Dental Implants Dental Crowns
South Asian man accussed and charged with selling 400 stolen catalytic converters
A Surrey metal recycler has been charged in a major Burnaby RCMP investigation that resulted in the seizure of 439 catalytic converters, most of which are believed to have been stolen and destined for shipment to the United States, according to police.
Burnaby RCMP launched “Project E-Pagwa” in March 2021 to combat a rise in catalytic converter thefts in the city, according to a news release Wednesday.
During a “lengthy and complicated” investigation that involved undercover work, investigators zeroed-in on a man who was “allegedly knowingly” buying stolen catalytic
converters from thieves across the Lower Mainland, the release said.
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India
criticises
Canadian
parliament for observing ‘one-minute silence’ in memory of Hardeep Nijjar
India on Friday was critical of the Canadian parliament observing “one-minute silence” in the memory of Khalistan extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down in Surrey, British Columbia, in June last year.
“We naturally oppose any moves giving political space to extremism and advocacy of violence,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
In an unusual move, the Canadian parliament observed “one-minute silence” two days ago in memory of Nijjar.
The relations between the two countries came under severe strain following Trudeau’s allegations in September last year of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in Nijjar’s killing. New Delhi rejected Trudeau’s charges as “absurd”.
India has been maintaining that the main issue between the two countries is that of Canada giving space to pro-Khalistan elements operating from Canadian soil with impunity.
Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra last week said India’s main issue with Canada continues to be the political space that Ottawa provides to antiIndia elements which advocate extremism and violence. Nijjar, who was declared a terrorist by India, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in British Columbia on June 18 last year.
The murder is being probed by the RCMP.
The Canada Revenue Agency is ramping up efforts to recover overpayments of pandemicrelated benefits.
Starting in July, the agency said Thursday it will begin issuing legal warnings and could start to take steps to recover overpayments of all COVID-19 programs such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) and the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit. Actions may include taking payments from wages or bank accounts.
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24-year-old Indian man disguised as senior citizen caught at airport trying to board flight to Canada
On June 18, 2024, India’s Central Industrial Security Force detained a man identified as Guru Sewak Singh at DEL after officials became suspicious of his odd appearance.
Singh was trying to board an Air Canada flight using a passport of a 67-year-old man named Rashvindar Singh Sahota.
Officials quickly noticed the discrepancy between his skin texture and voice which sounded youthful, than the age he was claiming to be.
Upon further inspection, officials discovered Singh had dyed his hair white and wore glasses to appear older.
An interrogation later revealed Singh’s real identity after officials led him to expose his actual passport. Singh was then taken into custody by Delhi Police.
Pembina, Haisla First Nation give green light to proposed US$4B
LNG project off B.C. coast
Canada is set to have another liquefied natural gas export terminal as project proponents have green-lit the majority Indigenous-owned US$4billion Cedar LNG facility.
Calgary-based pipeline company Pembina Pipeline Corp and the Haisla First Nation said Tuesday they have made a positive final investment decision on the project, which will involve the construction of a floating LNG plant near Kitimat. The partners said they have received “strong support from domestic and
international capital providers” for the financing of the project, which is expected to be in service in late 2028.
Cedar LNG will use natural gas from Western Canada to produce LNG for export to Asian markets, with a capacity of 3.3 million tonnes a year. While a final investment decision had been broadly expected after recent positive statements by project proponents, the formal go-ahead Tuesday is a major vote of confidence in the future of liquefied natural gas.
A tourist has been dragged from a police station and killed by a mob in north-west Pakistan after being accused of blasphemy.
The police had been attempting to protect the man from the large group in the town of Madyan, a town in Swat district.
The mob had gathered after the man was accused of desecrating the Quran, Islam’s holy book, on Thursday.
Lynchings are not uncommon after an accusation of blasphemy, which is punishable by death in Pakistan.
A Christian man was attacked last month after being accused of burning pages of the Quran, dying shortly afterwards.
