The Asian Star September 28 2019

www.theasianstar.com

Vol 19 - Issue 35

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Family of slain student angered by killer’s temporary release The family of a Simon Fraser University student gunned down by her ex-boyfriend is outraged after he was granted a temporary release from prison Saturday. Gurjinder Dhaliwal is currently serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole until 2030, after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the killing of 19-year-old Maple Batalia. Dhaliwal shot Batalia to death in the parking lot of SFU’s Surrey campus after seeing her with a male classmate in September 2011. The Parole Board of Canada granted his temporary, supervised release so that he could attend a viewing Continued on page 7

South Asian man arrested in connection with nationwide phone scams Mounties say they have arrested a person in the Lower Mainland in connection with a series of nationwide telephone scams. Police have not released the name of the person they arrested, but Cpl. Daniel Michaud of the RCMP’s Federal Serious and Organized Crime section told CTV News Vancouver the individual is a man in his late 20s. The man is in Canada on a work visa, police said. Investigators say they are working with the Canada Border Services Agency to determine the arrested person’s “admissibility” in Canada. The scams in question are believed to be originating from illegal call centres in India, police said. Investigators determined that a group of individuals operated money service businesses in the Lower Mainland, which police believe were used to launder money illegally obtained through the scams. Charges have not yet been laid against the arrested man, which is why police have chosen not to identify him yet, Michaud said. He said the specific charges will depend on the ongoing investigation and what police believe can be proven in court, adding that the charges will be fraud-related.

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Students strike for climate action in Vancouver

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rotesters too young to vote are making their voices heard by skipping school and gathering outside Vancouver City Hall on Friday (pictured) to demand adults get serious about protecting their futures. The strike for climate justice begins at 1 p.m. PT and is one of many events happening in cities across the world that are timed to coincide with the United Nations Climate Action Summit underway

this week in New York. Even though thousands of adults are expected to march Continued on page 7

Conservatives have big lead in BC, polls show, as majority deem Trudeau blackface scandal ‘serious’ The Conservative Party is ahead in British Columbia, according to new polls, as a majority of voters in the province deem the Justin Trudeau face-painting scandal to be “serious”.

In two polls, Andrew Scheer’s party has support from 29% of the BC population.

The Liberals have between 17% and 19%, the NDP 14% and the Greens between 13% and 14%.

Insights West conducted the first poll between Sept. 6 and 10, and the second poll between Sept. 19 and 23.

Despite the subsequent scandal, it appears Trudeau’s chances in BC actually improved – suggesting the province’s voters are not put off by the Liberal leader’s actions.

That, however, appears at odds with data obtained from the same polling company.

A majority – 52% – of BC respondents said they thought the face-painting photographs were “serious” (26%) or “very serious” (26%).

Tony Singh Founder & President of Fruiticana (second from left) presenting a cheque of $41593.52 to Children’s Health Centre at Surrey Memorial Hospital inpatient pediatric ward.

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Saturday, September 28, 2019

Conservatives take lead in Canada election: Polls Conservatives led by rookie Andrew Scheer edged into the lead against beleaguered Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, which shed support to smaller leftist rivals less than a month from Canada’s general election, according to polls Tuesday.

The two parties had been neck and neck at the start of the campaign.

But new polling taken since Friday by Ipsos, Angus Reid and Ekos -- after several images emerged of Trudeau in blackface makeup -- put the Tories three to five points ahead of the Liberals. Each survey had a 2.5 to 2.9 percent margin of error.

“The question was not whether damning revelations that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had participated in the demeaning act of blackface (not once, but on at least three occasions) would hurt Liberal re-election prospects in this

election campaign, but how much?” said Angus Reid in a statement.

The polling firm noted that the incumbent Liberals yielded support among younger voters -- a key demographic that helped him sweep to power in 2015 -- to the fourth-placed Green Party. The Tories’ backing, meanwhile, was stagnant as Scheer has been “unable to persuade voters unhappy with Trudeau to look at the Conservative Party.”

The three polls have the Liberals ranging between tied or five points ahead of the Conservatives in vote-rich Ontario, with more than one-third of the 338 seats in the House of Commons up for grabs.

The Liberals also still lead in the key battleground of Quebec (78 seats), but saw support there chipped away by the resurging separatist Bloc Quebecois

Former Prime Minister Jean Chretien in Surrey

Former Prime Minister Jean Chretien had a brief visit to meet South Asian community in Surrey on Thursday. Pictured above Jean Cretien talking with media as Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal, MP Randeep Sarai, and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan look on.

Surrey man who killed 2 people and injured 1 in high-speed crash jailed for 20-month The families of two women who were killed and another who was badly injured by a speeding driver are angry over the 20-month prison

sentence the man received as part of a plea deal.

The father of deceased victim Sarah Dhillon said he was hoping Nicolas Karvouniaris would get 10 years.

“We don’t want this guy to spend the rest of his life in jail but we want to feel that there is accountability for actions,” said Troy Demmitt outside of court. “We can’t even begin to put into words how lost we feel.”

Dhillon’s husband, an officer with the Abbotsford Police Department, also spoke outside the courthouse.

Troy Demmitt, the father of crash victim Sarah Dhillon, speaks to media outside Surrey Provincial Court after the sentencing of Nicolas Karvouniaris. (Ben Nelms/CBC) “I told my children that nothing was going to equal their loss. I told them the first day and I told them that over and over again. And it’s just true,” said Paul Dhillon.

Karvouniaris pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous driving causing death, and one count of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

Appeal in fatal dangerous driving case a relief to victim’s daughter Crown had recommended a two year sentence in exchange for the guilty plea, but the judge gave him 20 months for each count to be served concurrently, three years probation and a five-year driving ban.

The 25-year-old Surrey man was the lone occupant of a Jeep Cherokee that crossed the centre median and hit a Ford Escape head-on just after midnight on Nov. 4, 2018, on 88th Avenue in Surrey.

Sarah Dhillon, 50, a maternity nurse and mother of three, died at the scene. She was driving the Ford.

Paige Nagata, the 25-year-old girlfriend of Dhillon’s son, died of her injuries two weeks later.

A third woman, Olivia Kilian, suffered permanent and life-altering injuries.

Surrey man pleads guilty to dangerous driving charges in collision that killed 2 The president of advocacy group Families for Justice said dangerous drivers like Karvouniaris are getting off too easily, and the legal system is becoming increasing unjust to victims, because the concept of precedence is leading to lighter and lighter sentences.

“This sentence is a joke,” said Markita Kaulius. “He’s not going to serve the full [term], he’ll be out in six to eight months.”

The court heard that Karvouniaris was driving 167 km/h in the moments before the collision, and 123 km/h upon impact.

Nicolas Karvouniaris was going 167 km/h in the moments before he crossed into oncoming traffic and hit a car with three women. Two of the women died, the third has permanent injuries. Karvouniaris has been sentenced to 20 months in prison.

The court heard how Karvouniaris sometimes tried to cope with anger by getting in his car and driving aggressively.

Online court records show Karvouniaris has a history of driving infractions, including five speeding violations, two for driving contrary to restrictions.

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Vol 18 - Issue 35

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Eating meat could be banned like smoking, says top barrister, as he calls for new crime of ‘ecocide’ of the Hillsborough disaster and

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ating meat could become illegal in the future due to the damage caused to the environment, says a leading barrister calling for a new “ecocide” law.

Michael Mansfield QC says new legislation is needed to criminalise the “wilful destruction of nature”, which he described as a “crime against humanity”. In a speech to be delivered at Labour’s party conference in Brighton on Monday, Mr Mansfield will say: “I think when we look at the damage eating meat is doing to the planet it is not preposterous to think that one day it will become illegal.

Barrister Michael Mansfield, representing some victims of the June 14 Grenfell Tower

fire disaster, leaves after attending the opening statements of the Inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire disaster, in London on September 14, 2017. “There are plenty of things that were once commonplace that are now illegal such as smoking inside.” Mr Mansfield, who has previously represented victims

the family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, is expected to make the remarks in a debate on the effects of livestock farming on the environment. He will say: “We know that the top 3,000 companies in the world are responsible for more than £1.5tn worth of damage to the environment with meat and dairy production high on the list.

“We know that because the UN has told us so. It is time for a new law on ecocide to go alongside genocide and the other crimes against humanity.”

Surrey murder victim’s sister pressuring feds during election Surrey murder victim Maple Batalia’s sister wants to pressure federal politicians to improve the lot of crime victims after the young woman’s killer received temporary compassionate leave from prison last weekend.

“I really hope that now that we have this federal election going on that women’s rights and victims’ rights are put front and centre on the political agenda,” Roseleen Batalia told the NowLeader. “I really want to hold our politicians accountable to making changes to archaic laws that protect the offenders more than they protect their families and the victim.”

“There’s certain improvements they have the power to make if they allocate the right resources. Victims’ rights, and crime victim’s rights, need to be put on their agenda.”

Gurjinder Dhaliwal was sentenced to life in prison with no eligibility to apply for parole for 21 years in March 2016 after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2011 death of his ex-

girlfriend Maple Batalia, 19.

The court heard Dhaliwal was obsessed with the Simon Fraser University student and couldn’t handle it after she ended their four-year relationship. Batalia was an aspiring actress and model who studied health sciences at SFU before she was murdered in Whalley. She was shot in the back and stabbed while returning to her car, which had been parked on the third-level of the Surrey campus’s parking lot, after a study session.

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4

OPINION

By Michael Taube

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has experienced one of the most controversial, bizarre and mindnumbing episodes in Canadian political history.

It’s damaged his public image and tarnished his reputation.

On Sept. 18, Time magazine released a 2001 photo from a school yearbook that showed Trudeau in brownface. He was a 29-yearold teacher at West Point Grey Academy in Vancouver, B.C., and it reportedly occurred during an Arabian Nights-themed party.

How this photo remained buried for so long is a mystery. It was reportedly unearthed by Vancouver businessman Michael Adamson in July. According to Time, he wasn’t at the party but was “part of the West Point Grey Academy community” and felt this photo “should be made public.”

Trudeau apologized on his campaign plane to reporters. During the media scrum, he revealed another instance of putting on, in this case, blackface when he sang Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) in high school. CTV’s Evan Solomon and the Globe and Mail’s Robert Fife both circulated

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Will blackface controversy destroy Trudeau? this photo on social media within hours.

After claiming (albeit not definitively) that these were the only two missteps, a video of a third instance of Trudeau in blackface was revealed the next day. The Liberal Party confirmed it was him. It’s since been determined it occurred in Quebec during a “costume day” for instructors at a whitewater rafting company.

Trudeau claims he forgot about this third incident. Whether he really did, or conveniently did, is another issue. He also won’t publicly confirm or deny that he hasn’t worn brownface or blackface since 2001, which can be interpreted in a few ways.

This political bombshell has turned into a bomb blast. Trudeau may not survive the carnage he’s created.

For a week, the Liberals released old, controversial videos and social media comments made by several Conservative candidates related to topics like abortion and homophobia.

Apologies were forthcoming.

The Liberals went after Tory Leader Andrew Scheer for defending these candidates after they

apologized. They also previously attacked him for a 2005 video where he discussed gay marriage in a controversial fashion. With respect to the latter, Scheer has said his views have evolved, like other Canadians.

Trudeau, in turn, is hoping (and no doubt privately praying) Canadians will accept his apology and realization that “now I recognize it was something racist to do.”

No one is suggesting Trudeau is a racist.

But what he did was racially insensitive – and profoundly stupid. It shows a complete lack of judgment between right and wrong, and hurts his credibility as a supposedly liberal, progressive, feminist and enlightened individual.

The scion of a late, former prime minister should have really known better.

I’m 49 years old, or about two years older than the PM. I’m more right-wing than he would ever be on his worst day. Nevertheless, there’s not a single moment in my life where I would have ever considered putting on brownface or blackface. I wouldn’t have fathomed for a nanosecond that this long-discredited practice associated with vaudeville would have been regarded as acceptable behaviour, either.

What he said is pure, unadulterated rubbish.

Nevertheless, most polls show the Tories ahead of the Liberals by a small margin. The former’s popularity was steadily increasing before the brownface/blackface controversy broke, so this appears to be the continuation of an existing trend. That’s neither good nor bad for Scheer’s leadership ambitions and/or Trudeau’s re-election bid.

Can Canadians really accept Trudeau’s apology, which would have ended the careers of most Liberal and Tory prime ministers before him?

They would be voting for someone who’s being mocked on the domestic front, and laughed at and ridiculed on the international front. Having the confidence that he can still lead a nation when he buries embarrassing moments in his life and hopes they’ll never be discovered is rather troubling, too.

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Saturday, September 28, 2019 From page 1

South Asian man arrested in connection with nationwide phone scams

Michaud said the arrest was made in Burnaby in early July. RCMP are releasing details about it now because phone scams are still an ongoing issue in Canada, and the public should remain vigilant about them, he said.

In a release about the arrest, police listed three scams they described as “current and more common.” Michaud said the arrested man was part of a criminal organization that was involved in scams of the types mentioned in the release.

Michaud declined to say whether the man was making the calls himself. “We’re not prepared to say what the individual’s role was,” Michaud said. “That organization was involved in all those scams.” One of the scams involves a phone call purported to be from the Canada Revenue Agency, which tells the victim they have been audited and still owe money from a previous tax year. Someone impersonating a police officer tells the victim they will be arrested if they fail to pay, then asks the victim to send money to the suspect’s mailing address, purchase gift cards or disclose personal information. A second scam

Students strike for climate action in Vancouver From page 1 alongside them, for teenage climate change activists, this is about calling out the inaction of the previous generation. Grade 12 students Samantha Lin and Naia Lee are part of a group of 30 core organizers with the Vancouver group Sustainabiliteens. The group is expecting a large crowd to join them in the streets, including representatives from more than 150 supporting businesses in the Lower Mainland, 80 of which have closed their doors for the day. Here’s why Vancouver teens are staging a climate strike “It’s really powerful to see so many people coming together,” said Lee in an interview Friday morning on CBC’s The Early Edition. “We don’t want to be here, we have to be here,” she added. The students want politicians to commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75 per cent by 2030.

Family of slain student angered by killer’s temporary release Saturday for a grandparent who recently died. Batalia’s sister Roseleen said she initially found out that Dhaliwal had requested a temporary release when the parole board asked her to provide a statement on the request. Initially, she said, Dhaliwal’s request was to visit a sick relative. Batalia, who now lives in the United States, was at work when the board called. She said she had just a few hours to put together her thoughts on why she opposed granting the offender’s request.

“It was really hard putting all those thoughts together, because it brings back the same night to me every time,” Batalia said.

Soon, Batalia heard that the first request had been denied, but a second one had been made. It wasn’t until after Dhaliwal’s second request was granted that Batalia learned the new request was to attend a funeral. Batalia sent a letter to the parole board expressing her displeasure with their decision. In it, she wrote the following: “By granting him the ability to see his sick grandparent you would be discrediting Maple’s ability to do the same.

Our Grandma passed away two years ago tragically and Maple couldn’t be there because of the offender. I would also like to remind the parole board that Maple did everything in her power to help the offender to improve his life and suffered tremendous amounts of physical and emotional abuse by him. The offender saw her as his property and not a human being when he made the decision to take her life.”

Speaking to the media, Batalia added that she feels Canada’s justice system moves too slowly and frequently re-victimizes those who have been victims of crimes.

involves a phone call from someone pretending to be alerting the victim of fraudulent activity in their bank account. When the victim agrees to cooperate with a “police investigation,” they are transferred to another person impersonating an RCMP officer. This second person convinces the victim to allow “police” to access their online bank account. The fraudulent officer then deposits what looks like a large sum of money, asking the victim to withdraw it and send it, in cash or gift cards, to a mailing address.

The third scam police described in their release about the arrest involves a phone call from a computer virus software company purporting to be going out of business. The caller claims the company owes the victim a refund and asks for remote access to their computer for the purpose of making a direct payment into their online bank account. The caller makes an “overpayment” and directs the victim to send the difference in cash to a mailing address.

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Saturday, September 28, 2019

Trudeau meets South Asians in BC and praises provincial NDP at rally Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in B.C.’s largest South Asian community Tuesday evening, a week after revelations that he wore blackface numerous times prior to entering politics. In Surrey, outside the Aria Banquet Hall, Trudeau only spoke for seven minutes to a mostly Sikh audience of about 500 people. Prior to the rally Surrey-Newton MP Sukh Dhaliwal said the community has accepted Trudeau’s apology. He said Trudeau has always represented multiculturalism, as did his father and former Prime Minister

Pierre Trudeau, who formed the cultural policy beginning in 1971. The swing city

gang activity, including shootings.

Trudeau reminded the audience of Surrey encompasses five ridings, of the Liberal-initiated Canada all of which are held by Trudeau’s Child Benefit and of a recent Liberals, who flipped three from announcement to ban militarythe Conservatives and two from style assault rifles nationwide while the NDP in 2015. Trudeau’s also giving municipalities the messaging was central to Surrey, ability to ban hand guns. Trudeau which is a middle class suburb that’s criticized provincial Conservative plagued with violent outbursts of

governments, such as Ontario’s led

by Doug Ford. “That’s what a buck a beer got in Ontario,” he said.

