The Asian Star June 22 2019

www.theasianstar.com

Vol 19 - Issue 21

Indian magician dies after ‘Houdini’ trick goes wrong A magician has been found dead in India’s River Ganges after a chains

escape stunt went horribly wrong. A crane lowered ‘Wizard Mandrake’, born Chanchal Lahiri, into the river at Kolkata, while the Indian star’s loved ones, fans, reporters and police watched from the river banks on Sunday. But the tightly-shackled 40-year-old failed to emerge from the water after being released into the current from a metal

Continued on page 6

Trudeau cabinet approves Trans Mountain expansion project Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet have again approved the Trans Mountain expansion project, a crucial next step for the much-delayed pipeline project designed to carry nearly a million barrels of oil from Alberta’s oilpatch to the B.C. coast each day.

The cabinet has affirmed the National Energy Board’s conclusion that, while the pipeline has the potential to damage the environment and marine life, it’s in the national interest and could contribute tens of billions of dollars to government coffers and create and sustain thousands of jobs.

Beyond approving the project, Trudeau also committed to directing every single dollar the federal government earns from the pipeline — which, when it’s built, is estimated to be some $500 million a year in federal corporate tax revenue alone — to investments in unspecified clean energy

Continued on page 6

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Tel:604-591-5423

Man faces deportation to India over father’s honour-killing A Maple Ridge man is facing deportation to never been convicted of a crime when India because of lies his father told about his he landed at Vancouver International conviction in a notorious B.C. murder when Airport on May 4, 2008, along with his he brought his family to Canada. The Federal wife and then-25-year-old son, Barinder.

Court of Appeal He was, in fact, has ordered a on parole for new immigration Jassi Sidhu’s hearing for killing.

Barinder Singh According Sidhu, the to Indian son of a man authorities, Jassi who obtained Sidhu was slain Surjit Singh Jassi Sidhu Malkit Kaur Sidhu permanent in 2000 when resident status in Canada for himself the 25-year-old and his dependents despite a conviction for the Maple Ridge woman defied her family’s murder of Jaswinder (Jassi) Sidhu. Darshan wishes Singh Sidhu told immigration officials he had Continued on page 7

India plans to launch space station by 2030 India’s Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Thursday said it was planning to launch its own space station. “We are planning to have a space station for India, our own space station,” ISRO Chairman K Sivan said while addressing a press conference in New Delhi. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K. Sivan speaks at a press conference on India’s second mission to moon Chandrayaan-2 in Bangalore, India, June 12, 2019. The space station project will be an extension of the Gaganyaan (Sky Craft) mission. Gaganyaan is an Indian crewed orbital

spacecraft intended to be the basis of the Indian Human Spaceflight program. A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting crew members, designed to remain in space for an extended period of time and for other spacecraft to dock, the most commonly known being the International Space Station. PSLV-C31 rocket of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) carrying IRNSS-1E satellite lifts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

Indian cities are running out of water India is experiencing one of the worst droughts in its history, with soaring temperatures threatening crops, livestock and people. Thousands of villagers have abandoned their homes in a desperate search for water as the crisis has left village pumps and wells dry.

The drought has also depleted four reservoirs that supply the country’s sixth largest city, Chennai, with a population of more than four million. Residents are having to queue for water that’s brought into the city in trucks, while businesses are suffering. As of 10 June,

around 44% of the country was affected by various degrees of drought, due to a heatwave that has seen Delhi record its highest ever June temperature of 48 .

While south of the capital, the Rajasthan city of Churu saw highs of more than 50 , making it one of the hottest places on Earth. Around 600 million people are dealing with high-to-extreme water shortages, according to a 2018 report by NITI Aayog, a policy think tank for the Indian government.

Continued on page 7

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Saturday, June 22, 2019

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Saturday, June 22, 2019

BC files another legal challenge against Alberta over turn-off-taps law The British Columbia government has filed a second lawsuit against Alberta over its turn-off-the-taps legislation.

A statement of claim filed in Federal Court on June 14 is similar to a document filed last month in Alberta’s Court of Queen’s Bench that alleges Alberta introduced the bill to inflict economic pain on B.C. by limiting the supply of petroleum products to the province. The claim says Alberta’s attorney general brought an application to have the action dismissed in the Court of Queen’s Bench on the grounds that B.C. has

no standing to challenge laws created in the Alberta legislature and that the legal action is premature.

The B.C. government says it believes the case can be heard in Alberta but if it is found not to have standing there, it wants the Federal Court to declare Alberta’s Preserving Canada’s Economic Prosperity Act unconstitutional. Alberta’s former NDP government passed the bill but it wasn’t proclaimed into law until after the United Conservative Party was elected earlier this year.

BC woman gives birth to identical triplets Nelson’s new identical triplets are healthy, happy and home at last. Katherine van der Veen gave birth to Ainsley, Olivia and Abigail on May 8. The girls became mathematical marvels the moment they were born — a study by researchers at Cambridge University in London, England found the odds of having identical triplets are 10 in one million.

“It’s just a random fluke of the universe or nature or god depending on how you look at it,” said Van der Veen. “We think it’s a miracle and just [the universe saying] ‘here you go, have fun!’”

The family is the first to have identical triplets in Canada since 2015 when another trio of girls were born in Salmon Arm, B.C. Van der Veen and her husband Ain Baird previously endured both a miscarriage and a preterm birth, so she was relieved the triplets were healthy after being born via caesarean section. The family spent two weeks at the B.C. Children’s Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit in Vancouver after the babies were born over a month ahead of the original June 14 due date.

Continued onPage 8

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Son of cricketer becomes first Indian origin PIO in Major League Baseball Karan Patel, an Indian origin PIO (Persons of Indian Origin) has been picked up

by Major League Baseball (MLB) team Chicago White Sox, making him the first ever player of Indian origin to be drafted in the MLB. The 22-year-old is the son of Kuldeep Patel – former cricketer for the United States team. Kuldeep had left for North Carolina 35 years back to help his uncle with his restaurant.

“It’s very special for the Indian community

here. Many kids are now starting to believe they can excel in American sports too. The senior players in the MLB are starting to know that I am the first of Indian origin to be among them and they are quite in awe,” Karan was quoted as saying in a The Times of India report. According to the newly signed player, the Indian in America push their kids into academics and not allow them to play sports besides cricket.

Premier Horgan says BC will continue with Trans Mountain pipeline fight B.C.’s premier is vowing to continue legal challenges against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, in what may now be mostly symbolic opposition to a project Ottawa has again approved.

John Horgan said he’s disappointed the federal government gave another green light Tuesday to a plan to twin the existing pipeline from near Edmonton to Burnaby, which will triple capacity to 890,000 barrels a day.

B.C. has maintained an oil spill on the ocean from increased tanker traffic would be catastrophic, though it has also acknowledged it lacks the power to regulate or ban tankers.

While B.C. will continue two court

challenges, Horgan said the province will grant any lawfully requested permits to start construction on the twinned pipeline this summer. “Although I regret the federal government’s decision, it is within their authority to make that decision,” he said.

The premier did not rule out throwing the B.C. government’s support behind future First Nations or environmental challenges, but said he’d consider it on a case-by-case basis.

Ottawa’s approval did not come as a surprise, given the federal government purchased the pipeline from Kinder Morgan for $4.5 billion in 2018.

4

OPINION

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Trudeau government has failed to produce promised tax relief Jake Fuss and Milagros Palacios

Providing tax relief for Canadian families has been a stated priority for the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau since it assumed office. However, despite any rhetoric to the contrary, the tax burden for the average Canadian family has increased over the last four years. And it’s clear now that Trudeau must change course if tax relief remains a goal for this government. Since 2015, this government has enacted a series of tax increases on Canadian families. It introduced a carbon tax, raised payroll taxes and removed several personal income tax credits, including income splitting, the children’s fitness tax credit and the public transit tax credit. Whether you agree with those measures or not, these changes have increased the average family’s tax burden.

Each year, the Fraser Institute measures the average Canadian family’s tax burden to demonstrate how it’s changed over time.

Canadians pay many different taxes to federal, provincial and local governments.

Some of these taxes are visible but many are hidden, which adds to the confusion about how much we actually pay. Not only do we pay income taxes, we also pay property taxes, payroll taxes (including the Canada or Quebec Pension Plans tax), health taxes, sales taxes such as the GST, carbon taxes, taxes on gasoline, taxes on imported goods, ‘sin’ taxes and so on. Adding up all the taxes isn’t easy. But in 2019, we estimate the average Canadian family (consisting of two or more people) will pay $52,675 in total taxes – or 44.7 per cent of their $117,731 income. Of the total amount of taxes paid, 53.2 per cent will go to the federal government.

If you paid all your taxes for 2019 up front, you’d give the government every dollar you

earned before June 14, which is what we call Tax Freedom Day. After working the first 164 days of the year for government, you’re finally working for yourself and your family.

Tax Freedom Day in 2015 arrived two days earlier, on June 12. For the average Canadian family, the federal portion of their total tax bill has increased by 10.5 per cent over the last four years. So the federal tax burden for Canadian families is higher today than when this government took office in 2015.

And the total tax burden on Canadian families grows even larger after we account for the federal government’s deficit problem.

Despite the increasing levels of taxation over the last four years, this government has not been able to fully finance its spending preferences. This year, the federal government is projected to spend nearly $20 billion more than it collects in revenue.

Who will pay that $20 billion?

Future taxpayers. A deficit today is nothing more than a tax deferred to a later date. By kicking today’s debt down the road, the federal government is passing the burden of repayment to young Canadian families.

In fact, if Canadian governments at all levels raised taxes to balance their budgets instead of financing spending with budget deficits, Tax Freedom Day would arrive eight days later this year, on June 22.

The tax bill for the average family is rising and expected future tax increases will only exacerbate the issue.

Given the increasing tax burden on Canadian families, the government must re-evaluate its plans. So far, it has failed to deliver on the promise of meaningful tax relief.

Jake Fuss and Milagros Palacios are analysts at the Fraser Institute.

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Trudeau cabinet approves Trans Mountain expansion project From page 1 projects. Any proceeds from the eventual sale of the pipeline will also be earmarked for projects that would help with the transition away from fossil fuels to cleaner sources of energy. “We need to create wealth today so we can invest in the future. We need resources to invest in Canadians so they can take advantage of the opportunities generated by a rapidly changing economy, here at home and around the world,� Trudeau said.

Trudeau said building the project, which will help deliver Canadian oil to tidewater for shipment to lucrative markets in Asia, will ensure Canada is not dependent on selling its natural resources to one customer — the United States. ‘We need to create wealth today so we can invest in the future’ Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces his government will approve the Trans Mountain pipeline and then takes questions from the media. “As we’ve seen over the past few years, anything can happen with our neighbours to

the south,â€? Trudeau said. “Right now, we’re prisoners to the American market.â€? The federal Liberal government said Tuesday it will soon begin the process of meeting with Indigenous groups who are interested in buying the project and it is open to selling as much as 100 per cent of its stake to First Nations, MĂŠtis and Inuit investors. Ottawa has said it does not want to own the project long-term.

A senior government official, speaking on background to reporters ahead of the official announcement, said while there are still a number of permits and regulatory hurdles facing the controversial project, the government expects construction work to start sometime this year. “There’s six months left in 2019 and I think it’s fair to say shovels will be in the ground in 2019,� the official said. “Plans are being drafted up, regulators are ready to move forward.� Bill Morneau tells Calgary crowd he understands anxiety over shift to low-carbon future

Indian magician dies after ‘Houdini’ trick goes wrong From page 1 hook in a bid to recreate a Houdini trick.

Before Lahiri entered the river he reportedly Rescue workers discovered his body on said it would be “magic� if he freed himself, but Monday evening after a frantic 24-hour search. “tragic� if he couldn’t.

In this photo taken on June 16, 2019 Indian The magician last successfully pulled off a stuntman Chanchal Lahiri, known by his stage similar stunt 21 years ago in the same river. name “Jadugar Mandrake�, is lowered into the The magician appearing in previous water Ganges river, while tied up with steel chains stunts The magician appearing in previous and ropes, in Kolkata. water stunts He was locked inside a bulletproof The tragic news was confirmed by deputy glass box and tied with a chain. commissioner of the port division of Kolkata police.

VANCITY, TELUS take a step on World Refugee Day

C

anadians are among the most optimistic among 25 countries surveyed, that refugees will integrate successfully into their host country, said IPSOS in a report released this week, as two Vancouver-based companies announced plans this morning to boost support for refugees and promote their integration into Canadian society. Vancity will support five refugee families over the next five years as part of a new privately- sponsored refugee program, while TELUS will provide government-assisted refugees arriving in BC with refurbished phones, wireless access and digital support to enable them to stay in touch with family abroad and access support networks and employment opportunities in Canada. Both initiatives were announced at a media event hosted by ISSofBC to commemorate World Refugee Day. Eight government-assisted refugee families who arrived at the ISSofBC Welcome Centre yesterday were also formally welcomed by the Province of BC represented by SurreyFleetwood MLA Jagrup Brar at this morning’s event. In collaboration with ISSofBC, Vancity will fund the settlement costs for a refugee family for one full year to help them get their start in Canada. A different family will be identified and supported in each of the next four years. In addition, Vancity will enroll 10 of their employees in a mentorship program through ISSofBC. These new settlement mentors will offer friendship and assistance to the arriving families as they explore their new communities.

Vancity also issued a challenge to other businesses, encouraging them to undertake similar private sponsorship initiatives with settlement agencies and faith-based sponsorship groups across Canada. TELUS was the first organization to rise to the challenge, and has committed to funding the settlement costs for a refugee family for one year.

TELUS today launched its landmark “Welcome to Canada� initiative, which expands its Internet for Good and Mobility for Good programs through a customized pilot to help

government-assisted refugees arriving in BC. As a newcomer to Canada’s second purchase is often a smartphone, TELUS, in partnership with ISSofBC, will provide these refugees with a free refurbished smartphone, and mobility and home Internet services for a total of $30 per month for two years. This cost is cancelled out by the $30 monthly communication allowance provided to these refugees by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. More than 150,000 disadvantaged Canadians have already been supported by TELUS’ Connecting for Good programs. This year’s theme for World Refugee Day set by the UNHCR is #StepwithRefugees— Take A Step on World Refugee Day. QUOTES: Rt. Hon. Justin P.J. Trudeau, P.C., M.P., Prime Minister of Canada— “It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the announcement event hosted by ISSofBC, Vancity Credit Union and TELUS in honour of World Refugee Day.‌I firmly believe that Canada is strong because of our diversity, a diversity that relies on newcomers‌.As we gather here today, I wish to highlight the countless contributions of refugees to our society.â€? Hon. John Horgan, M.L.A., Premier of British Columbia – “Welcoming refugees is a proud part of BC’s history. Refugees have built, shaped and enriched this province and country for hundreds of years‌.Today and everyday, we stand together in support of refugees and the values of diversity, inclusion and mutual respect. We will always welcome those seeking refuge from persecution with hopes for a better future, and work to make life better for every person in every community in BC.â€? Catherine Ludgate, Senior Manager, Community Investment, Vancity Credit Union — “Vancity has a long history of supporting newcomers in our communities, and this new program builds on that work. A refugee’s first year is always particularly challenging, and programs like this help to ensure a warmer welcome and a smoother transition.â€?

This year’s theme for World Refugee Day set by the UNHCR is #StepwithRefugees— Take A Step on World Refugee Day.

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Saturday, June 22, 2019 From page 1

Man faces deportation over father’s honour-killing conviction

According to Indian authorities, Jassi Sidhu was slain in 2000 when the 25-year-old Maple Ridge woman defied her family’s wishes by marrying a poor Indian rickshaw driver.

Her throat was slit and her body dumped in a canal in Punjab after she and her new husband were attacked by a group of armed men.

Darshan Singh Sidhu was one of seven people arrested and charged in India with Jassi Sidhu’s murder. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2005.

Darshan Singh Sidhu appealed to India’s Supreme Court and earned an acquittal in 2015.

But his murder conviction was firmly in place when he applied to become a permanent resident in Canada in 2007, meaning neither he nor his dependents would have been admitted had he been truthful about his criminal past.

The sins of the father Darshan Singh Sidhu is now back in India.

But when it comes to lying to a visa officer, the sins of the father may yet be visited upon the son. “This is a somewhat unusual case,” says the appeal court decision, written by Judge Eleanor Dawson.

Indian cities are running out of water From page 1 Forced to flee Many wealthy Indians retreat to the usually cool hills of Himachal Pradesh to avoid the summer heat, but even in this summer retreat temperatures have reached nearly 45 . One of the worst affected regions surrounds the town of Beed, in the western state of Maharashtra. Here, villages lay deserted as drinking water has run out and there is no water to wash clothes and dishes or flush toilets, forcing residents to flee.

Tanks arrive every few days with emergency supplies, but there are not enough to go round.

Prolonged extreme heat has devastated the crops that form the backbone of local agricultural economies. Helpless farmers have little option but to leave maise, soya, sweet limes, and ground nuts withering in the fields.

And livestock fare little better, with goats and sheep starving from lack of food and water.

For those who can afford to pay for water that’s trucked in daily, there is some respite. But this water is taken from the bottom of muddy dams and lakes, which is often contaminated and can cause gastrointestinal diseases.

Villagers look to the monsoon rains to end the drought, but the rains are late this year. Some years they don’t arrive at all, or bring less rainfall than expected. By 2030, it’s predicted that 40% of the population will have no access to drinking water - and 21 cities, including Chennai and New Delhi, will run out of groundwater, impacting 100 million people, according to NITI Aayog.

Climate change is altering global weather patterns, with devastating consequences for some subsistence farmers, whose livelihoods depend on successfully harvesting crops.

Rising temperatures increase the severity and frequency of droughts, as well as other extreme weather events like floods, tropical cyclones and dust storms.

Human activity has warmed the world by about 1.1 since pre-industrial times, with the past five years having been the warmest ever recorded.