“torched” and some 11 people were injured in the incident.
Malankand division’s regional police chief Mohammad Ali Gandapur accused the local mosque of encouraging people to gather after police first rescued the man, who was reportedly visiting the Swat Valley - a popular destination in summer.
He told Reuters news agency that eight officers were among the injured.
Dr Zahidullah, police officer in the Swat region, told BBC Urdu police made a concerted effort to clear blocked roads to disperse the angry crowds of people on Thursday night.
The Government of British Columbia announced today the housing supply target orders for the second set of 10 cities over five years through 2029, bringing the total number of cities with housing supply target orders to 20 municipal governments.
This includes the City of Surrey, which is now given a target order of 27,256 units over the next five years. These target orders under the 2023-approved Housing Supply Act do not track municipal approvals, as they actually instead measure the number of net new housing unit completions for occupancy, with the provincial government strongly encouraging municipal governments to develop policies and strategies that push projects towards the final stage of the development pipeline. As BC’s second-largest city, Surrey’s target order is just behind the City of Vancouver, which was given a target order of 28,900 units
over five years in September 2023.
According to provincial statistics, as of 2023, the City of Surrey’s population reached 662,561 residents, while the City of Vancouver’s was 725,778. Based on population growth forecasts, the City of Surrey is expected to become BC’s most populated city in 2029, when it reaches 785,619 residents and exceeds the City of Vancouver for the very first time.
So far, the City of Kelowna has the thirdhighest target order behind the municipalities of Vancouver and Surrey.
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Video of this latest incident has prompted outrage on social media in Pakistan. Footage shows the man’s body being paraded through the streets and then set alight.
Police confirmed that the tourist had been
Police say they have opened a case against hundreds of people involved in the incident - some as young as 13. Local authorities have since deployed additional security forces to the region.
Canada Child Benefit maximum increasing to nearly $7,800 per kid next week
Good news, Canadian parents: the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) is increasing, and you will soon receive a bigger maximum child tax payment than you’re getting right now.
The benefit year always begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year.
Since 2018, the government has indexed CCB amounts to better support parents as the cost of living changes.
“Both the maximum benefits and the income thresholds are indexed annually based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).”
Last year, the government increased the maximum annual Canada Child Benefit payment per kid under six to $7,437.
The amount per child aged six through 17 also increased from $5,903 to $6,275 — an extra $372 a year.
Eligible parents can expect even more starting July 2024. Payments are usually sent out on the 20th day of each month, but July 20 falls on a Saturday this year. The bigger payment will hit your account on July 19.
The ESDC told Daily Hive that it plans to increase the child tax payment by 4.7%. This means the maximum benefit for a child under six will increase by $350, from $7,437 to $7,787. For kids aged six to 17, it’ll increase by $295, from $6,275 to $6,570. This amount is tax-free, too.
Vancouver’s integrity czar says park board commissioner breached code of conduct
A Vancouver park board commissioner has breached the board’s code of conduct by falsely stating that a rival commissioner made an offensive comment about children with autism.
According to a report released by the City of Vancouver’s Integrity commissioner, Lisa Southern, park board commissioner Laura Christensen lodged a complaint on Jan. 26 against commissioner Jas Virdi, claiming that he made “a slanderous and untrue comment” three days earlier at a public meeting.
Christensen provided video of the Jan. 23 meeting during which Virdi said: “I remember when we were putting this on ABC’s platform, um, this sensory park, um, commissioner Christensen made a comment saying that, ‘You know, we do parks well, and the children on the spectrum, they can just wear earmuffs.’ That, to me, was offensive.”
Christensen told the meeting she never made that comment and that if she had it would have been highly offensive.
Trudeau pushes ahead despite calls for him to step down after Liberals loose byelections
Canadians are reacting to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s refusal to step down after the shocking Toronto-St. Paul byelection results.