But he also praised cooperation between his federal government and the BC NDP provincial government, which is popular in Surrey at the moment.

Green Party’s pharmacare plan would cost $27B in 2020-2021: PBO The Green Party’s plan to bring in a national pharmacare plan would cost close to $27 billion in its first full year, according to the national budget watchdog. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May released the Parliamentary Budget Office’s costing of 24 planks of her party’s platform this morning during a stop in Halifax. The PBO also posted its findings online.

L

iberal Leader Justin Trudeau has now spoken to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh to apologize personally to his opponent over photos and a video of him in blackface and brownface. Both leaders were in the Vancouver area Tuesday. Trudeau started in Burnaby, B.C., which is Singh’s home riding, and was scheduled to have a rally in Surrey, B.C. in the evening. Singh landed in Burnaby, where he was scheduled to have a town hall. Reports are that more than 10-minute conversation happened over the phone while Singh sat at the back of the campaign bus on the way to a stop in his riding of Burnaby South.

Bergeron-Oliver says reporters who were

The spine of the platform is a commitment to a 60 per cent cut in emissions below 2005 levels by 2030, doubling the current 30 per cent target. Other marquee promises include bringing in a universal drug plan

and abolishing tuition fees. Pharmacare is the most expensive line item in the Green Party’s platform, with a price tag steadily increasing to $31 billion in 2024-2025.

The next costliest item

Trudeau and Singh speak about blackface scandal on the same bus as Singh at the time were not aware the call had happened as it was kept quiet and Singh was surrounded by campaign staff and top advisors. Reporters have been told the conversation would remain private.

Sign up for our Election Dispatch newsletter for a daily campaign update Trudeau said earlier Tuesday that the two leaders’ offices “are working together to coordinate” what would be a closed-door conversation, out of the light of the national campaign.

Late last week, while taking steps to get his campaign back on track, Trudeau asked for a

meeting with Singh so he could speak directly with him, as Trudeau had been doing in phone calls with community leaders and his candidates. Singh has said that while Trudeau has expressed “a desire to talk,” it will have to be a private conversation because the NDP leader is not interested in being used “as a tool in his exoneration,” or as part of a Liberal public relations campaign in the wake of the controversy. Singh hasn’t ruled out working with Liberals in minority scenario Singh addresses possible meeting with Trudeau First there were the photos of Trudeau from 2001 at the private school’s “Arabian Nights”

in the platform is the free tuition promise, which would cost $16 billion in 2020-2021.

May said some of the initiatives would be financed by boosting the federal corporate tax rate to 21 per cent from the current 15 per cent — which the PBO estimates would bring in close to $13 billion next year.

themed dinner, where Trudeau dressed as Aladdin with dark makeup on his face, neck, and hands. Then Trudeau admitted to dressing up for his high school talent show where he performed the Jamaican folk song “Day-O,” and the next day the Liberal campaign confirmed that a video dated to the early 1990s was also Trudeau, shown again wearing blackface and waving his arms. After the video came out Trudeau said that it was part of a “costume day” at a summer job he had. Trudeau is still facing questions from reporters about costumes he was wearing in the video, but is offering no new comment or details.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Gurdas Maan faces criticism for ‘abusing’ a protester during live show Punjabi singer Gurdas Maan is facing backlash for allegedly using ‘abusive’ language against one of the protestors opposing his recent commentary on ‘one nation,

one language’. Maan used an expletive during his stage show in Abbotsford, British Columbia in Canada on September 21.

Last week, a video clip from his radio interview with Red FM had gone viral after the singer came out in support of ‘one nation, one language’ idea.

While making his point, he quoted examples of France and Germany, which also have national languages. He stated that people should focus on their mother tongue, but must not forget the ‘aunt’ [Massi] in the process.

The singer, who is currently in Canada for his concerts, has since faced protests over his views, froma section ofthe Punjabicommunity.

During his recent performance at Abbotsford in British Columbia last

week, a group of Punjabi locals staged a protest and shouted slogans against Maan and the show’s organisers.

‘Traitor of Punjab’s Mother Tongue,’ read a large sign held by one of the protestors.

One of them, a local resident, Charanjit Singh Sujjon took his protest inside the venue, which agitated the singer to an extent that he hurled abuse at the protestor, video of which has since gone viral.

Maan also said, “Desh ch chitta rehan nahi dena, dandi ch

chitta rehan nahi dena” (We shall finish the drugs in the country, and we shall also not leave any white hair in the beard).

Speaking to the media after the event, Sujjon said that his conscience did not allow him to stay silent and so he protested against Maan for supporting the ‘imposition’ of Hindi as India’s national language.

LOCAL

$500K richer in lottery win, Surrey mom plans to buy townhouse for family Surrey’s Lea Turner won $500,000 after checking her Lotto Max tickets while on a trip to the mall in search of sippy cups for her child.

She was “in disbelief ” after realizing she’d matched all four Extra numbers in the Sept. 10 draw.

“I took it to the retailer, she scanned it and covered the sign,” Turner said in a BCLC news release.

“When she said it was $500,000, I started crying.”

Turner said the first person she told was her sister in Calgary, and then her husband.

“We were meeting at the mall to pick up some sippy cups for our son. My husband went to buy batteries, when he showed up, I told him and he screamed.”

With the winnings, Turner said her top priority is to purchase a townhouse for her family.

“We had a five-year plan to try to save up for a down-payment and I’m already thinking of new furniture,” she said.

British Columbians have claimed over $179 million in Lotto Max prizes so far in 2019, according to BCLC, including a record-breaking $60 million winning ticket purchased in Richmond.

BC man charged with murder 19 years after pregnant girlfriend’s disappearance Almost two decades after the disappearance of Angel Fehr, a mother of two who was expecting a third child, her former boyfriend has been charged with murder.

Mounties announced the bombshell break in the cold case Thursday morning, revealing they have finally managed to locate the pregnant Kamloops, B.C. resident’s remains.

Fehr was last seen on April 23, 2000, when she attended an Easter dinner with family in Abbotsford. After dinner, she headed home with her then-partner, Trent Larsen, but was never seen alive again.

The RCMP said Larsen was arrested earlier this month and has since been charged with one count of second-degree murder.

“Despite 19 years having passed, we have continued to follow up on every tip and investigate every lead,” Supt.

Jeanett Theisen said in a news release.

“We can only hope today’s announcement can bring Angel’s family some sense of relief and one step closer to healing.”

Fehr’s body was found on a rural property outside 100 Mile House over the weekend.

Authorities stressed that the property owner is not related to the criminal investigation, and actively assisted law enforcement by providing equipment that helped recover Fehr’s remains.

LOCAL

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, September 28, 2019

BC offers $4M in electric-vehicle charger subsidies as EV sales surge again The B.C. government is putting up $4 million in rebate funding for people who want to install electric-vehicle charging stations at home or at work. Under the new program, homeowners can apply for a $350 rebate to install a Level 2 charging station in a singlefamily home. The province said such charging stations generally cost between $700 and $2,000. B.C. slashes electric vehicle subsidy after consumers flock to the program

People installing a Level 2 charger in a condo, apartment or workplace building that will be used by multiple users can apply for a $2,000 rebate. The province said these types of charging stations can cost between $2,000 and $12,000. For multi-user installations, the province said applicants can also get up to five hours of support services from an EV charging station adviser. Vernon is planning for a future where zero emission vehicles are the norm

Level 2 charging stations use a 240-volt power source and can charge a vehicle more quickly than a Level 1 station. 12 new electric vehicle fast-charging stations coming to B.C. In order to qualify for the rebates, the installation must be completed and paperwork must be submitted before March 31, 2020. The money comes from the nearly $190 million the province allocated to its CleanBC program for 2019-20.City of Vancouver considers no-

gas zones The charging station subsidies come on the heels of B.C.’s exceedingly popular electric-vehicle purchase subsidy program.

Legislation introduced to require all new cars sold in B.C. to be zero-emission by 2040 So many drivers took advantage of that initiative that the province had to slash the maximum subsidy from $5,000 to $3,000 to prevent the program from running out of cash.

Green party’s ‘fully costed’ platform gets a failing grade from former parliamentary budget officer While the Greens heralded the release of their “fully costed” and “responsible” election platform on Wednesday, an independent analysis by economists at the University of Ottawa delivered the party a failing grade for fiscal transparency and soundness.

The analysis was produced by former parliamentary budget officer (PBO) Kevin

Page and his team at the school’s Institute for Fiscal Studies and Democracy, which ran the Green’s “costed” platform through a predetermined set of parameters to judge whether it makes fiscal sense.

They concluded the Greens failed on all categories of analysis: the party failed to make “realistic economic and fiscal

assumptions,” present a plan with “responsible fiscal management,” and they failed on “transparency” by leaving out significant details on its economic outlook.

Page’s team said they found “serious

gaps” in the economic assumptions of the party’s platform, including how there is “no background document” to support the fiscal baseline the Greens used to project how they will attain a balanced budget in five years.

‘I wanted to see that room empty’: Mayor slams attendees of Chinese-funded reception Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West crashed a reception held in Vancouver and paid for by the Chinese government with two dozen Tim Hortons doughnuts Wednesday.

Attached to each box was a picture of detained Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Korvig.

“We wanted to send a message that there are people, including elected officials who care about them, who haven’t forgotten about them and who will stand up for them,” West said.

For months, he has been critical of the Chinese-sponsored event, held during the Union of British Columbia Municipalities convention for local politicians.

“Why would the government of China write a cheque to the UBCM to have access to mayors and city councillors? Out of the goodness of their own hearts? No, they have an agenda,” West said.

“I’m surprised the number of people that

are in there, I wanted to see the room empty.”

On Wednesday the majority of UBCM members voted against future sponsorship from foreign governments.

“We are a membership driven organization and we will use that data for us to make a decision earlier next year,” said UBCM president Arjun Singh, when asked if the event would take place next year.

Meanwhile the mayor of Richmond, Malcolm Brodie, who was welcomed to the room by speakers at the reception, blamed media for the controversy surrounding the event.

“This is a social reception, I go to receptions in my city and around the region that are sponsored by people of all countries, I’m not going to apologize and I am not going to argue about it,” Brodie said.

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Saturday, September 28, 2019

Khalsa Business Centre

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

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, September 28, 2019

PoCo mayor leads anti-China rally outside Fairmont hotel in Vancouver Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West, backed by five councillors and dozens of anti-China protesters, stood outside the Fairmont hotel in Vancouver on Wednesday night and took aim at a China-backed social gathering taking place inside with fellow councillors.

“I talk about how we pride ourselves at the UBCM on being leaders,” West said. “It’s probably the word you’re going to hear the most if you spend a little time over at the convention.”

The Union of B.C. Municipalities annual convention is taking place in Vancouver this week, with the Chinese consulate’s social event related to a $6,000 donation it made to UBCM organizers. The consulate has been hosting these events since 2012.

“Being a leader means standing up for what is right,” West said, as the crowd buoyed. “And

there is nothing right about taking a financial contribution from a foreign government that is engaged in actions that are completely hostile to the interests of our country and our people, that are repressing their own people.”

West was joined by Port Coquitlam councillors Steve Darling, Nancy McCurrach and Glenn Pollock, as well as Revelstoke Coun. Cody Younker and White Rock Coun. Anthony Manning.

There were also members of the Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement, Canadian Friends of Hong Kong and the Uygur community.

At the end of his speech, West referred to a survey of delegates that was taken Wednesday morning that found the majority weren’t in favour of taking money for the conference from foreign nations. They

BC Auditor General Carol Bellringer to resign for ‘personal reasons’ Citing personal reasons, B.C. Auditor General Carol Bellringer has tendered her resignation to Speaker Darryl Plecas.

In a short statement, Bellringer said she gave her resignation on Tuesday. Her term was set to expire March 31, 2021.

“I have been honoured to serve as B.C.’s auditor general since 2014 and would like to assure all members of the legislative assembly and the public that I will be available to assist with the transition until Dec. 31 and afterwards,” she wrote.

Just six days ago, Bellringer released an audit into legislative expense policies after allegations of misconduct were levelled against former clerk Craig James and former sergeantat-arms Gary Lenz in an explosive report from Speaker Darryl Plecas back in January.

Wood-splitter redux: ‘Weaknesses and gaps’ found in examination of legislative spending scandal

In her 33 page report, Bellringer, who was appointed April 1, 2015, painted a picture of an institution where a shocking lack of rules and oversight allowed for abuses that cost the taxpayer.

“We found that travel expenses were frequently made without clear documentation to support the purpose of travel, some expenses were made without appropriate approval, and purchases of items such as clothing and gifts were made without a policy to guide those transactions,” she said.

B.C. auditor general finds hundreds have unauthorized access to government systems In a statement, Premier John Horgan said he is grateful for Bellringer’s years of “exemplary service.”

“Her diligent work has informed improvements in the way our government is run and in the way programs and services are delivered to the people of this province,” said Horgan.

‘Weaknesses and gaps’ found in examination of legislative spending scandal The provincial auditor general says weaknesses and gaps in B.C’s Legislative Assembly policy are responsible for some of the questionable spending by former clerk Craig James and former sergeant-at-arms Gary Lenz — including the now infamous wood-splitter.

In her 33 page report, Carole Bellringer paints a picture of an institution where a shocking lack of rules and oversight allow for abuses that cost the taxpayer.

“We found that travel expenses were frequently made without clear documentation to support the purpose of travel, some expenses were made without appropriate approval, and purchases of items such as clothing and gifts were made without a policy to guide those transactions,” said Bellringer.

Her report makes nine recommendations around financial accountability, many of which read like an accounting 101 textbook.

B.C. Speaker releases 2nd report into officials’ alleged ‘flagrant’ overspending in legislature

Bellringer was asked to look into Legislative Assembly finance policies after allegations of misconduct were levelled against James and Lenz in an explosive report from Speaker Darryl Plecas back in January.

Plecas alleged the two men had spent lavishly on travel and had claimed reimbursements for things that had no relation to their jobs, including suits, luggage, gifts, and a wood-splitter.

Bellringer’s report cites the lack of a comprehensive travel policy and a bevy of problems with the way travel was handled, including expense claims by James and Lenz where it wasn’t clear what business was being conducted and whether it was for Legislative Assembly purposes.

The report also mentions a trip to England where James and Lenz spent $1,915 for a chauffeured vehicle as one of many examples where “it was difficult to determine if the most appropriate and economical travel choices were made

White Rock and South Surrey voices weigh in Trudeau ‘brownface’ and ‘blackface’ People are going to have to make an “individual choice” on how to react to Justin Trudeau’s past ‘brownface’ and ‘blackface’ incidents, Peace Arch News columnist Taslim Jaffer suggests.

But Jaffer, who writes the monthly Building Bridges column on multicultural connections, said her own reaction to the leaked photos and video was immediate and visceral.

“It was such a horrible way to end up the evening and to wake up this morning,” she told PAN Thursday.

On Wednesday photographs were made public of Trudeau appearing in

brownface as ‘Aladdin’ at an Arabian Nightsthemed party for parents and faculty at West Point Grey Academy, the Vancouver private school where he taught, in 2001.

Queried by reporters, Trudeau acknowledged the 2001 incident and also admitted that he had previously worn blackface during his high school years, at talent show in which he sang Harry Belafonte’s Banana Boat Song.

“I shouldn’t have done that and I’m sorry I did,” Trudeau told reporters about the events on his campaign plane Wednesday.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

RCMP looking for man who groped woman in Newton Police are asking for help in identifying a sex assault suspect that allegedly touched a woman on the breast while he jogged past her in Newton earlier this month.

The incident happened just before 5:30 a.m. on Sept. 19, when police say the woman was “groped” by the unknown man as she was walking southbound on 124th Street between 78th and 80th avenues.

According to an RCMP release, the suspect jogged past the woman, touching her as he passed by. He then

ran to a nearby vehicle and fled the area.

The suspect is described a South Asian man, 25 to 30 years old, five feet 10 inches tall, and was wearing black jogging pants and a black hoodie with the hood up over his head at the time.

The suspect vehicle is a dark coloured sedan, the make and model has not been determined at this time.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 or, if you wish to make an anonymous report, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or solvecrime.ca.

Violent details emerge as trial begins for man accused of murdering elderly Vancouver couple A man accused in the violent deaths of an elderly Vancouver couple stood trial on Wednesday, as Crown prosecutors revealed disturbing details of how the victims were killed.

Rocky Rambo Wei Nam Kam (pictured) is charged with two counts of first degree murder after Vancouver couple Richard Jones, 68, and Diana Mah-Jones, 65, were found dead inside their Marpole home on Sept. 27, 2017.

Kam, wearing a red T-shirt and seated next to an interpreter, listened quietly as the Crown outlined details of the crime scene and questioned several witnesses.

In his opening statement, Crown prosecutor Daniel Mulligan said victims were brutalized by the attacker. Mah-Jones had more than 100 stab wounds and likely struggled through the attack.

The two bodies were found in the bathroom, appearing to have been dragged inside the room from the kitchen. They were left inside the shower with

the water running, Mulligan said.

Diana Mah-Jones, 65, and Richard Jones, 68, as they appeared in an image on their Airbnb listing.

