Trudeau in trouble as Canada’s ‘student trafficking’ industry backfires
Canada’s radical immigration experiment, which has given it one of the world’s fastest rates of population growth, has run into big trouble in the ring of suburbs and small cities around Toronto. A post-pandemic surge of international students is causing prices for rental housing to soar and placing a spotlight on the uncontrolled growth of colleges that, according to the government’s own immigration minister, are taking advantage of vulnerable young people with inferior academic programs.
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Canada fired two scientists for sharing information with Beijing
Canada fired two scientists working at a high-security infectious disease laboratory in 2021 because they provided confidential information to China, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Officials concluded that the husband and wife team were “a realistic and credible threat to Canada’s economic security,” the paper said, citing a mass of documents that the government released after a long fight with opposition legislators who had demanded information behind the sackings.
Cheng, were escorted out of the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg in 2019 and their security permits revoked. They were fired in 2021.
Canadian police said in 2019 they were launching a probe into the matter but Wednesday’s revelation was the first time that details of the sackings were revealed.
The documents show the Canadian Security Intelligence Service concluded Qiu “had intentionally transferred scientific knowledge and materials to China”, the Globe said.
Health Minister Mark Holland, decrying what he called unacceptable security lapses at the lab at the time, said there had been no risk to national security.
Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding
Canadian households’ debt-to-disposable-income ratio now highest in G7
It is no secret that the household debt in Canada is the highest debt of all G7 countries, but new data from Statistics Canada shows that the situation is far more complicated than we might’ve pegged it to be.
Last year in May, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) reported that Canada’s household debt was the highest in the G7. CMHC Deputy Chief Economist Aled ab Iorwerth found that it had risen “inexorably” compared to other countries.
“At the time of the recession in 2008, it stood at about 80% of the size of the economy; in 2010, it rose to 95%, and by 2021, debt exceeded its size,” he said. Mortgages were one of the biggest culprits. According to the Statistics Canada report released Wednesday, Canadian households are the second wealthiest in the G7, with the US snagging the top spot. Continued on Page 10...
It is not clear whether the couple is still in Canada.
The news is likely to worsen already chilly ties with Beijing, especially since Ottawa has set up an investigation into alleged Chinese interference in domestic Canadian affairs.
How an airlines worker allegedly exploited Canada’s immigration laws to admit people from India
A former British Airways employee has allegedly fled to India after being arrested for allegedly helping Indian citizens get around immigration laws so they could claim asylum in Canada. As initially reported in The Times of London on Tuesday, the employee who worked at Heathrow airport in London, U.K., is said to have enabled people without proper documentation to get on flights to Canada so that they could claim asylum upon entering the country. He allegedly charged £25,000 per person or about $43,000. The alleged scam is estimated to have made 3 million pounds or over $5.1 million.
After taking the money from the Canadabound asylum seekers, the 24-year-old former employee allegedly told them to fly from India to the U.K. on a temporary visa. This is not the first time that Indian citizens have entered Canada on false pretences. Over the past half-decade, dozens of Indian students faced deportation after unknowingly using falsified acceptance letters to Canadian universities.
Conservatives gaining support across Canada, according to new poll
A new poll suggests support for the Conservatives and Pierre Poilievre is still trending upward. Polling firm Leger surveyed just over 15-hundred Canadians last weekend about their preferred choice for prime minister and the state of their finances.
Poilievre was the top pick for 27 per cent of respondents — putting him 10 points ahead of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
41 per cent of those surveyed say they’d vote Tory if an election was held today, compared to a quarter who support the Liberals.
Canada bringing back visa requirements for Mexico to slow asylum claims
New visa requirements Ottawa is imposing on people travelling from Mexico are meant to curb the number of asylum claims in Canada as well as stem the flow of people crossing into the United States, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Thursday. The changes take effect as of 11:30 p.m. ET Thursday in an effort to ensure people don’t “game the system,” Miller said. Though the minister emphasized a close relationship with Canada’s North American ally, the Mexican government responded curtly, saying it “reserves the right to act in reciprocity.” Quebec Premier François Legault had been urging Ottawa to reimpose visa
requirements, telling the federal government his province is reaching a breaking point because of the number of people claiming asylum.
Miller said Mexican nationals accounted for 17 per cent of all asylum claimants in 2023.
“Most asylum claims from Mexico are either rejected by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada or withdrawn or abandoned by the applicant, and so a change was needed,” he said. The vast majority of the 25,236 asylum claims received by the Immigration and Refugee Board from Mexico last year have not been decided.
B.C. victim’s family outraged as top court upholds suspect’s acquittal
The family of a man who was shot and killed on his wedding day say they are “deeply disappointed” with the news there will be no new trial in the case. Manbir Kajla, who was worshiped by his nieces and nephews and known as a giant teddy bear, was shot dead on April 27, 2011. Samandeed Singh Gill, was
acquitted by the B.C. Supreme Court after the revelation police had overstepped their warrants and held key evidence for years without legal authority. Kajla’s family was stunned this week to see that decision upheld by the B.C. Court of Appeal, following a failed appeal by Crown prosecutors.