Conservative candidate Don Stewart won the byelection in a longtime Liberal riding in Toronto, garnering over 42.1 percent of the vote. Following the loss, Liberal leader Trudeau released a statement applauding Liberal candidate Leslie Church for running a strong campaign and congratulating Stewart on his victory in the tightly fought race.
He directly addressed Toronto-St. Paul residents, stating that he hears voters “loud and clear” while responding to speculations about his resignation. “These are not easy times. And it is clear, I and my entire team have much more hard work to do to deliver tangible, real progress that Canadians can see and feel,” the prime minister said, hinting that he was not resigning.
Wiseman says he does not see this Conservative win as a “turning point” for the Liberal party. He believes the Liberals will win the Toronto-St. Paul’s riding in the general election due to different dynamics and demographics compared to a byelection. Noting that election outcomes boils down to voter motivation, he says in the Toronto-St. Paul byelection, Conservative supporters were motivated by a desire to “get rid of Trudeau,” whereas Liberal voters may turn out in the general election because they “don’t want Poilievre.”
University of Toronto political science associate professor Christopher Cochrane says “It’s understandable that people would wish the solution to a party’s political turmoil could be resolved by a leader change, but the real problem for the federal Liberals is that their brand was in deep trouble before Trudeau took over.”
Former
B.C. NDP staffer resigns from TC Energy after video boasting of covert lobbying tactics
A TC Energy executive and former senior B.C. NDP political staffer has resigned after a video surfaced of him appearing to discuss covert efforts the energy giant allegedly uses to push Canadian governments toward approving liquefied natural gas projects .
Planting company staff in events to ask politicians public questions, ghostwriting briefing notes for bureaucrats to give to cabinet ministers, and even an encounter with a top government official in a supermarket produce section are just some of the influence tactics shared by TC Energy’s former B.C. director of operations Liam Iliffe in the internal company presentation in March. Iliffe had previously been a chief of staff in NDP premier John Horgan’s NDP government.
Iliffe resigned from the position on June 17 after video of his comments was obtained by a reporter. In a statement, Iliffe said “some” of the comments he made were “in the moment” and noted that the events and approaches he laid out in detail during the talk “did not occur.”
National Post reviewed two videos from TC Energy’s “lunch and learn” sessions in February and March 2024.
The Feb. 22, 2024, meeting offered an overview of the company’s external relations and featured presentations by top company executives to dozens of members of TC Energy’s Canada, U.S. and Mexican offices.
The March 28, 2024, “lunch and learn” was a presentation by Iliffe to a small number of people in TC Energy’s Calgary, Toronto and Ottawa offices.
TC Energy senior vice president of external relations Patrick Muttart said many of Iliffe’s claims were either “exaggerated,” “untrue” or “completely unbelievable,” but would not specify which ones he meant specifically.
B.C. premier’s approval slipping before fall election
B.C. Premier David Eby’s approval rating has slipped before the fall election, suggests a new poll Wednesday.
The Angus Reid Institute survey, which rates the approval of Canadian premiers, says Eby’s approval has declined by five points since the last such poll to 43 per cent, making him Canada’s sixth most popular premier. Nearequal numbers say they approve (43 per cent) of the B.C. premier as disapprove (45 per cent), according to the survey. The pollsters say Eby’s highest approval rating was 48 per cent, which he held in March and September of last year.
poll last month. That survey found the NDP remains the top choice among 41 per cent of decided and leaning voters followed by the Conservative Party of B.C. at 30 per cent., B.C. United at 16 per cent and the Green party at 11 per cent.
he premiers with the highest approval ratings are Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, at 66 per cent, and Newfoundland and Labrador’s Andrew Furey, who is reviewed positively by 55 per cent of residents surveyed, according to Wednesday’s poll.
Despite the dip in popularity, Eby’s B.C. NDP still holds a double-digit lead over the other parties, according to another Angus Reid
Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe remains statistically unchanged from last quarter at 49 per cent but continues to be down from highs seen earlier in his term.
