The Asian Star June 20 2015

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www.theasianstar.com Vol 14 Issue 21 Saturday, June 20, 2015

All the news you need and more...

JUNE - 13 - 2015 | VOLUME 24 | NUMBER 23

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Canadian inflation at 0.9% in May, as cost of food climbs

anada’s annual inflation rate was 0.9 per cent in May, edging up from 0.8 per cent in April, but the cost of food continues to push core inflation higher.

Lower energy prices continue to keep a lid on the consumer price index, with overall

energy prices down 11.8 per cent in the 12 months to May, according to Statistics Canada.

Gasoline prices fell the most — 17.4 per cent compared with the same month a year earlier, but natural gas and heating oil also were down.

Excluding the cost of energy and other vol-

atile items, core inflation moved up 2.2 per cent in the year, down from 2.3 per cent in April. The increase in CPI was led by higher prices for food, with the overall cost of food up 3.8 per cent on the year. A lower Canadian dollar is pushing up the prices of fresh fruit

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and vegetables, many of them coming from the U.S. — you’re paying 5.8 per cent more for vegetables and 2.9 per cent more for fruit.

But the biggest jump was in the price of meat, up 7.9 per cent in the past year. Also rising in price were recreation, education and reading, clothing and footwear. Statistics Canada lists the annual inflation rates by province (April’s rate in brackets): • N e w foundland and Labrador, 0.3 per cent (-0.4) • Prince Edward Island, -0.7 per cent (-1.2) • Nova Scotia, 0.5 per cent (0.3) • New Brunswick, 0.6 per cent (-0.1) • Quebec, 1.2 per cent (1.1) • Ontario, 0.9 per cent (0.8) • Manitoba, 0.5 per cent (0.9) • Saskatchewan, 1.5 per cent (1.2) • Alberta, 0.6 per cent (0.7) • British Columbia, 0.8 per cent (0.5)

Canadian airports withdraw ‘discriminatory’ turban policy

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day after Sikhs there voiced their discontent, the Canadian government withdrew “the explosive trace detection” turban screening procedure at the airports there. The recently-introduced procedure required those wearing even religious headgears, including Sikh turban, to pat it and then present their hands for test of traces of explosives.

Canada-based World Sikh Organization (WSO) legal council Balpreet Singh told TOI on Wednesday that the country’s transport minister Lisa Raitt announced the reversal of the new policy on Tuesday evening. In addition, Canadian minister of state (multiculturalism) Tim Uppal also issued a statement on the subject at the same time.

“The new screening procedure stands cancelled for air travel inside Canada,” Singh said, adding that the reversal in orders came hours after WSO condemned the new policy.

Canadian Air Transport Security Agency (CATSA) had made changes in the procedure for screening religious headgear without consulting Canadian Sikhs. Moreover, no notice or any forewarning was provided prior to its implementation of the policy, Singh said. The procedures required mandatory secondary security screening of turbans and other religious headgear, apart from nonreligious headgear.

Under the policy, the individuals with headgear would walk through metal detector and regardless of whether there was an alarm or not, would then be required to pat down their own head covering and present their hands for explosive trace detection. If the head covering caused an alarm, a physical search was required. The new policy had left the Canadian Sikhs fuming as according to new procedure turbaned Sikhs would be subject to compulsory secondary screening, whether there was an alarm or not. Earlier, turbans and other religious headgear were not subject to mandatory secondary screening. According to the new method, the individuals wearing nonreligious headgear had the option to avoid secondary screening by simply removing their headgear.

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Bollywood section

Kapil Sharma & Malkit Singh to attend UN Yoga event in Surrey

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ndian comedian Kapil Sharma and singer Malkit Singh will be among those participating at the UN Day of Yong program at the Guildford Recreation Centre in Surrey tomorrow (Sunday).

Check Inside for Details

All the news you need and more...

Issue 21 Saturday, June 20, 2015

The program is from 10 am to 7pm and will be led by renowned Yoga Guru Swani Dr Satya Prakash (pictured). A free lunch will be provided.

This free event is organized by the UN International Day of Yoga - Planning Committee, with the supportive particiContinued on page 7

Vancovuerites feel extreme housing and traffic pain - poll

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etro Vancouver residents are miserable over expensive homes and traffic woes The majority of Vancourites are feeling miserable, unhappy and are trying to get out of their neighborhood – because of expensive house prices and traffic nightmares. A poll conducted by Angus Reid reid shows that most of the people in Metro Vancouver are unhappy, uncomfortable and miserable? And their feeling of helplessness is compounded by the fact the poContinued on page 6

Govt improves safety, mobility on Trans-Canada Hwy.

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CDI’s Denturist program one of the best in BC

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Gas prices way higher than where it should be: BMO

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t’s not just you: Gas prices are much higher than they should be, energy experts say Gas prices are up by more than a third since the start of the year, a figure much higher than one would expect based on the slight rebound in oil prices, Bank of Montreal’s chief economist says. Doug Porter noted Thursday that while everything connected to crude oil has looked execrable since the slowdown that started last fall, Canadian gas prices have been especially loopy because of the impact of the Canadian dollar. A lot of the gasoline used in Canada is refined and processed in the U.S., where refineries price the base commodity in U.S. dollars. That makes Canadian pump prices doubly sensitive because they are heavily impacted by the value of the Canadian dollar. If you balance out the impact of currency fluctuations, “converting oil prices into Canadian-dollar suggests that the jump in gasoline has gone way beyond the move in crude,” Porter wrote. “So what’s up?”

It’s a question many Canadians have been

asking themselves, with the average price of a litre of gasoline at $1.20 across the country. Porter noted there are indeed plenty of valid reasons for gas prices to be up a bit. In addition to the small rebound in crude oil, there are seasonal factors at play.

“In each of the past two years, the annual highs for gasoline prices were hit in the fourth week of June,” Porter said. We are right on track for that to happen again this year.

And demand for gasoline is legitimately higher too. Phil Flynn, the senior market analyst at energy research firm Price Futures Group in Chicago, said cheap oil prices last fall compelled most Americans to do what they normally do when that happens — drive more. “When oil prices crashed it stirred demand,” he said in an interview. “It’s the oldest story in the market.”

Continued on page 6

Wealthy Richmond neighbourhood listed as one of the poorest

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Multi-millionaires hide their true income

he upscale neighbourhood of Thompson, where properties typically sell in the $1-million to $3-million range, ranks high for poverty, according to Statistics Canada figures. But former Richmond Mayor Greg Halsey-Brandt said the predominantly single-family Thompson neighbourhood has “the most expensive homes and the sec-

ond highest level of household poverty” in Richmond because many residents under-report their global incomes to Canadian tax officials. More than six out of 10 Richmond residents were born outside the country, the highest rate of any city in the country.

If many people who live in luxury Richmond houses are report Continued on page 6

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EDITORIAL

Another impractical & foolish idea put forth by Mayor Hepner

ho is Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner trying to fool? Obviously, she is trying to fool the taxpayers of Surrey once again – just like she did when she pulled

wool over the voters’ eyes last November to get elected as Mayor of Surrey. Now, to fend off public anger, Mayor Hepner is suggesting that gangsters who don’t cooperate with

the police after being shot should be forced to pay their own medical cost. How is this practical? And how is this going to stop gang violence in Surrey?

To answer the second question, selling drugs is such a profitable business that it will not faze the gangsters to pay even $1,000 an hour to get medical treatment. It will not stop them from selling drugs. Secondly, it is well nigh impossible and impractical to charge someone for medical services in BC if they are legal residents of BC. Medical coverage falls under the Medical Services Plan of BC regulations and the Canada Health Act. Both these pieces of legislation make it illegal to charge someone separately for medical coverage. Hepner, using her spin doctoring to the maximum, suggests that perhaps the BC Civil Forfeiture Act can be tweaked to force gangsters to pay for their own medical treatment after being shot or the cost can be recovered from them. This is impossible and impractical and BC’s attorney general ahs already rejected the idea.

BC Civil Forfeiture Act is designed to seize properties and assets gained through the proceeds of crime. What does Mayor Hepner suggest the taxpayers seize from gangsters for medical coverage?

Like most of Mayor Hepner’s ideas, this is a ridiculous and impractical proposal.

Letter to the Editor Dear Editor , I was delighted to learn that Professor Brij Lal was awarded the Order of Australia. Dr. Lal has bridged the gaps in Pacific Island history and has highlighted the trials and tribulations of the Indian Indentured labourers contributions not only to Fiji but in the Pacific,Canada and the US I am hoping that Fiji will not only recognize her native son but also honour him.

Munna Prasad

Vancouver,Canada

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Saturday, June 20, 2015 i 5

LOCAL

6 i Saturday, June 20, 2015 Continued from Page 1...

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Wealthy Richmond neighbourhood listed as one of the poorest

eporting low incomes to Revenue Canada, Halsey-Brandt is among those worried it means many are not paying their fair share of taxes for social services.

The former mayor said it’s revealing that the roughly 16,000 residents of Thompson, most of whom live in single-family homes, are second only to those who live in the downtown core of Richmond for reporting poverty-level incomes. Richmond’s downtown consists mostly of small condos and rental units.

“Those of us who live here know that this is nonsense. Since many of the families live in over $1-million homes. It is simply under-reporting of income that causes the problem.”

Overall across Richmond, 22.4 per cent of the population is listed as low income.

But the proportion of near-poverty-level households rises to 26.2 per cent in Thompson, which is in the northwest corner of Richmond, across the Fraser River’s Middle Arm from Vancouver International Airport.

Halsey-Brandt points out households in the less-luxurious neighbourhood of Steveston,

which has the fewest immigrants in Richmond, report the smallest portion of low-income households, at 11.4 per cent. Albert Lo, head of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, is concerned residents with expensive assets in Canada, particularly houses, are earning most of their money outside the country and not reporting it to the B.C. and Canadian governments. The Canadian Race Relations Foundation, which operates on a $24-million endowment from the federal government and ethnic groups, is urging the Canada Revenue Agency to more closely examine the earnings of immigrants who “park large amounts of money” in Canadian real estate and then “go back to work in China” or elsewhere, said Lo, a longtime Richmond resident and Realtor. Jiun-Hsien Henry Yao, who ran for Richmond city council in 2014, is also troubled by the income-reporting problem. Normally, he said, “you would need a family income of $150,000 to $200,000 just to feel you can afford any home in Richmond.” But in high-end Thompson, most households report income

Gas prices way higher than where it should be: BMO oldest story in the market.”

Flynn said that, while refineries are producing more gasoline than ever, demand for it all is at its highest level since before the economic slowdown of 2008. He noted there are currently only about 23 days’ worth of gasoline in storage across North America. That’s near the low end of historical averages.

“Demand is getting better because the economy is getting better,” Flynn said.

Porter stopped short of trying to give a reason for the uptick, but noted that it’s not like Canadians aren’t seeing some of the savings of cheap oil, as gasoline prices as still 10 per cent lower than they were this time last year.

Whatever the reasons, neither man is expecting a pullback in gas prices any time soon. “People always hope for lower gas prices but if it happens now it will be for bad news,” Flynn said, “because

Vancovuerites feel extreme housing and traffic pain - poll Continued from Page 1... political leaders as Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner and Premier Christy Clark are refusing to tax wealthy foreign investors in rder to stabilize house prices for local taxpayers.

Those who don’t own homes or cars are not that unhappy.

But university-educated 18-to-54-yearold renters or mortgaged homeowners who commute are among a large class of residents in the region are truly miserable.

The Angus Reid Institute polled 821 Metro residents this month to find out how they felt about their housing and transportation situation.

About two in five respondents said they were “seriously thinking of leaving Metro Vancouver because of the cost of owning a home here.” That is not a detached house with a yard in Vancouver either - that’s any old condo, townhouse or detached home in Metro Vancouver, suburbs and all.

What’s more, people were so displeased with their living situation that 18 per cent fell into a category the pollster dubbed “miserable.” Another 27 per cent were “uncomfortable” on Angus Reid’s pain index, while just 55 per cent were either “comfortable” (34 per cent) or “happy” (21 per cent).

Miserable, as strong a word as it is, is appropriate in this context, given that 85 per cent of those people are seriously considering leaving.

For a sense of who those people are, they are often young and university educated, and about half of them live in households with three or more people in them.

Shachi Kurl, a senior vice-president at Angus Reid, said it was concerning and striking that most of these respondents were serious about moving. “If one thinks about an entire cohort who are saying that they’re seriously thinking of getting up and going,” Kurl said, “is it your youngest and most educated that you want to leave? I would suggest not.”

About half of the miserable group are already homeowners. But their commutes often more than 45 minutes each way - are bringing them down.

“The price they are paying, both literally and figuratively in terms of their stress levels, is quite high. ... What is that doing to quality of life?” Kurl asked.

On the other end of the spectrum are the blessed 21 per cent of respondents who could be dubbed happy. Those folks tend not to commute, often have no mortgage, and live in their homes alone or with one other person. Also, about nine in 10 of them agree with the statement: “I basically hit the jackpot by getting into the (real estate) market at the right time.”

But even half of those in the happy

camp think that high housing prices are a problem. They are among the 80 per cent of overall respondents who say high housing costs are hurting Metro Vancouver and the nine in 10 who are worried the next generation won’t be able to afford a home.

“This issue is one that has been gripping this region for years, and I mean decades, really, if you go back,” Kurl said. “You go into any lunch room at a major employer in this city, people are talking about it. You talk to people on the bus, on the SkyTrain, people are talking about it.”

The issue has people pointing fingers in all directions. About two-thirds of respondents believe “foreigners investing in this real estate market” are a main cause of high housing prices. Others pointed to wealthy investors, owners of empty condos, low interest rates, the priorities of developers and other reasons.

But what the majority of respondents could agree on is they want governments to get involved. And they want more information.

“There is a high level of interest and desire to actually collect some data on the issue of what’s actually behind these high housing prices,” Kurl said.

The findings come as Eveline Xia, a Vancouver resident who kicked off a public debate about housing under the hashtag #donthave1million, is preparing to hold on June 24 what could be the most bookish rally the city has ever seen.

The Give Us Data rally, slated for Vancouver Central Library, is intended to push politicians and policy-makers for independent, reliable and accurate data on the issue.

“The reason we can never conclude or make policy decisions on the foreign ownership issue is because everybody says: ‘We don’t have the data.’ I’ve heard that for years now. The answer is always: we don’t have the data to conclusively determine that it is or it isn’t foreign ownership or foreign money driving Vancouver’s real estate market,” Xia said in an interview.

The issue is not going to go away on its own, so we need data to deal with it, Xia said.

