The Asian Star July 4 2015 by The Asian Star Newspaper

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Mayors Council gets a slap in the face from voters

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Issue 23 Saturday, July 4, 2015

By Umendra Singh etro Vancouver professional politicians collectively got a slap across their faces on Thursday as results from the Transit Referendum showed that voters do not want another tax increase. Perhaps no one felt the slap harder than the leaders of the so-called Mayors Council, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and his hanger-on Geoff Meggs and Surrey Mayor, Linda Hepner. This group spent over $5 million of taxpayers money to try and convince voters to pay an extra 0.5 percent of sales tax to fund Transit budget and special projects, most of which were seen as Gregor’s pet projects in Vancouver. But the voters were not swayed with 62 percent voting no! BC Liberals were mainly quiet as were the NDP MLAs although both parties silently supported the tax increase but did not want to come out in the open too much in case they got stuck with the fall out if the voters rejected the tax grab - as they did. The biggest stumbling block in getting the taxpayers to agree to a tax increase appeared to be Translink itself, with reports showing how this organization was already mismanaging taxpayers money. And the professional politicians as well as the Mayors Council refused to demand that Translink be more responsible for how it spends taxpayers money. Continued on page 4

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NO to tax increase

Mayors Council led by Gregor Robertson and Linda Hepner soundly beaten in referendum

etro Vancouver residents have spoken loud and clear - NO Tax increase. They voted overwhelmingly against raising taxes to fund

transit and transportation improvements, with more than 60 per cent of voters supporting the No side. Despite the so-called Mayors Council spending $5.8 Continued on page 6

Happy Canada Day : Prime Minister Stephen Harper greets spectators during Canada Day on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday July 1, 2015. Story inside

Recession or not, Vancouver’s real estate remains hot

s economists warn that Canada is tipping into a recession, it seems nobody has told the Vancouver real estate market. It had the hottest June on record, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

“Demand in our detached home market continues to drive activity across Metro Vancouver,” said Darcy Mcleod, the board’s president. “There were more detached home sales in the region last month than Continued on page 6

Calgary woman arrested in Punjab for trying to defraud Canadian insurance company

he Ferozepur police have apprehended an NRI woman and booked six others for allegedly concocting a story about her death to get Rs 7.2 crore insurance payment from a company in Canada. She is Jaswinder Kaur alias Rimpy, a resident of Calgary in Canada. Her hus-

band Amrit Rajput alias Lucky, father Daljeet Singh, two brothers Inderjit and Narinder, and two sisters-in-law Gagan and Dolly have been booked. Hardyal Singh Mann, SSP, Ferozepur, said that Jaswinder and her husband had come to India from Canada in November 2014. Then, Jaswinder and her Continued on page 7

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2 i Saturday, July 4, 2015

Local

Surrey Mayor Hepner to push ahead with LRT Project despite NO vote

urrey’s mayor vows she’ll press on with plans for light rail transit in her growing city even though Surrey residents voted nearly two to one against raising taxes to pay for such a project. On Thursday morning, Elections B.C. announced the results of a non-binding plebiscite in which more than 61 per cent of those who voted in Metro Vancouver opposed funding transit and transportation improvements for the region by increasing the provincial sales tax by 0.5 per cent. Of 123,370 Surrey residents who voted, more than 65 per cent cast ballots for the No side. But Mayor Linda Hepner told The Province she’ll proceed with a plan to build a 27-kilometre network of light rail by relying on a public-private partnership, along with provincial and federal funding. Hepner said she’s still mulling over how the city will cover its share of the cost, but mentioned some “good exploratory discussions” about how to do so. “I am still committed to having light rail in Surrey,” Hepner said.

“Of course, I have to be realistic that the referendum has eaten up valuable time, but there’s no one more committed to LRT than me and my council, so it has to go ahead in order for us to keep people and goods moving.” The installation of an LRT line was part of Hepner’s platform for the 2014 municipal election, with the expectation that its first phase would be operational by 2018, the next election year. At the time, Hepner said a public-private partnership could be part of her “Plan B” in the case of a No vote. “I have had interested parties who have reached out to me as potential partners for the Surrey LRT,” she said. “I’m not really at the stage where I can go into specific details, but what I can tell you ... is I’d be looking into a public-private partnership model that would be similar to the one that was used for the Canada Line. “What that means is it wouldn’t be just limited to the

design-build component, but once built it would extend to the operation and maintenance of the line.” Hepner said she’s had “positive nods” from the provincial government regarding LRT while the city’s application for funding has completed its first phase of screening at the federal level. “They have ambitious plans,” Larry Frank, a professor at UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning, said of Surrey’s plan. Frank said Surrey’s downtown density is projected to increase fivefold from around 20 dwelling units per acre to around 100 by 2040. “That level of density will not and cannot happen without that transit investment that they were planning to get,” he said. According to Metro Vancouver’s regional growth strategy, Surrey’s population is expected to climb to 740,000 by 2041 from 413,000 in 2006. That strategy prioritizes using rail or buses to connect the city’s metro centre to adjacent urban centres such as Fleetwood, Guildford and Newton, along with Langley.“The issue is that Surrey is projected to grow massively,” Frank said. “Surrey’s got the land base and it has the capacity to accommodate the growth — that’s where it’s going to happen — so if you want that growth to happen in a transit-supported, sustainable way, you’re going to have to build out a transit system there, and hopefully they’ll get the resources to do that.”

Frank said SkyTrain costs “a lot more” than LRT per unit of distance built, and because Surrey is built on a gridded road network, an LRT line might match better with Surrey’s land use patterns. Daryl Dela Cruz of SkyTrains for Surrey said his group hopes Hepner scraps the LRT plan altogether.“We’ve known about the Plan B since before the (plebiscite) went ahead — her intention to proceed with that plan,” Cruz said.“Now, regarding the choice, we need to regard LRT as the established priority in the city. You’ve got to ask, is going forward with that really a sustainable thing?”Cruz listed a potential loss of speed, capacity and reliability as shortfalls of LRT when compared to SkyTrain lines, along with the cost of employing operators for the trains.“People think that light rail is known to be sort of a ‘no-compromise’ solution,” he said.“That’s really not the case. There are some pretty big sacrifices that actually come from putting rail on the street level.”Meanwhile, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said Metro Vancouver mayors would not consider increased property taxes as a solution to the funding shortfall. “Sales tax is off the table, voters have stated that clearly,” Robertson said. “We don’t see major fare increases as an appropriate way to fund transit.”Transportation Minister Todd Stone said after the announcement that the provincial government remains committed to providing one-third of funding for transit and transportation improvements. “With clear and strong indications of similar support from the federal government, it remains for the region to determine how it will fund its one-third,” he said

South Asian landlord who attacked Mission tenant in

‘drunken rage’ must pay nearly $300,000

Mission landlord who was “fuelled by a drunken rage” and assaulted the husband of one of his tenants has been ordered to pay nearly $300,000 in damages. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Nigel Kent concluded Nachhatter Singh Jhulley used a metal pole to strike Jeremy MacKay over the head on April 24, 2011. The assault at a home Jhulley had rented out to MacKay’s wife came a month after Jhulley lost a dispute that went to the Residential Tenancy Branch. MacKay testified he was sitting at home watching TV when he started receiving abusive and threatening phone calls from Jhulley, who soon after drove over to the home, located in the middle of Jhulley’s “substantial” blueberry farm on Farms Road. Jhulley tried to hit MacKay, who had stuck his head out the front window, with a metal pole after MacKay told him to “f--- off.” The landlord then parked his vehicle and again confronted MacKay, who had emerged from his home, and struck MacKay over the head with the pole. MacKay fell to the ground but came to a few seconds later to find Jhulley standing above him. He jumped up and grabbed Jhulley and threw him to the ground, punching him several times.Jhulley, whose

version of events differed sharply from that of MacKay, was arrested and charged with three offences — assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm and uttering threats. The judge in the criminal trial convicted him on all three counts, finding that despite his claims he was acting in self-defence, he was the instigator. In his ruling in the civil case, Justice Kent said he accepted that the findings of the criminal court were applicable in the civil suit and that even if he wasn’t bound by the criminal convictions, he would have made essentially the same findings. He called Jhulley an “unreliable and incredible” witness. “There is simply no doubt that Mr. Jhulley, fuelled by a drunken rage, drove over to Mr. MacKay’s house armed with a metal pole and intent on inflicting grievous bodily harm,” said Kent. “It is outrageous conduct for which he must be held fully responsible not only in criminal court but in these civil proceedings as well.” MacKay, who was hospitalized following the assault, suffered permanent headaches, dizziness, balance problems and fatigue. The judge awarded MacKay a total of $349,202 but reduced the award to $297,000 after finding that MacKay was partially to blame

Saturday, July 4, 2015 i 3

4 i Saturday, July 4, 2015 Perhaps the taxpayers would be more likely to listen to calls for a tax increase if it came together with a call for streamlining and cutting Translink spending and an independent audit of the organization that manages transit in Metro Vancouver.

EDITORIAL

Mayors Council gets a slap in the face from voters As well there is still no clear answer whether the provincial and federal governments will kick in two thirds of the money needed under the Mayor Council proposal, with the

one third coming from the now dead sales tax increase. This is yet again a lesson for those professional politicians who seems to think they know better than taxpayers how to spend taxpayers money. Perhaps it is not so strange that almost all professional political parties in Metro Vancouver, including civic and provincial, appeared to support a tax increase but no one had the moxie to come out and openly call for a tax increase. And Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner should heed this referendum result as a warning as she promised to push ahead with plans for a light rail transit - voters do not have an appetite for tax increases to fund projects like the one she is proposing.

From page 1

www.theasianstar.com # 202 - 7028, 120th Street, Surrey, BC V3W 3M8 Ph: 604-591-5423 Fax: 604-591-8615 E-mail: editor@theasianstar.com Editor: Umendra Singh Associate Editor:

Letter to the Editor Transit referendum result not a surprise The much propagated transit referendum result did not come out as a surprised to all. Politician supposed but public disposed. People voted in favour of No and interrupted the proposed future transportation improvement plan and saved themselves from extra tax imposed. While looking at rapid development in Metro Vancouver and growing population at leaps and bounds it is an essential to upgrade transit system to meet greater demand. Therefore it is require now to discover another alternative most economize programme in which transport department and people do not have to spend enormous amount of money behind at such a giant project and people of Metro Vancouver facilitate with better transit system. We hope transit future will remain better in assisting easy service to everyone in the region. Hanif A. Patel Surrey,

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Saturday, July 4, 2015 i 5

6 i Saturday, July 4, 2015

LOCAL

Victim surcharge unconstitutional for homeless man who can’t pay it, B.C. judge rules

ruce Barinecutt argued he can’t afford to pay the fine and that it amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. Provincial court Judge Donna Senniw says in a written ruling that Barinecutt was ordered to pay a $100 surcharge for two breaches of a restraining order following an assault allegation. Senniw says it’s unlikely that the man who has 60 previous convictions, has failed to

comply with court orders and receives disability benefits would be able to pay the surcharge. She says Barinecutt does not have the option of doing community service because such a program does not exist in B.C. Victim surcharges are imposed on offenders when they are sentenced, and the money is funnelled into a fund for victims of crime.

NO to tax increase Continued from Page 1...

taxpayers money on advertising campaign for the Yes side compared to only $40,000 by the No side, the voters still

ting their groups to our cause — we had everyday taxpayers who simply believe TransLink wastes too much of our money to be trusted with any more of it. This is a win for all of us.” The mayors’ council estimated it spent $5.8 million on the Yes campaign while Bateman said his No side spent about $40,000. While most mayors on the council supported a yes vote, several spoke publicly against it, including Nicole Read of Maple Ridge, Mike Smith of West Vancouver and Derek Corrigan of Burnaby. TransLink generated criticism during the campaign for delays in rolling out the Compass card program and numerous SkyTrain

destrian and cycling networks. The results of the non-binding plebiscite, announced at 10 a.m. Thursday by B.C.’s chief electoral officer, Keith Archer, show that the No side came out ahead with 61.68 per cent of the vote, while the Yes side garnered just 38.32 per cent of ballots cast. In Vancouver, 49.19 per cent of the city’s 210,249 voters voted yes while 50.81 voted no. In Surrey, just 34.46 per cent voted yes while 65.54 per cent voted no. In Burnaby, 35.06 per cent voted yes and 64.94 per cent voted no. Elections B.C. had to count a total of 759,696 ballots, representing 51.09 per cent of B.C.’s 1,562,386 registered voters. Of those ballot packages returned, 38,393 were not considered for failing to meet the requirements of the plebiscite regulations, and 2,513 were spoiled. The No side, led by Jordan Bateman of the Canadian Taxpayers Association, argued that mayors should find the money within their municipalities’ coffers and that TransLink should not be trusted with any more taxpayer money. “This is a tremendous victory for taxpayers, our underdog No TransLink Tax campaign and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation,” Bateman said in a release following the announcement. “Our campaign didn’t have millions of taxpayer dollars or fancy CEOs commit-

shutdowns. The embattled transit authority announced in February that CEO Ian Jarvis would step down “to restore public confidence” ahead of the plebiscite, while at the same time appointing an interim CEO, Doug Allen, meaning both would draw sal-

came out with No for a tax increase. Between March 16 and May 29, voters from 23 municipalities in the region were asked to return a mail-in ballot asking whether they supported adding 0.5 per cent to the provincial sales tax for a “Metro Vancouver Congestion Improvement Tax” to fund transit and transportation improvements. The 10-year, $7.5-billion plan included proposed improvements such as road upgrades, increased transit service, a new Pattullo Bridge, light rail transit in Surrey and Langley, a Broadway subway and expanded pe-

aries. PLEBISCITE BY THE NUMBERS $5.76 million Amount spent to administer the plebiscite, as estimated by Elections B.C. The final cost will be reported in the Report of the Chief Electoral Officer, scheduled for publication in September. $5.8 millionAmount of taxpayer money Metro Vancouver mayors spent promoting the Yes vote in the transit plebiscite. $40,000Amount spent by the No campaign. The money came from donations and businesses.3Number of voting areas — Belcarra, Metro Vancouver Electoral Area A and Bowen Island — that registered more than 50-per-cent support for the tax. Bowen Island had the highest per cent support at 61.92. 759,696Number of ballots considered in the vote. There were 2,513 rejected ballots.51.09Percentage of total registered voters who returned ballot packages. As of May 15, there were 1,562,386 registered voters in Metro Vancouver. 77.03The highest percentage of No votes in a municipality, registered in the City of Maple Ridge. The Township of Langley had the next highest percentage of No votes, at 74.97.

LOCAL

Saturday, July 4, 2015 i 7

Calgary woman arrested in Punjab for trying to defraud Canadian insurance company Continued from Page 1...

family fabricated a story about her death. The SSP said that her husband got a compliant registered with the Makhu police station on January 7 that his wife was missing. In his compliant to the police, Amrit said that they had gone to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar. On the way back, his wife desired to light some lamps near the Bangali bridge. Amrit said that while he had gone to fetch the matchsticks, his wife drowned in the river. Later, a body was found near Sangaria in Rajasthan which Amrit identified as that of his wife, following which

the police filed the case under Section 174 CrPC, considering it to be a suicide. The SSP said that later, the police received a tip-off that Jaswinder was alive and residing in the Balachaur area. The police tracked Jaswinder Kaur from Dharamkot and took her into their custody. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Her husband had gone to Canada to expedite the process of getting the insurance money. Though he has now returned, he is yet to be arrested,â&#x20AC;? the SSP said. The police are also trying to identify the body found in Sangaria which the accused had identified as that of Jaswinder.

