, had been exonerated of all charges. She is still under trial and has only got bail on medical grounds. A surrogate or ghost advertisement is one that favours a political candidate but is not funded by or authorised by that person. Surrogate advertising is a crime in India. NEWJ or New Emerging World of Journalism caters to social media users in India’s small towns and villages. In reality, it “buys advertisement space on Facebook and Instagram to publish videos which are political promotions but are dressed as news stories,” according to an Al Jazeera report. NEWJ’s Facebook page published about 170 such advertisements before the 2019 elections. Founded in 2018, NEWJ already claims that it is India’s “fastest-growing media tech” company. In its founding year itself, Reliance Industrial Investment and Holdings took over the firm with a 75% equity stake.

Saturday, March 19, 2022

Punjab Bhagwant Mann gets resounding welcome at Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh Hundreds of employees gathered on the balconies of Punjab Civil Secretariat, waiting to welcome him. Never ever has any Chief Minister received such a resounding welcome from employees as it was seen the day Bhagwant Mann arrived. They greeted Bhagwant Mann with claps and cries of joy, as soon as he reached the Secretariat. “People have voted for him, with nothing but hope. Like the

rest of the electorate, the employees, too, want a change in the political establishment. Their joy is thus u n d e r s t a n d a b l e ,” says Monu Ram, who is working in PWD (B&R). Though Mann was to arrive here to take charge as the CM at 3.45 pm, employees started standing in the balconies at least an hour earlier.

Navjot Sidhu breaks silence, reminds Bhagwant Mann to eradicate mafia raj from Punjab In a tweet on Thursday, Punjab Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu wrote: “The happiest man is the one from whom no one expects … Bhagwant Mann unfurls a new anti - Mafia era in Punjab with a mountain of expectations …hope he rises to the occasion, brings back

Punjab on the revival path with pro - people policies … best always”. A day after resigning from the post of Punjab Congress chief, Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday drew flak for congratulating the newly elected Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

No feat bigger than defeating 5-time CM Parkash Singh Badal - says MLA Gurmeet Khudian AAP’s Gurmeet Singh Khudian, who defeated five-time Punjab CM and SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal on the latter’s home turf Lambi, is a contented man. Even after being in politics for three decades, there are no airs about him. When someone asks him whether he will get a Cabinet berth, he simply says: “I am more than satisfied after defeating Parkash Badal. There can’t be a bigger achievement than defeating a five-time CM.” He adds: “I come from a simple family. When my father retired as Chairman, Punjab Mandi Board, he had a debt of Rs 90,000 on

him. People are well aware of our credentials.” As per his election affidavit, Khudian, 59, is a matriculate, has 8 acres and 5-marla land in his name. Besides, he owns an old car. Although he was not a big name in state politics, yet he commanded a significant support base right on the Badal’s home turf due to his family’s legacy. His father, late MP Jathedar Jagdev Singh Khudian, was originally an associate of the Badal who later joined the SAD (Mann). He is still known as a ‘darvesh siyastdan’ (saintly politician).

Pakistan Pakistan rejects Indian statement on accidental missile launch Pakistan’s foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, said on Tuesday that Islamabad rejects statement by India’s defence minister on accidental missile launch. Foreign minister Shah

Mehmood Qureshi said that the Indian statement was “incomplete” and said he had written to the U.N. Security Council on the matter and asked the international community to take the matter up.

9/11 mastermind form Pakistan could be spared death penalty as US prosecutors negotiate plea deal US prosecutors have started negotiating a plea deal with Pakistani terrorist and 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four others currently lodged in the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, a move which could result in the commutation of their death sentence to life imprisonment, according to a media report.

The New York Times’ report said that the plea deal would undoubtedly disappoint, if not enrage, death-penalty advocates among the victims’ family members. The unprecedented terror attack on September 11, 2001, destroyed the twin towers of the iconic World Trade Center (WTC) in New York, killing nearly

Probe against retired Army General for ‘theft and illegal sale’ of crude oil Islamabad: National Accountablity Bureau initiated proceedings against a retired four-star General Ahsan Saleem Hayat and senior officials of logistics organisation after an ex-Army officer accused them of running an illegal crude oil business that caused a loss of Rs 20 million per day to the national exchequer. According to documents

attached with the petition, 17 individuals, including two lieutenant colonels, three majors, six soldiers of varying ranks and four civilians were among those found guilty of embezzling oil and dismissed by the military authorities on January 26, 2005 for running an “illegal crude oil business”.

21 students injured in Punjab University campus clash over boy and girl Members of Islami Jamiat Tulaba slap a boy after heated exchange that resulted in full-blown clash. Twenty-one students of Pakistan’s Punjab University here were injured, some of them critically, when they clashed with members of a radical Islamic outfit who objected to a boy and a girl sitting together. A girl and a boy were seen sitting at a canteen outside the Gender Studies Department

on Tuesday, when members of the Islami Jamiat Tulaba (IJT) asked them to leave. When they objected, one of the IJT members slapped the boy, a university official said. Other students stepped in and they first tried to stop the IJT members from harassing the boy and the girl. But it soon escalated into a full-blown clash.