Urgent action is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and keep global temperatures well below the 2 target set by the Paris Agreement, which would help the plight of India’s farmers and population as a whole. While the world finds ways of addressing the global threat of climate change, for many in India, droughts, floods and violent storms remain everyday risks.

“This is not a case where, unknown to the dependants, a principal applicant exaggerated a qualification or other fact in his or her application for permanent residence. (The son) knew of his father’s conviction and that criminal convictions were of interest to the Canadian immigration officials.”

Jassi’s uncle Surjit Singh Badesha, and mother Malkit Kaur Sidhu were extradited to India last year for allegedly conspiring to murder Jassi Sidhu in Punjab, in 2000.

The courts have described the situation as “absurd” — largely because Darshan Singh Sidhu, who appears to have no interest in ever returning to Canada, has never faced an admissibility hearing.

And yet his son might be declared inadmissible even if his father never is.

The case centres around the issue of “misrepresentation” and what is described in the

Immigration and Refugee Act as withholding “material facts relating to a relevant matter” like criminality.

‘An absurd result’ The federal appeal court ruling follows the case’s slow path through an Immigration Division hearing, an Immigration Appeal Division hearing and a federal court review of those decisions. Both the immigration tribunals found Sidhu wasn’t responsible for his father’s lies. The immigration appeal division concluded there “was no basis to conclude that (he) knew or ought to have known that he had a personal duty to provide information about his father’s criminality.

The federal appeal court judges reaffirmed that decision, adding that Barinder Singh Sidhu shouldn’t be able to avoid an admissibility hearing just because his father has. Otherwise it would “result in a situation where family members would not be subject

to removal proceedings when, after landing, the principal applicant leaves Canada and remains outside of Canada in order to avoid an admissibility hearing,” Dawson wrote.

“This result would undermine the integrity of the immigration process and would be an absurd result.”

Darshan Singh Sidhu’s daughter is married to the son of Surjit Singh Badesha, Jassi’s uncle, who is currently facing trial in India along with Malkit Kaur Sidhu, Jassi’s mother.

The two appeared in an Indian court with black bags covering their heads shortly after their removal from Canada.

It is uncertain whether or not Barinder Singh Sidhu will appeal the federal court of appeal decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.

8

Saturday, June 22, 2019

What is the minor injury cap and what does it mean for my ICBC claim?

As ICBC claims lawyers the team at Simpson, Thomas & Associates have received numerous calls and questions regarding the new ICBC caps on minor injuries. The question is; what is the minor injury cap and what does it mean for my ICBC claim?

The current provincial government has implemented legislation that limits recovery on the pain and suffering for accidents that happened after April 1, 2019.

It is often referred to as the minor injury cap. The minor injury cap does not apply to wage loss or medical expenses. The minor injury cap applies only to injuries that are

defined in the legislation. A minor injury is defined as: scrapes, bruises, sprains or strains (soft tissue injuries), and TMJ injuries (tempromandibular joint - the joint which connects your lower jaw to your skull) that do not cause “serious impairment” for longer than 12 months. “Serious impairment” is defined as being unable to complete the essential tasks of your job, school or activities of daily living for longer than 12 months.

For work, this includes being unable to work full hours or complete your full job duties. Outside of work or school, your daily activities include house cleaning, cooking, shopping, transportation, personal hygiene

or managing your personal finances. It is unclear how much of an impact is required for the court to consider it serious.

The minor injury cap also applies to anxiety, PTSD, depression, and concussions.

However, for these types of injuries, if the injured party is incapacitated for longer than 16 weeks the minor injury cap does not apply.

What does this mean for my ICBC claim?

The minor injury cap only applies to accidents on or after April 1, 2019. If you are involved in a motor vehicle accident after this date we anticipate that ICBC will tell you if your claim is designated under the minor

BC woman gives birth to identical triplets

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Their birth weights ranged from just 4.4 to 5.4 pounds. Of course, that was still nearly 15 pounds of babies Van der Veen was carrying around.

“I walk around [now and] I’m like, ‘how did I do that?’”

Related: Nelson couple expecting identical girl triplets Van der Veen praised the hospital’s medical staff — the family had two nurses assigned to them — but said the new parents are relieved to be back in their home.

Of course, now the real work begins.

Breast feeding triplets, for example, is a process.

“Sometimes you have to put down the first one, half feed the second one then put that one down and half feed the third one,” she said. “So it’s a juggle, but for the most part they’re awesome.

They really zen right now, but that will change soon enough I’m sure.”

The new parents are also looking ahead to life with their unique brood.

Baird, who owns a construction company, has already made business cards that include a picture of his new daughters.

Van der Veen said she hopes, in time, her daughters become known for more than just their unique birth. “[I want to] be present for them and encourage them to be individuals because they are identical so they are going to be lumped together, but also recognizing they’re each little people and will be grown up people.”

A concert fundraiser for the family will be held July 13, 8 p.m. to midnight, at Finley’s Bar and Grill.

Donations can also be made online at gofundme.com/babyBairdthree.

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Hardev Bal passes away A well known member of the South Asian community, Hardev Bal, passed away last Saturday night.

Hardev Bal,, originally from village Subanpur in Punjab, came to Canada in 1972, and settled I’m Vancouver.

He operated a number of businesses in Vancouver, mostly in trucking ad transportation.

From the very beginning, BAL was a

staunch supporter of the NDP, even during the times when it was not fashionable to be a NDP supporter.

Bal lives behind his widow, Sukhraj BAL, children Kamal BAL and Harmon BAL and three grandkids.

His funeral service will be at the Riverside Funeral Home in Delta at 10 am this Sunday.

Bill to ban oil tankers in northern B.C. waters passes in Senate A bill restricting oil tankers in British Columbia’s northern waters has narrowly passed the Senate. Bill C-48 bans tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tonnes of oil from docking along B.C.’s north coast, an area that stretches from the northern tip of Vancouver Island to the Alaska border.

It passed in a close 49-to-46 vote Thursday evening. The bill has previously been

supported by both the Coastal First Nations— an alliance of First Nations on the province’s north and central coasts, as well as on the archipelago of Haida Gwaii— and environmentalists, who say it will help keep the coast safe from oil spills. But it’s also faced criticism from the oil industry, First Nations

and leaders in Alberta, who worry it could critically harm Canada’s oil exports. In 1972, the federal government moved to ban tanker traffic from the northern tip of Vancouver Island to the Alaska border but there was no legislation to formalize it.

Senators also passed Bill C-69, which revamps the federal environmental assessment process for major construction projects, by a vote of 57-37.

Both will now proceed to a formal Royal Assent ceremony — set to be held on Friday afternoon — to become law.

RCMP believe missing three-year-old boy now with parents Police are now saying they don’t believe Brycein is in any harm, but want to speak with his parents Surrey RCMP now say they believe Brycein is with his parents. Police don’t believe he is any harm, but “would like to speak with his parents.”

Surrey RCMP hope the public can help find a missing threeyear-old boy. Police say Brycein Toane was last seen on June 18 in the 11200-block of 126A Street “in the company of his mother Melissa-Sue Seale and father Dallas Toane,” who have both since disappeared.

Surrey RCMP say Dallas has not been seen since 8 p.m. June 19. Seale was last seen

around 5 p.m. on June 20.

Police describe Brycein as a Metis child, approximately three feet tall weighing 35 pounds with shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes.

Surrey RCMP have provided a photo of Brycein but say he is roughly one year old in it. It is not known what he was last seen wearing. Police are concerned for his health and well-being.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502, or Crime Stoppers, to remain anonymous, at 1-800-222-8477 or www.solvecrime.ca quoting file number 2019-91279.

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Defence says there are ‘innocent’ Lawyer tells B.C. Supreme Court that the federal Crown has Crown’s evidence is entirely circumstantial not proven that Stephen Chen was involved in and does not support a conviction. the illicit drug business of convicted trafficker As for meetings and phone calls referred Tarsem Jawanda, despite their meetings and to by federal prosecutor Maggie Loda, there phone calls over several months. are “alternative, reasonable and innocent A lawyer for accused drug trafficker Stephen explanations,” Doricic told Schultes.

Chen says there are “innocent” explanations Earlier this week, Loda argued that the for suspicious meetings his client had with circumstantial evidence presented in the an associate that were captured on police two-week trial establishes Chen’s guilt in the surveillance video back in 2015. case. “The totality of the Crown’s case paints And Emil Doricic told B.C. Supreme Court a complete picture of Jawanda and Chen’s Justice Terence Schultes that the federal Crown relationship. Jawanda ordered MDMA has not proven that Chen was involved in the from Chen; they met to pass the ordered illicit drug business of convicted trafficker MDMA from Chen to Jawanda,” Loda said Tarsem Jawanda, despite their meetings and in her closing submission. “Jawanda sold the phone calls over several months.

MDMA to the undercover officer. Jawanda Chen, who is facing one count of trafficking then brought Chen his drug money.” ecstasy, is also the subject of a civil forfeiture Jawanda earlier pleaded guilty to lawsuit for allegedly using the illegal conspiracy to export MDMA or ecstasy, as underground bank Silver International to well as trafficking for selling the drugs to launder millions of dollars.Doricic said that undercover police between February and in the criminal case against Chen, the federal August 2015. He was sentenced to six years.

Saturday, June 22, 2019

explanations for meetings in drug case But Doricic said the Crown hadn’t even established definitively that it was Chen who was recorded in intercepted phone calls talking to Jawanda. He suggested that while the phone used was registered to Chen, it was a business phone for his company, Sam’s Concrete Pumping, meaning an employee could have been the one talking to Jawanda.

Doricic noted that Jawanda regularly told police officers posing as drug customers that he had several suppliers of MDMA and appeared to be “awash in drugs.”

When Jawanda “was unable to obtain drugs from one supplier … he got them from another supplier,” Doricic said.

While Chen was captured on video carrying packages in some of his meetings with Jawanda, there was no evidence confirming

that any of the packages contained drugs, Doricic said. In fact, on one occasion, his client was carrying take-out restaurant food he had purchased for his son, Doricic argued.

He said Jawanda “had some business relationship and some involvement in Mr. Chen’s cement business” and that comments related to “paperwork” could have been referencing the business.

Loda argued that “paperwork” mentioned in intercepted calls were cryptic references to drug payments. And she noted that the men on the intercepts spoke in a guarded manner.

Doricic said the conversations were not guarded, but simply casual chat between friends. “We all know that friends, coworkers, develop a verbal shorthand where they talk about things where they know what the other person means,” he said.

Alleged human-smuggling operation may have brought hundreds of Chinese migrants across BC border A years-long investigation by federal authorities has uncovered an elaborate “human smuggling network” that may have helped close to a thousand Chinese migrants cross the Canada-U.S. border via a public park just steps away from a busy B.C. port of entry, according to newly unsealed court documents obtained by the National Post.

A major part of the scheme saw Chinese nationals fly to the United States on valid travel visas, make their way to Seattle and then get dropped off by members of the network at or near Peace Arch Park — a 16-hectare park that straddles the international border between Surrey, B.C., and Blaine, Wash.

An email to would-be border jumpers, uncovered during the investigation and

translated from Chinese, instructed them to “smile” and “be natural” when walking through the park and to pretend to take pictures. “If someone questions, the answer is, (I’m) only tourist … not going to Canada,” it said. The Peace Arch border crossing in Surrey, British Columbia on September 29, 2018.

There are no physical barriers in the park preventing transit between countries, and the Post’s queries to Canadian law enforcement agencies revealed some disagreement about which of them is actually responsible for preventing unlawful border-crossing through Peace Arch Park. The investigation culminated last September with the arrest of Michael Kong, 62, of Vancouver.

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Khalsa Business Centre

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

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Canadian dollar reaches 5-month high as oil rallies, greenback slides The Canadian dollar strengthened to a five-month high against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as oil prices climbed and the greenback was pressured by the prospect of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

The U.S. dollar sank against a basket of currencies and is on track for its biggest twoday drop in a year after the Fed signalled it was ready to cut interest rates as early as next month.

The price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, jumped after Iran shot down a U.S. military drone, raising fears of a military confrontation between Tehran and Washington. U.S. crude oil futures were up 4.6 per cent at $56.21 a barrel.

At 9:38 a.m. (1338 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading 0.8 per cent higher at 1.3180 to the greenback, or 75.87 U.S. cents. The currency touched its strongest intraday level since Jan. 3 at 1.3151.

Canada lost 16,000 jobs in May, the first decline in three months, as hiring fell in the construction sector,

according to a report from ADP. Still, data on Wednesday showing that the annual rate of Canadian inflation climbed to a seven-month high in May could help fend off interest rate cuts from the Bank of Canada.

Meanwhile, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said it was now up to Canada and the United States to ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) after Mexico’s Senate approved the trade deal on Wednesday.

Canada sends about 75 per cent of its exports to the United States, so its economy could benefit if all three countries ratify the new North American trade pact.

Canadian government bond prices were mixed across a steeper yield curve, with the twoyear flat to yield 1.392 per cent and the 10-year falling 8 Canadian cents to yield 1.432 per cent.

The gap between Canada’s 2-year yield and its U.S. equivalent narrowed by 4.8 basis points to a spread of 32.6 basis points in favour of the U.S. bond, its smallest gap since February last year.

Canada passes law to speed up pardons for pot possession The Canadian government passed a law late on Wednesday that would allow its citizens with a criminal record for marijuana possession to be pardoned without any cost and expedite a process that previously could take up a decade.

The new bill is aimed at shedding the “burden of stigma” and removing barriers for employment, education, housing, volunteering and travel for people with record for simple possession of cannabis, Senator Tony Dean said in a statement.

The bill titled C-93 follows Canada’s legalization of the sale and recreational use of marijuana and cannabis products last year, making Canada the first industrialized

nation to legalize recreational cannabis.

Out of 54,940 cases of cannabis-related offences, 76% were for simple possession in 2016, according to Statistics Canada.

The new bill is expected to speed the pardon process by eliminating the potential five- to 10-year wait time and waives an application fee of C$631 ($479).

It calls for a “simplified and expedited version” of the pardon process, and will be allowed as long as the sentence had been completed and if the only conviction on their criminal record was for simple marijuana possession.

Air India anniversary: Who remembers the children killed in Canada’s largest mass murder?

On June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 182 departed Toronto via Montreal for Delhi with 329 passengers and crew, mostly Canadians of Indian ancestry. They included 82 children under the age of 13.

The end of the school year in Canada had brought the promise of visiting places and people in India, the country from which their families had immigrated.

Deep in the bowels of the plane, hidden among the checked-in luggage, were two suitcase bombs that would detonate in midair off the coast of Ireland. Those children along with all their fellow passengers were lost forever.

The children — dearly loved daughters, sons, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends — were innocents whose lives ended by an act of terror. But their tragic fate did not embed itself deeply in the consciousness of their fellow Canadians.

The Air India bombing has been described as the largest mass murder in Canadian history and an act of aviation terror without precedent. But the catastrophe remains unknown, or at most little-known to most Canadians.

Two reporters look over the remains of Air India Flight 182 at a secret location in Vancouver on June 16, 2004, that was reconstructed by investigators in January 2003. The Air India bombing is the worst terrorist act in Canadian history.

Ashwin Rao, a character in Padma Vishwanathan’s Giller short-listed novel The Ever After of Ashwin Rao, says this about the children killed in the bombing: “They deserved to be acknowledged as Canadians. Those children weren’t

deserving of investigative attention because of their virtues. They deserved to live, because they were alive.”

‘Remembering Air India’ is a collection and analysis of creative responses to AI Flight 182 coedited by Chandrima Chakraborty, Amber Dean and Angela Failler. University of Alberta Press It is from novels like Vishwanathan’s as well as poems, films and other creative works that many of my undergraduate and graduate Canadian students first learn about the Air India bombing.

In the absence of broad Canadian validation of the bombing as being worthy of public grief and mourning, creative artists have tried to illuminate the ongoing grief of families forced to live with this profound and unrecognized loss.

But what explains this ignorance of “a Canadian tragedy?”

Why do Canadians not remember the tragic lossofsomanychildrenonAirIndiaFlight182?

Blame for the public absence of knowledge and remembering rests with the Canadian government, which promptly dismissed the mass murder as a foreign tragedy. It was characterized as an act of terror committed

by Indian immigrants who had imported their “blood feuds” from India to Canada.

The plane had crashed far away from Canada, in Irish airspace, and it was an Air India flight. These made it easier to diminish the tragedy as a Canadian story.

Following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York 16 years later, the Air India bombing was retroactively declared “the single worst terrorist attack in Canada’s history.” A public inquiry and a federal government apology

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Chilliwack schools ask energy board to change path of Trans Mountain expansion The Chilliwack School Board wants the proposed route of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion changed because it’s currently slated to go through school grounds.

Tuesday night saw the school board agree to send a letter to the National Energy Board (NEB), asking that the expansion route be changed so it doesn’t run through the grounds of Watson Elementary and Vedder Middle School.

Ts l e i l - Wa u t u t h Nation to appeal Trans Mountain expansion once again The school board has grappled with the issue of the expansion route before. The existing Trans Mountain pipeline does not run under the schools.

In 2015, Kinder Morgan — the pipeline’s previous owner before it was bought by the

federal government — offered the board $30,910 if it agreed to run the pipeline under its school yards. That offer came with a $7,700 signing bonus. The board refused.

The pipeline expansion route is planned to run right through Chilliwack, B.C. School board chair Dan Coulter, who previously raised funds for the B.C. NDP, said the board turned the money down because it didn’t want to be used as an example of an institution that endorsed the pipeline expansion.

Premier disappointed by approval of Trans Mountain expansion The offer was later increased to $136,350 with a $34,000 signing bonus, but the board turned it down again.

30 years later BC woman uses sidewalk chalk to reclaim site of her sexual assault A pail of sidewalk chalk in hand, Chantal arrived at the stretch of path in Stanley Park where she was raped at the age of 16.