Recession or not, Vancouverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s real estate remains hot Continued from Page 1...

weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen during the month of June in more than 10 Last month was also the fourth in a row with more than 4,000 properties sold, and prices continue to rise. By the numbers A detached home in Greater Vancouver rose in price by 14.8 per cent in the past year, to sell at $1,123,900.The composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver rose 10.3 per cent to $694,000.Sales totals reached 4,375 in June, a 28.4 per cent increase compared to a June 2014 tally of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).June 2015 sales totals were 29.1 per cent higher than the 10-

year average for June in Vancouver.The last time this many residential homes sold was back in May of 2005, when 4,434 were recorded. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Housing market activity comes in cycles; weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in an up cycle right now that looks similar to the mid-2000s,â&#x20AC;? McLeod said. â&#x20AC;&#x153; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Conditions today are being driven by low interest rates, a declining supply of detached homes, a growing population, a provincial economy thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s outperforming the rest of Canada, pent-up demand from previous years and, perhaps most importantly, the fact that we live in a highly desirable region,â&#x20AC;? McLeod said.

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8 i Saturday, July 4, 2015

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eap second being added around the world on June 30 Just before midnight Greenwich mean time on June 30, official timekeeping bodies around the world added a single second — the so-called leap second — to the clock. While the time-shift seems too infinitesimal to matter to the average person, there are very good reasons for it. What is a leap second? A leap second is an extra second that is added to an agreed-upon day every few years in order to keep Co-ordinated Universal Time (or UTC, the modern replacement for Greenwich mean time), the world standard for regulating clocks, in sync with Mean Solar Time, which marks the passage of time based on the sun’s position in the sky. It means that the last minute UTC of June 30 will actually be 61 seconds long. In Canada, the leap sec-

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From page 8

Akali Singh Sikh Gurdwara members celebrated Canada Day by honoring cultural and social activists. Photo: Chandra Bodalia

No relief from hot weather this weekend

s a heat wave continues in Metro Vancouver with no signs of cooling off, health officials are warning there has been an increase in the number of patients suffering from heat stroke. In the Fraser Valley, where temperatures have been more than 30 degrees C, there were three dozen more heat-related visits to the ER last month than the previous June, according to the Fraser Health Authority. Health authority spokeswoman Nafisa Abdulla said there 36 visits last month, compared to June 2014. She said those numbers are more consistent with the typically hotter summer months of July and August. Fraser Health is reminding residents to take precautions to protect themselves from the heat, including, staying hydrated, keeping cool and checking in on seniors, children and those with chronic conditions who are more vulnerable to heat related illness. Meantime, meteorologists are predicting another scorcher of a weekend in Metro Vancouver. Environment Canada says the mercury will spike to 28 degrees C near the water on Sunday and up to 34 degrees C inland. Temperatures are also expected to be in the high 20s in most areas of the region on Saturday, except inland which is forecast to reach 32 degrees C. And you may want to slather on sunscreen as the UV index is 8, or “very high,” which is one below the final “extreme” rating on Environment Canada’s five-level rating system. A “very high” rating means extra precaution is required and unprotected

skin will be damaged and can burn quickly. The agency recommends people avoid the sun between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. and seek shade, cover up, and wear a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen.Meantime, residents can expect another hot, sunny day today, similar to yesterday with windy patches throughout the day near the Strait of Georgia. Tonight and through the weekend, expect some balmy evenings, with overnight temperatures ranging between 16 and 17 degrees C. So far, there’s no rain in the forecast, with the federal weather agency forecasting more hot weather through next week. The dry conditions prompted the provincial government on Friday to declare a level 4 drought rating for Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands

Why our clocks are being set ever-so-slightly back

ond will be added by the National Research Council, which keeps official time for Canada and disseminates it to the public through means such as CBC’s daily time broadcasts and the internet servers for Network Time Protocol (NTP), which provide the time on your computer. Why do we need leap seconds? Historically, we have measured time with respect to the Earth’s rotation relative to the sun, known as Mean Solar Time. We know that it takes 24 hours for the Earth to rotate on its axis once with respect to the sun. In the early 1900s, scientists started to develop pendulum and quartz-crystal clocks that were so accurate they revealed that the Earth’s rotation actually wasn’t consistent, says John Bernard, group leader for Frequency and Time Standards at the National Research Council in Ottawa. Scientists later developed atomic clocks, which use the vibration of atoms to provide the steadiest measure of time known to humanity. Thanks to atomic clocks, the second “became a constant value, as opposed to a changing value as the Earth slowed down,” says Bernard. An atomic clock currently being tested by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology is so stable that it is not expected to gain or lose a second for the next 15 billion years. Even though we went over to atomic time, or Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC), to define the size of the second, we keep UTC

EYEGLASSES

tied to Mean Solar Time. That means “that every once in a while, you have to apply a correction to Co-ordinated Universal Time to keep the two hooked together,” says Bernard. Hence, leap seconds. How many leap seconds have been added over the years? Since 1972, the year the convention was adopted, 25 leap seconds have been added. Bernard says seconds could just as easily be subtracted — it all depends on whether the Earth’s rotation slows down or speeds up. What factors affect the earth’s rotation? Bernard says the main influencing factor on the Earth’s rotation is tidal friction. The moon exerts a gravitational pull on our planet, causing tides. When the moon’s gravity tugs on that bulge, the Earth’s rotation slows. Another factor that can affect the rotation is weather, especially extreme wind. According to the NASA website, “during El Nino years, for example, the rotation of the Earth may slow ever so slightly because of stronger winds, increasing the length of a day by a fraction of a millisecond (thousandth of a second).” As well, the seismic shock from earthquakes can be enough to set the planet’s rotation forward or back by a fraction of a second. Who determines when it’s time for a ‘correction?’ In 1972, scientists determined that the difference between Mean Solar Time and Co-ordinated Universal Time could be no longer than 0.9 seconds. The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) is responsible for keeping track of the difference between UTC and Mean Solar Time. When it gets close to 0.9 seconds — usually around 0.6 seconds, Bernard says —

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10 i Saturday, July 4, 2015

LOCAL

More language programs coming to Surrey schools in fall

new early French immersion (FI) program will start at Cougar Creek Elementary in the fall, and trustees hope to establish another Punjabi language program in Surrey in the coming school year. The addition of the French program is, in part, in response to long waiting lists for parents wishing to enrol their children in FI in kindergarten. The Cougar Creek program, located at 12236 70A Ave., will mean seven of Surrey’s 101 elementary schools now offer early French immersion. Parents with kids on existing wait lists will be contacted first for possible registration. The program addition is one of several recommendations made in a Surrey School District staff report recently endorsed by Surrey Board of Education trustees. The Long Range Facilities and Education Plan, available to view at http://bit.ly/1dmdel3, contains more than 40 wide-ranging proposals regarding the district’s future direction and program and facility priorities.

Extensive public consultations on choice programs earlier this year showed a public desire to expand so-called ‘choice’ program expansion, particularly French Immersion. “Our board heard loud and clear our parents value the quality and variety of our programs of choice, and they want more,” said board chairperson Shawn Wilson. “While we continue to be challenged for space because of ongoing growth, trustees support staff ’s recommendations to find ways to meet the widespread desire for these programs.” Subject to community consultations, trustees also hope to give the go-ahead to a new Punjabi language program at T.E. Scott Elementary (7079 148 St.) that would begin in September. A recent survey of Grade 4 parents at 10 Surrey elementary schools with the highest proportion of Punjabi-speaking families indicated more than 30 families would register their child for a Punjabi language class in Grade 5 if one was available.

Saturday, July 4, 2015 i 11

Local Mayors & BC Gov’t in a stand off over transit funding

etro Vancouver mayors and the B.C. government are in a standoff over who’s responsible for funding transportation after the region’s voters — many in transit-deficient areas south of the Fraser — roundly rejected a half-a-percentage-point sales tax

hike to help pay for a $7.5-billion 10-year plan. Mayors warn the defeat, which saw 61.7 per cent of voters reject the tax, will mean cuts to existing service levels across the region, especially with falling fuel tax revenues and no inclination to raise property taxes or fares. There are fears higher ticket prices would reduce ridership system-wide. “People suspect we have a Plan B, but we have said repeatedly that service levels will go down if we get a No vote,” said Greg Moore, mayor of Port Coquitlam and chairman of the mayors’ council. “I don’t think people believed that. They said, ‘You’re not going to let the system fall apart.’ We’re not going to let it fall apart, but at the same time there is no new money.” Mayors of Metro’s two largest cities have threatened to go it alone on transit projects despite the outcome. Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner has pledged a light rail line for the fast-growing

city, possibly with funding from private partners, and Vancouver has the option of funding a Broadway rapid-transit line using debt. Vancouver voters were split on the tax, with 50.8 per cent voting against, while 65.5 per cent of Surrey voters rejected it. The $5.8-million Yes campaign started with a sputter and never did gain momentum. Dis-

enchanted voters flocked to the No side, which denounced TransLink’s high executive salaries, the Compass card debacle and SkyTrain breakdowns. Voter turnout was 48.6 per cent. Of the 23 municipalities that voted, all but three rejected the tax increase. Mayors say the transportation plan was doomed from the start after Premier Christy Clark ordered in 2013 that any new funding sources would have to go to a non-binding plebiscite. Both Clark and Transportation Minister Todd Stone say they will respect the mail-in vote, which means mayors won’t be able to introduce any other funding sources until the next municipal election in 2018. “That’s a long time to go without funding for a transit system,” Moore said.

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12 i Saturday, July 4, 2015

LOCAL

Flash flooding puts Kamloops in state of emergency as 60 homes evacuated

he City of Kamloops has declared a state of local emergency after ordering the evacuation of about 60 homes in the Westsyde neighbourhood a day after a sudden downpour. Heavy rainfall Tuesday flooded roadways with logs, and streets with streams of mud. A sudden downpour hit Kamloop’s Westsyde neighbourhood m i d - a f t e r n o o n Heavy rainfall on Tuesday in Kamloops flooded roadways with Tuesday flooding logs and streets with streams of mud. roadways with logs and washing streets Tammy Robertson, an information officer with streams of mud. (Darin Huston) with the City of Kamloops, says the city 60 homes in the Oak Hills trailer Park took quite a hit. have been evacuated. (Jamie Rye/Twitter) “The reports I received from those that The city has set up a reception cenwere responding was that it was up to tre at the Interior Savings Centre for two to three feet [up to a metre] in some people who were forced to leave their low-lying areas, so it was quite significant,” homes in the Oak Hills neighbourhood. she said. An evacuation centre has been It’s not clear how many people have set up for people forced out of their homes been affected. (karla Karcioglu/Twitter) at Oak Hills Trailer Park, which was under Sections of several roads in Kamloops up to a metre of water. are underwater. (Jamie Rye/Twitter) The rain was the result of a small, but inThe rain was a result of a small, tense storm cell that passed over the area. but intense storm cell that passed Some Kamloops residents tweeted that over the area. (Gary Moen/Twitter) hail was falling during the storm. The heavy rain has caused some floodThe City of Kamloops says BC Hydro is on ing in low-lying areas and washed away site and has shut off power to the trailer parts of other roads. (Jamie Rye/Twitter) park to allow city crews to work in the ar1 of 6 The city said in a statement that the eas. It also says culverts plugged by debris emergency declaration would allow it to have been cleared. properly assess damaged properties and Due to major congestion, drivers are being oversee the return of utilities as the B.C. told to avoid Westsyde Road unless absoSafety Authority begins inspecting homes. lutely necessary.

Canada Day was celebrated at Akali Singh Sikh Gurdwara in Vancouver last week. Photo: Chandra Bodalia

Surrey extends community safety patrol program Surrey is extending its contract with 20 commissionaires, even though the city’s top cop has found them to be expensive and ineffective. The commissionaires were hired to patrol high crime areas as part of a pilot project in April of last year following the high profile killing of hockey mom Julie Paskall. A handful of unarmed RCMP members were also assigned to perform similar liaison work. The RCMP members are being sent away this summer to receive full police training. “The Surrey RCMP has decided to uptrain those officers to full members with side arms and then they’ll be re-deployed back into our community,” said Surrey city councillor Bruce Hayne. “They’ll be away from our community for a period of weeks while they go back to depot for training, so we’ll continue with the commissionaires until they’re all back.” Council approved an extra $459,000 to

keep the program running until the end of the year, bringing the total cost to $950,000. Surrey RCMP called for program to be scrapped Surrey RCMP Chief Supt. Bill Fordy called for the program to be cancelled when he appeared before the city’s police committee earlier this year. “The Newton Town Centre remains a crime hot spot for several crime types in a concentrated area,” Fordy said in his report to the committee. “Given the financial expenditure for the CSP program this type of measure to address issues in the town center may not be cost effective.” Fordy says the commissionaires have no enforcement powers and can only observe and report. He says a police review of crime statistics shows the program has had virtually no impact. However, the program has been extremely popular with residents and business owners.

LOCAL

Police don’t know who is behind WestJet hoax threats

anadian law enforcement agencies couldn’t seem to agree Thursday who should take the lead investigating a series of bomb threats — all fake — against WestJet flights over the past week. Should it be the local police agency where the flights were forced to land or where the threat originated? Or should the Royal Canadian Mounted Police oversee all the cases? The confusion over jurisdiction is likely not the news officials want to hear at WestJet, which likely has been dinged thousands or tens of thousands of dollars for each of the diverted planes. The latest bomb threat came Thursday against flight 1709 from Las Vegas to Victoria. Passengers had to disembark in Victoria without their luggage and wait as police and a canine team searched the plane. An airport spokesman said the threat was not credible. Bryce Fisher, an aviation consultant and former Transport Canada regulator, said he assumed the Mounties would take the lead since civil aviation is a federal matter and the threats targeted the same airline. “It wouldn’t make sense for disparate police forces to be investigating threats against the same airline,” he said. But Staff Sgt. Julie Gagnon, a national RCMP spokeswoman, said the investigations were being handled by police in the “jurisdiction of where the emergency landings took place.”

Yet when the National Post contacted those local police agencies that wasn’t necessarily the case. In Calgary, where a Vancouver-Toronto flight was forced to make an emergency landing Wednesday, police said they were still trying to determine whether they or the RCMP would take the lead in the investigation. In Saskatoon, where a Halifax-Edmonton flight was forced to make an emergency landing Saturday, the local force said the investigation had been passed to the Ontario Provincial Police because the threat originated in Ontario. However, Saskatoon police said they were investigating a bogus threat Tuesday against a Toronto-Saskatoon flight that landed safely in Saskatoon because it was received by the Saskatoon Airport Authority. In Winnipeg, where an Edmonton-Toronto flight was forced to make an emergency landing Monday, police said Manitoba RCMP were handling the investigation. None of the investigating agencies had any new information Thursday. “Our main priority remains to identify the origin of the call, and person(s) responsible,” Manitoba RCMP spokesman Bert Paquet said by email. Officials would not say whether investigators suspect the same person could be behind all four threats. Calgary-based WestJet also declined to speculate.

Police complaint commissioner upholds dismissal of deceitful Delta cop The police complaint commissioner has upheld the dismissal of a Delta police officer. On Monday, the Delta Police Department was notified the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner had upheld the dismissal of Const. Felipe Gomes following a review by appointed adjudicator Alan E. Filmer. In January, then chief Jim Cessford, who retired in February, proposed that Gomes be dismissed after he admitted to four allegations of deceit and one of neglect of duty following more than two years of investigation. Under the Police Act, in cases of possible dismissal or reduction in rank, officers are entitled to a public hearing or review on the record. The adjudicator’s decision is final and there are no more appeals available to Gomes. “In my opinion, Constable Gomes is no

longer able to fill the role of a police officer,” Filmer wrote in his decision. “The allegations against him, which have been proven, are very serious and lasting in their impact ... I hereby order that Constable Felipe Gomes be dismissed from the Delta Police Department.” “We respect the final decision of the adjudicator in this matter and they reflect the initial recommendation of our discipline authority,” said Chief Neil Dubord. “It is of utmost importance to the Delta Police Department that we all adhere to our core values of honour, integrity, courage and trust; when the personal values of one do not align with the core values upheld by the men and women of the Delta Police Department, appropriate actions must be taken.”

Saturday, July 4, 2015 i 13

Vancouver struggles to keep up with overflowing garbage bin

he City of Vancouver is grappling with tons of overflowing garbage bins around the city as warm weather and city events prompt more people to head outside. Albert Shamess, the director of waste management and resource recovery for the City of Vancouver, says the beautiful summer and large-scale events like the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Vancouver International Jazz Festival mean a lot more people are visiting city parks, downtown, and the seawall. “I think there’s just so many people out and about now because of the good weather, it’s hard for us to stay on top of it,” he told On The Coast. “We’ll service a container on our night shift,

by mid-morning the next day, it’s full again. So we’ve been out sometimes two, three, even four times a day at some locations.” Shamess says city staff are already working overtime, auxiliary staff have been recruited, and an extra 200 bins have already been put out. However, the city is still struggling to keep sidewalks and parks clean. Councillor Andrea Reimer advises people to go online to report overflowing bins. She says the city’s budget for cleanup has already been maxed out, but if the problem persists, the city may add more cleaning crews. For now, Shamess suggests that people who go to parks for family events take their garbage home with them, and to let the city know if they see an overflowing

14 i Saturday, July 4, 2015

LOCAL

Justin Trudeau in Surrey

Liberal Party’s Justin Trudeau attended a rally in his support in Surrey last week. Photo: Chandra Bodalia

Migrant workers get little protection from workplace abuse

cross most of Canada, tempo- helped her in her fight for justice point to rary foreign workers fall through the difficulty of uncovering this kind of the cracks in monitoring and abuse, when workers are isolated by lanenforcing of employment standards. guage and ignorant of their own rights. There is an exemption from the proThey’re admitted under a federal program, but the provinces that monitor la- tections that you and I have that allows bour standards don’t know where to find these abuses- Chris Ramsaroop, Justicia “The reason this them. They should have the same case is an exceprights as Canadian workers, but tion is that there if they complain, their employwas an actual er can get rid of the problem case that went by simply sending them home. forward. Many In Ontario, a horrific sexuworkers don’t go al abuse case is highlighting forward. They’re problems with the structure of careful. They the foreign worker program. A don’t want to be Mexican worker was awarded sent back,” says $150,000 by a human rights triChris Ramsabunal after being forced to perroop, an activist form sex acts by an employer The number of foreign workers under threat of being sent home. on visas now in Canada may be as who works extensively with TFWs The legal aid workers, union high as 280,000 through Justicia. activists and experts who The employer has sole discretion to remove their right to work – and there is no one to complain to about an unjust firing, because workers are sent home quickly. Taking Canadian jobs? When the temporary foreign worker program has been in the news, the usual complaint is that it is taking jobs from Canadians. But among temporary workers, there are a litany of unaddressed complaints – unpaid wages, unsafe conditions, too few hours of work, racial discrimination and poor living conditions. Ramsaroop argues the revamp of the TFW program put in place earlier this year actually made the ability to uncover abuse worse. “If that happened today, those workers would have four years to pursue the case, but they wouldn’t be able to work during those four years.... Then, they would have to go back to their home country and they wouldn’t be able to come back.” The new rules limit the time TFWs can spend in Canada to two years, making it less likely that inspectors would uncover any abuses. It’s been difficult to direct attention away from the who-stole-the-jobs argument to the issue of whether people are being treated properly when they’re here. As program grows, abuses mount “Since the 1990s, there’s been an upsurge of people with more abuses coming to the surface,” says Kerry Preibisch, an expert on migrant workers who testified before the human rights tribunal. “When it’s referred to government authorities, the provinces say it’s a federal program, but the federal government says the province is the one responsible for employment, housing and health,” she said. A federal inspection program has been added under the latest revamp of the law, but as yet has no track record. One problem is that the provinces, who enforce labour laws, have not known who within their borders has hired temporary foreign workers. That’s a problem Manitoba has tackled with its Worker Recruitment and Protection Act, implemented in 2009. The act insists that companies that are going to employ temporary foreign workers be approved by the province and a special investigations unit has been set up to inspect employers of migrant workers. A sweep through the Manitoba restaurant industry two years ago turned up dozens of infractions.

LOCAL

Order of Canada honors Bob Rae, Graham Greene, Lawrence Hill & others

The man who helped create the BlackBerry, the female CEOs of two provincial public broadcasters, a noted First Nations actor and a former Olympic medallist are among Canadians being appointed to the Order of Canada. Rideau Hall’s Canada Day announcement allows those on the list to share the news of the honour, which is usually a closely guarded secret until Gov. Gen. David Johnston makes the information public. This year’s notable names include Douglas Fregin, the man who co-founded Research in Motion with Mike Lazaridis. Fregin designed the first circuit board the company used to run early versions of its wireless technology, and then helped choose the materials that are still found in BlackBerry devices around the world. Lazaridis’s wife Ophelia is also being invested as a member of the Order of Canada for her philanthropic work around Waterloo, Ont., where BlackBerry is based. Author Lawrence Hill will be recognized for his writing to tell the stories of Canada’s black community, notably through the critically acclaimed Book of Negroes, and advocacy work on behalf of women and girls in Africa. Oscar-nominated and Gemini award-winning actor Graham Greene is a familiar face in films, television shows, and theatre productions in Canada and overseas. The First Nations actor is being honoured for “achievements as a pioneering and versatile actor,” which included a 1991 Academy Award best supporting actor nomination for his role in the film Dances with Wolves. Don Tapscott follows in his wife Ana Lopes’s footsteps as a member of the Order of Canada. He was named for his work on “the economic and social impact of information technology.” Lopes became a member in 2012. Tapscott says we’re moving into a new kind of economy that’s based on knowledge and networking and says, “it’s heartening the Governor General has recognized in this way that this transformation is important.” The announcement came as a surprise to him but he told CBC News he’s very proud and humbled. Also being honoured are TVOntario CEO Lisa de Wilde for “transformative leadership” at the provincial public broadcaster, and Tele-Quebec counterpart Michele Fortin for her “contributions to the vitality of French-language and educational television.” Rideau Hall says there will be 100 new appointments to the Order of Canada, with one being a promotion to the highest level — former Ontario premier and Liberal MP Bob Rae is being invested as a companion — while the other is an honorary appointment for Johan Olav Koss, an Olympic speed skating champion from Norway. Koss, who lives in Toronto, founded Right to Play, an advocacy group for children in sports. Pioneering stem cell researcher Dr. Janet Rossant, chief of research at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, is also being honoured. Earlier this year, Rossant was the recipient of the 2015 Canada Gairdner Wightman Award, which honours a Canadian who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in medicine and medical science. Other notable sports names on the list are Olympic curling champion Russ Howard, former Olympic diver and Pan Am Games medallist

Beverley Boys and Fran Rider, who was instrumental in making women’s hockey what it is today on the international scene. Rider, who lives in Toronto, is

already in the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame for her work founding the first IIHF women’s hockey tournament two decades ago, as well as the first Canadian national women’s hockey championship in 1982. Barbara Turnbull will be honoured posthumously. Turnbull, left a quadriplegic as a teen in a convenience store robbery shooting, went on to become a celebrated journalist and advocate for the rights of the disabled. She died in May at 50 from complications related to pneumonia. The list outlines those who have been selected for the Order of Canada based on their achievements as authors, medical researchers, social advocates, business leaders, or politicians. Three former politicians are being recognized for their life in politics, including former Alberta finance minister Jim Dinning and former Quebec finance minister Monique Jerome-Forget. Joyce Fairbairn, a former Liberal senator and literacy ad-

Saturday, July 4, 2015 i 15

Arthur Porter, ex-McGill hospital CEO accused in $22.5M kickback scheme, dies in Panama

rthur Porter, the former hospi- agnostic work. Journalist Jeff Todd, Porter’s tal administrator at Montreal’s biographer, said he had a sense the accused McGill University who was ac- doctor wouldn’t make it back to Canada to cused in a $22.5-million kickback scheme, face charges. “I’d received a couple messaghas died in a Panama City hospital fol- es from him a couple weeks ago that kind of implied, if I was reading belowing a battle with cancer. tween the lines, that he wasn’t He was 59. Pamela Porter, his doing terribly well,” he told CBC. wife, confirmed the death , sayTodd called Porter’s death on ing two of Arthur’s four daughCanada Day “stranger than ficters will be leaving soon for tion” because of his highly pubPanama to retrieve his body. licized standoff with the CanaDr. Karol Sikora, a U.K. cancer dian authorities for extradition. specialist and longtime friend “It’s a poignant end, for sure,’’ he of Arthur Porter, said Porter said. “I don’t know how you take died of metastatic lung cancer it, but it’s definitely poignant.” at 11 p.m. local time Tuesday. Arthur Porter Porter, originally from SierPorter, a cancer specialist, had been diagnosed with the disease in 2012. Af- ra Leone, had a distinguished career after ter he was arrested on an international war- earning degrees at Cambridge University, rant in Panama City in May 2013, he treat- and becoming an oncologist specialist. He ed himself with experimental drugs while came to Canada in the 1980s, working in in La Joya prison and fighting extradition Edmonton and London, Ont., before movto Canada.. In recent weeks, he was moved ing on to the Detroit Medical Center in to Santo Tomas Oncology Hospital for di- 1991, becoming its CEO eight years later.

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16 i Saturday, July 4, 2015

Canada Day Celebrations

‘No better place in the world’ than Canada PM calls on Canadians to ‘re-dedicate’ themselves to serving

anadians will continue to overcome all threats they face from outside forces, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in praising members of the Armed Forces during Canada Day celebrations. “In the Baltic and in Eastern Europe, they are supporting our friends and allies who face Russian aggression. And, in Iraq and in Kuwait, they are fighting the terrorists there, to keep us safe here,” Harper said Wednesday at Canada’s 148th birthday bash on Parliament Hill. Now friends, as we saw right here in our Parliament, this threat is everywhere today,” he said, referring to the shooting last October outside the National War Memorial that claimed the life of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo while he was on honorary guard. “But we have faced great threats before, many times, and we have overcome them and we shall overcome them once more In his Canada Day address from Parliament Hill, Prime Minister Stephen Harper (joined by his wife Laureen and their children, Ben and Rachel) spoke of friends and allies facing ‘Russian aggression’ as well as domestic threats, re-

Harper said Canada “stands unique among the nations” in his speech in Ottawa’s Canada Day Celebrations.

ferring to the shooting death of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. Harper’s speech highlighted events across the nation’s capital, and the country, on July 1. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press) Ottawa’s Canada Day celebrations were dampened by rain, but the spirit of revellers remained alive, with this group taking shelter on Rideau Street. Events at the capital included an all-day concert series culminating in the traditional fireworks show over the Ottawa River. (Emily Chung/CBC) Sherri Vantol and her two girls, Madelyn and Natalie, were among those in attendance at a parade in Port Credit in Mississauga, Ont. Thousands of Canadians decked out in red and white attire for parades, concerts and street parties across the country. (Peter Power/Canada Day) Canada’s only MLB team got festivities at Rogers Centre rolling with a huge flag unfurled in the outfield before an afternoon game at Rogers Centre between Toronto and Boston Red Sox. The Blue Jays won handily 11-2 before a happy Canada Day crowd. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press) NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair got his Canada Day celebrations rolling at the James Gardens Lawn Bowling Club in Toronto. (Michael Cole/CBC) Members of the RCMP marched ahead of the annual Canada Day parade in Montreal. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press) Even in the rain, people in Montreal took to downtown Ste-Catherine Street for a parade. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press) Another Quebec tradition was observed on July 1: Moving Day, which dates back to 1750. A summer moving date was mandated to avoid tenants being evicted during winter, something no longer required under provincial law. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press) Neighbours in Halifax’s west end got a permit to close their street to traffic, to celebrate Canada Day by playing road hockey and setting up a block-wide BBQ with a bouncy castle. (Craig Paisley/CBC) 1 of 9 Harper said Canada “stands unique among the nations,” and that in times of economic and political turmoil, the country is “an island of stability.” “At this moment in our history, there is no better place in the world to live, to work, and to raise a family. No better place in the world than this country Canada,” Harper said. Thousands of Canadians decked out in their finest red and white attire flocked to Ottawa for the Canada Day celebrations in the capital, and CBC is there for the day-long event featuring star-studded concerts and the traditional fireworks over the Ottawa River. Gov. Gen. David Johnston also joined Harper in the festivities. Earlier, in his Canada Day statement, Harper said Canadians are “blessed to live in the best country in the world.” He called on Canadians to “celebrate the people who make Canada great” and to “re-dedicate themselves to the service of the country.” NDP Leader Tom Mulcair’s issued a Canada Day statement that hinted at the election on the horizon. He was expected to attend events Wednesday across the Greater Toronto Area, a critical campaign battleground. “We have many reasons to be proud to be Canadian, but much work remains to be done,” Mulcair said. “The NDP has a clear vision to build a more sustainable society. Canadians can count on the NDP to bring concrete proposals to Ottawa to make life more affordable for families and make Canada a fairer country.” Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau was also spending the day in the GTA and southwestern Ontario. He issued a holiday statement that lauded Canada as “a place of fairness and of opportunity; a place where people from every imaginable country and culture, who speak every language, live and work, and build and thrive together.” Trudeau added: “We are stronger not in spite of our differences, but precisely because of them. For much of the world, Canada represents the most hopeful vision of what the future can look like.”