No more Bank of Canada interest rate cuts until Fall
If you feel like your budget is still strained, you’re not alone. A major economic forecast says it might not get much better in the near term. Deloitte’s Economic Outlook Summer 2024 predicts Canada will not see another interest rate cut this summer and B.C.’s economic growth will remain weak, for now.
“After three years of economic upheaval, the Canadian economy is beginning to settle down,” the report explained, adding that Canada is turning a corner, but hurdles remain amid signs of recovery. When it comes to your personal finances, the report suggests the central bank will not make any more cuts to interest rates until the fall.
“The Bank of Canada will hold off until September for a second rate cut and then move
BC
again in December. Rate cuts are expected to continue throughout 2025 before the overnight rate settles at a neutral level of 2.75% by the end of next year.”
And with so many households struggling with indebtedness, Deloitte forecasts B.C.’s economy will see weak growth for the rest of 2024 as “highly indebted households pare back their spending in the face of rising debt servicing costs.”
Deloitte says there is “reluctance to make major purchases, housing affordability remains a challenge, and savings rates are well above normal.”
However, the report does offer some light at the end of the tunnel, predicting the provincial economy could rev up in 2025.
United health-care plan would use private health providers to cut wait times
BC United has unveiled its health-care platform ahead of October’s provincial election and is promising big changes to the system if it forms government. Leader Kevin Falcon pledged Wednesday to develop a “patient Bill of Rights” if elected. Key to that plan would be the re-introduction of private health providers to deliver publicly-funded care.
“We are going to make sure that the patient is at the centre of the decision making, meaning
that if a patient needs to get care and are languishing on public waiting lists, we are going to get that patient care if it’s in a private clinic, absolutely,” Falcon said.
“Private delivery of publicly funded, care is going to be part of how we’re going to deal with the kind of waitlists that we have today. Patients will not have to personally pay anything. It will be publicly funded, but privately delivered, where it makes sense.”
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This is what Surrey needs to truly be a thriving ‘opportunity city’
SBOT: I’ve been with the Surrey Board of Trade for 31 years, working in a variety of roles. I’ve been president and CEO now for 18 years and I’ve seen Surrey evolve into what I like to call an “opportunity city.”
Surrey is an opportunity city, but we need support, focus and the capacity to take on risk— including doing things in new ways to get the infrastructure we so desperately need.
The B.C. provincial election season is upon us. We are dancing in the dark into this election, not knowing what each candidate or political party will do to elevate the spirit of entrepreneurialism or to create the revolutionary change that is needed in provincial budgeting to ensure Surrey is ready to be the largest city in B.C. in five years. Which party will be celebrated when the election platforms are released? Will elected officials keep their campaign promises after the election?
Surrey needs revolutionary change in health care, transportation infrastructure and school investments at the kindergarten-to-grade-12 and post-secondary levels.
Entrepreneurs need to see all levels of government, even local government, commit to a comprehensive review and action plan to minimize the taxes and red tape that are affecting businesses. We need to modernize our tax systems and tax structures to reduce bottom-line erosion. Paying taxes and the inefficiencies of the current tax system add costs, reduce time spent on growing businesses and reduce our ability to be competitive in order to sustain and attract businesses.
We need to determine what works and what doesn’t. A review of the tax system could find ways to eliminate redundancies, create simplification and generate new revenue opportunities for government, while saving businesses money and administrative burdens. With simplicity, efficiency and certainty come international competitiveness and productivity. A tax review could reduce the rising cost of living, drive down debt, create economic growth, improve international competitiveness and improve efficiencies.
Ottawa Centre MP Yasir Naqvi is apologizing for a mistake on a map of Canada sent to constituents to celebrate Canada Day.
Residents were invited to colour the map ahead of Canada Day on July 1.