“This crisis - and it’s a been a crisis for a while - is something that’s in people’s minds every single day,” she said.

Xia, 29, said some her friends - well educated professionals - have already left the region.

She and others she knows are considering following suit, on the hunt for affordable, family-sized houses or apartments within a reasonable commute from work.

“There are all these factors coming together that make this city right now a great place to leave,” Xia said. “We’re going to see an exodus.”

LOCAL

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Kapil Sharma & Malkit Singh to attend From page 1 UN Yoga event in Surrey participation of the City of Surrey, Ecobear Productions, VISHWA (Varad Ashram Inter-cultural Service and Humanitarian World Association) and over thirty Yoga and Holistic Health communities in Surrey and the Lower Mainland The organizer’s mission is to celebrate this historic and sacred day, and pay homage to the great Rishis (sages) and Yogis of India. Indeed, it is their reverent and unwavering tenacity, discipline and humility that safeguarded the traditional teachings of the ancient science of Yoga for the benefit of the world.

This Yoga Festival will share the ancient tradition teachings of Yoga with the diverse cultures and general public. The all day program will share a traditional yoga program,

laughter, dancing, music and sattvic (yogic) vegetarian meals. There will be a charming retail market displaying yoga wear and accessories for fundraising purposes. Sponsorship Packages are available and Donations are graciously accepted. Additionally, a limited number of on-site Vendor booths are available. A portion of the proceeds of the retail market shall go to a select charity.

I kindly request you to please register for this event and encourage your family (including children), friends and well wishers to RSVP on the UN International Day of Yogawebsite for Canada: http://www.unidycanada.com/surrey Or contact event coordinator Dr Preeti Misra at 778-996-1807

Owner of motorcycle caught on YouTube driving through B.C shopping mall fined

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he registered owner of a motorbike that was caught on YouTube speeding through the streets of Surrey, B.C. before heading inside a mall and riding across a pedestrian overpass has been served with hefty fines totaling around $13,500.

Surrey RCMP say the multiple violations the owner was ticketed for included 58 traffic infractions.

The motorbike involved has also been seized, pending a civil forfeiture hearing. “While we were unable to positively identify the driver of the motorcycle, we are still able to hold the registered owner to account in this instance,� Surrey RCMP Cpl. Scotty Schumann said in a statement Tuesday.

The video, released by Live Leak and uploaded to YouTube on March

13, cut between police helicopter and cruiser footage and surveillance footage from inside the Guildford mall.

It shows several people moving out of the way of the motorcycle as it plunges down an escalator and through a set of sliding doors.

Security guards can be seen running in pursuit.

Helicopter footage shows the motorcyclist leaving the mall and riding across an overpass, as two pedestrians jump out the way.

The video ends with a shot of the motorcycle, which bears stickers supporting the Hells Angels.

The rider’s face has been blurred in the video footage.

At the time the video surfaced, police confirmed that it had been created by an investigator and said they were looking into how it became public

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LOCAL

8 i Saturday, June 20, 2015

Satwinder Bains honored by Abbotsford

farms, pooling efforts and berries. They now find themselves as one of the largest exporters of blueSatwinder Kaur Bains is a scholar, a communi- quiet philanthropist. Satwinder and her husband berries from British Columbia. ty advocate, an ambassador for the Sikh faith and Parm have lived in Abbotsford for decades and A respected member of the Sikh community, culture, a business woman, a mother, a commu- have grown their farm on Bateman Road using Satwinder has always reached out to the nonnity leader, a neighbour, a tireless volunteer, and a the strategy to work co-operatively with other Sikh community to find the areas of commonality between Sikhs and others in the Fraser Valley. She and her husband have donated quietly to local causes, and they foster goodwill and friendship at the Gurdwaras.

An Associate Professor of Social, Cultural, and Media Studies at the University of the Fraser Valley and a Ph. D. Candidate in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University, Satwinder was one of the instigators behind the successful fundraising of $2.5 million for the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies at UFV, and subsequently became the first director of the Centre. Largely responsible for the development of the Indo-Canadian Studies curriculum and certificate, she has encouraged cultural readings, programs, cross-cultural exchanges, discussions and opportunities for Satwinder Kaur faculty, staff, students and the entire community. Satwinder’s influence at UFV cannot be overstated. She was a major supporter of UFV’s extension campus in Chandigarh, India, which is now under Satwinder’s managerial purview. The University has further evolved from having a Centre of Indo-Canadian Studies to also embrace Mennonite Studies and First Nations’ Studies—all because of the catalyst and example of the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies.

She has also worked to develop courses in every discipline that reflect our community in a more balanced way. She was appointed as a Commissioner on the Agricultural Land Reserve in 2014 and Switch to TD is an Appointed Bencher of the Law Society of British Columbia.In recognition for the latest of her leadership as a diversity educator, 8” Samsung Tab A a community developer, and an activist for women, youth and immigrants FREE.1 in our community, Satwinder is being Come in today (or on Sunday if you prefer), open a honoured with the Order of Abbotsford.

Satwinder Kaur Bains, of the University of Fraser Valley, is one of three people awarded the Order of Abbotsford and Citizen of the Year.

The other two are George W. Peary and Trudy Beyak.

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George W. Peary

George Peary was born in Brandon, Manitoba in 1940 and was an exceptional athlete in his youth. When he was sixteen years of age, he was named Athlete of the Year in Brandon and would go on to become Captain of the Brandon Wheat Kings junior hockey team in the 1960/61 season. At the University of Saskatchewan, he participated in four varsity sports including

football, hockey, wrestling, and judo.

‘‘

Trudy Beyak

Trudy emerged from a humble, Dutch-immigrant farm labor family in Bradner.

At 28 years of age, Trudy first walked through the front door at the University of the Fraser Valley, where, as an accomplished student, she found herself on the honour roll pursuing an English degree. She then felt called to the Journalism program at Kwantlen University College in Richmond, where students elected her to the challeng-

‘‘

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ing role of Editor of the Kwantlen Comment, the university newspaper.

PERSONS OF THE WEEK

Saturday, June 20, 2015 i 9

CDI’s Denturist program one of the best in BC Shruti Prakash-Joshi

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DI College’s mission statement, “change lives through

Technology program at CDI College in Surrey Campus.

Talking about the program at CDI, Marcelo said, “As a denturist, it is very common for students to open their own clinic. Since CDI believes in imparting complete education to students, they are also given training in business administration and marketing.”

Marcelo said because of BC’s aging population, there will always be a need for denturists in the community.

“Many of the existing denturists have been in the industry for a long time and will soon retire; therefore, there is a huge opening that will eventually need to be filled. With approximately 200 denturists in B.C, there are plenty of opportunities for new den-

education “ is true for all programs and courses they offer but it is even more true for its coveted denturist program which indeed is c h a n g i n g lives through the program.

It’s a hugely popular program and is slated to begin on September 14.

“CDI’s Denturist as well as Dental Technology program is well established and its dental team is one of the best in this Province,’ said Hooman Janami a Registered Dental Technologist and also the Program Head of Dental Technology at CDI College.

Talking especially about the denturist program itself, Janami in an interview with The Asian Star, said that CDI College was only one of the few schools in Western CanaHooman Janami da that provided a denturist turprogram. “As our dental programs ists to continue to grow, CDI College will est ablish soon be able to offer dental services t h e m of all kinds to the community. One selves and of the main reasons to register at be sucCDI for their denturist program is cessful,” he the quality of their instructors. Each said. and every one of the instructors are “At CDI hand picked, taking into considerCollege, ation their education and experiwe pride ence. ourselves On such instructor is Patrick about putMarcelo, owner of Prime Denture ting the Clinic in New Westminster. and who student’s also teaches fabrication of complete needs first and partial dentures in the Dental

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able to bring a smile on since their success is ultimatepeople’s faces by simply ly our success. Receiving extra fixing a simple crack in care from instructors both on a their denture, or giving one-on-one basis and in a group them a whole new smile setting sets us apart from othand sometimes a new er educational facilities,” said found self-confiJanami, talking about why dence. A hapstudents should choose py patient is CDI for the denturist always a sucas well as the dental cess story,” technician’s course. said Janami.

Another feature that “I would plays a big role in the certainsuccess of the denturly urge all ist program at CDI is those who that the student services are planning do not end upon graduaa career as a dention. Since CDI focuses a turist to get more lot on student’s careers, it information has specialized and dedabout the proicated teams for practigram by calling cum and job placements …..” said Janaas well. For both Janami Patrick Marcelo mi, adding that the and Marcelo, the greatest success course is slated to begin on Septemof the program lies in their students becoming successful. “It’s wonder- ber 14 and therefore students must ful when they tell us that they were hurry.

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LOCAL

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Saturday, June 20, 2015 i 11

South Asian CRTC Commissioner threatens to complain to PM including the selection of the conflict managelation, and if his travel budget is not approved ment and mediation firm. He also ques-

n ugly internal spat over business trips is escalating at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, with one senior government appointee threatening to get the Prime Minister’s Office’s involved.

It’s the latest chapter in an ongoing rift between CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais and Ontario regional commissioner Raj Shoan.

Blais recently refused to approve Shoan’s proposed travel for 2015-16, which at first detailed potential trips totalling $78,000 to cities such as Las Vegas, Amsterdam, New York City and Mont Tremblant, Que. Shoan later reduced the amount to $48,000 “under protest,” describing it instead as a wish list of conferences and meetings from which he invited Blais to pick and choose which ones to approve.

Meeting with U.S. networks One of the trips was to meet with officials at American networks AMC and HBO in Manhattan to discuss their digital offerings.

“I am accountable for all expenses incurred by you and I must be persuaded that they present value for money, conform to applicable government-wide policies and legis-

respect Prime Minister’s Office and the the basic principles of probity appropriate representative of Parand prudent fiscal management,” liament,” Shoan wrote on May 22.

Blais wrote to Shoan on May 14.

Blais shot back: “No reasonable The emails were obtained by person could interpret your stateThe Canadian Press through ments as anything but threatening, the Access to Information Act. specifically with the intent to bully Blais, who was once assisme into the outcome you want...” tant secretary of the federal Workplace harassment report Treasury Board, also pointThe exchange took place against Raj Shoan ed out that travel to and the backdrop of a case that Shofrom commission hearings and meet- an brought to the Federal Court of Canaings is already covered by another budget. da. He has applied for a judicial review of a Shoan balked, disputing the workplace harassment report view that $12,000 was an approCommissioner issued by an independent priate travel budget threshold mediator earlier this year.

Blais sparring for the Ontario commissioner.

Mediator Diane Laurin conwith regional “Given that you have refused to commissioner Raj cluded that Shoan’s behaviour provide me with a budget that towards a CRTC employee, Shoan over travel accords with what has been promostly via email, constituted expense claims vided to other commissioners harassment. In her report, Lauand what is typical for my office rin described Shoan as “disin order to fulfil my duties and obligations as respectful and abusive of the complainant.” the Ontario commissioner, I will escalate this Shoan disputes the finding, arguing that issue to the minister of Canadian heritage, the the entire process was improperly handled,

tioned whether the CRTC’s secretary general had the power to initiate an internal investigation of a political appointee.

Shoan has clashed with the chairman’s office and other senior staff, challenging them on elements of the decision-making process and their respect for the independence of the commissioners.

The CRTC is a quasi-judicial body that operates at arm’s length from the government.

“I have continuously expressed my concern that the independence of the commissioners has been undermined and that this has inhibited their ability to engage their roles and responsibilities,” Shoan wrote in a June 8 affidavit with the Federal Court.

“These concerns have yet to be acknowledged and it is the failure to address these issues that has resulted in the difficult environment at the CRTC.” In an interview, Shoan said he didn’t want to comment on the case currently before the courts, but that the conflict over his travel budget was “symptomatic (of) the larger issues at play at the CRTC.”

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LOCAL

12 i Saturday, June 20, 2015

Oliver doctor wins vote to head B.C. doctors’ group Dr. Alan Ruddiman, a rural family physician in Oliver, has won a runoff election to be the 2015/15 president-elect of Doctors of B.C., after tying with Dr. Brian Day earlier this month.

Doctors of B.C. spokeswoman Sharon Shore said Friday that Ruddiman won with 3,065 votes over Day’s 2,462 votes.

She said out of 11,000 members, only 50 per cent voted, but that was a huge improvement over last election when only 20 per cent of members voted.

The social media savvy doctor tweeted about the win early Friday, saying “my candidacy and platform has succeeded” and congratulating his team for the campaign.

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Police seek driver who left white van after Abbotsford hit and run

olice say three pedestrians are injured after an early morning hit and run in Abbotsford.

Const. Ian MacDonald says two women and one man, all in their 40s, were struck by a white van at about 3 a.m. Friday.

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Ruddiman’s win follows a tie earlier this month with Day for leadership after a recount of votes. In May, Doctors of B.C. agreed to a recount after Ruddiman questioned how close the margin of success is in an election with one vote deciding a total of 2,217 ballots.

Everyone Counts Canada agreed to a new election after it found that one vote that should have been counted, was not counted.

Day, an orthopedic surgeon and co-owner of the Cambie Surgery Centre, won the election in May by just one vote with 946 votes to Ruddiman’s 945. He later said he would accept the run-off election proposed by the board.

He says the 1997 Plymouth Voyager was left about a block away from the crash site.

MacDonald says the injuries are reported to be non-life threatening.

Investigators are now looking for the van’s driver.

Decomposing human remains found near Whistler

uman remains have been found at a gravel pit just outside of Whistler, according to B.C. RCMP. A resident notified police the evening of June 17 after discovering what appeared to be human remains outside the gravel pit.

The pit is located in the Function Junction area, around 15 minutes from Whistler. Given the state of decomposition, the gender, identity, and cause of death are currently unknown, according to the RCMP’s Integrated Homicide Investigation

Team. It is unclear if foul play is involved.

“Our priority at this stage is to identify the individual and notify family members,” Sgt. Stephanie Ashtonsaid in a release. “An autopsy will be required to piece together some important information and help shed some light on the circumstances leading to this individual’s death.”

Anyone with information regarding this investigation can call the IHIT tip line by calling 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or email at ihittipline@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.

Participants at a presentation of ‘Youth Speaks Out – No to Gangs, No to Drugs, No to Violence’ presented by Our Global Village at the Dhaliwal banquet Hall in Surrey on June 16. Youth raised issues of concern and RCMP and other presenters gave ideas of how to avoid gangs and drugs. Photo: Chandra Bodalia

‘Out of control’ migrant incarceration at Canada’s borders: report Canada’s rising detention of non-criminal foreigners in maximum-security prisons amounts to arbitrary, cruel and inhumane treatment that violates international obligations, a disturbing new report concludes.

The report by the University of Toronto’s International Human Rights Program finds that Canada Border Services Agency has become more heavy handed in dealing with migrants with little or no accountability.

Renu Mandhane, a criminal lawyer and the program’s executive director, said the report reveals “shocking gaps” in the rule of law.

“A CBSA officer essentially has the discretion to determine that somebody should be held in maximum-security jail conditions,” Mandhane said Wednesday in an interview.

“It was really surprising to me... that decision was totally discretion-

ary and also not subject to any rules.”

The report, called “We Have No Rights”, concludes incarceration can have a catastrophic impact on migrants’ mental health. It contains harrowing profiles of detainees imprisoned for as long as eight years who talk of a lack of access to support services, confinement in cold windowless cells, their despair.

“They treat us like garbage,” one inmate told researchers. “We had no rights at all.”

Figures show Canada detained more than 7,300 migrants at a cost of more than $50 million in 2013. About one third were incarcerated in jails, even though few might be considered criminals. A Red Cross report found more than 2,000 foreigners in Ontario jails in 2012.

LOCAL

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Saturday, June 20, 2015 i 13

Suspect in pub fire filmed stacking chairs over flames

ounties have released surveillance video from the blaze that destroyed an iconic Burnaby pub earlier this year, showing a suspect piling chairs over the flames.

In the footage, a man can be seen climbing onto the rear patio of the Marine Pub in the early morning hours of Jan. 10.

A fire breaks out shortly after, and the suspect begins placing wooden chairs on it. By the time firefighters arrived, the building was engulfed.

“We are very fortunate that no one was injured during the fire,” RCMP Cpl. Daniela Panesar said in a statement.

The blaze destroyed the pub and put 22 employees out of work, some of whom had been working there since

the mid-80s, according to the owner.

Months later, the RCMP is still trying to track down a suspect, and has asked anyone who recognizes the man in the video to come forward.

The suspect is described as 30-35 years old with a medium build, dark features, and dark hair with a receding hair line. He was wearing a dark jacket, white T-shirt, white runners and light-coloured pants.

Mounties said he drove up to the Marine Pub’s parking lot in a newer-model, light-coloured car.

Anyone with information on the case, even seemingly insignificant information, is urged to contact the Burnaby RCMP detachment at 604-294-7922, or Crime Stopper sat 1-800-222-TIPS to remain anonymous.

Bollywood film star Anupam Kher (middle) is mobbed by young fans at SFU’s Goldcorp centre in Vancouver downtown on the evening of June 14. He was the star at “Anything Can Happen” – An evening with Anupam Kher presented by the Indian Summer Festival.

Photo: Chandra Bodalia

14 i Saturday, June 20, 2015

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LOCAL

Man arrested in Abbotsford a suspect in 11 bank robberies

man wanted for four bank robberies in Langley and as a suspect in seven others in the Lower Mainland was arrested Friday night in Abbotsford.

Briaden Rosch, 28, of Abbotsford was arrested at a residence on King Road by members of the Emergency Response Team (ERT) and other officers.

Gunshots that a resident reported hearing during the incident were actually “flash bangs” – a non-lethal explosive device commonly used as a distraction technique in arrests.

Abbotsford Police spokesman Const.

Ian MacDonald said Rosch was arrested without incident, but the heavy police presence was precautionary due to Rosch’s alleged use of weapons.

Rosch has now been charged with the four Langley robberies, including the one that began his alleged spree on April 27.In that incident (photo at left), a man walked into the Willowbrook CIBC on 64 Avenue, produced a note, indicated he had

a weapon and demanded cash. He then APD spokesman Const. Ian Macfled in an older-model grey or brown van. Donald said the APD’s major crime Two of the other Langley robberies oc- unit and the Surrey RCMP’s robbery curred on June 5, while the fourth was on squad, aided by the APD’s crime analJune 12 – earlier in the day before his arrest. ysis unit, were able to identify Rosch as A man with a similar description also the suspect last Wednesday (June 10).

Police began surveillance hit the TD Bank in the 32400 on him, as they continued block of South Fraser Way in to gather evidence and Abbotsford on May 5 and the prepare search warrants, CIBC in the 32000 block of and were able to arrest him South Fraser Way on May 7. on Friday after his final In both cases, he handed over a alleged robbery. MacDonnote, demanding cash. In one ald said police wouldn’t incident, he implied he had a have been watching him at weapon. In the other, he showed Images obtained from the time. a weapon in his waistband. video surveillance show “Surveillance isn’t continThe same suspect was linked a bank robbery suspect ual, and there are always to other similar robberat the CIBC in the 32000 times when the person ies in the Lower Mainland. block of South Fraser (under surveillance) will The Abbotsford Police DeWay in Abbotsford on be lost due to traffic, etc.,” partment (APD), the LangMay 7. he said. MacDonald said, ley RCMP, the Surrey RCMP and other agencies then began work- after Rosch’s arrest, search warrants were ing together on the investigation. executed at two Abbotsford residences.

Loblaws demands workers pay back thousands after payment error

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rocery chain wants to claw back cash from Surrey, B.C., employees Employees at Your Independent Grocer store in Surrey, B.C., are reeling after being told they owe tens of thousands of dollars in mistaken overpayments.

The store is a franchise that is part of the massive Loblaw Companies chain.

About 20 workers had opted for a onetime lump sum compensation payment, in exchange for agreeing to new limits on their wages and benefits.

But Loblaws says it mistakenly paid them too much and is demanding immediate repayment, under threat of legal action.

“It’s bullying, it’s a scare tactic, it seems,” said Connor Greenwell, a part-time worker using her salary to pay off her college debt.

“It’s a drop in the bucket for them.

But for us … this is over 14 weeks’ pay for me that they’re asking back.”

Workers demand Loblaws drop claim Greenwell had agreed to take a lump sum when Loblaws converted the Extra Foods store where she worked into a Your Independent Grocer franchise and sought a rollback in her salary and benefits.

“Doing the math and taking into account the wage loss, the medical, the RRSP, this amount was going to cover that for quite some time,” she said.

With nine years on the job, Greenwell agreed to receive $15,000 from Loblaws in exchange for a wage cut and limits on her benefits. She and her store manager signed a contract, and in February Loblaws transferred the money into her RRSP. But five months later, she received a letter from Loblaws telling her she owes them $6,262.50 and must pay within 20 days or face legal proceedings.

Greenwell isn’t alone. Her colleague Christine Estok also put her lump sum into an RRSP and is now being told she owes Loblaws $6,000.

“I had signed a contract saying I was receiving this money, so I don’t know why they would break the contract,” she said.

Their colleague Daniel Mack spent his compensation paying off his university tuition. He said he was shocked and angry when Loblaws demanded he pay back $2,300.

Alleged robber surrenders outside jewellery store

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ccording to police, the suspect went into the Ultimate 24 K Gold Company, located at 531 Main Street in Chinatown, around 3 p.m. PT on Thursday. Staff and several customers were evacuated from the store. “Once we managed to get them outside, we were able to negotiate with the suspect who was still inside the store. He did surrender to police and came outside,” said Sgt. Randy Fincham. Footage from the scene shows a man walking out with his arms thrown out wide towards a group of armed police. He gestures if he should get on the ground, and when a policeman points yes, he lies down flat on the street.

There have been no injuries, and police say the investigation is ongoing.

Fincham says the man is likely going to face charges and he is known to police.

LOCAL No new Mounties despite promises by Surrey Mayor & Feds

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espite Ottawa’s claim that Surrey has 20 new RCMP officers here, none have shown up yet, The Leader has learned.

Last week, the federal government minister in charge of the RCMP said Surrey had 20 new “boots are already on the ground.”

That’s not so, it turns out. For weeks, NDP MPs have been hammering the Conservatives in the House of Commons over the Tory promise to deliver 100 police officers to the city this year. Jasbir Sandhu, NDP MP for Surrey-North (left), called the pledge an empty campaign promise in the House on June 4. “Immediate action is needed, but the Conservatives are stalling and refusing to commit to a timeline for the arrival of new RCMP in Surrey,” Sandhu said to Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Steven Blaney at the time. “Will the minister please provide a clear timeline today for the deployment of new RCMP our community?”

A week later, Blaney announced the 20 officers were in Surrey.

“Today, I am pleased to announce that the deployment of the first 20 members committed to Surrey is underway and that boots are already on the ground,” Blaney said in a news release on June 11.

Pair charged in fraud case

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couple has been arrested in relation to a massive seizure of stolen bank information that netted almost $350,000 in a couple of months. On April 8, a financial institution called the Surrey RCMP reporting that one of its credit card customer’s accounts had been compromised.

Less than two weeks later, Surrey Mounties executed four search warrants on two properties and a mail box depot. Evidence seized included $20,000 in property, including a $10,000 bicycle, several computers and rare collectors coins. Also seized were 250 stolen credit cards, along with 450 pieces of mail from Richmond, Surrey and New Westminster.

A loaded shotgun was also found in a bedroom.

Surrey’s Dean Gallo, 32, and Delta’s Hannah Denman, 26, have been charged with theft over $5,000 and possession of credit card data.

Gallo has also been charged with possession of a firearm while prohibited. Surrey RCMP Cpl. Scotty Schumann said the two are known as prolific offenders on a broad range of crimes. He has been remanded to custody and Denman has been released pending trial.

“The amount of personal data that these two persons possessed was immense,” Schumann said. “The information the pair had collected was being used to create credit cards for persons whose identities they’ve stolen.

The fraudulently obtained cards were then used to buy merchandise which was sold for cash.

Saturday, June 20, 2015 i 15

Charge gangsters for their medical care after shootings, Surrey Mayor suggests

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urrey’s mayor plans to meet with the Attorney-General to explore a notion that could see gangsters, who are being treated for gunshot wounds, be charged for their medical care under the civil forfeiture law.

Linda Hepner said she is frustrated that gang members and drug dealers can receive medical care — often more than once — after a shooting, yet remain uncooperative in helping police catch their assailants. She raised the idea of having the gang members, who are complicit in a crime, pay for their own medical care following several shootings in the city since March.

The civil forfeiture laws allow the province to seize vehicles that are proven to be linked to a crime. In the past four

months, seven people have been arrested and charged with more than 50 gun and drug-related offences, Hepner noted, while 1,600 people have been searched, and 40 weapons and 36 vehicles seized re s p e c t i v e l y.

At least one person has been treated more than once in hospital for gunshot wounds.

“I am confident of the progress that has been made but so offended by the fact we’re still facing uncooperative elements,” she said, noting even some businesses are refusing to hand over security tapes to the RCMP. “These people, all they need to do is

give us some information to go on instead of ridiculous comments that they fell from the sky. I find that frustrating.”

Hepner said her staff has contacted Attorney-General Suzanne Anton and she hopes to discuss the issue with her over the phone as soon as possible.

However, it could be tricky.

The B.C. Government noted the Civil Forfeiture Act involves taking action against property, not people and is aimed at targeting the “tools and proceeds of crime” so would likely not apply to Hepner’s request.

The B.C. Government has provided nearly $1.1 million in civil forfeiture grants to the local anti-violence and crime prevention programs in Surrey, including more than $318,000 this year.

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LOCAL

16 i Saturday, June 20, 2015

Shell’s B.C. LNG project gets environmental OK under expedited process

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oyal Dutch Shell’s proposed liquefied natural gas project in Kitimat, B.C., has received conditional environmental approvals from both the province and the federal government under an expedited environmental review process.

Under the new Canadian Environmental Assessment Act passed in 2012, British Columbia performs the environmental review process and that assessment is used by the federal government when it gives its approval.

“Using a single environmental assessment reduces duplication and increases efficiencies for everyone involved in the environmental assessment, while ensuring a rigorous and thorough review that assesses all the potential effects of a proposed project,” the province said in a news release.

The Shell-led LNG Canada project is the first to be granted a certificate under the streamlined process. The $23 billion to $36-billion project includes LNG storage, power gener-

ation, a marine terminal and LNG shipping.

It plans to build the project, with annual capacity of 26 million tonnes of LNG, in a partnership with PetroChina Co. Ltd., which holds a 20 per cent stake as well as Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. and South Korea’s Korea Gas Corp., which each hold 15 per cent.

The province has imposed 24 conditions and the federal government says it has imposed 50 conditions on the environmental approval. Among those conditions: Develop a greenhouse gas emissions management plan. Mitigate and monitor impacts to marine mammals during construction and shipping. Manage and monitor marine water quality to protect marine life and human health.

Offset impacts to ecologically important wetlands. Develop a traffic management plan to minimize disruptions during construction. Develop a marine activities plan that monitors and mitigates impacts to marine users.

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Peter Dhillon and UBC to build new business ethics research centre

he University of British Columbia is partnering with Ocean Spray Cranberries chairman Peter Dhillon to build a new research centre for business ethics. The centre, funded by a donation of $7.5 million from the Sauder School of Business and Dhillon, will take a comprehensive approach to studying and teaching business ethics to students.

During initial talks with the university about the idea, Dhillon said this is a field of business education that is greatly needed in today’s environment.

“There wasn’t anything comprehensive around business ethics,” said Dhillon. “There’s no real

model out there today, and that really surprised me.”​ Former Supreme Court judge Wally Oppal, a long time friend of Dhillon, was at the announcement Thursday.

He said from his experience prosecuting white collar crime, a program like this is a very good idea. “What we’re really doing is we’re getting into... crime prevention,” said Oppal. “This is a proactive approach.”

The centre. which will take Peter P. Dhillon’s name, will research best practices across disciplines like marketing, finance, and accounting.

The Sauder School of Business said it is currently conducting an international search to find a lead faculty member for the centre.

The Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics will go in front of the UBC Senate for approval in September.

Lives of B.C.’s most vulnerable children not improving, says Children’s rep

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ife for the most vulnerable children in B.C. has not improved significantly over the past five years, according to a new report.

The joint report by the Representative for Children and Youth Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond and by Provincial Health Officer Dr. Perry Kendall compared the status of child and youth across six measurable areas.

“With the passage of five years since the last [report], are we able to report

improvement? The short answer is ‘no’,” Turpel-Lafond said at the release of the report Thursday morning in Victoria.

While there are some positive findings, serious gaps in well-being remain for the most vulnerable — aboriginal children and youth and those in government care, she noted.

“These children start out behind their peers and stay behind.”

“Since the onset of the recession in 2008, the number of children living in families with incomes below the poverty line increased to one in five, with very little progress in recent years to improve that,” Turpel-Lafond said.

“While the report shows some promising trends in declining teen pregnancy rates, rates of smoking during pregnancy and serious criminal activity, there are some findings that are of great concern,” said the province’s top medical officer Dr. Perry Kendall.

LOCAL

Senator Don Meredith referred to ethics officer after reports of affair with teen

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enator Don Meredith (pictured), already under review and no longer a part of the Conservative caucus, could face disciplinary sanctions pending the outcome of a fresh Senate investigation over allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a young woman that began when she was a teen.

Senate government leadership announced Thursday morning that the matter “will be referred to the Senate ethics officer.”

“Senator Carignan is deeply concerned by the serious nature of the allegations against Senator Meredith,” according to a statement released by the Senate government leader.

Meredith was ousted from the Conservative caucus Wednesday night, which was confirmed shortly after the Toronto Star reported that an 18-yearold woman alleged she had an inappropriate sexual relationship with Meredith that began when she was 16.

The teen told the Star that the relationship began with chats online that became suggestive in nature, and progressed to include sexual intimacy, including intercourse after she turned 18.

In a letter from Senate Speaker Leo Housakos to Senate ethics officer Lyse Ricard sent Thursday morning, Housakos wrote that the conduct described in the Star report is “incompatible with the position of senator. “It also suggests that Mere-

James Moore, Conservative cabinet minister, leaving federal politics Industry Minister James Moore will not be running again in the upcoming federal election in order to spend time with his family and care for his young disabled son, according to a statement released on his website Friday afternoon.

“Balancing family responsibilities while in public life is always a challenge. This is particularly true when you have a child with special needs,” the statement reads.

“Recently, my wife and I received some difficult news about the health of our beautiful son Spencer.”

Moore’s statement continues to say he will finish his term as MP and then return home to “pursue new opportunities and be closer to my young family.” The B.C. MP is just the latest high-ranking cabinet minister to make an exit from federal politics,

Canadian inflation at 0.9% in May, as cost of food climbs

Canada’s annual inflation rate was 0.9 per cent in May, edging up from 0.8 per cent in April, but the cost of food continues to push core inflation higher.

Lower energy prices continue to keep a lid on the consumer price index, with overall energy prices down 11.8 per cent in the 12 months to May, according to Statistics Canada.

Gasoline prices fell the most — 17.4 per cent compared with the same month a year earlier, but natural gas and heating oil also were down.

Excluding the cost of energy and other volatile items, core inflation moved up 2.2 per cent in the year, down from 2.3 per cent in April.

The increase in CPI was led by higher prices for food, with the overall cost of food up 3.8 per cent on the year. A lower Canadian dollar is pushing up the prices of fresh fruit and vegetables, many of them coming from the U.S. —

dith may have improperly used his position of trust and authority as a senator.”

Possible ‘disciplinary sanctions’ Housakos wrote that, if proven, the conduct calls for “disciplinary sanctions to be imposed.” The letter concludes by asking Ricard to undertake a preliminary review to determine if an inquiry is warranted.

Meredith will remain a sitting senator “pending the outcome of this investigation,” according to a statement by Housakos released at the same time as the letter.

The Criminal Code defines the age of consent in Canada as 18 if sexual activity occurs in a relationship of authority, trust or dependency.

The 50-year-old Meredith has been embroiled in controversy as of late.

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Saturday, June 20, 2015 i 17

Two Surrey shootings leave four men injured

our men were injured in two separate Surrey shootings that took place 24 hours apart last weekend.

The first incident took place Friday night (June 12) just before 10 p.m., when Surrey RCMP received reports of shots fired in the 5700-block of 152 Street.

When they arrived on scene, officers found two men – suffering from what appeared to be gunshot wounds – who were transported to hospital and treated.

According to RCMP, witnesses reported that a dark colored sedan fled the scene immediately after the shooting occurred.

On Saturday night (June 13) , RCMP responded to the 18600-block of Highway 10 shortly after 10 p.m., after receiving reports of shots fired.

Officers did not locate anyone injured at the scene, but found evidence of shots fired and two residences that had been struck by bullets. The RCMP was later

advised by a local hospital that two males had arrived with gunshot-related injuries, described as non-life-threatening.

According to an RCMP news release, both men remain in hospital where they are being treated and the hospital was put on lock down as a “safety precaution.”

RCMP said reports from the scene of Saturday night’s shooting indicate that shots were fired between a light-coloured SUV and a silver Pontiac Vibe.

Police say they have located the SUV and the vehicle is in police custody.

Surrey RCMP say both shootings appear to be targeted, but are not able to say whether they’re linked to previous shootings in recent weeks attributed to a drug-trade turf war.

Anyone with information is asked to call 604-915-6566 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

18 i Saturday, June 20, 2015

LOCAL

‘Barbaric Cultural Practices’ bill to criminalize forced marriage, tackle ‘honour killings’ passes final vote

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bill to outlaw forced marriage, prevent polygamist immigrations and tackle “honour killings” is set to become law.

Bill S-7, the Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, passed its final parliamentary hurdle Tuesday evening, by a vote of 182 to 84. The governing Conservatives and Liberals voted for it, with the New Democrats and Green Party opposed.

The bill would raise the marriage age to 16 in addition to adding forced marriage to the Criminal Code. It would also toughen the laws around polygamy, with an eye to preventing immigration by those who engage in the practice and making it easier to deport people who do.

And, it would toughen the rules around socalled honour killings, so that the defence of provocation can no longer be used in court.

Just last week, a U.K. man became the first in that country to be convicted of forced marriage, along with several other crimes.

Critics of the bill say both its name — the use of the word “barbaric” — and its substance are intended to stir fears of certain groups of immigrants as opposed to keeping women safe. Advocates for victims of forced marriage have also called for the bill’s amendment, if not delay, as

they feel criminalizing the act will drive vulnerable women further underground.

But Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Chris Alexander says the bill is both necessary and prudent as it would make it possible for perpetrators of forced marriage and subsequent sexual assault eligible for life sentences. In an interview with National Post Radio earlier this week, he said the bill “is setting the net wider for those who are involved.” It’s currently not a crime to facilitate a forced marriage, whether as a parent, friend or broker, and this bill would make it one. All of this is urgent and overdue,” Alexander said, adding it’s about “protecting those women and girls who are victims of those crimes.”

He said it’s also about making polygamy a reason an immigrant would be inadmissible to Canada. He said the U.K. has led on the forced marriages, which “leads to terrible consequences, some of the worst forms of violence, for a lifetime: rape, intimidation, other forms of physical abuse, the mental anguish.”

All those practices — forced marriage, honour-based violence and polygamy — “have no place in Canada,” Alexander said.

Unicef has supported the bill for standardizing the age of marriage, which currently varies across the country.

Kathleen Wynne defends cabinet minister CSIS alleges is under influence of Chinese government

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ntario Premier Kathleen Wynne is dismissing concerns from Canada’s spy agency that one of her cabinet ministers was under the influence of a foreign government, calling them “baseless.”

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) warned the Ontario government in 2010 that Michael Chan may have been susceptible to influence by the Chinese government and had “unusually close ties to Chinese officials,” the Globe and Mail reported Tuesday.

Chan, now the province’s minister of citizenship, immigration and international trade, has served with honour in the Ontario government and he is one of the hardest-working people she has ever met, Wynne said Tuesday.

“I understand that this story has resurfaced, but as I say, this is something that was made public in 2010 and the concerns were deemed to be baseless,” she said after an unrelated announcement in Cambridge, Ont. “There have been no specific allegations.

I’m not aware of any specific allegations and that’s exactly what was found in 2010.”

When the newspaper began asking questions again recently, the premier said she

asked her staff to look at the issue again.

“There was still nothing of substance that came forward,” she said.

Federal Justice Minister Peter MacKay said the matter was an “ongoing investigation,” but would not comment further.

“Clearly there are people outside our country, as inside our country, who would seek to exert influence,” he said in Ottawa.

“I think it’s fair to say it’s incumbent upon all public officials to be very diligent in how they conduct themselves and to be wary of that fact, wary of who they’re talking to, wary of what, if anything, that they would disclose in those discussions.”

Chan was not immediately available for an interview. He told the Globe and Mail CSIS alleged he owned property in China and had asked the then-consul general directly for a visa and that if favours were granted, reciprocation could be expected.

Chan told the newspaper the allegations were not true and his spokesman said a 2009 delegation to China and discussions about cultural events were the reasons for his frequent contact with the consul general.

Chan accompanied Wynne on a trade mission to China last.

UK man gets 16 years in prison for ‘systemically’ raping victim he forced into becoming his second wife

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U.K. man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for forced marriage and “systemically” raping his victim — a historic first in the country that recently made forced marriage a crime. Referred to simply as a “business man” from Cardiff in the U.K. press, the offender can’t be identified in order to protect his 25-yearold victim. But he is believed to be originally from Pakistan. He coerced her into marriage after he raped her and later filmed

her in the shower, threatening to post the video on the internet. The woman was first attacked when she arrived at the man’s Cardiff home for a supposed social gathering.

She was later bound, gagged and raped — a crime the man used to blackmail her into becoming his second wife. After months of abuse, rape and intimidation that included threats of murdering the woman’s parents, the man arrived at her work and took her to a mosque, where he is now convicted

of forcing her to marrying him. The judge presiding over the trial said the man “systemically” raped and assaulted the victim.

“When you first raped her, she was still a virgin — something which you would use to ensure her silence,” Judge Daniel Williams said in handing down his sentence.

The penalty includes five years of the U.K. equivalent of probation and inclusion on the country’s sex-offender registry.

“You made her feel that she was no longer marriage material [for anyone else] in the hope that she would turn to you,” the judge said, referring to the perpetrator’s years of harassment as an “irrational obsession.” The man pled guilty to forced marriage, bigamy, voyeurism and four counts of rape, Reuters reports. He entered the plea just two days into the trial and before the victim could offer her testimony.

“While you have pleaded guilty … there has been no genuine show of remorse,” Williams said in court. “Over the period of which you raped her … it was your intention to cause her irreparable harm so that no one would want her.”

The man’s jail sentence comes just one year after the U.K. legislators voted to criminalize forced marriage in June 2014.

Marriage requires the free and enlightened consent of two persons to be the spouse of each other In 2013, the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario released a report detailing 219 cases of forced marriage between 2010 and its release.

However, that group does not support Bill S-7. Instead, it says existing laws need to be better employed to combat forced marriages, instead of passing this new law that targets immigrant and racialized communities. The Schlifer Clinic, which runs a forced marriage clinic in Toronto, has expressed similar concerns, saying “the proposed Act is not responsive to survivors and furthers marginalization of racialized communities in Canada.

Saturday, June 20, 2015 i 19

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Average house price rose 8% in May to over $450K

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ay was the strongest month for home sales in more than five years, CREA says The average sale price of a Canadian home has eclipsed $450,000 for the first time, the Canadian Real Estate Association says.

The realtor group said Monday that the average resale price increased by 8.1 per cent in the 12 months up to May, to $450,886. But beyond prices, the group also said the volume of sales was red hot. The number of homes sold was 3.1 per cent higher in May than it was in April, the fifth straight monthly increase. Although traditionally a strong month for housing, May was the busiest month for home sales in more than five years. Strong activity was widespread, and even markets that have shown recent signs of weakness rebounded. CREA chief economist Gregory Klump says a rebound in sales in Calgary and Edmonton suggests uncertainty stemming from low oil prices could be easing. That rush to buy could have been in part caused by people rushing to get in ahead of new CMHC rules that will hike mortgage default insurance premiums for buyers with less

than 10 per cent down, which came into effect on June 1. “Some buyers may have jumped off the fence and purchased in May to beat the increase,” CREA president Pauline Aunger said.

“It’s one of the factors that could have affected sales last month.” Toronto & Vancouver still red hot On the price side, CREA continued to stress that exceptionally hot markets in Toronto and Vancouver are skewing the national average price higher. If those two cities are stripped out of the numbers, the average Canadian home was worth $344,988 in May, a yearover-year gain of 2.4 per cent compared to

the same time 12 months ago. Outside of those two big cities, gains were lower. Fraser Valley, Victoria, and Vancouver Island prices all recorded year-over-year gains of about four per cent in May, CREA said.

Price gains in Calgary continued to slow,

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CMHC Spring Rental Vacancy Rates Declined in British Columbia

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ccording to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) spring Rental Market Survey1, the British Columbia apartment vacancy rate declined to 1.8 per cent in April 2015 from 2.4 per cent in April 2014.

“Vacancy rates moved lower this spring as increased rental demand outpaced additions to rental supply,” noted Carol Frketich, CMHC’s BC Regional

with a year-over-year increase of just 1.21 per cent in May. This was the smallest gain in more than three years Prices held steady on a year-over-year basis in Saskatoon and Ottawa, rose slightly in Greater Montreal and fell by about three per cent in Regina and Greater Moncton.

Economist. “Most of the province’s 27 centres surveyed in April reported lower vacancy rates compared to a year earlier. Apartment vacancy rates ranged from 1.0 per cent in Parksville to 8.9 per cent in Dawson Creek.”

The two-bedroom apartment average rent in British Columbia was $1,136 per month and the one-bedroom apartment average rent was $973 per month. For two-bedroom apartments, the estimated annual increase in the same sample2 rent was 3.0 per cent. For onebedroom apartments, which make up more

than half of the privately-initiated primary rental stocks in British Columbia, a similar pace of increase was reported.

“We expect the regional divide to continue,” TD Bank economist Leslie Preston said. “While sales in oil-related markets of Edmonton and Calgary have risen off their January lows, price gains remain modest. The Vancouver and Toronto markets should cool slightly on higher interest rates,” she noted.

real estate / finance

2 i Saturday, June 20, 2015

Oil slump leads to more apartment vacancies in Alberta, Saskatchewan

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ewan stands in marked contrast to that in the oil-producing provinces of in Ontario and British Columbia, where Alberta and Saskatchewan in April, vacancy rates fell amid signs of stronger economic conditions. the Canada Mortgage and The cities with the lowest aver- “In Ontario, improving Housing Corporation reage monthly rent for a two-bedported Monday. Accord- room flat were: Trois-Rivieres, employment conditions ing to CMHC’s spring Que. - $571. Saguenay, Que. - for young adults aged rental market survey, the $583. Sherbrooke, Que. - $607. 15 to 24, a key source rental apartment vacancy Overall, CMHC says the national of rental demand, and rate in Alberta’s urban cen- vacancy rate remained stable at a stable supply of rental units placed downward tres almost doubled to 3.4 2.9 per cent in April. pressure on vacancy per cent, compared to 1.8 rates, while increased immigration to per cent in April 2014. World oil prices British Columbia, another key source have slumped by 40 per cent in the past of rental demand, more-than-offset an year, leading to layoffs in the energy inincrease in the dustry. province’s rental In Saskatchewan, market supply,” the rental vacancy said CMHC chief rate in the proveconomist Bob ince’s urban centres Dugan in a statejumped to 5.6 per ment. The survey cent in April, up found that the citfrom 3.3 per cent in ies with the highest the same month a average monthly year earlier. rent for a two-bed“Lower oil prices room apartment have slowed ecowere: Vancouver nomic growth in - $1,345. Calgary Saskatchewan,” said - $1,319. Toronto Goodson Mwale, $1,269.

The cities with the lowest ava CMHC market analyst for Saskatcherage monthly rent for a two-bedroom ewan. “A reduction in capital investment flat were: Trois-Rivieres, Que. - $571. expenditures in the oil and gas industry Saguenay, Que. $583.

Sherbrooke, Que. has also reduced employment growth $607.

Overall, CMHC says the national and the inflows of migrants.” The weaker rental picture in Alberta and Saskatch- vacancy rate remained stable at 2.9 per cent in April. t was a lot easier to rent an apartment

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Parampreet K. Toor and Sandeep S. Rakkar’s wedding reception was in Vancouver on may 16.

Photo: Chandra Bodalia

Saturday, June 20, 2015 i 7

Sunny Grewal and Annu K. Guglani held their wedding reception in Vancouver on may 31 with friends and relatives.

Photo: Chandra Bodalia

8 i Saturday, June 20, 2015

NATIONAL

20 i Saturday, June 20, 2015

Trudeau vows to end 1st-past-the-post voting in platform speech

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Liberal leader Justin Trudeau sketches out his party’s tax policy but again leaves out key details

iberal Leader Justin Trudeau vowed that the upcoming general election will be the last one us-

ing the first-past-the-post voting system.

Speaking about his party’s vision for what a future Liberal government would look like, he highlighted transparency and accountability in an election-style speech at the Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa Tuesday morning.

“We’ll make sure that Canadians have a stronger voice in Ottawa — a voice that reflects and represents them,” Trudeau said. His speech struck many hopeful notes and tried to draw a stark contrast between the Liberals and the “cynical” Conservatives under Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

“Harper has turned Ottawa into a partisan swamp,” Trudeau said, accusing the prime minister of “promoting partisan interests at the expense of public trust.”

“It wasn’t like that before,” he said, harkening back to the time when his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was prime minister. “To use

an example from my father’s day, ministers didn’t attack Supreme Court justices just to raise money and whip up support,” he said.

Trudeau’s proposal to end first-past-the-post is intended to “make every vote count.” The system badly distorts voters’ choices, allowing a party to win the majority of seats in the House of Commons with less than 40 per cent of the vote and delivering wildly different seat counts to parties that win similar shares of the vote. Gender parity in appointments In his speech, he committed to introducing electoral reform legislation within 18 months of forming a government. It would be based on

the recommendations of a special, all-party parliamentary committee mandated to fully and fairly study alternatives to the firstpast-the-post system, including ranked ballots and proportional representation.

The committee would also explore the notions of mandatory voting and online voting.

No reforms as getting rid of the Senate is the only way : Mulcair

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hen it comes to talks of abolishing the Senate, NDP leader Tom Mulcair says it’s all or noth-

ing. In an interview, he further cemented his quest for Senate abolition, saying he’s not open to reforms. “If you read the recent Supreme Court decision, [Senate reforms aren’t] possible without constitutional change. So if I’m going to be going for the unanimity of the provinces, it’s not to change the colour of the carpets, it’s to get rid of the thing.”

Of course, Mulcair needs the support of all 10 provinces to do this. Only two premiers, Saskatchewan’s Brad Wall and Manitoba’s Greg Selinger, have come out in favour of abolition. Both Ontario and Quebec have said they are against scrapping the Red Chamber - with Ontario calling for reform.

That’s not stopping Mulcair though. He thinks he can sway the views of Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne and Quebec premier Philippe Couillard.

“I think I can and I think it’s worth trying,” he said.

Free reign for a MP audit With the conclusion of Auditor General Michael Ferguson’s Senate expense au-

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bill they owe for satellite office expenses.

That doesn’t worry Mulcair. He says he wants everything exposed. “That’d be wonderful. And you know what, having the knowledge that the auditor is going to be there every step of the way will have [an] effect on people’s comportment.”

Peter MacKay proposes tougher penalties, fewer loopholes for impaired driving

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hree mothers who lost their chil-

“DENTURISTS ARE DENTURE SPECIALISTS”

dit, the New Democrats are pushing for the same thing in the House of Commons.

“We want to go beyond a simple audit. We want to open up for example the secretive board of internal economy,” said Mulcair.

“We want to make sure that journalists and the public get to know how every penny of taxpayers money is spent. I think that that has to be the starting point.”

Mulcair told Barton that he would give Ferguson free reign to audit MPs. “I am would let [Auditor General Ferguson], because he’s a very capable guy, decide exactly what that mandate would have to look like,” he said. There’s concerns an MP audit could lead to more scrutiny for New Democrats, in the wake of the $2.7 million

dren to impaired drivers were invited to sit in the House of Commons gallery as Justice Minister Peter MacKay introduced new legislation Tuesday to create tougher penalties for drunk drivers who kill people.

The three women — Markita Kaulius, Sheri Arsenault and Grace Pesa — were behind a “Families for Justice” petition that gathered more than 90,000 signatures.

The petition called for a five-year minimum mandatory sentence for anyone convicted of impaired driving causing death.

MacKay’s new bill changes the mandatory minimum sentence from a $1,000 fine to six years in prison. Speaking to reporters, MacKay thanked the women and other anti-impaired driving groups for their advocacy.

“The stories of victims and the personal accounts from their families clearly illustrated the need for more action,” MacKay told reporters.

Drunk driving remains the number one criminal cause of death in Canada, MacKay said, citing several statistics on the persistence of impaired driving and his

government’s efforts to date on the file.

NATIONAL

It will cost taxpayers $24.5 million to save Senators walking an extra city block

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inding temporary offices for the ready to give the Senate 10,000 square metres Senate could cost taxpayers an extra of space — a little more than one-and-a-half $24.5 million — even more than the CFL fields, not including end zones — in a latest big-ticket audit of expenses in the upper downtown building where several Senate chamber. And it’s all because of one city block. offices already exist. That fell through, howThe cost of temporary Senate offices in down- ever, when the Senate decided it needed less town Ottawa could surpass the $23.6-million than half as much space. Without a business audit by nearly a million dollars if the Senate case to support giving up prime real estate doesn’t agree to extend its search boundaries near Parliament Hill, the commission backed by a single block, an interout of the deal. The Sennal government document The January ate wants to look no further briefing note also shows. Sticking with the south than the Sparks Street includes a letter from current boundaries means Finley to top sena- pedestrian mall that is one Public Works would face a tors asking them to agree to the block away from Parliament much costlier tender pro- expanded search area by March Hill and home to multiple cess, rather than being able “at the latest” to seek government office buildings. to negotiate directly with a out space and have Public Works wants the Senthe offices ready for landlord. The result would the 2018 closure. ate to look one more block cost taxpayers $24.5 million south to Queen Street, which more over 13 years than the is also home to office buildings that house government wants to spend. The details are federal workers. That extra block would still contained in a Jan. 30 briefing note to Pub- meet the Senate’s requirement that its offices lic Works Minister Diane Finley, obtained by be within a 10-minute walk of its temporary The Canadian Press through the Access to In- chamber — the government conference cenformation Act. Public Works won’t say how tre near the northernmost end of the Ridemuch it’s willing to spend. The Senate needs au Canal. The January briefing note also to find space soon so it can be ready for 2018 includes a letter from Finley to top senators when the Centre Block is closed for badly asking them to agree to the expanded search needed renovations, displacing both the Sen- area by March “at the latest” to seek out space ate and the House of Commons for almost a and have the offices ready for the 2018 clodecade. There are some 27 Senate offices cur- sure. Senate spokeswoman Nancy Durning rently without a new temporary home. They said the Senate hasn’t agreed to extend the also need room for services like mail and search area for office space, and is security. Public Works had space in hand: in still considering its options.

2012, the National Capital Commission was

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‘Anonymous’ says it cyberattacked federal govt to protest Bill C-51

he online hacker group Anonymous has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on federal government websites, in protest against the recent passing of the government’s anti-terror Bill C-51.

“Today, Anons around the world took a stand for your rights,” the group wrote Wednesday afternoon in an online post “Do we trade our privacy for security? Do we bow down and obey what has become totalitarian rule?

Don’t fool [yourselves]. The Harper regime does not listen to the people, it acts only in [its] best interests.”

A number of federal government websites appear to be back online after the brief blackout, including websites for the Senate, the Justice Department and Canada’s spy agencies, CSEC and CSIS. However, it’s unclear whether the

attacks have stopped, as government websites seem to be flashing on and offline intermittently.

Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said at no point was personal information or sensitive government compromised.

Attackers have to face ‘full force of the law’ “The cyberattack and cyber security is an issue that we take very seriously,” Blaney said following question period in the House of Commons.

“We are increasing our resources and polices to be better equipped to face cyberattacks, whether they are coming from hackers from a group, potentially, that has said they did it today, [or] state-sponsored or terrorist entities.”

“Let’s be clear. We are living in a democracy and there are many ways you can express your views in the country,”

Blaney said,

Saturday, June 20, 2015

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Duffy used line of credit to pay off account shortfalls, court hears

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ccountant delves into 4 areas of suspended senator’s financial records during voir dire Mike Duffy was withdrawing more money from his bank account than making deposits and forced to fund the difference with his line of credit, a forensic accountant testified at the suspended senator’s trial.

Forensic accountant Mark Grenon, who has reviewed thousands of Duffy’s financial transactions, was testifying during a voir dire — a sort of trial within a trial to determine admissibility of evidence. ​ Duffy’s judge-only trial, which began April 7 in the Ontario Court of Justice, is in its 34th day.

Duffy has pleaded not guilty to 31 charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery related to expenses he claimed as a senator and later repaid with money from the prime minister’s then chief of staff, Nigel Wright.

“There was a continued amount of overspending in the account that had to be funded with some source of money,” Grenon said. “That money was the line of credit.”

In December 2012, Duffy’s line of credit balance surpassed $100,000, attracting the attention of FINTRAC, the Canadian financial intelligence agency, Grenon said.

He said the balance in the line of credit was ultimately paid off in four lump sum payment

transactions. Two of the transactions were from the refinancing of his residency in Ottawa, one was, Grenon believed, related to an inheritance and another was a payment from Duffy’s company Mike Duffy Media Services.

Of those refinancing payments, one totalled $80,000, the source of which, Grenon concluded, came from a $91,600 deposit classified as a mortgage advance.

That deposit is nearly identical to the amount Duffy paid back the Senate after receiving a $90,000 cheque from Wright.

Grenon said that he also discovered $159,477 of unknown deposits in Duffy’s bank account.

He said $50,000 of that total could be related to an inheritance, but that would still leave more than $109,000 unaccounted for. Grenon said if there is more information or documents available, he would be open to reconciling the remaining amount.

“Or Senator Duffy could,” Duffy’s lawyer Donald Bayne interjected.

Earlier, Grernon testified that Duffy expensed nearly $154,000 in travel expenses that the Crown alleges the suspended senator was not eligible to claim, a forensic accountant testified today in Ottawa.

Grenon found that Duffy expensed $493,193 in total travel. Flights made up the largest chunk of these claims ($338, 109), or 68 per cent of all travel expenses.

22 i

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Hair Stylists Required 2 Hair Stylists reqd. Sal:$13.00/hr, 40hr/wk, +1yr exp. or certification reqd., FT/PT Duties: Suggest hair style compatible with client’s physical features. Determine style from client’s instructions. Cut, trim, taper, curl, wave, perm & style hair. Apply bleach, tints, dyes or rinses to color, frost or streak hair. Analyze hair & scalp condition to advise & provide basic or beauty care treatment. Clean & style wigs & hair pieces. Lang: English.

Location: #11- 8430 128th Street Surrey, BC V3W 4G3.

Contact: Sandeep from Basra Hair & Beauty Salon at basra_ salon@yahoo.ca or fax at (604)365-8861

COMMUNITY The inaugural United Nations (UN) International Day of Yoga, to be held all day this Saturday June 21, at Guildford Recreation Centre in Surrey BC.

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his free festival event is organized by the UN International Day of Yoga - Planning Committee, with the supportive participation of the City of Surrey, Ecobear Productions, VISHWA (Varad Ashram Inter-cultural Service and Humanitarian World Association) and over thirty Yoga and Holistic Health communities in Surrey and the Lower Mainland. The mission is to celebrate this historic and sacred day, and pay homage to the great Rishis (sages) and Yogis of India. Indeed, it is their reverent and unwavering tenacity, discipline and humility that safeguarded the traditional teachings of the ancient science of Yoga for the benefit of the world. The festival will share the ancient tradition teachings of Yoga with the diverse cultures and general public. The all day program will share a traditional yoga program, laughter, dancing, music and sattvic (yogic) vegetarian meals. There will be a charming retail market displaying yoga wear and accessories for fundraising purposes.

You can register and RSVP on the UN International Day of Yogawebsite for Canada: http:// w w w. u n i d y c a n a d a . c o m / s u r r e y EVENT SCHEDULE 900am: Registration 1000am: Opening Ceremony Swami Dr. Satya Prakash and two dignitaries will be invited to light the ceremonial lamp with Vedic Chanting 2) Prime Minister Modi’s Message 3) United Nation’s Message 4) Consulate General of India and Government dignitaries of BC and Surrey 1030am - 1100am: History and Knowledge of Yoga (Swami Dr. Satya Prakash) 1100am - 1200pm: Yoga Asanas (Swami Dr. Satya Prakash will demonstrate and will take attendees through the UN Common Protocol for Yoga Program) 1200pm - 100pm: Lunch break | Afternoon Meal 100pm - 230pm: Demonstration and Reflection on Traditional Yoga and Yoga History of Vancouver - Jnana Yoga (Swami Dr. Satya Prakash, Dr. Preeti Misra, Sivakumar Varma and other known yoga practitioners of BC) 230pm - 330pm: Laughter Yoga; Kids Yoga: Yoga Games; Yoga Dance 330pm - 400pm: Meditation (Swami Dr. Satya Prakash) 400pm - 600pm: Bhakti Yoga (Musical celebration and closing) 600pm 700pm: Dinner break | Evening Meal 700pm - 800pm: Karmic Seva - cleanup

-----------------------------------------“Being Original and Spontaneous”an evening talk and Q&A with Swami Chaitanya Keerti. There is no cost to attend this special event. Date : Friday June26,2015 Time :7 pm to 9 pm Location: 15437 Fraser Highway, Surrey, British Columbia V3R 3P Join us on meetup for all upcoming events :http://www.meetup.com/OshoVancouver/ Like us on Facebook:http:// www.facebook.com/pages/Osho-Vancouver/ Youtube Channel:http://www. youtube.com/channel/UC8HK35Q-

CaNCS_7XH0fyYjvw?feature=mhee -----------------------------------------Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey requests all South Asian Senior members and non members to attend International Day Of Yoga organized by Temple’s Management on June 21st 2015 ( Sunday ) at 8.30 am. The program will start at 8.30 am with yoga exercise by expert yogis on the Temple grounds up to 10.00 am, from 10.00 am to 11.00 am, healthy refreshment of fruits, milk shake and tea will be served, from 11.00 am to 12.00 am, a Yoga Forum ( Healthy Discussion ) will be held by expert Yogis inside main hall, and from 12.00 pm to 1.00 pm, Therapeutic yoga demonstration will be shown by expert yogis inside main hall focusing on specific problems like Back Ache, Pain in the Knees and Migraines etc. After Aarti in the Temple, pure vegetarian lunch will be served in the dining hall. Please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator

Tel. 604 - 507 - 9945 for further details.

--------------------------------------Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey invites South Asian Adults/ Senior members and non members to come and play Bingo for the sake of fun and make some new friends, on June 14th 2015 from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at Shanti Niketan hall 8321 -

Saturday, June 20, 2015

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140th street Surrey B.C. Please bring only two dollars with you to play 2 games, do not worry if you do not know how to play, members will explain you the game just for the sake of fun. Tea & light snacks will be served after the game is over. Please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator at 604 - 507 - 9945 for further details.

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Double Your Fun at South Surrey Park reopening celebration

The City of Surrey invites families to enjoy the free activities taking place Saturday, June 20 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the grand reopening celebration of the newly redesigned Fun Fun Park in South Surrey. Taking place in conjunction with Ocean Park Day festivities, the event will feature face painting, bike and cycling gear raffles, live music, a bouncy castle and tents hosted by Surrey Off Road Cycling Enthusiasts Society (SORCE), Peninsula Cycles and Dirtwest.

In addition to a new kid’s bike track, Fun

Fun Park enhancements include a new playground with a designated tot’s area, a small plaza, trail and path upgrades, vehicle barriers and improvements to the grass field and picnic area. Fun Fun Park is located at 1472 – 128 Street in South Surrey. For more information, visit www.surrey.ca or call 604-5015100. Event Details: Date:.........Saturday, June 20, 2015 Time:.........11am–2pm (ribbon cutting at 11am) Location:............Fun Fun Park, 1472 – 128 Street, South Surrey

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Business / Finance

Saturday, June 20, 2015

25,000 drilling jobs will be lost from oil swoon

ersistent weakness in oil prices will cost the Canadian economy 25,000 drilling-related jobs this year, a lobby group for the industry says.

The Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors revised its forecast for the industry on Monday and now predicts nine per cent more job losses than it did in January — 2,600 positions — because of an expected 13 per cent further drop in operating days.

All in all, the group says the number of people employed directly or indirectly by the drilling industry will fall by 25,110 to under 25,000 in 2015, down by almost 50 per cent from 49,950 in 2014.

The group says the jobs decline will be in

part because the number of operating days is also forecast to drop this year to roughly 65,000. Last year, that figure was 131,021.

The association calculates job losses by assuming 135 direct and indirect jobs are created by each active drill rig.

In May, only about 10 per cent of Canada’s drill rigs were active compared with almost 50 per cent in January.

Lower oil prices aren’t the only culprit, however. CAODC president Mark Scholz said policy changes in Alberta with respect to royalties, and reduced LNG activity in British Columbia are also playing a role.

“This is our second revision to the drilling forecast, and we will continue to assess the situation as external factors dictate,” Scholz said.

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Canada Savings Bonds sales to continue, despite KPMG recommendation to stop

ttawa has no plans to stop offering Canada Savings Bonds, despite the recommendations of a government-commissioned report from an arm of consultancy KPMG that recommends cancelling the program.

In a report, the consultancy says “there is currently no valid economic rationale for the retail debt program,” better known to Canadians as Canada Savings Bonds and Canada Premium Bonds, which allow citizens to loan money to the government with interest for small time periods.

Low rates great for borrowers, but devastating for savers “For a time they were a great opportunity for people to save money using a simple to understand product that paid reasonable interest,” is how Dan Bortolotti, an investment adviser with PWL Capital in Toronto described them. “But that time has possibly passed.”

The program was formed in 1946, born out of a precursor designed to raise funds for the war effort, but has shrunk dramatically. The total value of all funds in the program was as high as $55 billion in 1987, but that has de-

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clined to about $7.7 billion in 2013. That’s less than one per cent of all the insured retail savings instruments in Canada that year.

Far from being a source of funds, the program now costs Ottawa more money to run than it takes in. All in all, it costs Ottawa $58 million a year to run, not including the cost of interest payments, KPMG said.

“It is no longer a net source of funds for the government, since it has been necessary since 1987 to borrow on the wholesale market to fund the net yearly redemptions,” KPMG said. Despite the recommendations of the report, the Department of Finance said Thursday it has no plans to close the program. “While noting

KPMG’s recommendations, the government recognizes that approximately 2.5 million Canadians continue to hold over $6 billion of government of Canada retail debt products, and over a million Canadians today still purchase Canada Savings Bonds and Canada Premium Bonds, demonstrating Canadians’ continuing interest in the program,” Stephanie Rubec, a spokeswoman for the Finance Department, said in a statement.

Income inequality hurts economy, study suggests

olicies that favour the wealthy in the hope that money will trickle down through the economy do not produce greater growth while boosting incomes of the poor does expand the economy.

That was one of the conclusions of an exhaustive study prepared for the International Monetary Fund released on Tuesday that looked at historical data from 150 developed economies around the world over the past several decades.

Although the study looked at many things, one of the key areas examined was income inequality — how a country’s collective wealth is divided between different income groups.

Trickle-down economics questioned Conventional economic theory in some quarters is that the best way to stimulate economic growth for everyone is to move capital to the top, where it gets invested in businesses that create jobs and tax revenues for all.

Known as trickle-down economics, it’s thought by some to be a better way to expand the economy than directing wealth to lower income groups lower down, who, according to the theory, don’t spend money in

ways that filter through the entire economy.

But the discussion paper suggests the numbers don’t back up that theory.

“If the income share of the top 20 per cent [the rich] increases, then GDP growth actually declines over the medium term, suggesting that the benefits do not trickle down,” the report reads.

The authors calculated that for every percentage point increase in income share by the richest quintile in any given country studied, GDP growth was 0.08 percentage points lower in the following five years than it would otherwise have been. Conversely, if the income of the poorest quintile increases by one percentage point, the country’s economy expands by a little over a third of a percentage point in the ensuing half-decade.

The discussion paper was prepared by Era Dabla-Norris, Kalpana Kochhar, Frantisek Ricka,

Nujin Suphaphiphat, and Evridiki Tsounta, with contributions from Preya Sharma and Veronique Salins. A disclaimer on the report makes clear that it is a “staff discussion note” and that the views expressed in it should be attributed to the authors and not the IMF.

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Democratic reform, corporate tax hike in Alberta throne speech

lberta’s new NDP government plans to raise corporate taxes, ban political donations from unions and businesses and end the province’s flat 10 per cent personal income tax rate. The measures were promised during the election campaign, but confirmed Monday in the speech from the throne, which revealed the government’s agenda for the short spring session set to last about two weeks. The government plans to introduce three bills. The changes to political donations will be covered in Bill 1, An Act to Renew Democracy in Alberta. The ban will be grandfathered to Monday, the day the bill is expected to be tabled in the legislature, Premier Rachel Notley said.

“Working together with all of our colleagues in the house, we will ensure that these principles become the new normal in Alberta,” she said. Bill 2 will increase corporate taxes by two percentage points, bumping the tax rate from 10 to 12 per cent.

The small business tax will stay at three per cent. The government also plans to introduce a progressive income tax system in which people with salaries exceeding $125,000 a year will pay more. “In this we are ending Alberta’s brief and unfortunate experiment with what I’ve always said, I believe, was a regressive flat tax,” Notley said. “And we are returning to a more typical, and I would suggest more fair, Canadian tax system.” Bill 3 is an interim supply bill to fund essential public services like education and health care until the government introduces a full budget in the fall. The tone of the throne speech, read by Lt.-Gov. Lois Mitchell, was positive, with an emphasis on co-operation and working together. “We can disagree without being disagreeable. We can talk about what unites

us as well was what divides us,” Mitchell said.

“We can listen to each other and build on each other’s best ideas.” The government pledged to provide stable and predictable funding for health care, human services and education.

The speech touched on building a national energy strategy with other provinces and a review of royalty rates. Notley said a panel to review royalty rates wouldn’t be announced until the end of summer. Democratic reform Clearing out the legacy of 44 years of Progressive Conservative rule appears to be at the top of Notley’s mind as she heads into her first session as premier. In addition to the changes in Bill 1, Notley and Wildrose Leader Brian Jean are proposing a new legislative committee to review government rules on elections and ethics and to strengthen whistleblower legislation. The committee will be made up of nine government and eight opposition members of the legislature. Notley would like to see a ban on government ministers making funding announcements during elections and wants to expand the scope of the ethics commissioner. As for Jean, the new Wildrose leader said he was pleased that Notley reached out to the opposition. He vowed to be positive and to work with the government whenever possible, but to also hold it accountable. “We will keep their feet to the fire when necessary for the better interest of Albertans’ future,” he said. While Jean said he supports Notley’s democratic reform initiatives, he wasn’t happy with the jump in corporate taxes and a pending royalty review, saying it creates too much instability in the economy. He said the government needs to cut spending before

Interest rate hike could mean trouble for mortgage holders, survey finds

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any mortgage holders in Canada have very little financial cushion and could be in trouble if rates rose or they lost a job, according to a new survey. About 15 per cent of respondents to a survey done for Manulife Bank of Canada said they would have difficulty making payments if their mortgage payments went up. That means they might face tightened circumstances if rates have risen by the next time they renegotiate their mortgage, a likely circumstance as most analysts believe interest rates will rise this year.

Nearly half said they couldn’t manage a 10 per cent increase in their mortgage payment.

“Having your payments go up 10 per cent sounds like a lot, but if you have a $200,000 mortgage and interest rates go up one per cent, that’s a 10 per cent increase in your mortgage payments,” said Manulife Bank CEO Rick Lunny said. “So there’s not much room here for those people.”

It is likely the Fed will raise rates by one quarter of a point only this fall and the Bank of Canada may not follow immediately, but mortgage rates also could be affected by movements in the bond markets.

Faced with loss of employment by the major breadwinner, most respondents to the survey said they had a very limited financial cushion. About 16 per cent said they’d be in trouble within a month and a total of 43 per cent said they’d have difficulty within three months if someone in the household lost a job.

The online survey was done for Manulife by Research House between Feb. 10 and 27. The survey polled 2,372 Canadians in every province, all of them homeowners between the ages of 20 and 59 with a minimum household income of $50,000.

The rate of mortgage default in Canada is very low, but as housing costs rise, many observers have warned about the amount of debt Canadians have taken on.

Manulife found the average amount these homeowners had outstanding on a mortgage was $190,000.

Albertans were carrying the heaviest debt load — an average of $242,400 on the mortgage. That’s followed by $217,600 in British Columbia, $197,100 in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and $193,000 in Ontario. But 78 per cent of respondents to a survey said paying down debt was a priority for their household and 40 per cent had either increased the amount they pay towards the mortgage or made a lump sum payment within the past year.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

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PUNJAB

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Sikh student can now join US army with beard, turban

Sikh college student will be able to join the US Army, without being forced to cut his hair, shave his beard or stop wearing his turban thanks to a Washington court ruling. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled last week that the Army violated Hofstra University student Iknoor Singh’s rights when it refused to let him compete for a spot as a contracted member of his college’s Reserve Officer Training Corps programme. “The court finds that defendants have failed to show that the application of the Army’s regulations to this plaintiff and the denial of the particular religious accommodation he seeks further a compelling government interest by the least restrictive means,” the judge wrote. She added that the Army’s refusal to permit Singh to enrol while adhering to “articles of faith” that include his hair and turban “cannot survive the strict scrutiny” of the federal law. The Army has given “tens of thousands of exceptions” to its grooming and uniform policies, the judge wrote, and made “successful accommodation

Photo of first Sikh in US Army Captain Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi of observant Sikhs in the past,” noting several who have served with distinction, receiving commendations. Jackson said the Army’s own research contradicted deputy chief of staff Lt. Gen. James C. McConville’s opinion in denying Singh’s enrolment request. McConville and other Army officials had contended the articles of faith would have an adverse impact on unit cohesion and morale, discipline and health and safety.

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Sikh sacrifices not recognised: CM

he role of Sikhs and sacrifices made by them in the service of nation are yet to be recognised, said Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal while addressing Mata Nanaki Gurmat Sammelan on the inaugural day the 350th foundation day celebrations of Anandpur Sahib today. He said Sikhs had made great sacrifices since the days of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, followed by World Wars, freedom struggle and post-Independence wars. Whenever the issue was discussed at some important level it was not taken seriously, he said, adding the “ignorance” of these sacrifices pained him. The Chief Minister said the ninth guru who founded this holy town was an epitome of socialism and secularism as he sacrificed his life for

the sake of preserving human rights in the country. The world was discussing the issue of religious freedom nowadays. Guru Teg Bahdur sacrificed his life for religious freedom centuries ago, he said. Suggesting to observe his martyrdom at the national level, he said it would be a humble tribute to this great Sikh guru and make the world aware of his contribution to this field. Just avoiding the threshold of making a political statement at the religious congregation, Badal said this government had spent billions to set up several monuments and memorials so that the new generations knew about their legacy.

The Chief Minister dedicated an 81-fthigh “khanda” (Sikh military emblem) at Panj Piara Park to people. Others who spoke on the occasion included Akal

Rahul visits kin of Fatehgarh Sahib farmer who committed suicide

Parole to Bhullar may disturb peace in state, says Jails Dept Amid mounting political pressure for granting parole to Prof Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, the Jails Department has opined that at this stage parole should not be granted to him as it might cause a law and order problem in the state.

Though a final decision on granting parole to the former terrorist is yet to be taken, highly placed sources told The Tribune that after having received two letters from members of the public, requesting the government not to grant parole, the Jails Department has moved a file stating that “granting parole to Bhullar could disrupt

peace in the state”. This file will now be put up before the Home Affairs and Justice Department for its consideration.

Bhullar, who was recently transferred from Tihar Jail to Amritsar, has so far not applied for a parole.

However, officials say their political bosses are “keen on expediting the grant of parole to Bhullar.”

At least two cases (other than the Delhi blast case) are still pending against Bhullar, but these are unlikely to have any impact on granting him a parole. Sources say parole is a statutory right of any prisoner and can be

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Congress vice-present Rahul Gandhi on Thursday met family of Surjit Singh who committed suicide in Fatehgarh Sahib on June 10.

ahul Gandhi on Thursday visited the family of debt-ridden farmer Surjit Singh, who committed suicide last week at his house in Dadoo Majra village, Fatehgarh Sahib, barely a month after he met the Congress vice-president to apprise him of farmers’ woes in Punjab.

The Congress leader reached the house of the farmer in the village this morning.

Surjit had taken the extreme step after he failed to re-pay a loan of Rs 9 lakh as his crops of two successive seasons were damaged due to hailstorm in the region.

Surjit had met Rahul Gandhi on April 27 at Sirhind Grain Market and raised various issues related to farmers, including the delay in payment of wheat crop by purchasing agencies. Surjit Singh, while explaining

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VIP escort vehicles leave Punjab poorer

by Rs 2.5 crore annually

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scorting “VVIPs” in Punjab in pilot vehicles is leaving the state poorer by Rs 2.5 crore every year. Each escort and pilot vehicle is a fuel guzzler: consuming about 200 litres of diesel every with this coupon month. Plus, the repair and maintenance of expires these 115 vehicles is Dec. a big31 burden on the state coffers. The information procured under the RTI Act has revealed that 55 pilot vehicles move along DCs, SSPs, DIGs and IGs in Punjab to escort these officers. The average annual fuel consumption of these vehicles cost the state Rs 1.65 crore, besides the expenses on repair and maintenance of these vehicles. In a big district, these pilot and escort vehicles consume fuel of over Rs 20 lakh a year, whereas in smaller ones the average annual expenses are around Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh. The expenses being incurred

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the farming community’s distress to Rahul, had said: “If the farmers’ issues remain unresolved, many farmers might commit suicide.”

Rahul had visited famers in Punjab shortly after he came back from his 57-day break from active politics.“My father owed six acres but we are tilling 19 acres on contract. Due to less production, the family gets nothing as all the amount is paid to clear dues of land owners. “He was under depression. He consumed Celphos (a brand name for compound Aluminium Phosphide),” Surjit Singh’s son Kulwinder Singh had said.

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Partap Singh Bajwa has reportedly announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for Singh’s family. Surjeet had committed suicide on June 10.

on pilot vehicles attached with ministers and chief parliamentary secretaries are separate.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s native district Muktsar has three pilot Gypsies. Besides, two pilot vehicles run with the DC and the SSP. In 2014, the fuel expenses of these five vehicles came out to be Rs 44.8 lakh — i.e. Rs 75,000 on every vehicle in a month. In 2007, this expense was Rs 7.73 lakh in Muktsar and after Akalis got power in 2012, this bill expanded to Rs 20.77 lakh.

In 2013, the fuel expenses on escort vehicles further rose to 26.56 lakh. During the Akalis regime in Punjab, in the past eight years, more than Rs 1.5 crore has been spent on fuel for pilot and escort vehicles in Muktsar. In Bathinda, another VIP area of the state, there are two reserve vehicles for visiting VIPs and one each for the DC and the SSP.

INDIA

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Saturday, June 20, 2015

Getting US visa to take more time

he US Embassy today announced cancellation of all appointments for visa applicants said there was no need to call. Applica- portcollection.asp. The Embassy said between June 22 and 26 in Delhi and tion status can also be tracked online at in case the applicant has other urgent www.ustraveldocs.com/in/in-loc-pass- travels its four offices at Mumbai, Chennai, requiring the passport back, he TEL20150508_H1 FFH_Asian Star_JrPg:Layout 1 05/06/15 10:18 PM Page 1 Kolkata and Hyderabad on account of outage with the systems crippling its work worldwide leading to delays in operation.

Visa applicants with appointments during that same period are requested to reschedule their appointments for biometric enrol. ment and visa interview to a date after July 6.

“There is no need to contact the call centre or customer support — simply login to your visa appointment system profile and reschedule both your appointments at www.ustraveldocs. com/in,” the US Embassy statement said. Upon the restoration of visa services, applicants will be notified via email or SMS when the passport is ready and the document can be picked up from the visa application centre any day between 10 am and 3 pm. The Embassy

or she would be put on “administrative hold”. In this case, the applicants must contact support-india@ustraveldocs. com to request the passport back, which would not have a US visa at that time.

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Two killed as downpour paralyses Mumbai Two died in the heavy rains that pummelled the city for the second consecutive day, bringing life to a grinding halt in country’s financial capital on Friday. Local train services were the hardest hit: heavy rains forced authorities to suspend them, leaving thousands of commuters stranded. Civic authorities described the rainfall in the country’s financial capital as unprecedented: the city received 283 mm of rain — which would otherwise be the rainfall received in a period of 10 days —in just 24 hours.

According to an official of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) disaster management unit, a five-year-old boy and a 60-year-old woman died of electrocution in Wadala in central Mumbai.

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Sushma, Raje misused offices, sack them now: Demands Congress

day after former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi made public his “close relations” with two BJP ministers, the Congress stepped up pressure on the government demanding immediate sacking of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje. Asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his “conspiratorial silence”, the Congress also questioned his claim of a transparent government and to bring back black money, accusing it of protecting money launders and fugitives. Sources in the BJP said the Rajasthan CM had reached out to party chief Amit Shah. The long-standing family relations with Modi, the case of an unsigned document and a loan provided to her son and Jhalawar MP Dushyant Singh being accounted

for was cited as having been noted. The government continued to support Sushma while reacting with caution on Raje. “As far as impropriety allegation is concerned, I don’t buy that logic. It was just a case of compassionate intervention for a humanitarian cause,” Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

On Raje, he appeared more guarded saying: “As regards to the Rajasthan issue, the details will have to be looked into,” pointing out that Modi’s residency papers in the UK purported to have her name were not signed. The Congress fielded a larger armoury of spokespersons with former Union Minister P Chid-

ambaram asking the govt to ensure Modi’s return to India to face investigation by the Enforcement Directorate in 16 cases

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Emergency can happen again in India, LK Advani says

enior BJP leader LK Advani has said that Emergency can happen again in India. “I do not say that the political leadership is not mature. But I don’t have the confidence that it (Emergency) cannot happen again,” Advani said in an interview in the Indian Express. The senior BJP leader said that there are no signs in Indian

polity which assure him that the Emergency can’t be imposed in India again. “I do not see any sign in our polity that assures me, any outstanding aspect of leadership. A commitment to democracy

and to all other aspects related to democracy is lacking,” Advani said.

Illegal immigrant arrested for raping elderly nun

28-year-old Bangladeshi, one of the main accused in the sexual assault of a septuagenarian nun at a Ranaghat convent school, has been arrested from Sealdah railway station here.

Nazrul aka Nazu was arrested from Sealdah station while he was getting down from a local train late

How Nestle India will destroy 27,000 tonnes of Maggi

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Saturday, June 20, 2015

last evening, SS CID Chittaranjan Nag said today.

“Our sources informed us that Nazrul was trying to reach Kolkata. Working on the tip-off, our officers were waiting for him at Sealdah station and

caught him when he was getting down from Bongaon local (suburban train),” Nag said.

Ingredients • 250g boneless chicken • 2tbsp rapeseed oil • 1 medium red onion • 3 large tomatoes • ½ cup cashew nuts • 100g tomato puree • 1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves • 100ml low fat cream • 1tsp garam masala • 1tsp red chilli powder • 1tbsp ginger- garlic paste • 2tbsp thick low fat yoghurt • salt to taste

estle will destroy 400 million pack- have begun buying back noodles by ets of its hugely popular Maggi the carton in order to destroy them. noodles, following a ban imposed Once the Maggi is all collected,

by India’s food safety regulator. The compa- it will take thousands of truck trips ny says it will take at least 40 days to bring them to to destroy all the noodles. India’s five private cefood safety regulator says tests have ment factories found Maggi “unsafe and hazardwhere they will be ous” and has accused Nestle of mixed with fuel failing to comply with food safety and subjected to laws. Nestle has 80% of India’s instant noodles market. Nestle India high temperature has begun a massive logistical opthermal destruceration to source and destroy over tion in kilns. Nes27,000 Procedure: tonnes of Maggi across the tle says that the country.

The company has said that Marinate the chicken with the ginger garlic paste and the yoghurt current capacityforis20 min. soak the cashew in warm water for 15 minutes.chop the onions and tomatoes. Heat 1 tbsp this is oil oneto ofathe largest recalls notpieces only in the hot oil for 1 minute on each side to a golden colour. remove the chicken pieces. in the same pan, add 1tbsp oil and the chopped pan. searever the chicken 700 tonnes a day across five facilin its own history, but the food industry. onions. saute tillentire a translucent pink. Add the tomatoes, chilitake powder, ities, meaning thatred it will at garam masala powder and cook on medium flame till the tomatoes are tender (approx. 4-5 Furtherminutes). complicating matters is the factand thatrun in a blender with the soaked cashews to make a smooth paste. return to the pan and add the tomato puree. Bring to a boil and add remove from flame least 40 days to destroy the whole Nestle the is not in possession all the for noodles chicken pieces. of simmer 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 earmarked to be destroyed. The company says stock. Earlier this month, Nesfenugreek leaves over the curry and remove from fire. serve hot. that 17,020 tonnes of Maggi are currently with tle began withdrawing the Maggi distributors, retail outlets and consumers. They brand from stores.

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

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Mount Everest shifted southwest due to earthquake

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SOUTH ASIA

Saturday, June 20, 2015

he world’s tallest peak, Mount Everest, moved three centimetres (1.2 inches) to the southwest because of the Nepal earthquake that devastated the country in April, Chinese state media reported . The 7.8-magnitude quake reversed the gradual northeasterly course of the mountain, according to a report in the state-run China Daily, citing the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation.

Before the quake, Everest had moved 40 centimetres to the northeast over the past decade at a speed of four centimetres a year, the report said.

The mountain also rose three centimetres over the same time period. The earthquake caused an avalanche on Everest, killing 18 people and leaving its climbing base camp in ruins. It prompted authorities in both China and Nepal to cancel all climbs for this year. The mountain straddles the border between the two countries.

Two earthquakes, on April 25 and May 12, killed more than 8,700 people in Nepal, triggered landslides and destroyed half a million homes, leaving thousands without shelter just weeks ahead of monsoon rains. The second quake, which had a magnitude of 7.3, did not move the mountain

Malaysia’s opposition alliance falls apart

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alaysia’s opposition alliance has collapsed just months after its leader, Anwar Ibrahim (pictured), was jailed for sodomy. UnderAnwar, the so-called People’s Alliance coalition had made significant gains and posed the biggest threat to Malaysia’s governing coalition since the country’s independence. But in the wake of his arrest the three parties clashed over policies. Prior to the break up, Prime Minister Najib Razak’s own ruling coalition had been struggling to win back votes. The dispute began over an attempt by the conservative Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) to enforce a form of Islamic law called hudud. The more liberal and ethnic Chinese-dominated Democractic Action Party (DAP) objected to the move and the two parties voted to sever ties with one another. Anwar’s multi-faith and multi-ethnic Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) declared on Wednesday that the alliance “no longer functions formally.”

4 moderate tremors jolt Nepal again

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our moderate earthquakes with magnitudes between 4 and 5.2 jolted Nepal early on Wednesday, taking the total number of aftershocks to 320 after the devastating earthquake struck the country on April 25. The first aftershock of 4.4 magnitude was recorded at 5.58 am (local time) with epicenter at Ramkot, 7 kilometers west of the capital Kathmandu.

The aftershock was strong enough to get people out of their houses.

A 5.2 magnitude tremor recorded at 6.14 am (local time) with epicenter at Sindhupalckowk district was shortly followed by another aftershock of magnitude 4 with epicenter in the same area. The fourth tremor of 5.1 magnitude was recorded at 8 am (local time) with epicenter at Sindhupalchowk-Tibet border area. Nepal is

still recovering from two major quakes and several aftershocks that have killed 8,800 people and left a trail of destruction.

Bangladesh upholds death sentence of top Islamist

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top Bangladesh Islamist leader could be executed within months after the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld his death sentence for war crimes during the country’s 1971 battle for independence against Pakistan. Chief Justice SK Sinha dismissed Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid’s appeal against hanging for one count of murder, while commuting his death sentence for torture and a charge of “extermination” of intellectuals in the war. “Souls of the war martyrs can finally now rest in peace after today’s verdict,” prosecutor Mokhlesur Rahman Badal told AFP outside the court. Security was tight ahead of Tuesday’s ruling, with heavily armed police and border guards surrounding the court in Dhaka and patrolling nearby streets. The 67-year-old is one of about a dozen leaders of Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, a key opposition group, convicted by a controversial war crimes tribunal set up by the secular government in 2010. The convictions have triggered the country’s deadliest violence since independence with some 500 people killed, mainly in clashes between protesters and police.

NRI Indian-American killed in US during Russian roulette game

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n 18-year-old Indian-American was shot dead by his friend, also of Indian-origin, during a dangerous game of Russian roulette in the US state of Texas. Vikram Virk, 27, confessed to shooting Jaskaran Singh in the head while playing the deadly game in Virk’s car.

Singh was shot in the parking lot of a Red Roof Inn, police said. Virk allegedly told police that he handed Singh a handgun on Saturday that Virk believed he had emptied. Singh then pulled the trigger twice while pointing it at Virk, according to police. “The suspect then took the gun and pointed it at (Singh) and pulled the trigger one time and the gun did not fire.

The suspect then pulled the trigger a second time and the gun fired, striking the complainant in the left temple,” a detective wrote in the arrest affidavit for Virk.

9-year-old non-resident Gujarati wins writers’ award in UK

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riyam Kamble, a nine-year-old non-resident Gujarati (NRG), having roots in Aant village near Navsari, has won the United Kingdom’s (UK) Young Writers-2015 creativity award. It is a national merit award for talent in writing. Priyam’s short written story piece was selected by the Young Writer’s jury from among 26 lakh students of primary schools in the UK who took part in the writing competition held last Friday. Priyam made pea shooter and zombies time travel to World War-II and created a unique story on their survival in his short piece. It has been selected for publication in the Young Writer’s Anthology to be published on September 30, 2015. Priyam resides with his parents in Bedfordshire.