The Vancouver woman wanted to reclaim the place where she was violently attacked by a stranger, 30 years ago.

“I’m pretty sure this person thought that they had left me for dead,” Chantal said in a phone interview. Black Press Media has agreed to use only her first name to protect her identity.

She is one of an estimated 95 per cent of women who have been assaulted in Canada and were too scared to report it to police. She had to revisit the location almost daily as part of her high school gym class.

Now 46, Chantal said she often walked through the park with her dog, careful to avoid the trails that connect to the location.

It wasn’t until earlier this month, while helping a close friend pursue criminal charges in her own assault, that she started mulling

over how she could further provide support by showing her own strength and courage.

“Realizing how deeply broken the [justice] system is, and how little power we really have within it, I was feeling a little powerless and we felt like we were losing the fight,” she said.

She was walking with her friend through the park one day and decided to go to the site of her attack. She said she felt a sense of security standing there with someone who has experienced a similar attack.

Last Tuesday, after a quick stop at the corner store to buy some chalk, Chantal walked again to the spot in the park where her trauma began – this time, alone.

“I started by drawing a heart with wings on it and then wrote ‘I am not alone’ in it, and thought I’d leave it at that,” she said. “But then I sort of realized that I wanted to explain what it was about.”

Burnaby RCMP arrest 3 men, seize loaded handgun near school Police arrested three young men Tuesday night, after a 911 caller reported seeing them passing a handgun back and forth near a Burnaby school.

RCMP officers found the men just after 7:00 p.m. at Cameron Elementary School, and arrested them after covertly clearing the school grounds.

The RCMP said the officers seized a loaded handgun, but they’re not sure what the men intended to do with it. None of the men were known to police.

Police are asking anyone with information or video of the incident to contact them.

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RCMP warns drivers about lug-nut loosener RCMP are warning drivers to check their wheels before hitting the road after reports of lug-nut tampering.

Twice this week, drivers have reported to police that someone had loosened their vehicle’s lug nuts, which secure the wheels.

In one case, the driver said the wheel came off while driving down Marine Way near Byrne Road.

No one was injured in the incident, which occurred on June 11 and was reported to police on Monday.

On Tuesday, another person reported that someone had tampered with their vehicle.

The driver said the lug nuts on their vehicle had been loosened while it was parked in the 3500 block of Brighton Avenue between 4:30 p.m. and 5:10 p.m. Monday.

“While we are unsure if these incidents are linked, we are asking that drivers make sure to check their wheels before driving to ensure wheel lug nuts have not been loosened,” said Cpl. Daniela Panesar in a press release.

Last month, RCMP in the Okanagan issued a similar warning after four separate cases of lugnut loosening were reported in West Kelowna and Peachland.

RCMP warn West Kelowna residents of loose lug nuts In one of those cases, the front driver’s side wheel of a Subaru Outback fell off a while a woman was driving.

“It’s a good reminder for drivers to always ensure vehicles are safe to drive,” said Panesar.

Woman sues RCMP officer who asked if she was ‘at all turned on’ during sexual assault An Indigenous woman is suing a B.C. RCMP officer she says interrogated her in March 2012 when she reported a sexual assault.

A video of the interview was made public in May, in which the officer is heard asking the woman whether she was “at all turned on” by the alleged sexual assault. The contents of the video drew condemnation from members of Parliament and a review by the RCMP. The woman, who is not being identified because she was 17 at the time of the interview, is suing Kelowna RCMP Cpl. Kenneth Hall, the Attorney General of Canada and B.C.’s Minister of Justice.

In her notice of civil claim, the woman alleges the two-hour interview was demeaning, insulting and abusive.

She claims Hall’s questioning “was a reckless misogynistic and arrogant departure from the standard expected of a professionally trained RCMP member.”

The woman says she participated in the interview because she was under the impression she was there to report a serious sexual assault, but she was treated as a suspect for public mischief, and she claims Hall and others “used the degrading, malicious interrogation as a punishment.”

The video of the 2012 investigation was released as part of disclosure in an ongoing civil claim involving a Kelowna social worker.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale called the contents of the video “abhorrent,” and earlier this month the RCMP ordered a review.

In the documents filed in B.C. Supreme

Court, the woman claims she has suffered consequences stemming from the interview, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, nervous shock, insomnia and nightmares and a suicide attempt.

‘Were you at all turned on?’ RCMP’s handling of sexual assault interview denounced She’s seeking a range of damages.

Her claims have not been tested in court.

Hall and the other defendants have not yet filed statements of defence in the case.

‘Is this their investigation process?’

Indigenous advocate calls for RCMP transparency after disturbing video According to the RCMP, Hall is not doing media interviews.

An RCMP spokesperson responded to a requestforcommentfromCBCNewsbyreferring to a statement issued by Deputy Commissioner Jennifer Strachan earlier this month.

“We agree that on the surface this case doesn’t appear to align with public expectations or the current standards and practices in place when addressing sex assault investigations and supporting victims,” the statement read.

Grade 8 student killed in accident at Vancouver Island wilderness camp Emergency crews called to Camp Barnard after report that boy was trapped under tree A middle school student has died after an accident during a field trip at a wilderness camp in the south end of Vancouver Island on Wednesday afternoon.

The teenage boy had been at Camp Barnard near Sooke, B.C., with his

classmates from Lansdowne Middle School on the first day of a three-day trip.

Emergency crews, including an air ambulance, were called to the camp just after 3:30 p.m. PT. Officials with the Otter Point Volunteer Fire Department said someone had reported that a boy was trapped under a tree.

“We were informed that the student tragically lost his life,” said Shelley Green, superintendent of the Greater Victoria School District.

A number of emergency vehicles responded to the incident at Camp Barnard. One student was taken to hospital in critical but stable condition.

BC Emergency Health Services said a second student was taken to hospital in critical but stable condition. On Thursday, Green said that student had been released.

Green said the name of the student who died is being withheld at his family’s request. She said counsellors are available for students and staff.

“It is with deep regret that we inform you about a recent loss to our learning community,” Green wrote in a letter posted to the school district’s website late Wednesday.

“We are saddened by the loss to our school community.”

Green said there were other students from a different school at the camp at the time the student died and that they were taken home Wednesday night.

Other students from Lansdowne are still on overnight camping trips at other sites. The superindendent said those trips will continue and students will be informed about the death as they come home, though their teachers and administrators have been made aware. Green said the district will conduct a review of what happened. Any time there’s such a tragedy, “we go through that whole process of reviewing everything because, ultimately, our No. 1 concern is always

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Surrey Mayor’s canal pitch took councillors by surprise City government has more important issues pressing than building a canal, councillors say .

Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum’s idea to build a “wandering canal� in the city holds no water with some council members who say the concept was not discussed with them prior to the mayor floating the idea at a Downtown Business Improvement Association meeting in Whalley last week. “A canal is not something we have ever discussed in council,� Councillor Brenda Locke

said. “It is not something I would support and I don’t k n o w w h e r e t h e s e e m p t y r o a d s are that we’re going to be running a canal

through. There are way more important issues in Surrey to be worrying about than a canal.�

Councillor Linda Annis called it “a little bit shocking, to say the least, particularly when the mayor is saying that there are unused roads in Surrey. “I know certainly when I travel to work each day I’m not seeing roads that aren’t filled with traffic so I’m not sure what he’s talking about

with that, and I guess I’m also a bit concerned that he would even be contemplating spending money on something like that when we need to be building better roads, more roads and you know, improving our infrastructure and building rec centres, things like that.�

McCallum has not returned requests for comment. This is not the first time he has pondered the creation of a water feature in

Health minister urges British Columbians to vaccinate against measles before summer travel B.C.’s health minister says the province has seen a “dramatic increase� in the number of children vaccinated against measles since the introduction of a provincial program targeting the infectious disease — and is urging the trend to continue over the summer.

Almost 16,000 children and teens were inoculated against the highly contagious airborne disease in April and May, the first two months of the new Measles Immunization Catch-up Program.

The goal of the program is to immunize children from kindergarten through Grade 12 if they have not previously been vaccinated against measles or may not have received both recommended doses.

There will be 900 public clinics and 230 school-based clinics offering the vaccine this month, Dix says, providing an opportunity

to

get immunized before vacation. “We know that people, British Columbians, travel in the summer and this is a good time, if you haven’t been immunized, to be immunized,� Dix said.

B.C. is in the middle of a measles outbreak.

Here’s how to figure out if you need to get the vaccine The voluntary catch-up program was introduced following a measles outbreak in B.C. linked to two French schools in Vancouver, and Dix says 29 cases have been confirmed in the province so far this year.

Those measles cases come amid international outbreaks of the disease, including more than 1,000 cases in the United States, he adds.

Health authorities have also reviewed more than half a million students’ immunization records, and the parents

Surrey spent $15K on police cruiser prototype for a force not yet approved the City of Surrey spent $15,851.64 on a Surrey Police Department vehicle prototype, showcased outside Mayor Doug

McCallum’s State of the City Address in May, according to some media reports.

The cost for the “temporary decals� are broken down as follows: $5,775 for graphic design services; $4,700.64 for production and application of decals, and $5,376 for a three-month lease of the vehicle.

According to city staff, the vehicle “has not been fitted out as a police vehicle� but instead “had temporary decals applied to be used during the City’s consultation events to gather feedback from the public on the proposed branding for the proposed Surrey Police Department.� McCallum said Thursday (June 20) that the city has a budget that goes “towards the transition,� and the cost of the temporary decals is part of the budget. He added that it was “a pretty reasonable amount.�

However, lone Surrey First Councillor Linda Annis said spending “that kind of money as a marketing tool is, in my opinion, is not good use of taxpayers money.� She said there was also a separate cost for other marketing materials. “I think it’s far too soon to be producing marketing materials like that,� she said. “The report has not yet been approved from Victoria. It’s not a done deal. We shouldn’t be investing money on the Surrey police force to

market it until such time that the provincial government either gives us a yes or a no.�

Councillor Linda Guerra, who ran with McCallum on his Safe Surrey Coalition slate, told the Now-Leader, that it was “a brave, gutsy move� to put the cruiser out there to the public. “I think that probably would have been worth its weight in gold.�

The cruiser raised eyebrows when it was revealed at the May 7 event, seeing as the provincial government has not yet approved the city’s proposed shift to a municipal force.

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Saturday, June 22, 2019

Vedic Seniors Parivar Center potluck party in Surrey

Members of Vedic Seniors Parivar Center enjoying unique potluck on June 15th in Surrey.

Vancouver tour bus driver’s dashcam captures road rage spitter A Vancouver tour bus driver’s dashcam captured a shocking incident of road rage.

As Kristen Robinson reports, he’s sharing the video in the hopes it will shame drivers into exercising common sense behind the wheel.

A Vancouver tour bus driver hopes sharing video of a shocking road rage incident he encountered will shame that driver and others into better behaviour on the roads.

Mark, who asked that his last name not be used, says he’s seen a lot of eye-opening incidents in his professional driving career.

“I keep a dashcam rolling all times, because of crazy stuff like that that happens,” Mark told Global News.

On June 14, he was cruising down West Georgia Street in downtown Vancouver with about 12 visitors on board his bus, when he pulled over at a scheduled stop near Cambie Street to let passengers off.

Mark was sitting parked when the driver of a Honda CRV passed him and stopped for about 25 seconds up ahead, before reversing and attempting to parallel park in the partial space the tour bus was not occupying.

When the SUV would not fit, Mark’s dashcam recorded the driver getting out and spitting on the tour bus’ windshield.

“I was literally doing nothing. I was sitting and I get spat at,” said Mark. “We all just kind of, including the tourists in the back of the bus, we’re all just kind of baffled at his behaviour.”

Balwant Sanghera honoured I am very thankful to the Canadian Punjabi Cultural Association for honouring me with the legendary poet / writer Gurdev Singh Mann Memorial Award on Saturday, June 15, 2019 at Bombay Banquet Hall.

It was a very pleasant surprise to see a large number of scholars, writers, journalists and

community activists as well as Mr. Mann’s family members at the Award ceremony. I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to the Board of Directors of Canadian Punjabi Cultural Association including Surjit Singh Madhopuri and Prit Pal Singh Gill .

Thanks. Balwant Sanghera

Radio host Harjit Singh Gill announces his NDP candidacy for Surrey - Newton

Mark says he and his passengers joked about the man who allegedly launched the saliva projectile — everyone on board on the bus can be heard laughing in the video.

But legal experts say the perpetrator could potentially face charges under the Criminal Code, the Motor Vehicle Act and municipal bylaws.

“The spitting driver could be charged with mischief under the Criminal Code,” said criminal lawyer Kyla Lee. “Mischief doesn’t just contemplate damaging property.

It includes any type of interference with somebody’s enjoyment of their property.”

Lee says the alleged spitter also violated three separate sections of the Motor Vehicle Act for stopping his SUV in a way that blocked traffic.

Under the city of Vancouver’s health bylaw, spitting in any street or public place is an offence that could net you a fine of between $250 and $10,000 if convicted.

blood donation by working Local radio host Harjit with prominent blood Singh Gill has announced that donation groups, a very he is seeking nomination to successful campaign” he said. be NDP candidat for Surrey‘‘The inaction by the Federal Newton in the federal election.

Government, both under the In a press release Gill said, “I Conservatives and Liberals, have experience working as civil to address the growing drug engineer, and I have rexperiencein crisis and housing affordability different governance models. Gill in our community are just a has lived in Surrey-Newton area couple of reasons why I decided to put my with his family since coming to Canada.

“I have played a key role in educating and name forward for the candidacy’’ he said. raising awareness about the importance of

Andrew Scheer announces Conservative climate plan Leader of the opposition Andrew Scheer announced the Conservative Party’s climate action plan on Wednesday afternoon titled “A Real Plan to Protect our Environment”.

“This plan is the most comprehensive environmental platform ever put forward by a political party in Canada – far surpassing anything Justin Trudeau put out before the

2015 election,” said Scheer about the plan.

“Climate change is real. And it represents a serious threat to not only to Canada, but to the entire planet.” The plan, which seeks to incentivize the private sector to reinvest funds into green energy and research seeks to remove the need to pay environmental taxes to the government.

Man struck by bus during altercation in Burnaby dies No charges have been laid, as police continue their investigations A man who was hit by a bus following an altercation in Burnaby last week has died of his injuries. Man in hospital after stepping in front of TransLink bus during fight in Burnaby The man, 33, died at Vancouver General Hospital on Thursday, the BC Coroners Service confirmed on Friday morning.

According to police, the man was hit by a bus during some kind of incident with another man near the corner of Hastings Street and Carleton Avenue on the evening of June 11.

Two men were arrested at the scene.

Shortly after the incident, one of those men were deemed a witness, and the second man was released. No charges have been laid.

The bus driver has been provided counselling, TransLink said.

Ranveer Singh becomes commentator India’s Celebrity 100 list since 2012.

After completing a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University Bloomington, Singh returned to India to pursue a career in film. He briefly worked in advertising R anveer Singh was present at the India vs.

Pakistan ICC cricket match during the World Cup 2019 in England, and he floored all with his knowledge of the game at Manchester. Kapil Dev, who was watching the match, sent him a text message appreciating his skills as a commentator as per bollywoodhungama.com’s report.

The actor plays Dev in “’83” and was shooting with the team when he went to watch the match.

Singh, dressed in slight OTT mode as per his getup in the film, was thrilled with the message from the cricket ace whom he portrays in the movie. He sat in the commentary box with Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag, Sunil Gavaskar and Sanjay Manjrekar and danced with Gavaskar on the cult hit “Badan Pe Sitare” so that Harbhajan Singh shared the video on his Youtube channel.

After the win, Singh hugged Captain Virat Kohli and generally seemed to be in the right mood for his film directed by Kabir Khan and co-starring Deepika Padukone.

Ranveer Singh Bhavnani (born 6 July 1985) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. The recipient of several awards, including three Filmfare Awards, Singh is among the highest-paid actors in the country and has featured in Forbes

Leela Bhansali, beginning with the romance Goliyon Ki Raasleela RamLeela (2013).

Singh went on to gain critical acclaim for portraying Bajirao I and Alauddin Khilji in Bhansali’s period dramas Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Padmaavat (2018), respectively. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for the former and the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor.

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The broadcasters informally got the star to do an impromptu commentary and he was thorough with all the statistics and made pertinent points while discussing the match with the stalwarts. During the match, he told Star Sports, He told Star Sports, “It’s raining legends, and for me, it’s like dream come true; sitting next to Virender Sehwag – we are chatting and commentating. The India-Pakistan match is happening; one side I see Sachin Tendulkar and the other side I see Brian Lara, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram – it’s a great feeling.”

and went on to make his acting debut in 2010 with a leading role in Yash Raj Films’ romantic comedy Band Baaja Baaraat. The film emerged as a critical and commercial success, earning him a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut.

He went on to play a melancholic thief in the drama Lootera (2013), and established himself in Hindi cinema with his collaborations with Sanjay

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110-8240 Lansdowne Rd. Richmond Tel: 604-303-0665

1300-8888 Odlin Cr Richmond Tel: 778-297-8788

Suite 1118 7318 137 St. Surrey Tel: 604-503-5288

105-15155 101 Ave. Surrey Tel: 604-497-0888

19-46030 Yale Rd West Chilliwack Tel: 604-392-7270

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Saturday, June 22, 2019

Katrina Kaif At early age, Kaif won beauty contest in Hawaii, and received first modelling assignment in a jewellery campaign.

She subsequently m o d e l l e d professionally in London, working for freelance agencies and appearing regularly at London Fashion Week.

