The Asian Star Janauary 18 2020

Vol 19 - Issue 51

Saturday, January 18, 2020

RCMP rejects Mayor McCallum’s claim over quiet release of Marpole rapist When a federal sex offender is released and is highly likely to commit more crimes, police forces routinely issue warnings to the public. But in the case of the so-called Marpole rapist, Gary Singh, no such warning was issued when he was granted day parole in Surrey. Singh was designated as a dangerous offender in 1994 after committing sex crimes against 11 women overe more than three-and-a-half years from 1988 to 1991. Surrey’s mayor, Doug McCallum, subsequently issued a statement declaring that it was “not only disturbing but infuriating to the people of Surrey” that Singh was being released in his city. He also expressed frustration about the lack of information coming from the Surrey Mounties.

“For the safety of the people of Surrey, I believe that our residents need to be told where this prolific sexual predator is residing in Surrey,” McCallum declared. “That information should be made available immediately.” That prompted the following written statement by Assistant RCMP Commissioner Brian Edwards, who heads the Surrey detachment:

‘‘We like you but we don’t want to pay for you’’, Canadians tell Prince Harry in new poll Canadians aren’t especially thrilled by the part-time relocation to Canada of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, despite being big fans of Prince Harry himself, according to a new poll. In the poll, 69 per cent of respondents reported that they hold favourable views of Harry – a higher level of support than any other prominent royal. Older Canadians are slightly fonder of some of Harry’s relatives than they are of him. Sixty-nine per cent of respondents aged 55 or older said they have a favourable view of him, compared to 77 per cent for his brother, Prince William,

Continued on page 6

Mounties release photo of South Asian man accused of sex crimes Almost a month after Richmond Mounties told the public they were investigating a man accused of committing multiple sex crimes, they’ve now released a photo of him. Satvir Singh Sanghera, a 49-yearold Richmond man, has been accused of alleged crimes against vulnerable women and women in the sex trade. Charges against Sanghera were approved on Dec. 17, including charges of sexual assault, administering a noxious substance, theft, fraud, possession of child porn, obtaining sexual services for consideration and sending intimate images without consent.

Continued on page 9

Tel:604-591-5423

Continued on page 7

Two kids per family limit it, RSS demands It is not Mathura or Kashi that is on the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) agenda.

It is now population control that the RSS will push for. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, who is on a four-day visit to Moradabad, has said at a meeting that a law for two children should be brought in to ensure proper development

of the country.

Addressing the meeting at the Moradabad Institute of Technology (MIT) on Friday, Bhagwat said that the RSS will support any law that calls for two children only.

“We feel this is the need of the hour, though it is up to the government to Continued on page6

Indian national pleads guilty to call centre scam that targeted North Americans An Indian national has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a multi-million dollar India-based call centre scam that targeted Americans, according to the Department of Justice. Hitesh Madhubhai Patel played a “prominent” role in operating and funding

the call centres whose callers and USbased conspirators defrauded American victims between 2013 and 2016, it said on Thursday. Patel (43), also known as Hitesh Hinglaj, of Ahmedabad, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy

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Continued on page 7

Indian-American among astronauts who may get a chance to go to Moon & Mars An Indian-American will be among astronauts who may get a chance to go to the moon or Mars following his graduation from NASA’s programme to train astronauts for those missions and the International Space Station. Raja Chari was among the 11 astronauts who received silver pins on Friday

marking their graduation at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston after two years of gruelling training. After they go into space they will exchange their silver pins for gold in a NASA tradition. He is the third Indian-American astronaut.

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3

Vol 18 - Issue 51

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Surrey Mayor says ‘Marpole Rapist’ release into Surrey ‘not only disturbing but infuriating’ Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum is demanding RCMP release information about the “Marpole Rapist” after media reports earlier this week that he will be released into the city. But RCMP Assistant Commissioner Brian Edwards said he “personally advised” the mayor of the situation “on two separate occasions and provided him the information that could legally be provided to him.” A victim’s relative said that Gary Jagur Singh is being released on day parole to a Surrey halfway house as of Thursday (January 9).

In an emailed release Friday, McCallum states it’s “not only disturbing but infuriating to the people of Surrey” that Singh will be released on day parole. Edwards said that the “limited information” that police are able to provide in these cases “can cause frustration, we have a legal obligation to balance the privacy of individuals and the risk to public safety.” He said police can only breach that privacy “under the strictest of circumstances,” and in this situation, “that threshold was not reached.” A Parole Board of Canada document reveals Singh, 64 has been granted day parole but denied full parole. He is serving an indeterminate sentence for four counts of sexual assault with a weapon, eight counts of break and enter with intent, three counts of robbery and seven counts of sexual

assault. On June 10, 1994 he was designated a dangerous offender.

“The Board notes that experts in your case have advised that your sexual deviancy can never be cured, but it can be managed,” the document states. Singh had, between January 1988 and August 1991 “sexually offended against” 11 victims who were strangers to him. Three were forcefully taken off the street and assaulted in darker, secluded areas while the other eight were attacked in their apartments, where they had been sleeping when he broke in.

Singh’s possible release to a Surrey halfway house “all the more irresponsible and troubling,” McCallum said.

He said he is “frustrated” by the lack of information coming from the RCMP. “For the safety of the people of Surrey, I believe that our residents need to be told where this prolific sexual predator is residing in Surrey. That information should be made available immediately,” McCallum said.

However, Surrey RCMP Assistant Commissioner Brian Edwards said that when the Surrey RCMP was notified of Singh’s release, “we conducted our own assessment that included the fulsome decision” by the parole board.

Tel:604-591-5423

Ottawa hasn’t decided whether to cover Harry & Meghan’s security bill, Bill Morneau says, contradicting U.K. tabloid Finance Minister Bill Morneau says the federal govt hasn’t decided if it will pick up the security bill associated with Prince Harry and his wife Meghan’s move to Canada.

A report in the Evening Standard, one of several London-based tabloids known for their relentless obsession with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, claimed the Canadian government had agreed to pay for the couple’s protection while they are in the country.

On Monday, Morneau told reporters in Toronto that there haven’t been any discussions on the matter. “We haven’t spent any time thinking about this issue,” Morneau said. “We obviously are always looking to make sure that as a member of the Commonwealth that we play a role.” The couple announced their decision to spend part of their time in Canada following an announcement last week that they will step back from their roles as senior members of the Royal Family and become financially independent.

Team Megxit or Team Crown? Canadian royal watchers weigh in on Harry and Meghan’s bombshell Queen Elizabeth announces ‘period of transition’ allowing Harry and Meghan to live

part time in Canada.

The cost of security for the couple has been estimated at more than $1.7 million a year.

In an interview, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated that no decision has been made regarding the security costs.

“I think that is part of the reflection that needs to be had,” Trudeau said.

“We’re not entirely sure what the final decisions will be. I think most Canadians are very supportive of having the Royals be here, but how that looks and what kind of costs are involved, there is still lots of discussions to have.”

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OPINION

By Taylor C. Noakes

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Prince Harry & Meghan: Welcome to Canada, but pay your own bills

It’s remarkably easy to become financially independent, as Prince Harry and Meghan say they want to do, when other people pay your bills. Doubtless this will be a crucial lesson in Ontario’s new high school financial literacy course; there’s no better way to keep your money than by not having to spend it.

Just ask any Canadian billionaire, whose tax rates have decreased over the past 20 years while their share of total income skyrocketed over the same time period.

It’s remarkable, too, that news of Meghan, Harry and Archie’s planned Brexit to Canada has really only led to a single central question: will Canada pay their security costs?

Not “why are we maintaining this antiquated, obsolete and fundamentally undemocratic institution,” but rather how much more are we willing to fork over for Monarchy Lite? Canada hasn’t decided if it would cover If the Sussexes are coming to Canada at least in part because they’re

looking to be more financially independent, they should pay their own security costs.

Even without the estimated £82.4 million ($140 million Cdn) the royal family will receive this year from British taxpayers through the sovereign grant, the couple has an estimated net worth of £18 million and receives another £2.3 million annually from Prince Charles.

What’s particularly curious here is that the Sussexes are in fact doubling down on the monarchy even though they appear to be moving away from it. They’re quite literally in the process of attempting to trademark “Sussex Royal” in an application covering Canada and Australia, as well as noted bulwarks of British monarchism the European Union and United States. So while they’re ostensibly stepping away from their public functions as senior members of the royal family, there are no plans to move away from the fortune to be

made from branding and marketing their royal likeness on everything from coffee cups to beach towels.

In other words, they’re not taking a step back from the monarchy, they’re bringing the monarchy to Canada on a semi-permanent basis, seemingly as part of a major product launch. (This ain’t your grandma’s royal family, it’s new and improved!)

As much as we might be tempted to feel bad for the embarrassing elements of Harry’s family, or the nauseating racism of contemporary British society directed towards Meghan, we mustn’t forget the Sussexes are fundamentally a business for whom the taxpaying public pays most if not all of the bills.

And though it may appear the couple are fleeing the salivating hounds of Fleet Street, they are in fact imposing themselves on a people they have little in common with.

According to some poll numbers, about half of Canadians think our relationship with the royal family should end once Queen Elizabeth dies, and more than 60 per cent believe the royals should have no role in Canadian society and culture.

The monarchy in Canada is a lot more than just the occasional visit and some ceremonial relationships between princes and military units. It’s also the governor general, the lieutenant governors and several properties that serve as official royal residences, such as Quebec City’s Citadel and Ottawa’s Rideau Hall. The rough estimate is that maintaining the monarchy in Canada exceeds $50 million annually, a considerable sum to spend on ceremonial frivolities in a country that still has trouble providing safe drinking water to rural communities.

Complicated as disentangling Canada from the monarchy would be, that’s also quite a lot of money to spend on unelected officials with the power to disrupt the normal functioning of Canadian democracy.

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6 From page 1

Saturday, January 18, 2020

RCMP rejects Mayor McCallum’s claim over quiet release of Marpole rapist

“I acknowledge the frustration expressed

by Mayor McCallum in the news release he issued today (January 10, 2020) regarding the

release of a dangerous offender into Surrey.

While the Surrey RCMP share many of these concerns, it is important to recognize there is a significant process in place by the Parole Board of Canada to determine if and when an offender can be released into the community and the conditions they are put under.

“When the Surrey RCMP were notified of this individual’s release into Surrey, we conducted our own assessment that included the fulsome decision made by Parole Board of Canada. Unfortunately, the threshold for a Public Interest Disclosure was not met in this situation for a variety of reasons including whether the individual posed an imminent threat, the recommended conditions, and the strong release plan approved by the

Parole Board. However, we are aware of the significant conditions in place for this individual, including electronic monitoring, and we will be monitoring this individual, along with Correctional Service Canada.

“I personally advised Mayor McCallum of the situation on two separate occasions and provided him the information that could legally be provided to him regarding this situation. While I acknowledge that the

limited information that the police are able to provide in these cases can cause frustration, we have a legal obligation to balance the privacy of individuals and the risk to public safety. Police can only breach that privacy under the strictest of circumstances and, in this situation, that threshold was not reached. “I share the public’s concern on this matter. I can assure the residents of Surrey that the correct processes were followed in this situation, and that we have a team specifically assigned to monitoring these type of offenders to ensure they do not breach their conditions or impact public safety in any manner.”

Two kids per family limit From page 1 take the final call on this. This law will not have any relation to any particular religion and will be applicable to all,” he said at a meeting of about 40 senior Sangh functionaries. Underlining the need for population control, he said that India was a growing country but uncontrolled population growth was not healthy for development.

Talking about the Ram temple, Bhagwat said that the role of the RSS on the issue was only for the temple was formed. “We will disassociate ourselves from the temple construction once the trust is formed.

He further said that Mathura and Kashi are not on the RSS agenda.

The RSS chief also supported the Central Government on the issue of CAA but said that there was a need to create awareness on this issue.

Saturday, January 18, 2020 From page 1

‘‘We like you but we don’t want to pay for you’’

and 75 per cent for his grandmother, the Queen. Harry was also more likely to be viewed as a celebrity than a working member of the Royal Family, in stark contrast to his brother, his father Prince Charles and the Queen.

The poll, which was released Wednesday, is based on an online survey of 1,154 Canadian adults – representative of the general population in age, sex, income and education – that took place earlier this week, during the height of the royal drama. It was commissioned, paid for and conducted by the Angus Reid Institute, and carries a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

It comes at a key moment in the relationship between Canada and the Royal Family, as Buckingham Palace announced this week that Harry and Meghan will divide their time between the U.K. and Canada while they step back from their official duties as senior royals.

From page 1

Many questions about the move remain unanswered, including where in Canada the couple plan to live and if they will continue to receive the security protection typically afforded to senior royals. The RCMP has paid to protect royals during past visits to Canada, but nothing has been said publicly about what security might be in place for a longer-term stay or who will pay for it. The Prime Minister’s Office said that there are “still many discussions to be had” on the topic. If the Angus Reid poll is any indication, however, it seems Canadians may prefer those discussions to be brief and firm. According to a commentary that accompanied the poll, Canadians are not “eager to subsidize the couple’s living costs when they’re in the country.” Only three per cent of respondents said the Canadian government should pick up the entire tab for Harry & Meghan.

Indian national pleads guilty

general conspiracy to commit identification fraud, access device fraud, money-laundering, and impersonation of a federal officer or employee, the department said.

He was prosecuted in the US after being extradited from Singapore in April 2019 to face charges in the telefraud and moneylaundering case.

Singapore authorities apprehended Patel at the request of the US, pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant in September 2018, after he flew there from India. “Hitesh Patel played a prominent role in this massive, India-based fraud scheme that bilked vulnerable Americans out of millions of dollars,” Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski said.

“This important resolution would not have occurred without the assistance of our Singaporean colleagues, to whom we extend our deep appreciation,” he said.

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In his guilty plea, Patel and his coconspirators perpetrated a complex scheme in which employees from call centres in Ahmedabad impersonated officials from the IRS and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, and engaged in other telephone call scams designed to defraud victims throughout the US. The Justice Department said US victims were threatened with arrest, imprisonment, fines or deportation if they did not pay alleged monies owed to the government. Those who fell victim to the scammers were instructed how to provide payment, including by purchasing general purpose reloadable (GPR) cards or wiring money, it said. Upon payment, the call centres would immediately turn to a network of “runners” based in the US to liquidate and launder the fraudulently obtained funds, the department added.

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Saturday, January 18, 2020

Explained: How Swami Vivekananda became the ‘messenger of Indian wisdom’ to West

J

anuary 12 is the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the famous Hindu spiritual leader and intellectual from the late 19th century. An important religious reformer in India, Swami Vivekananda is known to have introduced the Hindu philosophies of Yoga and Vedanta to the West. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had called Vivekananda the “maker of modern India.” Vivekananda was born in Kolkata on January 12, 1863, as Narendra Nath Datta. From an early age, he nurtured an interest in Western philosophy, history, and theology, and went on to meet the religious leader Ramakrishna Paramhansa, who later became his Guru. He remained devoted to Ramakrishna until the latter’s death in 1886.

In 1893, he took the name ‘Vivekananda’ after Maharaja Ajit Singh of the Khetri State requested him to do so, changing from

‘Sachidananda’ that he used before.

After Ramakrishna’s death, Vivekananda toured across India, and set after educating the masses about ways to improve their economic condition as well as imparting spiritual knowledge.

Vivekananda is especially remembered around the world for his speech at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago in 1893. The speech covered topics including universal acceptance, tolerance and religion, and got him a standing ovation.

Many parts of his speech have since become popular, including “I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal tolerance but we accept all religions as true.”; “I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth.”; and “Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth…Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now.” He began delivering lectures at various places in the US and UK, and became popular as the ‘messenger of Indian wisdom to the Western world’. After coming back to India, he formed the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897 “to set in motion a machinery which will bring noblest ideas to the doorstep of even the poorest and the meanest.” In 1899, he established the Belur Math, which became his permanent abode. Through his speeches and lectures, Vivekananda worked to disseminate his religious thought. He preached ‘neoVedanta’, an interpretation of Hinduism through a Western lens, and believed in combining spirituality with material progress.

India demolishes Kerala skyscrapers over environmental violations Residents of the high-rises in the state of Kerala watched as their homes and investments imploded in seconds. The Supreme Court ordered the demolition last year, after a committee found that they were built in breach of rules protecting coastal areas. Two more skyscrapers were set to be razed on Sunday. In total, some 343 flats home to about 2,000 people - were expected to be destroyed over the weekend in what has been described as one of India’s largest demolition drives involving residential buildings. The H2O Holy Faith complex, containing 90 flats, was the first to be brought down on Saturday. It took just seconds for the 19-floor building to be destroyed in a controlled implosion. The twin towers of Alfa Serene were next. Resident Shamshudeen Karunagapally said his wife and children could not watch the buildings go down as it was “too painful for them to see their dreams shatter before their eyes”. “We are suffering without any fault,” he told AFP news agency.

How did we get here? The Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority (KCZMA), which was created to prevent degradation of coastal and marine areas, says permission for the buildings to be constructed was given by local officials without its approval. The KCZMA said the location of the apartment complexes, in the municipality of Maradu, was a critically vulnerable area where no new construction was allowed. After they were built, bankers, executives and affluent retirees were among those who bought up the luxury apartments.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Snowfall, rain & wind warnings in effect for BC’s South Coast this weekend A fresh round of wintry weather alerts are in effect as yet another storm approaches the B.C. South Coast.

Environment Canada has posted alerts stretching from the west coast of Vancouver Island through the Fraser Valley, with the storm expected to arrive Friday night.

