The Asian Star May 7 2016

www.theasianstar.com Vol 15 Issue 14 Saturday, May 7, 2016

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Issue 14 Saturday, May 7, 2016

RCMP hunting for “turbaned man” after sex attack

Real estate agent fought off attacker at Surrey open house

R

ealtors are being warned after a man attacked a woman during a property showing on the weekend.

At about 4:10 p.m., last Saturday, a realtor was sexually assaulted in North Surrey while she was holding an open house. The woman was able to fight off the unknown attacker. The man then fled. The suspect is described as an South Asian man in his late 20s to mid-40s, 5’5” to 5’8”, with brown eyes and a dark well-groomed beard. He was wearing dark-coloured pants and a light-coloured shirt at the time. He had a

Continued on page 8

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Surrey RCMP have released this composite sketch of a suspect in an attack on a real estate agent in Surrey last Saturday.

Surrey realtor fined only $1,500 for lying about fraud allegations

Surrey realtor who failed to report on an application to renew his licence that he was judged to have fraudulently benefited in a $250,000 debt avoidance case has received a slap on the wrist from the Real Estate Council of B.C. In December 2015 Shahin Soheili of Sutton Premier Realty Shahin Soheili was reprimanded in a disciplinary decision and fined $1,500 to cover

the council’s enforcement costs.

In a consent order the council — a self-regulating industry body composed of real estate agents — said Soheili broke a number of rules in failing to report a 2011 provincial court judgment against him.

On licence renewal documents, realtors are asked to confirm whether they or their personal corporations

Continued on page 7

Only nature, not humans, can stop Fort McMurray fire

T

he fire raging in Fort McMurray is now too large and too fierce to stop without rain. Humans are powerless to stop the fire as more than 90,000 people have fled the area – which is the centre of Canada’s oil industry. Three hundred firefighters on the ground and dozens more in the air continue to battle the most destructive wildfire Alberta has experienced in more than a century but, despite their best efforts, officials concede they are no match for the blaze. The flames have consumed swaths of Fort McMurray and chased away most of the

A helicopter flies past thick smoke while battling a major forest fire outside of Fort McMurray May 4, 2016

Continued on page 8

Estate of Vancouver woman murdered in India wants her husband to be cut off from inheritance

T

He hired her killers

he estate of a South Asian woman who was murdered in India after her husband hired contract killers is seeking to prevent him from getting her assets. On March 3, 2009, Kuldeep Kaur Badyal was shot to death as she was going to visit a Sikh temple in the northeast Punjab.

Her husband, Manjit Singh Badyal, who was in India with her for several months, was later charged and convicted of hiring contract killers.

Kuldeep Badyal, a mother of two young children, died without a will, but in February the B.C. Supreme Court appointed the Public Guardian and Trustee of B.C.

P

Kuldeep Kaur Badyal and her husband

as the administrator of her estate.

In a notice of claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court, the Public Guardian and Trustee is seeking to have a declaration that Badyal’s death was unlawfully caused by her husband and to disen-

Continued on page 6

Premier Clark not in conflict on party fundraising or stipend, commissioner rules

remier Christy Clark was not in a conflict of interest for hosting exclusive party fundraisers or receiving an annual stipend for leading the B.C. Liberal Party, the province’s conflict-ofinterest commissioner has ruled.

Commissioner Paul Fraser issued his ruling late on Wednesday, dismissing complaints filed

by NDP MLA David Eby and Democracy Watch Canada leader Duff Conacher.

“The premier’s private interest is not advanced by any particular donor or group of donors at these events,” wrote Fraser. “She cannot, therefore, be in an apparent conflict of interest in relation to those donors.”

He said any funds raised were benefits to the party and “any such benefit the premier might

derive from the donations is of an indirect, general and political nature, rather than of a direct, particular and personal nature.”

Fraser said he realized the issue of party fundraising is one of significant public debate, but “it is not appropri-

Continued on page 6

Happy Mother’s Day

6 i Saturday, May 7, 2016

Premier Clark not in conflict on party fundraising or stipend, commissioner rules

From page 1 ate for me nor within my purview to set clusive fundraising events. He said that, with parameters for the scope and scale of party an election in one year in which Horgan may fundraising events. Ultimately those de- become premier, any restrictions on fundraiscisions must be made by the legislature.” ing that Eby argued should apply to the prePolitical fundraising is legal and gov- mier ought to apply to the Opposition, too. erned by the B.C. Election Act, he said. Eby said he was Eby had complained that donors are pay- d i s a p p o i n t e d ing more than $20,000 to attend private with the ruling.

B.C. Liberal Party fundraisers that effec“The commissioner tively sell access to the premier. As well, he failed to pursue key said the $50,000 annual party stipend for avenues of investithe premier placed her in a direct conflict gation, he failed to because it was like a commission payment address a core legal that was dependent on the party fundraiser. argument, an entire Fraser dismissed the commission ar- section of the act gument, citing evidence from the par- I raised in my submissions to him, he then ty that Clark received the stipend even somehow released the report in a manner that in 2012 when the party was in a deficit. it was leaked to the B.C. Liberal caucus before The commissioner also noted the leader of I was notified it was coming out,” he said. the B.C. NDP, John Horgan, holds similar ex-

Local

I

Criminals getting citizenship as not all checks being carried out: Auditor general

mmigration officials are looking at revoking the Canadian citizenship of about a dozen people after the auditor general found the government isn’t doing enough to root out fraud in the citizenship system. Michael Ferguson’s report uncovered instances of people with serious criminal records and others using potentially phoney addresses among those who managed to secure Canadian citizenship thanks to holes throughout not just the Immigration Department but the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency as well. The cases flagged represent just a fraction of the nearly half a million people who’ve become Canadian citizens in the last two years, but that doesn’t mean im-

provements aren’t necessary, Immigration Minister John McCallum said Tuesday. “The vast majority of the cases are clear but we are not happy if even one case is fraudulently obtained and that is why we are vigorously implementing the recommendations of the auditor general,” McCallum said. Recommendations related to improving information sharing between departments will be implemented by the end of the year, McCallum said. Another suggestion -- that officers be given more power to seize fraudulent documents -- is currently in a bill being debated in the House of Commons. Among the cases caught by Michael Ferguson’s team: four people who were granted citizenship despite having criminal records that would render them ineligible, and two who were approved despite having committed crimes after passing a criminal background check.

The audit also revealed it took seven years for officials to cotton on to the fact a single address had been used by at least 50 different applicants during overlapping time periods. Of the 50, seven became Canadian citizens. A review of 49 cases where an individual’s address had been flagged as problematic concluded that in 18 instances, citizenship officials didn’t follow up to see if the applicant actually met residency requirements. The issues Ferguson included everything from officers seeming to ignore existing information about applicants, data entry errors that meant problems were missed, a failure on the part of security agencies to share information with the Immigration Department and officers not following their own procedures, like checking an applicant’s paperwork against a database of known fake documents.

“This finding matters because ineligible individuals may obtain Canadian citizenship and receive benefits to which they are not entitled,” Ferguson wrote in his spring report, tabled Tuesday in the House of Commons.

“Revoking citizenship that should not have been granted takes significant time and money.”

The auditor general’s office reviewed files from July 2014 to October 2015 -- three years after the previous Conservative government launched a public crackdown on citizenship fraud by announcing it was going after 1,800 people it believed lied to lay claim to the Maple Leaf.

In 2012, the government expanded that number, saying nearly 11,000 individuals had been linked to residency fraud investigations.

While the issue of revoking citizenships from dual citizens convicted of terrorism has been a political hot potato in recent years, that’s only happened to one person -- a man convicted in connection with a plot to launch a terrorist attack in Toronto.

Estate of Vancouver woman murdered in India From page 1 disentitle him from getting any of her assets.

Though details of the murder have been reported, the lawsuit says the particulars of the death are as yet unknown to the plaintiff, but will be provided to the court as and when known. “In any event the particulars are fully in the knowledge of the defendant.”

And though it has been reported that Manjit Badyal received a life sentence, the suit only says that he “resides in India.” The lawsuit seeks a declaration that the husband should be prevented from getting her half of their matrimonial home on East 55th Avenue in Vancouver, as well as various items of jewelry and personal effects. In addition, the suit seeks to protect the wife’s interest in several shares related to Sunshine Cabs Ltd. An order for unspecified damages is also being sought.

No response has yet been filed to the civil claim.

Local Reena Virk’s convicted murderer finally admits killing her

I

But Kelly Ellard is denied day parole

n a prison visitation room with butterflies painted on the walls and brightly coloured children’s toys piled in a corner, convicted killer Kelly Ellard publicly admitted for the first time that she is responsible for the death of 14-year-old Reena Virk.

“If I hadn’t been there, she would be alive,” Ellard told a two-member panel from the Parole Board of Canada during a day parole heari n g o n

Kelly Ellard

Tuesday. The parole board voted to deny her application. It was Ellard’s first application for any form of release since she became eligible for day parole in 2007. The hearing was held at Abbotsford’s Fraser Valley Institution for Women, where Ellard is a medium-security inmate serving a life sentence. During the three-hour session, board members covered a variety of topics, including Virk’s murder. Previously, Ellard admitted to participating in the beating under the Victoria-area bridge that preceded Virk’s death, but denied being present when Virk was killed. At the hearing, she said she “omitted” some facts at trial.

She claimed that after the initial attack she sent her co-accused, Warren Glowatski, to talk to Virk and “make sure she doesn’t rat us out.” She said Glowatski returned five minutes later, but he was not making sense, so she went with him to see Virk.

Through tears, Ellard said she saw Virk on the ground near the water’s edge, her face bloodied. She said she asked Glowatski to help her drag Virk, who was unconscious, into the Gorge waterway, where she splashed water on Virk’s face.

“There was no movement, not even an eye twitch,” said Ellard, who was 15 at the time.

Rather than get help or bring Virk back to dry land, Ellard said, she panicked and decided to leave Virk in the water.

“I pushed her in and walked away,” Ellard said, crying.

Ellard denied beating Virk further and holding Virk’s head under water to drown her.

When asked by parole board member Ian MacKenzie who was responsible for Virk’s death, Ellard replied, “I believe I am.”

At the end of the hearing, after describing the progress she has made and her release plans, Ellard told the board members that she has done all that she can to rehabilitate herself in prison. She wanted to be released so she could enter a drug treatment program.

“I’ve done everything and then some,” she said. “Enough is enough.”

In his decision, MacKenzie outlined some positive developments

in Ellard’s case. He said she has completed programs, has not been involved in any known violent incidents in seven years and has abstained from drugs for 11 months. Her work reports are good and a 2014 psychological report assessed her as a low risk to reoffend.

“You have made progress, there’s no doubt about it,” MacKenzie said.

However, he said, although she is now accepting responsibility, Ellard has not admitted to the version of the crime that was outlined by the judge in her conviction.

MacKenzie said he is concerned about her institutional drug use, about earlier psych reports that placed her at a higher risk to reoffend, and about the fact that she is still a medium-security prisoner, and he noted that her case management team did not support her application.

MacKenzie found many of her comments at the hearing to be “troubling,” and said that her final statements “came across as very entitled.”

Saturday, May 7, 2016

i 7

Surrey realtor fined only $1,500 for lying about fraud allegations have been involved in fraud or breach of trust related to real estate and financial services.

Soheili answered “no” twice on his October 2012 application, “when in fact a judgment for fraud was rendered against him and (his corporation) on December 16, 2011,” the council’s order states.

Soheili also failed to report the fraud judgment to the council in writing and tell his managing broker, in breach of council rules.

Legal filings for the fraud case say Soheili had mortgaged two properties he owned in Surrey to build a $1.4-million family home.

Although a contractor who was a personal friend of Soheili understood construction was for Soheili’s family home — and gave favourable financing terms for that reason — the project was financed through Soheili’s corporation, Homemark Construction and Building Industries Corporation.

When Soheili’s homebuilding loans fell

through and his mortgage was foreclosed upon, he was forced to sell the home at a $350,000 loss. However, a judgment says, the use of a personal corporation enabled Soheili to benefit from contractors’ work without paying them when his project went sour.

“The $250,000 in goods and services went to him personally. As a result, instead of losing approximately $350,000 in the foreclosure, he lost $100,000,” the judge wrote.

“In effect Soheili has set up this company in order to avoid paying (contractors) those debts. As a result, there was either a fraud or something akin to fraud, and at the very least improper conduct by Mr. Soheili in order to avoid the debts personally.”

Since the council issued its reprimand and fine against Soheili in December 2015, both it and the B.C. Real Estate Association have come under criticism as weak self-regulators, amid a number of reports about scams involving realtors.

8 i Saturday, May 7, 2016 From page 1

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ity’s residents — more than 80,000 people — in a panic-stricken lastminute mass evacuation that is already leaving emotional scars.

What began as a small brush fire outside city limits has grown into a raging inferno, increasing 10 times in size since the evacuation began Tuesday. It’s not known how the blaze started.

Thursday, the city’s fire chief and Alberta government officials admitted it was resisting most — but not all — containment efforts; it was becoming too large and too fierce for the 22 water bombers and other heavy equipment deployed to douse the fast-spreading flames.

“Let me be clear: air tankers are not going to stop this fire,” Chad Morrison of Alberta Forestry said at a briefing in Edmonton. “(The fire) is going to continue to push through these dry conditions until we actually get some significant rain.”

The forecast is not promising: several more days of sunshine, warm temperatures and flame-fanning breezes are expected for

LOCAL

Only nature, not humans, can stop Fort McMurray fire of the city northeastern Alberta. centre, But amidst the devwou ld astation, confusion be conand fear there were at sumed least some glimmers by the of hope, small fragfire. Sevments of good news. eral older Alberta Emergency airport Management offibuildings People fleeing the fires at Fort McMurray. cial Scott Long told did susreporters the provtain “seriince would begin airlifting the first of 8,000 ous damage,”said the Regional Municipality of people stranded near the city, “in conjunc- Wood Buffalo, the local government authority. tion with industry resources and DND (De- Meanwhile, support for the northern Alberta partment of National Defence) resources.” community and surrounding towns, vilFire crews battling flames inside Fort McMur- lages and First Nations still under siege has ray said they had managed to save its down- grown in proportion to the blaze. Thousands town core and a water treatment plant. An- of individuals, private companies, governother crucial piece of infrastructure, the city’s ments and agencies across Canada are maktwo-year-old airport terminal, was also spared. ing monetary and material contributions Late Wednesday, it had looked as if the to help evacuees through their hardship. $258-million building, 17 kilometres south

As cash donations pour into the Canadian Red Cross, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government will match every dollar sent to the agency.

Perhaps the greatest example of goodwill came from the Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic, which was devastated nearly three years ago when an unattended freight train carrying crude oil caught fire and exploded, killing 47 people. Residents are raising money for people affected by the Fort McMurray forest fires.

On the ground, at the scene of the blaze, the battle continued and it wasn’t going well Thursday.

Fort McMurray, fire chief Darby Allen said, “has been overrun by wildfire … it’s not showing any forgiveness.”

The fire covered about 7,500 hectares on Wednesday; by Thursday noon, it had increased to 85,000 hectares, or 850 square kilometres.

That’s about the size of Calgary, and more than 10 times bigger than a fearsome blaze being fought across the border in British Columbia, near Fort St. John. The Siphon Creek fire is one of a half dozen “fires of note” in northeastern B.C., where firefighting re-

RCMP hunting for “turbaned man” From page 1 after sex attack white turban on and spoke with an accent.

Surrey RCMP Sgt. Alana Dunlop couldn’t say whether the attacker was injured by the woman’s defensive moves, or whether evidence was left at the scene, noting the investigation is still in the early stages.

The female realtor was not physically injured, but police are assuming she’s emotionally shaken by the attack.

It’s not the first time something like this has happened in B.C. – or Surrey.

In October 2007, another female real estate agent was showing a property in Surrey to two men she thought were prospective buyers. She was tied up and robbed before she was able to free herself and run to a nearby home for help.

Then in 2008, Lindsay Buziak died from multiple stab wounds in a home she was showing in Victoria.

President-elect of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB), Gopal Sahota, said the most recent occurrence in Surrey was “very unfortunate.”

He said what happened is a rare occurrence and that there hasn’t been a report of an attack on a realtor while at work in the region since 2007.

He said the FVREB knows little about the weekend assault, adding the RCMP hasn’t contact the organization yet. The FVREB doesn’t know who was attacked.

“Other realtors are talking about it,” Sahota said, noting the “conversations need to be had when something does happen.”

He notes when incidents do occur, they typically involve females, but he warned both men and women need to exercise caution when showing homes.

The FVREB recommends using a buddy system wherever possible, he said.

Sahota emphasized, however, that the majority of the public is well-behaved.

“The criminal element, when they’re going to act on their criminal leanings, it’s really unfortunate,” Sahota said.

The FVREB is offering safety tips for realtors and is hosting a self-defence course next month. It will be held on May 24 at the FVREB offices near 104 Avenue and 154 Street. The course is for members only and will cost $40.

Register through the learning centre at https://tlc.fvreb.bc.ca/index.php/login Dunlop said the advice from police is the same they would offer anyone in a similar situation.