At a fashion show Kaif attracted the attention of London-based filmmaker Kaizad Gustad. He selected her for a role in the English-Hindi erotic heist film Boom as part of an ensemble cast that included Amitabh Bachchan, Gulshan

604-566-3111

7233 - Fraser St., Vancouver, BC

Grover, Jackie Shroff, Madhu Sapre and Padma Lakshmi. While filming in India, Kaif received other offers and decided to stay in the country.[19] In 2003, she received notice as a model after walking the ramp for Rohit Bal at the India Fashion Week and appeared in the first Kingfisher C a l e n d a r. K a t r i n a soon established a successful modelling career in India after endorsing brands such as Coca-Cola, LG, Fevicol and Samsung. Kaif ’s career as a model led to anticipation surrounding her Bollywood debut.

Saturday, June 22, 2019

HOROSCOPE

Dharmendra to be part of ‘Khalli Balli’ Manoj Sharma is on cloud nine as he has just roped in superstar Dharmendra in his horror comedy “Khalli Balli� produced by Kamal Kishor Mishra of One Entertainment Film Productions and Prachi Movies.

Dharmendra will be playing the role of a psychiatrist in the film. The movie also stars Madhoo, Kainaat Arora, Rajniesh Duggal, Rajpal Yadav, Vijay Raaz, Ekta Jain, Yasmeen Khan, Brijendra Kala, Yogesh Lakhani and Asrani.

The film will be shot in Mumbai and Lucknow.

D h a r m e n d r a complete movie(s) list

from 2018 to 1960 all inclusive: Actor with release dates, trailers and much more . Exclusive complied list with movies like Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se (2018), Ghayal Once Again (2016), Second Hand Husband (2015), Ishq De Maare (2014), Sholay (1975), Singh Saab The Great (2013), Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 (2013), Tell Me O Kkhuda (2010), Yamla Pagla Deewana (2010), Mother: The Indira Gandhi Story (2010)

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Bollywood

Aries

March 21 - April 20 The week begins with a full moon in Sagittarius and your sector of far horizons, which could inspire you to book a trip or vacation. If you need to get away from it all, make your move now.

As chatty Mercury pairs with feisty Mars and both planets oppose powerful Pluto midweek, you may feel it’s time to speak up. At the same time, with sobering Saturn linking to dreamy Neptune, you might be able to see the situation from a compassionate and spiritual perspective, and this may help you move through it.

Taurus

April 21 - May 20 A full moon in a more intense sector of your chart on Monday indicates there is the potential for some drama and feelings to be exposed. It’s an opportunity to clear the air and let go of anything that no longer serves your best interests. You could have a lot to say this week, and as lively Mercury aligns with dynamic Mars in your sector of communication, you might have more courage

dealing with people who seems stubborn and whose ideas are rather out of date.

Gemini

May 20 - June 21 The sun and lovely Venus are in your sign, so you may be very much in your element. These

The Sagittarius full moon on Monday indicates that that a relationship could come to the fore, especially if you’re having issues.

This can be a good chance to clear the air and

matters may continue to frustrate you, and issues could come to a head in this regard.

Cancer

June 22 - July 23

You might want to lighten your schedule at the start of the week because the full moon in your lifestyle sector could take a toll. Feelings may be running high, and there could be some unexpected drama to deal with. Cutting back your workload will help you take this in stride. At the same time, the pairing of articulate Mercury and dynamic Mars could inspire you to speak your truth with courage and conviction. As both planets oppose powerful Pluto midweek.

Leo

June 24 - August 23 The week begins with a full moon in your leisure zone, which could put you in the mood to enjoy outings, relish a romantic date, and generally kick back and recharge your batteries. Still, it could be more hectic than you expect, with perhaps a touch of drama added in. It might be wise to lighten your schedule this

facing one or two dilemmas.

Virgo Monday could bring heightened feelings on the home front, especially if there are things that need to be discussed. There might be a tendency to be very blunt and honest, but employing a little sensitivity may be the best way to handle such matters. There are also dynamic energies across your social sector that require tact and diplomacy.

Someone could be jealous of you, or you may have feelings for them that are rather intense. !

"

the cessation of a friendship unless you can talk

Libra

Sept. 24 - Oct 22 Be careful what you say at the start of the week because you certainly won’t hold back.

A full moon in the blunt sign of Sagittarius and your sector of communication could see you telling the truth rather than being your usual tactful, diplomatic self. Some people may be shocked by this. At the same time, there seems to be ongoing tension concerning your home and family situation and your goals and ambitions. Things could intensify over the days ahead.

Scorpio

Oct 23 - Nov 22 Will you splurge on Monday? A full moon in your money zone suggests that you could head out on a shopping trip or enjoy an online spree.

It might be very tempting to go over the top, so if you’re going to indulge, set yourself a limit. #

#

Tuesday, you could have a lot to say on a subject, and so could others. As both planets oppose powerful Pluto in your sector of communication, arguments are a possibility, and they could get fairly intense.

Sagitarius Nov 23 - Dec 22

The full moon in your sign on Monday might be an opportunity to let go of anything that no longer serves you. Whether it’s a habit you want

$

personally, it’s time to jettison it for good. Going out to socialize? You can have a very enjoyable time. Finances may be a bone of contention, and some conversations could be intense. Things might come to a head midweek, and if so, this can be a chance to make a decision to transform your money situation.

Capricorn Dec 23 - Jan 20

The full moon at the start of the week takes place in your spiritual sector and could bring buried feelings to the surface. If there is something you’ve been reluctant to discuss, getting it out in the open could leave you feeling much better. Relationships might be powerfully intense this week, with the potential for disagreements in the cards. Things could come to a head midweek. If you’ve put up with a situation for too long.

Aquarius

Jan 21 - Feb 19 An upbeat celebration can make a great start to the week, and if it coincides with the full moon in your social sector, things could be very buoyant and enjoyable. Watch out for some drama, though.

You might be doing a lot of thinking about your current schedule and the way your daily life pans out. There’s no need to put so much pressure on yourself, however. Understanding why you do this could be the key to feeling happier and more relaxed.

Pisces

Feb 20 - March 20 %

start of the week as the full moon in Sagittarius encourages you to make something public. It might be an announcement or an opportunity to share your feelings about something. Whatever it is, making it known can be a chance for you to garner support. You may be feeling creative as chatty Mercury and feisty Mars merge in your pleasure zone on Tuesday. Share your ideas because much good can come from doing so.

Even if others seem to be jealous or resentful of your skills and the quality of your work,

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Press release

TELUS PITCH travelling elevator makes final stop in Surrey Small business owners to get a chance at winning up to $150,000 in cash and prizes Surrey, B.C - With more than $150,000 in systems like the TELUS Pitch contest which cash and prizes on the line, the TELUS Pitch provides valuable insights and mentorship makes its final stop in Surrey, B.C., home to for small business owners as they venture in one of the largest multicultural communities pursuit of their dreams.

To help drive awareness of the contest, a in Canada. This is a great opportunity for new immigrants who are aspiring entrepreneurs life-sized custom elevator will travel to Surrey, or established business owners to make their giving entrepreneurs in the community mark in Surrey’s business landscape, taking the opportunity to step inside and deliver part in the largest small business contest a 60 second live “elevator� pitch on how payout in the country. Arlene Dickinson, winning this contest will help their business. general partner of District Ventures Capital Entrepreneurs are also invited to enter the and judge on CBC’s Dragons’ Den, continues her partnership with TELUS as lead judge and contest mentor working with finalists to refine their pitches in the lead up to the TELUS Pitch Live Finale Summit event on July 30 in Toronto, where finalists will pitch live for the $100,000 grand prize. On June 17, entrepreneurs are invited to bring their winning pitches to the Surrey City Hall on 13450 104 Ave, Surrey, BC V3T 1V8. Judging the contest in Surrey is Suzanne Trusdale, vice competition online until June 23. “Pitching is the foundation of business. Entrepreneurs are pitching constantly—for money, for customers, for support,� said Dickinson. “And it’s not easy.

When TELUS asked, 2 out of 3 Canadians said they would be nervous pitching venture capitalists. That’s where programs like TELUS Pitch can help—in providing access to funding and exposure to a group of like-minded, leading Canadian business people who are willing to share their experiences in an effort to guide small business owners in refining their pitches.�

Joining Arlene Dickinson as judges of president, Small Business Solutions, TELUS - one of the best minds in business. The TELUS Pitch 2019 are: t4V[BOOF 5SVTEBMF WJDF QSFTJEFOU 4NBMM TELUS Pitch is an annual competition that runs until June 23 and aims to accelerate the Business Solutions, TELUS t+FOOJGFS 4BGSVL WJDF QSFTJEFOU 4BMFT BOE success of Canadian small businesses through the adoption of technology. The total contest Product Management, Mobile, Samsung $BOBEB t3JDIBSE 0TCPSO NBOBHJOH QBSUOFS prizing includes: 5&-64 7FOUVSFT t,FWJO "V :FVOH QSFTJEFOU TELUS Pitch Grand Prize: t DBTI UP CF BXBSEFE BU UIF 5&-64 *OOP7JTJPO t(BSSJDL 5JQMBEZ NBOBHJOH director, Facebook and Instagram Canada Pitch Live Summit on July 30 Three semi-finalists will be invited to pitch all t*O BEEJUJPO UP UIF will be donated on behalf of the winner to six judges in Toronto on July 30 on how they TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, which plan to use the $100,000; the final winner will gives vulnerable kids a brighter future in a be announced live at the event.

The TELUS Pitch in Surrey was made challenging world by providing better access to health and education opportunities, powered possible through the hard work and cooperation of The City of Surrey. Stay tuned by technology.

Finalists:tćF SFNBJOJOH ĕOBMJTUT GPS UIF for more details about the Live Pitch event and grand prize will each receive a cash prize of exciting announcements and additional prizes throughout the contest period. $10,000.

For full contest details please visit: Community Impact Award: telus.com/pitch t JO 4BNTVOH UFDIOPMPHZ t JO About TELUS TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) marketing services from Eighty-Eight is one of Canada’s largest telecommunications tDPOTVMUJOH IPVST XJUI 5&-64 7FOUVSFT Most Promising Startup: t JO companies, with $14.5 billion of annual revenue 'BDFCPPL BE DSFEJUT tB POF ZFBS NFNCFSTIJQ and 14.0 million subscriber connections, UP 8PSLIBVT WBMVF tB CPPUDBNQ including 9.7 million wireless subscribers, session with a Facebook expert Multicultural 1.9 million Internet subscribers, 1.2 million Business of the Year Award: t JO residential voice and 1.1 million TELUS TV marketing services from Response Advertising customers. TELUS provides a wide range *OD tPOF ZFBS NFNCFSTIJQ UP 8PSLIBVT of communications products and services, WBMVF tDPOTVMUJOH IPVST XJUI including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), TELUS Ventures “It’s been incredibly voice, television, entertainment, video and home rewarding to see small businesses like and business security. TELUS is also Canada’s largest healthcare IT provider, and TELUS Vancouver Island Salt Co., Aquamobile, and International delivers business process solutions our inaugural TELUS Pitch winner, iMerciv, around the globe. In support of our philosophy flourish over the last few years by putting their to give where we live, TELUS, our team members $100,000 TELUS Pitch prize money to good and retirees have contributed over $650 million use,� said Suzanne Trusdale, vice president, to charitable and not-for-profit organizations Small Business Solutions, TELUS. “TELUS and volunteered more than 1.21 million days of Pitch is a testament to the impact that funding service to local communities since 2000. Created and expert mentorship can have on business in 2005 by President and CEO Darren Entwistle, owners and we’re excited to bring it back for TELUS’ 13 Canadian community boards and another year.� five International boards have led the Company’s Small businesses are an integral part of the support of grassroots charities and have Canadian economy, and have long been core contributed $72 million in support of 7,000 local to TELUS’ culture of giving back. However, charitable projects, enriching the lives of more for some in the Surrey entrepreneurial than 2 million children and youth, annually. community, this is their time leaping into the TELUS was honoured to be named the most role of entrepreneur. With nearly a third of outstanding philanthropic corporation globally Canadians believing that as a country we can for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising be doing more to support small businesses, Professionals, becoming the first Canadian TELUS continues to create robust support company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

Saturday, June 22, 2019 Former scientist sacrificed comforts to turn tears of the homeless to smiles (Built three storey FREE shelter-cum-hospice care which now looks like a small village) Jasjit Kaur, Email: jessies03@hotmail.com

There are rare people who feel pains of those in distress and scramble worrying about their welfare. Among those rare people is Dr. Naurang Singh Mangat who has been looking after homeless-sick lying on the roadsides and other places for the last 14 years. Though Dr. Mangat immigrated to Canada in 1996; yet he never forgot the cries of the homeless, abandoned, and discarded lying on the streets back in his home state Punjab. He pledged to wipe off their tears and provide dignity like the rest of us. With this resolution, he forsook Canadian comforts, went back to Punjab in 2005, and surrendered himself to the welfare of the downtrodden and dejected. Since then, he hasn’t looked back.

(now it is 9500 sq. yards) near village Sarabha and started with kerosene lamp (for light) and kerosene stove (for cooking) in a mudroom. His hard work and unflinching belief to help the poor led to the construction of a three storey building called “Guru Amar Das Apahaj Ashram� near village Sarabha. For many years he continued this mission singlehandedly; now it is being run by a Registered Charitable Trust.

The vulnerable, disabled, mentally challenged, paralyzed and poor sick virtually living in hell on the roadsides and other places are brought to the Ashram. Every effort is made to save their lives. Since 2011, around 300 patients have been admitted in the Ashram.

Some of them have expired and some have regained health after treatment and were rehabilitated. Those patients In the beginning for who could not improve many years (from 2005 to much live in the Ashram 2009) without any office and permanently. Of the current building, this former Professor 120 homeless patients living and Scientist of Statistics Dr Mangat helping a in the Ashram, 85 are male of PAU Ludhiana, Univ. paralyzed patient and 35 are females. Many are of Windsor (Canada), and mentally challenged, disabled, Morrison Scientific Inc. Calgary, (Canada) paralyzed, unable to answer the call of nature at pedaled his bicycle on the roads of Ludhiana their own, cannot even recall their own name and surrounding areas. Scorching heat and or whereabouts. Fifteen people (employees, freezing winter could not stop the wheels volunteers, and doctors) are working at the of his bicycle. He picked up numerous Ashram to take care of these sick patients. The homeless sick lying on the streets and saved food, clothes, health care and other necessities their lives by providing FREE medical help. are provided FREE OF COST to all patients.

However, at that time he did not have any At present Dr Mangat is in Canada. He can be place where he could provide shelter to these reached in Canada at his cell 403-401-8787 or homeless patients for follow up treatment. in India at mobile 95018-42505, or at email So in 2008 he purchased 3000 sq. yards land nsmangat14@hotmail.com.

John Horgan halts northern B.C. resource development with no details for impacted communities BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson and Mike Bernier, MLA for Peace River South say the announcement to halt resource development in northern B.C. confirms John Horgan and Doug Donaldson have botched the consultation process on the file and continue to ignore the challenges facing British Columbians outside the Lower Mainland. The NDP’s failure to establish a workable caribou recovery plan will have a devastating impact on rural B.C. which is already struggling in the midst of a forestry crisis. “For the past year, BC Liberal MLAs have been raising concerns directly with John Horgan – concerns he keeps ignoring,� said Wilkinson. “Today, Horgan admitted his government has failed the people of the South Peace and all British Columbians impacted by this. Every resource-based community reliant on investment will suffer – and that responsibility falls squarely on John Horgan.�

After the former BC Liberal government spent years making progress addressing threats to the northern mountain caribou herd, John Horgan and the NDP have made a complete mess of this issue by shutting down further resource development without

any real consultation. “While I acknowledge the work by former BC Liberal Blair Lekstrom to try and get John Horgan and his inept minister back on track, it’s frankly outrageous to hear the Premier suggest he is only now learning about the challenges of this issue. BC Liberal MLAs, who actually live in rural B.C., have been sounding the alarm bells for over a year,� said Bernier. “A two-year moratorium on new resource development in B.C. communities that rely on it to support their families is a direct threat to the people of the region and the province.�

Since day one, the BC Liberals have been calling for a proper socio-economic impact assessment of the partnerships agreements – which don’t work for rural British Columbia. “John Horgan could have avoided all of this had he simply engaged rural B.C. in a meaningful way,� added Bernier. “Instead we heard nothing and they did nothing while the problem only got worse. We all share the concern for the caribou herd, but the NDP have dropped the ball and are making things even worse by sending a chill across the province as the potential for more moratoriums on resource development looms.�

Hard-working rural B.C. families deserve better from John Horgan and the NDP who continue to fail them.

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Priyanka thanks in-laws Priyanka Chopra Jonas has thanked her in-laws Kevin and Denise Jonas for loving her like their own daughter.

On the occasion of Father’s Day on June 16, Priyanka tweeted a photograph of herself along with her father-in-law and captioned it: “Happy Father’s Day Papa Kevin Jonas I feel blessed to have you and Mama Denise Jonas in my life! Thank you for taking me in as your daughter with so m u c h love and warmth.

Love you l o a d s .

H a p p y F a t h e r ’s Day.” Priyanka married her pop singer husband Nick in December 2018. The couple married at Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur in traditional Hindu and Christian ceremonies.

The 36-year-old actress on June 17 also shared a photograph of her mother Madhu Chopra on to wish her happy birthday. “Best birthday girl ever.

Bollywood

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Saturday, June 22, 2019

Simplii Financial becomes first digital banking brand in Canada to offer international money transfers and foreign currency delivery Simplii FinancialTM today became the only digital banking brand in Canada to offer international money transfers and foreign cash delivery, ensuring that Canadians with a digital-first mindset who transact globally can easily meet their banking needs when, where and how they want. For Canadians who need to send money overseas, Simplii FinancialTM Global Money Transfer is a no-fee international remittance service that allows clients to send money to more than 75 countries, including the United States, China, India and the Philippines.

