A6 RED DEER ADVOCATE Saturday, March 30, 2013
Beware of fool’s gold Expert warns of fake gold in Red Deer area BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF A Red Deer gold buyer warns fake gold is being pedaled in parking lots and door to door. Jack Fortin, owner of Jaxville Gold and Silver Trading, said at least 15 people have come to his downtown shop in the past month looking to sell gold chains and rings that have turned out to be fake. “Generally they’re being stopped in their cars in parking lots. Although I did have a couple of guys approached in a tavern,� Fortin said. The sellers usually tell people they’re leaving town and need some money so they’re selling their jewelry
really cheap, he said. The chains are marked 14 karat, but turn out to be gold plated. The rings are stamped 18 karat, but they’re actually made of an alloy that mimics gold, he said. Fortin said the jewelry popped up a few months ago, but there’s been more lately. The last time someone came into his store looking to sell some was on Wednesday. “Everybody has to be seeing it. We’re not the only place in town.� Most people taken in by the scam are unlikely to report it to police, Fortin said. Red Deer RCMP were unavailable for comment. In February, media in Medicine Hat reported the same scam. This week, RCMP in British Columbia were looking for suspects involved in selling fake gold jewelry they said was made from Taliban gold smuggled out of Iraq. For information on fraud, visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at www. antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca. szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Jaxville Gold and Silver Trading Ltd. staff member Nairn Fortin holds up a 24-inch counterfeit ‘gold’ chain turned over to them by someome recently. Over the past two months, the Red Deer company has seen more than 25 counterfeit chains and 10 to 15 heavy men’s rings marked 18k gold that have no gold content at all.
Four killed in house fire near Toronto EAST GWILLIMBURY, Ont. — A small town north of Toronto is mourning the loss of four residents who died Friday after being trapped in the second floor of their burning home. York Regional Police Const. Blair McQuillan said someone inside the home in East Gwillimbury, Ont., called 911 to report a fire around 5:30 a.m. McQuillan said police and firefight-
ers were unable to get three males and a female out of a second-floor bedroom, where they died. Police identified them as Kevin Dunsmuir, his wife Jennifer and their two sons Cameron and Robert. A man who lives nearby and gave only his first name as George said the couple lived in the home with their two teenage sons, and had another son off at university. “It’s pretty sad to hear a whole family perished like that, especially on
UN calls Canada’s pullout from drought fighting convention ‘regrettable’ BY THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — The United Nations said Friday that it is “regrettable� Canada will withdraw from a UN convention that fights the spread of droughts. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said Canada was withdrawing from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification because the program has proven too bureaucratic, and not worth the $350,000 contributed each year. The decision would make Canada the only country in the world not part of the convention. “The Convention is stronger than ever before, which makes Canada’s decision to withdraw from the Convention all the more regrettable,� the Bonn-based secretariat for the convention said in a statement Friday. The federal cabinet last week ordered the unannounced withdrawal on the recommendation of Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. The decision has led to widespread criticism of the Harper government from opposition parties, non-governmental aid agencies, civil society groups and former Canadian diplomats, including at least one former UN ambassador. The government’s decision also caught the UN secretariat that administers the convention off guard — a spokesman was informed through a telephone call from The Canadian Press on Wednesday. The government has said that it served formal notification to the Bonnbased secretariat and the United Nations Secretary General on Monday. On Tuesday, the government posted the order on an obscure website, and it was found by The Canadian Press. The government did not issue a news release about its withdrawal plans. In Friday’s statement, the secretariat — also known as the UNCCD — said Canada formally notified it on Thursday. “Canada, a country that is frequently subjected to drought and where 60 per cent of the cropland is in dry areas, is also a major actor in global efforts to address food security in developing countries,� the UNCCD said. The UN body said Canada’s annual
contribution of $291,000 — less than the $350,000 the government says it was paying — accounted for 3.1 per cent of its budget. It said the Canadian government and “Canadian civil society have played significant roles in moving the Convention to where it is today.� In 2007, Canada along with the other 194 countries that are party to the convention agreed to a 10-year strategy to “enhance the implementation of the Convention as a blue print for a more effective and efficient process grounded on a strong and cutting-edge science,� Friday’s statement said. The government’s decision to pull Canada out of the convention came less than a month before a major scientific gathering to be hosted by the Bonn-based secretariat of the UN convention. The meetings, set to begin April 9, would have forced Canada to confront scientific analysis on the effects of climate change, droughts and encroaching deserts. The Harper government has been vilified an as outlier on climate change policy in past international meetings. “The next gathering of the scientific conference, in two weeks, is expected to deliver a major breakthrough by presenting the first ever cost-benefit analysis of desertification and sustainable land management,� said the UNCCD’s Friday statement. “Canada played crucial roles in both processes. Crucially, these processes have also moved the actions taken by parties to a result-based management approach where performance and impact are not only measured using indicators, but also assessed and monitored every two years.� Maude Barlow, head of the Council of Canadians, has accused the government of pulling out of the convention because it does not want to confront the scientific realities of climate change.