LOCAL

Coquitlam teen who ‘swatted’ Disneyland had too much time on hands

Coquitlam, B.C., teenager who ad- called a double-edged sword for him. mitted to a North America-wide “I’m just concerned that will become “swatting” spree says he terrorized your life again,” she said. “I don’t curtargets — including Disneyland — because he was bored. The Crown is asking for a 16-month custodial sentence for the teenager, who can’t be identified because he is a young offender. The youth stood up to speak in court Monday. “I had a lot of time on my hands,” he said. “I don’t do anything productive, and that leaves me time Florida police provided this picture of the Coquitlam, B.C., teen with his face blurred, as he is a minor to do criminal activity.” Swatting typically refers rently have any other clear path for to an internet hoax where hackers fake productivity,” the teen said. Janzen an emergency call and emergency per- will sentence the youth on July 9. sonnel, like a police SWAT team, are deployed. ‘Just a computer geek’ The teen has already spent eight months in custody; he wore sweat pants and a green T-shirt as he sat behind the plexiglass window of the prisoner’s box, fidgeting with the long sweep of a bowl-shaped haircut. This spring, he pleaded guilty to 23 charges including extortion, harassment and public mischief in relation to incidents targeting more than two dozen mostly young, female fans of the game League of Legends. He also admitted to a bomb hoax that resulted in Disneyland shutting down Space Mountain last year. The teen’s lawyer, Stephen Martin, described him as a “loner” acting in concert with about 20 members of an online community. “If he could, he’d live in a small apartment, surrounded by computers, and order pizza in,” Martin said. “He’s just a computer geek. He got involved with the wrong group of people with computers.” The teen was arrested last year after police in Florida accused him of calling a high school and threatening to “shoot everyone” with an AK-47. According to news reports, many of the teen’s targets rejected his online advances, resulting in a tirade of criminal pranks, which included shutting down internet access and posting their personal information. One young woman from Arizona withdrew from university because of the teen’s relentless attacks on her and her family. In one instance, he identified himself as the woman’s brother and told police he had just shot his parents. The resulting police raid resulted in numerous media reports. A high risk to reoffend - Crown prosecutor Michael Bauer said that in addition to time served, the teen should spend another eight months in a youth detention facility, followed by eight months of probation. He also recommended conditions including no internet access or possession of a computer or device capable of connecting with the internet. According to a psychiatric report, the teenager is a high risk to reoffend. Martin said the experience has been “a learning experience.” “If he ever does anything like this as an adult, they’d throw him in jail and throw away the key,” Martin said. Judge Patricia Janzen noted the teen’s ability with computers, which she

Saturday, July 4, 2015 i 17

Speeding motorcyclist busted by own GoPro camera at 213 km/h

olice in Delta, B.C., should have an easy job proving a motorcycle rider was going too fast — he recorded his own ride, which showed him hitting more than 220 km/h on the bike’s speedometer. The 27-year-old motorcyclist was pulled over by Delta police on South Fraser Perimeter Road in April, after a laser speed detector showed he was travelling 213 km/h in an 80 km/h zone, according to police. After he was stopped, officers noticed he was wearing a GoPro and seized the video camera. Once they download the video, police were able to watch the rider weaving between cars and around large trucks at high speeds, “put-

ting himself and other road users at considerable risk,” said police. The police department released the video on YouTube Tuesday, with the motorcyclist’s permission, intending it to be an educational tool. The motorcyclist has been charged with excessive speed and riding without due care and attention, said police. Several years ago, a motorcyclist posted a similar video on YouTube of himself hitting 300 km/h on a Victoria highway. The owner of that motorcycle was eventually charged with dangerous driving, but was later found not guilty in the case because of doubts over whether the accused had been operating the bike.

18 i Saturday, July 4, 2015

LOCAL

Delta woman to serve only five more months in jail for stabbing death of common-law husband

ustice Trevor Armstrong gave the living room, or what Thomas’s TBeatrice Thomas, 38 doustate of mind was at the time, but ble credit for the 100 days concluded that Thomas, with arm she’s already spent in custoraised, thrust a knife down into dy. She waved to her family memO’Soup’s chest as he advanced on her bers as a sheriff led her away to from a distance of about seven feet. serve her remaining 165 days, after which time she will also serve “I do not know why Mr. O’Soup one and a half year’s probation. was stabbed,” Armstrong The victim’s family desaid. “After some reluctance clined to comment afterward. on her part, 911 was called.” Thomas had been tried for secThe Crown argued for a prisond-degree murder but Armstrong on sentence of three to four years found her guilty of the while the defence lesser charge. She plans argued for a susto appeal her conviction. pended sentence. Thomas stabbed Quan“Ultimately this nah O’Soup, 37, in the sentence must chest on July 3rd, 2011, in be proportionthe tiny half-duplex the ate to the gravity couple rented at 11540 of the offence,” 80th Ave. in North DelBeatrice Thomas, 38, was Armstrong said. ta, across the street from The court heard sentenced Monday in the entrance to McCloThomas had enB.C. Supreme Court, skey elementary school. dured abuse in New Westminster. They lived there with her childhood two of Thomas’s daughters, who and adult years, resided in 14 sepwere ages 10 and 15 at the time. arate foster homes and lived a life The girls were in their bed“punctuated” with substance abuse. room and didn’t witness the vio“She appears to have been inlence that had unfolded in the livvolved in multiple violent and abuing room, shortly after midnight. sive relationships, including with The court heard Thomas and O’Soup the deceased,” Armstrong noted. financed their crack cocaine habits Thomas is the mother of seven by shoplifting and had been engaged children, ages seven to 24. O’Soup in a relationship power struggle. had five children of his own in A couple that was staying with Edmonton. The eldest is 23, and them at the time was in the kitchen the youngest are twins, age 11. when O’Soup was stabbed but didn’t Armstrong said any sentence would see it happen. O’Soup died at the be “little comfort” to the victim’s famscene, of a single stab wound that ily. “The impact of this offence has punctured his lung and heart. Armbeen enormous,” he said. “His place strong noted there was a “signifiwill not be taken by anyone else.” cant” amount of cocaine in his blood. The court heard Thomas wants Armstrong found no reliable evito be a heavy equipment operadence as to how things unfolded in tor after she’s served her sentence.

Federal gov’t moves to revoke citizenship of convicted terrorist

he government has begun the process of revoking the citizenship of an Iranian-Canadian serving a prison sentence in Edmonton for terrorism, according to sources familiar with the case. Hiva Alizadeh is the first Canadian to be targeted by a law that allows Ottawa to strip the citizenship from Canadians convicted of terrorist offences, provided they are citizens elsewhere. The legislation came into force on May 29. As a citizen of both Canada and Iran, Alizadeh appears to be a viable candidate. Should his Canadian citizenship be revoked, he would be deported. Under the new system, Alizadeh has 60 days to respond to the written notice he has received from the government, which depicts the law as a response to the evolving terrorist threat to Canada. “We have been clear: Canadian citizenship is a privilege that carries both rights and responsi-

bilities,” said Kevin Menard, the spokesman for Citizenship & Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, when asked about Alizadeh. “Dual nationals who commit the most serious crimes, those who seek to harm Canada and Canadians, will face serious consequences: we will move to revoke their Canadian citizenship.” After swearing the oath of citizenship in 2007, Alizadeh left the country. When he returned in 2009, he claimed he had been visiting family in Iran because the Canadian winters made him depressed. But a member of Ottawa’s Muslim community informed the authorities Alizadeh had said he was actually in Afghanistan, where he had undergone training and pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden. Alizadeh also said he had been instructed to return to Canada to find recruits to prepare terrorist attacks against Canada and the West. “People over there want us to hit from within,” he said. After an RCMP investigation called

Project Samosa, Alizadeh was arrested in 2010 with co-accused Misbahuddin Ahmed and Khurran Sher. Awso Peshdary was arrested but not charged. During searches, the RCMP seized detonators that had been custom built by a bomb expert at a terrorist training camp and instructions on how to make remote control bombs. Last September, Alizadeh pleaded guilty to possessing explosives with the intent to endanger life for the benefit of a terrorist group. He was sentenced to an additional 18 years’ imprisonment. “You are now a convicted terrorist,” the judge said. “You have betrayed the trust of your government and your fellow citizens. You have effectively been convicted of treason.” Ahmed was also convicted but Sher was found not guilty. Peshdary was quickly released but was arrested again in February and charged over his alleged role as an Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant facilitator. While Alizadeh was in custody, the Conservatives passed bill C-24, the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, which applies to not only terrorists but also those convicted of treason and espionage. Before it can revoke citizenship, the government must first send a written notice explaining its grounds. A hearing may then be held. The decision effectively becomes a deportation order. Both opposition parties opposed the bill,

which critics say creates two-tiered citizenship because it treats those who have acquired it through naturalization differently that those born in Canada. “The NDP and Liberals opposed this, yet the overwhelming majority of Canadians agree with us that those who commit the most serious crimes of state forfeit their right to Canadian citizenship,” Menard said. Last week, Australia introduced similar legislation, although it goes farther, allowing the government to revoke citizenship from dual nationals who “act inconsistently with their allegiance to Australia.”

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Saturday, July 4, 2015 i 19

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Calgary industrial real estate market starts

he Calgary region’s industrial real estate market — boosted by the recent sale of the massive Target distribution centre near Balzac — has better weathered the storm of slumping oil prices than downtown Calgary’s office sector. CBRE Ltd.’s second-quarter national office and industrial statistical summary said the quick Target facility sale to Sobeys is “indicative of confidence in the long-term viability of the region as a logistics and distribution hub.” Court documents show the deal for the 1.3-million-square-foot building in Rocky View County was worth $50 million. Greg Kwong, executive vice-president of CBRE’s Calgary office, said the downturn in the oilpatch has not affected the industrial sector as severely as the office market. “There was a lag of five or six months,” he said. “The drop in oil in November of last year almost had an immediate effect on downtown office leasing … Things started to slow down. But, in industrial, things were going pretty good up until a couple of months ago. It took about a full quarter

before the industrial sector felt the impact.” The CBRE report said Calgary’s availability rate in the industrial real estate market has jumped to 6.2 per cent in the second quarter from 4.6 per cent a year ago.Absorption — the change in occupied space — was a positive 1.3 million square feet with new construction completion at 1.1 million square feet. CBRE also said there is 4.4 million square feet under construction. The average net rent in the second quarter was $7.80, down from $8.25 a year ago. “If the low oil price environment continues on, we expect to see a further slowdown in Q3,” said Kwong. “Another good thing that’s holding the industrial market up a little bit better, we’re reducing our reliance on the oil and gas sector. A number of years ago we became a distribution centre for Western Canada and that helped our industrial market for sure.”

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Wealthy foreigners bought $100 billion in US real estate

verseas buyers snapped up more

than $100 billion in U.S. real estate over the past year, as the foreign wealthy sought safe shelter for their fortunes. According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of U.S. residential real estate to overseas buyers between April 2014 and March 2015 reached a record $104 billion, or about 8 percent of total existing home sales. While the number of properties sold slowed to 209,000 from 232,600 last year, buyers acquired more expensive properties, which brought up the sales total. Chinese were far and away the top foreign buyers of real estate last year, with buyers from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan accounting for $28.6 billion in sales, according to the report. Canada ranked second, with $11.2 billion, followed by India with $7.9 bil-

lion. They mainly favored homes in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and New York. Overall, Florida was the top state for overseas real estate buyers, accounting for 21 percent of all U.S. sales to foreign buyers. California ranked second, with 16 percent, followed by Texas with 8 percent and Arizona with 5 percent. The top four states accounted for half of overseas buying. Overseas buyers accounted for only 3 percent of sales in New York state, though that share is

far higher for New York City, where most of their buying is concentrated. The buyers were split almost evenly between resident and nonresident foreigners. Europeans and Canadians were attracted to Florida and Arizona, while California and Texas were favored by buyers from Asia. Buyers from Latin America, including Mexico, favored Texas and Florida. Foreign buyers were focused on higher-end homes. The mean purchase price for overseas buyers was $499,600, nearly twice the national mean purchase price of $255,600. Continued on page 2

2 i Saturday, July 4, 2015

real estate / finance

Electronic signatures to be accepted in Ontario real estate deals

ntario home buyers and sellers will soon be allowed to provide electronic signatures on real estate documents. Changes to the Electronic Commerce Act take effect July 1, making electronic signatures legally equivalent to handwritten ones in real estate deals. Current regulations require real estate documents, such as agreements of purchase and sale, to be signed by hand on hard copies.

Patricia Verge, president of the Ontario Real Estate Association, calls the changes to the act “great news for realtors as well as consumers,” and says the option to sign electronically will make home-buying and selling more efficient. Five other provinces, including Quebec, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island, allow electronic signatures for real estate transactions

Wealthy foreigners bought $100 billion in US real estate Foreigners are also paying more than they were last year: The mean price paid by overseas buyers jumped 26 percent over the previous year. Most favored the suburbs over the city and most favored single-family detached homes over apartments. Most buyers—some 55 percent of overseas buyers—paid all-cash, according to the report. PLAY VIDEOThe declining number of properties sold was primarily attributed to the stronger dollar, which makes U.S. real estate more

expensive for overseas buyers. The report said that U.S. real estate remains a relative bargain compared to other global cities favored by the wealthy. For instance, a condo costing $1.6 million in New York would cost more than $4 million in Paris and $2 million in Moscow. Fully 46 percent of foreign buyers planned to use their properties as a primary residence, while 20 percent plan to use as them for rentals and 15 percent plan to use it them as vacation homes.

BOLLYWOOD / FILM

Saturday, July 4, 2015 i 3

Kunal Kapoor to act in films again

unal Kapoor, who was last seen on-screen in 1985, as Kapitan Ribeiro Governor in Shyam Benegal’s Trikal, has been cajoled by Ashvini Yardi to face the camera again, in her upcoming Akshay Kumar-starrer, Singh Is Bling. He will play Amy Jackson’s dad in the film. Ashvini succeed-

ed where Salman Khan had failed. While they were shooting Jai Ho! in Romania last year, Salman had tried to convince Kunal, who was line-producing the film in Europe for him, to return to acting but Kunal had laughed it off. However, Ashvini who’s an old friend and has done a commercial with him earlier, refused

to take ‘no’ for an answer. In a Mumbai Mirror report, Kunal has been quoted as saying that, “She convinced me by using her charm and twisting my arm,” he guffaws. Kunal admits that while there have been plenty of offers earlier too, it was easy for him to shrug them off because he was always more interested in edit-

ing and directing. “Direction, in particular, I did not miss acting at all.” While Kunal Kapoor is now earing up to direct his own film, his children, too, are inclined towards films. The Kapoors have always been very supportive of each other in the clan. Read on to find out what Kareena had to say about Ranbir’s Bombay Velvet debacle.

4 i Saturday, July 4, 2015

Recipe

Aloo Tikki

picy Aloo Tikki (potato patty) with crispy, soft and tasty flavour is a real treat. So delicious that just name itself gets digestive. This simple and easy recipe uses fry shallow technique to get crispy outer layer that covers soft and spicy inner crust of potatoes, green peas and spices. Make this aloo tiki by following the step by step recipe, you can also prepare aloo tikki veggie burger for kids to serve as snack. Preparation Time: 15 minutes ooking Time: 20 minutes Serves: 12 pcs Ingredients: 4 large size Potatoes, boiled, 1/2 cup fresh or frozen Green Peas, 4 tablespoons + 4 tablespoons Dry Breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon Corn Flour, 1 teaspoon grated Ginger, 2tablespoons finely chopped Corian-

BOLLYWOOD / FILM / FOOD der Leaves, 2 Green Chillies, seeded and finely chopped, 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder, 1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder, 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice or Dry Mango Powder 1/2 teaspoon Sugar, optional, Salt to taste, cooking Oil Method: 1. Boil potatoes in pressure cooker or in a pan until soft. Peel and mash them. Boil peas in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain water and transfer them to a small bowl. 2. Take mashed potatoes in another bowl. Add boiled peas, 4 tablespoons breadcrumbs, corn flour, grated ginger, coriander leaves, finely chopped green chilli, garam masala powder, red chilli powder, lemon juice, sugar and salt. 3. Mix them to prepare smooth dough like mixture. Divide mixture into 12 equal portions and roll them into small size balls. 4. Take one ball and gently press it between your palms and make a round shaped 1/2-inch thick pattie. Take 4 tablespoons breadcrumbs in a plate. Coat prepared pattie with breadcrumbs

on all sides by rolling it in breadcrumbs filled plate. 5. Repeat steps 7 and 8 for remaining balls and prepare remaining patties. 6. Heat non-stick flat pan (tawa) or griddle to shallow fry patties. When pan or griddle is hot enough, drizzle 2-3 teaspoons oil over it. Put 3-4 patties over oil and cook until

bottom surface turn golden brown. 7. Flip each pattie up side down, drizzle some oil around its edge and cook until second side also turns golden brown. Based on the size of your pan, you can shallow fry more than 3-4 tikkis

at a time. 8. Transfer prepared tikkis to a plate. Serve hot and crispy aloo tikkis with tomato ketchup or green chutney.

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Salman Khan says ‘Aaj ki party meri taraf se’

fter ‘Selfie le le re’, another dance number from Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan is out. Titled ‘Aaj ki party’, the song’s video features Dabangg Khan’s whacky dance moves. ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’: What makes it a ‘hatke’ Salman Khan film Dressed in a red Pathani kurta-pyjama, Salman looks handsome as ever, who is accompanied by a gorgeous looking Kareena Kapoor Khan. The peppy song has been sung by Mika and is composed by Pritam. Kabir Khan directorial, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, is all set to release on July 17, 2015.