Clients can easily transfer money at competitive, real-time foreign exchange rates through online or mobile banking and most recipients receive transfers in as little as one business day. “Whether you’re supporting loved ones far away or need to manage affairs like paying for

tuition abroad, Simplii Financial Global Money Transfer is a fast and reliable way to send money overseas with no fees and competitive rates,� says Aayaz Pira, Head of Simplii Financial. “Our digitallyminded clients expect simplicity and the ability to fulfill their banking needs from anywhere, and being the only digital banking brand in Canada to offer international remittances is one of the many ways that Simplii is delivering on those expectations.�

Highlights of Simplii Financial Global Money Transfer:

t/P USBOTGFS GFFT PS deductions t$PNQFUJUJWF GPSFJHO FYDIBOHF SBUFT t3FBM UJNF 4JNQMJJ GPSFJHO FYDIBOHF rates t $BQBCJMJUZ UP TFOE NPOFZ UP

countries t .PTU transfers will be received by the recipient within one business day t %BJMZ USBOTGFS limit up to $30,000 Simplii also launches no-fee online foreign cash delivery service Simplii has also launched a no-fee foreign cash delivery service. Clients can now use Simplii FinancialTM Foreign

Cash to order 65 foreign currencies at competitive exchange rates through online or mobile banking, and have the cash delivered securely to their home or preferred Canada Post location. “When you are planning a trip overseas your to-do list can feel endless, from organizing transportation to the airport to making sure your suitcase meets the weight restrictions, and remembering to order and pick up your foreign currency can be time consuming,� says Pira. “By using Simplii Financial Foreign Cash to have your foreign currency delivered straight to your door at no extra cost, you can eliminate the hassle and save time to focus on other details – like remembering your passport.�

Highlights of Simplii Financial Foreign Cash t /P USBOTBDUJPO GFFT PS EFMJWFSZ GFFT anytime t $PNQFUJUJWF GPSFJHO FYDIBOHF SBUFT t 3FBM UJNF 4JNQMJJ GPSFJHO FYDIBOHF rates t "CJMJUZ UP PSEFS VQ UP DVSSFODJFT delivered to your home or preferred Canada Post location t $BTI EFMJWFSFE XJUIJO UXP UISFF EBZT for urban locations To create Simplii Financial Foreign Cash and the Simplii Financial Global Money Transfer, Simplii leveraged innovative platforms developed by CIBC Capital Markets, which offers the same services to CIBC personal and business banking clients.

About Simplii Financial™ Simplii Financial is committed to delivering simple, straightforward banking. With a fully mobile experience, nearly 1.8 million clients enjoy nofee daily banking with no minimum balance and high interest savings rates.

Independently named by Forbes as one of the World’s Best Banks in Canada, Simplii delivers a simple and easy way to bank with 24/7 access to online, mobile and telephone banking as well as access to a national network of over 3,400 CIBC ABMs. For more information about Simplii Financial please visit www. simplii.com or by following on Twitter @ SimpliiFin or on Facebook.

For further information: Susan Kirwin, Public Relations, Susan.

Kirwin@cibc.com or 416-980-5192

For more Updates, Visit our Website

www.theasianstar.com

Saturday, June 22, 2019

TELUS grows Internet and Mobility for Good programs to support 25,000 more British Columbian families and youth In partnership with the Provincial Government and Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada, TELUS continues to lead the way in bridging the digital divide for vulnerable Canadians More low-income British Columbian families will now have access to low-cost high-speed Internet, and more youth leaving foster care can now stay connected to their vital support networks through the expansion of TELUS Internet for GoodTM and TELUS Mobility for GoodTM, in partnership with the Provincial Government and Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada. “Across our province, there are countless families and children in need of support. Through programs like these, and in collaboration with the Provincial Government

and Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada (CAFC), we are changing these realities to ensure that more British Columbians are connected to the tools, people and resources they need to be successful,” said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO of TELUS. “To date, we have offered thousands of families across British Columbia access to low-cost, high speed Internet through TELUS Internet for Good, and today we are proud to expand this program to more families receiving income and disability assistance through the Province, ensuring more kids have access to the Internet at home and to the same digital opportunities as their classmates.”

TELUS Internet for Good offers low cost, high-speed Internet to families with children currently receiving income or disability assistance from the provincial government.

Eligible families will receive a letter from the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction with a unique PIN code, enabling them to activate TELUS’ offer of Internet 25 for $9.95 per month for two years. The program also includes access to a low-cost refurbished computers, and online safety training.

“Many people can’t afford the basic technologies we often take for granted, like Internet access. We know that children who live in homes without Internet access have a lower graduation rate,” said Shane Simpson, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction.

“Through TogetherBC, BC’s Poverty Reduction Plan, our government is working in partnership with companies like TELUS to help people access technology so that they have the tools they need to be successful and participate in their community. Partnerships like this one are an important way to reduce poverty and connect people with opportunities.”

“We are also expanding Mobility for Good, which began in partnership with the provincial government to provide kids aging out of foster care a free smartphone and plan,” continued Entwistle. “Now, in partnership with CAFC, we are extending this vital lifeline to more than 9,300 youth in British Columbia, better preparing them to begin their independent lives feeling safer, more connected and better prepared for a successful transition to independence. Together, by leveraging technology, social innovation and human compassion, we are making a meaningful difference in the lives of underserved and vulnerable citizens across the province.”

TELUS Mobility for Good first launched in British Columbia in 2017 in partnership with the Provincial Government, followed by Ontario and Quebec in partnership with CAFC.

Today, TELUS and CAFC also announced they are expanding this program to Manitoba and New Brunswick. With this expansion,TELUS and CAFC can provide 20,000 youth transitioning from care with the opportunity to access a smartphone and two-year TELUS mobile plan at $0 per month, including unlimited nationwide talk and text and up to 3GB of monthly data usage. While TELUS is providing the service to youth for free, the bills will appear in the youth’s name to help them build positive credit and gain the skills required to manage their finances in the future. At the end of the two-years, they will have access to a low-cost $35 per month plan for an unlimited duration. This program is administered by Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada, the country’s leading charity dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth growing up in the child welfare system.

“With the touch of a screen, smartphones can connect you to a whole world of possibilities,” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Children and Family Development. “We want youth aging out of government care to share in those opportunities. It’s why we have programs and partnerships like this to give them the tools they need to find a job, home or college, stay connected to their friends and support networks and succeed as independent adults.”

“Without the support of permanent families, youth transitioning out of care are often ill-equipped for life on their own and a smartphone is critical to helping them stay connected and achieving independence,” says Valerie McMurtry, President and CEO, Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada.

“Working together with TELUS, we will be able to reach more vulnerable young people in British Columbia and meet an urgent need that enables youth to search for somewhere to live, look for job opportunities and stay in touch with friends and vital support networks.”

For more information on the TELUS Mobility for Good Program or to apply, please visit: www. cafdn.org/for-youth/telus-mobility-good/.

For more information on TELUS Internet for Good and other giving initiatives, please visit telus.com/ community.

About TELUS TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is one of Canada’s largest telecommunications companies, with $14.5 billion of annual revenue and 14.0 million subscriber connections, including 9.7 million wireless subscribers, 1.9 million Internet subscribers, 1.2 million residential voice and 1.1 million TELUS TV customers. TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment, video and home and business security. TELUS is also Canada’s largest healthcare IT provider, and TELUS International delivers business process solutions around the globe.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed over $690 million to charitable and notfor-profit organizations and volunteered more than 1.3 million days of service to local communities since 2000. Created in 2005 by President and CEO Darren Entwistle, TELUS’ 13 Canadian community boards and five International boards have led the Company’s support of grassroots charities and have contributed $72 million in support of 7,000 local charitable projects, enriching the lives of more than 2 million children and youth, annually. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition. For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.

Press release

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Saturday, June 22, 2019

Vol. 10 No. 21 Saturday - June 22, 2019

Tel: 604-591-5423

Home prices in Vancouver are quadruple what average millennial can afford: report Housing affordability is still far out of reach for millennials across the country, a new report says, with the average price of a house in Vancouver perched a particularly unattainable four times higher than what those prospective buyers could safely afford to pay.

The study, called Straddling the Gap, looked at the state of housing affordability in every Canadian province and their major cities.

It found millennial Canadians — those between the age of 25 and 34 — are stuck in a place where earnings aren’t rising enough to keep pace with housing prices.

Gabriel Del Cid Castro, 29, and his wife bought a house in Surrey a couple years ago.

They both now work three jobs each to make ends meet.

“We both work for municipal and provincial governments but the price influx we have in the province is astronomical,” Castro said.

“It’s a crisis and I don’t see a proper way how

The latest Canadian house price forecast from Moody’s Analytics really has no good news for anyone. If you’re a homeowner hoping to make big equity gains, forget it. And if you’re an aspiring homebuyer hoping for a reprieve from astronomical urban house prices, forget

to resolve it.” On average, Canadian millennials would need to nearly double their average income in order to bridge the gap, according to the study. Either that, or the average price for a house would need to come down by half. “These are massive numbers,” said the report’s lead author, Paul Kershaw, who described the numbers as a “troubling portrait.”

When it comes to Vancouver real estate, millennials don’t appreciate comparisons to the 90s The report said the chasm between money made and money needed is widest in B.C. and Ontario,

particularly in Vancouver and Toronto. The price of a house in the West Coast city is quadruple what any millennial could “safely” afford, and triple their budgets in the Six. In Vancouver, millennials would need to make $200,400 every year in order to afford the average home.

Torontonians would need an annual salary of $150,000.

“I don’t want to sound pathetic or anything but [I feel] a little bit helpless — there is nothing that I can do,” said Jeremy Hildred, 27.

He lives in Kelowna, where he was born and raised and rents a basement suite with his wife from a family member. The couple has a combined income close to $150,000, Hildred said, but home ownership seems out of the question.

E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com “It just doesn’t look possible for us,” he said.

The report said millennials in Vancouver would need to save for 29 years — around the amount of time they’ve been alive — to build up a 20 per cent down payment in the current market. The authors said it would take 21 years in Toronto. Hoping to buy a home in B.C.?

Sorry, it’s not likely to get much cheaper The average time to save a down payment across Canada is 13 years, which is still eight years longer than it would have taken in 1976.

The problem is also pronounced in Victoria and Kelowna in B.C., and in Hamilton and Kitchener in Ontario. The report also noted Edmonton, Calgary, Halifax and Montreal as tight markets. “Sometimes I think we think it’s only Vancouver or only Toronto and this report is showcasing for both provincial and especially federal policymakers, we see unaffordability going [far wider],” Kershaw said. In Vancouver, millennials would need to make $200,400 every year in order to afford the average home.

Canadian House Price Forecast: What The Next 5 Years Will Look Like In 33 Cities that too. The forecast calls for house prices nationwide to grow by an average of 2.2 per cent per year over the next five years. Given that the Bank of Canada is predicting inflation at 2 per cent in the coming years, this means that inflation-adjusted house prices will likely

see no net growth. With Canada’s economy bouncing back from a slowdown at the start of the year, Moody’s expects mortgage rates to rise by a full percentage point over the next two years. That increase in monthly housing costs, combined with high prices and high debt levels,

will keep prices in check, the research firm predicts.

“House price appreciation will slow down in 2020, turn briefly negative in 2021, and only recover in the following years,” wrote Andres Carbacho-Burgos, a director and head housing economist at Moody’s Analytics.

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Saturday, June 22, 2019

Over 11% of Vancouver condos have a non-resident owner, says new CMHC report

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Over 11 percent of Vancouver condos have at least one non-resident as an owner, a number that jumps to more than 19 per cent when it comes to newer built condos.

The information is contained in a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation housing market insight report which also found that non-residents — defined as someone who

doesn’t have their principal residence in Canada — tend to own more expensive properties than residents, especially in Vancouver.

Some of the other findings: 7.2 per cent of all Vancouver properties have at least one non-resident owner.

Non-resident ownership is highest in

26

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Saturday, June 22, 2019

Matrimonial Parents are seeking suitable match for for their British born son of 31 year age, holding Master degree in Marketing and he is in Canada on work permit.

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Child care provider required at a private home Location Surrey, BC - Salary $14.50 to $14.75 / Hour (To be negotiated) Permanent, Full time 40 Hours / Week Start date As soon as possible Job requirements Languages English Education College, CEGEP or other non-university certificate or diploma from a program of 1 year to 2 years Experience 1 year to less than 2 years Additional Skills Assume full responsibility for household in absence of parents, Perform light housekeeping and cleaning duties, Shop for food and household supplies, Travel with family on trips and assist with child supervision and housekeeping duties, Wash, iron and press clothing and household linens Children’s Ages School age (6 - 12 years), and 2 - 3 years Specific Skills Bathe,

dress and feed infants and children, Discipline children according to the methods requested by the parents, Prepare infants and children for rest periods, Keep records of daily activities and health information regarding children, Sterilize bottles, prepare formulas and change diapers for infants, Maintain a safe and healthy environment in the home, Take children to and from school and to appointments, Tend to emotional well-being of children, Instruct children in personal hygiene and social development, Organize, activities such as games and outings for children, Prepare and serve nutritious meals, Supervise and care for children, Help children with homework Work Setting Employer’s home How to apply By email: umendrasingh@hotmail.com By phone: 604-537-3551

Saturday, June 22, 2019

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Press release

Government lays out fine print of new CMHC program that could contribute 10% to price of first home The government on Monday released details of a program announced during the last federal budget, an initiative that could see Canada’s housing agency contribute up to 10 per cent of the price of a buyer’s first home if certain conditions are met.

Under the fine print for the First Time Home Buyer Incentive program, which was announced in March and will officially launch in September, a first-time homebuyer

who earns less than $120,000 can qualify. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation would kick in up to 10 per cent of the purchase price of the home, providing the borrower comes up with the minimum amount for an insured mortgage, which is now at five per cent. There’s also a requirement that the total value of the mortgage plus the CMHC’s portion don’t eclipse $480,000. A government official says that effectively means the program

is only available for properties worth a maximum of about $565,000, regardless of whether or not they have met the other requirements.

If that bar is met, the CMHC may kick in an additional five per cent of the purchase price of a resale home. For a newly built home, the CMHC may contribute up to 10 per cent.

The stakes from the CMHC would be interest free, meaning no ongoing cost to pay down, like a mortgage does.

But the government says in exchange for its stake, the CMHC would get to participate “in the upside and downside of the change in the property value” — which means they would be entitled to any corresponding increase in the value of a home when the buyer eventually sells. On the flip side, the government would also be on the hook for any share of the loss if the property depreciates.

Louisiana Pacific announces indefinite shutdown of Peace Valley mill, John Horgan and the NDP continue to do nothing for forest industry in crisis As troubles continue to mount for British Columbia’s forestry industry with three mill shutdowns announced in as many days, John Horgan and the NDP are still refusing to do anything to help the struggling sector.

Today, Louisiana Pacific announced an indefinite shutdown of its oriented strand board (OSB) mill in Fort St. John as of August 9. This follows similar news on Tuesday, when Norbord announced the indefinite curtailment of its OSB mill in 100 Mile House. On Monday, Canfor announced it is curtailing operations at all but one of its B.C. sawmills “This is the third major closure announcement in rural B.C. this week,” said Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Critic and Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad. “The industry is facing a complete meltdown and the BC Liberals will be offering immediate solutions on how to best help the troubled sector.”

So far in 2019, forestry companies have announced at least 83 weeks of operational downtime, an additional two permanent mill closures, significant shift reductions and hundreds of millions of board feet curtailed in British Columbia.

“This latest shutdown will put at least 190 workers out of work and will affect hundreds of additional indirect jobs.

My community simply can’t afford this loss,” said Peace River North MLA Dan Davies.

“For months my fellow MLAs and I have raised concerns about the mounting crisis in the forest industry and for months our concerns have been ignored. It’s time for John Horgan and the NDP to step up, take action.

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Saturday, June 22, 2019

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Inflation in Canada spikes to 2.4% on higher prices for food Canadians may be feeling a price pinch as inflation rose to 2.4 per cent in May from the same month one year ago, led by higher prices for food. That compares to a rise of two per cent in April, according to Statistics Canada’s consumer price index (CPI) released Wednesday. Year-over-year prices rose in all eight categories of the index, with notable increases in food prices, up four per cent in the 12 months leading up to May 2019 after increasing three per cent in April.

Faster-than-average growth in food prices was driven by a 16.7 per cent spike in the cost of fresh vegetables compared to a year ago, as well as a 2.9 per cent increase in the price of meat. Durable goods got 2.5 per cent more expensive in the past year, while the cost of new vehicles rose by 4.2 per cent.

One exception was gasoline, which dipped 3.7 per cent in price compared to May 2018.

Energy was one of the rare commodities that fell in price in the past year, by 0.1 per cent in that span. Within that, gasoline has fallen by 3.7 per cent. If energy is stripped out, inflation would have been 2.7 per cent.

But that headline inflation number is notoriously volatile, easily skewed by individual factors. So the data agency also comes up with a so-called “core” inflation rate by tabulating the average of three other subrates with a lot of sectors stripped out.

The core inflation rate came in at 2.1 per cent, the highest on record since 2012.

The strong inflation reading means the Bank of Canada will be less likely to hike its

own benchmark interest rate when it meets to set its policy next month. After the inflation number was released Wednesday, investors were pegging about a six per cent chance of a rate cut next month, according to Bloomberg data. “The acceleration in the core readings support the notion that the Bank of Canada is likely to remain on the sidelines,” TorontoDominion Bank economist James Marple said.

“While some of the factors pushing up price growth are likely to prove fleeting, we can’t discount the relatively broad-based nature of price growth in May,” he said. “Inflation is back in Canada, at least for now.” The Canadian dollar jumped by about half a cent after the numbers were released before giving up some of those gains. Late in the morning, the loonie was changing hands at just shy of 75 cents US.

Canadians think Donald Trump is bad for Canada: poll A new poll suggests many Canadians have a dismal view of Donald Trump, and they think Justin Trudeau is the best one to deal with him.

The new Research Co. poll finds that just

17 per cent of people polled think Trump’s presidency has been good for Canada, and 65 per cent say it has been bad or very bad.