“The transition out of this Arctic air is taking longer than expected. We’ve got a pretty juicy system on the way,” agency meteorologist Matt MacDonald said Friday morning.

Snowfall and wind warnings are in effect for nearly all of the Island, with forecasters expecting up to 15 centimetres of snow and winds up to 80 km/h.

Wi n t e r- s t o r m watches are in place for Howe Sound, Whistler and the Fraser Valley.

Forecasters said snow, rain and freezing rain are all possible between Friday and Saturday, but heavy snow is expected first.

Winter-storm watches are issued when several types of severe winter weather are expected to happen together.

“Thisisgoingtoproducewhatwecallamessy meteorological medley,” said MacDonald.

Special weather statements have been posted for Metro Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast, indicating a chance of similar weather.

The snow at the beginning of the storm will change to rain as warmer air arrives sometime before Saturday afternoon, but forecasters said it’s tough to say exactly how long the snow will last before it changes to rain.

“Timing this transition to rain is always challenging in these situations. There is a chance that this transition could be delayed resulting in higher snowfall amounts. It is also possible this transition will include a period of freezing rain,” an alert read.

The rain will create a slushy mess in many areas, with leftover snow from earlier storms still on the ground. Power lines can be weighed down by soaked snow, and storm drains can become clogged. MacDonald said residents can do their part by clearing blocked storm drains if they can safely do so.

She ds, carports and other small buildings could also be at risk of collapse from the weight of wet snow.

Further north, Arctic outflow warnings remain in effect for much of the Central Coast, with an extreme cold warning in effect for the Peace River region.

Much warmer temperatures are expected for the South Coast through the weekend into next week, climbing up to 9 or 10 C in some areas — a drastic swing compared to the cold spell earlier this week.

B.C. has been battered by a series of storms since winter solstice on Dec. 21. The City of Vancouver experienced more snowfall this week than it usually does during months of January.

Mounties release photo of South Asian man From page 1 accused of sex crimes None of the charges against Sanghera has been proven in court, but he was set to appear on Wednesday. “We acknowledge that persons in the community may be very sensitive to seeing the image of Mr. Sanghera,” said Cpl. Dennis Hwang in a news release. “Our investigators have taken comprehensive steps to assist those victims with health services from our partner agencies in advance of this notification. We ask those that may be affected that have not already contacted our detachment to seek professional support.”

However by releasing his photo, Hwang said Mounties hope to hear more tips or from additional victims. In December, Sanghera was placed on several conditions and isn’t allowed to go to parks, pools or

community centres where there may be people under the age of 18. He also can’t work or volunteer where there may be people of that age.

Sanghera can’t be alone or in contact with anyone believed to be under the age of 18.

He also can’t contact any sex trade agency or be alone with anyone who appears to be engaged in sex work. Finally, he can’t be alone with any women who he knows to be or who appears to be impaired by drugs or alcohol.

Anyone with information on Sanghera can reach out using the Richmond RCMP’s tip line at 604-207-5185

Surrey man charged in 2019 Vancouver homicide Vancouver police say a Surrey man has been charged in the killing of a man in the city’s Downtown Eastside in April of 2019.

Chad Harry, 32, is charged with seconddegree murder in a “serious assault” that killed 35-year-old Cong Tran, according to a Vancouver Police Department release Friday (Jan. 17). Harry is in custody.

Officers responded to a report about a “serious assault” on April 1, near East Hastings Street and Heatley Avenue, VPD said.

Tran was taken to hospital where he died of his injuries on April 6.

“Investigators identified a suspect very quickly,” said VPD Constable Tania Visintin.

“The victim and suspect had an altercation that led to the assault.”

Visintin said investigators have been “working to build evidence” for charges over the last 10 months.

VPD said there were 10 homicides in Vancouver in 2019.

LOCAL

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10

LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, January 18, 2020

BC govt wants to seize $7.5 million in properties owned by South Asian family The province is trying to seize more than $7.5 million in Metro Vancouver houses it alleges were used to launder drug trafficking money.

In a statement of claim filed in a B.C. Supreme Court, the B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office alleges six homes in Burnaby, Maple Ridge, Coquitlam and Mission were bought or maintained with money from trafficking fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine.

It also alleges Can Auto, an auto and appliance repair business registered at one of the properties, was used as a front to conceal operations of the drug ring.

The defendants named in the suit are Ashok (Roy) Kumar Naidu, his current or former spouse Gina Chinamma Naidu, their son, Avenel Naidu, and his girlfriend, Alisha Ann Watkins.

None of the allegations have been proven in court and a statement of defence has not been filed.

According to the suit, the New Westminster Police Department began investigating the alleged drug trafficking ring in September 2017.

Police allege Avenel Naidu was one of the leaders of the drug ring and that he and his father were directors of Can Auto.

In June 2018, search warrants were issued for the properties.

Police found drugs, including an opioid analgesic that is almost eight times as potent as morphine, guns, jewelry, more than two dozen cellphones, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and YSL handbags and Rolex watches, some of which were stolen.

Police also found about $200,000 Canadian dollars as well as Mexican and U.S. currency, which the provincial agency is seeking to have

forfeited.

The suit alleges the money garnered from drug trafficking was deposited into various bank accounts in amounts less than $10,000 so as not to raise suspicion.

Between November 2014 and February 2018, Ashok Naidu allegedly deposited more than $275,000 in cash into the accounts at different branches.

The deposits were often large numbers of $5 to $100 bills, not consistent with legitimate business income, the suit says.

The family would then allegedly use the money to pay mortgages on existing homes and buy new ones. Furthermore, the defendants are alleged to have prepared fraudulent employment letters, pay statements and tax documents to support the laundering.

The suit alleges the properties acted as meeting places for the drug trade, storage for drugs and space for an unlicensed marijuana

grow operation. The property and related bank accounts have been frozen as the civil suit progresses. The suit alleges Can Auto’s business bank accounts were not consistent in size and frequency of deposits for a business involved in auto repair work.

“Avenel Naidu exhibited a level of personal expenditure and asset ownership inconsistent with being employed at Can Auto,” the suit says.

Furthermore, it alleges it could not be explained by other legitimate sources of income.

The suit asks that the money, jewelry, handbags and the six properties, as well as their proceeds, be forfeited to the government.

If not, the suit says the properties will “likely” be used for unlawful activity in the future.

City of Surrey spends $1.2M on winter maintenance – so far Despite all the snow this week, Surrey’s manager of engineering operations says it’s an “average winter.” Ray Kerr said that, “historically, we have three snow events a year.” “I think we’re experiencing an average winter for the region. I’m hopeful that the weather for the rest of the winter is not the same as what we’ve experienced in the last week,” he said Friday (Jan. 17).

Another winter storm weather alert was issued Friday morning, calling for a mix of snow, rain, freezing rain and strong winds.

It’s supposed to hit Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley by the evening. As of Jan. 16, the city had spent $1.2 million of its

$3.7-millon winter maintenance budget, Kerr said. Out of the city’s 17,000 tonnes of salt, he said crews have used about 7,000 tonnes. “It’s been a busy week with respect to the differing weather, everything from freezing rain, snow coming and going. We’ve been dealing with it as quickly as we could,” said Kerr, adding that while there’s “always going to be complaints” about snow removal, staff has also received thanks. “We’re dealing with it, and we’re hitting all of our roadways as quickly as we can.” As for sidewalks, Kerr said the city is asking residents and businesses “that they get out there as quick as they can following the snowstorm.”

11

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Khalsa Business Centre

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

12

LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Man charged with killings in Surrey & Abbotsford faces 2 more charges The man charged with first-degree murders of Randy Kang in Surrey and Jagvir Malhi in Abbotsford in 2017 and 2018 is facing two more charges.

According to court records, Tyrel Hieu Nguyen Quesnelle, 21, has also been charged with two counts of attempted murder with a firearm in relation to the Kang killing.

Quesnelle remains in custody and is expected to make his next appearance in Surrey provincial court on Monday, Jan. 13.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team announced on Dec. 20 that Quesnelle had been arrested that morning in Edmonton and charged with the fatal shootings of Kang, 27, and Malhi, 19.

Police have not said how the two killings are linked.

Kang, who police have said was “associated to gang activity,” was killed Oct. 27, 2017 in the 11300 block of Alpen Place in Surrey.

A second man was wounded in the attack and was hospitalized.

Malhi was killed Nov. 12, 2018 on Ross Road as he was in his vehicle en route to University of the Fraser Valley, where he was in his second year of criminology studies.

Police have said that he was the unintended victim of a shooting targeted for someone else, and that Malhi was not involved in gang activity, but he knew people who were.

Bus line explosion at Burnaby-Vancouver border causes traffic snarl No one injured after lines comes down at Kingsway and Boundary. Parts of the intersection of Kingsway and Boundary Road, on the border of Vancouver and Burnaby, have been closed again after trolleybus lines caught fire and fell onto the road early Friday morning.

It’s not clear what started the fire on the lines, but they were arcing around 1 a.m. PT underneath a bridge connecting the north side of Kingsway to Burnaby’s Central Park.

The lines then exploded, before

falling across westbound Boundary Road.

No one was injured or trapped, but first responders had to shut down the normally busy intersection.

The road briefly reopened early Friday but has since been shut down again.

Boundary is closed from Imperial Street to Vanness Avenue.

Sections of Kingsway are closed between Patterson Avenue and Boundary Road as crews deal with the wires.

Supreme Court unanimously dismisses BC appeal of Trans Mountain pipeline The Supreme Court of Canada has unanimously dismissed British Columbia’s appeal of the Trans Mountain pipeline. The province was asking Canada’s top court to find that B.C. has jurisdiction over what flows through the pipeline expansion project from Alberta, but the Supreme Court has found

that control over the contents of the natural energy project is fully federal jurisdiction.

If B.C. had been successful they could have been in a positon to block heavy oil from moving through the pipeline, throwing into jeopardy the multi-billion dollar project and expansion that the federal government bought from Kinder Morgan in 2018.

Passengers had to help push a stuck bus through the snow in Vancouver

So much snow fell over Metro Vancouver during the most recent storm that passengers had to help a stuck bus get through it.

Video captured by Twitter user Suzanne shows several people helping out, leaning into the bus as they push it out of the spot where it got stuck.

Suzannesaid, thebusgotstuckatBroadwayand Willow Street Wednesday. “Got stuck again!!!”

Suzanne wrote, tagging TransLink in her tweet.

“Vancouver doesn’t really know how to handle snow.”Several people tried to help, and the bus operator was eventually able to get it going.Their efforts worked, but aren’t recommended.“While it’s nice to see the spirit of co-operation in action, we don’t support customers pushing buses stuck in the snow,” TransLink’s Jill Drews said.

“Safety is our top priority. We can’t condone allowing customers to put their safety at risk in this way.”

Wednesday was a difficult day for commuters who rely on public transit.

More than 50 bus routes were impacted by weather.

Pickups were delayed as drivers had to slow down, and many buses got stuck throughout the day.

A long line of buses were stopped on Granville Street near the bridge for about three hours as snowplows cleared the hill so the drivers could get through.

On the SkyTrain, delays were reported across the system due to stuck doors and switch issues. TransLink said the issues were due to the temperature, which was below freezing.

Trains also had to move at slower speeds, and platforms and train cars were crowded as people tried to get to and from work.

The service provider went so far as to ask the public to stay home, if they could.

When asked about use of “snow socks” – specialized tools designed to improve traction in hilly areas during slippery conditions – TransLink said they were used Wednesday on Burnaby Mountain Parkway to Simon Fraser University and on two routes on the North Shore.

“Installing them requires staff at either end of the route. Staff need a large, safe place to install them,” Drews said.

“Snow socks also require checks and maintenance periodically. These requirements constrain when and how snow socks can be used. Snow socks are very useful at times, but they are not feasible for use on all routes.”

On Thursday, conditions improved, but passengers were warned that service would be slower than normal.

HandyDART service remained at essential service levels only, TransLink said, because many side streets are still icy and may not have been plowed.

LOCAL

Saturday, January 18, 2020

13

More than 16,000 people arrested for illegal border crossing into Canada in 2019 The number of people intercepted by the RCMP as they crossed into Canada between official border points fell in 2019, newly released federal figures show, but overall, the number of asylum claims being lodged in this country is up.

The data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada reveal that in all of 2019,

the RCMP stopped 16,503 people as they came into Canada from the U.S. using informal entry points, such as the Roxham Road crossing between New York and Quebec.

That’s down from 19,419 the year before, and 20,593 the year before that. In total, however, there were 63,830 claims for asylum filed in Canada in 2019, up from

Andrew Weaver leaves BC Green Party to sit as an independent Former B.C. Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver is leaving the party to sit as an independent MLA starting Jan. 20 because of family health problems.

The move is not expected to immediately affect the balance of power held by the minority NDP government, which is supported by a confidenceand-supply agreement (CASA) with the Greens.

“Sitting as an independent will allow me to better balance work with the competing health demands affecting my family,” said Weaver in a statement. “I remain committed to the stability of this minority government and CASA.” On Jan. 6, Weaver stepped down as B.C. Green Party leader after a reported health scare.

‘I’m happy to move on’: Andrew Weaver

expresses no regrets as he takes a step back The 58-year-old will continue to represent the riding of Oak BayGordon Head in Victoria.

Weaver’s decision reduces the Green Party caucus to two: Adam Olsen, interim Green Party leader and MLA for Saanich-North, and Sonia Furstenau, MLA for Cowichan Valley.

“We support MLA Weaver in his decision to sit as an independent so he can attend to the various health challenges affecting his family,” said Olsen.

B.C. Green MLA Adam Olsen named new interim party leader “The B.C. Green Party’s work these past years to begin to reduce partisan polarization from our political discourse and restore the public’s trust has been demanding, and because of this we recognize that a person’s commitment to their family needs to come before those to their caucus.”

Woman escapes Surrey duplex fire A woman has “minor burns” after a fire at a Cloverdale duplex Thursday (Jan. 16), says Surrey Fire Service.

Jerry Siggs, Surrey Fire Service assistant chief of operations, said crews responded to a single-storey duplex fire around 11:30 a.m.

When crews arrived, he said, fire could be seen coming out of the side of the home.

There was “heavy” fire damage to one unit and a nearby vehicle, Siggs said.

A Black Press Media freelancer on scene said the woman had escaped from the home.

Siggs said she was treated for “minor burns.”

The home, he said, is “uninhabitable.”

He added that emergency support services are helping the woman, “who won’t have a home for the night.”

There is a cat “unaccounted” for, Siggs said.

The residents of the second unit, he said, are “OK,” but there was “a little bit” of smoke damage.

The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined yet, but Siggs said an investigator has been on scene.

55,040 in 2018, and 50,390 the year prior.

The data highlights the fact that despite multiple efforts by the Liberal government -- including dispatching politicians and bureaucrats around the globe specifically to discourage border-crossers -- the flow of people continues largely unabated.

“Canada is continuing to experience unprecedented volumes of asylum claims,

resulting in backlogs across the inCanada asylum system and significant costs to all levels of government,” reads a briefing note prepared for Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino in November and published online this month.

The issue at the border is linked to a deal with the United States, which among other things precludes people from requesting

Surrey’s newest task force aims to find ‘innovative’ ways to bring in revenue Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum has announced a new task force and standing committee.

The Mayor’s Task Force on New and Innovative Revenue Generation is aimed at looking “at cities around the world to see how they generate revenue… so that all of the revenue sources don’t completely rely on the taxpayer all the time,” McCallum said at the Jan. 13 council meeting.

He said there are some examples inEurope“thatarebeingworkedonrightnow.”

He didn’t specify what those examples are.

“This task force will literally look around the world to find innovative and new ways to finance our city.”

McCallum appointed himself as chair for the task force, along with councillors Allison Patton and Laurie Guerra as committee members. It’s for a one-year term.

During the meeting, McCallum also announced a “new” standing committee, the Investment and Innovation Standing

Committee.

He appointed himself as chair, along with councillors Patton and Mandeep Nagra as committee members.

McCallum said the committee is “to build Surrey’s economy and optimize the city’s potential in terms of generating high-value, local jobs, building the local innovative ecosystem, optimizing strategic investments and employment in building Surrey’s City Centre.”

The Investment and Innovation Standing Committee, however, isn’t entirely new.

In February 2018, former mayor Linda Hepner replaced it with the now-defunct Mayor’s Economic Advisory Committee.

MEAC was meant to “provide council with information and guidance on issues related to investment and innovation opportunities and challenges” in the city.

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Saturday, January 18, 2020

New records broken as extreme cold and snowfall warnings persist across BC Schools remained open across most of B.C.’s Interior and north, but many bus runs were cancelled throughout the regions as temperatures dipped to new record lows.

According to Environment Canada, seven spots in the province hit recordbreaking extremes for Jan. 15, including

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Bella Bella at –12.8 C, Burns Lake at –44.1 C, Clinton at –33.3 C, Prince George at –44.4 C, Puntzi Mountain at –48.8 C, Quesnel at -41.9 C and Tatlayoko Lake at –35.4 C. The last time Quesnel reached –40 C was in 1991, however temperatures are expected to gradually rise later this week.

In the areas of Bulkley Valley, Muncho Lake Park, Fort Nelson and 100 Mile, the extreme cold warnings were lifted around 4 p.m.

In the meantime, in Prince George, crews worked to repair water main breaks today in dangerously cold conditions.

City spokesperson Mike Kellett said the downtown break, at Sixth Avenue and Winnipeg Street appears to be related to the cold weather due to the age of the utility installed in 1956.

Kellett said a second break in the Southridge neighbourhood of College Heights appears to be unrelated to the cold, but the frigid temperatures are making it difficult for crews to repair the line and restore service and some people may be without water until late Thursday when the

temperature is expected to rise. Temperatures in Prince George, B.C. plunged below -40 Wednesday, causing problems for city crew.