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Sunny Leone speaks about her life

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BOLLYWOOD / FILM

Salman Khanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Aaj Ki Party: Bajrangi Bhaijaanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s treat Salman Khan has just ensured that his fans dance the night away. The reason? The latest song from Bajrangi Bhaijaan, called Aaj Ki Party, has just been released. Earlier Friday (July 3), Salman had taken to Twitter to share the news with his fans

BOLLYWOOD / FILM

Saturday, July 4, 2015 i 7

Singer Adnan Sami agreed to feature in a Bollywood song

he supremely talented Adnan Sami has not just sung a song for Bajrangi Bhaijaan, but we have learnt that for the first time he has also shot for it and makes a special appearance in the video. The song titled ‘Bhardo jholi meri’ was shot inside the Aishmuqam Dargah, considered one of the famous dargahs of Kashmir, located about 40 minutes away from Pahalgam. It has 560 steps that you need to climb before you can enter the shrine and it is for the first time that a film has been granted the permission to shoot inside the premises. The song inspired from a very old traditional qawali has been written by Kausar Munir and had the entire crew in tears while it was being filmed.

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NATIONAL

20 i Saturday, July 4, 2015

Groups ask court to ease voter ID rules

left-leaning advocacy organization and a national student group will be in Ontario Superior Court on Thursday and Friday hoping to relax voter identification rules for the looming federal election. The court factum prepared by the Council of Canadians and the Canadian Federation of Students argues that tens of thousands or more of eligible voters will be denied a ballot this October due to changes enacted last year by the Conservative government. The groups want the court to issue an interim injunction allowing Elections

Canada to recognize as valid ID the voter identification cards that are mailed to everyone on the voters’ list. Some 400,000 Canadians used the voter identification cards in the 2011 election as part of a pilot project that Elections Canada wanted to expand to the whole country. Instead, the Harper government — citing fear of voter fraud — passed a new law that increases the ID requirements of would-be electors while ruling out the use of the Elections Canada mailouts that tell people where to vote.

Tories reject candidacy of son of former Minister Crosbie

he son of former federal cabinet minister John Crosbie says his bid to run for the Conservatives in the next federal election has been rejected by the party. St. John’s lawyer Ches Crosbie had announced his intention to seek

the Conservative candidacy for the Newfoundland riding of Avalon in December 2014. He says he will not be appealing the party’s decision. The Conservative party could not be reached for comment.

From typewriters to Twitter: Marjory LeBreton retires

hen Marjory LeBreton first entered the world of professional politics, she was a rarity. Not because she was a woman — it was mostly women behind the manual typewriters at the Progressive Conservative party headquarters in 1962. It’s because she was a working mother. “I was the only working mom on my street,” said LeBreton, who retires from the Senate this week upon her 75th birthday. “Women at that time — when they were working, people thought your husband was a laggard. I worked because I wanted to work. I couldn’t imagine not working outside the home.” As LeBreton contemplates her next steps after more than five decades of work on and around Parliament Hill, she’s says she’s just leaving the Senate, not “checking out of life.” There’s one thing she knows she won’t do Technology has changed politics more than anything else and not necessarily for the better, LeBreton said in a wide-ranging interview with The Canadian Press. The instantaneous nature of communication has seen politicians lose focus on their voters and on long-term

planning, caught up instead by the flash-mob mentality a single social media post can create. It’s a far cry from her days riding the campaign rails with John Diefenbaker and then Robert Stanfield, where people would come out to see the candidate in part because it was something to do. “It’s taken away some of the personality of politics and the personal contact and the personal associations people come to have.” Though LeBreton started out in the party’s secretarial pool, she climbed up the ladder of political power steadily — mindful always, she said, that such a climb could be treacherous for a woman. Not much of a drinker, she’d turn down the invitations to head to the bar after work, instead leaving to pick up

daughter Linda and son Michael from a neighbour who watched them every day after school until she could make it home. Linda was killed in 1996 by a drunk driver. LeBreton has been active in the organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving ever since. During the parliamentary session that just ended, when allegations of sexual harassment surfaced between members

Canada hits Russia with more sanctions

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he Conservative government has announced further economic sanctions against organizations in Russia — including a pro-Putin biker gang known as the Night Wolves. Prime Minister Stephen Harper says there must be ongoing consequences for Russia’s aggression in Crimea. The latest sanctions target four energy giants, including gas producers Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Surgutneftegas and Transneft, a pipeline company. Three Eurasian Youth Union leaders have also been hit with trav-

el bans, joining a list that already includes the head of the Night Wolves. The government has also imposed a ban on imports and exports from Crimea. Harper says further steps were taken in co-ordination with international partners. Canada continues to call on Russia to implement commitments outlined under the Minsk agreements. Last August, Russia announced a year-long ban on certain argricultural imports from countries, including Canada, that imposed sanctions.

NATIONAL Mulcair’s NDP leads in national polls as climactic summer begins

With Conservatives and Liberals focused on each other, NDP moves into first place

fter focusing their attacks on Lib- with the Tories taking between 99 and 141. eral Leader Justin Trudeau since While both parties overlap to a significant he took over the party in 2013, degree, the average projection gives the the Conservatives may need to start wor- edge to the NDP by about a dozen seats. rying about the NDP’s Thomas Mulcair. The Liberals would likely take between 71 Because according to the and 106 seats. That gives The Conservatives them the opportunity to latest polls, if an election were may pull more seats surpass the Conservaheld today, the New Demout of the province tives, but more likely ocrats would probably win. with less support, puts them back in third ThreeHundredEight.com’s latest weighted averages show thanks to its concentration in the place. This is a dramatthe NDP in the lead in national Quebec City area. But at 16 per ic shift in fortunes, as voting intentions with 32 per cent province-wide, the Tories only two months ago cent support, up nine points are back down to 2011 the NDP were firmly in only two months since the levels of support after in third place, with the party’s stunning provincial vic- reaching 21 per cent Liberals overlapping tory in Alberta. The Conserva- only a few weeks ago. the Conservatives in the tives have dropped three points likely seat count. since then, falling to second place with 29 per The Bloc Québécois, under Gilles Duceppe cent support. The Liberals have shed four once again, would likely win between one points over that time, sliding to 27 per cent. and five seats, while the Greens would likely The Bloc Québécois and Greens win one. Battleground provinces trail with five per cent support apiece. Duceppe’s return to the political stage After a period in which there was little has had an immediate impact on the polls consensus on whether it was the Liberals or in Quebec, but the New Democrats are still Conservatives who were leading in nation- comfortably in first place. The NDP leads al voting intentions, the polls are suddenly with 35 per cent, enough to give it well over unanimous. The New Democrats have led in 50 seats in Quebec. That is much better than seven consecutive polls, something the 27 to 28 per cent the party was stuck at from February they have not done since June 2012. through to May, and While their polls have ranged gives the NDP the anywhere between 30 and 36 largest lead any parper cent, five of those seven polls ty has had in Quehave put them in a band of between 34 and 36 per cent support. bec since 2013. The Conservatives, meanwhile, The Liberals trail have registered under 30 per cent in second with 24 support in six consecutive polls. The per cent, while the last time that happened was over a year ago, Bloc has jumped four points to and in the four most recent surveys, the par- 21 per cent support in the provty has been tied with or behind the Liberals. ince. Duceppe has given the Bloc The Liberals have also been polling under a new lease on life, with some 30 per cent consistently, which they last did in polls putting the party’s support January 2013 — months before Trudeau took as high as 26 per cent, and his over the party. But they have managed 28 or return does seem to have blunt29 per cent in the last four surveys, after put- ed what was an NDP surge in the ting up 23 or 25 per cent in the previous three. province. But the Bloc is not in This suggests that the Liberals may have a position to challenge for more reversed what was looking like a dramatic than a dozen seats. The Consercollapse, placing the negative momentum vatives may pull more seats out squarely with Stephen Harper’s Conservatives. of the province with less support, An NDP or Conservative minority? thanks to its concentration in With these levels of support, it would be the Quebec City area. But at 16 a toss-up as to whether the NDP or Con- per cent province-wide, the Toservatives would claim the most seats. The ries are back down to 2011 levels seat projection model awards the New of support after reaching 21 per Democrats between 113 and 140 seats, cent only a few weeks ago.

Saturday, July 4, 2015

i 21

Canada’s economy isn’t in recession, despite report, Joe Oliver says Despite an economy that’s shrunk every month for which we have data this year, the federal finance minister says Canada is not in a recession and is poised for growth later in 2015. At an event in Toronto on Friday, Finance Minister Joe Oliver told reporters that the economy will avoid recession this year, despite new data from Statistics Canada earlier this week that shows GDP has contracted in each of the first four months of the year — two-thirds of the way toward the technical definition of a recession. “First off, we’re not in a recession,” Oliver was quoted by Bloomberg as saying. “We don’t believe we will be in a recession.” Technically, economists define a recession as two consecutive quarters with negative GDP growth. Oliver said it’s too early to say the country is in a recession because we don’t have economic data for the entire January to June period. “We expect solid growth for the year, following a weak first quarter.” Economic slowdown April’s federal budget assumed an economy that would grow by about two per cent this year. So far, the numbers show the economy shrank by 0.6 per cent in the first three months of the year, and another 0.1 per cent in April. The finance department’s optimism is far from a universal view. Bank of America economist Emanuella Enenajor raised eyebrows with a report on Thursday, in which she said

the GDP report for April, which showed the economy shrank by 0.1 per cent, caused her to revise her expectations downwards for the entire April to June quarter. That would be enough to bring a dirty economic word into the discussion: recession. “With a second straight quarterly GDP decline, Canada would technically be in a recession,” Enenajor wrote. She said she expects the Bank of Canada to cut rates again at least one more time this year, possibly as soon as this month, to head off any slowdown. Fewer factories She cites one statistic as a major reason for her concern: a dwindling number of Canadian factories. All things being equal, Canada’s manufacturing sector should be doing better than it is, because a loonie that has depreciated by 22 per cent over the past two years is great news for exporters. But that’s not happening. There are currently fewer than 54,000 factories across the country, a figure that has been steadily inching lower since even before the last recession in 2009. “Factories are critical for Canada’s economic growth, as stronger non-energy exports are critical for an expansion of Canada’s tapped out highly levered economy,” Enenajor said. That weak factory data suggests Canada’s economy will fail to rebound in the second half as the Bank of Canada and the Department of Finance expect. Continued on page 24

22 i

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C JOBS “Balwinder Singhmaar, resident of 15095 92 Ave, Surrey, BC V3R 5V8 has a vacancy for In-home Child caregiver for infant child and 9 years old son. Full Time, 40 hrs/week. Applicant must have high school with minimum of 1 year of related experience within last 3 years or 6 months of full time training in caregiving. Job Duties includes supervise and care for children, prepare formulas and change diaper of infant, feeding, bathing, dressing, prepare children for rest period, escort child to school, prepare and serve nutritious meal and snacks, accompany to and from activities & appointments, light housekeeping, laundry, maintain safe environment at home, keep record of day-to-day activities, health and progress of children. Optional accommodation is available at no charge but this is not a condition of employment. Please send resume at balwinderssinghmaar@gmail.com” ------------------------------Jun13_15 5 Long Haul Truck Drivers Reqd. Sal:$23.00/hr, 40hr/wk, +1yr exp. & Class A 0r 1 license reqd., FT/ PT Duties: Operate, drive straight or articulated trucks to transport goods & materials on local routes or over long distances.Plan trip logistics & obtain required documentation to transport goods. Perform pre-trip & post-trip in-

JOBS spection of vehicle systems.Record cargo information, hours of service, distance travelled & fuel consumption.May perform emergency roadside repairs. Lang: English. Work at various location in Canada & USA. Contact: Balwinder from Metro Transport ltd.12772 82nd Ave, Surrey, V3W 3G1 E-mail your resume at metro_transport@yahoo.ca. ------------------------------Jun13_15

1 Optical Frame Fitter Reqd. Sal: $22.00/hr, 40hr/wk, +1yrs exp. or certification reqd., FT/ PT Duties: Obtain specifications for eyeglasses or contact lenses from a prescription. Assist clients in selecting eyeglasses. Grinding & polishing of lenses. Cut & edge lenses & fit lenses into frames. May supervise or manage activities of other opticians. Lang: English. Location: 12841 96 Avenue, Surrey, BC, V3V 6V9 Contact: Imran from Eye See 2020 Optical at opt_eyesee@yahoo.ca. ------------------------------Jun 06_15 Dosa Corner Restaurant Ltd in Vancouver Looking to hire an authentic south indian chef . This is a full time permanent position. $18.50/hr. 40hrs/week. Must have at least 3-5yrs experience in south indian cuisine & specialized knowledge in Dosas. Duties include Prepare & cook meals.kitchen

JOBS

management. Plan menus & quality. Orders food supplies. Mail your resume to selvamm164@ gmail.com or apply by person at DosaCorner Vancouver. 110-8248 Fraser Street. Vancouver. B.C.. V5X 3X6 Ph: 604-324-3672. -----------------------------------Seamstress required Seamstress (Tailor) needed Foam & Décor is looking for Full Time or Part Time Seamstress ( tailor) for drapery in Surrey. Salary will be provided @ 12 per hour. Please call 604-594-1882 Mayuri Indian foods inc is looking to hire an Ethnic Food Cook in Surrey BC. F/T & Perm.$17/hr. Must have at least 2-3 yrs experience in South Indian cuisine & specialized knowledge in Indian spicing. Duties: Prepare & Cook meals; Supervise Kitchen helpers; Plan menus; Ensure quality & determine food proportions; Monitor & order food supplies; Set up & oversee buffets; Manage kitchen operation. Mail resume or apply by person Mayuri indian cuisine , Unit 102A,12677 80th Ave., Surrey BC V3W 3A6 Fax: 604-572-3281 ------------------------------------English Classes for Adults Register for classes September 2-8 For more information,Visit: www. victoryesl.com Call: 604.755.7976 E-mail: victoryesl1@gmail.com ----------------------------

E JOBS

Cook Require Curry junction Restaurant in White Rock need cook immediately, This is a full time permanent position for a experienced person, Depending on experience salary will be upto $21 per hr. with other benefits. Call:604-729-6741 or 604-385-1558 ---------------------------Transworld Security located at 2nd Floor, 5050, Kingsway, Burnaby BC V5H 4H2 is looking for a Static Guard, Static Guard Supervisor, Mobile Supervisor and Field Manager. These are permanent full-time positions. Static Guard pay rate is $13.00 per hour plus vacation pay. You would be required to patrol industrial and commercial premises to prevent and detect signs of intrusion and ensure security of doors, windows and gates. Answer alarms and investigate disturbances. Monitor and authorize entrance and departure of employees, visitors and guests. Call police or fire departments in cases of emergency. Circulate among visitors, patrons and employees to preserve order and protect property. Static Guard Supervisor pay rate is $14.00 per hour plus vacation pay. You would be required to oversee and supervise Static Guards. You will need to ensure the duties of the Static Guards you supervise are being completed and the client’s needs are be-

S Matrimonial Seeking a suitable match for Ravidasia Sikh Boy, 30 / 5’10”, Living in Canada, B.Tech. Please send your biodata and pics at aman.shine@gmail. com or contact +1 306 461 3131. ing met. Field Manager pay rate is $18.00 per hour plus vacation pay. You would be required to report to the Director of Operations and you are responsible for supporting, mentoring and supervising the security officers in the field. You will be required to manage the company’s field operations and resources after business hours. Mobile Supervisor pay rate is $18.00 per hour. You would be required to provide ongoing leadership, direction and training. You need to ensure all standing orders and scheduled daily activities are carried out for each shift. You will be required to discipline staff when necessary