The sentiment is largest in B.C. where 73 per cent of people have a negative view of the President. Across Canada, women are more likely to give Trump a thumbs down, and people who are 55 or older. The poll also suggests that 30 per cent of people who voted for the Conservative Party in the last federal election have a more positive view of Trump’s term in the White House so far. And despite him claiming that his administration has “accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country,” 37 per cent of Canadians polled say he’s ‘accomplished little’ during his time in office.

When asked which of federal party leader is better suited to handle Trump and our country’s relationship with the U.S. — Justin Trudeau or Andrew Scheer — most think the current Prime Minister is best. Trudeau comes ahead at 35 per cent over Scheer’s 17 per cent.

‘Concerned’ US senators demand BC does more to monitor its rivers for mining contamination A group of American senators have written to British Columbia Premier John Horgan, saying the westernmost province must do more to monitor water quality in transboundary rivers, part of the effort to keep waterways free from contamination due to coal and metal-mining operations.

Signed by eight senators, both Democrats and Republicans, from Alaska, Idaho, Montana and Washington state, the letter says mining operations in B.C. can have economic and environmental impacts on rivers that flow through British Columbia, down across the 49th parallel and up to Alaska. It singles out hardrock mining — normally for metals — and coal mining, and points to salmon populations as a key economic and environmental concern.

“We remain concerned about the lack of oversight of Canadian mining projects near multiple transboundary rivers that originate in B.C. and flow into our four U.S. states,” the letter says. “We seek your direct engagement on these matters and ask for you to undertake, alongside your federal counterparts, dedicated efforts to monitor transboundary water quality.”

The letter, dated June 13, says the United States government has previously communicated its concerns to Canada’s foreign ministry, and is requesting water monitoring standards that are “equivalent to those on the U.S. side of the border.” Mining task force goals will increase jobs, chop red tape: Premier Horgan Last year, American officials on the International Joint Commission — a body that since 1909 has monitored transboundary waterways — said in a letter to the U.S. state department that Canadian members were blocking the release of a report that showed high levels of contaminants in the Kootenai River. An audit from April 2019, from federal environment commissioner Julie Gelfand, found that while Ottawa was appropriately

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Pipeline protesters march in downtown Vancouver following Trans Mountain expansion approval Now that the Trudeau government says “build that pipeline,” protesters in Vancouver want to make sure the Prime Minister knows that not everyone is happy about it.

A large, loud crowd is in downtown Vancouver Tuesday evening at West Georgia Street and Hamilton Street. They are waving signs, angry that construction is expected to move forward on the project.

There are several guest speakers, loud drumming and chanting.

Some even broke out into song.

Protestors are voicing concerns over environmental impacts, lack of consultation with Indigenous peoples, with some saying they feel betrayed by the Prime Minister.

Some say they voted for Justin Trudeau during the last election, and say there is no way they will do it again.

One woman says if the Prime Minister was speaking to her now, she would have one thing to say: “Shame on you, Trudeau.”

Will George with Protect the Inlet said he came to encourage people to engage in further civil disobedience by opposing the pipeline, in order to protect the environment. He said he was encouraged to see so many people out protesting.

“It is always good to see this many people. When you look in their eyes, you see the same compassion, you see the same concerns that everybody has,” he says.

“The people that are sitting in Starbucks right in front of us, they need to know what is actually happening to Indigenous rights and what threat is coming into our environment with increased tanker traffic.”

Another man, who did not give his name, says he came out for similar reasons.

“I’m opposed to the pipeline, opposed to the tankers going through our waters, I’m opposed to the disrespecting our First Nations’ title (rights). I’m opposed to having massive contributions of fossil fuel and greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere that will create a hell hole for our

Edmonton man sentenced to 26 years in USA for role in suicide attack An Edmonton man has been sentenced to 26 years in U.S. prison for supporting a group of jihadists who committed a 2009 suicide attack that killed five American soldiers in Iraq.

Faruq Khalil Muhammad ‘Isa played a limited role in the conspiracy and did not deserve the life term called for under federal sentencing guidelines, U.S. District Judge Roslynn Mauskopf said Tuesday.

The sentence was spelled out in a plea agreement that remains under seal in federal court in Brooklyn.

Several of the soldiers’ relatives urged the judge to impose a life sentence.

Edmonton man pleads guilty to terror charges in U.S.

Canadian Sayfildin Tahir Sharif extradited to U.S. to face terror charges But Mauskopf said ‘Isa played a limited role compared to other co-conspirators and wasn’t involved in planning the actual attack.

‘Isa, who also goes by the name Sayfildin Tahir Sharif, pleaded guilty to sending the attackers money and providing them logistical support.

Born in Iraq, ‘Isa was arrested in 2011 on a U.S. warrant after an investigation by authorities in New York, Canada and Tunisia.

‘Isa moved to Toronto as a refugee in 1993 and became a Canadian citizen in 1997. When he was arrested, he was living in an Edmonton apartment with his girlfriend and her children.

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Canada accepted more refugees than any other country in 2018 Canada resettled the largest number of refugees out of 25 countries in 2018, according to the UN’s refugee agency.

The country accepted just over 28,000 refugees last year, with the United States coming in second with 22,900.

Some 92,400 refugees were resettled globally in 2018, fewer than 7% of those awaiting resettlement worldwide. This figures were contained in a newly released UN Refugee Agency report looking into the global refugee trends last year. According to the US-based Pew Research Center, which looked the the UNHCR data, 2018 was the first time the US did not lead the world in refugee resettlement since 1980. Pew noted that until 2017, the US resettled more refugees on an annual basis than the rest of the world’s countries combined.

“The sharp drop in US refugee resettlement is in part due to the Trump administration’s decision to set a considerably lower cap on the number of refugees allowed into the US than in previous years,” said the research organisation.

The number of refugees Canada resettled last year was in line with 2017 figures, while the US numbers dropped. In 2017, the US accepted some 33,000 refugees.

Australia, the UK, and France also resettled high numbers out of the 25 countries that resettled refugees in 2018, according to UN figures.

More than 70 million displaced worldwide - UN

Is Canada asking countries for a million immigrants? The number of people fleeing war, persecution and conflict exceeded 70 million globally last year - the highest number in the UN refugee agency’s almost 70 years of operations. More than two thirds of all refugees worldwide came from Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Myanmar and Somalia. The UN report identifies three main groups in that global count, which include refugees, or people forced to leave their country because of conflict, war or persecution. In 2018, the number of refugees reached 25.9 million worldwide. The second group is designated as internally displaced persons (IDPs). These people are displaced within their country and amount to 41.3 million globally. Media captionIn 2017, hundreds of migrants were illegally crossing the US border into Canada each day Another group is 3.5 million asylum seekers. These are people outside their country of birth who are under international protection, but are yet to be granted refugee status. The US is the world’s major recipient of new asylum applications, registering 254,300 applications in 2018. Canada was ninth on the list of new asylum claims with 55,400 registered in 2018, behind the US, Peru, Germany, France, Turkey, Brazil, Greece and Spain. An influx of asylum seekers crossing at the US-Canada border has become a political issue after approximately 40,000 people “irregularly” crossed into Canada

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, June 22, 2019

MP Mark Warawa dies after courageous battle with cancer Bank of Canada to review Facebook’s cryptocurrency white paper ‘very carefully’ The Bank of Canada says it will review Facebook’s white paper on its proposed global cryptocurrency Libra “very carefully,” but would not comment on whether the social media giant has been in touch about its ambitious plans.

When asked about whether Facebook has reached out about its plan to launch its own digital currency, similar to Bitcoin, a Bank of Canada spokeswoman said it does not discuss private meetings that officials may have The spokeswoman added that the central bank will continue to work with domestic and international partners to assess recent developments and ensure that the current regulatory framework

contains the “appropriate safeguards.”

Facebook on Tuesday said it plans to launch Libra in 2020 alongside partners including PayPal, Uber, Visa and Mastercard, and also published a white paper to outline its vision of a “reserve-backed cryptocurrency built on the foundation of blockchain.”

The Bank of Canada has done extensive research on cryptocurrencies, including a staff discussion paper in February where it stated that a private digital currency could “increase the fragility of the financial system.”

In December 2017, central bank governor Stephen Poloz sounded the alarm on Bitcoin, saying the cryptocurrency was not a reliable store of value and does not constitute money..

Langley-Aldergrove MP Mark Warawa “I think he would have encouraged all of died “after a brief but valiant battle us to appreciate and value what we have in with cancer,” according to his office. this country, our democratic institutions, our A statement issued by his office said the freedoms, the human rights that we uphold Conservative MP for Langley-Aldergrove and defend,” the Abbotsford MP told CBC. “He died on Thursday morning in hospice with was a passionate promoter of Canadian values.” his wife by his side. He was 69.

Warawa, MP for His family also posted a statement Langley -Aldergrove, posted this photo on Facebook saying that, in his final with his wife Diane on Facebook earlier message to constituents, Warawa said this year as he announced his cancer it had been “an incredible honour diagnosis. (Mark Warawa/Facebook) to have served my community since Lisa Raitt, the deputy Conservative being elected federally in 2004.” leader, shares a birthday with Mark Warawa In April, Warawa announced doctors Warawa. She wrote in a tweet that had found cancer in his lungs, colon and while he has moved on to a better lymph nodes. The diagnosis came after he had place, she will carry him in her heart forever. publicly announced in January he would retire “Thank you to his whole family for sharing him from politics to become a chaplain, with a focus with our country,” Raitt said. “We are richer for it.” on pastoral care for seniors. He had hoped to stay Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also on the job as an MP until the October election. sent along condolences, saying Warawa Mark Warawa bids emotional farewell to “lived his life in service to others.”

MPs, calls for more access to palliative care NDP MP Nathan Cullen, who also represents ‘I need your prayers for a miracle’: Conservative a B.C. riding, stood in the House on Wednesday MP Mark Warawa faces cancer diagnosis to tell a story about how Warawa once apologized “He embraced this journey as he did most for yelling at him during an argument. things — with an open heart and prayer,” “For him, I think, politics was very personal but said the statement from Warawa’s office. he never made it personal. That’s a rare gift,” he said.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer Pushed for palliative care said Warawa “was an example to which Warawa used his emotional farewell all parliamentarians should aspire.” address to the House of Commons last “A respectful contributor to the debate, a fierce month to call for changes to ensure more advocateforhisconstituents,andastrongdefender Canadians have access to palliative care. of his principles,” wrote Scheer in a statement.

“We’re trying to fix the body, but “Mark was a true gentleman. And while in some cases it’s better not to do the his warmth and kindness knew no partisan heroic things,” he said, referring to bounds, his love for his Conservative family treatments like chemotherapy and surgery. was special. The Conservative caucus “Science has shown us that you can live longer is devastated. He will be missed dearly.” and [have] a better quality of life, in some cases, Fellow caucus member Ed Fast said if you’re given palliative care. But that was not he should be a remembered as a man provided to me, those options. Why is that? who loved his country, family and God. The system’s broken and needs to be fixed.”

Plenty of $1 and $2 still out there, but you won’t be able to spend them As of Jan. 1, 2021, you won’t be able to use $1, $2, $1,000 or rare $25 or $500 bills in stores. At least the Bank of Canada will always buy them at face value It’s been 30 years since Canada replaced the $1 bill with the loonie, and even though there are still more than 150 million of the bills in circulation, you soon won’t be able to use them to buy items in stores.

The federal government recently announced it was removing the legal tender designation from the $1 bills — along with the $2 bill, the $1,000 bill and the extremely rare $25 bill and $500 bills — partly to thwart counterfeiters.

As of Jan. 1, 2021, stores will be legally allowed to refuse to accept the bank notes as legal tender, although the bank notes will continue to be redeemed for their face value at a bank or through the Bank of Canada.

“Removing legal tender status from bank notes is a way to complete their removal from circulation and to help ensure that Canadians have access to the most current bank notes with the latest security features,” Bank of Canada spokeswoman Amelie Ferron-Craig said in an email.

“It is important for Canadians to understand that these notes will not lose their value; the Bank of Canada will continue to honour them,” she said.

None of the bank notes are commonly used anymore, she said.

The $1 was discontinued in 1989 and the $2 in 1996, replaced by loonies and toonies, and the $1,000 bill in 2000.

There are 103 million $2’s still in circulation, and more than 673,000 $1,000’s, according to the Bank of Canada. Bills are considered removed from circulation

and the yearly totals when they are returned to the Bank of Canada.

“The $25 was a commemorative note, and it and the $500 note were discontinued shortly after they were issued in 1935,” said Ferron-Craig.

Yes, kids: There was a time before loonies and toonies, when we pulled $1 and $2 bank notes out of our billfolds.

A time, too, when the Queen was just a little bit younger. Jason Payne / PNG Bills printed in 1954, 1937 and 1935 are likely worth more than their face value, especially the rare $25 and $500 bills, coveted by collectors.

The bill’s condition, serial number (low numbers are more valuable) and combination of signatures (of the Bank of Canada’s governor and deputy governor) are “all very important” in determining value, according to Manifest Auctions website.

It said the $1 bill from 1954 is worth between $8 and $160 each and $2’s would fetch between $16 and $450 each, while $1,000 bills would be worth between $2,000 and $24,000.

The $25 bill was printed in 1935, the year the Bank of Canada was created, to mark the 25th anniversary of King George V’s ascension to the throne. There were 140,000 printed and 1,840 remain in circulation.

A $25 bill can fetch tens of thousands of dollars at auction, according to the Canada Currency website.

A $500 bill, also printed in 1935 (20,900 in total) would be worth $20,000 to $60,000, said the website, because there are only 40 left in circulation.

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Andrew Scheer unveils climate plan promising ‘green technology, not taxes’ Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer unveiled a plan for the environment Wednesday that he said would meet Canada’s emissions reduction targets while eliminating the current federal carbon tax regime. The plan, detailed in a 60-page platform-like document, is focused on what it calls “green technology, not taxes.” It hinges on setting strict emissions standards for major greenhouse gas emitters that, if exceeded, would force those companies to pay into a fund that would in turn be invested in governmentcertified clean tech companies — a policy the party said would force companies to make emissions reduction part of their business models.

“Conservatives fundamentally believe that you cannot tax your way to a cleaner environment. Instead, the answer lies in technology,” Scheer said in a speech to supporters in Chelsea, Que.. “The fact is, we can

actually create more jobs in Canada through technological growth while at the same time lowering global emissions. “Canadians expect results. And Conservatives know that Liberals are great at making promises but Conservatives are great at delivering. Because protecting the environment is a core conservative principle.”

The plan includes a host of other environmental measures meant to reduce the country’s carbon footprint — and give Canada a shot at meeting targets set at the Paris climate talks — but it does not include any hard data on how much this proposed policy suite would actually reduce the country’s emissions.

When asked if the party had any projections for expected reductions, a Conservative official, speaking on background, said, “We believe that our plan gives Canada the best chance of meeting our Paris targets.”

First-time homebuyers can soon get help with their mortgage costs A new federal program aiming to give homebuyers some help covering their mortgage costs will kick in on Labour Day -- weeks before a federal election -- with the first payments flowing in early November, just days after voters across Canada go to the polls. The Liberals unveiled details Monday of the $1.25-billion plan, which will see the government take an equity stake in thousands of homes to ease mortgage costs for qualified buyers. The rules of the program would allow previous homeowners to qualify under certain conditions, permit the purchase of a building with up to four units, and help with a maximum purchase

price of $565,000, based on government calculations. The program will begin taking applications on Sept. 2, days before what is expected to be the official start of a federal election campaign where the cost of living -- including housing affordability -- is shaping up as a central issue. The first payments would flow on Nov. 1, two weeks after election day on Oct. 21. Government officials said Sept. 2 was the earliest possible start date, while the minister in charge brushed off the suggestion that the governing Liberals hope to use the launch date for partisan gains.

Canadian corporations avoided up to $11B in taxes in a year, CRA report finds Canadian companies avoided paying up to $11.4 billion worth of taxes they should have paid in the single tax year of 2014, according to the federal tax agency.

The Canada Revenue Agency released its fifth and final report on the tax gap, this one focusing on corporate taxes. Previous reports examined factors such as sales tax fraud, domestic tax evasion, and the use of offshore tax havens to look at how much leakage Canada’s taxation system has.

Tuesday’s report estimates that in the 2014 tax year, Canadian corporations managed to pay somewhere between $9.4 billion and $11.4 billion less than they should have in taxes.

Broadly speaking, bigger companies seem to be responsible for a bigger chunk of corporate tax leakage. The CRA report says small companies avoided paying between $2.7 billion and $3.5 billion in taxes. By the CRA’s definition, there were just over two million small companies in Canada that filed taxes

that year. Big companies, meanwhile, avoided paying between $6.7 billion and $7.9 billion.

According to the CRA, there were about 14,000 big companies that filed some sort of income taxes in 2014.

A CRA analysis has found Canadian corporations managed to dodge paying roughly $10 billion in taxes in a single year.

(Fabrizio Costantini/Bloomberg) The tax agency is cracking down on that sort of behaviour, and says it thinks it will be able to recoup between 55 and 65 per cent of the corporate taxes it feels it is owed for 2014.

That brings Canada’s corporate tax gap bill down to $3.3 billion and $5.3 billion in 2014.

The CRA says Canadian corporations earned $298 billion in taxable income that year, and paid about $40.9 billion in federal taxes. That means if their estimates about tax leakage are correct, the taxman missed out on about a quarter of the corporate tax revenue that could have been recouped.