The listing has since been removed.

Witness Regan Tse, who was delivering newspapers in the neighbourhood around 4:30 a.m., recalled spotting a knife on the pathway leading up to the house.

He also spotted a hatchet nearby but said he didn’t think anything of it.

When Mah-Jones didn’t show up for work at Vancouver’s GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre, her co-worker Anthony Purcell visited the property to check on her. He spotted the two weapons, noticing blood on the hatchet.

“I rang the doorbell once.

There was no answer,” he said from the stand.

Purcell went around the back of the house, where a backdoor was open and bloody footprints visible on the back steps.

Surrey mom facing more charges in USA college bribery scandal A Surrey mother accused of paying $400,000 for her son to be admitted into UCLA as a fake soccer recruit is now facing more charges.

Xiaoning Sui, 48, was arrested in Spain on Sept. 16 in connection to the U.S. college bribery scandal, and charged with with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.

She is now also being charged with an expanded conspiracy charge, two counts of money laundering and three counts of wire fraud and honest services wire fraud, according to an updated indictement filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts.

She is currently detained and her extradition to Boston is pending.

According to court documents unsealed in

Boston Monday, Sui allegedly paid $400,000 to William “Rock” Singer in 2018, in order to have her son admitted to UCLA as a soccer recruit.

Evidence includes phone calls beginning in August 2018 where Singer, a Newport Beach college consultant, allegedly told Sui she would be “guaranteed” admission into the university in exchange for the large sum of money.

Sui is the 52nd person to be indicted for allegedly using bribery or other forms of fraud, including celebrities like Lori Laughlin, as well as Felicity Huffman who was sentenced to 14 days behind bars and a $30,000 fine.

The only other B.C. defendant in the case so far, former CFL player David Sidoo, pleaded not guilty after being charged in March with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

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Saturday, September 28, 2019

Victoria wants to take plastic bag ban fight all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada The mayor of Victoria says her city will seek a Supreme Court of Canada challenge as the next step in its effort to ban single-use plastic bags.

Lisa Helps was speaking at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Vancouver.

In July, the B.C. Court of Appeal quashed a lower court decision that allowed Victoria to enact a plastic bag ban.

The court said the ban was based on environmental concerns and therefore fell under the jurisdiction of the province and the Ministry of the Environment.

Lasqueti Islanders collect record 2 tonnes of beach waste during annual Styrofoam Day “We disagree with this ruling and we think it’s really important that local governments have the authority to regulate businesses in line with the values of our community,” said Helps.

She says even though the bag ban was in place for only a short time, there

remains widespread support for it among Victoria citizens and business.

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps says her city will seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada over a court decision to quash her city’s single-use plastic bag ban.

“The remarkable thing ... is that since the bylaw was struck down, 95 to 97 per cent of our businesses are still operating as if the bylaw was still in place. So, there’s clearly social licence and there’s also political will.”

Helps was joined by other B.C. mayors who support the Supreme Court challenge.

Rossland’s plastic bag bylaw still on table, despite recent quashing of similar ban They warned if the Court of Appeal decision is allowed to stand, it would seriously undermine the authority of local governments to regulate business practices within their communities.

Former treasurer of BC parent advisory committee charged with fraud, theft The former treasurer of a school parent advisory committee (PAC) has been charged with fraud and theft for allegedly taking funds from the committee’s bank account.

Belinda Yorke is accused of using her position as treasurer for the Oliver Elementary School PAC to misappropriate funds, said Penticton RCMP in a release.

Yorke held that position from June 2016 until her resignation in January 2018.

Members of the PAC reported the alleged

theft in January 2018. RCMP launched an investigation soon after. B.C.’s Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch, which regulates gambling in the province, helped with the investigation.

Kelowna PAC creates payment plan for former member who allegedly stole $25K The amount alleged to have been taken is unknown but Yorke has been charged with fraud and theft over $5,000.

The matter is now before the courts.

BC gov’t offers support for logging communities but says they need ‘to bend and change’ On a day where hundreds of logging trucks drove across B.C. to protest the loss of jobs in the forest industry, the provincial government said some change in their work was inevitable.

“We need to be [like a] willow: strong and resilient but able to bend and change,” said Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson during her address to the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) on Wednesday.

Robinson acknowledged to mayors and councillors from across B.C. the “challenges many of your communities are facing due to the mill closures” and said the province would continue to rely on the forest industry.

But she also made no apologies for the government’s strategy on the forestry file, highlighting new announcements this week around the expansion of wood frame construction around the province.

Convoy of more than 100 logging trucks arrives in Vancouver to protest forestry job losses “We are changing how we live and work. This means new opportunities for industries and communities,” she said.

Earlier this month, the province announced $69 million in aid to beleaguered workers, but part of that came from suspending the $25-million Rural Dividend Fund aimed at communities with populations of less than 25,000.

Robinson also announced that municipalities would soon be able to apply for a new round of mixed-income housing projects, $150 million more in grants for waste and wastewater projects. She also released a review of the province’s development approval process, with a promise to cut red tape around building permits over the next yea

RCMP arrest groom for stealing bike en route to his bwedding reception Kamloops RCMP’s crime reduction unit arrested eight people over four days for stealing bikes they had put out as bait to

groom allegedly caught stealing a bike while on his way to his wedding reception.

“He was wearing a suit and they asked

catch thieves.

However, there was one arrest that stood out to them in particular — a 41-year-old

him why was he dressed so nicely when he was stealing a bike,” said Cpl. Jodi Shelkie with the Kamloops RCMP. “He had just left from his wedding and was on his way to his wedding reception when he ... saw the bike and decided to cut the cable and put it in the back of his pickup truck.”

Stolen bicycles worth $100K recovered

by Vancouver police Police said the groom was arrested while driving with a prohibited licence. When he failed to show up for the reception, the bride called the groom. “She did contact the groom through his cell phone inquiring where he was, and the officers answered and advised her that he was in the Kamloops RCMP jail cells and likely would not be making it to the reception,” said Shelkie. Vicious cycle: Alleged ‘chop shops’ flourish as bike thefts rise in parts of Vancouver Continued on next page

LOCAL

Saturday, September 28, 2019 BC Ferries is set to roll out a new line of hybrid vessels starting next year.

The new battery-powered hybrid-electric vessels, called Island Class ferries, will service small routes between Vancouver Island and surrounding communities.

The ships will be able to carry 47 vehicles and up to 300 passengers and crew. They will feature lounge areas on the main

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BC Ferries to roll out new hybrid Island Class vessels deck, charging stations for electronics, an overhead sundeck with seating, accessible washrooms and bicycle parking spaces.

BC Ferries describes the ships’ hybrid diesel-electric propulsion systems as being among the most efficient and quiet in the world and expects each Island Class ferry to have a minimum service life of 40 years.

Next year, two Island Class ferries will join the fleet and enter service at the Powell River-Texada route and Port McNeill -Alert Bay-Sointula route.

By 2022, four Island Class ferries will begin servicing Vancouver Island. Two hybrid ferries will join the Campbell River-Quadra Island route and two will be added to the Nanaimo Harbour-Gabriola Island route.

“The new Island Class ferries are nearly finished,� reads an update from BC Ferries referring to the two vessels set to enter service next year. “They will be on their way from Galati, Romania at the end of August, arriving in Victoria in October. Once they arrive, they will be recommissioned, christened with their new names, and crew training will begin.�

BC man pleads guilty to second-degree murder of Belgian tourist, police say Homicide investigators say a man charged with first-degree murder of a Belgian tourist travelling through British Columbia has pleaded guilty to her slaying.

Sgt. Frank Jang says 28-year-old Sean McKenzie of Oliver, B.C., has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder of Amelie Sakkalis.

Police say he entered the plea during a court appearance Monday and his sentencing is expected on Nov. 19.

Her cause of death has never been revealed, but police said last year that they believed

Sakkalis was hitchhiking from the Penticton area toward Vancouver on the day she was killed.

Sakkalis had been backpacking across Canada and her body was found near Highway 1, north of Boston Bar, on Aug. 22, 2018.

Jang says the murder was a shock to the community and to the seasoned officers who investigated the case. “A guilty plea speaks to the hard work and dedication of our investigators,� he said in the statement from the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.

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Male patient charged after nurse badly beaten on the job Police in Abbotsford have arrested and charged a 62-year-old male hospital patient following the serious assault of an on-duty nurse.

On Tuesday, just after 2 a.m., patrol officers were called to the Abbotsford Regional Hospital for a report that an on-duty nurse had been assaulted.

According to a police statement Thursday, the nurse had been attacked, sustaining serious injuries to her head and face, which required immediate medical attention.

The B.C. Nurses Union said the nurse was working in the hospital’s kidney dialysis unit when the attack happened. She had entered a room to treat a male patient when the man picked up an exercise weight and struck her across the face.

Union president Christine Sorenson said her injuries are so severe, it’s not clear when, or if, the nurse will be able to return to work. “[There is] significant damage to the nurse’s face. The nurse has undergone surgery yesterday [Wednesday]. Her cheekbone was fractured, and her upper jaw was broken, and her teeth were displaced. She is struggling with significant headaches and upper back pain, and I suspect she probably has a concussion.� Police said Neale Heath, 62, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault.

2 nurses sent to ER after assaults at B.C. psychiatric hospital Anyone with additional information is asked to call the Abbotsford Police Department at 604-859-5225 or text 222973.

RCMP arrest groom for stealing bike en route to his bwedding reception Shelkie does not know why the groom chose to steal a bike on his wedding day. “I guess the compulsion is so strong for them to steal, that even on something as important as their wedding day, they stop to cut the cable and steal a bicycle.

So, I think it’s just so much ingrained into their lifestyle and their habits that, you know, that’s what they consider doing on their wedding,� she said. The bike bait operation Kamloops RCMP undertook resulted in eight arrests and 23 criminal charges. As part of the program, RCMP place locked up bikes in places where they think criminals may see them and then do surveillance on the bikes. If they suspect someone is trying to steal one, they make an arrest, Shelkie told Daybreak Kamloops’ Jenifer Norwell. “I’d like to get out there that it’s very important that people who have bicycles, if they’re leaving their bicycle somewhere and it’s not attended that it’s not OK just to use a cable lock,� said Shelkie. “They have to have a metal lock that’s not easily able to be cut or clipped or they take their bicycle into their house or their garage and then lock the doors.�

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Saturday, September 28, 2019

Making decisions for others after a motor vehicle accident Mel Chaudhary, Associate lawyer at Simpson, Thomas & Associates

M

otor vehicle accidents can lead to serious injuries and sometimes these serious injuries can be so disabling that the injured individual is no longer capable of making their own decisions. An example of this is when an individual is bed ridden or put on life support. There are many decisions that have to be made in such situations and a question that frequently arises under such a circumstance is, who can make these decisions on behalf of the injured individual.

The answer depends on what has or has not been done prior to the accident.

Although none of us can predict when we will be involved in a motor vehicle accident, life is unpredictable and we should be as prepared as possible. People should have legal documents, such as Wills, Power of

Attorneys (POAs) and Representation Agreements prepared in advance, while they are capable of doing so.

Capability is specifically discussed in each of the respective and applicable Acts, but generally it is based on whether or not an individual is competent or has the required mental capacity to make decisions.

A Will appoints an individual as an Executor and instructs them on how to execute the Will, such as how they would like their assets and debts to be dealt with after their death.

There are two types of POAs: General and Enduring. A General POA appoints an individual as the Attorney to handle all financial and legal decisions on their behalf for only as long as the POA maker himself is capable. An Enduring POA appoints an

individual as the Attorney to handle all financial and legal decisions on their behalf only once the POA maker himself is declared incapable. A Representation Agreement appoints an individual as a Representative to have authority to makes decisions related to health care matters once the Representation Agreement maker himself loses capacity.

If an individual becomes incapable of decision making but they do not have an Enduring POA or a Representation Agreement prepared in advance, then it is possible to obtain a court appointed Committee. A Committee is a person appointed by the court to make financial decisions and handle legal affairs, or to handle health and personal care matters on behalf of the mentally incapable individual.

However, this is a costly and lengthy legal

process to be dealing with at a time of emergency.

Therefore, everyone should consider preparing such legal documents as soon as possible. You do not know when you will be involved in a motor vehicle accident and what type of injuries you will sustain. Serious injuries can impact your life significantly so be as prepared as possible in advance.

Our legal team at Simpson, Thomas & Associates is here to help you find the answers to your questions and to help you better navigate such difficult situations.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a motor vehicle accident, please call us at (604) 689-8888 to schedule a complimentary consultation.

Help identify two robbery suspects Surrey RCMP is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying two men who were involved in a robbery in the Whalley/City Centre area of Surrey.

On July 19, 2019, a personal robbery was reported in the 15400-block of 101A Avenue, during which a wallet was taken. The debit card from inside the wallet was used shortly after the robbery and the suspects were caught on CCTV at a business in the 9900-block of 152 Street. Fortunately, the victim was not physically

injured during the robbery.

Police are now releasing photos of the two suspects and seeking public assistance to identify these individuals.

Both suspects are described as dark-

skinned men, 5’8” tall, and 150lbs.

One suspect was wearing black clothing and one suspect was wearing a white t-shirt at the time of the incident (please see attached photos).

Anyone with information on the identity of either of these

suspects, or who has further information about this incident is asked to call Surrey RCMP at 604-5990502 or, if you wish to make an anonymous report, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or www. solvecrime.ca.

Police seek assistance to locate 3 men with warrants for forcible confinement Surrey RCMP are requesting the assistance of the public to locate three men wanted in connection with a forcible confinement investigation.

In the early hours of July 2, 2019, police received a report of a forcible confinement incident.

The information received alleged that the victim was held against his will inside of a vehicle and assaulted.

As a result of an ongoing investigation

by Surrey RCMP Serious Crime Unit, three suspects have been identified, charged, and are now wanted on warrants of arrest. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of these men is asked to call Surrey RCMP or Crime Stoppers.

Police Jama Shakib,

are seeking to arrest Hashi Jama, Hassan Avdirazak and William Daniels-Sey

Hashi Jama Jama is charged with Forcible C on f i n e m e nt , Robbery and Assault. He is described as a 22-year-old, dark-skinned man, with black hair, and brown eyes.

Hassan Avdirazak Shakib is charged with Forcible C on f i n e m e nt , Use Imitation Firearm While Committing Indictable Offence, and Robbery.

He is described as a 25-year-old, dark-skinned man, 6’2 tall, 154 lbs, with black hair, and brown eyes.

William Daniels-Sey is charged with Forcible C onf inement, and Robbery.

He is described as a 21-year-old, dark-skinned man, with black hair, and brown eyes.

Anyone with information about this incident or with information on the whereabouts of the suspects is asked to call Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 or, if you wish to make an anonymous report, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or www.solvecrime.ca.

Welcome the young Deol in ‘Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas’ The story began way back in 1960, when Dharmendra took his first steps as a hero. In 1983, came his son Sunny Deol. Since then, younger son Bobby Deol and sister

Esha Deol have also come in, respectively in 1995 and 2002. The legacy continues...

Karan Deol, son of Sunny Deol, makes his screen appearance in this week’s “Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas” directed by his father, who has also co-produced it. The unusual romantic story, with a new heroine in the best tradition of the debut films of his daddy and uncle Bobby, stars another

new face, Sahher Bambba. We meet the youngster, prone to hearty laughs, for an interview at Mumbai’s Hotel Novotel.

It’s been a while since we have been hearing of your debut. But on a lighter note, was the film more challenging or all these interviews? A (Laughs heartily): The interviews, of course! In a film, you know your character and his lines.

Here, I have to make and say my own lines! And our family never believed in anything but speaking our heart.

Though that’s good, it can be bad too!

As a child, how does one know one’s dream or ambition? I was five when I watched “Star Wars,” and I loved films so much that after that every evening I would go into the world of Papa’s films

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Saturday, September 28, 2019

Deepika Padukone Deepika Padukone mobbed at a Ganpati pandal.

Deepika was visiting Mumbai’s famous Lalbaugcha Raja Ganpati pandal to seek blessings of the God. As soon as the crowd got to know that the “Piku� star was in the pandal, they rushed to catch a glimpse of the actress.

She was spotted in a heavy golden embroidered sari and big earrings. She completed the look with her hair tied into a sleek bun and minimum makeup. According to reports, Padukone’s bodyguards had a tough time escorting the 33-year-old star for a darshan. On the work front, Padukone will next be seen in Meghna Gulzar’s “Chhapaak,� a film based on acid attack

HOROSCOPE survivor, Laxmi Agarwal. She will also be seen in Kabir Khan’s “‘83.�Padukone formed her own production company KA Entertainment in 2019. She 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,

19

Bollywood

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Bollywood

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Saturday, September 28, 2019 Vibhooti Vaishnav

I

ndia has been the land of celebrations.

People love to dance at any occasion.

Probably the only culture where even gods dance. Krishna plays flute and dances with his friends. Shiva is “Nataraj”, the king of dance who can dance when in love -“lasya” and dance when fierce -“tandav”.

And goddess Shakti and all her female manifestations dance in circle known as garba.