Water main breaks flooded streets downtown and in College Heights, and snow clearing operations were canceled over fears the deep freeze could damage equipment. 0:22 Environment Canada says bitterly cold Arctic air will remain across most of the central and northern Interior and parts of the southern Interior, with wind chill values up to –40 C. On the central and north coasts there is a freezing spray warning and Arctic outflow warning in effect, with severely cold and hurricane force winds expected.

Freezing spray occurs when a combination of below freezing temperatures and strong winds cause wind-generated spray to freeze and accumulate on marine infrastructure near the water.

Prince George also has an air quality statement in effect. Environment Canada says that stagnant winter conditions are creating higher pollution levels.

Thousands without power after snow storm hits BC’s south coast Thousands of B.C. Hydro customers remained without power early Thursday morning after a snow storm whipped across the South Coast Wednesday, causing road and school closures, travel alerts, and ferry cancellations.

By 9:30 a.m., B.C. Hydro said crews were making good progress, with just over 6,000 customers without power in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island. Earlier in the morning, more than 15,000 customers were without power.

At the height of the wind storm Wednesday, hurricane force winds of up to 150 km/h blew across Howe Sound, knocking down trees and power lines, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.

“Crews made good progress overnight restoring power to most customers affected from yesterday’s heavy snow and winds. Crews will continue to work to restore remaining customers throughout the morning and the rest of the day,” B.C. Hydro said, in a statement Thursday.

B.C. Ferries has resumed sailings between Horseshoe Bay and Nanaimo after some were cancelled earlier Thursday because of the wind.

Most public schools, universities, and colleges in the region were open again Thursday, with some districts reminding parents that if they felt it was not safe to drive then to keep their kids home. Some remained closed, however, including all public schools in Chilliwack and Mission.

Water main break closes main roads in Victoria A broken water main near two along with minor localized flooding. major roadways in Victoria is creating Victoria Police have closed Blanshard Street traffic havoc for the morning commute between Hillside Avenue and Caledonia Avenue, and Bay Street between Quadra Street and Douglas Street this morning after water started pouring out of a broken main near the Island Farms plant on Dowler Street.

Crews are on the scene but it is unclear how long repairs will take.

Drivers are being diverted around the problem.

Meth package shot into prison with bow and arrow A carbon-fibre sporting arrow carrying two bags of crystal meth was found at Abbotsford’s Pacific Institution.

The arrow was discovered on the perimeter of the prison grounds around 11 a.m. The attached packages contained nine grams of drugs with an institutional value – what it’s worth in prison – of $7,200, according to Correctional Service Canada.

Police have been notified, an investigation is underway and security has been increased due to the incident.

The incident is the latest criminal innovation for smuggling drugs into Canadian prisons in the Fraser Valley region. Last year, for example, over $86,000 in contraband was seized from Agassiz’s Kent Institution, including a drone.

Guards said the contraband was being delivered into the prison via the drone.

Drugs, drone, cellphones seized from outside Kent Institution Meth and other items with a prison value of $82,000 seized at Abbotsford jail

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Saturday, January 18, 2020

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Struggling buses, frozen train doors cause chaos for commuters Blowing snow and icy conditions creating difficult commute in Metro Vancouver on Wednesday.

SkyTrain doors are freezing shut and delays due to bad weather are causing long lineups

at transit stations across the Lower Mainland.

In an effort to reduce the travel chaos, TransLink is asking riders to avoid peak commute times if possible.

TransLink’s website asks customers to consider Wednesday an extreme travel day and to stay home if possible. It says bus and SkyTrain service across the system is being significantly affected by the weather.

Currently all station are open along the Expo/ Millennium line, but the line is experiencing significant delays and reductions in train

frequencies. Trains are moving at a slower speed.

Many bus routes are cancelled or delayed — check TransLink’s transit alerts for the latest information. As of 5 p.m. PT, there were more than 200 alerts about bus delays on TransLink’s website.

“Reconsider the need to travel and only travel if it is absolutely essential,” TransLink spokesperson Ben Murphy said.

Tough morning commute Rough conditions didn’t stop thousands of people trying to make it to work Wednesday morning. “There are going to be very lengthy delays, so people need to be prepared for that,” said Murphy.

“These are very, very difficult conditions we are dealing with.” Buses were struggling in the accumulated snow while the Canada Line was shut down shortly after 9:30 a.m. PT due to a track issue at Bridgeport Station.

A widely shared video on social media showed a group of commuters trying to push a bus out of the snow. Jill Drews, a TransLink spokesperson said she would not recommend passengers do that.

“It doesn’t seem safe to me,” Drews said.

“While you want to get the bus going, maybe stay inside and hope for the best. We don’t want to see anyone get hurt or slip and fall.”

How many people does it take to move a bus?

Commuters cooperate to get coach moving Commuters help unstuck bus

Premier Horgan says ‘rule of law applies,’ & LNG pipeline will proceed A natural gas pipeline across northern BC is vital to the region’s economic future and it will be built despite the objections of some Indigenous leaders, Premier John Horgan said Monday.

He said the courts have ruled in favour of the project and the rule of law will apply to ensure work continues on the Coastal GasLink pipeline, which would start near Dawson Creek and extend to an export terminal at Kitimat.

The 670-kilometre pipeline is part of a $40 billion LNG Canada project.

“We want everyone to understand that there are agreements from the Peace Country to Kitimat with Indigenous communities that want to see economic activity and prosperity take place,” he said. “All the permits are in place for this project to proceed. This project is proceeding and the rule of law needs to prevail in B.C.” Hereditary chiefs from the Wet’suwet’en Nation near Smithers say the project does not have their consent. Supporters of the chiefs have felled trees along a road to a Coastal GasLink work site and are building a new support camp.

They already occupy two other camps along the road. The Unist’ot’en camp and the Gidimt’en camp, where the RCMP enforced an injunction last year and arrested 14 people.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge extended an injunction against Wet’suwet’en members and anti-pipeline supporters on Dec. 31.

Coastal GasLink posted the injunction order last week giving opponents 72 hours to clear the way to its work site. The company said it was up to police to determine the “timing and manner of enforcement of this order.”

The RCMP began restricting access on Monday to the area where the court injunction applies.

The Mounties say a police checkpoint was set up at the 27 kilometre mark of a forestry road into the area because of safety concerns stemming from the trees that were felled across the road and tire piles that were recently found with gasoline and other fuels inside.

Those entering the area on the road are being stopped by police and given a copy of the court’s injunction, as well as being informed about hazards and road conditions.

The RCMP said those being allowed to enter must have permission from the RCMP’s operations commander, which generally includes hereditary and elected chiefs, elected and other government officials, accredited journalists from recognized media outlets, and

those providing food, medicine or other supplies.

The RCMP said its commanding officer in British Columbia has been involved in a series of meetings and more are planned with the hereditary chiefs, elected band councils and others with an interest in the pipeline.

“It was emphasized that the primary concerns for the RCMP are public and officer safety,” it says in a statement released on Monday. “Our duty is to preserve the safety of everyone involved in this dispute, and to prevent further contraventions to the B.C. Supreme Court ordered injunction.”

The Wet’suwet’en hereditary clan chiefs have asked the RCMP not to use force against the pipeline opponents who are facing the injunction order.

during Wednesday’s snowstorm.

Even before rush hour, just after 7 a.m. PT, people were already abandoning the platform at the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station after waiting more than 10 minutes for a train.

Some of the delays are likely due to train doors freezing shut after moving at high speeds in frigid temperatures. A SkyTrain attendant at Commercial-Broadway was spotted using

a plastic hockey stick to scrape ice from the doors so they could open them for the crush of commuters anxiously awaiting a ride.Murphy said sensors on the doors can freeze over and then train doors don’t know if they should be open or closed. When this happens, the train will not move as a precaution in case the doors are open. Murphy said TransLink has pulled some trains for service because of this issue.

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Saturday, January 18, 2020

Lohri celebrations at Gurdwara Nanak Niwas The Indo-Canadian community around the globe celebrates a number of its special days including Lohri with a great deal of enthusiasm. Lohri is a cultural celebration mainly celebrated in the Punjab and by Punjabis around the globe. Originally, it was celebrated on the winter solstice, being the shortest day and the longest night of the year. However, it gradually shifted towards early January to coincide with the beginning of the harvesting of sugarcane crop. The old tradition still continues in the Punjab. However, overseas, Punjabis have modified it greatly. For example in Canada, in view of the foeticides, and as a symbol of equality between boys and girls, it is considered as a major celebration

for the community. The individuals and organizations working for the noble task of equality must be commended for their efforts in this regard. Every child, whether it is a boy or a girl is a gift from God and his/her birth must be celebrated with equal enthusiasm.

During this week there have been a lot of celebrations in this regard. Same was true for India Cultural Centre of Canada’s Gurdwara Nanak Niwas (#5 Road) in Richmond.

Monday, January 13 was the official day for Lohri. At Gurdwara Nanak Niwas, a number of volunteers, including a large number of dedicated women closely associated with the Gurdwara, started getting ready for Lohri a few days earlier.. As the day arrived, these enthusiastic volunteers got busy preparing langar for the congregation. Eight

families, who were blessed with newborn babies-boys and girls and two newly- wed couples joined in the celebration by making generous financial donations. It was great to see a very large number of people join in the celebration on January 13. It looked like a festival atmosphere all around the Gurdwara.

Here is a list of the newborn children who were the stars of the celebration at the Gurdwara: Arjun Singh Sidhu, Logan Singh Bhinder,Munro Resham Kaur Nagra,Amaya Kaur Liddar, Saavin Singh Sandhu ,Dylan Singh Rai, Theo and Roman Sihota and Anika Sharma.

In addition to that, Parmjit Singh Rai and Love Preet Kaur Rai as well as Harvinder Singh Sidhu and Aikam Jit Kaur Sidhu celebrated their first wedding anniversary .

Kirtani Jatha

The enchanted the congregation with their melodious kirtan and recitation of the Gurbani. After the kirtan, the congregation savoured delicious vegetarian langar and then enjoyed the bonfire(Dhooni) at the back of the Gurdwara premises. On behalf of the Gurdwara Management Committee, India Cultural Centre of Canada Gurdwara Nanak Niwas President Balbir Singh Jawanda and Secretary Balwant Singh Sanghera congratulated the families of the newborns and newlyweds. They also thanked all of the volunteers, the ladies who helped member of the congregation and the participating families for making the Lohri celebration such a great success.

Balwant Sanghera

Surrey to install 20 ‘enhanced pedestrian crossings’ in 2020 urrey city council will be voting to award a contract for the installation of 20 “enhanced pedestrian crossings” throughout the city in 2020.

The contract, if approved at Monday’s (Jan. 13) meeting, would be awarded to Crown Contracting Limited for $3,146,715.23.

The enhanced pedestrian crossings have rectangular flashing beacons.

There are also plans for two existing traffic signal upgrades, an overhead flashing crosswalk and a new pedestrian signal.

A report from staff says that the crossings support the Surrey’s Vision Zero strategy, as

well as the Safe and Active School program since five of the crossing are located near schools.

The city launched the strategy in February of 2019, with a goal of reducing deaths and injuries on roads by 15 per cent over five years.

According to the city’s website, on Surrey’s roads, one person is injured every hour, crashes cost more than $1 million every day, more than one person is killed every month, injury collisions go up three per cent every year.

The work, according to the report, is expected to begin this month and be completed by 2020. For crossings near schools, the work will be completed during spring break to “minimize the impacts.”

The funding for the contract is through the city’s 2020 transportation budget. Two of the crossings will be partially funded by ICBC. - The traffic signal upgrades will be at 76th Avenue and 128th Street, and 64th Avenue and 120th Street.

- The overhead flashing crosswalk will be at 72nd Avenue and 146th Street.

- The new pedestrian signal will be at 72nd Avenue and 142nd Street.

- The enhanced pedestrian crossings will be at: • the 9500-block of 160th Street • the 18600-block of 60th Avenue (near Sunrise Ridge Elementary School) • 60th Avenue and 179th Street (near Zion Lutheran Church and School) • 60th Avenue and 182nd Street • 60th Avenue and 173B Street (near William of Orange Christian School) • the 14900-block of 84th Avenue (near Maple Green Elementary School) • 148th Street and 90th Avenue

• 13300-block of 68th Avenue • 18th Avenue and 140th Street • 76th Avenue and 147A Street • 24th Avenue and 137A Street • 75th Avenue and 122A Street • 12500-block of 75th Avenue • 7600-block of 124th Street (near Strawberry Hill Elementary School) • 78th Avenue and 124th Street • 59A Avenue and 148th Street • 57th Avenue and 148th Street • 58th Avenue and 148th Street • 93A Avenue and 160th Street • 68th Avenue and 138th Street The City of Surrey has also been implementing “leading pedestrian intervals” over the past few years at roughly 70 intersections, with the plans to double that by the end of 2020.

LPIs give pedestrians a seven-second head start at traffic lights before vehicles are given the green light to drive through the intersection or turn left.

Stop treating Marine Way like a highway, Burnaby RCMP tweet after stopping 3 speeding vehicles in a row Mounties in Burnaby say they stopped three vehicles travelling at speeds more than double the limit in the same area Saturday morning.

Marine Way near Boundary Road may have a concrete median, but that doesn’t mean drivers should treat it like the Trans Canada Highway, Burnaby RCMP said in a tweet. The

detachment posted photos of three vehicles being towed in the area, after officers stopped them for excessive speed. The speed limit in the area - and in all municipalities in British Columbia unless otherwise posted - is 50 km/h. All three vehicles stopped Saturday morning were travelling at more than 100 km/h, according to police. The last driver was also distracted, RCMP said. This is the second warning Mounties have tweeted about speeding in that area in the last two weeks. On Dec. 30, a similar situation led to tickets for three drivers who were going 98, 102, and 136 km/h in the 50 km/h zone.

Officers frequently catch speeders in the area going much faster than the speed limit, which transitions from 70 km/h to 50 km/h as drivers travel west toward Boundary Road.

New apartment buildings have recently been built in the area and the neighbourhood is becoming more residential, so increasing traffic safety is a priority, Burnaby RCMP said in December.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

B

ipasha Basu was recently seen in the Maldives and shared highlights of her vacation, soaking in all the elements of the beach as she welcomed the New Year with her husband. She was at Kandima Maldives Resort with Karan Singh Grover, celebrating the New Year and then her birthday on Jan. 7. Kandima Maldives put together a very special birthday surprise for her with in-room decorations using components like

Vidya Balan with different cuts With her very first film, “Parineeta,” Vidya Balan showed that there was space in the industry for a homely girl whose forte was acting and not glamour.

Fourteen years later, after playing roles as varied as a housewife, a ruthless femme fatale, a brothel-owner, sister to a murder victim, lady detective and an RJ, she has shown that she is a star with a difference.

Admittedly, she has floundered in many a case, notably in fairly recent

films like “Kahaani 2” and “Begum Jaan,” but the triumphs have outclassed these failures – people still remember her path-breaking turns in movies like “The Dirty Picture” and “Kahaani” among others. We begin our conversation on this note as we meet up on the eve of the release of “Mission Mangal,” in which she essays a scientist. Q: You have been the forerunner of the trend of substance-heavy films, especially the female-oriented ones. In the 2010-2011 phase, you acted in “Ishqiya” and “No One Killed Jessica” for starters.

A (Laughs): I just think that I was there at the right place at the right time, and it is kind of people to give me credit!

A change was underway, waiting to happen, Ekta Kapoor and Milan Luthria for “The Dirty Picture” and Sujoy Ghosh for “Kahaani”.

Bipasha celebrates her birthday in Maldives monkey structures made through towel origami, flowers like lilies and pink roses, colorful balloons and much more. An added touch was the couple’s exclusive birthday dinner celebrations.

Basu and Grover are setting romantic goals for all. Bipasha Basu was born on 7 January 1979 to a Bengali family in Delhi. Her father, Hirak, a civil engineer, and her mother, Mamta, a

homemaker.

She has one elder sister, Bidisha, and one younger sister, Vijayeta. According to Basu, her name means “dark deep desire”, and is also a river’s name.

In Delhi, Basu lived at Pamposh

Enclave, Nehru Place, till the age of eight and studied at Apeejay High School.

[4] Her family then shifted to Kolkata, where she attended Bhavan’s Gangabux Kanoria Vidyamandir, located in Bidhannagar.[5] In her school, Basu was appointed as the head girl and was fondly called ‘Lady Goonda’ due to her short and commanding personality.[6] She remarked “As a child, I was a tomboy and I was pampered a lot, due to which I became very naughty.

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Bollywood

Hrithik starts third decade in films Hrithik Roshan marks 20 years as his debut movie “Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai” turns 20 Jan. 14 and here’s a recap of all the success the actor has achieved over the years.

Three years later, Rohit from “Koi...Mil Gaya” was a challenging role, given that Roshan had to play a man who was mentally a kid. Emperor Akbar in “Jodhjaa Akbar,” a quadriplegic in “Guzaarish,” an aimless boy who becomes a soldier in “Lakshya,” a terrorist in “Mission Kashmir,” the romantic conman in “Dhoom:2,” Rohan Bhatnagar in “Kaabil” and Anand Kumar in “Super 30,” apart from his turn in and as “Krrish” have all seen the actor excel.

Agent Kabir from his most recent movie “War” is his latest accomplished turn. “War,” along with “Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai,” “Koi…Mil Gaya” “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham…” and “Dhoom:2” also smashed through box-office records.