Canada passes new law cracking down on animal cruelty, bestiality Parliament has passed a new law cracking down on animal cruelty that will list those convicted of bestiality on Canada’s national sex offenders registry.Bill C-84 also changes wording in the Criminal Code to clarify that bestiality involves any contact for a sexual purpose between a person and an animal. The Code’s existing definition is understood to focus on penetration as the essential element in an act of bestiality. When the bill was tabled in October 2018, the Department of Justice said the legislation aims to protect animals from violence and cruelty, and to protect children and other vulnerable individuals who may be “compelled by another person to commit or witness sexual acts with animals.” Barbara Cartwright, CEO of the animal protection

organization Humane Canada, called it a “great day” for animal welfare in Canada. She said putting offenders convicted of bestiality on the registry will protect animals from harm and reduce the risk of child sexual assault — because studies have shown that individuals who sexually harm animals are also more likely to prey on children. “We’re thrilled with that, and this has never happened before in Canada, so it’s a huge step forward,” she said.

Ontario takes steps to allow humane societies to enforce animal cruelty laws After years of legal wrangling, Ottawa moves to ban imports of shark fins Bill C-84 responds, in part, to a 2016 Supreme Court of Canada decision that ruled a convicted sexual offender — identified only as D.L.W. to protect his victims.

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Saturday, June 22, 2019

India refuses talks with Pakistan

Yoga is above region, above faith, above everything: Modi

Khan’s congratulatory letter after he assumed office for the second time, PM Narendra Modi wrote back on June 12 expressing India’s desire to have normal and cooperative relations with all its neighbours, including Pakistan, while stressing that “for this, it is important to build an environment of trust, free of terror, violence and hostility�.

India dismissed on Thursday as “fake news� the suggestion in Pakistan media that it was looking to resume talks with the neighbour and asserted that there was no dilution of its position that Islamabad needed to take verifiable and irreversible action against terrorism for the dialogue to resume.

Responding to Prime Minster Imran

Indians win one Silver and five Bronze in Cannes Indian agencies bagged a total of six awards on day two of the ongoing Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The Entertainment Lions for music category saw Grey India winning a Silver Lion for their work on The Barbershop Girls: Shaving Stereotypes.

The ad film was produced by Townhouse Productions, Mumbai. The campaign made for P&G owned shaving brand Gillette shows

an inspiring true story of two women who have debunked gender stereotypes to run their father’s barber shop in a small Indian village of Banwari Tola in Uttar Pradesh. Sandipan Bhattacharyya, chief creative officer, Grey Group India said, “ This win is significant because the Entertainment category is truly a new frontier of advertising and moves beyond the traditional definition in every sense.

US tells India it is mulling caps on H-1B visas to deter data rules temporary visas, most of them to workers at big Indian technology firms. The warning comes as trade tensions between the United States and India have resulted in tit-for-tat tariff actions in recent weeks. From Sunday, India imposed higher tariffs on some US goods, days after Washington withdrew a key trade privilege for New Delhi. Two senior Indian government officials said on Wednesday they were briefed last week on a U.S. government plan to cap H-1B visas issued each year to Indians at between 10 per cent and 15 per cent of the annual quota.

The United States has told India it is considering caps on H-1B work visas for nations that force foreign companies to store data locally, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, widening the two countries’ row over tariffs and trade. The plan to restrict the popular H-1B visa programme, under which skilled foreign workers are brought to the United States each year, comes days ahead of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to New Delhi. India, which has upset companies such as Mastercard and irked the US government with stringent new rules on data storage, is the largest recipient of these

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday performed yoga with around 40,000 enthusiasts at the Prabhat Tara ground in Ranchi on the 5th International Day of Yoga. Events to mark the day are being held across the country. Union Ministers, including Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, led such events elsewhere. Here is how India is marking the International Yoga Day 2019 Mr. Modi said everybody should practice yoga lifelong. The government had been working to make yoga a pillar of preventive health care.

He expressed concern that young people were becoming vulnerable to heart ailments. “Yoga

can play a huge role in tackling the issue and hence, this year’s theme is ‘Yoga for Heart,’� he said. Mr. Modi appealed to people to take yoga to all sections of society. ‘’We should make efforts to take yoga from cities to villages, tribal areas.

Yoga is above region, above faith, above everything,� he said. For yoga to become popular, infrastructure for it must be strengthened and the government was working towards it, he observed. He urged people to make yoga a part of daily life. “Peace and harmony are related to Yoga. People across the world must practice it.�

Telangana MLA accuses cops of thrashing him; cops say leader hurt self BJP lone and controversial MLA from Goshamahal in the Telangana Assembly, Raja Singh, has accused the Hyderabad Police of thrashing him while he was trying to replace a statue of a freedom fighter here late last night.

However, the police have refuted the allegations and accused the MLA of assaulting the policemen and then “injuring himself on the head with a stone�. Raja Singh along with his supporters attempted to replace the old statue of Rani Avanti Bai Lodh, who was the first freedom fighter from the city to have

participated in the 1857 revolution against the British, when they were stopped by the police and this lead to a clash. Raja Singh suffered injuries on his head and is taking treatment at the local Osmania Hospital. The BJP activists were allegedly trying to replace the existing statue with a new one at an odd hour without prior permissions from the administration.

The incident took place around 1.30 am.

Interestingly, the MLR also mentioned the names and ranks of the policemen who allegedly beat-up the MLA.

Fire at 10-storey residential building in Delhi A fire broke out at a 10-storeyed residential building in northwest Delhi’s Pitampura, a Delhi Fire Service official said Thursday. About 100 residents were safely rescued and no one was injured in the fire late Wednesday night, the official said. A few residents complained of mild suffocation after inhaling fumes, but did not require medical attention, Chief Fire

Officer Atul Garg said.

The fire broke out on a fifth-floor apartment around 1 am and spread to other floors.

Fifteen fire tenders took nearly three hours to extinguish the flames, the official said.

Furniture and other household items were damaged, the official said, adding that the exact cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained.

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PUNJAB

Saturday, June 22, 2019

6-yr-old Punjab-origin girl died in Arizona desert A South Asian group has sought a probe into the death of a six-year-old Indian girl, whose body was found along the US-Mexico border in Arizona, alleging that militarisation of the area and rejection of migrants attempting to cross at the entry ports have created an inhuman environment. The body of Gurupreet Kaur was found by the US Border Patrol officials 27 kilometres west of Lukeville, Arizona last week, when temperature reached a high of 42 degrees Celsius. Kaur’s mother left her with a woman and her child and went in search of water. The deceased was travelling with four other persons, including her mother, and dropped near the border by human smugglers who ordered the group to cross in the dangerous and austere location.

“We are devastated to learn the death of Gurupreet Kaur,” Lakshmi Sridaran, interim co-executive director of the South Asian

Americans Leading Together (SAALT), said in a statement. The group said that it will send a letter of inquiry to Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan this week, demanding a probe into the girl’s death and information about her mother and the other migrants in their group.

“US border militarisation, forced migration and rejection of migrants attempting to cross at ports of entry have created an environment where a child like Gurupreet can die in the desert alone,” Sridaran said. “Until a new system is created that upholds the dignity of all migrants, we will continue to see unspeakable tragedies, not withstanding the countless deaths that go undocumented,” she said.

While ICE and CBP have experienced unprecedented surges in their budgets, their treatment of migrants has plunged to new lows, Sridaran said.

Pak allows Nagar Kirtan from Delhi to Lahore for Gurpurb Pakistan gov’t has allowed the Sikh pilgrims to organise a ‘nagar kirtan’ from Delhi to Gurdwara Nankana Sahib in Lahore to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. “The permission was granted earlier, but the official letter from the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee was received recently with the signature of its chief Tara Singh. Scheduled in October, the nagar kirtan will leave from Delhi with Guru Granth Sahib enshrined in a golden palanquin accompanied by 1,500 devotees.

This was revealed by Delhi SAD president and former Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee chief Paramjit Singh Sarna.

The procession will start from Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in Delhi on October 28 and reach Ludhiana. The next day, the procession will leave for Gurdwara Ber Sahib in Sultanpur Lodhi. After that, it will reach Amritsar and leave for Lahore through the Attari-Wagah joint checkpost on October 31.

Crumbling canal system takes toll on groundwater The collapse of canal irrigation system in most parts of Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts has increased the dependence of farmers on groundwater (tubewells).

As no water was released in many areas for years, the land under redundant canal minors (suwas) and irrigation channels (khaals) has been occupied by farmers and brought under cultivation. The canal system in villages near Neshta, Daoke, Naushera, Kakkar, Kasel and many other areas has totally collapsed. At most of these places, land under canal minors has been brought under cultivation. In other areas, the water holding capacity of channels has withered due to the lack of maintenance and the volume of water released is very low. On the other hand, farmers blame the government for the collapse of irrigation system as it allegedly stopped paying attention towards biannual maintenance exercise. Rattan Singh Randhawa of Jamhoori Kisan Sabha said, “The collapse of the canal irrigation system has increased the dependency of farmers on tubewells. If the government makes water available for irrigation, why would farmers spend lakhs on digging tubewells?”

35

Sunny Deol in trouble for overspending in election, gets notice Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner-cum-Returning Officer has issued a notice to MP Sunny Deol, seeking an explanation for the excess expenditure incurred by him while campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections. The notice was issued by DC-cum-RO Vipul Ujwal after discrepancies in the MP’s accounts were found by two expenditure observers Aditya Bajpai and Rajesh Dhanishta. At present, both these officials are camping in Gurdaspur. The constituency had two observers because it comprises two revenue districts of Pathankot and Gurdaspur. Against the limit of Rs 70 lakh fixed by the Election Commission (EC), the MP is said to have spent more than Rs 80 lakh on his campaign. “It’s not only Deol who is being questioned. This is a pan-India exercise and explanation is being sought from every candidate who crossed their expenditure limit,” the DC said. Pathankot

Mayor Anil Vasudeva, who was closely related to the MP’s campaign and had even prepared his nomination papers, said: “Yes, we have received the notice and our team will be filing its reply soon. We have all records and will try to match them with those of the observers.” An official revealed that the details of the expenditure were monitored from the day a candidate files his papers till the counting day.

“This also includes the money spent during the winning procession, if any, taken out by the candidate. An FIR can be lodged against the erring candidate if he/she does not come up with a plausible explanation, which is suitable to the DC and the observers,” he said. Notably, no report of candidates distributing freebies, gifts, cash or liquor surfaced in the run up to the polls. According to the EC rules, candidates and their election agents could use only a specific bank account and withdraw not more Rs 10,000

36

CIRCKET / SPORTS

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Shikhar Dhawan shares emotional message after being ruled out of World Cup India opener Shikhar Dhawan posted an emotional message on social media after he was ruled out of the ongoing edition of the ICC World Cup 2019 on Wednesday.

(ICC World Cup 2019: Full Coverage) Dhawan sustained an injury on his left thumb during India’s group stage match Australia at the Oval and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) finally announced that southpaw won’t be able to get fit in time and has been replaced by wicket-keeper-batsman Rishabh Pant in the 15-man squad.

Shikhar Dhawan ruled out of World Cup, Rishabh Pant named replacement.

Following this, Dhawan took to social media to thank the fans for their good wishes and his post read: “I feel emotional to announce that I will no longer be a part of #CWC19. Unfortunately, the thumb won’t recover on time. But the show must go on.. I’m grateful for all the love & support from my team mates, cricket lovers & our entire nation. Jai Hind!

Team India manager Sunil Subramanian told the reporters in Southampton about this development and he said: “Shikhar (Dhawan) has a fracture at the base of his first metacarpal on his left hand.Following several specialist opinions, he will remain in a cast until midJuly, which rules him out of the World Cup.”

Rishabh Pant will replace injured Shikhar Dhawan For the Indian team, the injury-induced loss of Shikhar Dhawan is irreparable; the blow is softened by the inclusion in the team of the young, dashing strokeplayer, Rishabh Pant. Wicketkeeper batsman, left handed Rishabh Pant is an exciting striker of the ball and doesn’t lack fans — men including Sunil Gavaskar, Ricky Ponting and Kevin Pietersen.

“In the way he bats, he’s sort of another Adam Gilchrist,” Ponting said earlier this year.

Ponting could be accused of bias, for he is the chief coach of Delhi Capitals, the IPL team for which Pant plays. Yet, Pant’s brilliance is beyond doubt; he’s already made two Test 100s, including a scintillating 159 in Sydney in January this year. There have been question marks over Pant’s keeping skills, and his rush-of-blood shots that frequently cause his downfall as batsman.

Man files petition to ban Pak cricket team after embarrassing defeat to India A dejected fan has filed a petition in the Gujranwala Civil Court against Pakistan’s cricket team, seeking a ban on the squad as well as the sacking of the selection committee following the defeat to arch-rivals India in a World Cup game in England.

Pakistani cricketers are facing strong criticism from both fans and former players after the 89-run defeat to India in the marquee World Cup clash in Manchester on Sunday.

With just three points from five games, Pakistan are at the ninth position, just ahead

of Afghanistan in the tournament table.

The petitioner, whose name was not revealed, has called for a ban on the cricket team while also demanding chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq-led selection committee to be dissolved, SAMAA news channel reported Tuesday. In response to the petition, the judge at the Gujranwala Civil Court in Punjab province has summoned officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the brief report said.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 schedule Cricket World Cup 2019 fixtures May 30th, Thursday - England vs South Africa, at The Oval (10:30 BST) England won by 104 runs.

May 31 Friday - West Indies vs Pakistan, Trent Bridge (10:30 BST) West Indies won by 7 wickets.

June 1st - Saturday - New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, Cardiff (10:30 BST) New Zealand won by 10 wickets.

Saturday 1st - Afghanistan vs Australia, Bristol (DN) (13:30 BST) Australia won by 7 wickets.

Sunday 2nd - South Africa vs Bangladesh, The Oval (10:30 BST) Bangladesh won by 21 runs.

Monday 3rd - England vs Pakistan, Trent Bridge (10:30 BST) Pakistan won by 13 runs.

Tuesday 4th - Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka, Cardiff (10:30 BST) Sri Lanka won by 34 runs.

Wednesday 5th - South Africa vs India, Southampton (10:30 BST) India won by 6 wickets.

Wednesday 5th - Bangladesh vs New Zealand, The Oval (DN) (13:30 BST) New Zealand won by 2 wickets Thursday 6th - Australia vs West Indies, Trent Bridge (10:30 BST) Australia won by 15 runs.

Friday 7th - Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Bristol (10:30 BST) Match abandoned in rain draw.

Saturday 8th - England vs Bangladesh, Cardiff (10:30 BST) England beat Bangladesh by 106 runs.

Saturday 8th - Afghanistan vs New Zealand, Taunton (DN) (13:30 BST) N.Z won by 7 wickets Sunday 9th - India vs Australia, The Oval (10:30 BST) India won by 36 runs Monday 10th - South Africa vs West Indies, Southampton (10:30 BST) Match abandoned in rain draw. Tuesday 11th - Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, Bristol (10:30 BST) Match abandoned in rain draw.

Wednesday 12th - Australia vs Pakistan, Taunton (10:30 BST) Australia won by 40 runs.

Thursday 13th - India vs New Zealand, Trent Bridge (10:30 BST) Match abandoned in rain draw.

Friday 14th - England vs West Indies, Southampton (10:30 BST) England won by 8 wickets Saturday 15th - Sri Lanka vs Australia, The Oval (10:30 BST) Australia won by 87 runs.

Saturday 15th - South Africa vs Afghanistan, Cardiff (DN) (13:30 BST) S.A. won by 9 wickets Sunday 16th - India vs Pakistan, Old Trafford (10:30 BST) India won by 89 runs Monday 17th - West Indies vs Bangladesh, Taunton (10:30 BST) Bangladesh won by 7 wickets Tuesday 18th - England vs Afghanistan, Old

Trafford (10:30 BST) England won by 150 runs.

Wednesday 19th - New Zealand vs South Africa, Edgbaston (10:30 BST) New Zealand won by 4 wickets Thursday 20th Australia vs Bangladesh, Trent Bridge (10:30 BST) Australia won by 48 runs Friday 21st England vs Sri Lanka, Headingley (10:30 BST) Sri Lanka won by 20 runs Saturday 22nd - India vs Afghanistan, Southampton (10:30 BST) Saturday 22nd - West Indies vs New Zealand, Old Trafford (DN) (13:30 BST) Sunday 23rd - Pakistan vs South Africa, Lord’s (10:30 BST) Monday 24th - Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, Southampton (10:30 BST) Tuesday 25th - England vs Australia, Lord’s (10:30 BST) Wednesday 26th - New Zealand vs Pakistan, Edgbaston (10:30 BST) Thursday 27th - West Indies vs India, Old Trafford (10:30 BST) Friday 28th - Sri Lanka vs South Africa, Chester-leStreet (10:30 BST) Saturday 29th - Pakistan vs Afghanistan, Headingley (10:30 BST) Saturday 29th - New Zealand vs Australia, Lord’s (DN) (13:30 BST) Sunday 30th - England vs India, Edgbaston (10:30 BST July 1st, Monday - Sri Lanka vs West Indies, Chester-le-Street (10:30 BST) Tuesday 2nd - Bangladesh vs India, Edgbaston (10:30 BST) Wednesday 3rd - England vs New Zealand, Chester-le-Street (10:30 BST) Thursday 4th - Afghanistan vs West Indies, Headingley (10:30 BST) Friday 5th - Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Lord’s (10:30 BST) Saturday 6th - Sri Lanka vs India, Headingley (10:30 BST) Saturday 6th - Australia vs South Africa, Old Trafford (DN) (13:30 BST) Tuesday 9th - First semi-final: 1st team vs 4th team, at Old Trafford (10:30 BST) Thursday 11th - Second semi-final: 2nd team vs 3rd team, Edgbaston (10:30 BST) July 14th, Sunday - Final at the Lord’s (10:30) BST)

Pak captain Sarfaraz warns teammates of backlash at home Drawing flak after the loss to India, Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed has warned his teammates of further backlash at home if they fail to lift their game in the remaining matches of the ongoing World Cup. Pakistani cricketers are facing strong criticism from both fans and former players after the 89-run defeat to India in the marquee World Cup clash here on Sunday. With just

three points from five games, Pakistan are at the second last position in the tournament table.

“If anyone thinks that I will go home, then it is their idiocy.