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COMMUNITY

ummer is here and there are nearly 630,000 B.C. kids looking for ways to spend their vacation days - that’s enough kids to fill BC Place more than 10 times over. As parents, it can be a challenge to find safe activities for your children, while also allowing them to enjoy their holiday from school. If you still don’t have plans for your kids this summer, or your plans have fallen through, here’s some information that might help: Looking for a summer program for your child? * Keep your children physically active by checking out your local community centre for a wide selection of day camps and special events.* Check out www.camps. ca/british-columbia-camps.php to find a summercamp that will further the growth of your child and meet his or her needs.* The HealthyFamiliesBC blog (www.healthyfamiliesbc.ca) and the ParticipACTION blog (http://blog.participaction.com/en/) have additional information on activities for families and kids of various ages, as well as healthy lifestyle tips. * Even when you’re home with the kids, encourage outdoor play. It helps children connect with the natural world, develop motor skills and physical endurance. Sunlight is the most important source of Vitamin D, which helps support the immune system and plays a vital role in developing strong bones. Looking for quality child care and other early years and family services? * There are also 26 provincially-branded BC Early Years Centres located in communities throughout the province that offer one-stop, convenient access to information, services and referrals for families with young children: www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/early_years/centres. htm* The Parents’ Guide to Selecting and Monitoring Child Care in B.C. describes child care choices available to B.C. families, and provides information to help parents decide on the child care arrangement that best suits their child and family needs:www.health.gov.bc.ca/library/publications/year/2011/Parents%27_guide_to_ selecting_and_monitoring_child_care_ in_BC.pdf* Care Resource and Referral (CCRR) programs are an excellent source of information on child care services in your community and can provide you with referrals to local care providers and information and applications for government subsidies for child care. For more information, call 1-888-338-6622 or visit: www.ccrr.bc.ca * The Child Care Map provides a comprehensive list of licensed child care centres throughout the province: www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/childcare/programs_map.htm * Before making a decision, parents should take time to conduct additional research, gather information and visit the facility where they wish to enrol their child or children. * For more information on B.C.’s range of programs and services designed to ensure children get the best possible start in life, visit: www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/early_childhood/ Did you know Child Care subsidy is available through the summer?* B.C.’s Child Care Subsidy Program provides funding to eligible low-income families to help cover the cost of care, including during the summer months. Subsidies increase to full-day rates for eligible schoolage children on days when school is not in session.* The Child Care Subsidy program supports about 24,500 children each month in B.C. with subsidies ranging up

Summer tips for parents to $750 per month.* For more information on eligibility and how to apply for the subsidy, contact the Child Care Subsidy Service Centre toll-free at 1 888 338- 6622 or visit: www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/childcare/subsidy/ Are you getting the most out of your tax returns? * Introduced April 1, 2015, the BC Early Childhood Tax Benefit is a tax-free monthly payment of up to a maximum of $55/month - or $660 per year - for each child under the age of six.* Benefits are based on the number of children in the family and the family’s net income. * To receive the new benefit in 2015, parents need to file their annual income tax returns, starting with the 2013 tax year, and apply for the Canada Child Tax Benefit. * For more information on available tax benefits and credits for families with young children, visit: www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/child_protection/ pdf/tax_benefits.pdf Is your child ready for Kindergarten?

Discover Your School provides an easy to use tool to help parents access a wide variety of information about their school. Explore B.C. school profiles - learn what factors contribute to their success, discover what makes them unique and find ones that will best match your child’s interests and goals: http:// www.discoveryourschool.gov.bc.ca/ For most schools, the Kindergarten registration process begins in January or February for the following September. But there are plenty of other ways you can use the summer months to help ensure your child is ready to start school:* StrongStart BC is a no-cost, early-learning drop-in program that helps prepare children for success in Kindergarten. Contact your local school district to see if there is a program that offers summer hours near you: www.bced.gov.bc.ca/schools/* Use community resources such as public libraries, parks and recreation centres to enhance children’s learning and healthy activity. * Limit the time your children spend look-

Saturday, July 4, 2015

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Hindu Cultural Society Surrey invites South Asian Adults/ Senior members and non members also to attend a Power Presentation on Joints Pain, Arthritis and Naturopathy Treatment by Dr. Vinnie Dhillon and Dr. Rajak Randhawa Naturopathic Physicians on July 5th 2015 from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at Shanti Niketan hall of Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple, 8321 - 140th street Surrey BC. Dr. Dhillon & Dr. Randhawa will answer all your questions about Naturopathy treatment and they will demonstrate some important Exercises for Joints Pain & Arthritis, Please bring your Yoga Matts with you. Tea and light snacks will be served in the end. Please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator Tel. 604 - 507 9945 for further details. -----------------------------------------Newton community festival The tradition continues with the 20th annual Newton Community Festival put on in partnership with the Newton Community Festival Committee. This funfilled event put on by the community for

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Business / Finance

Saturday, July 4, 2015

U.S. companies added 237,000 workers in June, ADP says

.S. businesses added jobs at a robust pace in June, a private survey found, evidence that rising consumer spending and a healthy housing market are supporting more hiring. Payroll processor ADP says businesses added 237,000 jobs last month, up from 203,000 in May. Americans have spent freely in recent months and home sales are running at their best pace in eight years. Construction firms added 19,000 jobs last

month, while retail, shipping and utility companies gained 50,000. On Thursday, the government will issue its official jobs report for June. Economists forecast it will show that employers added 233,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate fell to 5.4 percent from 5.5 percent. The ADP survey covers only private businesses, however, and frequently diverges from the official figures.

Canada’s economy shrank 0.1% in April, Statistics Canada says

anada’s economy shrank by 0.1 per cent in April as a large dropoff in the value of domestically made goods wasn’t offset by a slight increase in output from the service sector. StatisticsCanadasaidTuesdaythattheeconomy has contracted every month this year. The goods-producing sector contracted by 0.8 per cent. The service sector, meanwhile, expanded by 0.3 per cent. Oil and gas extraction fell by 3.4 per cent, the data agency said. Mining and quarrying was down by the same amount. “The oil shock continues to reverberate through the Canadian economy, in

all its various forms,” BMO economist Doug Porter said of the numbers. “The economy as a whole has only managed to grow by 1.2 per cent in the past year, with the resource sector alone carving 0.7 percentage points from annual growth.” The retail sector also shrank, by 0.2 per cent during the month. That’s a reversal from gains seen in the previous two months. Statistics Canada said “declines were notable at food and beverage stores, electronics and appliance stores, as well as health and personal-care stores.” On the flip side, sales of motor vehicles and parts, as well as clothing and clothing accessories were comparatively strong.

U.S. attempts to seize $34M in bribery case involving Calgary company

he U.S. Department of Justice is attempting to seize the proceeds of a bribe paid by a Canadian energy company to two Chadian officials. The shares of Griffiths Energy, a company that was renamed Caracal Energy and then bought by a Glencore Xstrata, are now worth about $34 million US. The former Griffiths Energy company, based in Calgary, was fined $10.3 million in 2013 to settle Canadian charges under the corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act. After securing the desired oil development rights in February 2011, Griffiths Energy allegedly transferred $2 million to an account held by a shell company created by a wife of one of the officials, Mahamoud Adam Bechir. This bribe payment was commingled and laundered through U.S. bank accounts and real property, and eventually was transferred to Bechir’s bank account in South Africa, where he is now serving as Chad’s ambassador, the justice

department says in a news release. Griffiths Energy also handed over four million shares of the company to the wives of two Chadian officials in return for the award of oil development rights. Canada made an unsuccessful attempt to recover the share certificates, but an Alberta court said Canadian officials had not presented enough evidence to seize them from the wives of the officials, whose names are on the certificates. The U.S. Department of Justice is making a new attempt to seize the shares, which are currently held by the Royal Bank of Scotland. However, the U.K. has placed a property freeze order on the share certificates, which so far is blocking the attempt to seize them as proceeds of a bribe. The U.S. says it has jurisdiction because the Chadian officials, Bechir, formerly Chad’s ambassador to the U.S. and Canada and Youssouf Hamid Takane, deputy chief of mission, were based in Washington, D.C. at the time of the offence.

Business / Finance

Greece in uncharted territory as it defaults on IMF loan

he financial crisis unfolding in uncertainty like this … It’s just going to Greece is unprecedented, and few be a terrible situation.” Klein suggests that experts are prepared to speculate Greece might bring in a temporary currenon just what might happen next now that cy, which would in turn create a black marthe country has defaulted on one of its ket for the euro. But he added that whatever many sizeable debts. “We’re now into terri- happens, it’s all uncharted territory tory that no one has a map for and there are “It’s sort of out of the range of our exno instructions for, and, you know, [that] perience,” said Klein. Many Greeks — inno one has a very good plan for,” and Phil cluding those living abroad — are already Triadafilopoulos, an associate professor of keenly feeling the effects of the crisis. political science at the University of ToGreek businessman Alexander Alexakis ronto Greece has missed the deadline to is the vice-president of Canadian operamake a 1.55 billion euro payment on its tions at Krinos Foods, the biggest importdebt to the International Monetary Fund er of Greek food products to Canada. He Tuesday, and is now officially in arrears. said the latest developments came as a big On Tuesday afternoon, just hours before surprise. “Everybody’s at a loss, they don’t the 6 p.m. ET deadline, Greece pitched know what to do next,” he said. a two-year deal to restructure its debt. He said his suppliers in Greece don’t But German Chancellor Angela Merkel want him to pay them because they can’t seemed to throw cold water on the idea, access their funds from Greek banks. saying there would be no further nego“So, I guess they’re going to wait it out tiations with Greece until after Sunday’s until next week to see if the controls will go referendum, in which Greeks will decide away,” he said. Alexakis said his company whether they want to ac“Add to that a place has enough stock to last cept their creditors’ bailthat’s been racked by three months, but said out conditions or exit the civil war within the the situation will worsen eurozne. “It’s just incredlifetime of many peo- if Greece’s finances don’t ibly fluid,” said Michael ple going through this yet again, get some kind of stabiliKlein, an economist at and an intensified left-right split ty soon. “We’re going to Tufts University who has when the party system of the last be in deep trouble supworked at the U.S. Treafew years collapsed, and you have plying the market here.” sury Department. UnPotential for ‘troubling’ a situation that could charted waters Greece is be very unstable, very instability Even if Greece the first developed countroubling.” comes to a new bailout try to default on its IMF agreement with the Eudebt since the fund was created in 1945, ropean Central Bank, it will likely still have and entering arrears puts it in the same to endure several more years of painful league as countries such as Zimbabwe, austerity measures, which in turn would the last to miss an IMF payment, Sudan mean more years of social and political unand Cuba. A default on the IMF loan rest. “The real concern is that people look makes Greece ineligible for further IMF around for the next slowest antelope — assistance until it pays down its debt, who will fall next?”-Michael Klein, econobut it also has ramifications for its other my professor, Tufts University If Greece is creditors, to whom it owes a total of alforced to leave the euro and introduce a new most 243 billion euros ($338 billion Cdn), currency, which Triadafilopoulos predicts and is also the first step toward a possible would be significantly devalued against the exit from the eurozone and possibly the euro, that will make it difficult for Greece European Union. Either of these scenarto import food and medicine, among other ios would bring Greece’s economy to a essentials. “If people are deprived of access screeching halt. There has already been a to food and medicine, they’re not likely run on the country’s banks, with Greeks to be very happy,” he said. “Add to that a lining up in recent weeks to drain their place that’s been racked by civil war within accounts. Even with Monday’s implementhe lifetime of many people going through tation of capital controls and a 60 euro a this yet again, and an intensified left-right day withdrawal limit, it will be extremely split when the party system of the last few difficult to carry out day-to-day business. years collapsed, and you have a situation “Imagine if you all of a sudden were that could be very unstable, very troubling.” limited to taking $67 US out of the bank Domino effect If Greece leaves either the each day, and just think about the bills euro or the entire European Union, that you get in your mail, and you’re just uncould also create a domino effect on other able to pay them,” said Klein. heavily indebted European countries that “So, even if people have stashed away a are also chafing under central bank rules lot of money, which is likely, people want and punishing austerity measures. to hoard their money in times of great

Canada’s economy isn’t in recession, despite report, Joe Oliver says From page 21

Enenajor isn’t the only economist to invoke the R-word. “The surprise contraction in April GDP leaves open the probability that the second quarter as a whole could be negative, which would technically put the economy in recession,” CIBC economist Andrew Grantham said in a note to clients. There is at least one prominent

economist, however, who agrees with Oliver’s view that talk of recession is premature. “A recession is a sustained, broad-based decline in economic activity,” BMO economist Doug Porter said. “Canada simply does not meet that test. “The bigger … picture in Canada is consistent with a sluggish economy, not one in recession,” he added.

Saturday, July 4, 2015

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PUNJAB

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Amritsar airport set to roll out e-visa facililty

ith the Sri Guru Ramdas Jee International Airport in Amritsar joining the list of airports with electronic-tourist visa facility for eligible countries, its authorities have made all necessary arrangements. The Amritsar airport is among seven other airports which will have the facility now. Earlier, only nine airports were tagged as entry points to India with the e-tourist visa facility. Talking to the Tribune, Airport Director Venkateshwar Rao said all infrastructural arrangements to accommodate the flow of passengers for the facility had been made at the airport complex. He said officials of the engineering and operational wings had been asked to make arrangements for four counters,

besides putting up signages for the convenience of these tourists. He said immigration and other agencies had also put forth certain requirements, which had also been provided. The Airport Director said as soon as tourists reach the arrival lounge without visa, they would be segregated from the rest of the passengers. They would then move to these four counters to obtain the electronic-tourist visa. He said the deadline to provide all required infrastructure was June 30 and the Airport Authority of India (AAI) had complied with it. In elite club The Amritsar airport is among seven other airports which are set to have the facility now. Earlier, only nine airports were tagged as entry points to India with the e-tourist visa facility.

It’s time to pay back as BJP leader appointed Director, PNB

hartiya Janata Party state vice-president Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina was elected as Director, Punjab National Bank at Delhi. A releases issued here on Wednesday claimed that Chhina, a close confident of finance minister Arun Jaitley , got the post following election process by obtaining 28 crores votes from share holders of the bank against his nearest rival Gopal Sharma who received only 19 lakhs votes. Chhina had been the Chairman of the Punjab SmallScale Industries and Export Corporation and also served as Chairman, Improvement

Trust, Amritsar. Presently, he is secretary of prestigious Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC) and President of Indian Academy of Fine Art (IAFA). Chhina , in the release, said his top priority would be education and agriculture and bringing various government development schemes to the mass level. He said awareness to use the financial services for the benefit of the poor and downtrodden would be his focus apart from promotion of small scale industries as well as the export import including that between India and Pakistan.