‘Flipping houses’ next target for BC government to help aid the housing crisis
Last week, the BC government announced their Budget 2024 for the next fiscal year, which also happens to be an election year.
Part of this budget includes a number of initiatives that the Province will try to use to help mitigate the current housing crisis in BC.
One branch of the government’s strategy includes taking action against ‘speculators’ and those who profit from “flipping houses.”
The hope is that by cracking down on those who seek to buy homes to turn a profit, there will be more homes available for families who are trying to buy a home.
Specifically, a new home-flipping tax is being proposed that would come into effect on January 1st, 2025, if passed.
“Families shouldn’t have to compete with house-flipping investors when they’re trying to buy a home,” said Premier David Eby.
“This tax will deter speculators and give families looking for a place to live an advantage in our housing market.”
The government seeks to slap an additional tax on any home that is sold within two years of it being purchased, with exemptions
available to those who face unavoidable life changes, such as death, divorce, job relocation or loss and people who are adding to BC’s housing supply.
Katrine Conroy, BC’s Minister of Finance believes that this will help to ease the burden on the province’s supply and demand housing market.
“We know that people are struggling to find homes to rent or buy in areas that are close to work and their families,” said Conroy.
“We want people to know our government has your back. That’s why Budget 2024 takes further steps to deliver more housing for people faster and make sure homes are lived in.”
NAME CHANGE
I, Shantroop Kaur Ladher d/o Shri Uttardev, holder of Indian Passport No. S3964220 issued at Chandigarh India on 30/05/2018, permanent resident of Village Mangewal,Tehsil Barnala ( Punjab) India 148104 and presently residing at 12710 54 Avenue, Surrey BC Canada V3X 3C2, do hereby change my name from Shantroop Kaur Ladher to Shantroop Bhullar with immediate effect.
Vancouver
International Women’s Day group lauds Palestinian terrorist
Organizers for an International Women’s Day march in Vancouver have been criticized for lauding a Palestinian terrorist and an activist who allegedly praised Adolph Hitler.
“Our campaign supports the liberation of Palestine and the Palestinian people and their radical resistance in the face of genocide and colonial occupation and destruction of their land and people,” the organizers wrote in a statement ahead of their planned march next week featuring images of Fatima Bernawi, Ahed Tamimi and other women. “These women are arbiters of Palestinian resistance who advocated for the rights and freedoms of Palestinian people and are continuing to do so everyday.”
Bernawi planted a bomb in a Jerusalem movie theatre in October 1967 that was discovered prior to its detonation. She subsequently spent a decade in jail; her actions won her the applause of Yasser Arafat.
Tamimi rose to prominence in 2017 when she was 16, after a video of her slapping an Israeli soldier in the West Bank went viral. She pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to eight months in jail. Last November, following the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, Tamimi wrote in a social media post: “We will slaughter you and you will say that what Hitler did to you was a joke, we will drink your blood and eat your skulls.” “Come on, we’re waiting for you,” Tamimi threatened Israelis living in the disputed territories.
The 22-year-old was arrested for “inciting terrorism” but her mother said her account was hacked, The Associated Press reported. She was released as part of an exchange for Israeli hostages, The Times of Israel reported.
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B.C. government entices U.K. doctors with double the pay
The B.C. government is courting doctors and nurses in the United Kingdom, touting wages that are double what they’re making now. However, a B.C.-based physician recruiter said this province remains one of the hardest places for internationally trained doctors to get into, which is frustrating for them and British Columbians without access to one. Those riding the Tube in London or buses in Glasgow might notice Government of B.C. advertisements that read: “Providing care for families should allow you to provide for yours” or “A better deal for family doctors, more time for patients.” The ads include a link to a health recruitment website that features a video depicting a float plane soaring
over forested mountains and a kite surfer gliding across the ocean. The ad campaign comes as thousands of doctors have gone on strike against England’s National Health Service in recent weeks calling for higher wages and better working conditions.
NHS doctors, for example, are paid a basic starting salary equivalent to $55,000, the entry-level salary for those doing their medical residency, ranging up to to $170,500 for someone with about 28 years experience.
B.C. in 2022 negotiated a new physician payment agreement that means a full-time family physician working 1,680 hours a year, who handles 1,250 patients, will earn at least $385,000.
B.C. gangs getting more access to firearms — including deadly automatics
The automatic firearm used in a White Rock shooting last week could have been homemade or converted from an Airsoft gun, a firearms expert said Tuesday.
And Frank Grosspietsch, who spent 15 years with the RCMP’s national weapons enforcement support team, said the gunman using the automatic “AR-pattern” firearm didn’t appear experienced. Grosspietsch, now an international consultant, reviewed the security video from the house in the 15000-block of Roper Ave that showed a gunman run up and shoot at an SUV early Feb. 22. Four people were seriously injured. The shooter has not been arrested.