“You have to consider that when you’re advertising something publicly, the public can access it, and that can be anybody,” Dunlop said Monday. “The way you guard your safety in the public, you have to apply those principles in those (semi-private) situations as well.”

In general, the public should always be aware if they see something suspicious.

“Be aware of your surroundings,” Dunlop said. “Just because you are in a home, it doesn’t mean you need to put your guard down.”

Saturday, May 7, 2016

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10 i Saturday, May 7, 2016

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OPINION

B.C.’s LNG export dreams may be over

midst a global glut of natural gas, and implacable opposition from environmentalists and some First Nations leaders, British Columbia’s dream of exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to world markets is at risk of becoming a pipe dream.

New warnings about Canada’s waning potential to export LNG are coming from some surprising places. We’re accustomed to hearing these warnings from energy companies, think-tanks, industry associations, and Canadian politicians. But recently, Japan’s ambassador to Canada, of all people, said Canada is running out of time if it hopes to supply Japan with LNG. Japan wants LNG to comprise 27 per cent of its energy mix by 2030. The ambassador’s warning comes just days after Canada’s federal environment minister announced yet another threemonth delay in the regulatory approval process for Pacific NorthWest LNG. The process has now taken more than 750 days when it was initially supposed to last only a year.

The Pacific NorthWest LNG facility is seen as the frontrunner among more than 20 proposed LNG projects in B.C. Indeed, an increasing number of other proposed LNG projects in the province, such as the

AltaGas-led Douglas Channel LNG project and Royal Dutch Shell’s project, are being delayed and shelved.

Consider some of the recent policy announcements regarding LNG. In January, the federal government announced that it will require LNG terminal environmental reviews to consider both the direct and upstream greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of these projects. Details as to what this means, of course, will be announced at some later date.

These new climate tests will only add to the regulatory barriers and compliance costs Canadian energy companies already face, compounding the effects that low energy prices already have on the industry.

And non-development will also come with substantial economic costs. A recent Fraser Institute study found that the cost of delay imposed upon LNG investments in B.C., defined as export revenues forgone, is substantial, at C$22.5 billion per year in 2020 and rising to C$24.8 billion per year in 2025. Even if sales were cut in half, the losses would still be significant, totalling about five per cent of B.C.’s 2014 GDP. The National Energy Board’s recent Canada’s Energy Future 2016 report also shed some

light on what LNG means for Canada’s natural gas industry. In a scenario where no LNG exports occur between 2015 and 2040, Canadian natural gas production might only experience two per cent growth compared to 19 per cent growth in a scenario with LNG exports.

Finally, it’s ironic that the climate tests will only focus on direct and upstream emissions from LNG facilities, and won’t capture the potential climate benefits associated with using natural gas for electricity in places like the Asia Pacific, which consumed more than 70 per cent of global coal consumption in 2014.

Increasingly, it looks like B.C. may miss out on supplying LNG to Asian and global markets, foregoing private and public economic gains that could improve the lives of British Columbians and all Canadians. Others, however, including Australia and the United States, are eager to satisfy that demand. Let’s hope things don’t turn out that way.

Kenneth P. Green is Senior Director and Taylor Jackson is a Policy Analyst in Natural Resource Studies at The Fraser Institute.

Long stretch of summer-like weather ahead for Metro Vancouver Environment Canada says Metro Vancouver is in for at least a week of unseasonably hot and dry weather. The mercury begins to climb Thursday with highs of 18 degrees C, 22 degrees C inland, and then spikes on Friday. The UV index for Thursday is six or high, according to Environment Canada, which means protection is required as the ultra-violet rays can damages the skin and can cause sunburn. Friday is expected to be sunny and clear, with highs of 21 degrees C near the water, and a balmy 29 degrees C inland.

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Pictured from left are S. Malkit Singh Dakha (Ex Minister of Punjab), S. Gurkirat S. Kotli - M.L.A.of Punjab , Rana Gurjit Singh - M.L.A.of Punjab, Jay Minhas, businessman, and Kal Rangi – Richmond realtor, at a dinner reception for the visiting Punjab politicians in surrey last week.

Vikash Chand’s killer wins a chance for early parole under ‘faint hope’ law

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man convicted of first-degree murder in a highprofile gang case has won the right to have a jury decide whether he should get early parole under the “faint hope� law.

A jury found Simon Kwok Cheng Chow, now 51, was one of the men behind the gangland execution of Bindy Johal associate Vikash Chand in October 1998. Chand was shot several times as he changed a licence plate at the Rags to Riches car lot in Burnaby.

Chow admitted he knew of the murder plot, but claimed he was not involved in it.

Payments made to the killers were for a drug deal, he told the jurors who convicted him in 2001.

Chow was sentenced to a mandatory life term with no parole of 25 years. He unsuccessfully appealed his conviction to both the B.C. Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Chow applied to the B.C. Supreme Court for the chance to have a “faint hope� hearing, where a jury can decide to reduce a killer’s parole ineligibility period to as little as 15 years.

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Prince George RCMP seek suspect responsible for huge 2015 wildfire

s several major wildfires rage in northeastern British Columbia, Prince George RCMP are still searching for the person, or people, suspected of sparking a forest fire one year ago.

The Bobtail Lake blaze was first spotted on May 8, 2015.

It charred 240 square kilometres of woodland 50 kilometres southwest of Prince George and forced evacuation of properties at Norman Lake and Naltesby Lake, also known as Bobtail Lake.

The fire took weeks to control, and RCMP and Wildfire Management Branch officials confirm it was human-caused.

They believe someone has details that

could identify a suspect and lead to charges. In addition to significant fines or jail terms, B.C.’s Wildfire Act can require anyone convicted of starting a wildfire to repay all the costs of battling the blaze.

Teen charged with murder in 2014 stabbing death of 17-year-old

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lated to any other criminal activity. teenager has been arrested “This is a case where a teenage boy lost and charged in connection his life over a fight,” said IHIT spokeswith the December 2014 woman Sgt. Stephanie Ashton, dedeath of 17-year-old Jaylen Sandhu. scribing it as “a high-school incident.”

A teenager has been arrestAshton said the family and friends of ed and charged in connection the victim and members of the comwith the December 2014 death munity contacted police right away of 17-year-old Jaylen Sandhu. and provided information that led The Integrated Homicide Investigato police identifying a suspect early tion Team announced on Monday in the investigation. morning that the “This is a Ashton said Sandhu’s 18-year-old suscase where a family is aware of the pect was arrested on Friday in anteenage boy arrest and charge, and other province and lost his life over a fight,” have asked for privacy. is charged with secsaid IHIT spokeswoman “Jaylen came from a tight-knit famond-degree murder.

The accused, who Sgt. Stephanie Ashton, ily who are now dealing with the events of was 17 at the time describing it as his death a second time of the offence and “a high-school as they hear news of cannot be named incident.” this arrest,” she said. under the Youth “Knowing the person allegedly reCriminal Justice Act, is expectsponsible for Jaylen’s death is in cused to appear in provincial court tody may come as a relief to them.” in Surrey on Monday afternoon.

The teen’s father, Danny Sandhu, Just after 2 p.m. on Dec. 18, 2014, told the Surrey Now last month Surrey RCMP received reports that his son was “a great kid” with from witnesses about two men a big heart who loved football. fighting near the intersection of A foundation has been set up in 88th Avenue and 163rd Street. his name to provide an annual When officers arrived, they $1,000 scholarship to a student at found Sandhu — a local highFleetwood Park Secondary. A pub school student — seriously innight on May 22 at Edith + Arjured. He was taken to hospital, thur’s Public House (8410 160th but he succumbed to his injuries.

St.) will raise funds for the scholarPolice say Sandhu and the accused ship. The event will start at 5 p.m. knew each other. There is no indication that the altercation was re-

LOCAL

BC failing to adequately monitor mines, says Auditor general

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C’s auditor general has delivered a scathing report that concludes the government is not properly prepared to protect the environment from potential disasters in the mining industry.

Carol Bellringer said Tuesday that her office’s mines audit was already underway in August 2014 when the tailings dam at the Mount Polley mine in central B.C. collapsed, spilling millions of cubic metres of silt and waste into nearby lakes and rivers.

Her report, “An Audit of Compliance and Enforcement of the Mining Sector,” took two years to complete, and it questions whether the province can properly protect the environment from risks posed by mines.

B.C. Mines Minister Bill Bennett commits to inspector’s Mt. Polley recommendations It says almost all expectations for government compliance and enforcement in the mining industry are not being met.

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In a telephone news conference with reporters, Bellringer said that the enforcement and compliance activities of the ministries of energy and mines and environment are not set up to protect the province from environmental risks.

Bellringer highlighted major gaps in the ministries, citing too few resources and insufficient staff.

She said the results were inadequate inspections of mines to ensure operators complied with requirements.

Fund short $1B Bellringer added that mining companies have not provided government with enough financial security deposits to cover potential reclamation costs if a firm defaults on its obligations. She said the fund is short more than $1 billion.

“We concluded the Ministry of Energy and Mines and Ministry of Environment compli-

South Asian youth wins National Wrestling Gold in Calgary

bbotsford’s Navdeep Toor continued his stellar year on the mat at the Asics Cadet / Juvenile National Wrestling Championships in Calgary on April 17.

Toor cleaned up in the juvenile 54 kilogram division at the event, winning all three matches he competed in.

He opened with an 11-0 win over Ontario’s Viduran Thanarajah, and then was scored on for the first time this season in round two. He beat Jacob Torres-Alexadner 14-3 to advance to the final, the only match that he has allowed points in this season. Toor then defeated Ontario’s Marco Palermo 10-0 to win the national title in his division.

“He dominated,” said Toor’s head coach Sucha Mann, who runs the Miri Piri Wrestling Club in Abbotsford. “The guy [Palermo] he beat in the final he has faced the last three finals and Navdeep has beat him every time. That guy dominates the rest of Canada but Navdeep has his number.”

Toor cut from 57 kg to 54 kg for the event, and Mann said he looked faster and comfortable at the weight. According to Mann, coaches from other clubs were impressed with Toor’s efforts, and there is considerable interest

from post secondary schools for the Grade 11 Rick Hansen Secondary Schoolstudent.

“People are keeping an eye on him,” he said.

Toor previously won gold medals at the nationals in his division in both 2014 and 2015.

He also earned a bronze medal at the PanAm Games last summer, and has won several regional and provincial tournaments.

More recently, he won his division at the BC high school wrestling championships in March.

Toor has several tournaments lined up in the U.S. later this year, and will continue training several times a week at the club.

Miri Piri also had two other medal winners from the event, with Pritpaul Johal winning bronze in the boys 50 kg division, and Gurleen Kaler earning bronze in the 70 kg girls division.

Johal opened with a 7-0 win over Sam Patton, but then fell to eventual gold medal winner Patrik Leder 8-4 in round two. He then posted a 9-2 victory over Samuel Jean and a 10-0 win over Nicolae Gandrabura to place third.

ance and enforcement activities of the mining sector are inadequate to protect the province from significant environmental risk,” she said.

“Almost all of the expectations for a robust compliance and enforcement program were not met.”

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Mines Minister Bill Bennett said he accepts Bellringer’s recommendations and the ministry is on its way to implementing a total of 43 recommendations from combined reports, linked to the Mount Polley disaster.

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Vancouver bans floating billboards

ancouver city councillors approved a staff report Tuesday that recommends a bylaw amendment banning most floating signs larger than one square meter, including electronic ones. The report recommends the city now take the issue to public hearings. Earlier this year, Burke Billboards began cruising around False Creek with a 12-metre electronic billboard in early March, leading to several complaints that the display was “crass.” The vessel was temporarily detained by Transport Canada be-

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cause it wasn’t properly registered as commercial, but then returned to operation.

Oceans fall under federal jurisdiction.

The incident led to a report by city staff recommending the municipality change its bylaw.

Burke Billboards April 18 Burke Billboards’ floating electronic billboard was again seen on False Creek, April 18.

The amended bylaw would specifically prohibits floating signs in all zones, except small ones under one square metre, “to allow limited promo-

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Burnaby high-rise evacuated after fire breaks out

highrise apartm e n t in Burnaby was evacuated this morning after a fire broke out on the 20th floor.

Fire officials on scene said the fire broke out sometime before 2:30 a.m. at an apartment on Douglas Road, when some material caught fire on the balcony on the 20th floor.

A man directs residents as they return

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to their homes inside the building early Wednesday morning.

At least a hundred residents were standing outside for nearly an hour as crews fought the small fire and cleaned up inside. The residents were let back in to the building just before 3:15 a.m.

No one was injured in the incident, and the cause is currently under investigation.

2 arrested in White Rock drug bust

wo people are in custody after a possible synthetic drug lab bust in White Rock. As part of an ongoing investigation, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia executed a search warrant on a house in the 800-block of Parker Street around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. A 46-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman were arrested inside the house, where officers also found substances

and paraphernalia indicative of what they believe to be an illegal synthetic drug lab.

The RCMP’s Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement and Response Team (CLEAR), a federal police unit specializing in dismantling drug laboratories, was called in to process the contents found inside the house.

Charges have not been laid, and it is not believed that there is any risk to the public.

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RCMP find 500 firearms with expired registrations

urrey RCMP is safeguarding 500 firearms and 3,000 rounds of ammunition after visiting licensed owners whose registrations for their prohibited and restricted guns expired more than a decade ago.

Most of the people visited last month asked police to hold on to the guns “while they complete the proper requirements needed to re-register their firearms,” Sgt. Alanna Dunlop said Wednesday.

Those owners will have 90 days to get the paperwork started or they’ll lose the firearms permanently.

“Approximately 50 unwanted firearms were turned over to officers and ownership relinquished to police,” Dunlop said.

Surrey RCMP began working on the Safe City Project last fall and scheduled visits between April 4 and 22 after compiling data on gun owners who had not re-registered their firearms by 2003, after the federal government brought in a new system to do so. RCMP Asst. Commissioner Bill Fordy said he “recognizes there are many reasons why gun owners may have let their firearms registration lapse, including not even realizing they are expired.”

“The vast majority of firearm owners in our city are compliant with the laws. The intent of the Safe City project is not to penalize gun owners, but to educate those with expired registrations on the legal requirements to own a firearm,” Fordy said.

“This project contributed to our overall goal of improving public and officer safety and reducing the number of unregistered firearms in Surrey.”

Dunlop said officers found many of the firearms were being stored improperly, “increasing the potential for them to fall into the wrong hands.”

She said some of the guns had been passed from a dead family member to others “with little to no knowledge about their status or the registration requirements.”

Both the National Weapon Enforcement Support Team and the anti-gang Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit worked with Surrey RCMP on the project.

“It is a fact that the majority of gun related crimes in our communities are committed with guns that are domestically-sourced,” said Insp. Chris McBryan of the national support team.

April in Vancouver hottest on record

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Surrey residents upset with plans to rezone properties near Green Timbers forest

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hat was the message city council heard from speakers who voiced opposition at a public hearing this week concerning a city application to rezone roughly five hectares of what used to be provincial land adjacent to the 183-hectare (425-acre) Green Timbers Urban Forest, which has second-growth forest, wetlands, a lake, meadows and nature

trails. The property was sold to Surrey in 2014. Council will vote next Monday, May 9, on amending the OCP bylaw to redesignate the forested site — at 9900 140 St. and 14150 Green Timbers Way — from mixed employment to multiple residential. The bylaw would also rezone the site from one-acre residential to comprehensive development to permit institutional, civic, medical and government-related offices, residential uses, a care facility, emergency shelter, transitional housing, offices, a bio-energy facility, parking, retail stores and restaurants to be developed there.

The two properties at the northeast corner of Green Timbers Way and 140th Street are bounded but Green Timbers Park to the north, RCMP E-Division headquarters to the east, the Jim Pattison Outpatient Clinic to the south and multiple residential developments to the west, across 140th Street.

Don Schuetze, president of Green Timbers Heritage Society, was met with applause when he said the forest should instead be declared part of Green Timbers Forest.

“It’s difficult to argue against care facilities, transitional housing and the other uses that are being mentioned here,” he told council.

“They’re necessary causes, and if it was any other space I’d be embarrassed to even question it. But Green Timbers is special, it’s unique, and it is threatened.”

He asked, “Is this the best use of this space for the long term?”

The audience laughed when Schuetze noted the irony that one of the proposed uses for this site is a bio-energy facility, “to clear forested land for a green industry.”

Once “dug over,” he told council, the forest can never be brought back. “It can’t be picked up and moved to another part of Surrey. It can’t be re-conceptualized and developed somewhere else. This is it.

“This could become Surrey’s Stanley Park,” he said, referring to it as an “incredible jewel” on the edge of Surrey’s downtown.

Schuetze said it’s difficult to tell where Green Timbers Park begins and ends in relation to the forest under this rezoning proposal.

“To most people this whole area is already a park,” he said.

“Perhaps a trained surveyor can see marks in the woods or something, but to most people this whole area is already a park.”

Randi Overall, who has lived in a condo in the area for about 20 years, says a vote of approval will mean a lot more traffic in the area and that he’d rather see “greenery” than buildings.