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Punjab remains major contributor to armed forces: Lt Gen Nair

unjab still remains one of the top contributors to the armed forces for Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and other ranks. The number has almost doubled in the past three years. This was stated by Lieutenant General RN Nair (Pictured), Director General (Recruiting) , during the raising ceremony of the Army’s interim Selection Centre North (SCN) for officers at Kapurthala. He also announced that the shortage of officers in the Army has come down from 12,000 to around 7,000 this year. General Nair said that according to the 2011 Census, the Recruitable Male Population (RMP) of Punjab is around 2.34 per cent which is the highest in the country. The state has the highest quota of 1,400 seats out of the total 60,000 vacancies for JCOs and other ranks in the country. “Punjab was subscribing to up to 3,000 vacancies until three years ago. The number has almost doubled to around 5,000 recruitments in 2014-15, one of the highest in the country,” said General Nair. He also said that for the recruitment of jawans, the open rally system has now been linked with an online registration system. “We sometimes received around 20,000 candidates in an open rally, making it difficult for us to scrutinise all of them in a single day. Now, the candidates have to first register themselves online for a rally on our department’s website and only after receiving confirmation, come for the rally,” he said. Also to boost the officers intake from the state; the Army had decided to open an

Two cops suspended in Akali leader’s killing

he district police has suspended two officers who led the team that killed Akali leader Mukhjit Singh Mukha in an encounter on June 16 near Mudhal village in Amritsar. Deputy Commissioner of Police Parampal Singh said Sub Inspector Ramesh Kumar and Assistant Sub Inspector Joginder Singh were suspended. The Akali leadership termed the development a result of its ultimatum issued to the police. The police had said the encounter was a result of mistaken identity as the target was notorious gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria. Earlier, 10 policemen of the counter intelligence cell who had allegedly gunned down Mukha were transferred following orders of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal. AIG Crime (Zonal) TP Maur, one of the three members of the special investigation team probing the incident, was also replaced by HS Bhullar, AIG, Crime and Investigations, on the insistence of deceased’s family members. this coupon The policewith theory in the -case is still being

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SCN with two selection boards for officers at Ropar. The provisional SCN raised at Kapurthala military station will operate until March 2016 and thereafter, it will be shifted to a state-of-the-art 200-acre campus (presently under construction) at Ropar. The proposal was conceptualised and initiated by Lt-General NPS Hira, presently the General Officer Commanding at Vajra Corps, a few years back. The upcoming centre at Ropar will be the country’s fifth selection centre and will facilitate the intake of more officers into the armed forces. According to sources, the Army has a shortage of around 7,000 officers, Navy and Air Force have a shortage of around 1,200 and 2,000 officers respectively. The move has also come in support of the state government’s war against drugs as even today, it has been accused of failing to control the drug menace that has made its youth incapable of meeting the “good physical standards” of the Indian Army. Besides allocating around 203 acres for setting up the SCN at Ropar, the state government has also allocated around Rs 5 crore for the development of the area in its vicinity. Earlier, there were only four selection centres for officers — Allahabad, Bhopal and Bangalore for army and at Dehradun for the Air Force. There was a long pending demand for a selection centre in Punjab. Young aspirants from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, and Jammu and Kashmir had to appear before the Special Selection Board (SSB) at these places to get selected as officers in the armed forces. Now, with an SCN coming up in the state, it is expected to fill the shortage of officers in the third largest army in the world.

questioned. While the police are projecting the killing as a result of mistaken identity, citybased human rights activist Sarabjit Singh Verka claimed that Rajesh Kumar, who was part of the team and had allegedly sustained injuries during the encounter, knew the leader well and even used to visit his house. District SAD (urban) president Upkar Singh Sandhu, who met the Police Commissioner today, said the two suspended police officers were leading the two teams of the counter intelligence wing. “We are awaiting the report of the laboratory tests,” he said. Forensic samples were sent to Chandigarh and Delhi laboratories and also to Gujarat Forensic Science Laboratory at Gandhinagar. The SIT, headed by G Nageshwara Rao, IG (Investigations), is yet to get its reports. It is yet to be ascertained as to how many gunshots were fired. The forensic team had picked up blood stains from the ground on the rear side of the car, Mukha was driving. It is also yet to be cleared whether the blood stains were of head constable Rajesh Kumar injured in the encounter.

expires Dec. 31

Store owner robbed of Rs 25,000 at air gunpoint

t was an easy kill for two robbers who decamped with Rs 25,000 from a mobile store at Shastri Nagar area after threatening its owner with an air gun. The incident happened on Tuesday night when owner Varun Mohan, 34, was alone at the store. At 9.30pm, two miscreants wearing masks entered the store and asked him to

open the cash safe and hand over the money. According to Varun Mehan, the miscreants appeared to be in their mid 20s. “As I refused to give them money, one of the criminals pointed a gun at me. The other then forcibly opened the cash box and took out Rs 25,000. Even though I was alone, I tried to catch hold of them. But pushed me to ground and ran outside.

INDIA

Sushma in more trouble over Lalit’s job offer to husband

band Swaraj Kaushal as the alxternal Affairs Minister ternate director (in his place) Sushma Swaraj is back on Indofil board. Kaushal in the Opposition line of acknowledged he had been fire. The Congress and Left today offered a post by the Indofil renewed their demand for her resboard but added he rejected ignation along with that of PM Nathe offer. “I am a lawyer for rendra Modi’s statement after it was Lalit Modi for over 20 years. alleged that her husband was asked I was offered to be alternate by IPL former chief Lalit Modi to director on Indofil board. I act as his backup or alternative on did not give my consent. The the board of one of his companies Sushma Swaraj — Indofil. The BJP rallied behind Swaraj and request was withdrawn,” Kaushal’s statement criticised the Congress for pursuing a “base- read. The Congress, however, maintained a less issue”. In an email written on April 15, quid pro quo was evident. “Direct web of deLalit asked his father to name Sushma’s hus- ceit has been established.

MPs pay to be doubled with automatic pay revision

parliamentary panel has recommended doubling the salary of law makers and also increasing pension of former MPs by almost 75%. The joint committee, which has submitted its recommendations to the government, has also proposed an automatic pay revision mechanism for parliamentarians like that of pay commission for government employees. Sources said the panel has made a total of around 60 recommendations. “The committee has reasoned that the last revision of MPs salary happened in 2010 and they

don’t get any dearness allowance like that of government employees,” said a government source. At present, sitting MPs get monthly salary of Rs 50,000. The panel has also recommended that the daily allowance of Rs 2,000, which they get for attending the House during Parliament sessions should be increased substantially, sources said. “The hike is overdue. Our daily expenses only for offering tea to visitors come to around Rs 1,000. Can we stop showing this little courtesy to electorates?” asked a sitting BJP lawmaker.

CPI wants all tainted BJP ministers removed The Communist Party of India has demanded the resignation of all tainted BJP ministers at the Centre and in various states, including Union ministers Sushma Swaraj and Smriti Irani; Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje; and Maharashtra ministers Pankaja Munde and Vinod Tawde.

The party’s national council meeting here gave a call to end corruption under the BJP rule and decided to take on the “corrupt BJP ministers and expose their claims of a corruption-free government in the first year of Modi rule” both outside and inside Parliament.

Saturday, July 4, 2015

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Prisoners dig tunnel to escape from Tihar jail

wo prisoners have escaped from India’s maximum security Tihar jail in Delhi by digging a tunnel under a wall and scaling another, authorities said. The men, awaiting trial for burglary, were found missing when they failed to show up for roll call on Sunday. Officials said one of the fugitives had been captured and was being questioned. The jail, thought to be Asia’s largest, houses some 13,500 prisoners, including many of India’s most feared militants, gangsters and other criminals. This is the first time inmates have dug their way out of Tihar,

reports said. In what appears to be a carefully planned prison break reminiscent of the Hollywood film Shawshank Redemption, the two men - Faizan and Javed - are believed to have scaled the wall of one jail building to reach another where they dug a tunnel under the perimeter wall and crawled out through a drain, Officials say they are still trying to piece together exactly how the escape was executed. “They escaped sometime on Saturday or Sunday. We will find out how they managed to escape. It is too early to say how and

Rebel leader held over Manipur attack on army

ndia says it has arrested a rebel leader in connection with the killings of 20 of its soldiers in an ambush on a troop convoy in north-east India. Khumlo Abi Anal of the separatist National Socialist Council of Nagaland has been held in what is the first arrest in the case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said. The ambush occurred last month near the border with Myanmar in Manipur state. Indian army attacked rebel camps inside Myanmar days after the attack.

Indian authorities said at the time that troops had destroyed two rebel camps in Myanmar and “returned safely”, but Myanmar denied the reports. The NIA said in a statement that “investigation has revealed that the accused [Khumlo Abi Anal] was extensively involved in the conspiracy to attack the army personnel”. Last month’s attack took place in the state’s Chandel district, close to the border with Myanmar. Police said rebels used rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles to target the soldiers.

BJP Minister says she is ready to face anti-corruption probe

but will not give up post if found guilty

oman and child welfare minister Pankaja Munde said that she is ready to face Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) inquiry. But”If proved to be guilty I will not leave ministerial post,” said Munde. She was talking to media first time after returning from UK at Sahyadri guest house. Minister

however claimed that she has not slept for the last 56 hour to study all document related to Rs 206 crore chikki contract. Munde refuted all allegations about corruption and irregularities in purchasing deal worth Rs 206 crore through Woman and Child Welfare department. Congress spokesperson Sachin

28 i

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6 i Saturday - April 4, 2015

fOOD INDIA

Modi logs on to empower masses

Saturday, July 4, 2015

AAP admits giving perks to party members

i 29

rime Minister Narendra Modi to- this scheme, the Prime Minister will head day said India should come up a monitoring committee and all existing joint secretary to chief minister, am Aadmi Party (AAP) with solutions to meet the chal- and ongoing e-governance initiatives will have been allotted houses. government in Delhi adlenge posed to cyber security by a “blood- be revamped to align them with the larger The government also said the mitted that a few party less war” as he launched the Digital India principles of “Digital India”, an official statesalary of these staff, who are in the members were getting benefits like Week. This is Modi’s dream project and a ment said. Underscoring the dangers posed grade pay of Rs 8,700 equivalent to official house and cars. In a reply larger initiative to digitally empower peo- to cyber security, the PM said the world was senior IAS officers. to BJP MLA O P Sharma’s quesple and extend services better with the use staring at a “bloodless war” but the counApart from 17 co-terminus staff, tion, government said that these of Information Technology and its tools. try had the capacity to protect the world eight contractual staffs are hired members have been appointed as As Modi unveiled various initiatives lined from the same. “By bloodless war, I refer and get Rs 60,000 to Rs 1.15 lakh. co-terminus staff with it. up by the Ministry of Telecommunication to cyber security. Innovations by Indians Government in its reply said that Bibhav There are two advisors who work on the and Information Technology, India Inc led by can help the world counter this threat,” he Kumar, private secretary to chief minister salary of Rs one per month. the Ambani brothers — Mukesh (RIL) and said. “Somebody, with education of class 10 Arvind Kejriwal and Aswathi Muralidharan, Anil (ADAG) — Cyrus Mistry (Tata Group), or 12, sitting thousands of miles away, can Sunil Mittal (Bharti Enterprises), Kumar clean up your bank account with a click of Mangalam Birla (Aditya Birla Group), Azim the mouse. This needs to be addressed,” he Premji (Wipro), Pawan Munjal (Hero) and said. “Nowadays, even children don’t go for a host of others announced massive investyour spectacles or pen when you meet them. ments in the IT sector over the coming years. What attracts them the most is your mobile Ingredients The Digital India campaign would see an phone, even children understand the prow• 250g boneless chicken investment of Rs 4.5 lakh crore and jobs for ess of digital power,” said Modi underlining • 2tbsp rapeseed oil at least 18 lakh people as the country moved the need for an initiative like Digital India. • 1 medium red onion from “e-governance to m-governance”, the “Merely bragging about the rich history and • 3 large tomatoes PM said. He clarified that m-governance young population is not enough. ” Rather, • ½ cup cashew nuts was not “Modi but mobile-governance”. connecting and empowering them with • 100g tomato puree The PM exhorted the industry to boost digital power was the need of the hour, he • 1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves production of electronic devices and goods • 100ml low fat cream in the country, as part of the “Make in In- said. “We need to understand this change, • 1tsp garam masala dia” initiative, to reduce dependence on otherwise we’ll remain here while the world • 1tsp red chilli powder imports. He called upon the youth to in- will move forward,” said the Prime Minister. “India may have missed the Industrial • 1tbsp ginger- garlic paste novate saying “Design in India” was as im• 2tbsp thick low fat yoghurt portant as “Make in India”. He promised Revolution, but will not miss the IT revolu• salt to taste government support to “startups” and said tion,” he said. “Like bank lockers, there will India had the potential of becoming the be digital godowns where we will keep all second country after the US in this area. our important documents,” he said, adding Procedure: Modi said IT could be used to curb corrup- people would now prefer to settle down at Marinate thetransparent chicken with ginger garlic paste the yoghurt for 20 min. soak the cashew in warm water for 15 minutes.chop the onions and tomatoes. Heat 1 tbsp places withand optical fibre network. tion, help provide andthe efficient oil to and a pan. searthe therich-poor chicken pieces hotdream oil forof 1 minute onIndia each side to athe golden colour. remove the chicken pieces. in the same pan, add 1tbsp oil and the chopped a digital where governance bridge divide.in the“I onions. saute till for a translucent pink. the tomatoes, red chili powder, garam The PM unveiled a logo Digital India, an Add world looks to India for the next big idea...masala powder and cook on medium flame till the tomatoes are tender (approx. 4-5 minutes). remove flame and run in a blender soaked cashews to make a smooth paste. return to the pan and add the tomato puree. Bring to a boil and add umbrella programme that from seeks to transform I dream of a with digitalthe India where high-speed the chicken pieces. simmer for 4-5 minutes till the chicken is cooked. Add the low fat cream and simmer for 2 minutes. Broil the fenugreek leaves on a pan. crush the India into a digitally-empowered, knowl- digital highways unite the nation, where fenugreek leaves over the curry and remove from fire. serve hot. edge economy with a host of initiatives for a 1.2 billion connected Indians drive innovasynchronised and coordinated engagement tion,” the PM said.

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NRI

Saturday, July 4, 2015

NRI deposits in Gujarat cross Rs 50K crore mark

conomic uncertainty, steep fall in the rupee, and attractive interest rates offered to NRIs by Indian banks made NRI deposits in Gujarat swell by 115% over the past three years. The deposits breached the Rs 50,000 crore mark in 2014-15. “The liquidity crisis in Europe and Africa prompted many NRIs to divert their funds to India,” said Jayesh Vithalani, an Ahmedabad-based financial consultant. NRI deposits rose to Rs 54,574 crore in 2014-15 from Rs 25,400 crore in 2011-12, an increase of Rs 29,174 crore. In the 2013-14 period, the RBI increased the Libor rate for Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR) accounts by up to 350 basis points for the period of three to 10 years. With an FCNR account, an NRI can maintain a fixed deposit in foreign currencies and earn regular interest. “The interest rates offered to NRIs in India is around 1.5%-2% more than what is offered in the US,” said a city-based forex consultant.

5 Indians among 7 charged in bank fraud case in US

ive Indian-origin persons are among seven charged with conspiring to commit bank fraud in the US through a scheme that resulted in losses of over $3 million to the victims. Jyoteshna Karan, 43, Praveen Singh, 36 and Mahendra Prasad, 53, of California have been arrested while the remaining defendants each received summons to appear for arraignment, Phul Singh, 79, and Sunita Singh, 60, Nani Isaac, 69 and Martin Bahrami, 42. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a million dollar fine per count. A federal grand jury returned a 15-count indictment this week against the seven individuals, charging them with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and bank fraud and aiding and abetting, and making false statements to a bank in a mortgage fraud scheme, United States attorney Benjamin Wagner said.

Immigrants should adopt American values, learn English: Jindal

imself son of an immigrant parents from India, two-term Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal believes that immigrants in the US should learn English and adopt American values. In a video advertisement, launched by his super PAC, 44-year-old Jindal is first shown stating he is tired of hyphenated Americans, as he referred to labels such as Indian-Americans, African-Americans and Asian-Americans. “I think our immigration system is broken. If folks want to immigrate to America, they should do so legally. They should adopt our values. They should learn English. And they should roll up their sleeves and get to work,” Jindal said. Jindal’s parents immigrated to the US early 70s. He was born in Baton Rouge in 1971.