From actresses like Rani Mukerji, Shraddha Kapoor, and Sonam Kapoor to the new generation of actors like Tiger Shroff, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ananya Panday, Roshan serves as an inspiration and a co-star on the wish-list.

From being crowned as the Entertainer of the Year to topping the list of Sexiest Asian Man in the world thrice in four years, Roshan has come a long way. He is also one of the few Indian actors to feature at Madame Tussaud’s in London. The superstar has also won awards the National Citizen’s Award and several popular awards.

In the third decade of his career, Roshan has been again approached by Dharma Productions and Karan Johar (after “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham…” 20 years ago) for the story of the real-life Indian spymaster Rameshwar Nath Kao, who founded India’s external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (known as RAW) and how he became a success story in the world of international espionage. Meanwhile, in his 20th year (2019), Roshan starred in two successes “War” and “Super 30” in diametrically opposite roles and was one of the only three actors who had no flops and made the maximum moolah for the industry.

Hrithik Roshan’s journey from real-life Bihari mathematician Anand Kumar in “Super 30” to crack espionage agent gone bad, Kabir, in “War,” told by the man himself.

2019 has been incredible for Roshan with two backto-back successes. It was a difficult journey for the actor to ace the role of a Bihari for “Super 30” and then immediately get into the skin of Kabir for “War.” Roshan took to his social media and shared a video giving us an insight into his journey of transformation with the caption, “The other side of K.A.B.I.R Behind the scenes.”

“It all began in September 2018,” he states in the video. “The transformation was the hardest thing I had to go through and the only person I had to blame was myself! That was the toss over after Super 30.” With the back injury as a hindrance.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Deepika Padukone Deepika was born on January 5, 1986 She is actress and producer. One of the highest-paid in India, her accolades include three Filmfare Awards. She features in listings of the nation’s most popular personalities, and Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018.

Padukone, the daughter of the badminton player Prakash Padukone, was born in Copenhagen and raised in Bangalore. As a teenager, she played badminton in national level championships but left her career in the sport to become a fashion model.

She soon received offers for film roles and made her acting debut in 2006 as the title character of the Kannada film Aishwarya. Padukone then played a dual role opposite Shah Rukh Khan in her first Bollywood release, the romance Om Shanti Om (2007), which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Padukone received praise for her starring role in the romance Love Aaj Kal (2009), but this was followed by a brief setback.

The romantic comedy Cocktail (2012) marked a turning point in her career, and she gained further success with starring roles in the romantic comedies

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Chennai Express (both 2013), the heist comedy Happy New Year (2014), Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period dramas Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Padmaavat (2018), and the Hollywood action film XXX: Return of Xander Cage (2017). She also received critical acclaim for playing a character based on Juliet in Bhansali’s tragic romance Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013) and a headstrong architect in the comedy-drama Piku (2015), winning two Filmfare Awards for Best Actress.

She formed her own company Ka Productions in 2018, under which she produced Chhapaak (2020), in which she also starred as an acid attack survivor.

Padukone is the chairperson of the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image and is the founder of the Live Love Laugh Foundation, which creates awareness on mental health in India. Vocal about issues such as feminism and depression, she also participates in stage shows, has written columns for a newspaper, designed her own line of clothing for women, and is a prominent

Awards winning Rani Mukherji Rani Mukerji was honored also by US Council for Contribution to Indian Cinema and TSR National Film Awards recognized her as Bollywood’s Ever Shining Star. She was commemorated with Excellence in Acting at GQ India’s Men of the Year Award that same year.[3] In 2015, Mukerji was felicitated

by The National Institute of Gender Justice towards her contribution to gender sensitization.[4] In 2017, she was honored by the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Jugnauth, for

her Outstanding Contribution to Cinema during Mauritius Cinema Week in celebration of 50 years of the country’s independence from British rule. 1 Anandalok Puraskar Awards: 2 Bengal Film Journalists’ Association Awards 3 BIG Star Entertainment Awards 4 Bollywood Movie Awards 5 Filmfare Awards 6 Global Indian Film Awards 7 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 8 International Indian Film Academy Awards 9 Sabsey Favourite Kaun Awards 10 Sansui Viewer’s Choice Awards

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he makers of the sports biopic “83,” which is inspired by India’s historic 1983 World Cup win, have shared a beautiful tribute for cricketer Kapil Dev on the occasion of his birthday Jan. 6 with the hashtag #ThisIs83.

The video starts with Kapil reminiscing about the match at Turnbridge Wells Stadium, following which he briefly talks about how it felt to play and create history at the stadium where he was commemorated on Jul. 10, 2019.

The cricketer was overwhelmed with

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The makers of ‘83’ share tribute for Kapil Dev on his birthday the trip down memory lane as he was being commemorated with everyone cheering for him. Sharing the video, the makers wrote, “To the one who inspired

Raj Kapoor’s daughter Ritu Nanda dies of cancer at 71

he daughter of Raj Kapoor and Shweta Bachchan’s mother-in-law Ritu Kapoor is no more. The 71-yearold took her last breath on Tuesday morning. Ritu was suffering from cancer for several years.

Ritu was diagnosed with cancer in 2013 and underwent treatment in USA. According to reports, Ritu’s last rites will be performed at 1:30 pm at Lodhi Road cremation ground in Delhi on Tuesday.

Ritu’s sister-n-law, Neetu Kapoor shared the news of her demise on Instagram through a heartfelt post. Along with a picture of Ritu, Neetu wrote: “My dearest may your soul Rest In Peace.”

Soon after Neertu, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni too took to her social media account to mourn the death of her ‘bua’, Ritu with an emotional note, stating: “To the

kindest most gentle person I‘ve ever met - They don’t make them like you anymore - RIP bua #missyoualways.”

Ritu’s brother and veteran actor Randhir Kapoor confirmed the news with Indian Express.

“Ritu Nanda passed away early morning today.

She was suffering from cancer. We are in Delhi.

The funeral is today,” he said.

Amitabh Bachchan, who shares daily updates for his followers on his blog, wrote: “My ‘samdhan’ Ritu Nanda, Shweta’s Mother in Law passed away suddenly at 1.15 Am .. cannot communicate .. travelling.”

Born in 1948, Ritu, an entrepreneur, associated with the life insurance business, was married to late industrialist Rajan Nanda, who passed away in 2018.

Their son Nikhil Nanda is married to Amitabh’s daughter Shweta Bachchan.

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Bollywood

the nation to dream big.

Wishing @therealkapildev, a very happy birthday. #ThisIs83 #HappyBirthdayKapilDev h t t p : / / b i t . l y / HappyBirthdayKapilDev_83.”

Lead actor Ranveer Singh wished the former captain on his social media handles with some exclusive stills from the

film “‘83.” Singh had broken down when the last shot of the film was completed some months ago. Ranveer Singh as Kapil Dev, Tahir Raj Bhasin as Sunil Gavaskar, Saqib Saleem as Mohinder Amarnath, Chirag Patil as Sandeep Patil play the main roles. Deepika Padukone will be seen in a cameo playing Romi, Kapil Dev’s wife.

Touted to be the biggest sports film of all time, “‘83” is being co-produced by Madhu Mantena, Sajid Nadiadwala and Reliance Entertainment. The movie is slated to release Apr. 10.

Horoscope Aries

March 21 - April 20 This week might be easier than last week, but you’re not quite out of the woods yet.

There is still a lingering intensity, and this can relate to a key issue you’re dealing with. The sun aligns with sobering Saturn and volcanic Pluto on Monday, and this can bring a greater understanding of the core issues and what you need to do to create the changes you desire. But there is a spiritual component, too, as lovely Venus enters Pisces, and this can encourage you to turn the matter over to

Taurus

April 21 - May 20 To create the future you want, you might need to let go of whatever is stopping you from getting there. Last week, you may have become aware of what this is, and this week the conjunction of the sun with prudent Saturn and intense Pluto could inspire you further.

If you need help from a teacher or life coach, do get it, because it could make a world of difference. With luscious Venus, your guide planet, moving into Pisces and your social zone on Monday, you might be ready to confide in friends and accept their support.

Gemini

May 20 - June 21 With an intense set of planets in a deeply emotional zone, it would be no surprise if you felt a tad exhausted. And yet, you could feel a sense of relief at letting something go that really needed to leave your life. While you may have fought against this, you now might appreciate the wisdom of this release and the healing that can happen as a result. As the sun links with taskmaster Saturn and radical Pluto on Monday, the awareness that everything is happening for a reason can give you strength

Cancer

June 22 - July 23

Last week’s intense energies may continue to linger. However, by the weekend you could feel a little lighter and easier within. The sun’s link to cautious Saturn and transformative Pluto on Monday can bring a sense of closure to a relationship issue that has been going on for a while.

Although there may be details to finalize and further discussions in the pipeline, there may also be a sense of freedom and release.

Leo

June 24 - August 23 Positive Jupiter is now in your lifestyle sector until late next year, and its presence here can add extra buoyancy and confidence.

This is just as well, because last week’s intense energies may have left you wondering what your next steps should be.

Solar ties at the start of the week could see you assessing your priorities and creating a plan. Be sure to delegate, too, because this can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed when the pressure is on.

Virgo

August 24 - Sept 24 Are you ready to express your creativity? After last week’s focused and intense aspects, your perspective on self-expression and creativity may have shifted a little. This week, the sun conjoins sobering Saturn and transformative Pluto early on, encouraging you to find the silver lining to any issues you may have encountered. Whatever disappointments you’ve had, something can come out of this that benefits you greatly. Do you need to talk things over? As sweet Venus moves into your sector of relating on Monday, her presence here can encourage you to share how you feel with

Libra

Sept. 24 - Oct 22 Last week’s intense focus on your domestic sector could linger into this week, but you may feel generally lighter by the weekend. With the sun merging with prudent Saturn and potent Pluto on Monday, an opportunity could arise to resolve a family or domestic difficulty for good.

If last week encouraged you to seek change, this week could see you putting this desire into action. And, step by step, you will begin to see a positive shift. Your ruler Venus moves into your lifestyle zone on Monday.

Scorpio

Oct 23 - Nov 22

Your mind holds the secret to success, and where you place your attention can be the key to moving up the ladder or taking a step back. Last week, the intense focus on your sector of talk and thought may have made you aware of the need to change your mindset.

The sun links to taskmaster Saturn and underworld Pluto on Monday, and you may now understand why this is so valuable. Even a small shift in attitude can bring positive results in your experience. Once you get a taste of how this works, you can then master your destiny.

Sagitarius Nov 23 - Dec 22

Positive Jupiter, your guide planet, is presently in your money zone and will be until late next year, so you have good fortune on your side. Still, it might not have seemed like this last week if intense energies coincided with a deep realization that something needs to shift.

This may have been going on for some while, but now is the time for action rather than reflection.

Still, with lovely Venus moving into your home zone on Monday, her presence here could encourage you to nurture yourself and enjoy a little pampering.

Capricorn Dec 23 - Jan 20

If you were under intense pressure last week, this can now begin to ease. Still, with the sun linking to practical Saturn, your ruler, and explosive Pluto, reflecting on recent experiences can yield some valuable insights.

If you have lost something or had to give up something, you might begin to appreciate why this happened. It may not make it much easier, but it could help you understand it.

Aquarius

Jan 21 - Feb 19 You may appear calm and collected on the outside, but feelings could be bubbling away on the inside. Last week’s intense focus may have seen you questioning events in your life and the reasons for them.

This week, with the sun merging with careful Saturn and power-broker Pluto, you may gain an even greater understanding of why they occurred. It could be that they shaped your character and nature in certain ways, and your destiny, too.

Pisces

Feb 20 - March 20 What are friends for? This is something you might have considered in depth last week when a powerful blend of energies may have brought change to your social life. If you decided to distance yourself from certain toxic relationships, that was a wise move. This week, you may begin to feel the benefits of your actions and realize that this is something you should have done long ago.

Still, as delectable Venus enters your sign on Monday, it can encourage a more compassionate stance. Don’t think of calling these people up and inviting them back, though.

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Saturday, January 18, 2020

Star kids ready to make their Bollywood debut

1) Saiee Manjrekar looks pretty as a peach in her latest Instagram pictures

5) Arjun Rampal talks about daughter Mahikaa’s Bollywood debut

2) Suhana Khan looks drop-dead gorgeous in her latest selfie

4) Salman Khan’s neice Alizeh Agnihotri the new star kid on the block?

3) Khushi Kapoor reveals she will debut in Bollywood with a Karan Johar film

6) Ananya Panday says she doesn’t deserve to be on Karan Johar’s talk show

Radhika Apte

She was recently nominated as best actress at the Emmy Awards for the web series “Lust Stories.” The nomination is another feather in the cap for her after her movies “Andhadhun” and “Pad Man” won diverse National awards.

In a media release, the actor spilled the beans on how easily she steps into multiple characters while working on different projects.

“Every character requires a different type of preparation,” she said. “A lot of it has to do with your collaboration with

the director and your co-actors. Some characters require a lot of research to be done, while others require a lot of practice.”

“So the process may differ each time. I’m not someone who gets attached — I detach myself from my character with a lot of ease and it almost happens automatically when I’m done shooting.”

In the international space, the actress will be seen as a spy in “Liberte: A Call to Spy,” based on real incidents from World War II. She will be playing the role of Noor Inayat Khan a.k.a. Nora Baker, who was the first female wireless operator to parachute into Nazi-occupied France to help the French resistance.

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Saturday, January 18, 2020

Press release

Ottawa will provide $25,000 to the families of Iran plane crash victims Prime Minister Trudeau says Ottawa will provide $25,000 to the families of the 57 Canadian citizens and 29 permanent residents who died when Iran shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet last week.

Trudeau says the money is intended to cover the cost of funeral arrangements or travel, which comes on top of an earlier commitment to waive fees and speed up processing times for visas for those affected by the tragedy.

Trudeau also made it clear that Canada still expects Iran to compensate victims, but that he knows families cannot wait any longer for support.

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Press release

Francois-Philippe Champagne is in Oman to meet with his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif, to talk about the shooting down of the Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, which killed 176 people last week.

That meeting comes after Canada and four other countries with nationals aboard the downed airliner came up with a list of demands for Iran, which includes pressing that country to co-operate with the investigation.

The countries are also demanding that Iran punish those responsible and compensate the families of victims.

BC loses more jobs than any Canadian province

John Horgan and the NDP continue to drive B.C.’s economy in the wrong direction

as more job losses hit British Columbia.

According to Statistics Canada, British Columbia has seen job losses in seven of the last eight months, losing 7,700 jobs in December and a total of 32,400 private sector jobs over the course of 2019. “The holiday season is behind us and more British Columbians are out of work and fewer are even looking for a job as our population continues to grow,” said BC Liberal Jobs Critic and MLA for West Vancouver-Sea to Sky, Jordan Sturdy. “An actual jobs plan for B.C. has never been more important as so many hard-working British Columbians continue to struggle to afford the cost of living with John Horgan and the NDP’s 19 new or increased taxes.”

The job numbers released today by Statistics Canada show a further decline in British Columbia’s once strong economy.

Meanwhile, John Horgan and the NDP continue to do nothing.

“John Horgan and the NDP lost more jobs than any other province in December,” concluded Sturdy. “This donothing government under Horgan has no plan and apparently no desire to get our economy back on track.” The NDP have never had a solid economic plan and it is families and hard-working British Columbians who pay the price in the end.

British Columbians can’t afford any more of John Horgan and the NDP.

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Vol. 10 No. 51

Saturday - January 18, 2020

Home sales in every BC region to recover in 2020 - a forecast. Total home transactions across province expected to rise 11 per cent versus 2019, with average sale prices also predicted to increase in every area.

Although every region in B.C. is expected to see lower home sales in 2019 than in 2018, sales will more than recover in 2020, according to a September 5 forecast by the

housing market to see modest price growth in 2020 and 2021, predicts CMHC

The Metro Vancouver housing market will remain “balanced” over the next two years with home prices expected to increase in line with population growth, according to the latest housing market outlook report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Housing sales and prices have dipped recently as a result of multiple factors — including rising mortgage rates and new taxes — but the CMHC predicts that starting in 2020 and through 2021, there will be a modest increase both in prices and sales volume.

Attached homes, condos and apartments priced under $700,000 are expected to generate the strongest demand because “homes in this price range can be accessible to buyers making a purchase based on their income compared with properties requiring substantial equity for a down payment,” says the report. The report says housing starts are expected to remain high, especially multi-family homes, which currently account for 88 per cent of unit starts.

Tel: 604-591-5423

Housing market forecast through 2020

British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA).Overall in 2019, residential transactions across the province are predicted to be five per cent lower, at about 75,000 units, than the 78,505 sales of 2018.

Every one of B.C.’s 12 boards is expected to

report a year-over-year decline in total sales across 2019, with drops ranging from one to 14 per cent. However, BCREA forecasted that every board will see considerable sales jumps in 2020, totalling a province-wide increase of nearly 11 per cent to 82,700 homes — which

E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com the association said would be just below the 10-year annual average. “B.C. markets are showing signs of recovery after nearly a year and a half of policy-induced declines,” said Brendon Ogmundson, BCREA’s deputy chief economist. “We expect that recovery to continue into next year, with home sales

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Saturday, January 18, 2020

Condo prices are set to put many investors in the red as rents fail to meet carrying costs, experts warn There’s no shortage of people lining up to invest in the city’s burgeoning condo market — many of them mom and pop investors who see rental units as a hedge for their c h i l d r e n against the increasingly unaffordable property market. Others are self-employed individuals without a pension

who view a condo as an appreciating asset to help fund their retirement.

But real estate experts are warning that the investment scene will shift in less than five years as the cost of condos continues to climb at the same time Toronto tenants show signs of hitting a wall when it comes to paying for

an apartment.