“We have to have some greenery instead in North Surrey, instead of buildings.”

to those who basked in the mild weather all month, but April in Vancouver was the hottest on record since 1937 — when record-keeping began. Cherry blossoms were in full bloom during the warmest month of April The average temperature for this past month was 11.8 C, with a peak of 24.4 C, according to Environment Canada. Normally the Vancouver average temperature in April is 9.4 C. This April was also the driC.S.T. Consultants Inc. est in the city since 2004.

On average, Vancouver receives 88.1 millimetres of rain during the month of April, but this year, that number was only 24.2 millimetres.

These conditions weren’t isoStart saving for your child’s future lated to just the South Coast. education in a Registered Education “The northern half of the province, Savings Plan (RESP) and receive up to we’ve seen drier than normal condi$8,400 in government grants.1 tions for this time of year. At times Open a CST RESP now and you’ll start receiving the it’s been warmer than average as well,” said fire information officer Ryan TurCanada Education Savings grant (CESG). The CESG cot with the B.C. Wildfire Service. can add up to $7,200 to your child’s RESP. It’s led to an early start to the wildWhen your child turns six, they can receive an fire season, with the first flames additional $1,200 from the B.C. Government. being fought as early as March.

“It’s not entirely unprecedented for Open a CST RESP today! fires to start this early, but it’s certainly not the norm either,” said Turcot.

Surjit S. Madhopuri Temperatures across the province are Branch Manager C.S.T. Consultants Inc. Branch 888 forecast to cool slightly over the next (604) 377- 4171 / (604) 594 - 7200 several days with a frontal wave ushsurjit.madhopuri@cstresp.com ering in the possibility of showers. http://www.cstresp.com/6117 The clash of weather systems 1 The Canada Education Savings Grant matches 20% of the first $2,500 you contribute to your child’s RESP each year up to a lifetime maximum of kicked off with a loud clap of thun$7,200. BC Training and Education Savings Grant (BCTESG) is a one-time $1,200 grant available to BC resident children born on or after January 1st, der Monday night that had many 2007. Children are eligible for the BCTESG on their sixth birthday. You have until the day before your child’s ninth birthday to apply for the BCTESG. Conditions apply.

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16 i Saturday, May 7, 2016

LOCAL

Adrian Dix’s complaint leads to energy regulator inquiry into BC Hydro IT spending

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he province’s independent energy regulator has ordered an inquiry into allegations BC Hydro misled regulators about a massive internal computer project worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The inquiry order, issued by the B.C. Utilities Commission on Tuesday, could force senior Hydro executives to testify publicly under oath about why the Crown power corporation chose certain IT software and whether it has been fully truthful about its spending.

The decision is a result of a complaint made by NDP critic Adrian Dix, who accused Hydro in a December letter of lying to the BCUC about how it selected an IT software package called SAP, which he said has subsequently resulted in millions of cost overruns and years of delays.

“What it shows is the strength of both my complaint and my main concern, which is that BC Hydro intentionally and over a period of years

misled the commission,” Dix said Tuesday.

“They’ve admitted to part of that, but the consequences of that, the failure of IT spending at BC Hydro, and the contempt for public process under the Liberal government that BC Hydro has shown will be fully exposed at that public inquiry.”

Hydro portrayed the decision as a victory, saying the regulator may have ordered a review, but it also decided not to lay charges against Hydro under the utilities act.

“We’re pleased with this decision as it concludes the allegations that we had misled the commission are not warranted,” said spokesman Steve Vanagas.

“The commission has also accepted our recommendation to undertake a fact-finding review, which we believe will increase understanding and awareness of our important IT investments.”

Langley fire displaces 7 residents

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even people were displaced after a fire broke out in their Langley home early Friday morning. The residents were woken up by the sound of explosions and popping, and safely escaped after seeing flames. “One of the daughters inside the house actually woke up, came outside and saw the fire, and obviously alerted the rest of the folks and they all evacuated quickly,” said Deputy Chief Russ Jenkins.

Crews arrived around 2 a.m. to find large flames and thick smoke coming from the roof of the two-storey home on 90 Avenue.

Jenkins says the fire appeared to have started

from outside the garage, but quickly spread into the interior of the home.

‘A fair amount of damage’ “One of the residents had quite a number of things stored in the garage, there was a fairly heavy fire load in there from that,” he said.

“It’s a fair amount of damage … it’s gonna be a significant rebuild.”

A volunteer disaster assistance group is working to find a hotel for the residents, as the interior of the house was completely gutted by the fire.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Jenkins said it’s hard to tell if it’s suspicious in nature.

Speaker of B.C. legislature warns children’s advocate of contempt of Parliament

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C ’ s Speaker of the Legislature has issued a rare warning to the Representative for Children and Youth, accusing her of contempt of Parliament for publicly releasing a report before it was tabled in the legislature. But the child watchdog has shot back, insinuating that the non-partisan Speaker’s office leaked confidential information about the report to the Ministry of Children and Family Development prior to its release. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond was “highly disrespectful” by releasing a child welfare report on her website last Thursday before the required practice of having the Speaker table it in the legislature, Speaker Linda Reid warned in the house and in a letter Tuesday.

“As an Officer of the Legislature, your decision to proceed with a premature disclosure of this report prior to a formal tabling in the Legislative Assembly was an egregious action, disrespectful and inconsistent with your position’s statutory reporting relationship with the Legislature and a contempt of Parliament,” Reid wrote.

The extraordinary public rebuke didn’t sit well with Turpel-Lafond, who said she tried to get her report – which criticized the ministry’s recent handling of a review by retired deputy Bob Plecas – introduced into the House, only to hear at the last minute it couldn’t be accommodated due to the morning question period schedule.

So Turpel-Lafond consulted a lawyer and decided to post it herself rather than wait. “This was one of those very rare circumstances where I wasn’t sure what was going on and I certainly felt somewhat stymied,” she said in an interview.

“I was also concerned that the report be made public and so I made the move to do that.”

To complicate matters, someone tipped off the Ministry of Children and Family Development about the sensitive report within minutes of the representative’s office first mentioning the document to the Speaker’s office on Tuesday, April, 26, said Turpel-Lafond. She said that leak could only have come from the Speaker’s office.

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Malaika Arora

Malaika Arora drops Khan from her name

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ccording to reports, Malaika Arora who recently separated from husband Arbaaz Khan (Salman Khan’s brother), has dropped surname Khan. A source was quoted saying, “Malaika lives with their son. All this while she was using Arbaaz’s surname and had never objected to it. But recently at an event when the host was about announce her entry on stage she apparently requested the organisers not to add Khan in her name.” Apparently, the host was bit surprised to know this as the organisers had provided the script with her full name.

Kangana, Amitabh receive the National Awards

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mitabh Bachchan and Kangana Ranaut received the National Award for Best Actor (Piku) and Best Actress (Tanu Weds Manu Returns) respectively, a short while ago. Big B was accompanied by his wife Jaya, daughter Shweta, son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai to the awards ceremony. This is the fourth time Amitabh has bagged the National Award, his previous wins being Agneepath (1990), Black (2005) and Paa (2009).

Kangana also attended the awards ceremony with her family, who were naturally elated with her win. The actress has also won the National Award twice before -- for Fashion (2008, Best Supporting Actress) and Queen (2014, Best Actress).

Salman Khan cheers for being India’s brand ambassador to Rio Olympics

Salman

Saturday - May 7, 2016

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ollywood superstar Salman Khan, despite having faced objection from several sports stars over his selection as India’s Goodwill Ambassador for Rio Olympics 2016, continues to encourage athletes Sandeep Sharma and OP Jaisha Salman Khan found himself in the middle of controversy after he was announced the Goodwill Ambassador of the Indian Contingent for Rio Olympics 2016. Milkha Singh and Yogeshwar Dutt questioned the Indian Olympic Association’s decision and instead wanted a sportsperson to be announced as the ambassador. However, all these controversies seem to have not affected

the Bollywood star. The actor had recently celebrated the announcement on Abhinav Bindra as India’s Goodwill Ambassador for Rio Olympics.

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Bollywood

Yash Chopra’s bronze statue inaugurated

by Rani Mukerji

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he bronze statue of the late filmmaker, which weighs about 250 kilos, was inaugurated on Wednesday by his wife Pamela and daughter-in-law Rani Mukerji, said a statement from Yash Raj Films. Chopra, who opened a legacy of South Asian tourists flocking to Switzerland, loved to spend time in the country besides shooting his movies.

This statue is installed at the heart of In-

terlaken, inside the Kursaal area, near the Congress Centre which is a prime, popular spot with tourists.

Singer Mika Singh gets bail in 2015 slapgate case

Metropolitan Magistrate Sujit Saurabh granted bail to Mika Singh, 38, after he appeared before him. He was asked to furnish a personal bond of Rs.20,000 and surety of a like amount. “I am grateful to the Honbl’e court for granting me bail today.

I am a law abiding citizen and

always be one,” Mika tweeted later.

The court was hearing a private complaint filed by a doctor alleging that the singer slapped him during a live musical concert in Inderpuri area in New Delhi in April 2015.

Saturday, May 7, 2016 i 3 Bollywood New released Bollywood films Kareena, Karisma and Kapoor family

at Babita’s mother’s prayer meet

May 2016

Traffic Thriller, Director Rajesh Pillai Actors: Manoj Bajpai, Jimmy Shergill, Divya Dutta, Kitu Gidwani, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Sachin Khedekar

COD Kareena Kapoor Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and host of other family members offer their condolences at yesteryear actress Babita’s mother Barbara Shivdasani’s prayer meet in Bandra

Sushant Singh Rajput confirms break-up with Ankita

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ver since rumours of Sushant and Ankita calling it quits started doing the rounds, there were reports speculating the reason behind the couple ending their sixyear relationship; right from Ankita being an alcoholic to Sushant’s

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1920 London Thriller, Horror, Director : Tony D’Souza Actors: Sharman Joshi, Meera Chopra

Azhar

Biopic, Director : Tony D’Souza Actors: Emraan, Nargis Fakhri, Prachi Desai, Gautam Gulati, Huma Qureshi, Lara Dutta growing closeness to his co-stars.

The duo, however, never spoke about their relationship status in the public.

Amitabh had warned me about Jaya’s inconsistent nature: Amar Singh

few years ago politician Amar Singh and veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan shared a close camaraderie that extended to the latter’s family as well. However, the relationship soon soured with both parties going their separate ways. Now at a recently held press conference for the film Bhaouri, Amar Singh revealed a few unknown facts about their now tatter relations.

When quizzed about Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s involvement in the Panama Papers, Singh stated, “I have

Comedy, Thriller, Director Tinu Suresh Desai Actors: Sharman Joshi, Meera Chopra

made public vows in Baraily two days ago.

As far as Aishwarya is concerned, she has always given me utmost respect and Abhishek has not uttered a single word against me. I don’t have any issue with Amitabh Bachchan. He actually warned me not to accept Jaya Bachchan in my political field considering her inconsistent nature and habits. But I did not adhere to his noble advice. He also warned me that she is very inconsistent in her ways so don’t expect any consistency as far as she is concerned.

Bollywood

4 i Saturday, May 7, 2016

Horoscope Libra

Aries

Sept. 24 - Oct 22

March 21 - April 20 You have so many great things to offer, but you don’t have many takers in the beginning of the week. Should you change your approach? Take a closer look at your romantic idol to see how he or she is doing it and then emulate that style. It isn’t easy to get to the heart of the matter with someone new over the weekend, but trivial conversations aren’t cutting it. Delve more deeply.

Taurus

Get out there and enjoy life without worrying about finding someone to spend your life with. The more pressure you put on yourself in the beginning of the week, the harder it will be to find someone compatible. You have a lot of great qualities and they’ll be on center stage over the weekend. Although you’ll probably be inundated with date invitations, there’s only a select few who catch your eye.

Don’t waste your time on maybe.

Scorpio

April 21 - May 20

Oct 23 - Nov 22

Everyone goes through times like these. You aren’t the only one feeling lonely, so there is no reason to spend all your time alone. Invite some of your single friends over to commiserate with a good meal and an episode or two of your favorite romantic reality show! You feel the love over the weekend, but it might not be coming from your preferred source. You can afford to be patient.

Gemini

May 20 - June 21

Do you have a five-year agenda for your love life? It’s OK to be spontaneous some of the time, but you have to do some planning ahead if you want the long-term partner and the white picket fence. You like to put potential dates through a rigorous course of questions at the end of the week, but do you really have to drill each person before going out on one date? It looks like trust is still an issue.

Sagitarius

Is too much of a good thing really a good thing? When it comes to flirting, perhaps the answer is yes. You love the attention you’ve been getting from a special someone, but you might be growing tired of it in the beginning of the week.

Let this person know it’s time to either move to the next level or stop altogether. Spontaneously accepting an invitation may result in regret later in the week. Is it too late to cancel?

Nov 23 - Dec 22

Instead of wallowing in self-pity, learn from your mistakes. There’s a reason you are feeling being lost, and whether or not it was your fault, the start of the week offers some valuable insight. How do you want to proceed? The future is up to you. Important love life later in the week, and people you know can offer some good advice. Try to keep an open mind.

Cancer

June 22 - July 23

Do you have time for love? Are you really too busy or is it just an excuse? Take some time in the beginning of the week to figure out where your romantic priorities fall among the other things on your lifetime to-do list. Helping other people over the weekend could lead to a new romantic prospect, especially if you volunteer to work on a community project.

The sea is vast, so why limit yourself to one type of fish?

Leo

June 24 - August 23

August 24 - Sept 24 Are your words loaded? Take care with what you say and who you say it to in the beginning of the week. You never know who might be listening! You aren’t the sharing type in the middle of the week, especially when it comes to emotions. You might not feel like you know someone well enough to open up, but you have to start somewhere. Sharing one personal detail about yourself shouldn’t be too painful, so start with that.

Capricorn Dec 23 - Jan 20

Stand out from your dating peers. If you have a special talent, make sure it’s on display when you feel like you’re in romantic competition with someone else. Traveling offers you some very interesting dating prospects over the weekend, and you don’t have to be far from home to feel carefree and glamorous. Let loose for a change.

Your love life can improve when you decide to be a little less guarded.

Aquarius

What are you looking for in a prospective date? Are you expecting too much? Lowering your standards a tad isn’t necessarily a bad thing in the beginning of the week. You can have a lot of fun with someone even though the match may not have long-term potential.

It’s easy to look around at your committed friends and feel like you’re missing out on something, but being single has its share of advantages, too. Celebrate that fact over the weekend.

Virgo

Kalki Koechlin groped outside National Awards ceremony

Jan 21 - Feb 19 What’s missing from your love life? You have a chance to fill in some gaps in the first part of the week, but you have to be willing to be more vulnerable than usual. You’re provided with an excellent learning opportunity later in the week when you encounter someone who isn’t quite as mature or experienced as you, and you don’t mind taking on the role of teacher. Be sure you finish one lesson before moving on to another.

Pisces

Feb 20 - March 20 Are you asking something of another person that you aren’t even willing or capable of doing for yourself? Try to be as fair as possible in the beginning of the week. Love is hard enough without changing the rules. Getting out of the friend zone isn’t easy over the weekend, but it is possible. It might be better to move quickly. You could lose your nerve if you go too slowly.

I

t was a proud moment for Kalki Koechlin when she collected her Special Jury Award at the 63rd National Awards ceremony in Delhi (on Tuesday) for her performance in Margarita, With A Straw. But what should have been her day in the sun quickly turned into a living nightmare. When the awards ceremony wrapped up, Kalki stepped out of Vigyan Bhavan to make her way towards her car. Now, it was the time for the security team to do their job.

Strangely, they moved ahead to escort Amitabh Bachchan and Kanga-

na Ranaut but not Kalki (whether the security personnel were being professional or plain star-struck is a question for another day). The next thing that Kalki knew was that she was being mobbed. With no security around to help her, things turned worse when the actress was groped. An infuriated Kalki somehow managed to break free and rushed inside. While the actress first contemplated filing a police complaint, she eventually decided against it. However, she did rush to the organisers and complained about the unfortunate incident.

Finally! Honey Singh reveals his battle with bipolar disorder, and his alleged tiff with SRK

S

inger-rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh who recently opened up about his 18 month battle with bipolar disorder, shares that he wanted to spread awareness about the illness. The singing sensation further terms the period to be “the darkest period of his life”. Talking about the present Yo Yo Honey Singh says, “I am out and feeling good” Yo Yo confesses that his celebrity friends had asked him not to make his illness public, but he did so because he considers himself the property of his fans. “I am not my own property; I am not my parents’ property. I am my fans’

property. I want to tell everyone how this thing captures you and kills you everyday. I don’t want this to happen to anybody,” he says.

Bollywood personalities’ birthdays ANUSHKA SHARMA MAY 1

SATYAJIT RAY MAY 1

RABINDERNATH TAGORE MAY 3

TRISHNA KRISHNAN MAY 4

Saturday, May 7, 2016

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6 i Saturday, May 7, 2016

Bollywood

Bollywood

Saturday, May 7, 2016

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Katrina replaces Deepika to star in Salman Khan’s ‘Kabir Khan’ for a film. This time, it was Kabir Khan who was getting them on board for his next period film titled Tubelight. But then, Dippy played spoilsport and decided to opt out of the film. Now, Kabir has found a replacement. Buzz is that Katrina has been finalised to replace Deepika in the Kabir Khan directorial.

Deepika was reportedly unhappy with her role and wanted Kabir to increase her portions in the film.

But Kabir doesn’t like altering his scripts according to actor’s demands hence he refused to budge.

venkyshanky23@yahoo.com

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Katrina

WALK OF FAME! WALK OF FAME! WALK OF FAME!

eepika Padukone and Salman Khan were finally all set to come together

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8 i Saturday, May 7, 2016

SELF driving

vehicles

A

lphabet Inc’s Google unit and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV have agreed to work together to build a fleet of 100 selfdriving minivans in the most advanced collaboration to date between Silicon Valley and a traditional carmaker, the companies said Tuesday.

The deal marks the first time that Google has worked directly with an automaker “to integrate its self-driving system, including its sensors and software, into a passenger vehicle,” the companies said in a statement on Tuesday.

Google and Fiat Chrysler engineers will work together to fit Google’s autonomous driving technology into the Pacifica minivan. Some engineers for both companies will work together at a facility in Southeast Michigan, where Fiat Chrysler has its major North American engineering centre, the companies said.

Google said it is not sharing proprietary self-driving vehicle technology with Fiat Chrysler, however, and the vehicles will not be offered for sale to the public.

The agreement between Google and Fiat Chrysler comes as rival technology and auto companies are accelerating efforts to master the complex hardware and artificial intelligence systems required to allow vehicles to pilot themselves.

General Motors Co in March agreed to acquire San Francisco selfdriving car startup Cruise Automation . German automakers Daimler AG, BMW AG and Volkswagen

F

The right impression

Alphabet’s Google, Fiat Chrysler have agreed to build a fleet of self-driving vehicles together AG last year bought digital mapping company HERE to accelerate their autonomous driving development.

Some features already available on mass market cars, SUVs and trucks take steps in the direction of replacing a human driver, such as automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and automatic lane-keeping.

Some analysts said a self-driving minivan would make sense for testing the technology in a fleet of mass transit vehicles deployed in a controlled

hardware into the cars on their own.

Tuesday’s deal holds benefits for both companies. Fiat Chrysler has a net debt pile of 6.6 billion euros (US$7.6 billion). Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has been trying unsuccessfully for more than a year to convince reluctant rivals, including GM, to consider a merger to spread the rising costs of advanced safety and emissions technology.

Fiat Chrysler shares rose more than 2 per cent in after market trading after the Google agreement was announced.

“Boring old car makers need to figure out how to make this profitable…”

Google has said that it does not want to build

environment, such as a Google or Fiat Chrysler campus or a city center.

“Minivans fit into the transportation fleets easily,” said Karl Brauer, a senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book.

“They can be a box-on-wheels and can move more humans around.”

Google’s self-driving car engineers had previously purchased Lexus sport utility vehicles made by Toyota Motor Corp and retrofitted sensors and other

self-driving vehicles on its own and has explored alliances with auto companies, but none have been finalized. Working more closely with Fiat Chrysler could help Google refine its systems as a step toward offering them in regular production cars.

The deal does not preclude either FCA or Google from cooperating with others, the companies said in their statement.

“The opportunity to work closely with

Self-driving features could lead to more “It really needs to be emphasized that these vesex in moving cars, expert warns hicles are not truly self-

ederal bureaucrats are raising concerns about distracted driving in semi-autonomous cars that don’t require much input from the driver.

And at least one expert is anticipating that, as the so-called ‘smart’ cars get smarter, there will eventually be an increase in an unusual form of distracted driving: hankypanky behind the wheel.

‘I am predicting that, once computers are doing the driving, there will be a lot more sex in cars.’“I am predicting that, once computers are doing the driving, there will be a lot more sex in cars,” said Barrie Kirk of the Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence.

“That’s one of several things people will do which will inhibit their ability to respond quickly when the computer says to the human, ‘Take over.”’

Federal officials, who have been tasked with building a regulatory framework to govern driverless cars,

highlighted their concerns in briefing notes compiled for Transport Minister Marc Garneau soon after he took on the portfolio last fall.

“The issue of the attentive driver is ... problematic,” said one note contained in a stream of emails about Tesla’s so-called self-driving car.

“Drivers tend to overestimate the performance of automation and will naturally turn their focus away from the road when they turn on their auto-pilot,” said the note, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act. ‘Questionable prac-

tices’ with Tesla autopilot Indeed, the notes cite media reports of videos posted online showing Tesla drivers engaged in questionable practices, including reading a newspaper or brushing their teeth. Other videos show Tesla owners recording flaws in how the car’s autopilot system reacts to changes in road markings.

Tesla did not respond to requests for an interview, but the company makes clear that its autopilot feature gives cars only partial autonomy in order to make the car significantly more safe than those driven by humans alone.

Transport Canada hadn’t tested the Tesla, but had taken other semi-autonomous vehicles out for a spin, including the Mercedes C-Class and the Infiniti Q50, the documents show.

driving,” say officials, who predict that fully autonomous cars and trucks are “still a few years away.”

Current Canada motor vehicle safety standards don’t prohibit driverless vehicles on the country’s roadways.

But last month’s federal budget included money for Transport Canada to develop regulations around automated vehicle design.

Those regulations, at

least initially, would require that the vehicles are equipped with a “failsafe mechanism that can respond to situations when the driver is not available,” said the briefing notes.

FCA engineers will accelerate our efforts to develop a fully self-driving car that will make our roads safer and bring everyday destinations within reach for those who cannot drive,” John Krafcik, chief executive of the Google SelfDriving Car Project, said in a statement.

Collaborating with Google provides an opportunity for Fiat Chrysler “to partner with one of the world’s leading technology companies to accelerate the pace of innovation in the automotive industry,” Marchionne said in a separate statement.

The Fiat Chrysler vehicles will more than double Google’s testing fleet, which currently includes about 70 Lexus SUVs and small prototype cars designed by Google. Google is now testing selfdriving vehicles in four U.S. cities.

Executives at other automakers, including GM, Ford Motor and Daimler, have expressed wariness about alliances with Alphabet or other technology companies that could relegate them to the role of hardware suppliers.

John Elkann, Fiat Chrysler’s chairman, in April dismissed the idea that automakers must shoulder alone the burdens of heavy investments in automated driving or ride sharing. By 2030, Elkann said, fully self-driving cars will likely account for just 15 per cent of global sales.

“Boring old car makers need to figure out how to make this profitable and guard against falling into the … trap of ignoring that business while chasing profits in other parts of the value chain,” Elkann said.

Coupe Touring V6

H

onda Accord Coupe remains the only front-wheel-drive, mid-size coupe available on the market. It has outlived, among others, the Toyota Solara, Chrysler Sebring, Dodge Avenger Coupe, and, most recently, the Nissan Altima Coupe. In what was already a niche market, the Honda Accord Coupe can say it sits in a class all its own – a true living rarity. But the question remains: why? Why has the two-door version of Honda’s best-selling sedan continued to live on while other family sedan-based coupes have dropped like flies? And who, exactly, is buying this vehicle when other, more powerful rear-wheel-drive coupes could be had for similar money?

First introduced in 1990, the Accord Coupe found an audience, and continues to find an audience, as it offers the same comfortable driving experience as the sedan, but with the much sleeker, eye-friendly proportions of a two-door. The 2016 version stays true to the formula, with an emphasis on amped-up styling this year. Make no mistake, this is no bulbous Solara.

Auto

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Saturday, May 7, 2016

As it prepares for the Model 3: Two Tesla executives are leaving the company: report

wo top manufacturing executives are leaving Tesla Motors Inc., including the global head of production, at a time when the electric-car company is about to release its most important car: the massproduction Model 3. Greg Reichow, Tesla’s vice-president of production

and one of its highestpaid executives, and Josh Ensign, vice-president of manufacturing, will leave the company. A Tesla spokesperson confirmed both departures and said Reichow will remain until his replacement is found.

A person familiar with the situation who isn’t authorized to speak about the matter said the executive changes are linked

to delays, glitches, and a recall that have bedeviled Tesla’s Model X. Tesla denied any connection between the departures and production problems with its SUV. “This is not about the Model X,” said a Tesla spokesperson.

“After being at Tesla for over five years and leading its production team for the past three years, Greg

one of Tesla’s highest-compensated employees, making almost US$6.4 million in cash, stock and options in the last two years, according to company filings.

Tesla did not elaborate on Ensign’s plan to leave. “Greg and the team deserve a lot of credit for building an all-new manufacturing organization from the ground up and for making Model S and Model X a reality,” said Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk in an e-mail

Reichow has announced his intention to take a leave of absence from Tesla so that he can have a well-earned break.”

Apple Inc hires Tesla ’s former VP of vehicle engineering to head car project, report says Tesla’s Model 3 lives up to the hype with impressive set of features The latest highlevel personnel changes brings to five the total number of Tesla vice presidents who have left the company this year, and Reichow marks the biggest departure. He served as the leader of car production and had been

to Bloomberg.

“We’re confident that with the strength of the team, high-quality manufacturing at Tesla will continue.” In the same e-mail provided by Tesla, Reichow added: “My belief in Tesla’s ability to

Honda, Nissan lead t auto sales throughout the month in US

A

merica’s love of trucks and SUVs helped push most automakers to healthy sales gains last month as Honda and Nissan reported best-ever April sales. Ford posted record SUV sales, while Toyota broke a record for SUV and truck sales.

Honda led major automakers with a 14.4 per cent sales increase as both its cars and SUVs sold well, while Nissan’s sales rose 12.8 per cent. Fiat Chrysler was up 6 per cent on record Jeep sales, and Ford rode an April record for SUV sales to a 4 per cent increase.

Toyota sales rose 3.8 per cent largely because of the RAV4 small SUV, which broke a monthly record with sales up nearly 32 per cent.

Only General Motors and Volkswagen saw sales declines, with GM blaming a 3.5 per cent drop on a strategy of cutting low-profit sales to rental car companies.

VW sales fell almost 10 per cent as its emissions scandal continued. Sales have tumbled nearly 12 per cent for the year.

Ford said it sold more than

65,000 SUVs, the best April in company history, led by the Explorer with a 22 per cent increase. At Nissan, cars and SUVs pushed sales up, while Fiat Chrysler was led by a 17 per cent increase in sales of Jeep SUVs. It was FCA US LLC’s best April since 2005.

“The industry had its strongest April in more than 10 years, possibly a best-ever month,” said Bill Fay, general manager of the Toyota Division.

Analysts expect U.S.

sales of new cars and trucks to be up 4 per cent over last April when companies are done reporting figures on Tuesday. Car-buying site Edmunds.com predicts April sales of more than 1.51 million, beating the previous record for the month set in 2005.

The strong showing for April — traditionally a month

of calm before the hot summer selling season — indicates that 2016 could be another record year for the U.S. auto industry, said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds’ di-

rector of industry analysis.

U.S. auto sales hit a record of 17.5 million last year.

As sales reach those historic peaks, however, the overall pace of growth is slowing. Two years ago, for example, April sales jumped 8 per cent, or double last month’s expected pace.

J.D. Power and Associates predicted that April sales this year would run at an annual rate of 17.6 million.

For now, the sales outlook is still mostly sunny.

Consumers are on track to spend more than $36.9 billion on new vehicles in April, surpassing the previous record for the month set last year, according to J.D.

E

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successfully deliver great cars and inspire the world to drive electric remains as strong as ever.” While Tesla described Reichow’s exit as a leave of absence — and other executives have left and rejoined — the company also said Reichow will be involved in handing off his responsibilities to a successor to ensure interrupted production. The unlaunch of Tesla’s Model X, which Reichow helped oversee, was marred by delays.

Musk has publicly taken responsibility for what he described as engineering “hubris” that packed too many new features into the first version of the SUV, including the double-hinged “falcon-wing” doors and mono- post seats. The Model X was delayed by more than 18 months, following missed launch dates for previous models. Several thousand of the earliest Model X vehicles were recalled over problems with the seats.

Hybrid and fullyelectric cars

lectric vehicle registrations are surging in BC, fuelled by hefty provincial incentives, improved technology and desirable packaging.

But the overall number of hybrid and fully-electric cars on the road remains low, relative to their gas and diesel-powered counterparts, and that could come down to lingering fear over drained batteries.

Since 2011, the province has committed about $31 million to help build charging stations and make electric vehicles more affordable to buyers.

In that year, just 160 electric vehicles and another 22,000 hybrids were registered in the province, according to the Insurance Corp. of B.C. Since then, electric and hybrid vehicles have infiltrated the lineups of major manufacturers, from Ford and Toyota to Mercedes and Porsche. Some electric or hybrid vehicles — including the Chevrolet Volt, one of the grand prizes at the Vancouver International Auto Show this year — are on their second or subsequent generation. Meanwhile, Tesla’s fully-electric Model S has become one of the most attractive cars on the road.

By the end of 2015, there were 3,200 electric cars registered in the province, a 1,900 per cent increase in just four years. Hybrids also jumped 63 per cent in that time to 36,000, according to ICBC records.

While the growth is impressive, the overall count relative to conventional autos is less so. Electric and hybrid vehicles account for less than two per cent of B.C.’s 2,297,000 registered passenger ve-

hicles on the road in 2015.

Kelly Carmichael was one of the first people to own a fully electric vehicle in the province. He got his Nissan Leaf in 2011 and has since put about 115,000 kilometres on the car in his daily commute from his home in Surrey to the B.C. Institute of Technology in Burnaby.

Carmichael said he thought some people might still be reluctant to try out all-electric vehicles.

“People are just barely becoming familiar with hybrids and starting to trust (that) technology,” Carmichael said in an interview. “It’s closer to what they’re doing, so they don’t have to change their behaviour to use a hybrid.”

The change in behaviour demanded by electric vehicles comes down to charging and range. But both of those factors are getting easier all the time.

When Carmichael got his Leaf, there was no charging network and vehicle users found one another on Facebook to help each other out.

“Initially it was: ‘Do you mind if I come over and charge at your place if I ever need to?’”

There are now hundreds of charging stations in B.C. “It’s come a long ways. It was very difficult to make plans to go anywhere. Going out to Chilliwack meant that you would probably be there overnight because there was no charging, and of course coming back would be hard to do in a single day.”

Fear of running out of juice partway through a trip is one of the most prevalent concerns about electric vehicle technology.

10 i Saturday, May 7, 2016

Classifieds JOBS

JOBS

JOBS

“Vacancy for Stock Supervisor

Optical Store Manager

A1doors and mouldings, located at 12625 – 80th Avenue Surrey, BC, V3W 3A6 has an immediate vacancy of Stock Supervisor Term of employment : Full time, Permanent with 35 to 40 hours per week Salary : $18/hour Job duties : To supervise and coordinate activities of stock staff, plan and organize the display of stock in the showroom, identify outdated & defective stock, ensure orders are executed & delivered in time, maintain inventory and order merchandise, prepare periodic inventory reports, assign duties to stock clerks, providing stock clerk with the training, information, guidance encouragement &recognition needed to meet expectation, investigating, resolving & escalating customer issues as appropriate.

Requires : Completion of secondary school with one year of related experience.

If interested please send resumes by email at resume@a1doors.ca”

Clear Cool Optical - 2450 McCallum Raod, Abbotsford, BC, Canada, V2S 6R9 For details check website: http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/jobposting.do?id=19833072 - ---------------- Apr 23 2016

safe environment at home, keep record of day-to-day activities, health and progress of children.

Send resumes by email at balwinderssinghmaar@gmail.com

Knowledge of Urdu and asset.

Hourly wage $17.00 per hour. 40 hours per week. Contact Pasha at 604 593 7323 or send resume at anwarpasha786@hotmail.com

JOBS

required at:

Vacancy for In-home Caregiver

Balwinder Singh Singhmaar, resident of 15095 92Ave, Surrey, BC V3R 5V8 has a vacancy for Inhome Child caregiver for infant child and 9 years old son. Full Time, $11 / hour, 40 hrs/week.

Applicant must have high school with minimum of one year of related experience within last three years or six months of full time training in caregiving.

Job Duties includes Supervise and care for children, prepare formulas and change diaper of infant, feeding, bathing, dressing, prepare children for rest period, escort child to school, prepare and serve nutritious meal and snacks, accompany to and from activities & appointments, light housekeeping, laundry, maintain

Required urgently for beauty salon in Burnaby We have a great opportunity to add a new member to our team. We are looking for someone who is professional and confident in there waxing and threading skills. Our salon has an amazing reputation in these services and would love the right professional for the job.

Please message for more info.

604-723-7553

-------------- Oct 31 2015

Baker / Sweet Maker wanted

Nirala Sweets and Restaurant in Surrey BC needs fully qualified Pakistani style Baker/Sweet maker (Mithai). Responsibilities will include Sweet making for retail and banquets, training of employees, labour & food cost control and supervision. Must have at least three years experience as a Pakistani Baker. Knowledge of Urdu an asset. ourly salary $15.50/hr. Contact Pasha 604 593 7323 or send resume at anwarpasha786@hotmail.com --------------- Jan 23 2016

Cook for Pakistani cuisine wanted

Nirala Sweets and Restaurant in Surrey BC needs experienced chef for Halal Northern Pakistani style dishes. Must be expert in making kababs and tandoori dishes. Must be able to handle halal meats. Responsibilities will include menu design and planning, cooking for individual customers and banquets, training of employees, labour & food cost control and supervision of kitchen staff. Must have at least 3 years experience as a Pakistani cook.

---------------- Jan 23 2016

Perfect Space corner unit available for office

Descriptions: Perfect Space corner unit with gorgeous view for Law office, as this corner on 72nd and 120th Street, has lots of traffic, with numerous medical doctors and all the top five major banks in the area. There is no law office presence in the vicinity. Perfect opportunity for a law office to provide ICBC claims, and/or solicitor services to the financial area. Whether an exisiting law office looking for a satellitespace, or new lawyers wanting to establish their presence in this busy area.

Please phone 604 581 8400 for Shahin Soheili Managing Director Sutton Group or email: shahin@sutton.com

---------------- April 16 2016

Need Janitorial Helpers

Surrey Janitorial Services urgently require helpers for Surrey and Abbotsford and Vancouver.

Experience not a requirement but will be preferred. Please call 778-859-9234 ------------------- Feb 06 2016

Matrimonial

Parents are looking a suitable match for their Indian 31 year old divorced daughter , fair complexions, 5.5” tall, well educated. All family is well settled in Canada.

Call 778-322-5242 Cell phone Technician “Mobile Zone Communication Inc., located at 123-9855 Austin Road, Burnaby, BC V3J1N4, has immediate 2 vacancies for Cell phone Technician for two different locations. One vacancy for 123-9855 Austin Road, Burnaby BC V3J 1N4 and one vacancy for Brentwood Town Centre 4567 Lougheed Hwy, Burnaby, BC V5C 3Z6. Full time, permanent positions with 35-40 hours per week, $31/hour.

Job Duties include: Perform Inspection,Testing, Diagnose and Troubleshoot smart phone and other mobile devices; Disassemble the device to install, remove, repair or replace defective parts; Perform high quality repairs and refurbishment of phones/cell phones/tablets; Ensure all repair meets quality standards; Monitor parts inventory and inform management of status; Accurately document repairs and parts informa-

Basement for Rent

One bed room basement suite is available for rent from 1st of January 2016. Rent $ 600 including utility & internet .

Walking distance to Bell Centre, Elementary & High School and Gurdwara Dukh Nivaran Sahib. Call 778-628-4473

To PLACE YOUR AD IN THE ASIAN STAR CLASSIFIEDS Section Please

Call: 604-591-5423

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Community News “Sanskriti Cultural Awareness Society of BC” invites you with your family and friends to a specially designed evening, full of laughter and humor to celebrate Holi a festival of joy, happiness and participation with legendary poets from India and North America coming to make everybody laugh and giggle. Program would be followed by dance and a lavish dinner. This is an family event. For queries contact: Janardan Pandey Prachand at 604-889-2204 , Sanjeev Sharma at 604 767 4366 Sanskriti Cultural Awareness Society of BC 15165 91Ave, Surrey BC V3R 1B6 PH: 604 767 4366 E:mail: humarisanskrit2@gmail.com www.humarisanskriti.ca

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Don’t give fraudsters an extra “tax” this season With March being Fraud Prevention Month and residents making final preparations to their tax returns, the Surrey RCMP is reminding residents to be extra vigilant when it comes to protecting their personal and financial information.

As frauds involving the Canada Revenue Agency are on the rise not only in Surrey but across the country, tax season is prime time for fraudsters to prey on unsuspecting victims. Residents need to be vigilant if they receive fraudulent communications from these agencies and report it to authorities immediately if they suspect they are a victim.

“This time of year serves as a good reminder for residents to check their mail regularly when sensitive financial and personal information may be arriving daily in your mailbox,” says Surrey RCMP Corporal Scotty Schumann.

“If criminals are able to access this information they can fraudulently use it to gain access to bank accounts, apply for loans and credit cards, or engage in criminal activity that ultimately becomes associated to you.”

Surrey RCMP has also noticed a trend in fraudulent telephone calls claiming to be from debt collectors for unpaid phone, cable, hydro, or other utility bills.

Most of the reports involve complainants who have lost their wallets or purses within the last year and have not reported it to authorities. Scams like this are

good reminders to cancel and replace all important cards once lost and to routinely check your credit report to ensure you are not a victim of identity theft.

Another scam that residents should be aware of that is making the rounds locally is the “black” or “white” money scam. This sophisticated counterfeit scheme comes in multiple forms but usually involves currency that on initial appearance has no colour but can apparently be washed with a chemical that makes it a legitimate bank note. In most cases, the victims are usually conned into making an initial investment into this counterfeit money with the promise of large returns.

“Surrey is a very diverse community that includes many residents who are new to Canada,” says Cpl. Schumann.

“Unfortunately those who are unfamiliar with how our institutions and businesses operate can be more susceptible to these frauds. We ask that residents take this opportunity to discuss these recent fraud trends with family members who may not be aware.”

For more information on fraud prevention please visit the Scams & Fraud page on our website. If your business or community group would like to host an info session on fraud prevention please contact the Surrey RCMP’s Economic Crime Unit at 604-5990502. If you are the victim of a fraud, please contact your local police and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre online or at 1-888-495-8501.

------------------------------------Train-the-Trainer workshop for Hepatitis and other communicable diseases at PICS, Surrey Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society (PICS) is hosting Train-the-Trainer Workshop for Healthcare Providers to make them aware about Hepatitis C and other related communicable diseases in high risk Immigrant ethnic communities.

PICS is part of the Sexually Transmitted Infections and Tuberculosis Coinfections project undertaken by Canadian Ethnocultural Council, Ottawa and will provide training in the Metro Vancouver region. In Canada, STIs and TB continue to be public health concerns, however; very little information is available on the prevalence of these diseases in the selected ethnic populations and

T

hat’s right, we’re ready to unveil the our fabulous 12th annual City of Bhangra Festival lineup. From June 11-18, VIBC brings you the the BIGGEST bhangra Festival in North America, with events for everyone in the beautiful cities of Surrey and Vancouver. Highlights include crowd-pleasers from past years (such as Bhangra on Main and Downtown Bhangra, with two days of free LIVE performances by dozens of outstanding local and international bhangra teams and performers outside the VAG), plus some some hot NEW events guaranteed to get you dancing! From our “Crash An Indian Wedding” kickoff party, to a “Where Not To Do Bhangra” comedy/ burlesque night, to workshops for youth and club nights in unexpected places, we promise you 8 days and nights of pushing buttons and pushing boundaries through bhangra like you’ve never seen before. Three Festival must-sees are outlined below: for the FULL schedule of events, plus ticketing info and performer bios, check the VIBC website for more information. And stay tuned for more stars, events, and surprise performances TBA! Highlight #1 is our kickoff party on June 11: CRASH AN INDIAN WEDDING. No one’s actually getting hitched, but this is your big chance to put on your party clothes and dance the night away amidst the imagi-

therefore; appropriate training is a must.

What - Train-the-Trainer Workshop for Healthcare Providers Where – PICS Surrey, #20512725-80th Avenue, Surrey When October 7th 2015 at 10 am – 11:30- Who can attend – healthcare providers, settlement workers and community leaders.

For more information &

i 11

nary extravagance of an Indian wedding.

Forget your inhibitions: everyone’s welcome to slip on a shimmering saree or kurta, pile on the jewelry, join the “baraat” (traditional Indian wedding procession led by a brass band), and dance, dance, dance to the beats of the best wedding DJs in the city. We’ll even show you some moves if you’re feeling shy… you can trust our bhangra experts to make you look GOOD on the dance floor!

Look for more info to come on this lavish event, co-presented with Decibel Entertainment. Our second event is set to break ALL the rules — it’s a night of bhangra burlesque at the infamous Rio Theatre on June 12.

WHERE NOT TO DO BHANGRA brings you the best of Desi sketch comedy (think: I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Chicken), plus music, dance, and drag. Featuring a host of talented performers, this gender-bending, genre-skewing, culturally totally INappropriate night is adults only for sure, and not for the faint of heart!

Third on our short list of highlights is BHANGRA: SHE on June 16, a FREE workshop for youth featuring six fearless young women sharing their stories of struggle and achievement on the way to success. As gay and straight activists and educators, DJs and producers, actors, rappers, and filmmakers,

registration, please call 604-5967722 ext. 107.

Mosaic Networking Are you new to the country/ looking to meet new friends or seeking networking opportunities? You are invited! Refreshments will be served!

Mosaic Church meets on Saturday evening 6:30 pm in Surrey/Abbotsford.

12 i Saturday, May 7, 2016

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Vol. 6 No. 36

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Saturday - May 7, 2016

- Tel: 604-591-5423 -

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E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com

‘Unprecedented surge’ pushes Vancouver area house prices up 30% in one year

espite ongoing warnings from the CMHC that the Vancouver housing prices are overvalued and have outpaced the economic fundamentals in the city, they keep climbing. In the past year,

the benchmark price for a detached home in the region — not just the City of Vancouver itself — has climbed 30.1 per cent, to $1.4-million, according to new numbers from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. The “benchmark” price is a measure used by the board to describe what it calls a “typical property” in the market, taking into account bedrooms, lot size, and other factors, and is not an average or median price.

To put that in context, the median family income in the Vancouver metropolitan area is $73,390 — lower than the Canadian average, according to the latest census numbers available. Biggest growth in suburbs The highest benchmark price for a detached home is still Vancouver’s west side, at $3.2-million, which is up 172 per cent over ten years, and 28.4 per cent in the past year.

But the largest increases in house prices in the past year are outside Vancouver: Tsawwassen up 41 per cent to $1.16-million.

Richmond up 36.5 per cent to $1.5-million. Ladner up 35 per cent to $971,500.

Apartment and townhouse listings went up 20.6 and 22.1 per cent, respectively, in the past year in Greater Vancouver.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver covers Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Squamish, Whistler, Sunshine Coast, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, and South Delta.

The benchmark detached home price in the Fraser Valley also rose 30 per cent over the last year, to $776,500, according to the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.

That area includes Surrey, White Rock, Langley, North Delta, Abbotsford and Mission.

‘Unprecedented surge of demand’ The price increases are, not surprisingly, driven by a strong demand with not much supply.

There was a slight increase in residential listings last month, but not enough to keep up, said Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board president Dan Morrison in a release.

“While we’re seeing more homes list-

ed for sale in recent months, supply is still chasing this unprecedented surge of demand in our marketplace,” he said.

In April 2016, sales of all properties (not just detached homes) in Met4 i Saturday, July 25, 2015

ro Vancouver were 41.7 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month.

Meanwhile, the total number of properties currently listed in Metro Vancouver is down 38.3 per cent from last year.

That means the sales-to-active listings ra-

tio — a measure analysts use take the temperature of a market — was 63 per cent in April 2016, the sign of a seller’s market.

Home prices tend to experience upward pressure when that ratio is just 20 or 22 per cent, according to the board.

14 i Saturday, May 7, 2016

CMHC says many major housing markets showing signs of overvaluation

cent in March, data from the Canadian Real Estate Association showed. Across the country, CanCMHC says most Canadian housing ada’s housing market set a record markets showing signs of overvaluation last month both in terms of prices anada’s national housing singled out in the agency’s last re- and demographic fundamentals.” — now up to $508,567, on average agency says nine of Can- port on housing in January. But the But the problem in Saskatoon, — and the volume of sales, CREA ada’s 15 largest housing latter two were only recently given meanwhile, is tied to recent down- said. Aside from overvaluation in markets are showing signs of being their red warning on overvaluation. pockets, the CMHC’s assessment overvalued. The Canada Mortsees little cause for concern nationgage and Housing Corporation ally. “Overheating and accelerasaid in its quarterly Housing Martion in house prices are not a conket Assessment Wednesday that a cern at this time,” the CMHC said. majority of Canada’s large housing markets are showing either “moderate” or “strong” evidence of being Property prices overvalued. The housing agency and housing crisis looks at housing markets to gauge their health based on four factors: in San Francisco?

The agency rates each market on By now, the high price of rent in and a colour coded scale where green around San Francisco has become at once a means there is little evidence of familiar lament and an easy punchline.Nine that factor, yellow means there is private islands that cost less than an apartmoderate evidence of it and red ment in the California tech capital; a year later, a local website found the same of five castles. means there is strong evidence of it.

Along with the cheeky comparisons came On the overvaluation front, the clever workarounds: a backyard tent in MounCMHC says there is moderate or tain View, a garage in Palo Alto, a refurbished strong evidence of that happening FedEx van at San Francisco University. in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, In October, The Washington Post even spoke with a Google engineer who has made Saskatoon, Regina, Hamilton, Tohis home in a truck at company headquarters. ronto, Montreal and Quebec City. In Vancouver’s case, the hous- ward revisions to the area’s popuWith the median rent for a one-bedFour of those cities — Toronto, ing agency said “Single-detached lation, which makes it harder to room apartment at $3,670 a month, the Quebec City, Vancouver and Sas- home prices are now observed to justify. House prices in the greater city’s housing crisis has pushed frugal rentkatoon — now show “strong” signs be at levels higher than those con- Saskatoon area declined 2.7 per ers to the edge of their comfort limits. of overvaluation. The first two were sistent with financial, economic

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Vancouver to look at impact of AirBNB on rentals

ancouver councillors are poised to direct an in-depth look into the impact short-term rental service AirBNB is having on the city’s stock of rental homes and apartments.

Councillor Geoff Meggs plans to introduce a motion in council Tuesday directing city staff to work with AirBNB and other services to collect data on how many units are being listed for short-ter m rentals and how often, according to a news release from the mayor’s office.

“Collecting the data on shortterm rentals is the first step to understanding its effects — both positive and negative — on our housing market, economy, and our residents,” he said.

With a vacancy rate of less than one per cent, prospective Vancouver renters are finding it hard to locate housing, and concern is growing that AirBNB could be contributing to that problem.

Murray Cox, a community activist in

New York who operates InsideAirbnb. com, recently calculated there were 4,728 Airbnb listings in Vancouver in December. About a third of those listings appear to belong to people who rent out multiple homes or rooms, he found.

Rentals of fewer than 30 days — without an appropriate business li-

cence — are now prohibited in the city, but staff only act on short-term rentals when they receive complaints.

Meggs’ motion directs staff to gather data, research options to mitigate negative effects of short-term rentals and look at steps other cities have taken on the issue.

Saturday, May 7, 2016

i 15

Lawsuit alleges 60 fell victim to shadow-flipping scam in Richmond

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lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court alleges that 60 property owners in Richmond fell victim to a shadow-flipping scam by a local realtor and his brokerage firm.

The suit, filed by brothers Kenneth and Jim Davis, states that in November 2010 the two men received a flyer at their mother’s residence on Jesmond Avenue from someone named Sunny stating that Sunny would be interested in buying the property.

The brothers, who were executors of their mother’s estate, phoned the number on the flyer and spoke to a man who identified himself as Sunny and spoke good English, the suit states.

They say they invited Sunny to their home, but the man who arrived didn’t speak English and brought along a realtor, a man named Alban Wang, to act as a translator.

The brothers ultimately accepted an offer for $860,000 and executed the contract of purchase and sale on Dec. 10, 2010, the writ states.

But in early February 2011, they learned through phone calls from other realtors that the property had been re-listed for sale presum-

ably under an assignment clause as a shadow flip, according to the suit.

Shadow flipping is a controversial practice in which a realtor or investor flips a property numerous times before a sale is closed, boosting the price as they go. In March, Premier Christy Clark vowed to crack down on the practice. “None of the defendants advised the plaintiffs that the property would be immediately flipped for sale at a much higher

purchase price,” says the Davis suit.

Davis believes their home may have been sold again for a price of up to $970,000 or up to a $110,000 profit.

None of the allegations have been proven in court and no statement of defence has yet been filed.

Named as defendants are Wang and his then-real estate brokerage firm, Sunrich Realty Ltd. trading as AmexSunrich Realty, as well as businessman Ze Yu Wu. The notice of civil claim says that as part of the scam, a boiler-plate operation allegedly

took place out of an office building near the corner of No. 3 Road. “Sunny was Wu at the seller’s meeting, but the person who identified himself as Sunny in the telephone calls was a person other than Sunny who was part of the scam,” says the writ. “It is estimated that there were over 60 property owners who fell victim to the scam.”

Wayne Ryan, Davis’s lawyer, said the case was an example of the lack of control real estate officials had on such transactions at the time and the lack of will to protect the public. The plaintiffs are seeking the difference between the $870,000 sale price and the profit made by the alleged shadow flip. They also want damages for breach of contract and breach of trust, and punitive damages.

Wang, who was suspended for two weeks by the Real Estate Council of B.C. in 2012 for failing to promptly pay deposits in 12 transactions to the brokerage firm, couldn’t be reached.

16 i Saturday, May 7, 2016

PREC

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A very rare opportunity to own a beautiful Parisian feel Salon/Café in Historic Abbotsford. Well established, with a loyal client following this beautiful establishment offers all day brunch, Lunch and Afternoon Tea. In addition, this beautiful café offers so much more! Reservations for Showers, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Special occasions and even Private Wedding ceremonies. Wait...there's more! This beautiful treasure of a business offers gorgeous select apparel, furnishings, jewelry, linens, gifts, vintage treasures and home décor. A beautiful, breathtaking turnkey operation this is a chance to own a niche business created and established with love and a business owners delight don't miss this opportunity! Please do not approach staff, contact listing realtor for any info required. Asking $75,000

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PREMIUM OFFICE SPACE FOR SALE

8318 Scott Road is offering medical and other professionals an opportunity to purchase premium office space in Surey, BC. Set to be completed by fall 2016, this state if the art steel and concrete building will offer a mixture of retail and office space to professionals looking for a long term home for their business. Space is limited. Call today for more details.

Established custom steel and aluminum fabrication business. Great opportunity to run your own business with services that include: aluminum welding and repair, custom and stock trailers, mobile welding service, crane fabrication, fabrication of residential gates, security bars and much more! Mon– Fri operation closed on weekends. Please contact me for GREAT INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY! more details on this hard to come by opportunity! Asking $149,000 4 acres, Hotel and development

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UNIT FOR SALE

In Mughal Garden plaza 2 units available, approx 4875 sqft.Already leased to long term tenants, to be sold together.

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UNIT FOR SALE 82nd Ave & 124 Ave, 2350 sqft. office space is available for sale. Ready to move in. Asking $645,000 RETAIL SPACE AVAILABLE

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18 i Saturday, March 26, 2016

Saturday, May 7, 2016

i 17

18 i Saturday, May 7, 2016

LOCAL

Blueberry superstars from Pitt Meadows

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he three brothers from Hoshiarpur district of Punjab have stayed and worked together for 40 years now.

Unity is their strength. We know that blueberries pack a punch -- more fibre, vitamins, and minerals per ounce than any other fruit in the produce aisle. Purewal brothers apparently knew it sooner than others did and got down to cultivating this fruit in a big way. Blueberry Farms in Pitt Meadows, BC are so big and so famous that their produce in the market is known as the Purewal blueberries. Run by three brothers, Malkit Singh, Charan Singh and Gurjit Singh, Purewal farms are spread as wide as the eye can see. “Currently, we have over 800 acres under blueberry cultivation,’’ says Gurjit Purewal, the youngest of the three brothers who came to Canada in the 1970s.

Today, they own the biggest Indian-owned agriculture operations in Canada and possibly the US. Their farms produce up to 20 million pounds of high-quality blueberries which they ship across Canada, the US and elsewhere, with each pound fetching about $2 in the market. The North American Blueberry Council has honour ed Pur ewa l Farms as one of the best in North America and the Canadian supermarket chain Safeway, which is their biggest buyer, declared them as the Supplier of the Year in 2007. “Besides our farming operations, we also have the biggest packaging plant in British Columbia and we can package

up to 25 million pounds each year,’’ says Gurjit. You need to visit Purewal Farms at their peak season from June to September when this place is swarming with workers.

“We employ up to 800 workers daily during our peak season. Off season, we reduce the number of daily workers to up to 100,’’ Gurjit says. Like the common immigrant, Purewal brothers also started their Canadian journey as daily wagers when they landed in Vancouver from Hakimpur village, near Banga, in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab. Going back in time, Gurjit says, “My elder brothers Malkit Singh and Charan Singh came here in 1970. They worked in foundries in Vancouver for years. I joined them in Canada in 1977. In 1979, we bought 55 acres in partnership with our two neighbours and started cultivating blueberries. But, in 1981, we decided to go on our own and set up Purewal Farms with 55 acres.’’ As time went on, the three brothers kept buying more acres and getting bigger and bigger. What is the secret of their success story? Explains Gurjit, “It is not that we grow blueberries differently. The reason we have grown that big is that we brothers stayed together. After 40 years, we are still together and our wives have been working with us. But if you go your own way, then your expenses go up exponentially.

Our unity is our strength.’’ Have they ever thought of growing blueberries in Punjab? ``We would love to, but the hot climate of Punjab does not suit blueberry cultivation.

But we want to do everything possible for

Evacuation order expands for B.C. wildfire near Fort St. John

T

he evacuation order for the Beatton Airport Road wildfire near Fort St. John in northeastern B.C. has been expanded.

The fire is currently the largest in the province.

The evacuation area now stretches from Red Creek Road in the south to the Blueberry River First Nation in the north and from the Alaska Highway in the west to Prespatou Road to the east.

People are being told to leave immediately. The fire has grown to cover 10,000 hectares.

A travel advisory for the Alaska Highway remains in effect. An evacuation order has been issued for about 45 homes near the Alaska Highway in northeastern British Columbia because of wildfires in the area.

A fire information officer with the

Punjab and our people,’’ he says. Low in calories, but high in fiber, vitamin C and K. Are antioxidants, protect our bodies from damage by free radicals. Blueberries reduce DNA damage, which may help protect against ageing and cancer.

May lower blood pressure, prevent heart disease.The berries can also help maintain brain function and improve memory. The Purewal brothers may have not been able to do anything to promote blueberry cultivation to Punjab, but they have done a lot promote traditional sports of kabaddi and

Peace River Regional District says the order is in effect for the Mile 80 area of the Alaska Highway, near Stoddard Road, and the Shepherds Inn area.

Anyone in those areas must leave immediately and register at the North Peace Arena reception centre in Fort St John. There are also several evacuation alerts in the area — meaning residents should be prepared to leave on short notice. State of emergency British Columbia’s Peace River Re-

wrestling in the state. ``We are a family of sportsmen and we brothers have been international kabaddi players. In fact, we represented Canada in kabaddi in 1979.

Our three children have also represented British Columbia and Canada in wrestling and kabaddi. We always wanted Punjab to excel in kabaddi and wrestling. That’s why when made some money, we started the three-day Purewal Khel Mela in our native Hakimpur village in 1988. The mela has gone from strength to strength,’’ says the youngest brother.

POLITICS

Saturday, May 7, 2016

i 19

Highlights of Auditor General Michael Ferguson’s spring report

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uditor General Michael Ferguson has released his 2016 spring report.

Here are some highlights of his report: Canada’s auditor general is urging the Department of Veterans Affairs to get a handle on its drugs benefit program including the amount of medical pot being prescribed to veterans, which it found is “poorly documented” and not always based on evidence.

The number of veterans receiving medical marijuana jumped from 112 in 201314 to 1,320 in 2015, and the cost rose accordingly: from $408,810 to $12.1 million. The audit estimates the cost could reach $25 million in 2016-17, nearly one third of the drug costs of the Veterans Affairs health benefits program.

Veterans Affairs also lacks a “well-defined approach” for monitoring drug use among veterans, and does not monitor trends that could indicate “high-risk” behaviour. For instance, while it will not cover the cost of acetaminophen that exceeds the maximum recommended dose, no such limits exist for narcotics or sedatives.

Efforts by the Department of Immigration to detect and prevent citizenship fraud were were inadequate, resulting in citizenship being granted based without proper security checks.

People with serious criminal records

and others using potentially phoney addresses are among those who managed to secure Canadian citizenship, thanks to a system that doesn’t do enough to root out fraud.

Between 2008 and 2015, 50 different applicants used the same single address on their citizenship applications during overlapping time periods; seven of the applicants became Canadian citizens before the address was flagged during a residency fraud investigation.

Compounding the problem, the auditor general said, was “poor information sharing” between the Immigration Department, the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency.

Out of 38 criminal cases since 2010 involving a permanent resident or foreign national, the RCMP shared the relevant details with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in only two of them.

Immigration officials are looking at revoking the Canadian citizenship of about a dozen people after the auditor general found the government isn’t doing enough to root out fraud in the citizenship system.

Reserve soldiers are not fully prepared to deploy on missions due to the dwindling number of soldiers and a lack of

Alberta wildfires top of mind at Western Premiers’ Conference in Vancouver

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s wildfires burn uncontrollably across northern Alberta, government leaders in Western Canada are meeting to discuss pushing Ottawa to reverse historic funding cuts to disaster-mitigation programs.

The catastrophic fires that have forced tens of thousands to flee their homes around Fort McMurray, Alta., have thrust conversations around emergency management to the forefront of the agenda at this week’s annual Western Premiers’ Conference in Vancouver.

British Columbia Premier Christy Clark said natural disasters related to climate change, such as floods and fires, have increased in frequency, yet at the same time federal support for disaster mitigation has waned. “The problem is getting worse,” Clark told reporters on Thursday, stressing the importance of preventative action.

“We need to come together as a coun-

try to recognize that these problems are more and more common. It’s not going to get easier and we’re all going to need to commit more financial resources.

“Prevention is the best form of cure.”

In-depth discussions around funding renewal have yet to take place with the federal government, Clark said, adding that it was important to make sure the western premiers were on the same page before approaching Ottawa.

The leaders of B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the three territories are in Vancouver to attend the meeting, which is scheduled to run until Friday.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley dropped out of the gathering to deal with the fires in her province and instead sent Deputy Premier Sarah Hoffman in her place.

None of the other leaders was available for comment on Thursday.

equipment and training.

Individual units of the Canadian Army’s reserve units lack sufficient soldiers — just 14,000 instead of a needed 21,000 — as well as access to key equipment for domestic missions and clear guidance on training, counter to National Defence’s stated goal.

The number of Canadian Army reservists has dwindled by about five per cent, or about 1,000 soldiers per year between the 2012-13 and 2014-15 fiscal years.

While the selection processes for governor-

in-council appointments such as chairpersons and full-time appointees were open and transparent, there was no documentation to support several part-time appointments.

The Immigration and Refugee Board has long-standing vacancies that are contributing to decision-making delays: 21 positions are vacant, leading to wait times of an average of 18 months.

Receiving short-term approval of its funding and corporate plan, often late in the fiscal year, has made it difficult for Via Rail to carry out its operations in an effective manner.

The process of choosing fund managers for the government’s $400-million

20 i Saturday, May 7, 2016

C

anada lost 2,100 jobs in April, and the unemployment rate stayed steady at 7.1 per cent, according to Statistics Canada. The service sector added 35,000 new jobs, most in wholesale and retail trade. But that was offset by a large drop in goods-producing industries.

“Every category in the goods sector was down,” Scotiabank said, “led by 16,500 fewer manufacturing jobs, but with construction (down 5,700), resources (down 7,800), agriculture (down 7,000) and utilities (down 200 jobs) also not helping.”

Alberta lost jobs while B.C. gained Alberta lost 20,800 jobs in April — more than all the other provinces combined.

Business / Finance

Canada sheds 2,100 jobs in April “You know that saying, ‘when it rains it pours,’” TD economist Brian DePratto said Friday in an interview. “And certainly Alberta has gone through a difficult time … this is just more challenge for that province.” But Alberta’s drop was slightly offset in the national figure by a gain of 13,000 jobs in neighbouring British Columbia.

Newfoundland and Labrador added 6,100 jobs, while all other provinces either gained or lost a small number of jobs.

The slight drop in employment was a moderate disappointment to economists, who had been expecting the economy to

add about 1,000 jobs in total.

Doug Porter at Bank of Montreal said the pullback was to be expected after a strong March in which the economy added more than 40,000 jobs, but even so, the size of the slowdown in manufacturing concerned him.

“This nasty two-month pullback has cut manufacturing employment below yearago levels, a swift reversal for this former

great hope for the job market,” he said.

The manufacturing sector has now lost more than 50,000 jobs since December.

That’s come in a time when the loonie has been weak — something which would ordinarily be good news for manufacturers.

Ambrose made ‘solemn vow’ not to run for Tory leadership: Tony Clement

A

former top Conservative cabinet tenders for the interim leadership in Nominister — and a potential lead- vember following a preferential ballot vote. ership candidate — says interim The words come in the wake of a new poll leader Rona Ambrose would damage her from Mainstreet/Postmedia, published credibility among her caucus colleagues if Friday, which suggests Ambrose is ridshe breaks her promise not to run for the ing a wave of popularity among Conserpermanent job. “I think Rona Ambrose vative partisans. She enjoys a 68 per cent has been very clear and she made a solemn approval rating among Conservatives. In vow prior to running for the interim lead- the same survey, Clement trailed with a ership that she would not run 30 per cent approval rating. Morefor the leadership,” Tony Clemover, 26 per cent of survey responent said in a scrum Monday. dents, who are decided or leaning The former Treasury Board presConservative voters, said that they’d ident, and now shadow Conserback Ambrose as permanent leader vative critic, said Ambrose was if she jumped into the race. That elected to shepherd the party compares to just 7 per cent for Clemthrough its rebuilding process. ent. The Mainstreet/Postmedia poll “I take Rona at her word. I think Rona Ambrose was conducted April 26-27, interthat she wants to maintain her inviewing 1,676 respondents via integrity and credibility and she also wants to teractive voice response. A probabilistic preserve the unity of the Conservative cau- sample of this size would yield a margin cus. So to me, this is a non-issue,” he said. of error of 2.4 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Ambrose made ‘solemn vow’ not to run for Despite the favourable polling numleadership, Clement says0:24 When asked bers, a spokesperson for Ambrose said about his own leadership ambitions Clem- Monday that she has ruled out a run. ent said he is at the “exploratory stage” of the “Rona is obviously happy to be receiving process. “Things are going well. Certainly support for the work she’s been doing as lots of very positive feedback, but I’m cer- interim leader because it shows that the tainly not in a position to make a decision team is on the right track,” Mike Storeshaw before the convention,” he said referring said. “But her decision on the permanent to the upcoming Conservative convention leadership was made a long time ago, in Vancouver that will be held May 26-28. and it hasn’t changed and won’t change.

NAmbrose beat out a number other con- She’s not going to be a candidate for it.”

Business / Finance CFIB Opinion

Lack of affordability hampers small business Laura Jones ete McMartin’s recent column, Running on Empty: The Westside loses its garages, gives an excellent glimpse into the challenges facing many businesses: “Vancouver isn’t only becoming a prohibitively ex- Executive Vice-President pensive city in which and Chief Strategic Officer to live, but one, also, in which it’s difficult for small independent businesses to survive.”

It is in vogue for politicians to worry about affordability for the middle class. But what of affordability for small business owners who are themselves typically middle class and who support thousands of middle class jobs?

For the business owners McMartin interviewed, property taxes were a significant factor in their decision to close, with each paying around $100,000 a year in property taxes. When you consider how many auto repairs it would take to pay this tax bill alone, you start to understand the affordability challenges that small business owners face. Business owners also pay provincial and federal income taxes, as well as EI, CPP, and WCB premiums for employees.

On top of government tax bills, business owners must generate enough money to cover the business of being in business — paying for supplies, equipment, rent, employee wages, and their own wages. Artist Andy Warhol captures the creativity this takes: “Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.”

Yet the art of running a small business is one that many municipal politicians continue to undermine by making it unaffordable. Overspending has fuelled punitively high levels of property taxes. A resident on an average value property in Vancouver ($1,532,937) pays $5,395 in property taxes while a small business owner pays $22,710 (part of this is provincial school taxes, which are also unfairly high).

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For some municipal politicians, including Vancouver’s mayor, support for the “living wage” has become a way to translate concern over affordability into a more concrete policy position. The idea is to pay city staff and those that contract with the city a wage that covers basic costs for a family of four with two income earners. New Westminster was the first municipality to adopt it in 2011. Vancouver’s “living wage,” according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is $20.64 an hour or roughly $40,000 a year. The living wage policy is not so great for small businesses that get shut out of contracting with the city for things such as food deliveries and ground maintenance if they can’t pay their staff the living wage.

In Vancouver, we continue to lose businesses even while our population grows — between 2012 and 2014, there were 987 fewer business licenses issued.

Do these well-intentioned mayors realize that most small business owners fall below the living wage themselves? Business owners earning less than $40,000 a year outnumber those earning more than $250,000 by a ratio of 4 to 1. In fact, about a third of business owners earn less than $33,000 a year, and two-thirds earn less than $73,000 a year.

In the quest to make things affordable for the middle class, policies like the living wage miss the point. A thriving middle class and a healthy small business sector go hand and hand. When small businesses do well, they can afford to hire more and pay more, which is the point. Shouldn’t supporting the art of small business get at least as much attention as the living wage debate does?

The businesses that McMartin interviewed are not alone. Until municipalities get more serious about listening to small business, you can expect more McMartin stories in your neighbourhood. Which begs another important question: How do municipal governments think they will achieve their “affordability”, “sustainability” and “livability” goals without small business?

Laura Jones is Executive Vice-President and Chief Strategic Officer of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. She can be reached at laura.jones@ cfib.ca. Follow her on Twitter @CFIBideas.

Original in the Vancouver Sun on May 2, 2016

Canadian exports expand 3.5%, narrowing trade deficit

anada’s exports advanced 3.5 per cent in May helping to narrow the trade deficit to $152 million and continuing a period of sustained growth in both exports and imports.

The U.S. also narrowed its trade deficit by 5.6 percent in May to $44.4 billion, with an expansion of exports that seemed to indicate an improved manufacturing sector.

Canadian imports grew 1.6 per cent in May, mainly vehicles and auto parts used in manufacturing in Canada.

TD economist Leslie Preston called the trade report “a really good news story.”

“With key manufacturing plants back in ac-

tion in May, Canada’s export sector rebounded as expected. Decent strength in imports of capital goods in the second quarter is also a positive sign for business investment, which TD Economics expects will rebound after a decline in the first quarter,” Preston said in a note to investors.

“Economists, ourselves included, have been bemoaning the lack of export-led growth in Canada. However, Canada’s trade position has been steadily improving since its post-recession low in mid-2012. The month-to-month swing in the headline balance can be volatile but looking at the six-month average, Canada is a hair’s breadth away from being in a surplus position for the first time in two years,” she said.

LNG prospects keep getting worse as prices tank and red tape delays projects

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y now, B.C. should be rolling in cash from its burgeoning LNG industry — tens of thousands of new jobs, billions in potential royalties and a roaring economy with all the new investment into the province.

Instead, it’s still waiting for ground to break on any new facility, or even a final investment decision for an LNG plant.

While several liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants are proposed, they have all struggled to get off the ground as they wait for regulatory approval, delay making spending decisions, or cancel plans altogether.

A collapse in global LNG prices is the main cul-

prit for why so many Canadian LNG export projects are in limbo or no longer make economic sense.

“A lot of these projects should have been off the ground or under construction. It doesn’t seem to be happening,” said Martin King, a commodities analyst with Calgary-based FirstEnergy Capital.

There is a growing possibility that no companies make final investment decisions on LNG projects until at least 2020, said King.

LNG delays have put B.C. Premier Christy Clark under considerable pressure. She charismatically praised LNG as an industry that would bring incredible wealth to B.C. —

Saturday, May 7, 2016

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Third suspect arrested over gurdwara attack in Germany

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third suspect has been arrested in connection with the bombing of a gurdwara by Islamist militants in the German city of Essen, police said today amid reports that two teenagers had rehearsed for the terror attack by detonating a prototype of their self-made bomb.

A special police unit took the unidentified man into custody at Essen’s central railway station yesterday evening on an arrest warrant issued against him by a district court in the city, police said.

A person accompanying him was also detained and kept in custody, it said a statement.

Police gave no further details, but media reports identified the third man arrested as jihadist Tolga I, a 17-year-old jihadist and sympathiser of Islamic State (IS) terror group, from Wesel in the state of North Rhine Westphalia.

Tolga I gave the orders to the two main suspects to carry out the terror attack.

Good News!!

A view of Gurdwara in Essen, Germany 16-year-old secondary school students Mohammed B and Yussuf T were arrested four days after they allegedly detonated a fire extinguisher filled with explosives at the entrance of the Nanaksar Satsang Sabha Gurdwara on April 16.

Meanwhile, media reports said the two teenagers had rehearsed for the attack by detonating a prototype of their self-made bomb.

Good News!!

MLA Jakhar leads protest, demands cops to be suspended

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bohar MLA Sunil Jakhar today led a massive protest to condemn police “highhandedness” towards peaceful protesters who were demanding action yesterday against the persons responsible for abetting the suicide of a Dalit farmer of Pattibillah village.

Jakhar’s secretary Sanjeev Trika and at least two others — who were leading the protest – were allegedly thrashed and dragged by the police yesterday.

People assembled at the old grain market

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seven-year-old girl on her way to school in a rickshaw was kidnapped this morning. The girl was reportedly released

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Shanvi Gupta (7) with her family members, after released by kidnappers by the kidnappers almost six hours later.

The police and the parents of the child claim that no ransom was paid, but since none of the kidnappers was arrested and they released the girl on their own, sources say ransom could have been paid.

The victim, Shanvi Gupta (7), was on her way to The British Co-Ed School in a rickshaw when an unidentified man asked the rickshaw puller to identify a girl from among the children he was ferrying. The rickshaw puller said: “He then offered a chocolate to the girl and when she refused, he pulled her out and handed her over to his accomplice in a Hyundai Verna car that fled the scene. The person who offered the chocolate was on a bike and sped in the opposite direction.” The victim has a twin sister who was also going to the school in the same rickshaw, but she was unharmed and reached the school. The victim’s father, Amit Gupta, owns a trading firm and runs an established electronics business in the city.

The first ransom call was made to Gupta within 25 minutes of the kidnapping.

Gurmukhi translation of Quran traced into Moga village

From Vancouver-New Delhi Starts from

office and marched through the main roads, raising slogans against the Punjab Police and the state government.

Kidnapped schoolgirl freed in six hours

SINCE 1982

22 i Saturday, May 7, 2016

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ver 115-year-old Gurmukhi translation of Quran Sharif, believed to be the “oldest” Punjabi version of the Muslim scripture, has been traced to Moga village in Punjab. What is interesting about this 784page volume is that it was translated from Arabic to Gurmukhi by a scholar of the Nirmala tradition, a sect of Sikhism.Hindu businessmen and a Sikh collected money for its printing, a task which was undertaken by an Amritsar-based Sikh publisher. Published in 1911, the edition was recently traced “perchance” to a village in Moga district by Dr Subhash Parihar, art historian and former professor of history at the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, while he was working on an encyclopaedia on Sufism to be published

by Punjabi University, Patiala. It was so far that believed the first Gurmukhi translation of the scripture was done by scholars of the Qadianbased Ahmadiyya sect of the Muslims in the early 1980s. However, the discovery of the 1911 edition has taken many scholars by surprise.

INDIA

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Panama Papers: Tax notices sent to those on the list, says Jaitley

ax notices have gone to all those whose names have been revealed in the Panama Paper leaks, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told the Lok Sabha on Thursday. He was replying to a debate on Finance Bill, 2016. Notwithstanding global recession, India’s economic situation is by far the best in the world and the country has the potential to do even better, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

“Vishwa ke tulna mein hum sab se aage haen (In comparison to the rest of the world, we are far ahead),” Jaitley said in reply to the debate on the Finance Bill. India has the potential to do much better than its current economic performance, he said.

While the world continues its assessment of the factors responsible for the on-going global

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recession and “how long it will continue further,” it ought to be kept in mind that during such financial crises, the banks also suffer, the minister said. This is aggravated further with bad loans and non-performing assets (NPAs), he said.

“I would not like to go on a blame game on this. But, we cannot solve the problem of NPAs by hiding it,” Jaitley said and maintained that the government is taking steps to bring down the NPA graph in months to come.

Referring to the queries raised by members during the debate on the Finance Bill, 2016, on Wednesday, the minister said steps are always being taken to help the indigenous companies and rationalise corporate taxes.

Responding to criticism that government’s steps have often been against peo-

2 children die, 46 hospitalised after consuming mid-day meal

wo children have died and 46 others have been hospitalised after consuming milk as a part of mid-day meal at a school in Kansi Ram colony here on Thursday, police said. The deceased have been identified as Essan (5) and 4-year-old Kirti.

The children Meal being served at a school complained of dicondition. Nazma (35), mother of Sanya and arrhoea yesterday Besma was taken ill after reportedly consumafter they consumed milk at the Junior High ing the milk brought home by her children, School DIET, Kunvar Anupam Singh, AsDr Sajjan Kumar, Chief Medical officer said. sistant SP said, adding, samples of the milk and water had been taken. The exact cause of The incident happened last evening when food poisoning was being ascertained, Rajesh children studying in DIET (District Institute of Education and Training) campus based Kumar, District Magistrate said.

Anganvadi, Primary School and Junior High While 22 children were admitted in the School complained of diarrhoea after they District Hospital 19 were admitted in Swarn were given milk as mid-day meal.

Jayanti Hospital. Besides four other chilAdministration swung into action after dren and a mother of two was admitted they were informed about the death of two to a multi-specialty hospital in a serious

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Goa MLA Atanasio Monserratte arrested in ‘rape’ case

he Goa police today arrested former IPC section 376 (rape), 328 (poisoning), 342 state Education minister and expelled (wrongful confinement, 370 (A) (traffickCongress MLA Atanasio Monserratte ing) and the provisions of Goa Children for allegedly raping a minor girl afAct and the Protection of Chilter ‘buying’ her from her mother for dren from Sexual Offences Act. Rs 50 lakh. “Monserratte has been A senior police official said that placed under arrest. We will be soon police had examined 10 witnesses moving the court to seek his remand and also recorded the girl’s stateas we need his custodial interroment before a magistrate. Acgation,” Superintendent of Police cording to the 16-year-old girl’s (Crime Branch) Karthik Kashyap complaint, her mother and antold PTI. The girl’s mother too was Atanasio Monserrate other woman hatched a conspiracy arrested on the charge of human and sold her for Rs 50 lakh to Monserratte trafficking, he said, adding that another wom- in March this year for sexual exploitation. an, wanted in the case, was absconding. Mon- “Monserratte kept her in confinement, adserratte appeared before the crime branch of- ministered some stupefying substance ficials at 3.10 pm today, and was placed under and had sexual intercourse with her sevarrest at 8.30 pm. He has been booked under eral times without her consent,” it says.

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Those involved in AgustaWestland chopper scam will be punished: Modi

rime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday promised that all those involved in the AgustaWestland chopper scam will be punished.

Addressing election rallies in Chennai and Hosur town in Tamil Nadu, Modi said the scandal had become public after the BJP took power in New Delhi in 2014.

Asking the people whether they have any relatives in Italy, Modi said: “I don’t have any relatives in Italy. Nor have I visted Italy.” But people in Italy have said there was corruption in the chopper deal and a court there had punished names of those involved, he said.

Claiming that Tamil Nadu was steeped in corruption, Modi said the BJP was the alternative to the two Dravidian parties in the state.

“For the first time in Tamil Nadu elections, there is an alternative in the form of BJP.” He said the Tamil Nadu government was corrupt but politicians were not ashamed.

“The election this time is not about who will win but who will save Tamil Nadu,” he remarked.

Referring to the floods in Chennai in December, Modi said it was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cadres who helped

the people at the time of the crisis.

Modi said he was the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Jaffna in Sri Lanka and added that his government would wipe the tears of Sri Lankan Tamils.

According to him, 30,000 of the 50,000 houses to be built with Indian assistance in Sri Lanka had been handed over to the Tamils there.

Referring to the release of Father Alexis Prem Kumar from Taliban’s custody, Modi said his sister did not believe when I called her and said: “I am Narendra Modi speaking.” “I told her that her brother will be back in India in two-and-a-half hours.

“This is an example of how a people-friendly government functions,” he said Modi said the BJP-run central government was two years old but there was no corruption charge against it.

He said his government auctioned spectrum and the money went to the government coffers.

Today, there was no corruption in mining and supply of coal unlike in the past, he said. “We are taking the nation on the correct path.” The prime minister said since the BJP came to power in New Delhi, no chief minister writes a letter to him for urea allocation.

PM cheated people on his BA degree: says Kejriwal

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iving a fresh twist to the controversy over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BA degree, the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday alleged that a degree obtained by a namesake of him had been shown as his own, which Arvind Kejriwal said amounted to outright “cheating”.

Kejriwal told a press conference that he could assert with “full responsibility” that Delhi University’s records have no mention of “Narendra Damodardas Modi” and that one “Narendra Kumar Mahavir Prasad Modi” had taken admission in 1975.

The Delhi Chief Minister said the issue was not whether the PM was “10th pass or 12th pass” but that he had furnished “fake” certificates and “cheated” the people of the country.

“You don’t need any degree to become PM. Talent is not necessarily a product of formal education. A person with less formal education can also be extremely tal-

ented, take for example Anna Hazare.

“Firstly he lied in front of the country, secondly he lied in his affidavit and thirdly the degree that is emerging is forged. This is a case of cheating. If there are charges of cheating against a person like PM, then it is a grave matter,” Kejriwal said.

Kerjriwal claimed that AAP volunteers had conducted “searches” across departments of DU, even in School of Open Learning, but did not come across Modi’s enrollment form or degree.

“I started saying with full responsibility that DU does not have his records only then. We came across one Modi who took admission in 1975 and is a resident of Alwar, His date of birth is 1958 whereas our PM’s date of birth is 1950,” the AAP chief said.

Meanwhile, alleged “Narendra Kumar Mahavir Prasad Modi”, a resident of Alwar, told reporters that he took admission in

Sonia says BJP govt’s days numbered

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ongress president Sonia Gandhi, vice-president Rahul Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and party leaders AK Antony and Ghulam Nabi Azad were detained for a shortwhile by the Delhi Police on Friday for violating prohibitory orders in attending ‘Save Democracy’ rally organised by the party at Jantar Mantar.

Addressing the rally, Sonia Gandhi launched a blistering attack on Prime Minster Narendra Modi and said the BJP government’s days were numbered.

“Don’t think the Congress is weak. We won’t succumb to your politics of vendetta and threats. We will fight you and continue to be an awakened opposition which will protect democracy,” Sonia told the

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Prime Minister at a rally in Jantar Mantar.

“We are gathered at Jantar Mantar to send our message not just to Raisina Hill but also to people in Nagpur, who run Modi’s government,” Sonia said in a jibe at the RSS. “The Modi government used pressure, money, incitement to destabilise our governments in Arunachal and Uttarakhand.

They may try to character assassinate us to deflect attention from their own failures.

Character assassination is the BJP’S old habit but I want to warn them: We won’t bow to politics of intimidation. We won’t cow down to their tactics of scaring, intimidating us.… Enough is enough,” she said.

“My life has taught me to struggle. They don’t know what the Congress is made of,” Sonia said.

SC orders floor test in Uttarakhand on May 10

he Supreme Court on Friday directed ousted Congress Chief Minister Harish Rawat to take a vote of confidence in the 70-member Uttarakhand Assembly at a special session on May 10 to end the political crisis in that state. A Bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh clarified that the nine disqualified rebel Congress MLAs would not be allowed to attend the session and vote unless the state high court re-

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stored their membership of the House before that. The nine MLAs have challenged their disqualification by the Speaker in the high court. The Bench said the President’s rule, imposed in the state on March 27, would remain in abeyance for 150 minutes (1030 hrs to 1300 hrs) to enable the Assembly to meet from 1100 hrs to 1300 hrs only for the purpose of the floor test. However, even during this period the state administration would be under the Governor, not Rawat, it clarified.

Vyapam scam kingpin held

joint team of the CBI and UP Special Task Force today nabbed the main accused in the multicrore cash-for-seats Vyapam scam, Ramesh Shivhare alias Chandra.

Four years after his name figured as one of the masterminds in the multi-layered Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB), abbreviated in Hindi as Vyapam, Shivhare was arrested late last night from the Awas Vikas Colony under the Kalyanpur police station in Kanpur.

The well-oiled Vyapam racket saw miscreants allegedly rigging tests conducted by the MPPEB for admission and recruitment to various courses and government jobs. Shivhare was interrogated at the police station. The CBI took over

the case in July 2015 after many accused, beneficiaries, whistleblowers and witnesses related to the scam mysteriously died.

Insiders suspect that there has been an organised attempt to scuttle the inquiry that has not spared even top bureaucrats and politicians, including the Madhya Pradesh Governor.

Shivhare told interrogators that he had roped in junior doctors of Ganesh Shankar Vidhyarthi Memorial Medical College, Kanpur, to appear on behalf of candidates taking the Vyapam exam. Investigators claim that his name had cropped up in connection with leaks in the question papers of some other entrance examinations as well. He has been accused of fraudulently helping students clear competitive exams.

Saturday, May 7, 2016

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Emotional homecoming for Brussels terror attack survivor

idhi Chaphekar, the 42-year-old Jet Airways crew member whose image sitting bloodied and dazed and her yellow uniform shredded in Brussels airport bombings became an iconic picture of the horror, returned to Mumbai on Friday to an emotional homecoming.

A mother of two, Nidhi, who has not yet recovered from the injuries suffered in the deadly terror attack on March 22, arrived here at around 7.30 am on a Paris-Mumbai Jet airways flight and was driven straight to Breach Candy Hospital from the airport. She was injured from the force of the first blast of the attack.

Relieved on her her after six weeks return, Nidhi’s as they could not husband Rupesh travel to meet with Chaphekar said, her owing to their “We are extremestudies,” he said. ly happy to have Rupesh said the Nidhi back home family has had with us in Muma harrowing bai after the hortime since news rific episode in Nidhi Chaphekar, right, and another unidention the brazen Brussels.” “Her fied woman after being injured in Brussels Airport strikes trickled in. homecoming explosions.

On Nidhi’s mediis an extremely cal condition, he emotional moment for all of us, especially said, “Nidhi has received the best medical care her two children, who were reunited with

and attention and has now recovered significantly from her injuries.” She will now continue her recovery process at a hospital in Mumbai. The most important thing for us now is that Nidhi makes a full recovery, he said.

Expressing his gratitude to doctors and medical staff in Brussels, Rupesh said, “We would like to thank them for the care they gave Nidhi during her stay in the hospital.” He also thanked Jet Airways Jet management for the support they extended, not just to Nidhi but also to the family.