Maharashtra CM set to woo NRIs in US with ‘come to Maha’ mantra During his five-day tour of the US, BJP’s first chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will project Maharashtra as a destination for industrial investment, pitching for state-of-the-art infrastructure, adequate power in industrial areas and simplified labour legislations. The CM will be in the US between June 30 and July 4. A senior bureaucrat told TOI that Fadnavis has scheduled appointments with high-ranking officials of Citibank, Microsoft, Apple, Google, General Motors, Bank of America and Boeing. “Fadnavis will meet Microsoft chief executive officer Satya Nadella and Boeing vice-chairman Raymond Conner. He will also meet heads of leading businesses and financial institutions,” the bureaucrat said. He said Fadnavis will appeal to NRIs settled in the US to return to India, set up their businesses here so that their higher learning from

SOUTH ASIA Former Sri Lankan president to contest as PM candidate

ormer Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa would contest as a prime ministerial candidate in the August 17 parliamentary elections, a source said on Sunday. Kumara Welgama, a former minister in Rajapaksa’s government, said the former president would look to contest under the betel leaf symbol of the opposition United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), Xinhua news agency reported. Welgama said all attempts would be made to unite the political parties in the UPFA, including the main opposition Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), and put forward Rajapaksa as the UPFA prime minister candidate. He hoped President Maithripala Sirisena, as UPFA chairman, would take a stand with regard to the nominations to be given to UPFA candidates, keeping in mind the best interest of the country. There have been reports indicating that the president would not agree to nominate Rajapaksa as the prime minister candidate of the UPFA. However, in the August 17 elections, all the political parties in the national unity government have decided to contest separately. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena last Friday dissolved the parliament, paving the way for fresh parliamentary elections in mid August, eight months ahead of the schedule. Although the constitutional reform in the form of 19th Amendment was approved in late April, the electoral reforms or the 20A ran into a snag as political parties failed to reach consensus on the ideal system of elections to replace the current proportional representation system. Sirisena appointed a minority government headed by Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe after defeating Mahinda Rajapaksa in the January presidential election.

FIJI

Fijian troops are safe

his is the reassurance from Land Force Commander and spokesman Colonel Sitiveni Qiliho. “Our troops in Sinai are safe and we want to reassure the families and loved ones that our troops are okay and safe

Saturday, July 4, 2015 i 31

despite the recent volatility in the area of operations,” Col Qiliho said. He said they were confident in the Multinational Force Observers and the Battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Petero Talemaivatuwiri.

Iji born academic Professor Brij Lal and his wife Dr Padma Lal will remain in exile. This after Defence Minister Timoci Natuva decided earlier this week to uphold his decision to keep the pair in exile. Mr Lal was advised via e-mail correspondence from Assistant Immigration Director Edward Brown of the decision. “Through this email, I would like to advise that you and your wife’s cases were processed and submitted to the Honourable Minister for Defence, National Security and Immigration for his decision and I regret to advise that after careful consideration, a decision was taken that the status quo should remain,” Mr Brown said. “As such you and your wife are still prohibited from returning to Fiji.”

100,000 to benefit from minimum wage increase

ore than 100,000 workers will be able to take home slightly more money as the National Minimum Wage Rates and the Wages Regulations Minimum Wage rates were announced yesterday. Under the new rates released by the ministry yesterday, the National Minimum Wage is now fixed at $2.32 from $2 while the 10 sectors covered by the Wages Regulations each received increases of between two and 5.25 per cent. The increases in the Wages Regulations orders is based on a formula agreed to by the Em-

Sugar warning To survive in the long term, the Fiji Sugar Industry will have to prepare itself for competition at world market prices, says Sugar Ministry permanent secretary Parmesh Chand. Speaking to industry stakeholders during the start of the crushing season at the Lautoka mill yesterday, Mr Chand said Fiji sugar was sold domestically, regionally and exported to the rest of the world. “The sugar industry globally is passing through some challenging times due to depressed sugar prices,” he said.

ployment Relations Advisory Board and takes into account the Consumer Price Index and other figures on how each industry is faring to calculate the increases. And while the increases for some sectors under the Wages Regulations are relatively low- security services increase by only ten cents from $2.41 to $2.51 per hour- the Ministry of Labour says it’s important to note that with industries continually growing, the rates will continue to be reviewed.

Good News!

Govt keep Dr Brij Lal in exile

Good News!

Mr Natuva told Parliament in March that the ban on Mr Lal was indefinite and in accordance with the Immigration Act saying that his actions were “prejudicial to the peace, defence, public safety, public order and security of Government of Fiji”. Mr Lal in email correspondence said the decision on the part of the immigration department was petty and vindictive. “The original decision was based on the false premise that I opposed Fiji’s return to democracy after the coup of 2006,” he said. “That is a travesty of the truth and of the historical record. I did nothing of the sort. “And it is ludicrous to assert that my wife and I are a threat to the security of Fiji. “The decision is nothing short of petty vindictiveness. We are disappointed but the Government is diminished by it.

Good News!

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Call for referendum on new flag

he extension of the consultation deadline until December 31, 2015 for the people of Fiji to submit their views on a proposed new flag for Fiji is a waste and abuse of taxpayers’ funds, says Opposition member and National Federation Party leader Professor Biman Prasad. Prof Prasad said the process should be abandoned immediately and a referendum held so the people of Fiji were able to legitimately express their views on the issue. “And the FijiFirst Government must reveal, as a matter of transparency and accountability, the amount of taxpayers’ funds already used in this

needless exercise,” he said.

Cassava may be toxic

An academic report claims cassava contains a lethal chemical known as hydrogen cyanide. The study by the University of the South Pacific titled A study on cyanide levels in cassava and some of its products in some South Pacific Island Countries said cassava contained naturally occurring but potentially toxic compounds called cyanogenic glycosides.According to the study, the cyanogenic glycosides release hydrogen cyanide (HCN) as a result of enzymatic hydrolysis following maceration of the plant tissue.As part of the study, cassava samples from three countries — Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu — were analysed.

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32 i Saturday, July 4, 2015

Lakhvi exempted from in-person appearance in 26/11 attack case

nti-terrorism court exempted the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attack Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi from appearing in-person after the LeT operations commander cited “serious threats to his life.” “The trial court (Anti-Terrorism Court Islamabad) has exempted Lakhvi from in person appearance in the court on security grounds,” Raja Rizwan Abbasi, Lakhvi’s consel, told PTI after the hearing. “The court has admitted Lakhvi’s application after the report of Islamabad Inspector General that he (Lakhvi) is facing serious threats to his life,” Abbasi said. Abbasi had filed an application in the court requesting it to exempt his client from appearing in-person in the 2008 Mumbai attack case as Lakhvi, 55, faces serious threats to his life (from a foreign intelligence agency and a Taliban wing). “Lakhvi may be assassinated while coming to or leaving the court,” Abbasi said. “Since the trial in the Mumbai attack case began in February 2009, Lakhvi and six other suspects had been attending the proceedings inside Adiala jail (Rawalpindi) but after his release Lakhvi will now have to appear before the court on his own thus putting his life in serious danger,” he said and requested the court to exempt Lakhvi from personal attendance during the hearings till the case concludes. The ATC-Islamabad judge who held the proceedings at the Adiala Jail Rawalpindi also recorded the statements of two witnesses. The judge adjourned the hearing till tomorrow. The Mumbai attack mastermind, who was released from Adiala Jail on April 10 on bail, has skipped appearance in the court on several occasions in the past, though the law mandates for an accused on bail to appear in a court hearing. He was was released from Adiala Jail after the Lahore High Court suspended his detention under a security act.

The Islamabad High Court in mid April had ordered the trial court to conclude the Mumbai attack case in two months. The two-month deadline has passed but the pace of the case had not yet picked up. Lakhvi is living at an undisclosed location since his release. Lakhvi and six other accused - Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum - have been charged in 2009 with planning and executing the Mumbai attack in November, 2008 that left 166 people dead.

oreign Office (FO) spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said a possible meeting could take place between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Russia. Speaking at a news briefing at the Foreign Ministry today, the spokesman did not rule out the possibility of the meeting. However, he added that there had been no formal contact between the two leaders regarding such a meeting. “Leaders

3 Taliban militants get death penalty for NATO truck attack

SLAMABAD: Three Taliban militants have been given an eighttime death sentence by a Pakistani court for attacking trucks carrying critical supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan in 2010, officials said today. Afraz-ur-Rehman, Ali Imran and Wajih-ur-Rehman, belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group, were found guilty by a Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorist Court yesterday. A lawyer confirmed that the three were giveneight-timedeathsentencebythecourt. The three were found guilty of carrying out the brazen late night attack in Islamabad on NATO sup-

Modi, Nawaz may meet on SCO summit sidelines

ply convoy in 2010 in which 11 oil tankers were gutted and four persons died. More than 25 oil tankers had stopped for refuelling on the outskirts of Islamabad when they were attacked by at least eight gunmen. The gunmen first opened fire and then set the oil tankers on fire. Soon after the attack, TTP accepted responsibility. TTP has often targeted NATO supplies to disrupt the US-led military operation in Afghanistan. About 70 per cent of NATO supplies and 40 per cent of its fuel needs are shipped to Afghanistan via Pakistan.

People’s Party loyalists switch their allegiance to PTI Party

s a number of disgruntled key leaders from Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Punjab switch their allegiance to the Tehreek-i-Insaf Party (PTI), some two dozen former parliamentarians of the PPP from Punjab are also considering the option to say final ‘goodbyes’ to party lead-

ership in the upcoming days, sources told Dawn.com on Thursday. A senior member of the party said that a majority of former parliamentarians of the PPP from Punjab believe that the party leadership failed to address their reservations despite multiple requests

on such multilateral fora do meet each other,” the spokesman remarked. Pakistan mediating talks between Afghan Taliban, their government While speaking on the issue of peace talks in relation to the Afghan crisis, the FO spokesman said Pakistan was facilitating talks between the Afghan Taliban and their government. He also said that China had expressed deep interest in peace and stability in Afghanistan. Last month, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz said.

Al-Qaida’s network head killed in security raid: Govt

AHORE: The head of Al-Qaida’s Pakistan wing has been killed in a raid by counter-terrorism commandos earlier this week near Lahore, foiling their plot to attack the offices of a spy agency, Punjab home minister said on Wednesday. The deceased Al-Qaida head has been identified as Abdali who hails from Muridke, Punjab home minister colonel (R) Shuja Khanzada told a press conference here. “One of the four terrorists killed on Monday during a raid of law enforcement agencies near Lahore was the head of Al-Qaeda networks in Pakistan and in Punjab province,” Khanzada said. The minister also claimed that Al-Qaida network’s Indian sub-continent head Maulana Asim Umer is an Indian national who is hiding in Afghanistan. Earlier, American national Mahmood was the head of Al-Qaida’s network in the sub-continent. He was killed in a drone attack. Al-Qaida’s leader Ayman al-Zawahri had announced the creation of al-Qaida in the Indian sub-continent in September.

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Toyota Motor Corp, Ford Motor Co may team up on dashboard software to fend off Silicon Valley

n a signal that some automakers aren’t prepared to cede control of their dashboards to Silicon Valley, Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. are looking at collaborating on in-vehicle software that would compete directly with Apple Inc. and Google Inc. Toyota announced Wednesday that it is “exploring” the use of SmartDeviceLink — an open-source version of Ford’s AppLink software — in future Toyota and Lexus vehicles. SmartDeviceLink, or SDL, is an interface that allows for the integration of smartphone apps into vehicle dashboards, just like Apple’s CarPlay or Google’s Android Auto. Ford announced that it would opensource the platform two years ago in the hope that other automakers would get on board and create a customizable alternative to the tech giants’ growing presence in the vehicle software market. “Toyota adopting it is very significant because it validates the approach that Ford took, and it could help Ford and Toyota maintain control over the app ecosystem and the experience,” Mark Boyadjis, senior automotive technology analyst at IHS, said in an interview. “Having two major global automakers like Ford and Toyota working with an open-source platform like SDL makes it more attractive to the app developers … all the while keeping Google and Apple out of the picture somewhat.”

Other automakers, however, are taking a different tack. General Motors Co. announced last week that 14 Chevrolet models will be compatible with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay beginning in the 2016 model year, while the 2015 Hyundai Sonata recently became the first vehicle to offer Android Auto. “For most of us, our smartphones are essential,” GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. “Partnering with Apple and Google to offer CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility across the widest range of models in the industry is a great example of how Chevrolet continues to democratize technology that’s important to our customers.” Boyadjis said there’s a way for automakers to collaborate with Apple and Google on in-vehicle software, but he cautioned against giving them too much control over the user experience — especially now that Google is developing its own self-driving car and there’s also speculation Apple is developing a vehicle. “These two companies aren’t just going to stop at CarPlay and Android Auto,” he said. “It’s that Trojan Horse element. They’re going to try to get involved in the industry and create stickiness with the user so that people associate Apple and Google with their car, and then try and expand on top of that.” In particular, Boyadjis said the automakers shouldn’t share vehicle informa-

Saturday, July 4, 2015 i 33

Toyota’s top female executive steps down after arrest for importing oxycodone into Japan

oyota Motor Corp said on Wednesday that Julie Hamp, its first female managing officer, had resigned following her arrest last month on suspicion of illegally importing the painkiller oxycodone into Japan. Hamp, a U.S. citizen, leaves Toyota about a month after she relocated to Tokyo to become the Japanese automaker’s chief communications officer. Her appointment was part of a drive by the company to diversify a male-dominated, mostly Japanese executive line-up. In a statement, Toyota said it had accepted Hamp’s resignation after “considering the concerns and inconvenience that recent events have caused our stakeholders.” Senior Managing Officer Shigeru Hayakawa will take over Hamp’s duties until a replacement is appointed, it said. Toyota declined to give further details, citing the ongoing investigation.

tion like acceleration, oil life or performance data with the tech giants. “If the carmakers agree to supply Apple and Google with vehicle data, their story is almost over,” he said. “At that point, if Apple and Google can do the same thing in a Ford as they can in a Toyota as they can in a Chevy as they can in a BMW, what differentiates them? The carmakers will lose control over their product.” But not everyone is worried about Silicon Valley’s growing presence in Detroit’s backyard. For BlackBerry Ltd. subsidiary QNX Soft-

“We remain firmly committed to putting the right people in the right places,” it added. Hamp was arrested on June 18 after customs officials found tablets of oxycodone in a parcel shipped to her from the United States. Hamp said she did not think she had imported an illegal substance, according to the police. Hamp, who remains in police custody, has yet to be charged and under Japanese law, can remain under detention for up to 20 days after her arrest. That timeframe ends on July 8. Oxycodone is a prescription drug in both the United States and Japan. Bringing it into Japan requires prior approval from the government and it must be carried by the individual. Following Hamp’s arrest, Toyota said it believed that she had no intent of breaking the law. Hamp joined Toyota’s North American unit in 2012 and moved to Tokyo in June.

ware Systems — which develops operating systems that underpin in-vehicle technology — any expansion of dashboard software is good news. “It’s impacting us in a very positive way,” Andrew Poliak, QNX’s global director of automotive business development, said in an interview from the TU-Automotive Detroit connected-car show. “Now you’re seeing a requirement for very low-end or entry-level vehicles to have a full-fledged operating system, and that is growing our market share dramatically.”

34 i Saturday, July 4, 2015

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36 i Saturday, July 4, 2015