One of the victims has links to the BIBOKang-Red Scorpion side of the B.C. gang war. “I look at the video and I’m looking at the shape of the gun and I mean it stands out,” Grosspietsch said. “That individual was not trained in the least with regard to using an automatic weapon.”
He said he’s dealt with “a number of … self-fabricated automatic ARs” that have been seized by police over the years.
Some of the homemade guns have been used in homicides in British Columbia, Grosspietsch said, citing the August 2019 murder in South Surrey of Hells Angel Allie Grewal in a Starbucks drive-thru.
Ottawa unveils national pharmacare plan that covers diabetes, contraception
Health Minister Mark Holland released the long-awaited details of the federal government’s pharmacare plan on Thursday, with a commitment to cover some diabetes treatments and contraception.
If the bill, C-64, passes Parliament, Holland will begin negotiating with the provinces and territories on a funding commitment that would cover the cost of providing these medications to people for free. He said he hopes people can access the program sometime this year, although a lot of uncertainties make an actual start date hard to pinpoint.
The federal government says it also will establish a fund to support Canadian diabetics who need access to syringes and glucose test strips to manage their condition but struggle to afford them. The government says one in four Canadians
to start
with diabetes — about 3.7 million people have the condition — have reported they’re not following their treatment plans due to the cost. The “first-dollar” coverage for these drugs — an insurance industry term which means the government foots the bill entirely — will help those diabetics in particular.
The pharmacare plan also will give the nine million Canadians of reproductive age better access to contraception to ensure “reproductive autonomy, reducing the risk of unintended pregnancies and improving their ability to plan for the future,” the government said in its media release.
The exact types of contraception covered by this program have not yet been chosen but the government is promising that “a comprehensive suite” of drugs and devices eventually will be covered in the provinces and territories that sign on.
West Vancouver mayor banned from practising law
West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager has been suspended from practising law for two years after agreeing that he committed three instances of professional misconduct while handling a friend’s estate, says a Wednesday release from the Law Society of B.C.
The society says Sager admitted to acting in a conflict of interest by failing to ensure his client had received independent legal
advice over the arrangement.
He also admitted to withdrawing $44,800 in executor’s fees and $26,790,81 in care and management fees from the estate funds before receiving approval to do so.
Sager further admitted that he failed to maintain proper records and did not make contact with four charities that were listed as beneficiaries on the will for approximately nine years.
Video released of 2 suspects in homeowner assault
RCMP investigators in the Greater Victoria area have released video and images of two suspects believed to be involved in an assault on a homeowner.
West Shore RCMP is asking for help in identifying the two male suspects, who reportedly assaulted a Colwood homeowner around 8 p.m. Monday.
The assault is believed to be targeted.
According to police, the two suspects knocked on the door of the home, located on Sooke Road, and then got into a physical altercation with the homeowner.
Police describe the first suspect as between five-feet-eight-inches and fivefeet-ten-inches tall, wearing a blue hoodie, jogging pants, sandals and a dark baseball
cap. The second suspect is described as a man with a medium build, wearing a dark jacket.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact West Shore RCMP at 250-474-2264.
Police seek woman missing for a week in Surrey
RCMP in Surrey, B.C., are looking for a woman who has been missing since the evening of Feb. 22.
Surrey RCMP said Navdeep Kaur was last seen in the 7800 block of 123 Street. She has not been heard from since.
Kaur, 28, is described as standing five feet five inches tall, weighing 125 pounds, and having long black hair and brown eyes.
Police and her family are extremely concerned for her well-being, as it is out of character for Kaur to be out of contact.
Investigators are looking for any video
footage from the area around the time she went missing.
Anyone with information, including video footage, is asked to contact Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502.
Trudeau in trouble as Canada’s ‘student trafficking’ industry backfires
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Much of the blame is falling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who oversaw a tripling in the number of foreign students to more than 1 million. Today, about 1 in 40 people in the country is on a foreign-study visa. Now, the government has been forced to scale back its immigration ambitions, an acknowledgement that a system once touted as a key driver of economic growth
isn’t working. Faltering in polls because of frustration about housing costs, Trudeau is cracking down: Immigration Minister Marc Miller has announced a temporary limit to the number of student visas and is promising further measures soon. The goal is to gain more control over the influx of students and force the market to weed out shoddy programs by slowing the spigot of international tuition fees.
Canadian households’ debt-to-disposable-income ratio now highest in G7
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However, the country’s reliance on consumer spending as a key source of economic growth has “contributed to greater debt burdens.”
Experts are calling housing a “doubleedged sword” in the situation, adding that it is critical for wealth creation for middle-class households but has also been leading to debt-
asset imbalances.
In short, the rich are getting richer while others spend more than they earn to withstand rising cost-of-living pressures.
The chart below is based on 2021 data — the same year that Canada’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.4% on an annual average basis, the “fastest pace since 1991 (+5.6%),” per StatCan