Every region of india have their unique folk dance. Laavni of Maharashtra, bhangda of Punjab and raas garba of Gujarat. Although raas and garba form of dance is enjoyed at all auspicious occasions by gujaratis, it has a special place during Navratri -nine nights of waxing moon in the month of Ashwin or aaso of lunar colander. The tenth day is celebrated as Dussera when Ravan, the dark king full of anger, arrogance, vengeance, greed and power hunger was killed by Ram, a symbol of calm and collected man of principles. This signifies the victory of good over evil.

In different parts of India this navaratri is celebrated with its own flavour worshipping the goddess of power. In north India maatarani jagrata are held in temples. In the eastern provinces Durga pooja is held for nine days And in the western province of Gujarat these nine days are celebrated with great enthusiasm. Traditionally, devotional songs of goddesses in its various forms are sung by women while dancing and clapping in a circle around a small earthen pot lit with a diya lamp. They revere goddess Shakti and all that womanhood has to offer by Bhakti(devotion) The tradition has evolved since then and celebrated globally.

This navratri festival, like any other, has not only religious and spiritual significance but also has a huge impact on social and economic aspect of a region. Entire community or society comes together to celebrate and dance to the symphony of music in synchrony creating a harmony. It creates a very joyful atmosphere. People forget about their worries and soak themselves in the festivities. It brings people together be it rich or poor, any caste, creed or religion, all dance together. The circular motion represents the cyclic nature of the universe.

Musicians, singers, venues, food, outfits, accessories etc contribute to the local economy in a huge way. Especially the fashion and style of traditional and tribal outfits that are so vibrant and colourful with hand embroidery, mirror work, beads form a fusion of centuries old art in modern version of outfits.

The entire concept of celebration represents the values of our mythology and philosophy.

Raas is a form of dance where boys and girls pair up and dance with sticks in their hands known as dandia. This form of folk dance originated with Krishna and his friends in Gokul. Krishna is ever so colourful, fun loving, delightful. When Krishna left Mathura and migrated to Dwarka in Gujarat, he brought this dance form to that region.

And Krishna’s grandson Anirudh’s wife Usha was under foster care with Shiv and Parvati. She brought garba dance form with her to Gujarat where females would dance in a circle clapping and snapping while singing the glory of goddesses. Thus we find both these dance forms till date being preserved and evolved at the same time to become the very vibrant aspect of Gujarati culture. By the 15th ,16th century , gujarati language

Bollywood

NAVARATRI was compiled and many poets emerged who wrote wonderful songs and till date modern age songs are written and composed with subjects of goddesses and Radha krishna, later being more popular subject.

All over India and around the world, where ever there are gujaratis there is navratri celebration with garba

and dandia and people from all walks of life of all ages come together to celebrate and enjoy music and dance while keeping the lamp of faith and devotion towards higher truth lit in the

21

middle of it all. Let’s all invoke the goddess of power within ourselves to overcome our fears and insecurities and experience the oneness with the universe immersing ourselves in the magic of this divine cultural event taking place somewhere near you in your town.

In this circle of life let’s fight and burn the demons of negativities and darkness of evils within, brightening and uplifting the very life that we are accepting and including positivity, love, happiness, joy and bliss.

You can take a Gujarati away from Gujarat but you cannot take away Gujarat from a Gujarati and so can you not take garba and dandia from its fragrant culture.

See you all as the festivities begin on 29th September this year celebrated in temples of lower mainland and by Gujarati Society of British Columbia and enjoy the flavour of Gujarat.

22

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Star & Style Dining

Paneer â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Becoming a Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Favourite!!!

T

he word paneer is believed to be derived from Persian origin. Paneer since decades has been a delight for both kids and adults to consume. Considering that India is one of the largest milk-producing countries in the world, it is rather surprising that it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a major cheese-making culture. You wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find there any local dairies producing a jack, cheddar, mozzarella or various other cheeses in the shops that line Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s busy, narrow streets â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but almost every dairy shop carries paneer, an immensely popular fresh cheese.

Paneer is a delicious and nutritious alternative to non-vegetarian food. As it is â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with protein and all the goodness of milk, vegetarians have found paneer to be the perfect substitute for meat and poultry in almost any dish, even luring the nonvegetarians towards itself. Paneer is such

a dominant culinary symbol in India because, unlike other cheeses, it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t require animal rennet. This makes it perfect for the predominantly vegetarian Indian diet. From sweets and desserts to fried snacks, to cream-drunk royal curries, paneer is used in North Indian cuisine extensively. It has a mild taste, its texture (similar to that of halloumi or tofu), and its capability to soak in flavors and withstand high cooking temperatures make it a household favorite.

The paneer was judged for the first time in World Championship Cheese Contest in Wisconsin, last year. This shows the growing importance of paneer as a cheese outside India. Nowadays not only the people of Indian origin love to indulge in paneer but also people from different ethnicity and origin are recognizing it for

the sheer taste and benefits it brings. Due to its increasing importance, it is not a surprise that Nanak Foods, a North American dairy manufacturing company has become one of the largest manufacturers of paneer in the world with production facilities in both US & Canada. It also produces a range of freshly made dairy, desserts, and appetizers to satiate the taste buds not only of the Indian diaspora living abroad but

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also of the locals who love Indian Flavors in their food.

Various symbolic recipes like Shahi Paneer, Paneer Tikka, Paneer Chili, Paneer Pakora, Rasmalai, Paneer Paratha, etc. are only possible due to paneer. In hindsight, if we see, paneer is rather bland but when coupled with simple ingredients and cooked with the right technique, it is converted into irresistible dishes that the whole world loves!

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About the StartRightÂŽ Program Scotiabank created the StartRightÂŽ Program, which offers practical information and customized banking packages to make it easier for newcomers and international students to live and bank in Canada.

Scotiabank advisors are available to help newcomers with their fundamental banking needs by giving advice and directing families to the best resources available. To get started, newcomers can visit the StartRightÂŽ website, a one-stop destination for those planning or preparing to settle in Canada.

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23

Saturday, September 28, 2019

In Loving Memory of Late Dr. Khem Singh Gill Ji, a Library, a Hospital and Gate will be constructed at his village Kaleke, with the expense of crore Rupees.

Avtar Singh Gill A great Scholar, Padam Bhusan, thinker, scientist, philanthropist, and a humble Sikh, Dr. Khem Singh Gill ex Vice Chancellor, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Punjab, passed away on 17th September, 2019. To give tribute for his services a samagam was or organized at Akal Academy in his native village Kaleke in district Moga. Thousands of people attended Akhand Path Sahib. Upon bhog, various Panthic Scholars, Religious and Spiritual Leaders and local people paid their tribute towards Dr.Khem Singh. In the samagam, very famous Ragi Bhai Davinder Singh Sodhi recited melodious shabad kirtan for Sangat. In the samagam, Honourable Jathedar Sri Akal Takhat Amritsar Sahib, Giani Harpreet Singh sent his “Shok Shandesh” to Giani Dilbagh Singh who read it out for Sangat and offered Siropa, and Turban to Dr. Khem Singh’s son, Dr. Baljit Singh.

Sardar Darshan Singh Brar (MLA of Bagha Purana) admired Dr. Khem Singh’s Services for the area and entire humanity. He admired that due to Dr. Khem Singh, this little village of Moga became world famous and everyone will remember Dr. Khem Singh in their hearts.

Sardar Jagmair Singh sarpanch of village Kaleke thanked Sangat on behalf of the entire village for joining on this occasion with the family and other loved ones, of Dr. Khem Singh in this hour of grief. Dr. Davinder Singh, Secretary of The

Kalgidarh Trust Baru Sahib endorsed that we must learn from the life of Dr. Khem Singh and should adopt his honest and humber way of simple living in our own lives.

In addition, Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee’s member Jagtar Singh Rode, Sukhpreet Singh, Congress Leader Subedar Gurbachan Singh Brar, Sardar Inderjeet Singh, Rajinder Singh Chadha ad Sukhwinder Singh, who also joined and paid tribute to Dr. Khem Singh Ji. Despite scorching heat, a large gathering of Sangat was observed due to Dr. Khem Singh’s lovely personality.

The family of Dr. Khem Singh who is living in Canada, announced that the construction of a Hospital, Library and a Gate will be started soon after discussing with the people from that area. It will

provide great service for people in terms of HealthCare and Education. Family of Dr. Khem Singh Provided aid of 13 Lakh Rupees for initiation of these great projects at the Village of Kaleke.

Interestingly, Dr Khem Singh’s family donated five acres of land for setting up the

School of Akal Academy at Village Kaleke and the School is running at it’s best and delivering education. Students studying there are making breakthroughs in the field of Academics and Religion. Sima Rani (Principal) of Akal Academy Kaleke thanked the Sangat for their love and support.

Wilkinson calls on John Horgan to start respecting municipalities

Press release Addressing delegates at the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson called on John Horgan and the NDP to stop ignoring local elected officials and focus on the needs of British Columbians.

“Resolutions passed here at UBCM show that mayors and councils from across the province are fed up with empty promises and NDP arrogance,” said Wilkinson. “Whether it

was demanding consultation over modular housing projects or pleading for a respectful relationship going forward, municipalities want John Horgan and the NDP to start listening. They will not be ignored anymore.”

Only two years into his mandate, John Horgan has come under fire for the NDP’s heavy-handed approach to dealing with

Press release

Heavy on rhetoric but light on facts, NDP housing minister speech falls flat at UBCM MLA Todd Stone, the BC Liberal Housing Critic, is calling out NDP housing minister Selina Robinson and her overblown rhetoric and hypocrisy on housing affordability in British Columbia as municipalities across the province are fed up with inaction.

“The NDP housing minister stood up in front of local government officials from across the province and falsely claimed she was responsible for creating over 22,000 new affordable housing units when in fact the NDP have opened just over 2,300,” said Stone. “At this rate, it will take over 100 years to meet their 114,000 unit promise.”

Today, cities and towns from across the province voted at the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) calling on John Horgan and the NDP to ensure that principles of mutual respect, consultation and cooperation be adhered to going forward. UBCM also passed motions demanding the province consult with local governments on future modular housing projects, and ensure wrap-around supports for supportive housing after embarrassing NDP failures in Maple Ridge and Nanaimo.

“John Horgan and the NDP came to power on promises of making life more affordable.

After two years, we’ve seen little action from this government that effectively combats the affordability crisis,” added Stone. “In fact, after two years it’s harder than ever to get ahead thanks to NDP policies like the 19 new or increased

taxes, sky-rocketing ICBC premiums, and their broken promises to provide a renter’s rebate, $10 a day daycare, and a hydro rate freeze.”

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson had an opportunity to address the concerns raised by the Official Opposition and B.C. communities at UBCM this afternoon but instead offered platitudes with no significant funding announcements.

Despite widespread criticism from local governments, the minister failed to reinstate the $25 million the NDP raided from the rural dividend fund. It would also appear the cupboard is bare as the minister had nothing new to offer local communities other than application intakes for previously announced infrastructure programs.

“I’m disappointed that the Minister’s speech was a vacuous self-congratulatory pat on the back, with lofty rhetoric and finger-pointing, yet little action to deliver on the housing needs of British Columbians,” concluded Stone. “Our local communities have been let down by NDP inaction on housing and affordability. We fully support the needs of these municipalities demanding that the provincial government properly consults and listens to important local voices when it comes to decision-making in our communities. British Columbians all deserve better from John Horgan and the NDP.”

local governments. Issues such as the NDP’s controversial Speculation Tax and Employer Health Tax have angered communities in all corners of the province and are still being forced down the throats of municipalities against the wishes of countless mayors and residents.

“Local governments may have been willing

to give John Horgan time to find his footing as a new Premier, but patience is running out and municipalities across B.C. are fed up,” added Wilkinson. “And it’s not just local governments. Yesterday over 200 logging trucks rolled into downtown trying to bring John Horgan’s attention to the forestry crisis that he has ignored for years.”

24

Vol. 10 No. 35

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Saturday - September 28, 2019

Tel: 604-591-5423

E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com

Vancouver approves more market rental housing after contentious public hearing Several councillors have regularly said no to divisive rental projects — but they’re from different parties Justin McElroy · CBC News · Posted: Sep 18, 2019 8:08 PM PT | Last Updated: September 18 A model of the 35unit rental building that Vancouver council approved on Grant Street between Woodland The latest Canadian house price forecast from Moody’s Analytics really has no good news for anyone. If you’re a homeowner hoping to make big equity gains, forget it. And if you’re an aspiring homebuyer hoping for a reprieve from astronomical urban house prices, forget

and Cotton Drive, which will displace seven rental units in four houses currently on the property. (City of Vancouver) Vancouver city council approved rezoning for a new rental apartment in the heart of the city’s eastside on Tuesday, but it didn’t come without considerable

debate. By a 6-3 vote, council voted in favour of a proposed five-storey, 35-unit apartment on Grant Street, just a block west of Commercial Drive.

It will replace four homes that have been purchased by the developer, and the proposal met the guidelines for the GrandviewW o o d l a n d community plan passed earlier this

decade. “The choice here is not to leave these homes. It’s either for a four-storey condo building, or what’s in front of us,” said Mayor Kennedy Stewart, who voted in favour of the apartment building, along with councillors Christine Boyle, Melissa De Genova, Lisa Dominato, Sarah Kirby-Yung and Michael Wiebe.

Canadian house price forecast: What the next 5 years will look like in 33 cities that too. The forecast calls for house prices nationwide to grow by an average of 2.2 per cent per year over the next five years. Given that the Bank of Canada is predicting inflation at 2 per cent in the coming years, this means that inflation-adjusted house prices will likely

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

will keep prices in check, the research firm predicts.

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

25

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Reasons why Canada’s apartment building owners are happy

R

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 all-time high of $8.3 billion in 2018.

Apartments are traditionally viewed as stable and defensive assets to own, said CBRE Canada vicechairman 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. They can buy a condo, or they can rent.

“As affordability has become more of an issue, and it’s an issue that I don’t believe is going to go away in (Vancouver and Toronto), that will continue to underpin strong rental growth — especially when we really don’t have a lot of supply in purpose-built housing coming on stream,” Morassutti said.

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 yearover-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

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

in the nearby military and technology hubs,” said Kent Browne, broker 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

26

Classifieds / Jobs Looking for work?

Cleaning company wanted workers for clean up job in Coquitlam For more details please call 604-902-2858

Matrimonial Punjabi Bansal family seeking a suitable mach for their 31 year old,” son, Height 5’.11, Handsome,Sober, soft spoken, vegetarian currently in Patiala Punjab India. He has done studies in BTech Computer Science and working in Judicial Department as IT Analyst in Patiala. Girl should be well educated and family oriented freferably Canadian citizen or Canadian Permanent resident. For more details please call 604-617-0615 or email Kushal.20776@gmail.com

Saturday, September 28, 2019

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 604-290-5424

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 or Phone 604-763-6727

Help wanted Clean-up workers wanted Tsawassen Mills area mall, only sub-contracters, bring your own ride, experienced workers only please phone:

Phone: 778-240-0101 / 604-902-2858 South Asian Adults & Seniors - After Effects of Diabetes & Thyroid Disorders, Dr. Jiya Gill Naturopathic Physician on 29th September 2019 from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm.

Vedic Seniors Parivar Center of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey invites South Asian Adults, Senior members and nonmembers also to attend a very important presentation on After effects of Diabetes & Thyroid Disorders mainly Weight Management by Dr. Jiya Gill a Naturopathic Physician PGDYN from New Delhi India on 29th September 2019 (Sunday) from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at Shanti Niketan hall of Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple 8321 - 140th street Surrey BC V3W 5K9. There will be questions and answer session after the presentation, a unique approach to improve health and treating illness, Dr. Jiya Gill will answer all your questions about treating illness through Naturopathy. Tea and light snacks will be served in the end. Please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator Tel. 604 - 507 - 9945

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

27

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Housing market forecast through 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 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-overyear 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 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 normalizing around long-term averages.”

BCREA BC home sales forecast Sept 2019 Having seen the steepest annual sales declines in 2018, and a forecast drop of 2.2 per cent in 2019, Greater Vancouver is expected to see the biggest recovery in 2020, said BCREA. Home resales in the Greater Vancouver region are predicted to rise 16.3 per cent to 28,500 units — still a far cry from 42,000 sales of 2015, but a marked improvement over both 2018 and 2019.

The optimistic Metro Vancouver forecast follows a September 4 report by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver that the region’s home sales in August rose nearly 16 per cent year over year, following a 23.5 per cent annual jump in July.

BCREA said the Fraser Valley is also expected to outperform the previous two years of home resales, with a forecast rise in 2020 of 12.4 per cent year over year.

Victoria and Vancouver Island, having not seen declines as steep as the Lower Mainland, are expected to see 2020 sales improve by less than the provincial average, at 7.5 and 5.5 per cent respectively.

Average home prices in 2020 are also expected to improve on those achieved in 2019, in every B.C. real estate board jurisdiction — albeit

by modest amounts. The overall B.C. average sale price is forecast to rise by 3.3 per cent, with predicted rises ranging from 0.2 per cent in Victoria to four per cent in the B.C. Northern region.