That will have significant cash flow implications for property investors because rent won’t cover the monthly carrying cost of those units, said Shaun Hildebrand, president of market research firm Urbanation.

“I’m not sure that condo investors that

have been active recently in buying preconstruction units fully appreciate how much supply is underway in the condo sector and what that will do for their assumptions for returns,” he said. Rents that rose about 10 per cent a year in 2016 to 2018, will likely increase at a more moderate 5 per cent annual for the

Anti-money-laundering course mandatory for real estate agents and property managers Real estate professionals will learn how to recognize red flags and be instructed on their obligations if they’re involved in a suspicious transaction. The regulatory agency for B.C.’s real estate professionals is launching a mandatory anti-money-laundering course to show real estate agents and strata and property managers how to recognize red flags and what steps they’re obligated to take to report suspected cases.

The course will provide “the information you need to understand why real estate is attractive to money launderers,” said the course outline on the website of the Real Estate Council of B.C., the self-regulatory body of the province’s 26,000 licensed real estate pros. Members will learn “how to recognize the risk signs and red flags associated with money laundering (and) review your obligations and the steps to take to report suspicious transactions,” it said.

The self-paced online course will “empower them (real estate pros) to actively contribute

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to preventing criminal activity in B.C. real estate markets” and support them to “comply with their federal reporting obligations,” spokesman Warren Mirko said in an emailed statement. “Real estate professionals work closely with their clients, so they are well positioned to identify suspicious transactions,” he said.

The announcement of the course requirement comes two months after the provincial government unveiled plans to create a new regulator for B.C.’s real estate sector by spring 2021. A single regulator for the sector was a key recommendation of recent reports aimed at cracking down on money laundering.

The three reports into money laundering since 2018 have revealed billions in proceeds-of-crime, and other questionable sources of income have been laundered for years through the real estate industry, as well as through other luxury purchases and through casinos.

The latest report, by Maureen Maloney in May, estimated up to $5 billion was funnelled through the B.C. property market in 2018

alone, likely increasing housing prices that year by five per cent.

Retired B.C. Supreme Court associate chief Justice Austin Cullen is in the middle of a yearlong public inquiry to investigate the causes, scope and impact of money laundering in the province.

Registration will open when the course is launched next week and it will be required for licence renewal beginning April 1.

“It will become part of the mandatory education that real estate professionals must take in order to maintain their licence to practise in B.C.,” said Mirko.

The B.C. Real Estate Association announced this week a new requirement of 18 hours of professional training every two years for its realtors (who make up 90 per cent of all real estate agents), but there was no reference to money laundering

Reasons why Canada’s apartment building owners are happy

ental apartment building market in Canada is trongest it’s ever been, especially from the perspective of apartment building owners.

Buildings are practically full across the country, rental rates are at or near 10-year highs in nearly every market, and average national rents have climbed 4.4 per cent annually over the last two years, according to a new report by commercial property brokerage house CBRE. This rapid rise of rental rates is earning more money for building owners. Total annualized returns for the Canadian multifamily sector were 9.8 per cent as of the first quarter of this year, just behind the industrial sector.

Canada’s national average rental apartment vacancy rate ended 2018 at 2.4 per cent, below the 10-year average of 2.6, CBRE said in its national multifamily mid-year update.

Investors are lining up to get into the market in most cities. Multifamily investment volume reached record levels for four consecutive years, including an alltime high of $8.3 billion in 2018.

Apartments are traditionally viewed as stable and defensive assets to own, said CBRE Canada vice-chairman Paul Morassutti. “(The asset class) never displays great amounts of volatility,” he told Postmedia

last week. “Very rarely would you have declines in rental rates or net operating income. Typically, things would go up in a slow and steady fashion and it was always a favoured asset class for all those reasons.”

Here are other main drivers that Morassutti and his firm believe will continue to stoke demand for apartment buildings in Canada.

Population growth: Canada’s population is expected to grow by nearly one per cent annually over the next four years, surpassing

growth in all other G7 countries, the report said. Much of this momentum is being fuelled by immigration, which accounted for 80.5 per cent of the country’s population growth last year. The government has a plan to welcome one million new immigrants between 2019 and 2021. Much of that new population is settling in the Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver regions, with Toronto and Vancouver experiencing the sharpest annual apartment rental price growth of 5.0 per cent and 7.1 per cent, respectively, over the past four years.

Shortage of new supply Canada’s big cities are not building enough new rental apartments to keep up with demand, when compared to global peers, the report said.

The largest rental market in Canada is Montreal with just under 600,000 units.

Toronto follows well behind with 313,000 units, and Vancouver trails with just 109,000 units. Units on the secondary market, including privately rented condos, do close the gap, but it’s clear that renters across the country need more options, or else rents will continue to climb.

While we are seeing increased construction of rental units more recently, the overall number remains relatively low, Morassutti said.

Rising cost of home ownership An expanding proportion of Canada’s big-city dwellers can’t afford to buy a home. This factor, above all others, is probably having the greatest effect on stoking apartment rental prices, while spurring investors to buy buildings, Morassutti said. “In Toronto, if you want to buy a detached house or semi-detached house, you need to have a household income of close to $200,000,” he said. “The average household income in Toronto I believe is something like $100,000.”

(According to the last Canadian census, the average household in the Greater Toronto Area earned $87,993 after tax.) That leaves residents with only a couple of choices.

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The mortgage stress test is making housing supply issues worse — and making homes even more unaffordable

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anada is experiencing sustained economic and population growth.

Millennials and new Canadians are forming households and their desire for home ownership is very strong. Interest rates are low. In this environment, home sales should thrive and supply should rise alongside demand, keeping prices in check. Instead, our housing supply is lagging and prices have risen dramatically in key markets.

Governments bear much of the blame for this undesirable market imbalance, as a narrow focus on suppressing household debt has dominated the policy mix while the root causes of undersupply — including excessive red tape, fees, taxes and nimbyism — have gone largely unaddressed.

If we want to address housing affordability in Canada, governments need to redesign the policy mix to confront these factors. For its part, the federal government could start by developing a more nuanced mortgage “stress test.”

Ottawa’s stress test is demolishing Canadians’ housing dreams. Which party will rebuild them?

Why Ottawa’s attempts to help young Canadians afford housing simply won’t work The mortgage ‘stress test’ has started harming Canadians more than it helps

First, consider mortgage debt in the Canadian context.

Canadians have some of the highest rates of home ownership and mortgage borrowing in the world.

Evidence shows that Canadians use mortgage debt responsibly; in the majority of cases, we make additional payments or otherwise accelerate our repayments.

Equifax credit scores for first-time Canadian homebuyers are in the upper half of the range considered “very good,” and they typically continue to improve in the first, second and third years of home ownership.

Second, we have the indisputable finding, reproduced in dozens of independent surveys, that Canadians strongly value home ownership. It is overwhelmingly identified as a top priority across the age

spectrum, from millennials to baby boomers.

And the opportunity for home ownership here is a key attraction for immigrants, many of whom leave behind societies where it is rare.

Unfortunately, despite all the evidence that Canadians are committed and responsible

borrowers, would-be homebuyers are today restricted by a number of government policies that need redesign, most notably the mortgage stress test. To be clear: when applied selectively on mortgagors who are attempting to borrow significantly more than their annual income or who are carrying a heavy load of non-mortgage debt already, the stress test can be a useful tool. But there is reason to be concerned about the scope and duration of the test’s current application in Canada. While the government’s one-size-fits-all approach has helped cool overheated markets, it has also destabilized Prairie housing markets, which were already suffering from that region’s economic slowdown.

It has now been 23 months since the stress test was implemented. At that time, policy-makers wanted to ensure borrowers could service their debts when their mortgages came up for renewal — mainly because it was widely presumed rates would rise in the near term. But now, if anything, interest rates are expected to ease amid weakening economic growth, trade tensions and other factors. Given the current environment, we must ask if the marginal improvement in mortgage credit quality created by the stress test is worth the many unintended consequences it causes.

Condos, the ‘future of our communities,’ now cost more per square foot than a detached home Condominiums may be the “future of our communities” but per square foot, they are hardly a bargain. According to a Royal LePage report released today, aside from Vancouver and Calgary, every major city’s condo price per square foot has increased. With the exception of Vancouver, the median price per square foot of a condo is now higher than that of a single family detached home nationwide. Canadian home prices are up — but by the smallest amount in

a decade. Seven reasons Canada’s housing market is stronger than it looks Vancouver’s housing market is dismal — but you still need six-figure income to get your foot in the door “While condo units are smaller, they are the present and future of our communities. With more development opportunities, they can meet both the growing need for housing and lifestyle expectations of homebuyers,” said Phil Soper, the president of Royal LePage in a

press release. The Greater Ottawa condo price per square foot appreciated the fastest among the cities that were measured, rising 17.9 per cent year-over-year to $395, while the Greater Vancouver price actually declined the most by 8.3 per cent to $764. “We are seeing significant interest in Ottawa’s south and west ends from residents working in the nearby military and technology hubs,” said Kent Browne, broker

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

#106 - 7565 132 St. Surrey, BC 604.572.3005

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

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

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

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

Non-resident ownership is highest in

and owner of Royal LePage TEAM Realty. The city of Vancouver remains the most expensive condo market in the country, with homebuyers paying $1,044 per square foot for a condo and $1,279 per square foot for a single-family detached home. Greater Calgary offers the lowest condo price per square foot, with a fall of 6.7 per cent to $313.“For the fourth consecutive month, condo inventory in the region declined compared to last year.

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Classifieds / Jobs

Saturday, January 18, 2020

South Asian Seniors - Bingo On The House January 19th 2020 ( Sunday ) from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm.

Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre of vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey invites South Asian Adults/ Senior members and nonmembers also to come and play Bingo for the sake of entertainment and make some new friends, on January 19th 2020( Sunday ) from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at Shanti Niketan hall 8321 - 140th street Surrey B.C. Please bring only two dollars with you to play 2 games, do not worry if you do not know how to play, members will explain you the game just for the sake of fun. Tea & light snacks will be served after the game is over. Please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator Tel. 604 - 507 - 9945 for further information.

Matrimonial Seeking match for a Canadian Citizen,BSC Nursing, good family value, 31 years old girl from a reputed family, Boy must be well educated & Vegetarian.

Call 1-236-332-9415

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

Please contact by Email vazir@talk21.com Minnegill@gmail.com

Group birthday celebrations

Saturday, February 1st, Vedic Seniors Parivar Center will be celebrating group birthday of 16 members born between 25th October to 1st. February. Their names are as follows, 1. Mr. Satish Kumar Goyal, 2. Mr. Suresh Bhayana, 3. Mr. Gurmit Singh Bhatti, 4. Surendra Handa, 5. Mrs. Rita Moudgill, 6. Mrs. Nirmala Jobanputra, 7. Mrs. Surinder Kaur Dial, 8. Mrs. Nirmal Dardi, 9. Mrs. Surinder Kaur Nager, 10. Mrs. Harbahs Kaur Grewal, 11. Mrs. Seneha Malhotra, 12. Mrs. Sarabjit Kaur Kambo, 13. Mrs. Indu Kaushal, 14. Mrs. Rajinder Kaur Kainth, 15. Mrs. Reema Sreedhar, 16. Mrs. Baljit Kaur Virk. The celebration will be held at Shanti Niketan hall of Lakshmi Narayan Temple 8321 - 140th street Surrey BC from 11.00 am to 3.00 pm. The prominent Musicians of the South Asian Community Mrs. Tejaswita Mohan, Mr. Raj Toora and Mr. Swaran Dhaliwal have kindly accepted our request to entertain us all with Melodious old Bollywood Hindi songs.

Dr. Birendra Kumar Sahu a member of Vedic Seniors Parivar will also entertain with old Hindi songs. Please don’t miss and register your name for attending this special event. Please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator Tel. 604 - 507 - 9945 for registration.

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

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

Saturday, January 18, 2020

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Saturday, January 18, 2020

Canada housing market bouncing back, but not to boom times: Reuters poll Canada’s housing market has turned the corner and prices will increase modestly faster over the coming few years, a Reuters poll of economists and property market analysts predicted, but with no return to boom times any time soon. After an eight-year period of rising house prices that culminated in near double-digit gains in 2017, the market slowed significantly, particularly in urban hotspots Toronto and Vancouver, partly thanks to government efforts to curb property inflation.

But a strong domestic economy, rising immigration and lower mortgage rates have helped the housing market make a comeback in the second half of this year. The Nov. 4-20 Reuters poll of 18 economists predicted average national house prices to beat the current inflation rate of 1.9% and rise 3.0%

next year and 2.9% in 2021, a significant upgrade from 1.8% and 2.0% expected in an August poll. Those were the most optimistic views since polling began for those periods early this year. “The pillars strongly supportive of housing demand in Canada have remained intact: remarkable job creation, superior wage growth and a very low interest rates environment,” said Sebastien Lavoie, chief economist at Laurentian Bank. “The low and stable housing starts to labour force increase ratio is one of many metrics indicating no risk of over-building and refuting overblown concerns about the Canadian housing market.” Over 80% of poll respondents who answered an additional question, 14 of 17, said housing market activity was more likely to rebound than slow down over the coming year.

1 in 5 homes bought by newcomers - survey One in every five homes in Canada is bought by newcomers to the country, according to a Royal LePage survey released on Wednesday.

The Royal LePage Newcomer 2019 Survey, which was commissioned by the real estate company, found that newcomers spend about three years in Canada before buying a home and that 75 per cent of newcomers arrive with savings or cash to help buy a home. About 1,500 people, all of whom arrived in Canada within the last 10 years, were interviewed by public opinion polling and market research company Leger for the survey and it was conducted online in August.Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage, said in an interview with CBC’s Radio-Canada that the survey found that newcomers represent about 21 per cent of all homebuyers in Canada. That

number suggests people new to the country are contributing “significantly” to real estate demand, he said.“We know that Canada is a country of immigrants and we know that newcomers to Canada are an important part of our economic growth. What surprises us in the data is just how important they are to Canada’s real estate market,” Soper said on Tuesday.If current international migration levels are maintained, Royal LePage estimates that newcomers are expected to buy 680,000 homes in Canada over the next five years.

The projected home sales was calculated using historic migration levels from Statistics Canada, the survey’s home ownership rate of newcomers and Canadian Real Estate Association and Canadian Mortgage and

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PRESS / STOCK: Litho/Nwsp

CMYK

Press release

Damaging NDP policy has done little to increase vacancy rates in Metro Vancouver A report released today from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has shown vacancy rates in Metro Vancouver have remained virtually stagnant, despite assurances from the NDP that their faulty speculation tax and other tax measures would improve housing availability.

“The NDP has repeatedly promised that it will solve many of the problems plaguing the housing market, pointing to vacancy rates in particular as an area that will see improvement,” says BC Liberal Housing Critic Todd Stone.

“What we see in this latest report from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is that these NDP policies, in addition to being damaging, have been largely ineffective.”Vacancy rates in Metro Vancouver have increased by a scant 0.1 per cent — from 1 to 1.1 per cent — keeping Metro Vancouver with the lowest vacancy rate among Canada’s largest cities. From Vancouver’s primary rental market of 109,289 units in 2018, a 0.1 per cent increase in the vacancy rate would represent slightly more than 100 units.

Monthly rents for a two-bedroom apartment in Vancouver have gone up by $99, meaning on

average, renters are paying $1,188 more per year than they were in 2018. The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment unit in Vancouver increased by 4.9% to $1,748, the highest in Canada. In the secondary market (owner-rented condos and suites), the vacancy rate for Vancouver is a mere 0.3%, which is unchanged from the previous year. Prospective tenants also face higher rents than long-term tenants, with the average asking rent for vacant units being 20.8% higher than the average rent paid for occupied units in 2019.

“Today’s rental survey results have demonstrated just how negative an impact NDP taxes and policies have had on renters in this province,” concludes Stone. “Rents continue to rise, vacancy rates remain incredibly low, and the NDP’s promised annual $400 rebate for renters continues to be missing in action.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the NDP’s rental housing plan is an abysmal failure.”

Ride-hailing promises frozen, British Columbians still stuck in cold Following years of broken promises, John Horgan and the NDP’s ride-hailing roll-out reaches new lows as dropping temperatures have created chaotic scenes at Vancouver International Airport, with dozens of passengers stuck in sub-zero taxi line-ups and no ridesharing relief in sight.

“Sixteen months ago John Horgan promised ride-hailing would be in place and operational by 2020. Now he is ducking his responsibility and failing to keep his promises to the people

of B.C,” said BC Liberal Transportation Critic Jas Johal. “Horgan thinks he can crack jokes and smile his way through another year of broken promises and purposeful delays, but the reality is that British Columbians are the only ones being laughed at.”

In an interview, John Horgan was asked what should be done if ride-hailing was not fully available by 2020. His response was simply “Come after me. It’ll be done by 2020, absolutely.”

Saturday, January 28, 18, 2019 2020 Saturday, December

DREAM carpet cARpEt

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, January 18, 2020

BC Appeal Court rejects father’s attempt to stop child’s gender transition British Columbia’s Appeal Court has reaffirmed a teenager’s decision to have gender transition treatment and urged the boy’s father to try to understand his son’s gender dysphoria.

The father, whose identity is under a publication ban along with his son’s, went to court when he learned his female-born child was undergoing hormone therapy because he perceived himself to be a male.

The B.C. Supreme Court sided with the boy in an earlier decision, saying he didn’t need his father’s consent for treatment, and an injunction was later issued against the dad ordering that any attempt to persuade the boy to abandon

treatment was a form of family violence.