His father Dr Subodh Kamble is a urologist and mother Bharulata Kamble is a filmmaker and social activist. Rajan Raj, secretary of Social Amenity Foundation for Equality (SAFE), who is a close acquaintance of Kamble family, said, “The boy’s mother is from our town and she is a founder president of our organization.

FIJI

Fiji girl to receive award from The Queen

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Fiji woman is among 60 young people across the Commonwealth who have been recognised as exceptional leaders in their community and will be presented with the inaugural Queen’s Young Leaders Awards on June 22, 2015.

Alzima Elisha Bano, 28, (pictured) will receive her award from The Queen at Buckingham Palace.“I am so happy to be one of the first recipients of the Queen’s Young Leaders Award.

To be recognised for my work and be presented with an award by Her Majesty The Queen at Buckingham Palace is such a huge honour,” Ms Bano said. “I can’t wait to meet all the other award winners in London and get involved in all the exciting

200 patients return home disappointed

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ore than 200 people returned home disappointed after they were turned away from the medical screenings conducted by the US Navy team and Ministry of Health staff around the North last week. The disappointed hopefuls said the situation was disheartening because many travelled from as far as Udu Point, Wainunu, Nabouwalu and Dreketi to be part of the screening. Peniasi Kaliova who travelled from the Udu Point area said he wanted the team from the Mercy ship to examine an old injury that has given him a lot of trouble over the past years.

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Fiji gov’t scared of a ILO inquiry The Fijian government is coming up with all kind sof excuses to prevent an independent inquiry into

Fiji’s labor practices and laws by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) An ILO inquiry in Fiji can pressure the nation’s trading partners to put a stop plug to trading with the country, lamely claimed Minister of Finance and Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum at the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Suva on

Thursday. EU parliamentarian Michele Rivasi who questioned the wisdom of preventing an ILO investigation in Fiji if “everything is fine” as claimed by the Fijian government.

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he Fiji Muslim League says it is unaware of any Fiji links to alleged Fijian teenage terrorist Irfaan Hussein who died recently in the Middle East where he was fighting with Jihadists.

Australian Newspaper, The Herald Sun reported Hussein’s family is from Fiji. It was reported that he had died, but it was unclear whether he was killed in a bomb blast or beheaded while trying to escape the Middle East to return home to Victoria.

The report stated that Hussein’s father was Fijian and Hussein, who was also known as Abu Sufyan Al Australi, reportedly travelled to Turkey in September or October last year before he was smuggled over the border to Syria.

Hussein was close friends with Numan Haider, 18, who was shot dead after stabbing two officers from the Joint Counter Terrorism team outside a Melbourne police station last year.

Police alleged that Hussein assisted Aus-

Good News!

tralians who wanted to go to Iraq or Syria to hook up with extremist recruiters.

Hussein was believed to be friends with many young terrorists including a Melbourne teenage terror suspect, Harun Causevic, who had Hussein’s international phone number when he was arrested for allegedly plotting attacks on Anzac Day. This is another story that has linked Fiji with Australian terrorists.

In April, the Fiji Police Force said they were working closely with Australian authorities in the search for Neil Prakash, a senior member of the Islamic State who is believed to be of Fijian and Cambodian descent.

Fiji Police however have said Neil Prakash, who is Australia’s most wanted man, was not a threat to Fiji. Police chief of intelligence ACP Henry Brown confirmed Prakash had no direct association with Fijian nationals on the allegations levelled against him being an Islamic extremist.

Good News!

GOLDEN CHANCE TO VISIT & CELEBRATE GURUPURAB - 2015 AT SIKH GURUDWARAS IN PAKISTAN

22nd Nov - 29th Nov., 2015

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ILO calls for revision of Fiji laws he International Labour Organization has called on the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights to relook at the scope of Fiji’s essential services and consider what is compatible with ILO’s Freedom of Association.

ILO’s senior International Labour Standards and Labour Law specialist Alain Pelce told the committee that the Employment Relations (Amendment) Bill 2015 should reconsider the essential services list and only include those that were vital to the country.

Teenage Muslim terrorist from Fiji dies in Syria

activities that are taking place throughout the week,” she said. This year’s award winners are aged between 18 and 29 and are working to support others, raise awareness and inspire change on a variety of different issues including; education, climate change, gender equality, mental health and disability equality.

Following the ceremony on June 22, award winners will spend four days in the UK to participate in a residential development program as part of the award prize.

The program includes workshops at Cambridge University, meetings with UK businesses leaders, and visits to life changing social action projects.

Bano set up Advocacy (through) Creative Techniques in June 2014.

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Saturday, June 20, 2015 i 31

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32 i Saturday, June 20, 2015

11 murder convicts hanged

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leven murder convicts were hanged in two days before a temporary ban on executions begins during the holy month of Ramadan.

One prisoner was hanged to death in Lahore Jail. He was sentenced to death for killing a man in 2014 over an old feud. Three convicts imprisoned were hanged in Rawalpindi. They killed more than one person in 1990 over a long-standing rivalry. Two convicts were hanged in Faisalabad. A prisoner, accused of raping and killing a 12-yearold girl in 1999, was hanged in Gujranwala Jail. Another death-row convict jailed for the murder of three in 1999, was hanged in Sialkot Jail. Two murder convicts were hanged in Bahawalpur Jail. One murderer was hanged in Jhelum and Dera Ghazi Khan respectively for killing close relatives over a dispute. With the 11 executions, the total number of prisoners executed crossed 150 after the government lifted the ban on death penalty in December after the terrorist attack at the School in Peshawar, which claimed 150 lives, mostly children. On June 13, the government imposed a temporary ban on executions during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan. The UN, the EU, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch and various local groups have asked government to stop the executions.

US Secretary of state John Kerry calls PM Sharif over India-Pak tension

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S secretary of state John Kerry has called Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and discussed bilateral ties and regional situation including the recent increase in tension between India and Pakistan. The call between the two leaders took place soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Sharif and greeted him on the eve of holy month of Ramzan. “I talked today with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan regarding a recent increase in the tensions publicly between India and Pa-

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kistan. It’s of enormous concern to all of us for all the obvious reasons,” Kerry told state department reporters in a conference call from his home town of Boston where he is recovering from a leg injury.

“These are two very, very important countries playing a critical role with respect to regional interests, and it’s very, very important that there be no misinterpretation or miscalculation with respect to any of the back-and-

ISI held Osama prisoner for 6 years, claims a new report

ONDON: ISI had held Osama bin Laden prisoner for nearly six years in Abbottabad and handed him over to the US in a staged raid, a media report said on Wednesday in new controversial account of the al-Qaida chief ’s death. Pulitzer Prize-winning American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has already termed the official US account of the raid and Osama’s killing as “a fairytale”. The BBC report by Jane Corbin, who

has investigated al-Qaida and Osama for nearly two decades, claims there was a conspiracy at the highest levels of the US and Pakistani government to assassinate him. Citing Hersh, who spoke to Corbin about his article published in the London Review of Books last month, the report says the ISI was holding Osama prisoner for nearly six years in the garrison town of Abbottabad and just handed him over to the Americans in a staged raid.

Two suspects in the 2010 murder of a politician of the Pakistan security services. The men wo men wanted by British authorities have been arrested are due to appear in court and are likely to

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over the 2010 killing have been arrested in Pakistan and are expected to face extradition proceedings Two key suspects in the 2010 murder of a Pakistani politician in London have been arrested, it has emerged.

Dr Imran Farooq was stabbed to death outside his home in Edgware almost five years ago in what detective believe may have been a politically motivated killing.

forth and the empowerment some entities might feel as a result of that,” Kerry said.

According to the secretary of state, Sharif was extremely forthcoming.

“He could not have been more direct. He had actually just finished a conversation himself with the Prime Minister of India,” he said. “We welcomed some thinking together about how we can work, all of us, to try to reduce those tensions over the course of the next days and weeks,” Kerry said.

Scotland Yard named Moshin Ali Syed, 29, and Muhammad Kashif Khan Kamran, 34, as suspects after records showed they left the UK on the night of the murder. Moshin Ali was detained on Thursday as he tried to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan, local frontier police said. He was held with another man, Khalid Shamim, but sources revealed that Kashif Khan was also already in the custody

face moves to extradite them to the UK. Dr Farooq was a founding member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the biggest political force in Karachi, and was killed close to its London headquarters. Detectives have been investigating whether the murder was linked to his plans to break away from the MQM leadership and launch a new, independent political career.

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Pak firm sold 8 Yamaha engines to terror facilitator

Pakistani company had sold eight Japanese Yamaha engines to one of the 2008 Mumbai attack facilitators who supplied them to terrorists, including Ajmal Kasab, for reaching Mumbai, a senior manager of the firm today told an anti-terrorism court. The company’s general manager, one of the two witnesses who testified before the court which is hearing the case at the high security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, said the firm had sold the engines to absconding accused Amjad Khan, a shadowy LeT organiser and financier from Karachi, a court official said.

The Yamaha engines were used by terrorists Kasab and others in their dingy to reach Mumbai. The second witness, a customs official, testified before the court that the department issued customs clearance certificate of the engines imported from Japan to Khan after he paid the customs duty. Two more witnesses were also present but could not testify as the court, conducting the trial of seven accused, adjourned the hearing till tomorrow.

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Carmakers say adios to Canada as Mexico shifts into high gear

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here’s little more than a weeded-over parking lot outside the former Freightliner truck factory in St. Thomas, a small town about a 30-minute drive south of London, Ont. Not long ago, the site was a hive of busy autoworkers. But in 2008, German automaker Daimler closed the shop and moved production offshore, part of

Investment is flowing Freightliner aren’t the only ones to have moved to Monterrey. A stone’s throw west of the Freightliner plant is a Chrysler facility. Just north of the city, ground has broken on a massive Kia plant, the biggest construction project in a part of Mexico that’s already booming.

While Mexico was once a bottom feeder on the car industry food chain known mainly for cheap a $600-million cost-cutting plan that saw 1,400 labour, the country is moving up in the world. people thrown out of work. A plumbing compo“At the beginning, we were just nent maker has since taken over doing assembly,” says Diba Iluna, ​“Mexico is not part of the old Freightliner space, who runs Canadian compobut together with the shuttering cheap labour nent maker Magna’s powerof the nearby Ford plant and its train plant in Ramos, about anymore.

1,600 jobs, St. Thomas’s days as a 40 kilometres west of Monmajor hub of Canada’s automotive industry are over as carmakers move production terrery. “Now we do assembly and mato greener pastures elsewhere. More often than chining of components. We do some very not of late, the elsewhere in question is Mon- complex components here that seven years terrey, the third-largest city in Mexico. About ago we thought we would never [do].” an hour-and-a-half flight from Houston, it’s fast Cellina Villareal, the economic developbecoming a hub of global car manufacturing. ment officer for the state of Nuevo Leon, New Freightliner transport trucks roll out of bristles at the suggestion that Mexico is litthere three at a time nowadays, made by Mexican tle more than a bargain bin for workers. shop floor workers who work for as little as one“Mexico is not cheap labour anymore. ​ fifth of what a Canadian made doing the same work.

We’re giving added value to the processThe fact is, Mexico now makes twice es, ” says Villareal. One company that sees as many cars as it did a decade ago, and that value is Magna. ‘‘In many ways the has leapfrogged Canada in the process.

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Saturday, June 20, 2015 i 33

B.C. government improves safety, mobility on Trans-Canada Highway

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s part of B.C. on the Move, the Government of B.C.’s new 10year transportation plan, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Todd Stone announced priority actions for the Trans-Canada Highway to improve safety, access and mobility for motorists. The ministry is committing to shorten the duration of road closures on the Trans-Canada Highway when there is risk of an avalanche at Three Valley Gap near Revelstoke.

Right now, using the current te ch -

nology of dropping explosives from a helicopter, avalanche control is effective, but it can only be done in daylight and when weather allows. Many times this leads to closures that can extend to more than 16 hours. Today, the ministry has announced a Request for Expression of Interest will be issued to bring in a new avalanche-mitigation system along the Trans-Canada Highway at Three Valley Gap. Remote-control explosive devices will be

constructed to remotely initiate avalanches to address unstable snowpacks. The devices will not be dependent on good weather conditions or daylight to operate. The new system will significantly reduce the duration of highway closures for avalanche control. It is anticipated that the new devices will be installed in 2016. Also, to help traffic flow more efficiently through Revelstoke and Golden, the ministry has implemented a new traffic light signal timing system called Automax. If an intersection gets a lineup of vehicles, Automax will detect it, using loops installed in the pavement. Traffic-signal timing will be adjusted automatically to relieve intersection congestion.

This system has been installed at three signalized intersections along the Trans-Canada in Revelstoke and two in Golden. In addition, the ministry will be installing 20 new digital variable speed limit signs along Highway 1 between Revelstoke and the Perry River Bridge near Malakwa. The electronic signs will be linked to sensors in the road surface, and adjusted based on road conditions, to notify drivers of a safe speed to travel in adverse weather conditions. The signs can also be adjusted during traffic con-

Toyota expands Takata airbag recall to 387,000 vehicles in Canada

oyota Canada has expanded its recall of vehicles with Takata airbags to another 255,000 vehicles in Canada. The Takata airbags have an inflator that can explode in an accident, sending shards of metal into the passenger compartment and killing or injuring people. The total number of cars recalled by Toyota in Canada now is 387,000.

The affected models: 2003-2007 Corolla and Corolla Matrix.

2005-2006 Tundra.

2005-2007 Sequoia. 2003-2007 Lexus SC430 vehicles. Owners of the affected Toyota / Lexus vehicles will be notified by first class mail to return their vehicles to a dealer for a replacement airbag inflator.

So far seven deaths have been linked to the default, including the death in April of a Louisiana woman driving a 2005 Honda Accord.

Her right carotid artery was severed by the

exploding airbag, two days before a notice of recall on the Honda arrived at her home.

George Iny director of Canadian Automobile Protection Association says weakness in the airbag is more likely to occur in warmer more humid climates He says drivers of these vehicles shouldn’t worry. “First of all you won’t be getting an airbag any time soon.

Canada won’t be the priority market for those

bags and that’s totally reasonable. We believe the risk of something happening in Canada is remote,” he told CBC News.

Chances are most notifications will go out to the person who first bought the vehicle and since these are older cars, that could be two owners ago. Iny advised owners to call the automaker to get included in the recall database.

Saturday, June 20, 2015 i 35

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36 i Saturday, June 20, 2015