Greater Vancouver sale prices are predicted to be down 5.6 per cent in 2019 to $990K, but are forecast to increase two per cent in 2020 to an average of $1.01 million.

Auto sales climb 0.6 per cent in August for first rise in 17 months.

New condo building proposed under Grandview-Woodland Community Plan New condo building proposed under Grandview-Woodland Community.

GVRD real estate sales return to ‘more typical levels’ in August: REBGV Metro Vancouver’s summer real estate bump continued in August, with sales returning to “more typical levels” according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

The board’s latest report says the region saw 2,231 sales last month, up 15.7 per cent from August 2018, though down 12.7 per cent from July 2019.

Greater Vancouver home sales jump in July, but prices continue steady slide It’s the second month in a row with year-overyear sales growth, after more than a year of slumping sales in what many analysts have called a correction to the region’s previously whitehot market.

Mortgage stress test contributes to a decline in BC home sales August’s growth was led by a large boost in sales of detached homes, which jumped 24.5 per cent over August 2018, while condo sales

climbed by 8.9 per cent year-over-year.

However, August’s sales total remained more than nine per cent below the 10-year sales average for the month.

Metro Vancouver’s June home sales lowest since Y2K, benchmark price drops below $1M Despite the boost in sales, inventory remains high in the region, with 12,296 homes on the market – up 13.3 per cent over August last year, though down 5.9 per cent from July.

“With more demand from home buyers, the supply of homes listed for sale isn’t accumulating like earlier in the year.

These changes are creating more balanced market conditions,” said REBGV president Ashley Smith in a media release.

Despite the stronger sales figures, prices in the region continued to slide.

Greater Vancouver home prices 1977-present.

Greater Vancouver home prices 1977-present. Real Estate Board of Greater Vancovuer The benchmark price for detached houses across the region was $1.4 million, according to the board, down 9.8 per cent from August last year, and down 0.7 per cent from July. The dip in prices from August 2018 was led by Richmond (12.6 per cent), Vancouver’s west side (12 per cent), Vancouver’s east side and Coquitlam (11.4 per cent) and West Vancouver (11 per cent).

Metro Vancouver home sales up ‘modestly’ in May: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver Whistler and Squamish were the only

municipalities in the region to see yearover-year price growth, at 7.9 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively.

The benchmark price of a condo across the region was $771,000, down 7.4 year-over-year, and up 0.1 per cent from July.The drop in prices from August 2018 was led by West Vancouver (11.3 per cent), east Burnaby (10.5 per cent), south Burnaby (9.6 per cent) and New Westminster (9 per cent). As with detached homes, just Whistler (3.4 per cent) and Squamish (1.1 per cent) saw apartment price growth year over year.

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Thornthwaite joins outcry of mayors demanding more resources for municipalities to tackle addictions Press release Mental Health and Addictions Critic, MLA for North Vancouver Jane Thornthwaite convened a roundtable at UBCM yesterday regarding the immediate need for government action to help municipalities around the province deal with addictions and the opioid crisis. “Thank you to all who attended the mental health and addictions roundtable yesterday at UBCM,” said Thornthwaite. “I sympathize with those who raised concerns over ‘compassion fatigue’ in communities throughout B.C. The overdose crisis has not only impacted people in major cities, but all around the province, and has saddled municipalities with rising costs.”

Needle and garbage clean-up in city parks and school playgrounds, rising safety costs, and increased crime levels are just a few of the issues affecting communities around B.C. Resources such as action teams may be useful, but they are not enough to help municipalities with crippling costs, and they do nothing to

end the cycle of addiction and get people into recovery. “The roundtable discussion reinforced calls for the NDP government to act immediately to invest in a continuum of care for mental health and addictions in B.C.,” concluded Thornthwaite. “Long-term options such as publicly-funded recovery beds are critical to ending the cycle of addiction that has been intensified by the opioid crisis. We need a mental health system that is able to act early, save lives and help people into long-term recovery.”

The number of people overdosing is not going down, British Columbians deserve action and municipalities deserve a true partnership to tackle the crisis effectively.

Only when John Horgan and the NDP invest in a seamless mental health and addictions system province-wide can we expect to see an improvement in health outcomes, which will have a ripple-effect to easing the significant issues being faced across all municipalities.

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Press release

Tolko shrinks forest operations one day after the launch of botched NDP forestry plan One day after John Horgan and the NDP announced a late and sadly lacking response to the crisis in the forest industry, Tolko Industries announced today that it will be reducing its stud capacity by 20 per cent at its Soda Creek and Armstrong lumber mills. Tolko Vice President Troy Connolly stated today’s announcement is due to continued and increased costs which have eroded competitiveness.

“Yesterday’s forestry announcement

does nothing to drive down costs and help existing producers stay competitive,” says BC Liberal Forestry Critic and Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad. “This is nothing new from John Horgan and the NDP as they continue to ignore the plight of forestrydependent families while the industry struggles. As workers and contractors also fight to stay afloat, the industry continues to drown due to NDP policies.”

“Williams Lake and the Cariboo Region have been hardest hit by the forest industry

crisis and we can’t afford any further reductions,” says Rural Development Critic and Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett. “It’s important to have a plan for early retirement for older workers, but yesterday’s announcement contained nothing that will help current forestry workers stay in the industry and make it competitive once again.” “The NDP’s assistance program for forestry is too little too late to prevent further layoffs and mill reductions,” says Shuswap MLA Greg

Kyllo. “Job losses will continue and communities will suffer more unless this NDP government comes up with a plan to make our forest industry competitive once again.

We aren’t seeing mill closures in Alberta or other neighbouring jurisdictions. This government’s current policies and increased taxes are killing the global competitiveness of B.C.’s world-class facilities.”

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BC Liberals call on John Horgan to immediately re-instate the Rural Dividend Fund program John Horgan and the NDP are once again telling hard-working British Columbians they don’t matter to government after indefinitely suspending the job-creating Rural Dividend Fund program to help pay for their ‘white flag’ forestry plan.

“John Horgan and the NDP have already ignored the crisis in the interior forest industry, and now they are going to steal from the Rural Dividend Fund to pay for their halfbaked Forestry Transition program,” says Andrew Wilkinson, BC Liberal Leader. “This is an insult to every single community that has lost its primary forestry employment, and now the NDP are taking away their only real hope of diversification.”

The Rural Dividend Fund was created so smaller communities can build capacity and promote economic diversification. The NDP government should not be punishing rural B.C. by taking away important funding that helps create jobs and contributes to the overall wellness and sustainability of smaller communities.

“It is simply unbelievable that during a time of crisis for forestrydependent communities, the NDP would pile on with the suspension of the Rural Dividend Fund,” says Donna Barnett, MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin and Opposition Critic for Rural Development.

“Only the NDP would think alienating small communities, driving away economic growth and putting even more jobs at risk is a good idea.”

Saturday, September 28, 2019

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Protest convoy of up to 200 logging trucks comes to downtown Vancouver As many as 200 logging trucks are expected to come rumbling through downtown Vancouver on Wednesday, bringing the plight of B.C.’s embattled forestry sector to provincial leaders.

Government MLAs and the province’s mayors are gathered at Vancouver’s convention centre for the annual Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention.

Convoy co-organizer Frank Etchart, who owns Nadina Logging Ltd., told Global News action to address mill closures and curtailments in the province is needed immediately.

“We want to bring awareness to the public and to our current sitting government that we are pressed for time, we don’t have time anymore,” he said. “It’s happening. So we are asking for help and the only one who can help us right now is the government.” Truckers

began departing from various northern B.C. communities early this morning, and were aiming from to gather in Merritt before pushing on to the Lower Mainland.

Organizers said they understand the rally will disrupt traffic, but it will highlight an issue that is near and dear to small-town British Columbians who are losing jobs in the forestry industry. The province says there have been four permanent mill closures in the B.C. interior, affecting between 500 and 700 workers, along with 13 indefinite closures affecting another 1,000 workers. With

curtailments included, the province estimates as many as 3,000 workers could be impacted.

Experts have said high log costs and lack of timber availability are making B.C.’s forestry industry unprofitable, noting there are fewer costs attached to the forestry sector in neighbouring Alberta.MMany in the industry have pointed to the stumpage fees forestry companies pay to the province to harvest trees as a key problem. The B.C. government has resisted a wholesale review of those fees, warning that lowering them could put B.C. at risk in ongoing and contentious softwood

lumber negotiations with the U.S. U.S. industry has previously argued low B.C. stumpage fees amount to an unfair subsidy of the industry in trade complaints B.C.s NDP government has instead pushed plans to promote valueadded forestry products, such as mass timber technology. The province has also announced a $69-million aid package, which includes an early-retirement bridging program and a new short-term forest employment program centred on fire prevention, community resilience projects and skills training.

Log truck convoy drives home message about dire state of BC forest industry A convoy of as many as 200 logging trucks is to arrive in Vancouver Wednesday as owners and drivers highlight the effects from dozens of mill closures and thousands of layoffs in British Columbia’s forest industry.

The convoy will begin in Merritt, nearly 300 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.

It will be escorted by police to downtown Vancouver where local and provincial politicians are gathered for the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities convention.

Merritt business owners and log haulers Howard McKimmon and Frank Etchart are organizing the convoy and say participants have come from all parts of the province.

McKimmon says they have lost work because sawmill closures mean they are no longer needed to carry logs to the mills.

He says the effect of the forest industry downturn is widespread, disrupting businesses from barbers to grocery stores and everything in between.

“Forest-based communities depend on forestry jobs,” McKimmon says.

He says small-town B.C. is dying and he’s calling for changes to the stumpage system to revive the industry.

RCMP officer who removed inmate’s turban acted ‘in good faith’: lawsuit response The Surrey RCMP officer being sued for taking an inmate’s turban off his head was enforcing an official policy, according to a statement of defence filed in the case.

The encounter in question happened in June 2017 when Kanwaljit Singh, 37, An Abbotsford man was being taken to alleges his turban was a holding cell at the forcefully removed by an Surrey detachment. RCMP member. Source: In Singh’s lawsuit, he accuses Sgt. Brian Blair, the officer in charge of the holding area, of violating his Charter rights when his turban was “forcefully” removed.

But a response to the civil claim filed on Sept.

16 denies any misconduct on the officer’s part, and alleges Singh had been told multiple times that he couldn’t wear his own turban under RCMP policy. The inmate was informed he would be given a replacement head covering upon his request. According to the document, which was filed on behalf of Blair, as well as B.C.’s minister of public safety and the attorney general of Canada, the incident started when officers arrested Singh on allegations that he threatened his wife and other family members.

The defendants claim Singh wasn’t wearing a turban at the time, but that the officers allowed his mother to put one on his head – while notifying him he wouldn’t be allowed to keep it on in the cells.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Birth tourism needs to become an election issue, says president of Doctors of BC Birth tourism needs to be curtailed by the federal government as the Canadian health care system is “struggling to meet the needs of our own citizens,” says Dr. Kathleen Ross, president of Doctors of B.C. Births by non-residents seeking to get instant Canadian citizenship for newborns now accounts for about a quarter of all deliveries at Richmond Hospital, according to the latest federal data, but the issue is not getting any attention from political parties even with the federal election in full swing.

In the past six months, Ross has delivered two babies to birth tourists at Royal Columbian Hospital and in both cases, they left the hospital without paying her fees. Ross would not disclose which country the patients came from but said they have ignored multiple invoices sent “after the fact” to the addresses they supplied. The physician fee for vaginal deliveries ranges between $600 and $1,500.

B.C. hospitals ask for deposits when nonresidents register, $13,300 for a caesarean section and $8,200 for a vaginal delivery.

But those fees are for hospital costs only and

physicians who work on a fee for service basis, as do many of those who deliver babies, have great difficulty collecting their separate fees from birth tourists. Occasionally, hospital lawyers have to sue foreign patients in a bid to be paid.

Ross said it is clear that some birth tourists have “no intention” to pay their bills and doctors in many provinces are starting to talk about how to address the problems. She said the federal election campaign is a perfect time to start talking about the fact that if Canadian citizenship weren’t so easy to obtain in such a way, it is doubtful the numbers of birth tourists would be going up the way they are.

“We’re at a crisis, a tipping point, so it’s really important that some higher authority takes this on,” Ross said. “Hospitals and doctors have no option but to provide service. We can’t turn people away if they are sick, injured, or in labour.”

The federal Conservatives flirted with a potential clampdown on birth tourism in the past and the current Liberal government has said it was studying the matter, but no leader has commented during the current campaign about potential changes.

Federal judge grants BC injunction against Alberta’s turn-off-the-taps law A Federal Court judge has granted the British Columbia government a temporary injunction against an Alberta law that could have limited oil exports to other provinces.

In a decision released Tuesday, Justice Sebastien Grammond said Alberta’s so-called turn-off-the-taps legislation raises a serious issue and could cause irreparable harm to the residents of B.C. “British Columbia has met the criteria usually applied by the courts for the issuance of such an injunction,” he wrote in his decision.

“It has shown that the validity of the act raises a serious issue. It has demonstrated that an embargo of the nature evoked by the members of Alberta’s legislature when debating the act would cause irreparable harm to the residents of British Columbia.”

The B.C. government initially brought the action before Alberta’s Court of Queen’s Bench, which passed it to the Federal Court.

Alberta tried to strike the action by arguing that it wasn’t in the jurisdiction of the Federal Court, but the judge dismissed that motion.

Grammond said B.C. has met the test for blocking the law until the courts can decide its validity.

B.C. Attorney General David Eby said he’s pleased the injunction was

granted and the case will be going to trial.

“We think it’s quite a straight forward case, but the ultimate decision will of course be up to the court,” he told reporters in Vancouver.

“On our reading of the Constitution, Alberta is not allowed to restrict the flow of refined product to other provinces in a way to punish them for political positions that are taken they don’t like,” said Eby. “That’s our understanding of the Constitution.

Alberta has a different understanding and the court will be deciding about that.”

The turn-off-the-taps legislation gives Alberta the power to crimp energy exports from the province.

It was passed, but never used, by Alberta’s former NDP government as a way to put pressure on B.C. to drop its fight against the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion to the West Coast.

The new United Conservative government proclaimed it into force shortly after Premier Jason Kenney was sworn into office in April, but he had said it wouldn’t be used unless B.C. throws up further roadblocks to the pipeline.

B.C. had called the law a loaded gun and had asked the courts to make sure it didn’t accidentally go off.

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31 19

Woman killed in Sherwood Park police shooting brandished sword, investigators say Investigators say a woman killed in a confrontation with police in Sherwood Park was running at officers armed with a Katana sword when she was fatally shot.

Alberta’s police watchdog, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), is investigating the fatal encounter that took place in the Pine Street area around 7:30 a.m. Monday.

Police said they were responding to the 42-yearold woman’s calls for assistance early Monday, beginning at 3 a.m.

The woman’s first call was a complaint that someone was in her backyard, according to ASIRT. She told police she was in an abusive relationship and was worried someone associated with her incarcerated boyfriend might be on her property.

Police searched the area but couldn’t find anyone and left.

They said they were called back to the home a second time around 7:25 a.m. after the woman called to report she was going to take her own life.

“She advised she had been drinking and had been planning to kill herself for a while,” ASIRT said in a news release. “She advised she was armed with a knife and a Katana sword.

She detailed what had been happening in her life and was despondent and distraught.”

Officers arrived at the home while

a dispatcher tried to keep her on the line and de-escalate the situation.

“After some time the woman said ‘I have to hang up now’ and abruptly ended the call,” ASIRT said.

Police called her back and she asked why then weren’t at her home yet, then hung up again, presumably because officers were arriving.

Authorities say video shows what happened next. The woman exited her home and ran at police officers with her sword extended, according to ASIRT. They told her to drop the weapon but she continued to get closer to officers “where a confrontation occurred that resulted in on officer discharging a firearm,” said ASIRT. The woman was struck and fell to the ground. She was rushed to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

No officers were injured in the incident.

The woman has not been publicly identified but neighbours told CTV News Edmonton Monday that police had been to the home multiple times in recent weeks.

“I’m not really sure who it was. It’s a rental property so there’s been maybe in the last 10 years, four or five that have lived there,” said neighbor Dustin Uranick. “There have been incidences in late August and September where there’s cops showing up.”

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

The incomes of Canada’s top one per cent grew at a faster pace than everyone else in 2017 – and, overall, they saw their taxes edge down, says a new study.

Statistics Canada has found that in 2017 the average total income of all tax-filers rose 2.5 per cent to $48,400 compared to the previous year.

The average income growth of the bottom half of tax filers increased 2.4 per cent to $17,200.

But those in the top one per cent saw average income growth that year of 8.5 per cent to $477,700.

And biggest surge in income growth was seen by those who made even more money.

Tax filers in Canada’s top 0.1 per cent, who Over the course of three years a Vancouver woman seemingly went from working at McDonald’s to buying and selling at least $5.9 million worth of stock and signing, over a five-month span, lucrative six-figure

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Canada’s richest 1 per cent enjoyed fastest income growth in 2017 made at least $740,300 in 2017, took home 17.2 per cent more income than in 2016. People in the top 0.01 per cent, who made $2.7 million or more, saw their incomes rise 27.2 per cent – making for the fourth-biggest annual increase in the last 35 years. The report’s release comes with the federal election campaign in full swing – and political pledges on taxes and helping regular

folks with their finances have been prominent.

In 2016, the Liberal government increased the tax rate on income in the highest bracket.

But the Statistics Canada report says that, even with the boost, taxes declined for those with the highest incomes because of reductions at the provincial level, especially in Quebec.

At the federal level, the report says, those

Mystery surrounds Vancouver’s millionaire receptionist consulting contracts, documents reveal.

Explaining the mystery of Danilen Villanueva’s apparent meteoric rise in B.C.’s capital markets may be one of the keys to

explaining one of the largest cases of alleged securities fraud in the province’s recent history.

Villanueva’s business transactions are something British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) investigators are looking into as part of an investigation of alleged securities violations by at least 11 junior public companies and over two dozen purported consultants, including Villanueva, the corporate receptionist for companies run by Anthony Jackson, a chartered professional accountant.

Jackson is a central figure among the group of consultants who, along with the 11 Canadian Securities Exchange-listed companies, are respondents to a BCSC notice of hearing. Jackson lives in a $16 million luxury waterfront mansion in West Vancouver that’s been frozen by the commission. The allegations have not been tried or proven in court or by the BCSC hearing panel.

Villanueva and many of the other selfdescribed consultants are tied personally

in the top one per cent have been paying higher taxes since the government created a fifth tax bracket in 2016, which nudged the effective tax rate of people making the most money to 18.8 per cent from 18.4 per cent.

The overall effective tax rate, however, for those in the top one per cent declined to 30.9 per cent in 2017, down from 31.3 per cent the year before, the study says.

By comparison, all individual taxpayers, on average, saw an effective tax rate of 11.4 per cent in 2017, while families paid a rate of 12.2 per cent. or by business to Jackson, a prolific junior stock promoter who also directs BridgeMark Financial Corp. BCSC investigators coined the consultants the “Bridgemark Group.”

On Sept. 10, 2018, securities investigators and police visited Villanueva’s last known address, a Vancouver apartment, to glean more information about her six-figure consulting contracts and the nearly $6 million worth of private placements her company made in eight of the 11 companies, between February and June 2018, a partially redacted BCSC affidavit obtained by Glacier Media reveals.

Authorities didn’t find Villanueva at the apartment that day but they did speak to an “unidentified male” (UM) and “unidentified female” (UF), who resided there and seemed familiar with Villanueva’s life, the affidavit, including investigator notes, shows.

“The UF and the UM both confirmed they are [redacted]” and that Villanueva had been paying rent but moved out at the end of August 2018. Villanueva graduated from Capilano University in 2015 with a twoyear diploma in business administration.

Premier preaches resilience, unity amid forestry and climate crises in closing UBCM address The B.C. premier’s closing speech on the final day of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) convention is traditionally an opportunity to draw attention to political accomplishments or to make key funding announcements to address timely issues during politicians’ time in office.

“We’re not doing that this year,” John Horgan told this year’s convention to begin his remarks at the Vancouver Convention Centre on Friday morning.

Addressing hundreds of local politicians from across the province, Horgan came back to a theme of togetherness and optimism in working toward common goals across political lines throughout his address.

The speech was punctuated by mention of current issues top of mind for British Columbians, including the crisis crippling the province’s forestry industry.

B.C. government offers support for logging communities but says they need ‘to bend and change’ Thousands of mill workers and contractors have lost their jobs as mills are curtailed partially or entirely with little notice.

A convoy of truck drivers from across B.C. rolled through downtown Vancouver earlier this week, making a point of driving past the downtown convention centre during the convention in an effort to draw leaders’ attention to the plight of workers and contractors left unemployed.

Convoy of more than 100 logging trucks arrives in Vancouver to protest forestry job losses Horgan said he held meetings with forestry leaders during the convention, which was themed “resiliency and change,” including

representatives from major companies which have announced curtailments.

“It’s hard for me to listen to companies say they’re in distress when they’re making multi-million-dollar investments in Europe and around the world,” Horgan said to applause in the room, adding the industry “needs to transform” to adapt to the modern market conditions.

Climate crisis ‘a human issue’ The premier’s final address also coincided with Friday’s global climate strike.

Thousands of students and workers in cities and towns across the world are abandoning schools and offices throughout the day to march in the streets and demand global leaders do more to combat climate change. A demonstration in Vancouver was set to begin at 1 p.m. PT. The strikes, inspired by 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, also coincide with the final day of the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York.

“This is not a partisan issue. This is a human issue,” the premier said of the climate crisis during his address.

“If you find yourself arguing with a 16-year-old Swede,” he added, referring to Thunberg, “I’m fairly confident you’re on the wrong side of the argument. You need to wake up and smell the coffee.”

“If we’re going to be successful, we have to take our differences and park them,” Horgan said in finishing his speech.

“Differences can be overcome when values shine through. The values in this room are reflected in the fact that you stepped up … I want to thank you for the work we’re going to have to do together to address the challenges we’re facing.”

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Andrew Scheer pledges to allow longer mortgages, remove ‘stress test’ for renewals Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer laid out a plan Monday that he says would make it cheaper for Canadians to buy homes, loosening rules put in place by the former Conservative government during the global financial crisis. Scheer pledged he’d return to allowing first-time homebuyers to take out 30-year mortgages to help lower monthly payments.

“For millions of Canadians their home is the largest investment they will ever make,” Scheer said.

Beginning in 2008, the Harper Conservatives began reducing the maximum mortgage amortization rate for insured mortgages. They started by knocking it down from 40 to 35 years, and in 2011 reduced it to 30 years. Conservative finance minister Jim Flaherty reduced the maximum amortization period to 25 years the following year. He said

at the time that while monthly payments would be higher, it would result in less interest and help people pay off their mortgages faster.

The move at the time was meant to address the growing debt burden on Canadians. A major factor in the panic that locked up financial markets in the late 2000s was mortgages that owners couldn’t pay, on properties that were worth less than the loans taken out against them. When asked why a new Conservative government would now reverse course, Scheer said the longer mortgage period would allow more people to buy homes. He added that “it is important that we have strong regulations around the financial sector.” Statistics Canada reported in August that the median mortgage debt of Canadian families that have them almost doubled between 1999 and 2016, rising from $91,900 to $180,000 in 2016 dollars.

Policies on the Safe Third Country Agreement n 2017, few Canadians had ever heard of the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) – a border pact between Canada and the United States that allows each country to block certain would-be refugees from making asylum claims at official ports of entry.

But when the number of people making refugee claims between ports of entry spiked two years ago – jumping from 23,350 in 2016 to more than 47,000 in 2017 – the agreement and the loophole that allows these claims to go forward suddenly became much more important.

So where do the parties and their leaders stand on the STCA and what proposals are they making to address the sudden spike in asylum claims?

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May says the STCA has to go.

May has called on the government to scrap the agreement, saying it’s clear that under U.S. President Donald Trump, the American system for processing refugees is in “disarray” and that the agreement diminishes the rights of wouldbe refugees seeking protection in Canada.

May has also raised concerns about whether the U.S. is actually a safe place for refugees — especially those who allege persecution due to gender-based violence and sexual orientation.

“Canada needs to step up to the plate and accept that many of these people are fleeing persecution or disaster for the second time,” May said in March. “We need to allow them to go through the same processing as refugees would if they were to present at regular points of entry, not add to their suffering.”

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has publicly criticized the treatment of would-be refugees in the U.S. — especially children — saying it’s “absolutely clear” that asylum seekers in the States need to someplace else to go. “(Refugees) are no longer safe under the Trump administration — and we need to do something about it,” Singh said in June 2018, referring to a widely condemned policy made by the Trump administration to separate migrant children from their parents.

New survey tool informs young Canadians where to place vote A group focused on encouraging young people to get out and vote on election night launched a new portal to help users navigate policy platforms and ultimately narrow in on their ballot box choice.

Future Majority is an independent advocacy group that helps disengaged young Canadians feel more empowered and informed about their democratic right. In its newest interactive online tool, launched Tuesday, the organization scrapes party promises from their platforms to help inform the results of their ‘Who to Vote For’ survey.

It asks users to pick their top three areas of concern this election, among: climate change,

electoral reform, immigration and refugees, health care, Indigenous Rights, cost of living, mental health resources, and LGBTQ2+ issues.

One of the founders of Future Majority, Tyler Valiquette, told CTVNews.ca that climate change is the top issue young people have selected thus far, followed by cost of living and healthcare. “[The results] match the conversations we’re having across the country as well,” said Valiquette, who’s based in Toronto.

It then displays a number of policy pitches, and asks users to select the option that best fits with their values and opinions.

New federal rules limit police searches of family tree DNA databases The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released new rules yesterday governing when police can use genetic genealogy to track down suspects in serious crimes—the first-ever policy covering how these databases, popular among amateur genealogists, should be used in law enforcement attempts to balance public safety and privacy concerns.

The value of these websites for law enforcement was highlighted last year when Joseph DeAngelo was charged with a series of rapes and murders that had occurred decades earlier. Investigators tracked down

the suspect, dubbed the Golden State Killer, by uploading a DNA profile from a crime scene to a public ancestry website, identifying distant relatives, then using traditional genealogy and other information to narrow their search. The approach has led to arrests in at least 60 cold cases around the country.

But these searches also raise privacy concerns. Relatives of those in the database can fall under suspicion even if they have never uploaded their own DNA. (One study found that 60% of white Americans can now be tracked down using such searches.)

NATIONAL

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INDIA

Saturday, September 28, 2019

High Court stays Azam Khan’s arrest in land grab cases The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday stayed the arrest of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, Rampur MP, in 29 cases lodged against him.

A Division Bench of Justice Manoj Mishra and Justice Manju Rani Chauhan stayed his arrest in 29 cases lodged against him by farmers accusing him of encroachment of their lands for Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur. In his petition, Azam Khan had pleaded the court to restrain the police from arresting him. The court has also asked the state government and the counsel appearing for farmers to file their counter affidavit. Experts now believe that the relief which the former cabinet minister has received from the High Court may help him get further reprieve in the

remaining pending cases against him and his family members. Since May a record number of 84 cases have been lodged against him, his MLA son Abdullah Azam, his Rajya Sabha MP wife Tazeen Fatima, his retired school teacher sister and even his deceased mother. Following the cases of farmers, who had sold off their land to the university in 2007, the Uttar Pradesh government had not wasted time to declare him a “Bhu-Mafia” (land mafia) and put his name on the official website of land sharks. The nature of other crimes lodged against him is varied. They are of theft of books from a local madarsa for his university library, theft of admirals and statues, illegally drawing electricity by his wife for their resort, theft of buffaloes and goats and so on.

Rajnath says Security Forces are fully prepared Two days after the Army Chief said terror camps in Pakistan were being reactivated, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said Indian security forces were fully prepared to meet the situation. He was responding to a query on Army Chief General Bipin Rawat’s statement on reactivation of terror camps in Balakot in neighbouring Pakistan. “Don’t worry, our security forces are fully prepared,” he told reporters here.

Rawat had on Monday said, “Pakistan has reactivated the Balakot terror camp very recently and about 500 infiltrators were waiting to sneak into India.”

Early this year, tensions flared up between India and Pakistan after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based JeM killed 40 CRPF

personnel in Pulwama district. Responding to another query about Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh seeking the Home Ministry’s help on incidents of Pakistanorigin drones dropping consignments of arms and ammunition, the Defence Minister said as far as the country’s security was concerned, the armed forces have the capability to defeat any such challenges.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Capt Amarinder said, “Recent incidents of Pakistan-origin drones dropping consignments of arms and ammunitions is a new and serious dimension on Pakistan’s sinister designs in aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370. Request @ AmitShah ji to ensure that this drone problem is handled at the earliest.”

Monsoon leaves Haryana parched As monsoon retreats for this year, it has left behind most parts of Haryana parched, with the overall rainfall in the state being 43 per cent below the long term average.

The shortfall is 16 per cent and 11 per cent respectively for the neighbouring states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

From June 1 to September 25, Haryana received 251.4 mm rain against the normal of 440.7 mm for this period, according to data made available by the India Meteorological Department today. Himachal and Punjab received 638.2 mm and 411.5 mm respectively vis-à-vis the normal of 755.4 mm and 460.6 mm. Rain has been below the long term average in all the 22 districts of Haryana.

Rohtak, with a deficiency of 72 per cent is the worst hit followed by Panchkula (-66%), Fatehabad (-63%) and Panipat (-62%).

The shortfall ranged between –23 per cent to –57 per cent in 16 other districts. Sirsa, with a deficiency of –13 per cent and Yamunanagar with a deficiency of –19 per cent were two districts that were relatively better off than the rest. The entire tribal belt in the upper regions of Himachal Pradesh comprising the districts of Chamba, Kangra, Lahaul Spiti and Kinnaur, that is the source of several rivers, as well as Solan and Sirmour in the southern part,

Chinmayanand accuser held for extortion The 23-year-old Shahjahanpur law student, who has accused BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand of rape, was today arrested by the special investigation team (SIT) on charges of extortion and later remanded in court custody for 14 days. The bail application, moved by her counsel Anoop Trivedi, was rejected by the Additional District Judge while her anticipatory bail plea admitted in the court of ADJ Sudhir Kumar will come up for hearing tomorrow. IG Naveen Arora, who headed the SIT, said the law student was arrested only after “enough” digital and forensic evidence was found and corroborative statements were recorded. According to Arora, the SIT had

evidence that Rs 5 crore extortion money was demanded from Chinmayanand. Those arrested have admitted that they had sent WhatsApp messages to Chinmayanand on the directions of the law student. Arora said some seized items, including a pen drive and mobile phone, were sent to the forensic lab. The report was received on September 24 after which the law student was interrogated. The video and audio tapes were shown to her that clearly established that Rs 5 crore was demanded in ransom. It was on the basis of the digital and forensic evidence that she was arrested this morning, Arora said.

Association for Advocacy and Legal Initiatives has flaye

PUNJAB

Saturday, September 28, 2019 Captain says Congress MP is working with Opposition Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said Congress Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa had joined hands with the Opposition in attacking his own party’s government on the sensitive Bargari issue. Reacting to the Chief Minister’s statement on “exonerating” Parkash Singh Badal in the sacrilege cases,

Bajwa had on Tuesday expressed apprehension that Amarinder was being dictated by some extraneous forces on the issue of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib. The CM had, however, denied making the statement. The CM said Bajwa had been persistently trying to scuttle the Bargari sacrilege case probe.

Rawat feels privileged to address Punjab Regiment Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday said it was a privilege for him to have got an opportunity to address personnel of the Punjab Regiment, the oldest regiment of the Indian Army.

He was here for presenting President’s colours to 29th and 30th battalions of the regiment. It had even taken part in overseas operations in the 19th

Intervention of Akal Takht sought for joint celebrations Punjab Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has called for Akal Takht intervention against the “sabotage of the joint celebrations of Guru Nanak’s 550th Parkash Purb by the Badal family.”

He asked Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh, acting Jathedar of the Akal Takht, to seek explanation from SGPC chief Gobind Singh Longowal for violating the decision on joint celebrations. In a letter to the Jathedar, Randhawa, who is on the Akal Takht panel for joint celebrations, recalled that the decision for joint celebrations was taken by the SGPC and the state government on June 29. “In a violation of that decision, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and his wife and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal pressurised Longowal to accompany them to extend invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The state government was not even informed,” he alleged.

On September 21, the SGPC president again went to Delhi to invite President Ram Nath Kovind with the same set of people, he said.

Brother of main accused in terror module deported The State Special Operations Cell today nabbed Gurdev Singh, brother of Gurmeet Singh, alias Bagga, alias Doctor.

Notably, Gurdev was an associate of Pakistan-based Khalistan Zindabad Force chief Ranjeet Singh Neeta. According to sources, Gurdev had managed to slip away to Thailand following the seizure of arms and ammunition in Tarn Taran. The weapons were smuggled across the International Border with the help of China-made drones. “The government immediately asked the Thailand government which deported him. Subsequently, he was arrested,” the sources said, adding that Gurdev had a case of unlawful activities pending against him. The sources said it was Gurdev Singh who mediated between Maan Singh, who was lodged in a jail, and Gurmeet Singh for activating sleeper cells to radicalise and recruit more persons for carrying out nefarious activities in the country.

Gurdev also recruited Akashdeep Singh, who was lodged in a jail for possessing arms. Akashdeep along with Baba Balwant Singh Nihang, Harbhajan Singh and Balbir Singh had received the arms and ammunition, including five AK 47.

century, an Army statement said. The Punjab Regiment was also a part of the UNs Peace Keeping Missions in Sri Lanka, Lebanon and Congo. While Lieutenant Preetpal Singh received the President’s colours on behalf of the 29th battalion of the regiment, Lieutenant Kishan Goraiya received it on behalf of 30th battalion from the Army chief.