In a decision released Friday, the Appeal Court said the father is entitled to his beliefs but his son is a mature 15 year old and has chosen hormone treatment.

It overturned parts of the lower court ruling that limited what the father could say about the child’s transition, but it still said he must acknowledge and refer to his child as a male and by the name the teen has chosen.

In the decision, Chief Justice Robert

Bauman and Justice Barbara Fisher wrote that the father’s refusal to respect his son’s decision has caused the boy “significant pain,” resulting in a breach in what was an otherwise loving parent-child relationship.

“This rupture is not in (the boy’s) best interests. He clearly wants and needs acceptance and support from his father.”

The judges say the father’s attempts to be involved in the process have been by fuelled by positional stances without any direct involvement with the boy’s medical team, which has tried to speak to him.

They urged the father to engage with the boy’s medical team and to listen to the teenager.

“If he fails to do these two things, the rupture in his relationship with (his son) will likely not heal, which would not be in (the boy’s) best interests.”

Judge orders vaccinations for 2 boys over their mother’s objections A B.C. judge has ordered the vaccination of two children over the objections of their mother, who questioned the safety of immunization.

The case went to provincial court in Salmon Arm, in B.C.’s southern interior, because of the father’s concerns about recent measles outbreaks and a warning that education officials might not allow his two sons to attend school during an outbreak unless they were immunized.

The mother attempted to introduce a report into evidence written by a U.S. doctor who testified in the highprofile case of a Michigan mother who fought for years to keep from vaccinating her young daughter.

But Judge Stella Frame questioned Dr. Toni Lynn Bark’s qualifications to speak about immunology, virology or epidemiology as well as her claims to be an expert in “vaccine adversomics.”

“It is difficult to know whether or not this is junk science or a recognized emerging field,” Frame wrote in her eight-page decision.

The ruling highlights the role of the courts in adjudicating splits between parents divided over vaccination.

Frame’s decision refers to an earlier B.C. Supreme Court decision in which a judge rejected attempts to link vaccines to autism. Frame said she had reached the same conclusion.

“The current best evidence is that vaccination is preferable to nonvaccination, that it is required in order to protect those who cannot be vaccinated as well as to protect ourselves, and that any adverse reaction the person may have from the vaccine is largely outweighed by the risk of contracting the targeted disease,” Frame wrote.

The boys’ mother said she was not a ‘fan’ of the influenza vaccine and worried about adverse reactions to other immunizations.

The parents at the heart of the case are referred to by their initials in the ruling, which comes after an application from the father — DRB. DRB and DAT have two boys from a five-year relationship that began in 2012. Both children are healthy, have no immunity problems and no ailments that would make them ineligible for live vaccines.

But DAT has refused to consent to vaccination or X-rays done at the dentist’s office.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Brampton man wins $70-million Lotto Max A Brampton man is $70 million richer after winning a recordbreaking Lotto Max lottery jackpot in the Greater Toronto Area.

“I’m overwhelmed, excited, happy and shocked but mostly, I feel very, very blessed,” winner Adlin Lewis said in a statement.

The cheque, which is the biggest lottery prize in Canadian history, was presented to the 49-year-old credit risk manager on Monday at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto.

Lewis said he scanned his ticket using the lottery’s app, but at first he received an error message.

“I tried again and then I saw the words, ‘Big Winner’ and the number 70,” he said.

“I was shocked and wanted to confirm what I saw so I went online to see the winning numbers and one by one they matched!”

Despite the news, he said that he went to work that day, and thought of how to share the news with his wife.

“I wanted to tell her in a special way – with a trip or something creative – but I couldn’t keep this news to myself,” he said,

“I ended up waking her up in the wee hours of the morning on Thursday and just telling her outright.”

Lewis said that he’s been on a winning streak. A couple of years ago, he won a car, and more recently, he won first and second place prizes in a workplace holiday draw.

“When my colleagues found out that the winning $70 million … ticket was sold in Brampton, they were joking at the office ‘Is Adlin here? Did Adlin call in sick today?’” he said.

Lewis said he has played the lottery for over 20 years and often buys an extra ticket or two when the jackpot is high.

He said that with the money, he’s planning on making some investments, taking a few trips, and “enjoying life.”

“My wife has always wanted to try those VIP $100 slots in Las Vegas and now I can make that dream come true for her,” he said.

The winning ticket was purchased at George’s Convenience on Mississauga Road in Brampton. In 2015, the winning ticket of a $60 million Lotto Max draw was also sold in Brampton. At the time, it was the largest prize in Lotto Max history.

South Asian Edmonton pharmacist suspended for improperly filling narcotics prescriptions An Edmonton pharmacist has been suspended and fined $75,000 after a provincial regulator found his pharmacy improperly filled nearly 1,400 narcotic prescriptions from a disgraced Sherwood Park physician.

Rajeh Abu Zahra, former owner of Edmonton’s Boyle McCauley Pharmacy and Home Health Care, has been suspended for three months by the Alberta College of Pharmacy (ACP) and is not allowed to own or operate a pharmacy for two years.

Abu Zahra gave up his licence in November and his suspension started on Dec. 25, college registrar Greg Eberhart told CBC’s Radio Active on Thursday. The tribunal delivered its decision in August and handed down the penalties in November.

The tribunal found Abu Zahra developed a routine practice of accepting hundreds of improper prescriptions regardless of circumstance written by Dr. Vincenzo Visconti, and then attempting to get the physician to send the proper paperwork later.

Visconti permanently lost his licence to practice medicine last year after the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta

found he was prescribing opioids at rates drastically higher than other doctors.

Visconti was also criminally charged in 2018 for allegedly defrauding the government of Alberta of more than $5,000.

‘Drastically higher’ opioid prescriptions contributed to doctor losing licence The tribunal found Abu Zahra filled 1,395 prescriptions with improper paperwork from Visctoni between Jan. 1 and May 3, 2018.

Narcotics must be prescribed in Alberta using a secure prescription form, overseen by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta in partnership with other healthcare regulators.

The medications relevant to the case are part of the most highly protected class, including ketamine and a range of opioids. A pharmacist can only fill a prescription without the proper paperwork in exceptional circumstances.

“The Hearing Tribunal concluded that it is highly unlikely that an individualized legitimate assessment of exceptional circumstances could have occurred 1,395 times,” the tribunal concluded in its decision.

The tribunal also found prescription issues were evident “many months prior” to Jan. 1, 2018.

LOCAL / NATIONAL

31 19

Wexit gets OK to run federal candidates, leader says party will be Bloc Quebecois of Western Canada Elections Canada says Wexit is now eligible to register as a political party in federal elections.

The federal agency’s website says the western separatist group was granted eligibility status Friday, and Wexit Canada leader Peter Downing announced the news to cheers during a rally on Saturday at the Alberta legislature.

Requirements for eligibility include submitting the names, addresses and signatures of 250 electors who are members of the party and support the party’s application for registration, as well as a logo and the purpose of the party.

Once a party is eligible, it can then be registered when it endorses a confirmed candidate in a general election or byelection.

Benefits of registering with the chief electoral officer include having the party

name appear on the ballot, the right to issue tax receipts for donations, and partial reimbursement of election expenses.

A Wexit Canada Facebook post says it plans to nominate 104 candidates -- one for each federal riding in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba -- and compete in every western federal byelection between now and the next general election.

“We now officially have something you can vote for and we now officially have set the grounds -- the conditions necessary -- to have a referendum on separation,” Downing said, telling Saturday’s crowd that it’s impossible for Conservatives to ever form government again.

“This gives Albertans a choice: be governed by Justin Trudeau forever, or vote for your independence.”

South Asian business owner says he was incorrectly identified as scab worker in Unifor ad Kalpesh Patel has owned a Regina business for a number of years, so he was shocked to see his name and image incorrectly identified as a scab worker in a recent advertisement by Unifor.

On Friday morning he said he received over a dozen phone calls regarding the Unifor ad, and discovered he had been labeled as a “scab worker”.

“I didn’t know what to do, I’ve never worked at the refinery, I’ve never been there,” Patel, co-owner of Birmingham’s Vodka and Ale House, said. He added that he’s never heard of Unifor, the union representing the workers in the ongoing labour dispute at the Co-op Refinery. He said his business has no relationship with the Federated Co-op.

Unifor said that it is confident that it identified the correct person in the ad.

Patel said the unauthorized and incorrect use of his identity by Unifor has impacted his life personally and professionally.

“I don’t want any further damage to my name and my business,” Patel said.

Since the ad came out, Patel has spoken with his lawyer and tried to continue running his business.

He said he just want to see his name cleared.

Patel said he’s not sure if he will be pursuing further legal action.

“I don’t know why they picked me,” he said. “I want to stop further damage to my name and my business.”

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National / Finance

When Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz revealed the bank will be asking the public who to put on a new $5 bank note, Canadians were quick to respond.

Some suggestions floated on social media have included Canada’s first female astronaut, Roberta Bondar, suffragette Nellie McClung, and Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie.

But one of the most popular suggestions is Terry Fox, a young man from Port Coquitlam, B.C. who became a beloved Canadian hero when he attempted to run across Canada in 1980 to raise money for cancer research. While Fox died of cancer in 1981 at the age of 22, his memory lives on, with charity runs organized in his name across Canada and the world.

On Friday, the hashtag #FoxForFiver was trending on Twitter, with many social media users calling Fox an obvious choice for the honour and a “no brainer.”

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Terry Fox floated as ‘no brainer’ choice for new $5 bill Dave Teixeira is a Port Moody resident who has organized a Terry Fox Run in Fox’s hometown of Port Coquitlam for the past 18 years.

Teixeira said he’s been a fan of Fox since he was 10 years old and watched Fox run past cheering crowds in 1980 in Mississauga, Ontario.

“He seemed to have this selfless energy. He was doing this to help others, and I like that he had a goal – $1 for every Canadian,” Teixeira said.

“He wasn’t doing it to become famous, he was doing it to bring awareness to cancer in 1980.”

Teixiera added the choice would be extra meaningful if the decision is made in 2020,

because this year is the 40th anniversary of the start of Fox’s Marathon of Hope.

In his Thursday Fireside Chat briefing that mostly focused on economic topics, Poloz said the bank will soon be launching public consultations about who should be featured on a new $5 bill.

“This will be similar to the public consultations that led to the selection of Viola Desmond for the $10 note,” Poloz wrote.

“This time we will be asking all Canadians

to nominate any historic Canadian— someone who is truly banknote-able.”

The bank’s release of a new $10 bill in 2018 featured Desmond, a Black woman from Nova Scotia who fought against segregation in that province in the 1940s.

Poloz went on to say that the bank will release more details about how Canadians can get involved in the process to design a new $5 bill at the end of January. The main reason for creating a new version of the bank note is to introduce new security features, Poloz said.

“I would say, our currency as Canadians is kindness, perseverance, dedication, tenacity – all of those elements are in Terry Fox,” Teixeira said. “So if you’re looking for someone to immortalize on a piece of currency, a $5 bill, no one better than Terry Fox to do that.”

Promised 25 per cent Canadian wireless rate cut is on top of recent reductions, industry minister says The federal government is making clear that cuts to wireless rates it expects from mobile service providers must go above and beyond any price reductions already seen since 2016.

Industry Minister Navdeep Bains says the 25 per cent rate reductions he has been mandated to achieve over the next two years will be measured starting after the Oct. 21 election.

The government has two main tools it can use to encourage competition in the wireless market, and thereby reduce prices, Industry Minister Navdeep Bains said: the sale of wireless spectrum licences and requiring that the bigger telecom companies lease space on their networks to smaller upstart firms operating mobile virtual networks, known as MVNOs. The Trudeau Liberals promised during the fall federal election campaign to cut mobile device rates by an average of 25 per cent, a pledge that was embraced by opposition parties at the time.

But there were no specifics provided on how or when the government intended to force the rate cuts.

In his mandate letter issued weeks after the Liberals were re-elected to a minority government, Bains was told to use “all available instruments” to make the 25 per cent reduction a reality within two years.

According to a 2019 report from

the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, prices in Canada’s mobile wireless market had already dropped by an average of 28 per cent from 2016 to 2018.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Bains said further rate reductions will be measured from around the time he received his mandate letter in December.

“It makes sense that, from our perspective, we made a commitment in the campaign and we are going to honour that,” Bains said.

Canadian cellphone and wireless rates have long been a source of complaints from consumers who see lower prices advertised in other countries, particularly the United States.

The major Canadian carriers, Bell, Rogers and Telus, have warned that any actions taken to force lower prices for their wireless plans could result in reduced investments in the infrastructure needed to ensure faster and more reliable mobile service.

The government has two main tools it can use to encourage competition in the wireless market, and thereby reduce prices, Bains said: the sale of wireless spectrum licences and requiring that the bigger telecom companies lease space on their networks to smaller upstart firms operating mobile virtual networks, known as MVNOs.

Canadian economy expected to gather steam, keeping BoC at bay in 2020: poll A revival in the Canadian economy may already be underway, according to a Reuters poll of economists, who were mostly confident a rate cut was not needed and so predicted monetary policy would remain unchanged this year.

Nearly 70 per cent, or 27 of 39, economists who provided a year-end outlook expected the central bank to keep its key interest rate on hold at 1.75 per cent this year, compared with just over half, or 16 of 31, in a poll taken before the previous meeting in early December.

All but one respondent in the latest poll expected rates to remain unchanged when the BoC meets on Jan. 22, in line with the futures market’s view.

Optimism among economists was partly driven by a trade agreement signed by China and the United States this week after an 18-month trade war and by the latest labour market data, which showed more jobs than expected were added in December.

“The BoC should be encouraged by the

rebound in employment, remaining in a datadependent mode and unlikely to cut rates in 2020,” noted Veronica Clark, an economist at Citi in a research report.

“The December rebound in jobs is an encouraging sign that early-Q4 weakness apparent in recent data releases is temporary.”

The Jan. 13-16 poll of over 40 economists predicted the economy would grow at an annual rate of 1.6 per cent this quarter after expanding 0.8 per cent last quarter.

It was expected to grow 1.7 per cent every quarter after that until the second quarter of next year. More than 85 per cent – 18 of 21 – respondents said the recent economic slowdown in Canada was temporary. A majority said the economy’s revival was already underway.

“We are still subject to the winds of what’s going on globally. If the global economy is able to hold up in the course of this year, we would likely to do the same,” said Benjamin Reitzes, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

RCMP creating DNA profiles to help identify Canadians killed in plane crash in Iran Canada’s national police force is taking part in the massive effort to identify dozens of Canadians killed in last week’s plane crash in Iran.

While no RCMP officers are currently on the ground in Tehran, where the Ukrainian passenger jet was shot down by the Iranian military, a spokeswoman said the force is co-ordinating the crucial work of gathering physical material that will eventually be used to identify the remains of the 57 Canadian victims.

“On-site disaster victim identification assistance from Canada has not been requested at this time,” Catherine Fortin said in a statement. “The RCMP is currently creating DNA profiles here in Canada to assist Iran with Canadian victim identification.”

The Canadian Press has independently confirmed at least 89 victims with ties to Canada, many of them students and professors returning after spending the December break visiting relatives in Iran.

Fortin said the RCMP, which operates the Ottawa bureau of the global law enforcement organization Interpol, began supporting victim identification efforts at the request of the equivalent office in Tehran.

She said the RCMP will work with local police forces to contact relatives of Canadian plane crash victims.

“Some family members may therefore be asked to provide biological samples to assist with the identification of the victims,” Fortin said, adding those samples would then be used to generate a DNA profile that would later help identify remains.

Dr. David Sweet, professor of dentistry at the University of British Columbia and Interpol’s former chief scientific officer for disaster victim identification, said such material forms a vital part of all efforts to put names to those killed in large-scale tragedies.

He said the profiles generated in Canada will be compared to fragments of teeth, jaw bones and other tissues most likely to have survived the crash, which took place on Jan. 8 when the plane was hit by at least one surface-to-air missile fired by the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards.

But Sweet said officials around the world may face challenges in their efforts to identify the dead due to conditions on the ground in Iran.

Canadians at low risk of contracting virus from China: Public Health Agency The federal public health agency says it believes Canadians are at low risk of contracting a new type of pneumonia that has killed one person and made dozens sick in central China, but it has issued a warning to travellers to and from the city of Wuhan.

The agency is advising travellers to and from the city in China’s central Hubei province to avoid high-risk areas such as farms, live animal markets, areas where animals may be slaughtered or surfaces with animal droppings or secretions.

Canada’s chief public health officer Theresa Tam has also been in close contact with provincial and territorial counterparts to share information about the illness, which has sparked concerns over a possible outbreak similar to the SARS virus, which killed hundreds in 2002 and 2003.

The U.N.’s World Health Organization said Thai officials have reported that a traveller from Wuhan has been hospitalized in Thailand with the virus — the first confirmed case of the virus found outside China, where a total of 41 people are suffering from this new

“coronavirus.” A 61-year-old man has also died from the illness — China’s first known death from the mysterious new virus.

The outbreak has been traced to Wuhan, where it affected several dozen people who had been to a major meat and seafood market.

Canada’s public health agency says the likelihood of an outbreak in Canada linked to the cases in China is considered low at this time mainly because of the lack of any clear evidence of person-to-person spread. But officials are remaining vigilant. b “Given we are at the height of respiratory illness season, it is not unexpected that countries, including Canada, may investigate or test travellers with severe pneumonia who are returning from the affected area,” said Anna Maddison, a senior media relations adviser with the Public Health Agency of Canada. “This is to be expected given our surveillance systems have been alerted and out of an abundance of caution to rule out the possibility of infection with the novel coronavirus.”