Good Friday,� he said, adding that his 16-year-old son was good friends with one of the couple’s boys. “It’s a pretty tight-knit community.� Ontario Fire Marshal spokesman Scott Evenden said the investigation into the deadly blaze has only just started and couldn’t specify where in the home the fire broke out or if any smoke alarms were working. East Gwillimbury Mayor Virginia
Hackson, who personally knew the family, said the community is struggling to deal with the deaths. “Our prayers and thoughts go to our community, to our firefighters and to the family that have had this loss today,� she told reporters. “It’s a very sad day in our town. We’re a close community and we’ll work together to stay close, but it’s a very difficult time at this point.�
in support of a better world
SATURDAY, APRIL 13TH, 2013 Canadian University College Church 6915 Maple Drive, Lacombe, AB +HDU IURP $ %HWWHU :RUOG¡V WUDYHOOLQJ YROXQWHHUV KRZ WKHLU H[SHULHQFHV KDYH changed OLYHV IRU SHRSOH DURXQG WKH JOREH DQG IRU WKHPVHOYHV
EveU\RQH LV ZHOFRPH 9:15 AM - THE BUSINESS OF GIVING guest speaker - kathy lacey
10:30 AM - THE PEOPLE OF C 3 Stories of Compassion, Courage & Commitment
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with 3HWHU /DFH\ 0RQ\EDQ\ 'DX *DLO 0LVHN Kalista Ziakris and others
12:30 pm - 23rd annual anniversary luncheon - $20 CHCS school gym (across from church) 5201 College Avenue, Lacombe, AB
please purchase lunch tickets in advance IURP WKH 5HG 'HHU DQG /DFRPEH $GYDQFHG 6\VWHPV RIĂ€ FHV or contact Cindy Wright at 403-505-9794 | cwright@abwcanada.org
3 PM - CONCERT by IHANA YOUTH CHOIR Followed by
“THE LADDER OF MY LIFEâ€? 0RQ\EDQ\ 'DX KRVWV WKLV LQVSLULQJ Ă€ OP DERXW KLV FOLPE IURP EHLQJ D FKLOG VROGLHU LQ Sudan to his present work bringing water to South Sudan villages.
SUNDAY, APRIL 14, 2013
3 PM at St. Andrews United Church, Lacombe ROSEDALE VALLEY STRINGS and THE RED DEER YOUTH and COMMUNITY ORCHESTRA %HQHĂ€ W &RQFHUW IRU $ %HWWHU :RUOG
44973C30
BY THE CANADIAN PRESS
#103-5033 52nd Street, Lacombe, AB T4L 2A6 | 403-782-1141 | www.a-better-world.ca
WAL MART CORRECTION NOTICE
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
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Our yer distributed March 25 – 26 and eective March 27 – April 2. Page 6. The photos of the McCain Pizza 2-Packs are incorrect. The correct photos are as follows: