The Asian Star October 13 2022

Items that cost more in Canada than anywhere else

Canadians may soon be docked an extra charge for paying with their credit card. Henceforth, it you buy something with a credit card (other than debit or cash), it’s now legal for retailers to tack on a surcharge of as much as 2.4 per cent. The reform was made necessary due to the fact that Canadian retailers are being utterly hosed by credit card fees. Across most of Europe, credit card companies will ding a retailer less than one per cent of a customer’s total

bill. But in Canada, this “interchange” rate is 40 per cent higher at 1.4 per cent. As a CBC analysis recently noted, Canadians pay “some of the highest interchange fees in the world.”

Credit card fees are just one of the things for which Canadians pay bafflingly higher prices than everyone else. Below, a quick summary of some of the things that are pricier in Canada than anywhere else on earth.

Cell phone charges One of the first things

India’s deployment of cash transfer scheme is a logistical marvel: IMF

The IMF has described India’s deployment of a direct cash transfer scheme and other similar social welfare programmes as a “logistical marvel”, saying there is a lot to learn from the country which is one of the

most inspiring examples of the application of technology to solve complicated issues.

The aim of DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) is to transfer the benefits and subsidies of various social welfare

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An unprecedented number of Indians are trying to enter USA illegally through Mexico

For decades, Indians who emigrated to the United States pursued the American dream of socio-economic betterment: a better job, a dollar wage, an education for children, and more as students or professionals. But

new data shows a spike in runins with Customs and Border Patrol, suggesting new factors are adding urgency to Indian travel.

A record number of Indian migrants have attempted to illegally cross into the United

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noticed by newcomers to Canada is the eyewatering cost of maintaining a mobile phone. In most of Europe, it can cost as little as $30 for a monthly cell phone plan with 100 gigabytes of mobile data. In Canada, that kind of plan would run $144, according to the Finnish telecom analyst Rewheel. “Prices in the Canadian wireless market … continue to be the highest or among the highest in the world,” they wrote in a 2021 report.

Gas prices drop after weeks-long spike, but experts warn of future increases

BC can expect a significant drop in gas prices over the next few days, giving residents a reprieve from historic highs over the last several weeks.

The price at the pump on the South Coast fell to around $1.92 per litre of regular on Thursday — a significant drop from the recent high of around $2.40.

Gas Wizard, an online price tracker and forecaster, has predicted the

Mayor Brodie on running for Mayor in Richmond

Mayor Brodie has been the mayor for Richmond since 2001. As one of the longest mayors in office in Metro Vancouver, Mayor Brodie has been at the helm before the Olympics and since then. Asian Star interviewed the mayor to get his thoughts on what he and his council has accomplished in the past,

Continued on page 12

Two women used in human sacrifice in India

Police in the southern Indian state of Kerala have arrested three people for allegedly murdering two women in a suspected case of human sacrifice. The remains of the women, who were allegedly murdered months apart, were found on Tuesday. Police say the accused - a couple and another man - “severely tortured” the victims before killing them. They say they have confessed to the crime and an investigation is under way.

ProgramTM

Charging people who pay with credit cards is the new sin tax

It’s a fee companies can now charge customers who use a credit card to pay for things. Pay with cash or EC, and that’s it.

Throw in your credit card and you might pay up to 1.4 percent. The surcharge on credit cards is billed as a way for businesses to recoup the high fees they pay card issuers. But credit cards are the most popular way to pay for purchases today, and for good reason. Why would stores and restaurants not respect their customers’ choice and simply treat card processing fees as another cost of doing business? Here’s a theory on that — it’s easy to choose credit cards because they’re still seen as a risky indulgence, especially when compared to more virtuous cash.A recent Payments Canada report documents how popular credit cards have become. They accounted for one in three purchases in 2021, compared

to 30 percent for debit cards, 16 percent for electronic transfers and 10 percent for cash.

Credit card usage rose 33 percent in 2021, but that’s a lot because people were on the go more after the pandemic lockdowns in 2020.

Credit cards are popular because they offer points that generate cashback or rewards that can be used toward the cost of airfare, hotel rooms, and more. Credit cards also offer different types of insurance and give you up to a couple of weeks to pay for your purchase. I suggest paying for credit card purchases as you make them, but you have the freedom to defer payment if it suits you. The downside of credit cards is their absolute gross interest of 13 to 20 percent and more if you don’t pay off your balance in full each month. These rates are a heavy tax on people who are unable to pay their expenses due to misfortune, low income, or lack of discipline.

Surrey shooting victim drives self to hospital

A man is recovering after he was allegedly shot in Surrey, B.C. and drove himself to the hospital with an injury to his hand.

The man, who is known to police and has gang affiliations, was reportedly shot while in his vehicle at a red light near Scott Road and 110 Avenue on Sunday.

He went to a hospital in another jurisdiction and has since been released, RCMP said in a Tuesday news release. Police believe it was a targeted incident, but the motive is still under investigation.

“This shooting allegedly occurred on a busy roadway during the day and yet we did not receive any police reports,” said

Cpl. Vanessa Munn in the news release.

Police said they learned of the alleged shooting around 6:15 p.m. because the victim went to a hospital outside Surrey.

At the time of the incident, the victim was driving a 2016 white Honda Civic and travelling northbound on Scott Road. The suspect vehicle is described as a dark sedan.

Anyone with information or dashcam footage of the area between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-5990502 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477

Gas prices drop after weeks-long spike, but experts warn of future increases

Gas Wizard, an online price tracker and forecaster, has predicted the price could dip below $1.90 on Friday.

Prices at the pump have been hitting stratospheric heights across much of B.C. since late September. Experts attributed the jump to the fact that several refineries in North America went offline or ran into problems at the same time. Refineries in Edmonton and Washington state were both down for maintenance, as is customary in September, but there were also issues with refineries in California and Ohio.

Werner Antweiler, an economics professor with UBC’s Sauder School of

Business, said the astronomical highs this past few weeks were not expected to last.

“It was clear it’s going to be remedied as soon as the capacity for refineries came back online,” he said.

Still, Antweiler said British Columbians can expect more erratic price patterns because there is currently a tight market for refining capacity.

“We will see more price volatility in the future because of these situations that can happen again, and they probably will happen again,” he said.

He added the international oil markets also pose a threat to future gas prices.

An unprecedented number of Indians are trying to enter USA via Mexico

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States from the nearly 2,000-mile land border the country shares with Mexico.

More than 16,290 people were taken into CBP custody between October 2021 and August of this year. The previous record set in 2018 was well below 9,000.

Indian Border Transgressions, Mapped Why Are So Many Indians Coming to the United States Now?

These Indians are not simply migrating, but rather fleeing. There are a number of reasons why:

Growing discrimination and persecution in India ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, often on the basis of religion, sexuality or political affiliation, is forcing people to seek refuge in the United States, the BBC Deepak Ahluwalia, an

immigration lawyer who has represented Indian nationals in Texas and California.

In April this year, President Joe Biden lifted pandemic-era restrictions along the US-Mexico land border, making the road seemingly easier

Unlike the Trump era, the current US administration seems to be much more sympathetic to asylum seekers, giving people hope Indians typically pay human traffickers between $20,000 and $75,000 for a door-to-door service that takes them from India to America.

Those who attempt the journey risk robbery, rape, and even death to traverse dangerous terrain in excruciating temperatures.

Why I’m Running for Mayor

Why I’m Running for Mayor

I am honoured to have served as your Mayor since 2001—we have faced many challenges, and have recognized and achieved so much together as a community.

And while the City has improved with its quality of life, job creation, managed growth, environmental health and cultural diversity, we still face many challenges and opportunities to be even better.

I’m running again—to help our City grow responsibly, affordably, and sustainably—and still maintain the safe, high quality of life in a City that is managed well now and for future generations.

On October 15, please RE-ELECT

“Being Mayor is not a job. It’s a deep, personal commitment for me.”

OPINION

Ottawa will investigate food prices. It’s about time

With the hype caused by the scandal at Hockey Canada, few noticed last week that Ottawa decided to investigate food prices and the alleged abuse by large grocery chains. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture and the members of the Committee will

examine the problem in the coming weeks.

We must first welcome Ottawa’s decision. Even though Canada currently has the third lowest food inflation rate among the G7 countries, after Japan and France, the rate of food inflation in Canada has exceeded general inflation for 13 consecutive months

now. Every trip to the grocery store gets more financially painful, almost daily.

But to solely investigate retail would be short-sighted, and the committee seems to recognize that. The scope of the study will be the entire chain, as Canadians deserve to have the government study the state of the whole food industry. Food distribution is complex and involves several companies at once, from farm to table. Many accuse grocers such as Metro, Loblaws, and Sobeys of abusing the system and unjustifiably inflating prices. But based on publicly available data, this is far from the case. A very simple evaluation comparing the profit margins of the three major retailers, Loblaws, Sobeys and Metro, for the last five years shows that their financial results are relatively modest. Thus, at the end of their respective fiscal years in 2021, profit margins for these retailers were 3.7 per cent for Loblaws, 2.7 per cent for Empire-Sobeys and 4.5 per cent for Metro. Returns were about the same for the last five financial years. Yields were usually below or at the same level as the rate of food inflation for most of the five years. In other words, the performance of these chains was flat when compared to the increase in the cost of living. And the year 2022, so far, doesn’t seem all that different.

Of course, the accusations of the last few months are buoyed by the claim of “record profits.” Certainly, a two per cent or three per cent monetary gain today does not look like a two per cent or three per cent gain of five years ago. Numbers are greater. Simple math. Incomes are higher, but so are costs. Although the amounts increase, the percentages remain the same.

Despite this, perceptions persist. Almost 80 per cent of Canadians claim that there is abuse in the system, and they are not entirely wrong to have these doubts.

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Poll shows many Surrey voters thinking about policing as they head to the polls

A new poll shows three-quarters of Surrey voters think it’s time for a change. And not just on city council.

The poll, conducted by Leger for Postmedia News, found 51 per cent of Surrey voters want to stick with the RCMP and reverse the gradual transition to a municipal police force that began almost four years ago when Mayor Doug McCallum and the Safe Surrey Coalition swept to power. Policing is just one of several areas where Surrey voters expressed a desire for change, as well as a strong discontentment with the job done by the current mayor and council, in the poll of 503 Surrey residents aged 18-or-over.

Compared to the mayoral approval rate for Metro Vancouver, where 43 per cent of voters approve of the job done by their municipal leader, McCallum’s approval rating is 26 per cent, according to the poll. Surrey council fared little better at 30 per cent. More than half of voters said they feel things are worse in Surrey than they were four years ago, compared to 35 per cent in Metro Vancouver, while a whopping 76 per cent of voters said they want change on city council, which is 20 percentage points higher than Metro Vancouver.

“Those are pretty damning statistics in polling,” said Steve Mossop, the Vancouver-based executive vice-

president at Leger, the national research and polling firm behind the survey.

But Mossop was careful to point out the large number of undecided voters in Surrey at 36 per cent.

As people research and decide who they’ll vote for in the coming days, that number could swing the vote in one candidate’s favour and determine the outcome of the election, he said. But if evenly distributed, it could bode well for Brenda Locke, who was polling ahead of the other candidates at about 25 per cent. Sukh Dhaliwal and Gordie Hogg were polling at 11 per cent, with Jinny Sims at eight per cent and McCallum at seven per cent, followed by Amrit Singh Birring, Kuldip Pelia and John Wolanski at about one per cent each.

The single-digit support for McCallum led Mossop to predict the incumbent mayor was likely to be voted out.

“I can’t see that he’d pull a rabbit out of his hat,” he said.

But in McCallum’s favour, he continues to have a solid group of loyal supporters, said Hamish Telford, political scientist at the University of the Fraser Valley.

Canada-based ganglord’s hitmen arrested in Delhi: Police

Delhi Police’s Special Cell has arrested two alleged shooters who had come to the city for a hit job at orders of Arshdeep Dalla, a Canada-based ganglord, a senior officer said on Thursday.

Ravinder Singh, 21, and Navdeep Singh, 26, both residents of Gurdaspur in Punjab, were wanted in a recent case of firing outside the house of one Ankit

Goel, a Bathinda-based businessman.

They had fired at Goel’s house after making a demand for Rs 1 crore.

Ravinder and Navdeep had been sent to Delhi by Taranjot Singh – currently lodged in Ferozepur Jail in Punjab - to kill a man who had filed a police complaint after he had been threatened to give Rs 5 crore to the gang.

Munna Prasad honoured

Telford said McCallum may have a path to another term if those voting for change split their votes between the other candidates, many of them legitimate challengers with experience in politics at other levels of government. “With four strong opponents, he doesn’t need a strong plurality,” he said. The Leger poll also provided a snapshot of what Surrey voters are likely to be considering as they choose their next mayor and council.

In keeping with Metro Vancouver and

the City of Vancouver, voters identified housing affordability as the No. 1 issue facing their community at 45 per cent.

Police transition took second place in Surrey, with 35 per cent of voters identifying it as a big issue, followed closely by homelessness, poverty and mental health issues at 33 per cent and property taxes and spending at 32 per cent.

Mossop said it was interesting to see that 53 per cent of voters weren’t only opposed to the police transition, but when asked if Surrey should continue with the creation of a Surrey police force or reverse the decision and return to the RCMP, 51 per cent were “willing to stand behind their opposition” and actually reverse the transition.

Vancouver Granville MP, Taleeb Noormohamed, (standing, left) presenting a community service certificate to long time Vancouver resident, Moona Prasad, for his long and distinguished service to the community.

“Authorized by Tobi Abisoye, Financial Agent”

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The accused haven’t commented yet on the allegations as they are in police custody.

Warning: This article contains details some readers may find distressing.

The gruesome case has made national headlines and shocked the people of KeralaconsideredoneofIndia’smostprogressivestates.

Police say the accused are Bhagaval Singh - an ayurvedic “healer” - his wife Laila, and Mohammed Shafi, an “occult practitioner” from Idukki district.

On Wednesday, a court in Cochin city (now Kochi) sent them to judicial custody for three weeks.

Cochin Police Commissioner CH Nagaraju said the murders took place over four months and were suspected to be part of a ritual done for “financial benefits”.

He added that the motive behind the murder was based only on a “preliminary assumption” and that they were investigating based on the confessions.

“Black magic” is still practised in some parts of India - people believe the rituals could bring prosperity, help childless women bear children, cure illnesses and even produce more rainfall.

Police say the accused allegedly lured the victims - who sold lottery tickets in Cochin - with the promise of money and allegedly beheaded them before chopping their bodies into pieces.

directly in the bank account of the beneficiary on time by bringing efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and also to eliminate the intermediary body.

According to the government data, more than Rs 24.8 lakh crore has been transferred through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode since 2013, Rs 6.3 lakh crore in the financial year 2021-22 alone; on an average over 90 lakh DBT payments are processed daily as per data of FY22.

“From India, there is a lot to learn. There is a lot to learn from some other examples around the world. We have examples from pretty much every continent and every level of income. If I look at the case of India, it is actually quite impressive, Paolo Mauro, Deputy Director of the Fiscal Affairs Department at the IMF, told reporters here on Wednesday.

“In fact, just because of the sheer size of the country, it is a logistical marvel how these programmes that seek to help people

Two women used in human sacrifice in India

India’s deployment of cash transfer scheme is a logistical marvel: IMF

and moths push the trees of Vancouver’s Stanley Park to the brink - BC

The trees of Stanley Park, typically the green jewel of Vancouver’s downtown core, just can’t catch a break.

Experts say large numbers of browning trees appear dead or dying, because of a one-two combination of foliage-munching grubs and an exceptionally dry weather spell, with the last appreciable rain falling in Vancouver on Sept. 4.

City of Vancouver arborist Joe McLeod said trees already stressed by infestations of western hemlock looper moth larva have been further pushed toward breaking point by the prolonged summer-like conditions.

“Much like humans, the more stressed we are, the more susceptible we are to getting colds and other conditions,” said McLeod.

“Unfortunately, I think the fact that there is an insect outbreak that is happening and the fact that we have very extreme heat and then extreme cold — it’s definitely lending itself to a worse situation than previous years.”

Such “multiple layers of stress” added up to a higher likelihood of tree mortality, said McLeod. Dead trees could be seen in the park’s Prospect Point area, as well as facing Coal Harbour, English Bay and the northern edge of the park, he added. Richard Hamelin, the department head of forest conservation sciences at the University of British Columbia, agreed that it’s not just the ongoing problem of the looper moths that is killing trees.

“The heat and the drought are like additional stress that affects those trees,” said Hamelin.

“If it were just for the insect, maybe the trees would recover,” said Hamelin, who has been monitoring the health of trees throughout the park over the last four years. McLeod, acting manager of urban forestry, fleet and strategic planning at the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, said the moth outbreak is in its fourth year.