A Jet statement said Nidhi is in good spirits and is very happy to be back with her family.

Bombay HCIngredients decriminalises • 250g boneless chicken possession of beef • 2tbsp rapeseed oil

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red onion Act, which criminalized and pholding the ban• on1 medium • 3 large tomatoes imposed punishment on slaughter of bulls and persons found cashew nutsin possession bullocks imposed• ½ cup beef ofpuree animals, slaughtered

by BJP-led Government in• 100goftomato in dried the state or outside, saying • 1 tbsp fenugreek leaves Maharashtra, Bombay High it infringes upon a person’s Court on Friday decriminal• 100ml low fat cream tomasala Privacy. “Section 5(c) ized possession of beef where • 1tspRight garam thechilli Act which criminalized animals are slaughtered • 1tspof red powder mere possession of beef has outside the state. It struck• 1tbsp ginger- garlic paste been read down to conscious down as “unconstitutional” • 2tbsp thick low fat yoghurt provisions which held mere • salt possession to taste of the beef. If a person from whom beef has possession of beef as crime, been found did not have prior saying only “conscious posknowledge of the meat, then session” of the meat of aniProcedure: cannot beHeat prosecuted. slaughtered the in the state andhetomatoes.

Marinate the chicken with the ginger garlic paste and the yoghurt for 20 min. soak the cashew in warm water for 15mals minutes.chop onions 1 tbsp Only conscious will be held as an offence. oil to a pan. sear the chicken pieces in the hot oil for 1 minute on each side to a golden colour. remove the chicken pieces. in the same pan, add 1tbsp oil and the possession chopped can be (approx. held as an4-5 offence,” the A division bench of Justicesare A tender onions. saute till a translucent pink. Add the tomatoes, red chili powder, garam masala powder and cook on medium flame till the tomatoes court said.

Under the add Act of S Oka and S C Gupte struck minutes). remove from flame and run in a blender with the soaked cashews to make a smooth paste. return to the pan and add the tomato puree. Bring to a boil and 1976, there was ban on down sections 5(d) and 9 (b) the chicken pieces. simmer for 4-5 minutes till the chicken is cooked. Add the low fat cream and simmer for 2 minutes. Broil the fenugreek leaves on a pan. crush the cow slaughter and possession and of the Maharashtra Animals fenugreek leaves over the curry and remove from fire. serve hot. consumption of their meat.

Preservation (Amendment)

chicken (no butter) Masala Your favourite butter chicken but without the butter and added calories!

Fiji

There is no reform, says Mahendra Chaudhry

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he Reform of the Sugar Cane Industry Bill will not add any value to the sugarcane industry, says former prime minister and National Farmers Union general secretary Mahendra Chaudhry. “It’s a misnomer to give it the title ‘reform’ because there is no reform, it is purely and simply a bailout Bill for the Fiji Sugar Corporation,” he said. “All this Bill will do is remove the almost $180 million debt owed by the FSC to the people of Fiji and convert it to equity. “As I have stated on numerous occasions, this Government has arbitrarily been running the sugar industry for the past eight years and this new

Bill will continue the process and make it even worse for farmers by giving all powers to the Sugar Minister, who is also the Prime Minister, to make the Sugar Master Award.

“And that is a straight out conflict of interest because he is part of the Government. “Under this Bill, the process cannot be viewed as independent of FSC and this is a significant shift and not good news for farmers.” Mr Chaudhry said a provision in the Bill which allowed the Government to impose a special levy on farmers was also an imposition on growers who were struggling to earn a living in the face of high labour and transportation costs.

EU organises Europe Day activities in Fiji

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he European Union will celebrate Europe Day worldwide on Monday. The European Union office in Fiji has also organised several activities which people can participate in to mark and celebrate Europe Day. The activities include - International Women’s Associa-

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FNPF worker fired for stealing

he Fiji National Provident Fund has terminated a staff member for allegedly cashing members’ cheques. FNPF chief operating officer Jaoji Koroi said yesterday the incident was an isolated one and did not reflect the conduct of FNPF as a whole. “Yesterday, we terminated the staff concerned, who will now face the full brunt of the law. The fund takes seriously its fiduciary duties to members and we had to act immediately to safeguard our membe�rs’ interest,” Mr Koroi sa�id. “This incident does not reflect the commitment by the FNPF board and staff to protect and safeguard members’ hard-earned retirement savings.”

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tion Quiz, drawing Europe competition, official Europe Day reception, EU exhibition, EU amazing race, EU lectures, EU fun run and daily updates on its social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook. The activities are scheduled for different days and will include people from all age groups.

He said the fund would honour all member payments and assured members that all payments due to them would be paid out. Mr Koroi confirmed two other incidents involving members of the public who impersonated members to collect FNPF cheques. These cases are with police.

“We reiterate that the fund has completely reviewed our cheque collection process to ensure that all cheques are paid to the rightful owners/members.

“We call on members to pick their Severe TC Winston cheques. There are more than 2000 uncollected cheques.”

Ghost haunts village

he mind makes many associations with the sights, sound and smell of memorable events, be they happy or sad. And this has been especially true for people in communities that bore the brunt of February’s Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston. At Nayavutoka in Ra, villagers claim they saw and even spoke to the ghost of a man who died at the village when Severe TC Winston struck. The late Pauliasi Naiova, 32, was physically challenged. He had a slight limp that caused his left leg to drag when he walked and his left hand would pull close to his body.

He was born with the disability and was known for his inability to move as fast as his peers. He was being cared for by a cousin and his wife who lived just metres away from the beach.

The night Severe TC Winston struck, tidal surges came in three successions, destroying homes and killing two people. Pauliasi was one of the two victims. Villagers only found his body the next day among the debris left by the tidal surges. He was buried the same day. “We couldn’t do much be-

cause the power was off and they couldn’t keep him at the mortuary so we decided to bury him,” said Osea Balesavu who, together with his wife, cared for Pauliasi.

“A few days after he was buried, something strange happened. “One night, the village dogs started barking and wouldn’t stop. “On the first night we didn’t really think much of it but on the second night, while I was lying asleep, I woke up as my body felt really heavy. “When I opened my eyes, Pauliasi was standing in front of me.

“At first I thought I was dreaming because he looked so real and so alive. All of a sudden he spoke to me and every time he opened his mouth, just one word came out, kakana (food).” According to Mr Balesavu, Pauliasi loved to eat and never ever said no to food offered to him.

“I was never afraid of him. I told him his time here was done, and that he needed to go. He kept saying kakana.” Mr Balesavu said he thought that was the end of it, however he was suspicious the following night when the dogs started barking again.

“I came out and realised they were barking where my neighbour’s house used to be.

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Pakistan

US Congress to block $450 million aid

he US Congress has initiated a move to block $450 million in aid to Pakistan for failing to “demonstrate its commitment” and taking action against the Haqqani terror network.

The provision in the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) for the fiscal year 2017, if passed by the Congress, would not allow the US government to waive this condition in “national interest”..

According to NDAA 2017 as passed by

the House Armed Services Committee last week, of the total amount of reimbursement and support authorised for Pakistan during the period beginning on October 1, 2016, and ending on December 31, 2017, $450 million would not be eligible for a national security waiver unless the secretary of defence certifies that Pakistan continues to conduct military operations against the Haqqani network in North Waziristan.. .

Finance secretary arrested over corruption

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he National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested Balochistan Finance Secretary Mushtaq Ahmed Raisani in a raid at his office in the civil secretariat, officials said. Raisani has been accused of embezzling billions of rupees from local government development funds, a senior NAB official, who did not want to be named, told.

The finance department was sealed during the raid while officials searched all rooms to

sift through records, sources said, adding that records of the finance department were also seized for further investigation. Raisani, an influential bureaucrat in Balochistan, has served as secretary finance for the last few years. He served in same position during the PPP government’s term. After a string of arrests in Sindh, this is the first high profile arrest made by the accountability body in Balochistan.

Army chief orders 11 terrorists to be hung

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rmy chief General Raheel (pictured) signed off on the death sentences of 11 convicted of terrorism, kidnappings and attacks on civilians as well as assaults on police and army officers, an army statement said. The 11 were tried by military courts in closed-door trials. Pakistan started military trials for those suspected of terrorism after lifting a 2008 moratorium on the death penalty following the Peshawar school massacre that killed over 150, mostly kids, in late 2014. In cases of capital punishment handed down by military courts, the army chief is required to confirm the sentences. A Pakistani army statement late Tuesday said general Raheel Sharif signed off on the sentences. It was not immediately known when the ex-

ecutions would take place and the 11 have the right to appeal.

Four of the Taliban militants, identified as Maulvi Dilbar Khan, Hameedullah, Mohammad Nabi and Rehmatullah, confessed to killing a police chief and two senior army officers in a 2013 attack in northern Pakistani district of Chilas, the statement said. The three officers were shot and killed during their investigation of an earlier Taliban attack, which killed nine foreign climbers at the base camp of Nanga Parbat, one of the tallest peaks in the world.

So far, some 207 Taliban militant suspects have gone on trial before military courts, and verdicts for 88 of them have been announced, Pakistani army spokesman General Bajwa told media..

Woman strangled for helping friend elope

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woman in north western Pakistan was strangled and later her body was set ablaze because she helped her friend elope. “The victim, believed to be around 20 years old, was killed then burned on the orders of the village jirga (council) in Makol, KPK province on April 29”, said district police chief Khurram Rasheed.

“Police have arrested 13 members of the jirga who ordered the murder of the girl,” Rasheed said. The victim’s mother was also arrested because she supported the jirga’s decision.

The 14 are due to appear in a local antiterrorism court on charges of murder and terrorism on Thursday.Hundreds of women are murdered by their relatives in Pakistan each year on the pretext of defending family “honour”, but it is rare to hear of those who facilitate elopements being killed as well.

Shop owner’s brother confesses to poisoning sweets

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he mystery behind the toxic sweetmeat that claimed 33 lives in Pakistan’s Punjab province has been resolved with a man confessing to intentionally mix pesticide in them, police said today. Khalid Mahmood, 18, told police that he had mixed poison (pesticide) in the sweetmeat prepared by his elder brother Tariq at his shop to settle a score with him.

“Tariq used to torture me. I decided to mix pesticide in the sweet so that he is held responsible for selling poisonous sweet and arrested by police,” Mahmood said while recording his confessional statement before a magistrate yesterday.

Khalid confessed to have mixed a liquid pesticide, ‘Exeed’, in the material being prepared for manufacturing sweetmeats at the shop owned by his elder brother, police said.

The incident took place in Layyah district, some 325 kilometers from Lahore, about two weeks ago.

Sajjd Hussain had brought the sweetmeat from Tariq’s shop to celebrate the birth of his child.

It was served to his family members. Their condition deteriorated soon after eating the sweetmeat. They were rushed to the nearby hospital.

Eight of a family and 25 others including five children who consumed the poisonous sweet died.

NRI

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Saturday, May 7, 2016

Pentagon celebrates Vaisakhi for 3rd consecutive year

he Pentagon has observed annual Vaisakhi festival for the third consecutive year, indicating that the US Defence Department places high value on supporting free exercise of religion of its personnel.

“This is significant because the Department of Defence places a high value of supporting free exercise of religion of its personnel,” Pentagon Chaplain Kenneth R Williams told PTI in an interview on Monday as he helped in organising the third annual

Vaisakhi celebration here. Ellen Grills Her Guest, But Her Reaction Is What Shocked Us!Hip Hollywood Veggies That Destroy Female Belly Fat (Eat This)Fitness Daily “We are honoured to celebrate Vaisakhi here at the Pentagon, which is not only the birthday of the Sikh religion, but also the day that Guru Gobind Singh set us on the path to be Sikh soldiers and warriors,” said Major Kamal Kalsi, one of the few Sikhs who have been allowed to serve in the US armed forces with his religious symbols intact.

Sadiq Khan to become Mayor of London

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abour Party’s Sadiq Khan is leading candidate to be the Mayor of London. Khan, born in London of Pakistani parents, will replace Conservative Mayor Boris Johnson. Sadiq Khan is planning to stand down as MP for Tooting following his election as London mayor. As the BBC’s Lewis Goodall points out, that means an interesting byelection is in the offing. All 14 first-past-the-post

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seats in the London assembly have now counted. Labour won nine of them (one gain from 2012, Merton & Wandsworth, from the Conservatives), and the Conservatives won five (down one). The share of the vote in these seats was: Labour: 43.5% up 1.3% Conservatives: 31.1% - down 1.6% Greens: 9.1% - up 0.5% Ukip: 7.6% - up 3.3% Lib Dems: 7.5% - down 1.3%.

Indian-American couple convicted for H-1B visa fraud

rom her emotional poem, “Cancer train”, written in 2013 that focuses on the problem of cancer in Punjab, Canadian writer and artist Rupi Kaur has come a long way. “Newsweek”, in its April 29 issue, took her menstruationthemed picture in a cover story, titled “The fight to end period shaming is going mainstream”. Alongside, Rupi Kaur’s poetry and prose book, “Milk and Honey”, has last

week found a place in the Canada’s fiction bestseller list compiled by “The Globe and Mail.” Last year, Rupi Kaur (23) uploaded an image on Instagram to challenge the menstruation taboo. It was taken off twice.

Instagram eventually apologised and claimed it had been removed accidentally.

Newsweek took note of it and carried a story on her. Her fame has shot up hugely.

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Nepal Prime Minister in trouble as Maoists withdraw support

he government in Nepal teetered precariously after key ally UCPN (Maoist) decided to withdraw support and form a national unity government under its leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, with the main opposition Nepali Congress and Madhesi parties agreeing to back its move.

Prime minister Oli-led government now appears unlikely to present the Budget as the government is set to be overthrown in the coming days.

The overnight political move by the Maoists brought a political storm in Kathmandu and Unified Communist Party of Nepal (UCPNMaoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal took centre-stage of politics all of a sudden.

The Maoist party is among the key parties in the nearly seven-month-old Oli government and, due to the numbers factor, the government may easily collapse if it withdraws support.

Prachanda, who served as prime minister for a brief period from August 18, 2008 to May

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25, 2009, is now busy mustering political support to become the prime minister again even as Oli was busy trying to save his chair.

A meeting between the top leaders of Nepali Congress and Madhes-based parties on Wednesday decided to topple the Oli government and the Madhes parties urged the NC to Prime minister Oli take the lead. However, the Nepali Congress, the largest party in parliament, has not yet officially decided on the name of the new PM-offering the post instead to Dahal.

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Nepal President cancels India visit

he state visit of Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari to India has been cancelled, Nepali official sources have confirmed to The Hindu.

President Bhandari was scheduled to land in Delhi on May 9 as the state guest and was scheduled to be a guest of President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

President Bhandari was scheduled to participate in a Shahi Snan in Ujjain’s Simhastha Kumbh on May 14. Official sources

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are yet to comment on the real reasons behind the cancellation of the trip but The Hindu has reliably learnt that the visit was cancelled in view of the evolving political situation in Nepal following the threat of a split in the ruling CPN-UML and UCPNMaoist coalition government of Nepal.

Earlier this week, UCPN-Maoist led

by Prachanda triggered political instability by declaring end of the coali-

Sri Lanka opposition wants top security for former President to remain

everal leaders of the “Joint Opposition” requested, in writing, from the President and Prime Minister to revoke the order issued to withdraw army personnel assigned to the security detail of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

They state that a threat still exists to the life of the leader who defeated the world’s most ruthless terrorist organisation and therefore requested that the special VIP military security accorded to him be continued.

Bangladesh Islamist party leader to be hung as Court reject final appeal

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upreme Court in Bangladesh rejected appeal from the leader of Islamist party against death sentence for atrocities committed during the 1971 war of independence, lawyers said, meaning he could be hanged at any time.

The Supreme Court in January upheld the death penalty for Motiur Rahman Nizami, head of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, for genocide, rape and orchestrating the massacre of top intellectuals during the 1971 war.

Nizami, 73, a former legislator and minister under Khaleda Zia when she was prime minister, has been in jail since 2010 when he was charged with war crimes by the tribunal set up Motiur Rahman Nizami, Banglaby Prime deshi Jamaat-e-Islami party leader M i n i s ter Sheikh Hasina that year.

The war crimes tribunal has sparked violence and drawn criticism from opposition politicians, including leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, that it is victimising Hasina’s political opponents.

No Peace Without Justice, a non-profit organisation based in Italy, has called the tribunal’s proceedings “a weapon of politically influenced revenge whose real aim is to target the political opposition”.

The government denies the accusations.

East Pakistan broke away to become independent Bangladesh after the war between India and Pakistan. About three million people were killed.

The verdict comes as the Muslim-majority nation has seen a surge in militant violence in which atheist bloggers, academics, religious minorities and foreign aid workers have been killed.

In the last month alone, five people, including a university teacher, two gay activists and a Hindu have been hacked to death by suspected Islamist militants.

The government has blamed the increase in Islamist violence on Jamaat-e-Islami, but the group denies any link to the attacks.

Four opposition politicians, including three Jamaat-e-Islami leaders, have been convicted by the war crimes tribunal and executed since late 2013.

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