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High prices of machines leave farmers frustrated Even as the Punjab Government has launched an aggressive Rs 276-crore plan to minimise burning of paddy stubble, farmers have given a thumbs down to the “high-cost technology adoption” being demanded of them. Maintaining that the cost of machinery required to remove stubble — the super stubble management system, happy seeders, rotavators, ploughs, shrub cutters and mulchers — is too high, a majority of farmers are adamant that they have little choice but to burn the straw. It is precisely this concern that farmers at the PAU Kisan Mela had raised before Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, last week. To counter this reservation, the state government is promoting setting up of Community Hiring Centres (CHCs) — a collective of eight farmers. The centres can then get the machinery at up to 80 per cent subsidy.

From about 1,000 odd CHCs formed last year, the state is ready to showcase 5,858 CHCs this year.

Vishwajit Khanna, Additional Chief Secretary, Development, Punjab, said promoting CHCs not just cut the cost of machinery for farmers, it also led to better utilisation of machines. “That’s

why we have aggressively promoted these. We have already delivered machines to 1,837 of these centres, while remaining machines are on way to delivery,” he said. The state government, in the recent meeting of Northern Zonal Council chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah, had sought that the Centre give an additional cost compensation of Rs 100 per quintal for farmers, for ensuring that they don’t burn stubble. Other than this, 7,837 farmers too have applied for subsidy to buy machines from the state government- approved vendors. “As many as 7,707 of these cases have been approved and machinery delivered to 1,300 farmers. We are also launching information communications and education activities in villages to promote these machines. As many as 7,000 officers from various departments are in the field, to promote removal of stubble and prevent its burning,” said Khanna. He said the government had placed orders for 5,619 more machines. “Farmers are in financial distress. To expect farmers to buy this expensive machinery, when they are finding it difficult to make ends meet.

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INDIA

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Modi holds meetings with counterparts from Armenia, New Zealand Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the 74th United Nations General Assembly here, including with his counterparts from Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and New Zealand Jacinda Ardern. In his meeting with the Armenia PM on Wednesday, Modi stressed on the need to considerably enhance the volume of bilateral trade and investment. He expressed interest of Indian companies to explore opportunities in IT, agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, tourism and other sectors of Armenia, said a Ministry of External Affairs statement. The Prime Minister sought Armenia’s support for concluding an expeditious trading arrangement between India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU) of which Armenia is a member.

India and the EaEu are set to start negotiations on this soon.

During the meeting, both sides reviewed the bilateral relations between the two countries and expressed satisfaction at their steady growth.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted, “PM @narendramodi met with Armenian PM @ NikolPashinyan. Had a fruitful discussion on deepening the age-old relationship between the two countries.” Modi thanked Pashinyan for Armenia’s consistent support for India’s candidature for the permanent membership of an expanded UN Security Council.

Indian army readies blueprint to tap artificial intelligence technology to improve capabilities on China border In a bid to revolutionise its capabilities at the India-China border, the Indian Army is set to soon release its blueprint on setting up an AI-based system, reports India Today.

The blueprint will be aimed to help India compete with China in the aspect of adopting AI-based technologies; it can use this advanced technology to minimise errors and to mobilise troops in a faster manner owing to smart surveillance systems.

With the adoption of AI-based surveillance systems, the Indian Army will be able to reduce its dependence on the foot patrolling by

soldiers to keep vigil which also often leads to shortfalls and errors. The AI-based applications will help the force pinpoint accurately when something suspicious or worrisome take place in the security grid and watch.

For this purpose, the Indian Army is set to organise a brainstorming session in Hisar in which industry representatives and experts will also be taking part to focus on how AI can be used to increase the efficiency and efficacy of the mechanised warfare. The session would boost engagement between the Indian Army, industry and academia to pursue the goal.

PM told to improve Kashmiris’ lives US President Donald Trump “encouraged” Prime Minister Narendra Modi to improve relations with Pakistan and fulfil his promise to better the lives of the Kashmiri people, according to a readout issued by the White House on the bilateral meeting between the two leaders. Prime Minister Modi and President Trump had met on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session here — their fourth meeting since Modi came to power for a second term in May. Their 40-minute talks focused on bilateral trade and issues related to terrorism emanating from Pakistan. President Trump noted the good progress on defence and security cooperation, the readout said. “Additionally, the President encouraged Prime Minister Modi to improve

relations with Pakistan and fulfil his promise to better the lives of the Kashmiri people,” it said. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said the Prime Minister explained in detail to President Trump the challenges faced by India due to terrorism, especially in Jammu and Kashmir.

He put forward India’s perspective on the issue of terrorism as President Trump vowed to protect innocent civilians from the threat of “radical Islamic terrorism” during the ‘Howdy, Modi’ event in Houston on Sunday. Trump reaffirmed the importance of greatly increasing trade between the US and India and highlighted the need for “resolving barriers to free, fair, and reciprocal trade, which includes improving US companies’ market access in India,” the White House note said.

Trump says he offered India & Pak with Kashmir mediation US President Donald Trump said he discussed the issue of Kashmir with the leaders of India and Pakistan during his meetings with them and offered to help with “arbitration or mediation” to the two nuclear-armed countries, who have to “work it out”. Trump, addressing reporters here on Wednesday, said he had had “very productive conversations” with leaders of India and

Pakistan on the margins of the UN General Assembly. “With respect to Pakistan and India, we talked about Kashmir. Whatever help I can be, I said, I offered, whether it’s arbitration or mediation or whatever it has to be.” He said he would “do whatever he can because they are at very serious odds right now and hopefully that will get better”.

Aligarh professor booked for ‘raping’ estranged wife A professor in Aligarh, who was accused of announcing triple talaq to wife on WhatsApp, has now been booked for allegedly raping his estranged wife, police said.

An FIR was registered on Wednesday against the 58-year-old professor under Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code on the complaint filed by the wife.

The Aligarh police said the accused had divorced his wife one and a half years ago. The woman had then accused the husband of giving her ‘instant talaq’ through WhatsApp and SMS.

Circle officer Anil Samaniya said an investigation was under way.

According to the fresh complainant, she had been staying with her son and daughter at a separate accommodation since the 2017 episode. The husband frequented her house to meet their children. She alleged that on August 29, he came to her house in the evening when she was alone and raped her at gunpoint. In 2017, the woman had threatened to commit suicide along with her children in front of the Vice Chancellor’s house in case she failed to get justice.

Lack of strike team prevented terror attack The Khalistan module that received weapons from across the border through drones earlier this month failed to carry out a terror strike as its Pakistan-based handlers couldn’t put together a “strike team” in time to use the weapons. The module members had the arms in their possession for at least three weeks.

Senior Punjab Police officials confirmed at least five sorties by drones, each having the capacity to carry 10 kg payload, delivering a huge cache of arms, ammunition and satellite phones to the module members, four of whom have been arrested.

“The arrested men have told the investigators that they were told to store

the weapons safely and that someone would come and pick these up soon. They, however, didn’t know whether the strike team would have comprised locals or trained militants from across the border,” said a senior official. The accused were awaiting instructions from their handlers in Pakistan, said the officials, adding the police were probing the composition of the strike team. The investigators learnt about the lack of existence of a strike team as the terrorists didn’t try to strike despite having the weapons for three weeks.

DGP Dinkar Gupta said the investigation was on. Central Forensic Science Laboratory experts were examining the half-burnt pieces of the drone.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

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Saturday, September 28, 2019

Narendra Modi to gift ‘Gandhi Solar Park’ to UN in New York Prime Minister Narendra Modi will gift ‘Gandhi Solar Park’ to the United Nations when he attends the Climate Action Summit 2019 in New York, during his week long visit to the US. The 50 kilowatt hour (kWh) rooftop solar park has 193 solar panels—each representing a member of the multilateral body. The $1 million gift to the UN comes at a time when India has emerged as a clean energy champion. To be held in the General Assembly Hall at UN Headquarters, PM Modi will be joining other global leaders at the Summit in the backdrop of US withdrawal from the Paris climate deal. India, the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after the US and China, has been pushing for a clean energy fuelled economy. India plans to reduce its carbon emissions by 33-35% from its 2005 levels by 2030, as part of its commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted by 195 countries in Paris in 2015.

The UN Climate Action Summit is being held before the second general assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) scheduled in New Delhi from 30 October to 2 November. ISA was jointly launched by the PM Modi and the President of France on 30 November 2015 in Paris, on the sidelines of COP-21, the UN Climate Conference.

United Nations secretary-general Antуnio Guterres had also attended the first general assembly of the International Solar Alliance in October last year in New Delhi.

This also comes at a time of even as countries such as India have been trying to rejig its energy mix in favour of green energy sources.

At present, India has an installed powergeneration capacity of 357,875 megawatts (MW), of which around 22% or 80,000 MW is generated through clean energy projects such as solar and wind. With addition of large hydro projects to clean energy segment, India is poised to have 225 GW of renewable energy by 2022.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks as Michael Bloomberg looks on during the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York City Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a keynote speaker at a business summit today, which is currently being attended by eminent business and political leaders including Bill Clinton, former International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde and several top CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. PM Modi began speaking over “Restoring Global Stability” at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum.

After PM Modi concludes his speech, Bloomberg L.P. CEO Michael Bloomberg will call on PM Modi for a one-on-one meeting.

After the Bloomberg summit, an investment round table organised

by India will take place which will see the participation of 40 major companies.

The round table have the government seek feedback on the companies’ business plans for the country.

PM Modi will also participate in the firstever India CARICOM summit, which will see the participation of 14 leaders of member countries of the Caribbean community.

Study warns some turmeric spice is deliberately laced with lead A new study out of Stanford University has revealed that some spice producers in Bangladesh have been lacing their turmeric products with a chemical that contains lead, a dangerous neurotoxin that can cause debilitating life-long diseases and disorders in people who consume it. The chemical is an industrial yellow pigment called lead chromate that is added to give the turmeric a desirable yellow color.

Lead is an incredibly dangerous neurotoxin — no amount of it is considered safe for ingestion, leading to its ban in paint in many places, as well as restrictions on its presence in certain types of products.

For this reason, lead chromate pigment has been banned from use in food products for many years.

According to the new study, however, a flood in Bangladesh in the 1980s resulted in turmeric crops that had a duller color than usual. Processors, in an effort to ensure the product sold, added the industrial pigment to the dull turmeric in order to make it brighter.

The process was successful and, according to the study, became a standard practice that remains today. The laced turmeric is believed to be the cause of elevated blood lead levels in Bangladesh, though the impact outside of

the nation is unclear. The researchers note that products intended for export to other countries may not be as adulterated due to random food safety checks that test the products.

However, only a fraction of products are ultimately tested; it’s possible that only a small portion of turmeric with this yellow pigment is caught, leaving the rest to enter the market and compromise the health of the people who purchase it. Consumers may also face risk if they directly purchase turmeric sourced from Bangladesh using sources that bypass the usual food safety checks.

Pakistan unable to move resolution on Kashmir at UN In another setback in its attempts to raise the Kashmir issue at the global level, Pakistan could not file any resolution on the issue at the ongoing UN Human Rights Council meeting here. Thursday afternoon (1 p.m. local time) was the deadline for filing resolutions at the UNHRC’s 42nd meeting, which began on September 9 and goes on till September 27 and no Pakistani resolution was filed so far.

India and Pakistan had faced off earlier this month at the meeting. On the second day of the meeting, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who was leading his country’s delegation, raked up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. Citing the restrictions imposed and detention of political leaders among other things, he said that Kashmir had been converted into the “largest prison” with people being denied access to basic amenities.

India’s counter offensive to Pakistan at the top human rights body on September 10 was

led by its Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs Vijay Thakur Singh, who firmly put forth India’s stance on Kashmir and rebutted Pakistan’s shrill allegations of human rights violations.

Flanked by former Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan Ajay Bisaria, who was expelled by Islamabad after India revoked special status for Kashmir, Singh told the UNHRC that there was a need to call out those who are misusing it for “malicious political agenda under the garb of human rights”.

She also later met UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and briefed her on the steps taken by New Delhi to bring about normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir.

Singh also conveyed to Bachelet about India’s concerns on the threats posed by crossborder terror emanating from Pakistan.

US lifts tariffs on 400 Chinese products, Trump cites trade progress US President Donald Trump said his administration was “making a lot of progress” with China on Friday, as deputy-level trade talks continued for a second day and Washington lifted tariffs on over 400 Chinese products. Trump, speaking to reporters at a White House meeting with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, said the United States was taking in billions of dollars from tariffs imposed on Chinese products, adding that the total would soon reach $100 billion.

“I will say this: we’re making a lot of progress with China,” Trump said.

The United States Trade Representative’s office issued three Federal Register notices exempting a wide range of products from tariffs in response to requests from US companies, which argued that the levies would cause economic hardship. The 437 exempted products range from printed circuit boards for computer graphics processors to dog collars, laminated wood flooring and

miniature Christmas lights. Chinese and US negotiators are holding two days of talks that were expected to focus heavily on agriculture, and lay the groundwork for high-level talks in early October that would determine whether the two countries are working toward a solution or headed for new and higher tariffs on each other’s goods.

A delegation of about 30 Chinese officials, led by Vice Finance Minister Liao Min, met counterparts at the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) office near the White House.

Deputy USTR Jeffrey Gerrish led the US delegation.

The United States is asking that China substantially increase purchases of American soybeans and other farm commodities, a person with knowledge of the planned discussions told Reuters.

Chinese delegates will visit American farm regions with US officials next week, in a gesture of goodwill.

SOUTH ASIA

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Taiwanese businesses look to India as alternative to China Taiwan is pitching India as a potential business destination to its tech, automotive, renewable energy and farm sector firms as the US’s trade war with China has pushed its companies to look for newer markets, two officials said on Friday. More than 10,000 Taiwanese companies, including Apple suppliers Foxconn and Wistron, have massive operations in China, thanks to its tax incentives, organised supply chain and logistics, efficient business parks and cultural ties to the island. But a trade war between Washington and Beijing has led to higher tariffs on goods worth tens of billions of dollars and disrupted global supply chains, prompting companies to look at other countries to escape higher tariffs.

“This trade war has encouraged more Taiwanese companies to figure out other options. So India and also other Asean countries are the alternative markets,” ShihChung Liu, vice-chair of Taiwan External

Trade Development Council, told reporters.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is a regional block comprising 10 nations in Southeast Asia, which promotes economic, political and military ties between members. Beijing maintains that Taiwan, an island 180km off the Chinese mainland, does not qualify for formal diplomatic ties with any country. And though India has no formal relation with Taiwan, Taipei runs an economic and cultural centre in New Delhi, which operates as a de facto embassy.

Taiwanese firms are looking to invest in India’s technology, renewable energy, electric vehicle and farm sectors, Liu said. “India is among the most important markets, among those 18 new southbound policy countries.”

Taiwan’s southbound policy focuses on strengthening ties in the areas of culture, tourism, education and trade with 18 Southeast and South Asian countries.

US lifts tariffs on 400 Chinese products, Trump cites trade progress However, the Trump administration and China’s Communist Party remain far apart on issues that are the basis of their trade dispute, including the US declaring some Chinese state companies national security risks, and Beijing’s refusal to revamp its economic model by eliminating subsidies for state companies.

Trade experts, executives and government officials in both countries say that even if the September and October talks produce an interim deal, the US-China trade war has hardened into a political and ideological

battle that runs far deeper than tariffs and could take years to resolve.

Observers in Beijing said the new tariff exemptions were a welcome sign, but the trade talks remain on a delicate footing.

The exemptions are “seen as a goodwill signal by China”, Hu Xijin, editor of the influential state-run tabloid Global Times, said Friday on Twitter.

“Interaction of goodwill between China and the US is still fragile.” —

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Two Rohingya killed in gun battle with Bangladesh border guards Two Rohingya refugees were killed in a gun battle with Bangladeshi border guards as they tried to cross into Bangladesh from Myanmar on Friday, officials said.

More than 730,000 Rohingya refugees live in Bangladesh, having fled persecution in neighboring Myanmar where security forces are accused of carrying out killings, gang rape and arson in a crackdown after attacks on police posts by Rohingya insurgents in August 2017.

Bangladesh is hosting refugees in cramped conditions in camps in the border district of Cox’s Bazar, but wants to move them to a remote island in the Bay of Bengal, citing monsoons and an increasingly deteriorating law and order situation fueled by drug smuggling.

Mohammad Faisal Hasan Khan, the commanding officer of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in the Teknaf sub-district of Cox’s Bazar, said that in early hours on Friday a group of Rohingya were crossing a river on the border by boat when border guards challenged them and asked them to surrender.

“But instead of surrendering they responded with fire arms,” Hasan said.

“When attack and counter attack stopped the BGB members went to the spot and found two Rohingya laid down on the ground with bullet (wounds),” he told Reuters.

They were pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital. The BGB said it recovered 70,000 methamphetamine tablets, known

locally as Yaba, along with a rifle and bullets, from the bodies.

Iqbal Hossain, additional police superintendent in the Cox’s Bazar district, said that 44 Rohingya have been killed in gunfights with law enforcement agencies from January to date.

“All of them were engaged with drug peddling, robbery, human trafficking and arms trade,” Hossain told Reuters.

“In recent months a section of Rohingya are getting involved in crimes and out of them some were killed in gunfights with law

Rohingya refugees

enforcement agencies.”

Prodeep Kumar Das, officer in charge of Teknaf police station, told Reuters that several police officers have been injured in gun battles with refugees.