The moth’s larval grubs mostly target western hemlocks, but will jump to Douglas fir and other species when the hemlocks are consumed. The moth outbreaks are cyclic, and typically last one to three years.

Surrey RCMP are warning the public about an ongoing investigation involving men using an escort service.

RCMP warn public after men using escort service drugged, robbed - BC of Vancouver has now been charged with manslaughter, seven counts of administering a stupefying or overpowering drug or substance, six counts of theft over $5,000, one count of theft, four counts of fraud and two counts of extortion.

Police said in September 2021, they were notified by officers in the community response unit that there have been multiple reports of men being drugged and having their belongings stolen while using the service.

In one of the incidents, in February 2021, a man died after being given a substance during an encounter, police said.

Throughout a complex investigation, police said they identified a suspect who is alleged to have committed multiple offences in Surrey, Burnaby, Langley and Vancouver.

Jessica Nicole Renee Kane, 30,

Kane has been remanded into custody while she awaits her next court appearance, police said.

“Investigators believe there could be others in the community who may have information but are reluctant to come forward to police,” Surrey RCMP media relations officer Cpl. Vanessa Munn said in a release. “We are encouraging anyone with information to come forward and make a police report with the Surrey RCMP Serious Crime Unit.”

UK man sentenced to life in prison for murder of BC teen Ashley Wadsworth

United Kingdom — A British man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of BC teenager who moved to England last year after meeting him online. Essex Police said Monday that Jack Sepple will spend a minimum 23 1/2 years in prison for the death of Ashley Wadsworth of Vernon.

Wadsworth, 19, was stabbed and strangled during a sustained attack in the 23-year-old’s home on Feb. 1, police said.

Sepple pleaded guilty to Wadsworth’s murder last month.

Det. Supt. Scott Egerton said in a statement the evidence against him was “so overwhelming” that he had no choice other than to admit his guilt.

“My thoughts today are entirely with Ashley’s friends and family. Nothing will bring Ashley back, but I hope they find some comfort afforded by the sentence,” Egerton said. In a statement shared by police, her mother Christy Gedron

described Wadsworth as a beautiful and smart young woman, whose “love of and thirst for adventure” brought her to the U.K. “You were the backbone of our little family,” her mother said.

Wadsworth’s Facebook page showed she moved to England last November. She posted photos of what she described as an “amazing trip to London” with Sepple just weeks before she was killed.

Police said Monday that on the day of the attack, two of the teen’s friends received texts saying she needed help and wanted to leave Sepple’s home. The texts asked the pair to come get her, but were followed by messages saying everything was “sorted.”

Concerned for their friends safety, the friends went to the address. They heard movement in the one-bedroom home but got not response so they called police, the statement said.

NATIONAL

These are the worst cities for crime in Canada: Numbeo

The following fall between high and moderate levels of crime:

Surrey,BC 64.58

Lethbridge, AB 63.89

Red Deer 61.75

Kelowna, Canada 61.56

Sudbury, Canada 60.10

Sault Ste. Marie, Canada 59.81

Winnipeg, Canada 58.93

Oshawa, Canada 55.08

Brampton, Canada 54.98

Hamilton, Canada 54.53

London, Canada 53.59

Regina, Canada 52.82

Kamloops, Canada 52.63

Nanaimo, BC, Canada 49.23

Saskatoon, Canada 48.81

St.Catharines, Canada 47.4

St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador 46.99

Moncton, Canada 45.04

Edmonton, Canada 44.56

Windsor, Canada 43.25

Mississauga, Canada 43.06

Vaughan, Canada 42.70

Toronto, Canada 41.52

Halifax, Canada 41.16

Kitchener, Canada 40.97

Sudbury is the fifth worst place for crime in Canada, with a crime index of 60.10, which puts it in the high crime range.

#85 – Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario falls under the moderate category, with a crime index of 59.81. #93 – Winnipeg, Manitoba

Winnipeg, Manitoba, is the last Canadian city in the world’s top 100 worst places for crime. Winnipeg has a crime index of 58.93, which also puts it in the moderate category.

BC preparing sand bags, tiger dams in case of floods after drought

The British Columbia government says it’s ready to deploy sand bags and tiger dams in case flooding follows the ongoing drought.

Emergency Management BC says when rain falls after long dry spells, the parched soil can increase runoff and river flow.

It says the transition to the rainy season doesn’t typically cause extensive flooding and the devastation wreaked by last year’s atmospheric rivers was rare.

However, it adds that flooding is natural in B.C. and people living near streams and rivers that have breached their banks in previous

years are encouraged to keep an eye on the weather and river conditions. It also asks residents to prepare by making household emergency plans, putting together emergency kits and learning about local government response plans for their areas.

The government says it has four million sand bags prepared, plus 10 kilometres of gabions, a wall-like structure filled with sand, and 32 kilometres of tiger dams, the stackable orange tubes filled with water.

Following criticism last year, the province has also expanded its use of the Alert Ready system to broadcast emergency warnings directly to cellphones in case of wildfires and floods.

Canada announces new military package for Ukraine after Russian missile attacks

Canada said on Wednesday it will provide over C$47 million ($34.06 million) in new military aid to assist Ukraine in dealing with Russia’s invasion, with the package including artillery rounds, satellite communications, winter clothing and drone cameras, among other assistance.

Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand announced the package, which builds on about C$600 million in military equipment that Canada has donated or committed since Russia began its invasion on Feb. 24.

More than 50 Western countries met on Wednesday to promise more weapons for Ukraine, especially air defences after Russia launched its most intense missile strikes since the war began.

Russian attacks using more than 100 missiles

have killed at least 26 people across Ukraine since Monday, when President Vladimir Putin ordered what he called retaliatory strikes against Ukraine for an explosion on a bridge.

Canada’s latest package includes C$15.2 million in equipment from the Canadian Armed Forces’ inventory, including 155mm NATO-standard artillery rounds, fuses, and charge bags compatible with M777 howitzer artillery guns, Anand said in a statement.

It also includes 400,000 pieces of winter clothing for a total of C$15 million and additional specialized drone cameras with a value of C$15.3 million.

Canada said on Tuesday it will send 40 more combat engineers to help support Polish efforts to train Ukrainian forces.

IMF says Canada should resist pressure to spend tevenue windfall

Canadian governments need to resist pressure to spend revenue windfalls from higher commodity prices in order to help slow inflation and shore up the nation’s balance sheet, the International Monetary Fund said.

The IMF said inflation in Canada is being fueled in part by excess demand and a tight labor market, and continued monetary and fiscal tightening will be required to rein in price gains. The federal government, meanwhile, should consider reestablishing fiscal anchors to enhance credibility.

“Revenue windfalls at both federal and provincial levels should be saved,” the IMF said from Washington in its Canadian mission’s annual statement.

“While some space could be made for limited and highly targeted programs to buffer vulnerable households from high fuel and food prices, more generalized spending increases should be avoided so as not to undercut monetary policy.”

So far this year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has been pulling in billions more than anticipated thanks to surging incomes on the back of inflation and higher commodity prices.

For the first four months of the current fiscal year — April through July — the government ran a budget surplus, a surprise start given the C$53 billion ($38.4 billion) deficit Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland projected for the year.

Trudeau tops Poilievre for preferred prime minister, Nanos poll shows

Justin Trudeau is the preferred choice for prime minister compared with Pierre Poilievre, according to a new Nanos Research poll, though a significant portion of Canadians has nothing good to say about either leader.

If only Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Poilievre were on the ballot, 46 per cent of survey respondents said they would prefer the current Prime Minister, compared with 30 per cent who favoured the Conservative Leader. However, a sizable number of respondents, 19 per cent, didn’t want either to lead the country, and 5 per cent were unsure.

The survey can be summed up as a question of “not ‘who do I like,’ but ‘who

do I dislike least,’” Nanos Research founder Nik Nanos said in an interview Sunday. “Canadians are not enthusiastic about the two main choices on the political menu.”

Mr. Nanos said polling research shows the incumbent has the advantage in these types of survey questions, because they already have the job and are a better known commodity.

Mr. Trudeau far outpaced Mr. Poilievre in favourability among women, 52 per cent to 22 per cent. The two leaders were evenly split in preference among men, with 39 per cent favouring Mr. Trudeau, compared with 38 per cent for Mr. Poilievre.