Anti-Trudeau billboards advertising Alberta Wexit campaign cause an uproar An advertising campaign that is taking issue with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is getting a lot of attention on social media this week.

One of the billboards, posted alongside the QE2 Highway north of Calgary just outside of Airdrie, Alta., was first noticed on Jan. 9 by Twitter user @MzRacz. (Note: As of Monday, Jan. 13, the Twitter user who noticed the billboard has changed their Twitter handle. “(I) actually turned around to drive back and get a look at it again,” said the user, Heather, an Airdrie resident who only gave her first name.

“When I researched the event advertised by the billboard, and learned that it was for a Wexit rally, I got angry enough to tweet about it.” She says she quickly learned that the Airdrie billboard wasn’t the only one in the campaign, and that others have been put up in many locations all over Alberta including in Calgary and Edmonton.

According to the organizer of that event, the goal was to promote the grassroots movement’s push to become an official

political party in Canada. Peter Downing, leader of Wexit Canada, says he and rest of the Wexit supporters don’t want to be governed by Eastern Canada and don’t want to be ruled by the Trudeau government.

“We are just as competent and maybe even more so to take care of the concerns of everyday Albertans.” He says the rally was an opportunity for them to gather the signatures needed to be officially declared a political party by Elections Canada and become an alternate choice for Albertans.

“The Conservative Party of Canada is never going to form government again and that is going to force Albertans to have a choice: choose to be government by Justin Trudeau forever or vote for our independence.”

The billboards were put up by Signpatico, a Regina-based advertising agency.

Heather says she never imagined the impact her tweet was going to have, saying she quickly realized she must have “hit a nerve,” especially when it was posted so close to her hometown.

NATIONAL

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34

INDIA

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Won’t rest until Pak refugees made Indian citizens: Shah Amit Shah said however much the Congress opposes the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the gov’t “will not rest” until all refugees from minority communities from Pakistan are given Indian citizenship.

He once again challenged Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to show him any provision in the new legislation that would snatch the citizenship of any citizen in the country. “I am saying it loudly. You Congress leaders, listen carefully...Oppose it as much as

you can, but we will rest only after giving citizenship to all these people. No one can stop us from doing so. Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Christian refugees from Pakistan have as much right over India as you and I have. They are the sons and daughters of India.

The country will embrace them,” Shah said while addressing a public meeting here in support of the new citizenship law.

Jaish module busted in Srinagar; 5 operatives arrested with explosive material oliceonThursdaysaiditavertedamajorattack ahead of Republic Day by busting a module of Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit in Srinagar and arresting five of its operatives.

It said huge explosive material has been recovered from the five terror operatives.

“In a major success, the Srinagar Police busts Jaish module. Two grenade blasts in Hazratbal area worked out. Major attack averted ahead of Republic Day,” Jammu and Kashmir Police said in a tweet.

“Those arrested are Aijaz Ahmed Sheikh of Sadarbal Hazratbal, Umar Hameed Sheikh of Asaar Colony Hazratbal, Imtiyaz Ahmed Chikla @ Imran of Asaar Colony Hazaratbal, Sahil Farooq Gojri of Ellahibagh Soura and Naseer Ahmed Mir of Sadarbal Hazratbal,” it added.

Based on their disclosures certain searches were made in Srinagar city leading to

India torn between loyalty with Russia & Love for USA, says Jaishankar External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said while nostalgia for the former Soviet Union or Russia still lingered in India, the relationship with the US provided “promising opportunities” to help the country move to a more knowledge-driven world where talent and innovation were the keys to become a bigger global power. India has not closed its doors on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and will carry out a cost benefit analysis to evaluate its merit, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India pulled out of the RCEP as the offer made by countries of the bloc did not match India’s expectations. On whether India will join it, Jaishankar said the ball was in the court of the member countries of the RCEP“I like nostalgia. I started my career in Moscow,” said the minister while observing that foreign policy practitioners tend to underestimate the sentiment on the street. Giving the example of his 90-year-old mother, Jaishankar said she

turned out on the streets in 1955 with lakhs of Indians to welcome then ruling Soviet duo of Nikolai Bulganin and Nikita Khrushchev.

It is still there in her mind. But the sentiment in India towards the US has changed. “Look at any sector and I will show you something that is happening in that relationship. There have been changes in the US for a variety of reasons. It is looking beyond alliances,” he added.

He described India’s global vision as an extrapolation of its national personality which is a pluralistic society and historically very open to the world. “You will see those traits reflect themselves. What has changed is greater capacities and more influence; an opinion that is expressed more firmly and decisively,” he declared. However, Jaishankar was unable to walk the talk a few minutes later when asked to comment on the US-Iran tensions. “The ball is really in their (US and Iran) court,” he said.

Police officer arrested in connection with militants in J&K will be dealt as militant

huge recovery of incriminating material, including gelatine sticks, explosives, detonators, arms, explosive body vests, batteries, nitric acid, etc., police said.

Decorated police officer Davinder Singh, caught with two militants and an associate carrying arms on Saturday, would be dealt with like any other “militant”. “Singh has worked on several anti-militancy operations. But what he did yesterday is a heinous crime. That’s why he is being treated on a par with militants,” said Inspector General of Police Kashmir Vijay Kumar. Singh was arrested along with copturned-Hizb commander Naveed Babu, militant

Rafi Rather and over-ground worker (OGW) Irfan Mir after police intercepted his vehicle on the Srinagar-Jammu highway at Wanpow in south Kashmir and found five grenades inside.

Police sources said two AK-47 rifles were seized in a subsequent raid at Singh’s house at the Indra Nagar locality, which houses Army’s strategic base 15 Corps in Srinagar. IGP Vijay Kumar said Singh was arrested and remanded in custody. “Interrogation is under way and

States sponsoring terrorism must be taken to task: Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rawat Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat on Thursday pitched for strong global action against states sponsoring terrorism, saying there is a need to take the bull by its horns and strike at the root cause. In an address at the Raisina Dialogue, Gen Rawat said there is a need to take a hardline approach in dealing with terrorism, the way the US went after terror groups after the 9/11 terror attacks.

“As long as there are states which sponsor terrorism, we will have to live with the menace. We need to take the bull by its horns and strike at the root cause,” he said in an oblique reference to Pakistan.

“If we think war on terrorism is going to end, we are wrong,” Gen Rawat said.

He said the countries which are sponsoring terrorism could not be part of global fight against terror networks. “You cannot have partners who are partnering global war on terrorism and yet sponsoring terrorism...

There has to be diplomatic isolation of those sponsoring terrorism. Any country which is sponsoring terrorism has to be taken to task,” he said. On containing radicalisation, the Chief of Defence Staff said it could be checked if right persons were targeted, adding that there was a need to confront the “ideology of radicalisation”. Asked whether he supported negotiations with the Taliban, he said peace talks should be initiated with everybody provided they gave up the “weapon of terrorism”.

400 Gurugram schools may run in double shift With a dismal student to classroom ratio of 1:110, as many as 400 schools in the city may be converted into double-shift ones. In an initiative that aims to ensure provision of ample infrastructure like classrooms and benches to all students, the Department of School Education, Haryana, has decided to convert schools with high classroom deficit into double-shift ones. As part of the plan, over 571 government schools in the district have been asked to furnish details specifying the number of classrooms required along with details of space such as stairs or grounds being used as substitute classrooms.

While the local education department is busy collecting data, sources reveal 75 per cent of schools face classroom deficit and their student to classroom ratio ranges from 1:80 to 1:120. A majority of the classes are

being held in verandahs and even on stairs.

Last year, an independent survey highlighted how a majority of students cited lack of proper classrooms as the key reason for not attending classes during monsoon and winter. To address the issue, the department has decided to provide additional classrooms in schools where there is a deficit of one or two rooms. In case of more, the schools are being planned to be run on a double-shift basis.

As per the plan, senior classes (9th to 12th) will be shifted to morning, while middle and primary classes will be held in the evening.

So far, only eight schools in the city run in double shift. The state has allocated the largest share (13.9%) of its funds for education in 2019-20, wherein Rs 6,101 crore for primary schools and Rs 3,389 crore for secondary schools has been set aside.

PUNJAB

Saturday, January 18, 2020

CM Punjab offers help to ‘jobless’ boxer Simranjit Kaur CM Amarinder Singh came to rescue of international boxer Simranjit Kaur, who is jobless and finding it hard to feed her family.“Don’t worry about anything, just focus on the upcoming Olympics,” Amarinder Singh tweeted. “I have directed Secretary, Sports to immediately look into what needs to be done.

Also I would like to thank all on Social Media & the media who highlighted the issue,” he added.

The world championship medalist has qualified for Tokyo2020 and is India’s hope for a medal.

A bronze medallist at the 2018 World Championship and silver medallist at the 2019 Asian Championship, Simranjit, 24, hails from Ludhiana’s Chakar village. Her father, who worked at a grocery store, died in 2018 due to heart failure.

It’s a fight between Sukhbir’s SAD and ‘real’ SAD: Dhindsa Sr The Dhindsa father-son duo is defiant against the Shiromani Akali Dal’s decision to suspend them. A day after the SAD core committee suspended and chargesheeted them for anti-party activities, Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said the fight was on between the Akali Dal of Sukhbir Badal and the “real” Akali Dal. “Sukhbir and his coterie have taken over the party completely. Our fight is with them and the real Akali Dal,” he claimed.

Dhindsa said many other leaders were feeling suffocated in the party like them, but they were yet to speak out. “There are many who are against the control of the party and Sikh institutions by the Badal family. They will come out at the right time,” he told The Tribune.

Dhindsa and his son Parminder Singh Dhindsa, who is MLA from Lehra, have resigned from key posts recently saying the party was not run in a democratic manner.

Justice Dhingra report shows Congress ‘protected’ those involved in anti-Sikh riots: BJP The BJP on Thursday cited a SIT report to accuse the Congress of protecting those involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying it never showed interest in providing justice to the victims and its leaders even “justified” the violence against the community.

BJP leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar said the Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by retired Delhi High Court judge Justice S N Dhingra has brought to fore the truth and said what happened in 1984 was not just riots but the “worst kind of genocide” against Sikhs.The Modi government, he asserted, stands for giving justice to Sikhs and has already told court that it will act on the SIT’s recommendations. Javadekar said Congress leaders like the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and more recently, Sam Pitroda “justified” the violence with their comments.

A Congress leader named as accused by victims has become chief minister, he said in an apparent reference to Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath.

However, Kamal Nath has always denied his involvement and had received a clean chit in investigations carried out earlier. The SIT report shows that the hands of the Congress are with “murderers”, the BJP leader said, noting that it points out that one FIR was registered to probe over 500 cases of arson and violence in places like Sultanpur, leading to delay in probe and acquittal of accused. “The Congress never took any interest in the probe.

They said they were against the decisions taken by the party on sacrilege issue, the Citizenship Amendment Act and change of the status of Jammu and Kashmir. Both have 14 days to respond to a show-cause notice issued to them for anti-party statements.

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FIR against Amazon for ‘hurting’ Sikh religious sentiments An FIR has been filed against retail giant Amazon India by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) chief Manjinder Singh Sirsa for ‘hurting’ Sikh community’s sentiments for letting a seller put up toilet mats for sale with Golden Temple’s image on them, the media has reported.

The e-commerce major has earlier

faced flak as well for letting sellers put such products for sale on the platform.

Sirsa took to Twitter and posted a few pictures showing bathroom rugs printed with the images of Golden Temple on it.

“Amazon is showing ‘recklessness towards Sikh sentiments’,” Sirsa tweeted. He also urged the e-commerce giant to ban the seller and asked them to issue a global apology.

Court issues notice to Badal, Majithia on Justice Ranjit Singh plea

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to Shiromani Akali Dal leaders Sukhbir Singh Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia on a petition filed by Justice (Retd) Ranjit Singh challenging a Punjab and Haryana High Court verdict dismissing his complaint accusing them of they brought him and his commission on sacrilege issue into disrepute. “Issue notice,” said a Bench of Justice Rohinton F Nariman and Justice S Ravindra Bhat, asking Badal and Majithia to respond to Justice Singh’s petition after senior counsel KV Vishvanathan and advocate Sudhir Walia questioned the legality of

the high court’s verdict. In his petition, Justice Singh has challenged the November 8 verdict of the high court dismissing his complaint under Section 10A of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952. Justice Singh—who headed a Commission that inquired into various incidents of sacrilege of various religious Granths which took place in the State of Punjab between June, 2015 and March, 2017—alleged that the two SAD leaders spoke about the Commission in “a very derogatory, defamatory and disrespectful manner” bringing the Commission and its Chairman into disrepute.

36

INDIA

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Why India is the new hotspot for renewable energy investors As the world comes to terms with the enormity of the threat posed by climate change, India’s emergence as home to one of the world’s largest clean-energy expansion programmes is like a whiff of fresh air.

On the back of a highly conducive policy environment, a steady influx of capital, falling prices and new technologies, India has seen an exponential growth in its renewable energy (RE) sector in the past five years. In 2015, the government made its intentions to transition to a lower-emission electricity system clear by declaring an ambitious target of 175 GW from renewables by 2022. The message was simple; wider and cheaper energy access but at minimal cost to the environment.

The renewables industry responded to the

government’s call for climate-compatible growth by aggressively ramping up capacity, at an annual growth rate of 17.5% between 2014 and 2019 and increasing the share of renewables in India’s total energy mix from 6% to 10%. Today, with an installed renewables capacity of 83 GW, plus 31 GW under development and a further 35 GW out for tender, India is among the top-five clean-energy producers globally and is well on course to surpass its original target.

In fact, it is now eyeing 225 GW from renewables by 2022 and a target of 40% clean energy by 2030. This is why India’s start-up economy is booming.

The future of energy is being shaped in Asia 3 reasons why data is not the new oil and why this matters to India.

External Affairs Minister holds talks with Iranian Foreign Minister External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif held talks on fast-evolving situation in Gulf in the wake of frayed ties between Iran and USA over killing of Iranian Commander General Qasem Soleimani.

In the meeting over breakfast, Zarif apprised Jaishankar of the overall situation and Tehran’s position over it. It is learnt that the two ministers also deliberated on various aspects of bilateral ties between India and Iran, including progress of the Chabahar

port project. The Iranian foreign minister arrived here on Tuesday on a three-day visit in the midst of global focus on escalating tension between Iran and the US following the killing of Soleimani in an American drone strike.

Javad Zarif said that India could play a role in de-escalating tensions in the Gulf region as it is an important regional player. In an address at the Raisina Dialogue, he hit out at the Trump adminstration for killing of Soleimani and attributed the action as a “sad reflection of a serious problem in Washington’s thinking”.

Himachal govt suspends IG Zaidi in custodial death case The Himachal Government placed Inspector General Police ZH Zaidi, currently posted as CEO of the HP Wakf Board, under suspension with immediate effect following statement made by SP Soumya Sambasivan (Commandant 3rd IRB Pandoh) in the CBI court, Chandigarh, that she was being pressurised telephonically by Zaidi to change her

statement in the custodial death case.

Eight police personnel, including IG Zaidi and DSP Manoj Joshi, were arrested on August 29, 2017, while DW Negi was arrested on November 16, 2017. Suraj, an accused in the infamous Kotkhai Gudiya rape and murder case, was killed in the Kotkhai police station in July 2017.

ICICI moves HC to recover money from Kochhar The ICICI bank has approached the Bombay High Court seeking effect to “termination of appointment” of Chanda Kochhar as its Managing Director and CEO, and also sought recovery of various amounts from her. In a monetary suit filed on January 10, the bank sought dismissal of Kochhar’s petition and stated that the issue can be decided in a commercial suit.

“ICICI has filed a suit seeking recovery of amounts towards the claw back of bonuses given to the petitioner (Kochhar) from April 2006 to March 2018 pursuant to the

termination of the petitioner’s services,” the bank said in its affidavit. A clawback is a provision in which incentive-based pay, like a bonus, is taken back from an employee by an employer following misconduct or declining profits. The affidavit was submitted in response to a petition filed by Kochhar challenging her sacking, months after she voluntarily left the second largest private sector lender.

“On December 8, 2016, Kochhar executed a claw back agreement with the bank pursuant to which ICICI is entitled to a return of the previously paid variable pay or deferred

Pak’s BAT beheaded porter, Army chief says will deal in ‘military manner’ with such acts Pakistan’s Border Action Team (BAT) is suspected to have decapitated a porter, who was among two civilians killed along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district, and taken away the head, officials said here.

This is the first time that any civilian has been beheaded by the BAT, which comprises Pakistani army regulars and terrorists, though similar incidents involving security personnel have taken place in the past, they said.

The body of Mohammad Aslam (28) was badly mutilated and his head was missing, a senior police officer said. Asked about the killings by Pakistan, Army Chief Gen M M

Naravane said on Saturday that professional armies never resort to “barbaric” acts and they “will deal appropriately with such situations in a military manner”. A defence spokesman had earlier said Aslam and Altaf Hussain (23), both residents of Kassalian village of Gulpur sector, were killed and three others injured after being hit by a mortar shell when Pakistani Army targeted a group of Army porters who were carrying logistics for the troops in a forward area close the LoC on Friday. However, officials said on Saturday that the head of one of the porters was missing and is believed to have been taken away by the BAT.

AirAsia flight returns to Kolkata after drunk woman threatens to blow up aircraft An AirAsia India flight was forced to return to the airport here after a woman passenger threatened to detonate bombs and blow up the aircraft midair, officials said on Sunday.

The incident happened on Saturday night after the Mumbai-bound flight carrying 114 passengers took off at 9.57 pm from the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, they said. A few minutes after it took off from the airport, the woman passenger on board allegedly gave a note to one of the cabin crew, asking it to be delivered to the pilot. The note said there were bombs strapped to her body and she would detonate it any moment, an

airport official said.