FIJI Four years jail for woman who used razor blade in attempted robbery A Lautoka woman has been jailed for four years by the High Court in Lautoka for using a razor blade in an attempted robbery on a taxidriver in November last year. Iliana Nabati had pulled a razor blade out of her pocket and attempted to rob Sunit Chaudhry at Cuvu, Sigatoka. Mr Chaudhry drove his taxi to the Cuvu Police Post and reported the matter. “There is some degree of planning involved. The accused went from Lautoka to Sigatoka and

had made up her mind to rob a taxidriver that day as per the caution interview of the accused,” said Justice Sunil Sharma in his February 23 ruling. “The victim was lured into believing that he was hired to undertake a genuine public service work as part of his usual duty as a service provider, but this was not to be. “The accused was bold and undeterred in what she did.“ The accused, by doing what she did, breached the trust of the victim as a passenger who had hired his taxi.

Teenager scores highest marks in Fiji Votualevu, Nadi teenager and Sadhu Kuppuswamy Memorial College (SSKMC) Year 13 student of 2021, Ria Dipashna Devi is the talk of the nation after scoring the highest marks in the Year 13 National Provisional Results announced earlier today. Ria scored a total of 395 marks out of the possible 400 marks. “I am so happy and it is very hard to control my emotions,” the 18-year-old said.

She shared despite the many challenges faced in 2021 – that included the disruption to the school year because of COVID-19 and her grandmother’s passing during her annual examinations – it was her will, determination and hardwork that had made her path clearer. “My advice to students wanting to achieve good results is to set a goal and work towards it,” Ria said.

Couple charged for trafficking their 16-year old daughter for sexual purposes A couple who are charged with allegedly trafficking their 16-year old daughter for sexual purposes in 2018 have been remanded in custody. The father is facing separate charges of allegedly raping his daughter while a foreign national is also under investigation for his alleged involvement in the trafficking case. The case has been transferred to the Suva High Court. Police say the businessman in his 40s and his wife in her late 30s allegedly trafficked their

daughterforsexualpurposestoaforeignnational. The businessman is alleged to have also raped his daughter on two different occasions in 2012 and 2018. Following consultations with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Police say the two were jointly charged with one count of domestic trafficking of a child Contrary to Section 117(1)(a)(b)(c)(i) of the Crimes Act 2009. The child’s father has also been charged with two counts of rape.

Saturday, March 19, 2022 NDP pandemic review deliberately ignores critical issues Press release The BC Liberals are calling on John Horgan and the NDP to do the right thing and launch an independent and comprehensive review of all aspects of the province’s COVID-19 response. “The NDP’s default position is secrecy and avoiding honest conversations with British Columbians,” said BC Liberal Health Critic Shirley Bond. “British Columbians deserve the opportunity to provide specific feedback and ask tough questions about what went right and what went wrong over the last two years during the pandemic. We’re not going to learn anything by avoiding the truth and preventing a thorough review of the critical decisions made throughout the pandemic. It’s essential that we learn lessons in order to respond more effectively in the future. British Columbians deserve nothing less.” Yesterday, the NDP announced a review of their pandemic response, with the fine print indicating that it would exclude any examination of public health decisions and economic recovery actions. The BC Liberals have repeatedly called for a full review of the provincial government’s pandemic response. But that’s not what the NDP has decided to do, instead they’ve chosen a narrow review that ignores major issues. The BC Liberals are calling for a review that includes: · A comprehensive look into public health decisions and the government response to providing support to British Columbians. · Analysis of the election’s impact on pandemic management during the critical period where government was put into caretaker mode. · Decisions around Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities where there has been a complete lack of public transparency around the change in policy towards declaring outbreaks. When the B.C. Seniors Advocate tried to review the policy of ‘enhanced monitoring’ in LTC facility outbreaks the government refused to cooperate, saying they were “unable to participate due to urgent, pandemic-related responsibilities.” · Supports for small businesses, especially after multiple failures and delays in getting resources into the hands of those who needed grants and supports. The impacts on pandemic management and public trust following a consistent lack of COVID-19 data transparency and poor communication. “The NDP have announced a review that simply isn’t credible and falls far short of the request and the need for a full and independent review,” added Bond. “The NDP’s decision to severely limit the scope of the review is troubling but consistent with the government’s ongoing lack of transparency. After all, this NDP government has been labelled the most secretive government in Canada by the Canadian Association of Journalists. John Horgan should do the right thing, admit he got it wrong and start over. B.C. Liberal Caucus

Saturday, March 19, 2022

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