Battle lines drawn as the Emergencies Act inquiry gets underway in Ottawa

Eight months after anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate protesters gridlocked parts of downtown Ottawa, a public inquiry has opened public hearings as it probes the federal government’s unprecedented use of emergency powers to clear the capital.

The Public Order Emergency Commission’s official launch this morning kicks off what’s anticipated to be a politically tense six weeks as the inquiry hears from federal government representatives about why they felt they had to invoke the neverbefore-used Emergencies Act, and from those who argue it was a step too far.

Invoking the act gave authorities new powers allowing them to freeze the finances

of those connected to blockades and protests, ban travel to protest zones, prohibit people from bringing minors to unlawful assemblies and commandeer tow trucks.

The start of the inquiry saw some of the key players lay out sometimes conflicting views of that decision and what happened in Ottawa last winter.

Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Paul Rouleau, who has been chosen to lead the inquiry, kicked off the morning by explaining the commission’s mandate and the challenges it faces.

“A commission’s recommendations may be modest or wide-ranging.

New Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre names opposition critics

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has announced a list of opposition critics that includes posts for his leadership rivals Scott Aitchison and Leslyn Lewis, but not former party leader Erin O’Toole.

Also missing from the roster of critics are veteran B.C. MP Ed Fast, who supported former Quebec premier Jean Charest in the leadership race that Mr. Poilievre won last month, and Alberta MP Michelle Rempel Garner, who

supported Brampton, Ont. Mayor Patrick Brown’s unsuccessful bid to lead the party.

In a statement, Mr. O’Toole said on Wednesday that he asked not to have a critic role in order to allow Mr. Poilievre an “unobstructed runway” to put forward his own team, and that he would be available as a “pinch hitter” on issues. “My focus will remain my riding and issues

Kelowna City Council candidate finds election sign with racist commens

A Kelowna resident running for a city councillor spot has been the target of racism.

A member from Indy Dhial’s campaign shared a photo with Castanet of one of Dhial’s signs destroyedwitharacistcommentwrittenontheback.

“We have had many of our campaign signs destroyed, which seems like something most of the candidates have experienced. This morning we found one of our big signs that was in front of Costco was destroyed. I have attached the note that was left. The campaign has mostly been positive for us and we feel

like Indy has been reaching some people, but seeing things like this is a little disheartening,” campaign member Kelly Loudoun wrote. The racist comment that was written said: “Nobody cares about Arabs/ East Indians,”.

In a Castanet questionnaire to city council candidates, Dhial shared that his family moved to Kelowna when he was born and he has been involved in the community through sports all his life.

BC is not amused as Alberta woos workers in other provinces

The government of Alberta is spending $2.6-million on a labour-recruitment drive that aims to poach skilled workers from other provinces. Family doctors in particular would be a prize – but as other provinces struggle to recruit and retain physicians, B.C.’s Premier has admonished his neighbour for the “Alberta is Calling” campaign.

“The Alberta approach is inconsistent with what provinces have been doing for the past four or five years,” Premier John Horgan said. Instead of competing with each other for sought-after workers, he said, the provinces should be pressing Ottawa to put more money into health care to address worker shortages across the country.

But a kerfuffle over the ad campaign, which

touts Alberta’s high wages, low housing costs and sunshine, is superficial. Both British Columbia and Alberta have been digging deep to recruit and retain family doctors, who are in a strong bargaining position to demand more money and better working conditions.

Alberta just signed a new deal with its doctors, with the largest increases going to family physicians and select specialists. The increase for family doctors is 5.2 per cent over three years, with additional increases for rural doctors and more money available to help with office administration costs. As well, the province just set up a series of advisory panels to work with family doctors to modernize the province’s primary health care system over the next five to 10 years.

Comments by new Alberta premier on discrimination against unvaccinated ‘laughable’: Horgan

Premier John Horgan says comments this week by new Alberta Premier Danielle Smith referring to the unmatched discrimination against people who did not get vaccinated against COVID-19 was “laughable.”

Horgan, who will step down as premier later this year once a new B.C. NDP leader is elected, made the comments in a one-hour end-of-term interview with C-FAX Radio host Al Ferraby.

“It’s laughable, quite frankly,” said Horgan.

Sworn in Tuesday as Alberta’s new premier, Smith signalled she will amend provincial human rights law to protect those who choose not to get vaccinated.

The unvaccinated “have been the most discriminated-against group that I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime,” Smith told reporters at the Alberta legislature.

“I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a situation in my lifetime where a person was fired from their job or not allowed to watch their kids play hockey or not allowed to go visit a loved one in long-term care or hospital, not allowed to get on a plane to either go across the country to see family or even travel across the border.

“We are not going to create a segregated society on the basis of a medical choice.”

that I think are very important to the country,” said the Ontario MP for Durham.

Asked about his absence from the ranks of critics, Mr. Fast said in an e-mail exchange on Wednesday afternoon that he was going to reserve comment on the matter.

Mr. Fast, a former international trade minister under Stephen Harper, was first

elected to Parliament in 2006 as the MP for the B.C. riding of Abbotsford. He stepped down as the Conservative finance critic in May, criticizing Mr. Poilievre’s commitment to fire Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem over the country’s inflation rate. Mr. Fast said the idea hurt the party’s credibility on economic issues.

Privacy commissioners across the country are calling on governments and healthcare sectors to stop using fax machines and unencrypted emails as forms of communication.

“Despite these rapid digital advancements in the health sector, breaches continue to be caused by the use of insecure communication technologies such as traditional fax machines and unencrypted emails, unauthorized access to health records by employees (often in the form of ‘snooping’), and cybersecurity attacks (including ransomware),” according to a joint resolution issued from federal, provincial and territorial privacy commissioners last month.

Instead, the group urges healthcare institutions to adopt modern and secure ways of transmitting personal health information, such as encrypted email services, secure patient portals, electronic referrals and electronic prescribing, the resolution stated.

“We’ve been recommending basically across Canada that people work on a better way. Is it encrypted emails or is it more robust than that?” said Ron Kruzeniski, Saskatchewan’s Information and Privacy Commissioner.

“The end result is a real need to protect your and my personal health information.”

Privacy Commissioners urge governments and health sector to ‘axe the fax’

Mayor Brodie has been the mayor for Richmond since 2001. As one of the longest mayors in office in Metro Vancouver, Mayor Brodie has been at the helm before the Olympics and since then. Asian Star interviewed the mayor to get his thoughts on what he and his council has accomplished in the past, and what their plans are for this next term.

Asian Star: You have been the Mayor of Richmond for over twenty-one years. What are the accomplishments achieved in the several terms you have been in office?

Mayor Brodie: There are far too many accomplishments of the city to mention them all. Here are a couple of big important ones - bringing in the Canada Line into Richmond, something we had been seeking for fifty years ever since the interurban tram line was taken away, and the Olympic Oval which brought the Winter Olympics to Richmond.

I think that we established and kept a very good quality of life, there is real diversity of our population with people from all over the world coming to live in our city. Our population has grown and along with that we have increased police officers, rebuilt all the firehalls, we have more firefighters, we have more community centers, we have more fields. Really everything has grown along with the population growth.

Asian Star: You have been part of the George Massey Crossing Task Force for a while now. Any updates on this issue?

Mayor Brodie: That is the Metro Vancouver Task Force, we have been working with the province to get them to

Mayor Brodie on running for Mayor in Richmond

go ahead. We have been working on getting a replacement on the George Massey Tunnel since 2007. When Kevin Falcon was Transportation Minister in the BC Liberal government, he stated that when the Port Mann Bridge is completed, they (BC Liberals) will start work on the tunnel.

All of sudden in 2013 without any consultation to the city of Richmond, Christy Clark announced there was going to be a big hunk of a bridge – of course it divided opinion, but certainly our city council was never in favour of that approach.

But the government of the day wasted five years on the project and I’m told that about $75 million dollars were spent before the project was shut down. Now we are going to eight-lane immersed two tunnels. I can tell you that Metro Vancouver Trans link board is almost unanimously in support of that tunnel solution, has is Richmond, as is Delta, as is Vancouver and Surrey.

Asian Star: Were there geo-tech issues with the bridge and the reason why it was scraped?

There were more than geo-technical issues involved with supporting one of the highest, widest, longest bridges of its kind in North America. That was just one facet of it, but the impact on farmland, the impact on the environment, the urban impacts of it were just unacceptable to the people of Richmond.

It’s too bad that it caused delays like that but we had been voicing our concerns from day one – and it fell on deaf ears.

Asian Star: There have been stories of where agriculture land is being used for residential use only with humongous houses being built on it. How has this issue been handled?

Mayor Brodie: This was really a big issue in 2018 – the debate at that time was to have the maximum house size reduced on farmland. Building proposals coming in at the time were at 10,000 sq ft – I thought that was too much – I felt half of that was okay. After the election, the province brought in legislation to regulate the maximum house size on farmlands to 5200 sq ft. Richmond went further – 4200 sq ft. I felt that was too low, but that is what the regulation is now, house on Richmond farmland no larger than 4200 sq ft. That issue is now settled, no more discussions on changing that now.

Asian Star: There were a few brazen gang shootings in public places in the last few years. Is this issue under control?

Mayor Brodie: We have had issues like that, but they are really infrequent compared to other cities We certainly don’t have open gang war like we have seen in other locales.

I think overall Richmond is a relatively safe community, we have our instances at time, nothing’s perfect, but I think we are relatively a safe community.

Asian Star: In terms of climate change with Richmond being a low-lying land mass and the expected rise of sea water through melting glaciers, are there plans in place to mitigate this coming issue?

Mayor Brodie: Richmond is an island city and on the main island which is called Lulu Island there are almost 50 km of dykes. It’s a flood plain and on average its about 1 meter above sea level. And so, we have to be very cautious in terms of rising waters and flooding; we have a separate utility for drainage of diking, we spend

average of over $14 million a year on that.

We also have a very progressive plan for future to heighten, widen and strengthen the dykes all the way around the island and on certain parts of the island. This is very important to know - that we are doing a decent job on this issue was proven this time last year when we had heavy rains for days that flooded the Fraser Valley. We only had some localized flooding, but really nothing to repair. We know in Richmond that we got to be on top of these dykes and make sure there are no mistakes, that we have to protect ourselves. So, we are assertive on how we do that.

Asian Star: What is your message to residents of Richmond for the next term?

Mayor Brodie: I’m not waiting for the next term to implement programs, as far as I’m concerned, its full steam ahead as it has remained that way. I think the challenges that face us first of all are on affordability and housing, secondly keeping taxes low, and making sure we sustainably protect the environment. Our big projects in the coming term will be to revise the Official Community Plan.

The OCP is going to redefine – every ten years we revised the OCP – now is the time we are getting into that review and its going to be an interesting process –we will densify the city center area – and also densify along the arterial routes leaving single-family and farmland intact. We have seen in other cities where they build just about anything anywhere. I don’t personally agree with that approach – we have to be very careful of what we do.

Surrey Forward – Momentum is Ours!

Campaign Highs – Fund Raising, Digital, Brochures, Lawn Signs, Union Endorsements,

Surrey Forward, led by Jinny Sims, is reaching new levels of momentum at the right time. These metrics match our earlier internal polling placing Jinny in a close second behind Brenda Locke over 10 days ago. Sukh Dhaliwal and Doug McCallum tied for third with Gordie Hogg in fifth place. Our momentum now has lifted us past Locke.

Measuring momentum is a challenging task, but there are benchmarks that are very useful in addressing the development of momentum:

·Fund Raising – Money is the currency of politics™. With donation levels capped at just over $1,250, donations must come from hundreds and hundreds of people. Your appeal as a electoral organization is directly related to funds raised. Surrey Forward is seeing our donations levels increase dramatically as the campaign progresses.

·Digital – Fifteen different videos, millions of impressions, tens of thousands of clicks and website visits that directly correlate to votes are all up. No campaign is even close to our digital campaign. Users report seeing the Surrey Forward campaign on all of their digital platforms.

·Brochures – Five different versions of brochures. 500,000 individual brochures have been delivered to the 170,000 apartments and homes in Surrey. Most homes received four brochures each over the past two months.

·

Lawn Signs – 2,600 lawn signs have been placed, with permission of the homeowner, on private lawns throughout Surrey. Surrey Forward is the only campaign that is placing our signs in every Surrey community.

· Union Endorsements – The New Westminster & District Labour Council has endorsed Jinny Sims and members of the Surrey Forward Electoral Organization. Every union member in Surrey has been contacted multiple times by their peers in organized labour and encouraged to vote for Jinny Sims team. This is a high impact electoral activity that will generate tens of thousands of votes for Jinny Sims and Surrey Forward.

·Large Signs – 400 large signs have been placed throughout Surrey on private land. We are keeping pace with Doug McCallum and his alleged use of the Mayor’s office to secure sign locations and Sukh Dhaliwal’s access to federal sign lists. The Surrey Forward team had no lists of sign locations for large sign placement from any provincial or federal party.

·Telephone Calls – As mentioned above, tens of thousands of calls have been made to union members. An equal number of calls have been made by professional callers to those who have provided contact information to Surrey Forward and volunteer callers to their own networks. These peer-to-peer calls are proven to be the most effective campaign outreach throughout North America. Total calls made by Surrey Forward will be in excess of 100,000 by the completion of the campaign.

· Social Media – The social media campaigns from each Electoral Organization have varied wildly. Only Surrey Forward has conducted full campaigns for the past three months on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and What’s App. Millions of impressions have been generated during this social media campaign.

· Group Meetings – The backbone of every political campaign is small group meetings. Meetings with 10, 20 or 30 people who have concerns in the community, who want to see change, who are committed to vote. Surrey Forward committed to these meetings early on and have seen in excess of 30,000 people at over 1,000 small group meetings. This is how campaigns are won.

Campaigns matter in elections. Most times the best campaign wins. The Jinny Sims and Surrey Forward campaign has put forward the most ideas, the best campaign and the best people to serve Surrey moving forward.

We invite the media to compare and contrast the numbers above.

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Stephen Carter at 403.630.7133

Harvinder Sandhu

Bingo on the House on October 16th 2022 & In Person Yoga Classes at Shanti Niketan hall,

IIn Person Yoga classes on 17th Oct. ( Monday) & 20th Oct. 2022 (Thursday) will continue by Mr. Ashwini Bansal expert Yoga Instructor from 10.00 am to 11.15 am. Mr. Mahendra Kumar Juneja Yoga Expert will help to observe & guide the seniors to do correct yoga. Pure Vegetarian lunch will be served in the dining hall at 11.30 am

On November 4th 2022, Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre & APNI South Asian Community Response Networks Surrey is going to celebrate Diwali the Festival of Lights Get Together on November 4th (Friday) at Ultimate Banquet hall #200- 8072 - 120th street Surrey BC, from 6.00 pm to 9:30 pm.

Lakshmi Narayan Temple, 8321 - 140th St., Surrey, BC, V3W 5K9 Tel: 604 - 507 - 9945

Bhupinder Singh - a singer par excellence

Renowned singer Bhupinder Singh died on July 25, at the age of 82 due to suspected colon cancer and Covid-related complications. The singer was best known for his bhajans, ghazals, geets, and songs like “Naam Gum Jayega” and “Dil Dhoondta Hai”, “Do Diwane Shehar Mein”, “Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Aasman”, among many other famous and heart touching songs.

Theyear2022marredbythedeathsofmany renowned singers, such as Lata Mangeskar, Bappi Lahiri and KK passed away.

Bhupinder was born in Amritsar on January 6, 1940, to Natha Singhji, a musician and his introducer to music. Bhupinder’s father was a stern teacher, and at one point, he detested music and its instruments. Bhupinder started his career as casual artist for All India Radio under the direction of Satish Bhatia.

He also worked at Doordarshan Center, New Delhi.

He also learnt guitar.

In 1962, music director Madan Mohan saw him at a dinner hosted by Satish Bhatia in his honour (Satish Bhatia was Producer in AIR Delhi and Bhupinder was working under him as a guitarist), and called him to Bombay. He was given the opportunity to sing the song Hoke Majboor Mujhe Usne Bhulaya Hoga alongside Mohammed Rafi, Talat Mahmood and Manna Dey in Chetan Anand’s Haqeeqat. He was given a solo by music director Khayyam in film

Aakhri Khat. Bhupinder’s voice one of the most unique in playback singing.

He has sung few popular duets with Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi also.

Thereafter Bhupinder started releasing private albums wherein his first LP had three self-composed songs and was released in 1968, a second LP of ghazals wherein he introduced the Spanish guitar, bass and drums to the ghazal style, released in 1978 and his third LP titled Woh Jo Shair Tha, for which the lyrics were written by Gulzar in 1980.

Entering wedlock with Bangladeshi singer Mitali, he moved away from playback singing in the mid-1980s and since then has been singing jointly for several albums and live concerts. Together they have produced many ghazal and geet cassettes.

His famous songs include “Dil Dhoondta hai”, “Do diwane shahar mein”, “Naam gum jayega”, “Karoge yaad to”, “Meethe bol bole”, “Kabhi kisi ko mukammal”, “Kisi nazar ko tera intezaar aaj bhi”, and “Ek akela is Shehar Mein”. He sang the song Duniya Chute Yaar Na Toote picturized on Rajesh Khanna.

R. D. Burman made him sing songs like Raat Banoo Mein Geet Bano Tum, Naam Gum Jayega, Kahiya Kahan Se Aana Hua and Beete Na Bitaai Raina which made him famous.

Dharmendra and Sunny Deol

Dharmendra’s son Sunny Deol currently awaiting release of his next film ‘Chup’. The actor has indeed come a long way in his career with some iconic on-screen characters in his filmography. Dharmendra, a celebrity in the industry and is also one of the finest actors of Bollywood cinema. Sunny spoke about

his father stardom, Sunny said that he’s grateful to have his biggest idol at home. Heaping praises for him, he added that he is the only actor to succeed in all genres of cinema and he has never shied away from exploring different roles.

CMHC deputy chief economist predicts 15% housing price drop by Q2 2023

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is predicting housing prices will continue to drop in 2023, but is warning the fall will do little for affordability. Patrick Perrier, the housing agency’s deputy chief economist, said in a report Thursday that he expects the national average home price to fall 15% from $770,812 — the peak seen in the first quarter of this year — by the end of the second quarter of 2023. On an annual basis, he sees prices growing 2.6% in 2022 compared with 21.3% in 2021 and then, declining 6.3% in 2023 and rising 2.1% in 2024. Perrier attributed the moves to housing demand slowing as interest rates rise. Despite the price decline, Perrier believes housing affordability will not improve because any benefits that can be reaped from lower prices will be offset by higher interest rates and combined with an increasingly competitive rental market. “Those who are current renters that were planning to purchase a house, they won’t be able to do it, so they’ll stay in the rental market,” Perrier said in an interview.

“And unfortunately, we might see others that are currently owners that, because of deterioration in their employment

and income conditions, might have to sell and go on the rental market.”

Thus, Perrier said less demand and pressure in the ownership market will transfer to more demand and pressure in the rental market.

To make the housing markets for affordable, he feels more supply is needed and it needs to come quicker to keep pace with demand and take pressure off pricing.

Perrier sees the lack of affordability occurring as the country heads into a recession by the end of 2022, but added that the downturn will not be as severe as the last and a recovery will begin in the second half of 2023.

In a separate report, Royal LePage lowered its home price expectations on Thursday. It sees prices in the fourth quarter decreasing compared with the same quarter last year and erasing the gains made at the start of 2022.

The real estate brokerage’s new outlook is based on a survey that predicted the aggregate price of a home in Canada in the final three months of the year will drop 0.5% compared with the fourth quarter of 2021.

Even bigger home price drops seen looming as interest rate forecasts rise

The higher expectations for interest rate hikes climb — and they are climbing — the bleaker the outlook for global housing markets gets.

Capital Economics has revised its forecast for the peak in interest rates for major developed markets upwards by 50 to 100 basis points, and now expects rates to peak at between 3 and 5 per cent.

Even higher rates will put more pressure on housing markets, and Capital now expects bigger price drops in some of the more vulnerable markets, including Canada.

Here Capital predicts a peak to trough price drop of about 20 per cent, the deepest among advanced economies except for New Zealand.

Economists at TD are also raising their rate forecasts and downgrading their housing outlook.

They now see home sales bottoming out 20 per cent below pre-pandemic levels by early 2023 and staying

subdued for the rest of the year.

They have also downgraded their housing price forecast and see prices falling by more than 11 per cent in 2023.

Evidence that the bottom for housing markets is still a ways away showed up in early reports from local real estate boards as sales and prices fell broadly across Canada in September.

Sales in Toronto fell 11 per cent from the month before to the lowest level since 2009, excluding the lockdown in the spring of 2020, said RBC assistant chief economist Robert Hogue in a report last week.

And in Montreal the market correction is gaining speed, he said. Sales were down 10 per cent in August from the month before and an estimated 6 per cent in September, compared with an average drop of 1.7 per cent per month between February and July.

September’s sales were the lowest in seven years, excluding the spring 2020 lockdown.

Some areas of the country, however, are

Toronto has the world’s highest housing-bubble risk

It may not be a shock to many, but it’s confirmed: Toronto’s housing market officially has a higher bubble risk than anywhere else in the world. This is according to the UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index for 2022, released yesterday, which showed that Toronto’s bubble risk has expanded to a score of 2.24 this year, up from 2.02 in 2021 and 1.96 in 2022. UBS’s metric puts any score above 1.5 at bubble risk. In previous years, Frankfurt and Munich have snagged that top spot, but as housing prices in Toronto have more than tripled in the last 25 years — amid chronic inventory shortfalls and a growing population — the 6ix has unsurprisingly inched to the not-so-coveted number one spot. That said, Toronto is not an outlier in Canada. Thanks to a lot of the same factors

facing Toronto, Vancouver also showed significant bubble risk with a score of 1.70.

“The index has been flashing warning signals in the last couple of years,” UBS’s report explains. “The most recent housing frenzy that began in 2019 as mortgage rates fell has continued into 2021. Property price growth in Vancouver and Toronto accelerated to its highest rate in five years, with house prices now respectively 14% and 17% higher than a year ago.

“Up-sizing during the pandemic on the back of strong income growth has done its part in pushing up demand. Households have also been leveraging up at the fastest pace since before the financial crisis. And although the rental market is running hot with rents climbing by more than double their five-year average rates, they could not keep up with the pace in the owner-occupied market.”

The real estate market continues to struggle amid rising interest rates.

According to the BC Real Estate Association, the latest figures show sales fell 45 per cent in September 2022, compared to the same month last year.

Some areas of the province were hit harder than others. In the Fraser Valley, sales were down 52.3 per cent last month. That region also saw a dip in prices, by 5.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Greater Vancouver region saw a decline in sales of 46.8 per cent in September 2022, though prices increased by 4.9 per cent.

“Mortgage qualifying continues to be a significant hurdle for many potential buyers as interest rates rise,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson.

BC real estate sales see further decline in September

“In addition, many trends that drove demand in smaller markets, such as remote work and the quest for affordable space, have faded in prominence. As a result, we see a stronger pullback in markets outside

of major metropolitan areas.”

Sale prices were generally split across the province, with some other areas, like Victoria and the Okanagan, seeing increases, while others, like Chilliwack, saw averages drop.

On a provincial level, the average MLS

residential price rose by 1.74 per cent to $927,119 last month compared to September 2021, when it was $912,008.

B.C. homebuyer protection period announced amid real estate crunch

The latest data comes about a month after the BCREA said some parts of the province were starting to become “buyer’s markets.” In early September, the association predicted sales would drop by almost 35 per cent in the coming quarter.

“Mortgage rates have risen at a much faster rate and to a higher level than previously anticipated,” Ogmundson said in a release on Sept. 8. “Faced with a dramatic shift in the cost of borrowing, housing market activity is likely to fall well below normal over the next year.”

Construction begins on three towers with 649 rental homes next to SkyTrain Marine Drive station

Nearly two years after receiving rezoning approval from Vancouver City Council, construction has officially commenced on the major rental housing redevelopment of Ashley Mar Housing Co-operative in South Vancouver. This redevelopment of the 1.5acre site at 8495 Cambie Street and 8460 Ash Street is immediately west of SkyTrain Marine Drive Station and the Marine Gateway complex.

There will be three towers, including 27-storey and 32-storey market rental housing towers, and a 16-storey co-op tower. A total of 649 homes will be contained within these three towers, including 524 market rental homes and 125 co-op units classified as social housing with their below-market rates. This represents a net gain of 71 co-op units over the previous 54 co-op units on the site. Existing residents will be temporarily relocated to another location during construction, before moving back into

the new 16-storey tower, which will remain under the ownership and operation of the coop. Seven years ago, the co-op selected local developer Intracorp Homes to pursue a redevelopment that renews their co-op homes, replacing the original 1983-built, low-storey structures in poor condition. The inclusion of a major market rental housing component on the site not only provides much-needed new

additional rental supply for Vancouver but also covers the cost of the subsidized co-op development. In early 2021, a revised proposal increased the heights of the three towers to add over 100 more homes to the project. Toronto-based Oxford Properties is Intracorp’s joint venture partner in completing the project. Perkins & Will is the architectural firm behind the design.

“An important aspect of this venture

has been the collaborative visioning with Oxford, Ashley Mar, and our Intracorp team,” said Evan Allegretto, president of the BC division at Intracorp, in a statement.

“The advocacy that the co-op has lent to this undertaking, combined with Oxford’s commitment to delivering high-quality, professionally managed rental homes to Vancouver, is the key that has allowed us to put together such a unique project.” Tyler Seaman, senior vice president of the Canada division at Oxford Properties, added: “The Ashley Mar Co-Op renewal and development project is a perfect example of what can be achieved when public and private sectors collaborate to deliver unique and creative solutions to address the housing challenges we are seeing in Canada’s largest cities.”

Oxford Properties, owned by the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, is

Artistic rendering of Marine Gateway 2 at 8530 Cambie Street, Vancouver

An Indian Supreme Court panel failed on Thursday to rule on a ban on hijabs in schools, referring the matter to the chief justice after a split decision, and leaving in place a state’s ruling against the scarfs worn by women that sparked an uproar.

Karnataka state’s ban on the garment in schools in February unleashed protests by Muslim students and their parents.

In response, Hindu students staged counter-protests, raising another contentious issue at a time when some Muslims have complained of marginalisation under a Hindu nationalist government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India’s debate on the hijab comes as protests have rocked Iran after women objected to dress codes under its Islamic laws.

“We have a divergence of opinion,” said Supreme Court Justice Hemant Gupta, one of two judges on the panel.

Gupta said he had wanted an appeal against the ban to be quashed while his colleague on the panel, Sudhanshu Dhulia, said wearing the hijab was a “matter of choice”.

The chief justice would set up a larger bench to further consider the case, they said but did not say by when that could happen. Supreme Court decisions apply nationwide.

Anas Tanwir, a lawyer for one of the Muslim petitioners who appealed against the Karnataka ban, told Reuters the split verdict was a “semi-victory” for them.

“Hopefully, the chief justice will set up the larger bench soon and we will have a definitive verdict,” he said by telephone.

Muslims are the biggest minority group in India, accounting for 13 per cent of the population of 1.4 billion, the majority of whom are Hindu.

Critics of the hijab ban say it is another way of marginalising the

Muslim community, adding that Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which rules Karnataka, could benefit from the controversy

ahead of a state election due by May next year.

TheBJP,whichdrawsitssupportmainlyfrom Hindus, says the ban has no political motive.

India’s Supreme Court pannel splits as Hijab ban in schools to stay

‘seriously investigating’ children’s deaths linked to Maiden-made drugs: EAM Jaishankar to Gambia

New Delhi is “seriously investigating” the deaths of 69 children in Gambia in the wake of a report that provisionally linked the fatalities to Indian-made products, India’s foreign minister told his Gambian counterpart on Thursday.

Indian health authorities announced a production halt at domestic company Maiden Pharmaceuticals’s factory in Sonepat in northern India on Wednesday after a WHO report said its cough and cold syrups might be linked to the deaths of 69 children in Gambia.

The matter “is being seriously investigated by appropriate authorities,” India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar said in a tweet. The deaths, the worst

involving drugs made in India, are a blow to an industry whose exports more than doubled in the last decade to hit $24.5 billion in the fiscal year through March.

Known as a “pharmacy of the world”, India supplies 45% of all generic medicines to Africa.

The WHO issued a medical product alert last week asking regulators to remove Maiden goods from the market.

The U.N. health agency said that laboratory analysis of four Maiden products - Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup - had “unacceptable” amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, which can be toxic and cause acute kidney injury.

Heavy rains in Arunachal Pradesh trigger severe flooding

High alert was issued for the lowlying areas of East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh with the Siang river in spate, following incessant rains over the last few days.

East Siang Deputy Commissioner (DC) Tayi Taggu, who took stock of the situation on Tuesday, appealed to the people living in these areas to refrain from venturing into the river.

Landslides triggered by heavy rainfall kill 8 in Arunachal Pradesh

keeping a close watch on the situation.

“Any impending danger would be informed to the people in advance,” he said.

Taggu directed officials to not leave the district headquarters and stay alert to deal with the emerging situation.

He, however, asked people not to panic as the water resources and disaster management departments are

District Disaster Management Officer Tsangpa Tashi said Pasighat recorded 482 mm of rainfall on Monday and 480 mm on Tuesday, the highest in the last 25 years.

“The water level in the Siang is rising but it is flowing below the danger mark,” he said.

Biggest Selection, Unbeatable Prices.

Truss’s flagship India-UK trade deal in jeopardy after Suella Braverman’s ‘Indians Overstay’ comment

Britain’s Indian-origin home secretary

Suella Braverman’s comments criticising migrants may have jeopardised Prime Minister Liz Truss’s flagship trade deal with India, as the country reacted furiously with ministers saying the deal is on the “verge of collapse”.

Braverman’s migrant comment did not go down well with the Centre, sources from Indian and British governments told The Times. Last week, the home secretary had said the “largest group of people who overstay are Indian migrants”.

She said she had “reservations” about the trade deal as she felt it will increase migration to the UK, and that Indians

represented the largest group of visa overstayers, The Times report stated.

“I do have some reservations. Look at migration in this country — the largest group of people who overstay are Indian migrants,” she was quoted as saying by The Spectator. Truss, possibly in damage control mode, said Britain still wanted to agree to a free trade deal with India by Diwali, which is later this month. The UK prime minister’s spokesperson confirmed this on Wednesday and said, “Yes, we are working on this high ambition free trade deal that would put the UK at the front of the queue to supply India’s growing middle class.”

Vegetarian crocodile dies after 70 years as divine guardian in India, temple says

A famous crocodile died after guarding a Hindu temple in India for decades, according to temple authorities. The crocodile — named Babiya, also spelled Babia — was the lone guardian of a temple in Kasaragod, a city in the southern Indian state of Kerala, the Times News Network reported. The crocodile was considered divine and vegetarian, living entirely on a diet of boiled rice offered by temple priests twice a day, temple officials told the outlet. The temple, dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, is about 3,000 years old and has had a crocodile guardian for years, temple officials told AFP. Babiya appeared in the pond beside the temple sometime in the 1940s, the Times News Network reported.

No one knows exactly where Babiya came from, but, according to temple legend, it showed up shortly after a British soldier shot and killed the temple’s previous guardian, AFP reported. Many people visited the temple to see Babiya, who, temple officials say, never attacked a human or animal, AFP reported. Children would touch the reptile for its blessing without being harmed, the outlet reported. The Miami Herald is partnering with DailyChatter to connect you around the globe. After nearly 80 years guarding the temple, officials found the crocodile dead in the pond on Sunday, Oct. 9, the Express News Service reported. Its death is thought to be due to age-related illness, the Times News Network reported.

India’s energy future is looking green, report says

India’s renewables sector is booming, with the country projected to add 35 to 40 gigawatts of renewable energy annually until 2030, enough to power up to 30 million more homes each year, a report said Thursday.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis estimated that India, the third largest energy-consuming country in the world, will reach 405 gigawatts of

renewable energy capacity by 2030. It’s expected to surpass the government’s target of producing 50% of its electricity from nonfossil fuel sources by the end of the decade.

The Indian government’s own projections estimate the country will produce even more renewable energy — 500 gigawatts — in the same time frame. Currently, fossil fuels account for 59% of India’s installed energy capacity, but are expected to make up just 31.6% of the energy mix by 2030.

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan should not hurt religious sentiments: Home Minister Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Wednesday said Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan should stay away from advertisements and acts which hurt religious sentiments, after a

bank advertisement featuring Khan and actor Kiara Advani faced criticism by some people on social media platforms.

Talking to reporters here, Mishra also said Khanshoulddosuchadvertisementsbykeeping the Indian traditions and customs in mind.

Indians to benefit as Canada lifts limit on working hours for international students

Canada is lifting the 20-houra-week limit on the number of hours international students can work off-campus, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Sean Fraser announced, citing the country’s labour shortage.

The move will help Indian students offset the falling value of the rupee and combat inflation. In 2021, about one-third of

Canada’s 6.20 lakh international students were from India, reported The Tribune.

As of July this year, Canadian employers were actively looking to fill nearly 1 million jobs. The country’s job vacancy rate was 5.4 per cent in July, down from a peak 6 per cent in April 2022.

Samajwadi party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav passes away at 82

Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, who served thrice as the Uttar Pradesh chief minister and once as the Union defence minister, passed away on Monday, 10 October, at the age of 82.

Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was popularly called Netaji by his supporters, had been unwell for some time and was shifted

to Medanta hospital in Gurgaon on 22 August. As his condition deteriorated, he was moved to the ICU of the private hospital on Sunday, 2 October.

He was being treated by a team of specialist doctors at Medanta Hospital.

He is survived by two sons – Akhilesh Yadav and Prateek Yadav.

Samajwadi Party demands Bharat Ratna for late Mulayam Singh Yadav

Samajwadi Party leader I P Singh on Wednesday demanded the departed party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav be conferred with the country’s highest civilian award -- the ‘Bharat Ratna’. The party spokesperson also demanded the Agra-Lucknow expressway be renamed Dhartiputra Mulayam Singh Yadav Expressway in respect of the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, who died Monday, aged 82. In a letter to President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday, Mr Singh said a golden chapter of socialism in the country

has ended with the death of Mulayam Singh Yadav “who fought the historic battle of social justice and dedicated his life to the nation”.

“He was chief minister of Uttar Pradesh thrice as well as the defence minister once, but he always remained a grassroots leader. He was a messiah of the poor and did politics for their welfare,” Mr Singh said in his letter in Hindi on the party letterhead.

“The entire country is mourning the death of Yadav and there is a sense of despair among all. In such a situation, taking care

Kashmir pro-freedom leader dies in Indian custody

Altaf Ahmad Shah, a prominent pro-freedom leader from Indianadministered Kashmir, has died in custody fighting renal cancer, his family said.

Altaf Ahmad Shah 66, was being held in the high-security Tihar jail in Delhi for the past five years. He died early on Tuesday while undergoing treatment at a state-run medical college in the city. His family had, in the past, made several appeals for release on bail or access to better

medical care for Shah, who also suffered from hypertension and diabetes for years, putting him in a high-risk category during India’s coronavirus pandemic lockdown.

“At 10:30pm [Monday], he passed away in the hospital. They did not let us see him when he was talking. When he stopped talking, they allowed us,” one of Shah’s family members told Al Jazeera.

The family said Shah was moved to New Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital

Sidhu Moosewala murder case accused held at Amritsar airport

The Amritsar airport authorities on Thursday arrested an accused wanted in Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala’s murder case.

Jagtar Singh is a resident of Moosewala village.

He was arrested at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport here while trying to board a flight to Dubai. He was later handed over to the city police.

Police arrested Mohali attack accused

The Central agencies, Punjab Police and Maharashtra ATS on Thursday nabbed the suspect in the Mohali RPG attack case from Mumbai.

Charat Singh did a recce before the May 9 attack and was instrumental in

providing logistical support and arranging RPG and an AK-47 rifle. “Charat Singh is key operative and associate of Canada-based BKI terrorist Lakhbir Singh Landa,” Punjab DGP tweeted.

Inquiry called against Moga policeman who laughed at Lawrence Bishnoi in the court

The SSP, police officer Moga, Gulneet Khurana marked an inquiry into a video that went viral on the social media in which the in-charge of Moga CIA, Staff Inspector Kikkar Singh was seen laughing with dreaded gangster Lawrence Bishnoi after patting him (Bishnoi) on his back in a lighter mood.

The incident occurred on the premises of the district court complex in Moga on Wednesday. Bishnoi was brought on transit remand from Ludhiana and was being produced in a judicial court, here.

The SSP Khurana while talking

to The Tribune said, “Inquiry is being done in this regard”.

However, the police inspector while talking to a section of the media claimed that Lawrence Bishnoi was going in the wrong direction and he just patted him on his back to move towards the courtroom. In August, this year, Lawrence was kept in the custody of Moga police for more than 10 days and he was produced in the court by Inspector Kikkar Singh many times. Lawrence remembered being ‘familiar’ with the cop and also retained the memory of the court room’s entry.

Pakistan will not seek Paris Club debt restructuring, says minister

akistan will not seek debt restructuring from Paris Club creditor nations, the country’s finance minister Ishaq Dar said on Sunday as he sought to restore market confidence after a credit rating downgrade.

The new rating from Moody’s raised concerns that Pakistan could default on its

foreign debt as contends with economic turmoil and a balance of payments crisis.

“We have decided not to go to Paris Club,” Dar said, adding that in consultation with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif it was decided that it wasn’t in the nation’s interest to ask for a restructuring.

Former PM Sharif addresses ‘heart-to-heart’ press conference in London

Terming the cases lodged against him “fabricated”, former PM Nawaz Sharif asked why “five precious years” of his life were wasted? Nawaz made the remarks while addressing a ‘heart-to-heart’ press conference, flanked by her daughter Maryam Nawaz in LondonNawaz said that Maryam has come to London after

three years and she has met her brothers and father for the “first time” since the demise of her mother — Kulsoom Nawaz.

“After her arrival, I am recalling all the undue criticism we faced when Kulsoom was in the hospital. People were trivialising the situation and claiming that maybe [Kulsoom’s sickness] was all a drama,” he said.

FIR against former PM Imran Khan & party leaders under Foreign Money Exchange Act

According to the FIR, the former ruling party leaders have violated the Foreign Exchange Act and they were declared as the beneficiaries of suspicious bank accounts.

Pakistan assails Indian PM Modi over Kashmir remarks

Pakistan on Tuesday assailed India Prime Minister Narendra Modi for claiming to have “resolved” the Kashmir issue.

In a sharp reaction to the Indian premiers comments, the FO said in a statement that Modi’s comments on having “somehow

resolved the Kashmir issue” were not just false and misleading but also representative of how oblivious the Indian leadership had become to ground realities in the disputed territory.

“Instead of making delusional statements about having resolved the dispute unilaterally,

Lahore ranked as one of the most polluted city in the world Lahore, the provincial capital on Punjab declared most polluted city in the world, leaving its traditional rival Delhi behind, the official air quality index (AQI) of Lahore reported at 289 (as per the average between 9am and 5pm) and international

monitoring bodies put the score at 397.

New Delhi stood at less than half of Lahore’s pollution level, with 187.

Individual areas of Lahore fared worse, with Kot Lakhpat (industrial area) crossing over 500, Fatehgarh housing most of the

Whites brush aside Navua to win IDC title

The determined Suva football team outclassed Navua 4-nil to win the Courts IDC title at the HFC Bank Stadium.

The hosts showed class and confidence from the first whistle with their set pieces and one-touch football from the flanks which the Reds had no answer to.

Azariah Soromon opened the account in the 14th minute which brought the fans into a frenzy. Four minutes later, the captain Samuela Drudru rose to the occasion and placed the ball cleverly into the right-hand

corner of the net giving Navua goalkeeper Rinish no chance at all for a 2-nil scoreline.

The Saiyad Ali-coached side tried hard to settle down and get back into the game but Suva had other ideas and controlled the play calmly, beautifully following the game plan.

Sports is the winner… Suva football coach Babs Khan with the Navua football coach, Saiyad Ali after the final

The Capital City side increased their lead after substitute Waisake Navunigasau

Navua shocks Ba in IDC semi-final – FBC News

Navua shocks Ba in IDC semi-final.

The Navua football team surprised Ba with a 2-1 win in the Courts IDC semifinal at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.

Mathew Charitar scored the winner in the later stages of the second half to book a spot in the Super Premier final.

The heavy downfall did not help either side as the soggy ground condition did not allow the ball to move freely.

Sunny Deol opened the account in the 16th minute as Navua fans went into a frenzy.

Ba, surprisingly a goal down, tried hard to get back into the game and managed

to equalise through Emosi Navaba to take the scores to 1-all until the breather.

The game was on hold for 30 minutes due to heavy downfall and resumed when 15 minutes of play remained.

The Saiyad Ali-coached side kept their momentum and almost scored more goals but the ground conditions did not let the ball move accordingly.

Navua came out firing in the last 15 minutes resulting in their captain, Mathew Charitar’s brilliant goal beating the Ba goalkeeper Tevita Koroi for the winner.

Church will not stop members from kava consumption

The Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma will not restrict its members from consuming kava, saying the responsibility of understanding the spiritual and physical damage it caused was for each individual.

Church general secretary the Rev Semisi Turagavou made this statement while responding to queries about the church’s stance on the consumption of kava.

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