Rohingya rights groups say they want the killings investigated.

“We don’t support any criminal activities, but we cannot accept such killing. We demand thorough investigations of all such killings,” said Syed Ullah, general secretary of Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights of Kutupalong camp in Teknaf.

“Rohingyas can not do it without the support and help from local people.”

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FIJI

Saturday, September 28, 2019

People of Drauleba Settlement in Naitasiri now enjoy free flow of safe drinking water People of Drauleba Settlement in Naitasiri will now enjoy from the comfort of their homes the free flow of safe drinking water after the commissioning of their Rural Water Scheme Project.

Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Disaster Management, Jone Usamate says the $51,000 water project included the construction of a new dam and even installation of showers in the homes of the villagers.

Usamate says government through its 5 and 20-year plans has set targets for Fijians to all have safe drinking water by 2030.

He says 78 percent of Fiji’s population currently have access to safe drinking water and government is optimistic that this target will be achieved as planned.

Usamate says any elected government has two roles which are to lead the people and the other is to serve the people.

He says in serving the people of Fiji, the government has implemented basic infrastructure projects such as this as a building block to development.

Usamate says in the last 5 years, the government has allocated $4 million towards the rural water projects in the province of Naitasiri.

He says in the 2019-2020 budget, $258.7 million has been allocated to the Water Authority of Fiji with the majority dedicated for the capital projects with includes constructions of new water sources and treatment plans and expansions of water distribution systems all over Fiji.

Former soccer star visits Vancouver

Former Fiji and Lautoka soccer star, Satish Dutta,(seated second from right) with former Fiji Consul General, ( seated , right) and other soccer fans at the Legion in Vancouver last Saturday. Local soccer fans gathered at the Legion to welcome and facilitate Datta who is in Vancouver on a trip from Adelaide, Australia, where he now lives. Datta starred for Lautoka and Fiji teams in the morning I960’s

Fiji lose to Uruguay 27-30 in huge upset at the Rugby World Cup Uruguay beats Fiji to win first game of Rugby World Cup for 16 years.

The 2019 Rugby World Cup delivered its first major shock as minnows Uruguay held on for a historic 30-27 victory over Fiji.

Uruguay had not won a World Cup match since beating Georgia in 2003 and tears flowed after the referee blew the final whistle, sparking huge celebrations from the winning camp. No one had expected this result.

The last time these two teams faced each other Fiji stormed to a comfortable 68-7 victory but it was a different story in the Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium, a venue built in memory of those killed in the 2011 tsunami. It was the biggest score Uruguay has ever recorded in a World Cup game and it was well worthy of the win against a Fiji side who failed to impress.

“I’m really proud of my country. We’re not the biggest, we’re not the tallest, but we came here to win,” said Uruguay captain Juan

Manuel Gaminara. “We’ve been preparing for this for four years so I’m really proud of my country.” Uruguay beat Fiji in the Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium. Uruguay beat Fiji in the Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium. ‘Really good day for Uruguayan rugby’ The game started at a hurtling pace with both sides registering an early try but it was Uruguay that emerged as the surprise 2412 leaders at halftime.

Scores from Juan Manuel Cat, Manuel Diana and Santiago Arata punished a sloppy Fijian outfit that wasted a number of opportunities to cut into Uruguay’s 12-point lead. There was an expectation that Fiji would regroup during the break and come out firing but the onslaught never arrived. The Fijian players continued to make basic errors as Uruguay picked up six additional penalty points to give themselves an unassailable lead.

Uruguay has won soccer’s World Cup twice

Fiji is making a national priority to climate-proof its water utilities - PM Fiji is making a national priority to climate-proof its water utilities.

This was revealed by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama while addressing the session of the Tajikistan Transformative Water Action to Accelerate Global Achievement of Climate Change at the UN Headquarters in New York this morning.

Bainimarama says it was necessary for his government to

establish the Ministry of Waterways to manage Fiji’s water systems as an integrated whole.

He said Fiji is fortunate to be one of the few Pacific island countries with relatively large freshwater systems.

These systems, Prime Minister Bainimarama said supported rural communities with fishing, farm irrigation and transportation, and even drinking water.

South Pacific countries eye BRI chance China is increasing its cooperation with island countries in the South Pacific Ocean after the Solomon Islands formally established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in Beijing on Saturday.

Analysts said apart from cracking down on Taiwan separatism in the diplomatic field, China will also include more countries in the region in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The government of the Solomon Islands, with a total population of about 627,000, is among 14 Pacific countries.

It announced it was cutting “diplomatic ties” with the island of Taiwan on Monday and acknowledged the one-China principle.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Solomon Islands

Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele signed a joint communiqué at a ceremony for the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“The Solomon Islands acknowledges the one-China principle and the island of Taiwan is an inseparable part of China. China highly praises the stance of the Solomon Islands,” Wang said, noting history would tell the fundamental and long-term interests of this decision to the people of the Solomon Islands.

“China won’t seek unilateral interest, and our cooperation with Solomon Islands will be equal, open and reciprocal,” the Foreign Minister said.

Lü Guixia, director of the Foreign Relations Institute of the Research Center for Pacific

Heartbreaking news for Fijians after leading climate scientist says sea levels may increase by 1.1 metres by 2100 Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama says it is heartbreaking news for Fijians to find out from a leading climate scientist that global warming will increase global average sea levels by upto 1.1 metres by 2100 in the worst warming scenario.

While addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York today, Bainimarama says the report was released a few hours ago, and adds a new dimension of horror to the world our children and grandchildren will inherit.

Bainimarama sent a message to some leaders

who sit at the apex of certain governments that they readily listen to the scientists and take heed of the best research available in every other field of human endeavour - So why do they refuse to listen to the scientists on climate change?

He says one of our youngest climate warriors, young Timoci Naulusala watched his village be ripped to pieces in Cyclone Winston and he is now demanding the world act to spare other youth the same suffering he personally endured.

More than 98,000 tonnes of sugar produced so far A total of 98,852 tonnes of raw sugar has been produced so far by the three mills around the country.

The Fiji Sugar Corporation says this follows more than a million tonnes of sugarcane being crushed from Lautoka, Labasa, and Rarawai.The FSC states that Lautoka and Labasa Mills have completed fifteen weeks of crushing whilst Rarawai has concluded eleven weeks.

Article continues after advertisement The Labasa Mill has to date crushed 405,502 tonnes of cane and manufactured 41,690 tonnes of sugar, the Lautoka Mill has crushed 375,224 tonnes of cane and produced 35,163 tonnes of sugar while Rarawai Mill has crushed 231,508 tonnes of cane, and manufactured 21,999 tonnes of sugar.

PAKISTAN

Saturday, September 28, 2019

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Pakistan committed one of the biggest blunders by joining US after 9/11, says Imran Khan Prime Minister Imran Khan admitted on September 24 that Pakistan committed “one of the biggest blunders” by joining the U.S. after the 9/11 attacks, saying the previous governments “should not have pledged what they could not deliver”.

Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) think-tank here, Mr. Khan also said the least he expects the international community to do is to urge India to lift the curfew in Kashmir.

Responding to a question, Mr. Khan said he had urged his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to “reset” bilateral ties and his government waited to resume talks until after the elections in India

were over but then it found that “India is pushing us in the blacklist of the Financial Action Task Force to bankrupt us” He said that by abrogating Article 370, India had cast aside the UN Security Council resolutions, the Simla

Foreign minister Qureshi writes to UN Secretary-General outlining Pakistan’s legal case on Kashmir Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has written to the UN SecretaryGeneral and President of the UN Security Council Pakistan’s legal case on the Jammu and Kashmir issue. The Foreign Office said in a statement on Wednesday that the letter along with a detailed factsheet and comprehensive annexures highlighted the “illegal, unilateral, coercive” Indian actions of August 5.

The Indian government revoked the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated it into two union territories.

Reacting to India’s move on Kashmir, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi and expelled the Indian High Commissioner. Pakistan has been trying to

internationalise the Kashmir issue but India has asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 was its “internal matter”. New Delhi has also asked Islamabad to accept reality and stop its anti-India rhetoric. Qureshi, in his letter to UN chief Antonio Guterres and UNSC President Vasily Nebenzya, said Indian action aimed at bringing about a “demographic change” in Kashmir. He said India wanted to “preempt the UN-administered plebiscite” envisaged under numerous UN Security Council Resolutions to ascertain the wishes of the Kashmiri people to join Pakistan or India.

The FO said that the letter not only builds on Pakistan’s efforts to sensitise the international community about the alleged human rights

37 dead and 452 injured in quake in Pakistan he death toll in the devastating earthquake that rattled Pakistanoccupied Kashmir and several northeastern cities in the country rose to 37 on Wednesday as authorities stepped up rescue operations to save people trapped in debris of several toppled buildings. The

epicentre of the powerful 5.8-magnitude earthquake, which occurred at around 4 pm on Tuesday at a depth of only 10 kilometers, was near Mirpur city in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), roughly 20 kilometers north of Jhelum in Punjab, according to the US Geological Survey.

Campaign launched to determine the exact number of Hindus in Pakistan A campaign was launched to gather details of Hindu families in Pakistan to determine the exact number of members in the minority community. The All Pakistan Hindu Panchayat (APHP) has launched the campaign.

Gather the data of the Hindus who live in your city and send them to APHP. APHP is working to bring all Hindus together on one platform. Also mention an active person, the president or Mukhi’s name of that city, so that in case of any APHP emergency you can contact them, read a publication on the APHS

Facebook page. Talking to mediapersons, APHP General Secretary Ravi Dawani said it had launched the drive to collect data of Hindu families in Pakistan and for the purpose it has written to all Panchayats and notables.

The main purpose of this exercise is to accurately identify and deliver this data to the federal government so that any future scheme for Hindus can be introduced with this number in mind. In addition, we can talk about the representation of the Hindu community in the state assemblies, said Dawani.

accord and its own Constitution.

Mr. Khan said he would ask the UN to play its role on the Kashmir issue.

Pakistan has been trying to internationalise the Kashmir issue but India has asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 was its “internal matter”. New Delhi has

also asked Islamabad to accept the reality and stop its anti-India rhetoric.

When asked about former U.S. Defence Secretary James Mattis’ remark that he considered Pakistan to be “the most dangerous” among all countries he had dealt with, Mr. Khan said: “I do not think Mattis fully understands why Pakistan became radicalised.”

PM Khan warns of war as Trump, Modi buddy up Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan bluntly warned that war was possible over India’s crackdown in Kashmir, while US President Donald Trump buddied up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in their second meeting in three days. Trump urged the sides to resolve their differences even as he gushed over Modi, saying he was as popular as American rock

legend Elvis Presley. The nuclear-armed rivals have been locked in a worsening standoff since August 5, when the Indian government revoked the special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

“For 50 days, the people of Kashmir have been locked down by 900,000 soldiers,” Khan said, describing mass arrests, non-functioning hospitals and “a total news blackout.”

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NRI

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Indian Americans say PM Modi’s visit a direct endorsement of India’s Kashmir policy by USA Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump jointly addressing the “Howdy Modi” event here in the energy capital of the world is “historic” and a direct endorsement of India’s Kashmir policy by the United States, Indian Americans said on Saturday. Describing it as a historic moment for the Indian American community, Rakesh Mangal, former president of the Indian American Doctors’ Association, Houston, said Trump attending the “Howdy Modi” event says how important India is to the entire world, especially to the US. The US president joining Modi on stage in Houston “is a very clear indication of where the Trump Administration stands when it

comes to Pakistan”, Shalabh Kumar from the Republican Hindu Coalition said.

Stating that Pakistan was planning to hold a protest against Modi in front of the NRG stadium on the Kashmir issue, Kumar claimed that it had been quashed to a great extent.

“This is a big slap on Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan,” he said, adding that the US is now fully behind India on Kashmir in the aftermath of the abrogation of articles 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution. Observing that “Howdy Modi” is one of the largest events of Indian Americans that he has seen in his lifetime, Krishna Bansal from Chicago said this is not only “going to be a game-changer” for the community and Indo-US ties.

Heavy rain wreaks havoc, kills 2 in Houston ahead of ‘Howdy, Modi’ event The stage is all set for the mega “Howdy Modi” event in which President Donald Trump will join Prime Minister Narendra Modi where they will address over 50,000 Indian-Americans, but the torrential rains triggered by a tropical storm have wreaked havoc in Houston, killing 2 persons. Tropical Depression Imelda slammed Texas on Thursday, causing devastating flooding,

power outages and prompting urgent rescues and warnings across south-eastern Texas for people to stay indoors. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency for 13 counties in south-eastern Texas. Two persons were killed on Thursday. One was electrocuted and drowned while trying to move his horse and another man drowned after driving his van into floodwaters

South Asian women are using photography to reduce stigma surrounding mental illness A group of south Asian women are challenging the stigma surrounding mental illness in their community through photography. Seventeen women displayed their images at the photovoice exhibition in western Sydney which hopes to give women, who feel like they can’t talk about mental

illness, the tools to tell their stories. Among the women was Viji Dhayanathan, who cared for her mother and sister before they passed away. New $3.9m plan to fix ‘huge gaps’ in multicultural mental health Ms Dhayanathan said both family members had bipolar and her sister also had an intellectual disability.

Massive crowd hails PM Modi & Donald Trump A massive crowd gave Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a rapturous reception at a “Howdy Modi!” rally in Houston, Texas. The crowd off Indian-Americans, estimated by Mr Trump at around 50,000, chanted “USA! USA!” as the two leaders addressed the crowd Narendra Modi and Donald Trump at the “Howdi Modi” in an auditorium rally in Houston Texas decked with describing him as “a great man, a great leader”.

American and Indian flags.

In turn Mr Modi. who spoke in Hindi, paid There are an estimated 2.4 million Indian a fulsome tribute to his host, describing Mr immigrants living in the United States, of Trump as as a “very special person” who whom 45 per cent have taken US citizenship. “needs no introduction.”

Mr Trump ushered Mr Modi onto the stage,

Abandoned brides soon after the marriage, 7 NRIs’ husbands passports suspended The regional passport office Chandigarh suspended passports of seven NRI husbands.

They had abandoned their wives soon after wedding. According to Regional Passport Officer (RPO) Sibash Kabiraj, there were around 12,000 abandoned wives under their jurisdiction. As many as 24 districts, 12 each from Punjab and Haryana, and Chandigarh fall under the jurisdiction of passport office.

Congratulating the task force of the abandoned wives, which is helping the women facing the similar predicament, Kabiraj said, “Nearly 80 per cent of the total abandoned wives under the jurisdiction of the passport

office belong to the 12 Punjab districts.”

Members of the task force have been provided a data operator, computer and printer. Further, they are being assisted by an official of the passport office.

The task force members are helping the authorities prepare cases against the NRI husbands, who evaded the law by escaping to foreign countries. “As per directions of the External Affairs Ministry, we will cancel passports of the NRI grooms against whom police have registered cases and the court has issued summons,” said Kabiraj.

Indian Sikh woman among 16 terror suspects arrested by Malaysian police An Indian Sikh woman was among 16 terror suspects arrested by the Malaysian Police for allegedly planning to attack leaders of local political parties, a media report said on Thursday.

The suspects, some of whom were linked to the Islamic State, were arrested in a special operation conducted between August 10 and September 25 in Kuala Lumpur, Sabah, Pahang, Johor, Penang and Selangor cities, state-run Bernama news agency reported.

The 16 terror suspects comprised 12 Indonesians, three Malaysians and one Indian national, it said.

Quoting Ayob Khan Mydin, Assistant Director of Malaysian Police’s counterterrorism division, the report said the 38-yearold Indian woman, who worked as a cleaner, was a member of the secessionist Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) group.

India in July banned the pro-Khalistani group for its alleged anti-national activities.

The US-based SFJ pushes for Sikh Referendum 2020 as part of its separatist agenda. The group’s primary objective is to establish an “independent and sovereign country” in Punjab.

US leads condemnation of China for ‘horrific’ repression of Muslims The United States led more than 30 countries on Tuesday in condemning what it called China’s “horrific campaign of repression” against Muslims in the western region of Xinjiang at an event on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly that was denounced by China. In highlighting abuses against ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims in China, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said the United Nations and its member states had “a singular responsibility to speak up when survivor after survivor recounts the horrors of state repression.”

Sullivan said it was incumbent on UN member states to ensure the world body was able to closely monitor human rights abuses by China and added that it must seek “immediate, unhindered, and unmonitored” access to Xinjiang for the UN High

Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR).

Sullivan said Tuesday’s event was cosponsored by Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and Britain, and was joined by more than 30 UN states, representatives of the European Union and more than 20 nongovernmental organizations, as well as Uighur victims. “We invite others to join the international effort to demand and compel an immediate end to China’s horrific campaign of repression,” he said. “History will judge the international community for how we respond to this attack on human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

Paola Pampaloni, deputy managing director for Asia of the European External Action Service, said the EU was “alarmed” by the situation and also urged “meaningful” access to Xinjiang.

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Saturday, September 28, 2019

“Investa Prime Realty” held their Grand Opening in Surrey last Sunday

Orange Shirt Day September 30

A message from the Surrey Teachers’ Association

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Saturday, September 28, 2019