If God forbid something unfortunate happens then I won’t be the only one going back home,” Pakistani media outlet, ‘thenews.com.pk’, quoted Sarfaraz as saying.

Saturday, June 22, 2019

37

38

SOUTH ASIA

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Myanmar’s hardline monks rail against Rohingya and Suu Kyi Ultra-nationalist monks in Myanmar accepted a cash donation from the military on Monday while condemning Aung San Suu Kyi and her government for allowing Rohingya Muslims to enter the country “illegally.”

Hundreds of monks swathed in saffron and maroon robes filed early morning into a Yangon monastery for the annual meeting of the Buddha Dhamma Parahita Foundation.

The group was known as Ma Ba Tha until a ban by the government and religious authorities in 2017 aimed at curbing its influence.

Monks regularly appear at pro-army nationalist rallies and the military returned the favor at Monday’s session.

Yangon Region Commander MajorGeneral Thet Pon openly donated 30 million kyat ($20,000) in cash to the group.

In a written statement, the ultra-nationalist

monks said they “harshly condemn” the scrapping of various laws, which they claimed

had “allowed – and continue to allow – Bengalis to enter the country illegally.”

They also sniped at Suu Kyi herself for “stepping foot” in a pagoda reserved for men.

One notable absentee at the meeting was co-leader Wirathu, dubbed the “Buddhist Bin Laden” and also blacklisted by Facebook.

He is currently on the run after a court issued an arrest warrant for alleged sedition following several provocative speeches at

Lankan president resumes Cabinet meeting after threatening to boycott over separate Lanka bombings probe Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday presided over a Cabinet meeting, days after he threatened to boycott it over Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s faction initiating a separate parliamentary probe into the April 21 Easter Sunday bombings. He convened the meeting amidst infighting between the two factions of the ruling coalition over the abdication of responsibility to prevent the deadly attack despite the availability of prior intelligence.

The President, who is the head of the Cabinet in his troubled coalition

government with Wickremesinghe, did not call last week’s meeting over a stand-off with his coalition partner. Sirisena wanted the halt to proceedings of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed by Assembly Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to probe the events leading to the attacks that killed 258 people, including 11 Indians, and injured nearly 500.

He had threatened not to reconvene the Cabinet until the government abandoned the select committee process. Sirisena claimed that the committee proceedings were aimed at putting the blame of the attacks

Massive protest held in Nepal demanding scrapping of Guthi Bill Thousands of people have gathered at Maitighar Mandala right now demanding the government to scrap the controversial Guthi Bill. Thousands gather in solidarity to protest against the Guthi Bill demanding it be completely scrapped, at Maitighar Mandala, in Kathmandu, on Wednesday, June 19, 2019.

Though the bill was withdrawn by the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation in a press conference yesterday, the protestors are demanding that the bill be scrapped.

Yesterday itself, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, in a separate press conference held in Singha Durbar, also expressed his support for withdrawal of the bill. However, the agitators — who say the bill is a threat to the centuriesold culture and traditions of Nepal — are of the opinion that the protest must go on until the bill is totally cancelled.

The agitators have completely surrounded the Mandala chanting slogans to preserve the guthi, scrapping of the bill and demanding the resignation of Home Minister and the Minister for Communication and Information Technology, among others.

The crowd of such a magnitude is not a common sight. People have come together for a cause they believe is crucial for the conservation of culture and heritage.

Sri Lanka successfully launches its first satellite ‘Ravana-1’ into orbit The satellite was officially handed over to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on February 18 and was sent to the ISS on April 17, through the assistance of Cygnus-1 spacecraft from the US.

Sri Lanka’s first satellite ‘Ravana-1’, designed and developed by two local engineers, was successfully launched into orbit this week from the International Space Station (ISS) along with two other BIRDS 3 satellites from Japan and Nepal.

Ravana 1, the cube satellite measuring 11.3 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm, and weighing around 1.05 kg, was launched into orbit at 3:45 pm (Sri Lanka time) on Monday, the Colombo Page reported.

The satellite was designed and developed by two Sri Lankan engineers – Tharindu Dayaratne and Dulani Chamika – studying space engineering at Japan’s Kyushu Institute of Technology.

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40

FIJI

Saturday, June 22, 2019

2019 / 2020 National Budget is an insult to the intelligence of the people of Fiji - Saukuru SODELPA MP Jese Saukuru says the 2019/2020 National Budget is an insult to the intelligence of the people of Fiji and a net of betrayal by this government upon its voters.

While speaking during the Parliament debate of the 2019/2020 National Budget, Saukuru says this budget makes a mockery of the new mandate that was secured by this government and this is paving the way forward to an unprecedented socio-economic and geo-political disaster. He adds this will render the nation and its people bankrupt.

Saukuru also highlighted that the Minister for Economy failed to acknowledge that the NBF crisis was an economic disaster which they have dealt with. He stressed how can

the Minister of Economy claims that there will be an increase in Fiji’s GDP to be over $12 billion when there is no increase in tax in this financial year. Saukuru claims that due to the increase in development in urban areas, urbanization has become a major problem and this government has moved away from rural development. He says the failure of the new initiatives and programs that this government has brought has rendered the people from accessing government services including those from the rural and maritime areas.

Saukuru says the SODELPA government will uphold their commitment to the people of Fiji and commit to bringing back democracy.

Railways overhaul part of reforms The Sugar sector is expected to be in the years to come. strengthened further with plans Once that network is in for a massive upgrade of the place, we’ll be able to transport national railway network. much larger loads of cane on Minister responsible and Prime the rail system, reducing cane Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama cartage costs even further.” says the Indian government is in Meanwhile, the government the process of finalizing a report subsidies will continue to on the blueprint for the upgrade of guarantee a cane price of $85 the railway system. a tonne for the next two years Bainimarama says the railway which is $30 more than the overhaul is in-line with the oncurrent global price. going reforms to make the sugar PM Voreqe Bainimarama sector more viable and sustainable

Opposition side is not made up of racist people Biman Prasad National Federation Party Leader Professor Biman Prasad has today stated in Parliament that Members of the Opposition are not racist people. Prasad says the government keeps accusing the opposition members of pursuing a racist-based agenda.

He said this after SODELPA MPs, Inosi Kuridrani and Niko Nawaikula had questioned why the government continues to provide assistance to the sugar industry and not other agricultural commodities.

ODELPA MP Inosi Kuridrani had moved a motion to increase the allocation for Yaqona Farming Development from $700,000 to $1 million.

Kuridrani says the reason the allocation needs to be increased because majority of the farmers planting yaqona live in rural and isolated areas and these farmers cannot access financial assistance from Fiji Development Bank and other financial institutions.

Kuridrani says these farmers need farm access roads, farming materials and

allocation is not enough to cover all farmers around the country. Another SODELPA MP Niko Nawaikula made a comparison and said the government gives millions for cane access roads every year but the same allocation is not given for access roads for other commodities.

He says there are many yaqona farmers that need assistance but are not receiving it from the government. Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says they know a yaqona farmer in Vanua Levu who made close to $2 million in one harvest and there is no way a cane farmer can make that kind of money in one harvest. He says cane farmers barely make $8,000 or $10,000 a year. Sayed-Khaiyum says one cannot compare sugar cane farmers to yaqona farmers.

Kuridrani’s motion was defeated in Parliament.

2019 / 2020 National Budget will be remembered as the one where the government has run out of money - Prasad National Federation Party Leader, Professor Biman Prasad says they will remember the 2019/2020 National Budget as the one where the government has run out of money.

While speaking during the budget debate, Professor Prasad says he felt sorry for the Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum when he was delivering the National Budget.

He says Sayed-Khaiyum looked like a man

who did not want to be in the house on budget night and did not look like a man who wanted to talk about the budget.

Prasad says Sayed-Khaiyum did not once talk about the government not having money.

Prasad says that Sayed-Khaiyum blamed the people because Sayed-Khaiyum needs an excuse to cut the government’s spending.

Parliament approves borrowing US$65 Million from ADB & US$35 IBRB Majority of the members of parliament have authorized the Minister for Economy to borrow money by raising loans of US$65 million from the Asian Development Bank and US$35 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Minister for Economy Aiyaz SayedKhaiyum says this is for the purpose of refinancing the 2015 Global Bond in October 2020 on such terms and conditions as the Minister thinks fit.

Sayed-Khaiyum says the government has been effectively pursuing cost-effective and least risky option of redeeming the US$250 million Global Bond due in October 2020.

He says the first international bond with a 5 year maturity was issued in 2006 by the then Qarase government for US$150 million, subsequently the Bainimarama government and the FijiFirst government raised US$250 million and then US$200 million rolling it over in 2011 and 2015 respectively.

Sayed-Khaiyum says given that the funds were raised in the international bond market which attracts market interest rates ranging from 6.6 percent to 9 percent, it is

in the best interest from a cost of refinancing risk perspective to explore other sources of funding.

While responding on the motion, National Federation Party Leader, Professor Biman Prasad says public debt always has a negative impact on economic growth and it puts the burden on the future generations.

Prasad says the loan should have been paid in the last 4 or 5 years.

SODELPA MP, Niko Nawaikula says he believes the government desperately needs money and it is bringing in laws like reregistration of companies to raise more money.

He says he believes the e-ticketing system is also brought in to raise for money for the government. Nawaikula says even the lawyers have to be tax and FNPF compliant to get the legal practitioners license. He says this is a sign of ‘desperado’.

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the money is being drawn down however it won’t be used now. He also says that the government will make a saving of about $15 million because the interest rate will be about 3 percent compared to more than 6 percent.

Fiji Airways awarded Skytrax 4-Star rating at the 2019 Skytrax World Airline Awards Fiji’s National Airline, Fiji Airways has been awarded the coveted Skytrax 4-Star rating at the 2019 Skytrax World Airline Awards in Paris, joining a select group of elite airlines in this prestigious category.

Fiji Airways joins airlines such as Emirates, British Airways, Etihad, Air New Zealand and Qantas as a 4-Star airline.

Fiji Airways says at the same Skytrax World Airline Awards in Paris, Fiji Airways moved from 4th to 1st place to take up “Best Airline Staff in Australia Pacific”, signaling the airline’s continued commitment to world class service and customer experience. Fiji Airways beat Qantas, Air New Zealand and

Virgin Australia in this category to claim the top award.

The Skytrax World Airline Awards are one of the most sought after quality accolades for airlines. Skytrax benchmarks traveller opinion and carries out quality evaluations around a number of key categories and principles for airlines around the world Skytrax Ratings are recognised as a global benchmark for airlines. A 4-Star Rating is a mark of distinction that recognises excellent standards, showcasing an airline’s unwavering commitment to provide high quality product and service values both onboard and on the ground.

PAKISTAN

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Prime Minister formally makes army chief part of civilian matters Prime Minister Imran Khan approved the establishment of ‘National Development Council’ (NDC) comprising of 13 members including Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Prime Minister Khan to lead the NDC. According to notification issued by the Cabinet, many ministers would attend the ‘National Economic Council’ (NEC) upon invitation, ministers of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan will be able to participate in meeting of the council on invitation. The strategic body

or any minister will be able to join the NDC’s meeting upon invitation as well.

Secretaries of PM Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Financial Advisor Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh will also be a part of the NDC. Secretary Planning, Development and Reforms Division will also be members of the council, Additional Secretary to Prime Minister to be the secretary of the council.

Cat-astrophe: Politician’s event streamed on Facebook with cat filter on A lot of things can go wrong for government officials who speak in public. They might face hecklers. They could be embarrassingly stumped by a question. They may even dig themselves into legal trouble. But the challenge Pakistani politician Shaukat Yousafzai faced last week may be a first: His press conference was live-streamed on Facebook — with the cat filter turned on. Yes, this is fur real. (Fair warning: There will be many more puns.)

Yousafzai, a regional minister from northwest Pakistan, was speaking to reporters last Friday about local issues. His party, Tehreek-eInsaf, streamed the event live on Facebook so constituents could follow along. But viewers

saw something they surely didn’t expect: the politician seemingly wearing (digital) pink cat ears, a kitty’s nose, and whiskers. And just like cats, social media users pounced.

Yousafzai wasn’t the only un-fur-tunate victim, though (I’m not even sorry for that one). The superimposed cat face switched to whoever was talking, including the two officials alongside him. It’s worth noting, although you surely guessed, that no one meant to have the cat filter on. Doing something as cutesy as that for any politician naturally crosses all (fe) lines of decorum. The party quickly realized its mistake and finally put the shenanigans on paws.

Police target traffickers selling brides to China At first, in her desperate calls home to her mother in Pakistan, Natasha Masih couldn’t bring herself to say what they were doing to her. All the 19-year-old would say was that her new husband — a Chinese man her family sold her off to in marriage — was torturing her. Eventually she broke down and told her mother the full story, pleading with her to bring her home. The husband had hidden her away in a hotel in a remote corner of China and for the past weeks had been forcing her to have sex with other men. “I bought you

in Pakistan,” she said her husband told her.

“You belong to me. You are my property.” Her mother turned to the only people she knew who could help, her small evangelical church in a run-down slum of the Pakistani city of Faisalabad. There, a group of parishioners began putting together an elaborate plan to rescue the girl from the hotel more than 1,100 miles away. Natasha was one of hundreds of Pakistani girls who have been married off to Chinese men in return for cash payments to their families.

Twitterati troll Imran Khan for posting Tagore’s quote as Jibran’s Prime Minister Imran Khan was mercilessly trolled Wednesday for wrongly attributing a famous quote of Indian poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore to Lebanese-American poet Khalil Gibran.

Khan, 66, took to share an inspirational quote which goes as “I slept and dreamed that life is all joy. I woke and I saw that life is all service. I served and I saw that service is joy”.

The Prime Minister captioned the quote, saying “Those who discover and get to understand the wisdom of Gibran’s words cited below, get to live a life of contentment”.

The tweet garnered 23,000 likes and was

retweeted over 5,000 times, while more than 2,000 people commented on it.

But the netizens were quick to pick the Prime Minister’s mistake and started making fun of him.

Most of the Twitter users teased Khan for his poor knowledge and asked him to confirm things before going public “Mr Khan it doesn’t hurt to Google a quote if you are not into reading. By copying a Tagore’s quote and attributing it to Khalil Gibran, you are not only getting mocked but you are making a laughing stock of the country in the process! Please!” wrote journalist Murtaza Solangi.

NDC will formulate strategies and tailor policies to achieve accelerated economic growth. Council will make sure to implement policies to achieve rapid economic development in the country.

The council will approve a long-term plan for regional and national connectivity, the NDC will provide a guidlines for regional cooperation.

1)PM Imran Khan to head the NDC, it will have the following as its members: 2) Chief of Army Staff 3) Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs 4) Federal Minister for Finance/Adviser to

the Prime Minister on Finance 5) Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Reform 6) Federal Minister for Commerce/Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce, Industries & Production and Investment 7) Provincial Chief Ministers, Prime Minister of AJ&K and Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan (on invitation) 8) Any additional Minister/Head of Strategic Body (on invitation) 9) Secretary to the Prime Minister 10) Secretary, Foreign Affairs Division 11) Secretary, Finance Division 12) Secretary, Planning, Development & Reforms Division 13) Additional Secretary, Prime Minister‘s Office.

NRI

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Saturday, June 22, 2019

ThyssenKrupp appoints Premal Desai as chief executive officer to head steel business restructuring German multinational conglomerate ThyssenKrupp AG has appointed Premal Desai as the new Chief Executive Officer for its steel division to oversee the restructuring of business after the collapse of a proposed joint venture with Tata Steel in Europe. Mr Desai has been Chief Financial Officer of ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG since 2015 and was previously Head of Strategy at ThyssenKrupp AG. Guido

Kerkhoff, CEO of ThyssenKrupp AG, said: “We are pleased that we have appointed a new steel board member from our own ranks. Our steel business is facing major challenges. We have now put together a strong team that will tackle the tasks at hand quickly and develop a sustainable strategy for steel following the cancellation of the joint venture.”

NRI couple tortures & starves mother to death in Dubai An India couple residing in Dubai have been charged with physically assaulting the man’s mother and unintentionally causing her death.

The Court of First Instance heard that the 29-year-old man and his 28-year-old wife tortured the elderly woman repeatedly, causing her bone and rib fractures, internal bleeding, and severe burns. They even cut her right eye

iris out and part of her other eye. Both denied the charge. They have been detained. The torture is believed to have lasted from July 2018 till October 2018. A case was registered at Al Qusais police station. The case was exposed by the couple’s neighbour, who is a hospital employee.

NRI smugglers convicted in UK drugs gang bust An Indian-origin man in the UK has been found guilty of being part of a criminal gang believed to be one of the world’s most prolific smugglers of anabolic steroids. Gurjaipal Dhillon acted as a fixer for the group, arranging dozens of unlicensed shipments of drugs from India into Europe, according

to Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) which led the investigation into the gang.

The 65-year-old from Southall in west London faces years in jail after he was found guilty of conspiring to import a Class C drug following a six-week trial at the Old Bailey court in London on Wednesday.

NRI woman asleep at the wheel jailed for killing another driver in UK Anusha Ranganathan, 41, was tired after multiple sleepless night with her baby who had just undergone heart surgery.

Sleep-deprived mum of sick baby is jailed for killing another diver She slewed across the road in East Hanney, Oxfordshire, last July, slamming into a car driven by 70-year-old Patricia Robinson who died five weeks later in hospital. Medics described her injuries as the worst they’d ever seen. The computer and IT technology expert admitted causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for two-

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and-a-half years.Jailing her immediately, Judge Ian Pringle said: “When someone is driving a car and they fall asleep, it turns into a lethal weapon.“We will never know why you drove in the way that you did, but it seems that you fell asleep behind the wheel.” The judge heard that both cars ended up in a water-filled ditch.

Ranganathan’s car caught fire with her baby trapped in the foot well after falling out of his baby seat.

Saturday, June 22, 2019

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Saturday, June 22, 2019