Following this, the pilot informed the air traffic controller (ATC) which directed him to return to the city airport, he said. “The ATC had declared full emergency at that time. As soon as the aircraft landed at the airport, it was taken to the isolation bay at 11:46 pm,” he said. The passenger was taken into custody by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

A thorough search of the passenger and the aircraft was carried out but no bombs were found, the official said. The woman, in her mid-20s, has been identified as Mohini Mondol who is a resident of Salt Lake area,

Saturday, December 28, 2019 Saturday, January 18, 2020

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SOUTH ASIA

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal applies for universal banking license Within four months of Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal acquiring a majority stake in Chaitanya India Fin Credit, the microlender on Friday said it has applied to RBI for a universal bank license. Bansal had acquired Chaitanya in September with an investment commitment of Rs 739 crore. The Reserve Bank of India, which is very selective about who enters the banking fray, had earlier made universal bank licenses available on tap.

If given a license, Chaitanya will be the second microlender after the West Bengal-focused Bandhan Bank to be granted a universal banking license. Other microlenders operate as small finance banks.

“Building a universal bank is a reflection of

our commitment to provide financial services to those who need them most,” Bansal, chief executive, Navi Technologies, which had invested in Chaitanya said. Chaitanya was founded in 2009 and operates 40 branches in Karnataka, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Jharkhand, an official statement said.

“Our vision is to go beyond what hitherto has been broadly defined as ‘financial inclusion’ and provide access to formal financial services using technology that people can use intuitively and easily,” Bansal said. The company statement said it aims to make banking simple, accessible and affordable through a consumer-centric and technology-driven approach.

India to invite Pakistan PM Imran Khan and other leaders for SCO heads of govt meeting India will invite Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan along with other leaders for the annual meeting of council of heads of government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation later this year, officials said.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said all eight member countries, four observers and dialogue partners of the grouping will be invited for the meeting. “The meeting is held annually at the prime minister’s level and it discusses the SCO’s programme and multilateral economic and trade cooperation,” he said at a media briefing. “As per the established practice and procedure within SCO, all 8 members of SCO, as well as 4 observer states and other international dialogue partners will be invited

to attend the meeting,” Kumar said when asked whether Pakistan Prime Minister Khan will be sent an invitation to the meeting.

When asked specifically whether Khan will be invited, another official said, “yes”.

For the first time, India will host the annual meeting of the council of heads of government of the SCO, the bloc’s Secretary General Vladimir Norov said on Monday.

The government’s announcement on inviting Pakistan to the mega event came in the midst of frayed ties between the two countries over India’s withdrawal of special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the state into two union territories.

India and Pakistan became full members of the China-dominated grouping in 2017.

Myanmar sends nearly 200 Rohingya captured at sea back to camps Nearly 200 Rohingya Muslims arrested at sea last month by Myanmar’s navy after a voyage of hundreds of kilometes have been sent back to Rakhine state, officials said Monday. Seasonal calmer waters have seen an increase in the number of Rohingya putting their lives in the hands of traffickers in a desperate bid to reach Malaysia or Indonesia by boat.

But few make it as far as Kawthaung, Myanmar’s southern-most tip, where the group of 173 were picked up mid-December. Men, women and children looking exhausted from their ordeal as they climbed down from a wooden boat on to a beach near western Rakhine state’s capital, Sittwe.Wearing identification numbers

around their necks, they lined up on the sand clutching their meager belongings before being escorted away by armed police.

They were taken to Thechaung camp, while the remaining 156 were transported further north to Ngakhuya camp in Maungdaw township, the Rakhine State minister for security and border affairs said.

‘Already independent’, Taiwan President tells China China must rethink its hardline stance towards Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday, as she warned the island was already independent and that any invasion would be “very costly” for Beijing. A Chinese official said on Wednesday that Beijing would not change its policy of annexing Taiwan through its “one country, two systems” framework China would continue to insist on “92 Consensus” that acknowledges the selfgoverning island and the mainland as part of a single Chinese nation, he said Tsai won a second term over the weekend with a record 8.2 million votes, an outcome that was seen as a forceful rebuke of China’s ongoing campaign to isolate the self-ruled island.

Beijing regards Taiwan as its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary, especially if it declares independence.

But in her first interview since Saturday’s reelection, Tsai told the BBC there was no need to formally announce independence because the island already runs itself.

“We don’t have a need to declare ourselves an independent state,” she said in the interview, which aired on Wednesday. “We are an independent country already and we call ourselves the Republic of China, Taiwan.”

Modern Taiwan has been run separately from the mainland for the last 70 years. “We have a separate identity and we’re a country of our own,” Tsai said.

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40

FIJI

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Ministry signs grant agreements worth $138,855 that complement government’s service provision for older persons The Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Jennifer Poole has signed grant agreements with seven agencies worth $138,855 that complement the government’s service provision for older persons. Since 2014 a total of 11 agencies have been assisted under the National Council of Older Persons Grant with a total of $564,068.04.

The seven institutions include Housing Assistance Relief Trust (HART) Nursing Home, the Mother Aubert Home Of Compassion, the Society of Saint Vince De Paul, Senior Charitable Trust Nadi, Senior Citizens Foundation Lautoka Branch, Senior Citizens Ba Community Centre and Suva Relief Fund Trust Board.The Grants are part of Government’s assistance through the National Council of Older Persons, which is an advisory arm of government and the umbrella body for

agencies providing services to older persons.

Funding assistance is for addressing the promotion of the inclusion, protection, health and provision of enabling environments for older persons. Poole says the signing of the grants agreement strengthens government partnerships to elevate specific service delivery platforms to better serve senior citizens in Fiji.

Another tropical cyclone alert in force for Fiji A Tropical Cyclone Alert is in force for Fiji while a Tropical Cyclone Warning is in force in place for Rotuma. The Nadi Weather Office says the Tropical Depression was located at 550 kilometres West of Rotuma or about 810 kilometres North West of Nadi earlier today. It is expected to intensify and become a category 1 Tropical Cyclone by this evening as it continues to approach the Fiji Group.

It is moving at a speed of about 20 kilometres per hour, and continues to track Eastwards towards us. People are expected to experience damaging winds from today.

Also expect continuous heavy rain, flash flooding and sea flooding.

Based on the current tropical cyclone forecast track, the tropical cyclone could make landfall over Vanua Levu tomorrow, and people in Vanua Levu, Viti Levu, Taveuni and nearby smaller islands, Yasawa, Mamanuca, Lomaiviti and Northern Lau Group should start feeling the effects of the cyclone from today. Expect heavy rain and damaging winds to affect the Fiji Group from later today. A heavy rain warning is already in force for Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Taveuni and nearby smaller islands, Yasawa, Mamanuca, Lomaiviti and Northern Lau Group while a heavy rain alert is in force for the rest of Fiji.

Former Fiji residents residing in Australia come together to help victims of the Australian bushfires Former Fiji residents now residing in Australia have come together to help the victims of the Australian bushfires. The group is made up of a charitable organisation known as Yaadein Vision Group and other Fijian clubs of Australia. Speaking to Fijivillage, International Director of Yaadein Vision Group, Bobby Mishra says about 60 former Fiji residents living in Sydney got behind the Australian bushfire relief work in Wollondilly and Bargo which are near Sydney.

He says they called it The Fiji Community on the Move Helping the Australian Bushfire Victims. Mishra says there were two phases through which they helped, the first of which was last week where they provided two weeks worth of food to the victims of the bushfires.

He adds they also went door to door and spoke to individuals. In the second phase,

the group provided meals to the firefighters helping fight the bushfires. The group began with a prayer ceremony for rain and for those affected by the fires. They also had a kava drinking ceremony. Mishra adds apart from providing food the former Fiji residents also donated a cheque of $1,000 each to Wollindilly Emergency Control Centre and another $1,000 to Buxton Fire brigade. He says Jyoti Club also under the banner of Fiji community donated $1,000 to Balmoral Fire brigade and another $1,000 to Hill Top Fire brigade.

Meanwhile, Communications Fiji Limited through its five radio stations - Legend FM, FM96, Navtarang, Radio Sargam and Viti FM and website, fijivillage.com continues with the CFL Australia Bushfire Victims Appeal. CFL has decided to start this appeal as Australia being one of our closest neighbours is going through one of the most difficult times in

Police in all divisions monitoring current weather situation

Police are taking all security measures in the four divisions in the country through increased patrolling and monitoring due to the current weather situation.

Members of the public are advised to take precautionary measures as we expect strong winds and heavy rain.

Chief Operations Officer ACP Maretino Qiolevu says with the Tropical Depression expected to develop into a tropical cyclone by tonight, the Force is advising the public that its personnel are on standby to help in evacuations and rescue missions.

He adds that officers have been instructed to maintain a presence at various locations and provide assistance when needed.

ACP Qiolevu is also advising parents and guardians to keep a close watch on their children and if they are found playing in flooded rivers, streams and crossings, parents and guardians will be questioned.

It has been noticed in the past that people keep ignoring advisories and warnings however ACP Qiolevu re-iterated that those found to be at fault could be charged with disobedience of lawful order under the Crimes Act. He is also advising those affected by the heavy downpour to move to higher ground or to evacuation centres.

PAKISTAN

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Ruling PTI & alliance bargain to keep the coalition alive

As part of the ruling PTI party’s efforts to woo its almost all annoyed allies, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in a crucial meeting with PML(Q) succeeded to convince it that an already power-sharing signed agreement with it would be implemented in letter and spirit.

A delegation of PTI leadership met with PML(Q), a coalition partner of the ruling

party in Punjab and Federal govt, leadership at Punjab House to address their reservations pertaining to non-provision of due share in the development funds and administrative affairs especially in

Lahore High Court annuls Musharraf’s death penalty; declares special tribunal’s ruling ‘unconstitutional’ Ameer Bhatti and Chaudhry In a major relief for former Masood Jahangir unanimously President and Army Chief General declared the formation of the Musharraf Lahore High Court special court against Musharraf as declared his “complaint and trial” “unconstitutional”. as “unconstitutional” leading to the The court also ruled that the annulment of his death penalty by a treason case against Musharraf was special tribunal. not prepared in accordance with On December 17, a special Musharraf the law. “The Lahore High Court court handed down death penalty to 74-year-old Musharraf on treason case has declared unconstitutional all actions right against him. The case was filed by former from initiation of complaint and its conclusion Nawaz government. A three-member Bench against General (retd.) Musharraf by the special of Lahore High Court comprising Justices court,” Additional Attorney General said.

“Gen Musharraf is a free man now,” he added.

Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Mohammad

Former PM Sharif’s restaurant picture goes viral

A fresh picture of former PM Sharif at a London restaurant along with family members gone viral on social media, leading the opposition to cast aspersions over the “serious nature” of his health. Sharif, 69, left for London on November 19 in an air ambulance to seek medical treatment, a month after he was released on bail from a sevenyear prison sentence for corruption.

The PML-N leader is undergoing treatment of multiple diseases including coronary artery disease (CAD). The CAD is the narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries due to which

the heart does not receive the blood it needs, leading to acute chest pain and, in some cases, a fatal heart attack.

Taxi driver returns Indian girl’s lost wallet in Dubai A Pakistani taxi driver Modassar Khadim in Dubai become saviour for Indian student by returning her lost wallet that had her UK visa just three days before she was to return to UK after winter break in Dubai. What makes the story of Raechel Rose even more heart-warming is the way the taxi driver went out of his way to return the wallet even as the expat Indian family was searching for it in panic.

Rose, who flew to Manchester on January 8, had lost the wallet in Modassar ’s cab late evening on January 4. The student at Lancaster University was on her way to attend a friend’s birthday party while on holiday in Dubai. “She had got into his taxi with another friend around 7:30pm on January 4,” her mother said. “Just then, they saw their other friends in another car and decided to join them. They immediately left the taxi and Rose didn’t realise that she left her wallet behind.” Later, Rose realised that the wallet had gone missing.

Imran Khan’s nephew abuses driver and kicks his car in road rage A cell phone video of Hassaan Niazi, nephew of Imran Khan has surfaced where he’s seen misbehaving with commuter following minor road accident. The video showed Hassaan exchanging harsh words with one car driver and kicking the car in the presence of two policemen, according to media reports. The policemen present there

averted any physical clash between the two after Hassaan tried to grab the commuter. A police official said the incident occurred following a minor accident between the cars of Hassaan and the other man. Hassaan got out of his car and snatched the keys from the man, holding him responsible for the accident.

Bumper wedding offer amuses Netizens A new wedding hall in Bahawalpur is offering discounts on bookings for men who are interested in getting married—for a second, third or even fourth time! The caption of the advertisement says, “Dum hai toh maidaan mein aao. Doosri shaadi karke

dikhaao. Bahawalpur mein khulne waale naye shaadi hall ne tamaam shaadi-shuda afraad ko bumper offer pesh kardi (if you have guts, get married a second time. The soon-to-be opened marriage hall in Bahawalpur has a bumper offer)”.

Punjab.

PTI-side included Defence Minister Pervez Khan Khattak, Jahangir Khan Tareen and CM Punjab Usman Buzdar.

PML(Q) delegation was represented by Housing Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema, and party members

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Moonis Elahi and Chaudhry Salik Hussain.

“We had some demands connected with the development schemes,” said federal minister Cheema while talking to reporters after the meeting and added, “PTI has assured to fulfil all these demands.” He also said that there could be differences even within residents of a house and they were thankful to the government for hearing to their concerns.

Avalanches & snowfall claim 93 lives in northern region, KPK and Balochistan The death toll in massive avalanches and snow-related incidents in northern Pakistan touched 93, according to media reports authorities rushed to provide humanitarian aid to those hit by the harsh weather conditions in the country. Neelum Valley-occupied Kashmir is reported to be the worst hit as avalanches continued to damage hundreds of buildings in the area, killing 66 people.

At least 84 houses and 17 shops destroyed, while 94 houses were partially damaged.

Nineteen vehicles have also been damaged in the natural calamity, Neelum Deputy

Commissioner Raja Mahmood Shahid was quoted as saying in the report. Twenty people have been killed in Balochistan and at least seven in Sialkot and other districts of Punjab over the past few days, it said. The rain-related incidents also led to closure of major roads and highways in KPK (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Kashmir and Balochistan. Officials said the death toll could further go up as some areas in the valley were still inaccessible due to heavy snow, it said, adding that there is a forecast of another spell of snow from Friday. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said it was bracing for more

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NRI

Saturday, January 18, 2020 Indian national pleads guilty to involvement in call centre scam that targeted Americans An Indian national has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a multi-million dollar India-based call centre scam that targeted Americans, according to the Department of Justice. Hitesh Madhubhai Patel played a “prominent” role in operating and funding the call centres whose callers and US-based conspirators defrauded American victims between 2013 and 2016, it said on Thursday.

Patel (43), also known as Hitesh Hinglaj, of Ahmedabad, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and general conspiracy to commit identification fraud, access device fraud, money-laundering, and impersonation of a federal officer or employee, the department said. He was prosecuted in the US after being extradited from Singapore in April 2019 to face charges in the telefraud and moneylaundering case.

NRI professor fired for joke about Iranian bomb list n Indian-American professor, who posted a joke on Facebook about Iran choosing 52 US cultural sites to bomb, has been fired by his college. Babson College said Asheen Phansey was fired because the post on his “personal Facebook page does not represent the values and culture of the College”, according to WBZ

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Two Indian-origin women appointed judges in USA Two Indian-origin women have been appointed as judges to the criminal and civil courts by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Judge Archana Rao has been appointed to the Criminal Court while Judge Deepa Ambekar, 43, was reappointed to the Civil Court in New York.

Rao was first appointed as an Interim Civil Court Judge in January 2019 and has been serving in Criminal Court. Prior to her appointment, she served with the New York County District Attorney’s Office for 17 years, most recently as the Bureau Chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau. She is a graduate of Vassar College and received her Juris Doctor degree from Fordham University School of Law. Ambekar was first appointed as an Interim Civil Court Judge in May 2018 and has been serving in Criminal Court. Prior to her appointment, she served with the New York City Council as a Senior Legislative Attorney and Counsel to the Committee on Public Safety.

Indian expat in Dubai records 1,000 songs in 1,000 days

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television. bHe had apologised for the post last week calling it “sloppy humour” that was “read as a threat”. His post was a reaction to US President Donald Trump’s tweet about targeting sties “very high level and important to Iran and the Iranian culture”.

Bombing cultural sites is a war crime under international law and contradicting Trump, US officials said that Washington would not target them.

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A Dubai-based Indian expat has completed her record bid to sing 1,000 songs in 1,000 days, with all songs written, composed, sung and recorded entirely by her, a media report said. Swapna Abraham, 48, has been recognised by the Golden Book of World Records for four awards, including the “quotidian feat of composing, producing and publishing a song ‘live’ incessantly for 1,000 days from April 8, 2017 to January 2, 2020”, the Gulf News report said on Friday.

She is also going to apply to the Guinness World Records for “the most number of songs in a digital album.” In reality, she has sung more than 1,000 songs a day as she also sung an additional song for children over the 1,000 consecutive days - plus a third, fourth, or fifth song on many of the days.

Once she even managed to complete 22 songs in one day. Abraham, who works for a management consulting firm in Dubai, said she wanted to end her decades-long music career by, ironically, singing 1,000 songs in 1,000 days.“After doing music professionally for 24 years and publishing 22 albums, I still felt I was very unfulfilled as a musician, as an artist. I couldn’t understand what it was.

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Saturday, January 18, 2020

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Saturday, January 18, 2020