However, the colouring map does not include Prince Edward Island and Yukon. There is no boundary separating Yukon and Northwest Territories. On Twitter, Naqvi acknowledged the mistake on the map, missing a province and a territory.
“We made a mistake. The map is missing PEI and Yukon. My team and I apologize,” Naqvi said on X, the platform formerly known
as Twitter.
“Please think of it as an interactive map to teach kids our geography, or to start to learn more about these amazing places.”
Social media users also point out the map is missing provincial borders between Quebec and New Brunswick, and New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Naqvi’s office has been passing out Canada flag posters across Ottawa Centre.
“My team and I have been coming around and passing out Canada posters that remind us to support local businesses in our community,” Naqvi said in a Facebook post last week.
Her kids are not reading the newspapers on her kitchen counter. Instead, they’re looking at their phones to find information.
That’s the example that Treasury Board President Anita Anand brings up when she’s asked about the federal government’s efforts to get its message out via payments to socialmedia influencers.
She says it worries her that actors who seek to spread disinformation can more easily do that on the platforms where members of the younger generation, including her own kids, spend their time. Since 2021, federal government departments and agencies have spent at least $1.7 million on influencers, and influencer marketing campaigns and strategies, documents recently tabled in the House of Commons and publicly
available contracts show. It’s just a fraction of what the government otherwise spends on traditional advertising.
“We need to evolve with the times,” Anand, who holds the government’s purse strings, said at a recent press conference.
Most of the social-media money is going towards institutions that have public service announcements to put out about health, travel or other topics that are also fodder for newspaper ads or commercials on TV and radio. Health Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada are all tapping influencers, or people on social-media who have built large audiences and sometimes have a reputation for expertise on certain topics.
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The agency said it will only be taking legal action against those who have not responded or co-operated and who have been determined to have the financial capacity to pay.
“Our primary goal is to encourage individuals to contact us so we can work together to find the best way to resolve their debt, ensuring a fair and manageable process for everyone,” spokeswoman Sylvie Branch said in an email.
The agency said it remains committed to supporting Canadians who are not able to repay their debt and encouraged those individuals to contact them to figure out a plan. The rollout of the pandemic relief payments saw more than $200 billion doled out to individuals and businesses on a pay-now-ask-questions-later basis. The CRA has since decided many people were ineligible for the payments and has been working to get the money back.
It said it’s still trying to get about $9.53 billion paid back from individuals including $5.41 billion from CERB, $2.67 billion from CRB and $1.25 billion from the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit. The agency began efforts in May 2022 to recover payments deemed ineligible by sending out letters encouraging voluntary payments. Last year, it sent out collection letters and made efforts to reach people by phone. It also started using a process it calls “offsetting,” which means that it automatically uses money from tax refunds and some benefits to settle a person’s debt with the government.
The government’s efforts to recover funds has led to more than 1,000 battles Federal Court between claimants and the Canada Revenue Agency as people contest the charges.
The bulk of pandemic handouts deemed unwarranted did however go to businesses, not individuals.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim defends converting city hall boardroom to gym
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim is defending the conversion of a city hall boardroom into a personal gym after an opposition councillor posted a picture of the room online and questioned the mayor’s priorities.
The photo posted by Green Party Coun. Pete Fry comes a day after council approved moving a staff member with an $80K salary to the mayor’s office to help him manage his busy schedule.
Fry, along with fellow green Coun. Adriane Carr and OneCity Coun. Christine Boyle, did not support the move, saying the mayor was adding political resources to his office.
He said the board room-to-office gym conversion was another example of Sim’s failure to adhere to the principles of “process, transparency and good governance.”
Fry also posted a letter from Vancouver’s city manager, Paul Mochrie, that advised councillors in January that the mayor’s office was taking over the room on the third floor
of city hall for regular operations. On Friday, though, Fry happened to peek into the room, which had previously been used for meeting delegations to city hall, and found it had been converted to a sparse gym.
“So it was rather shocking to discover that it wasn’t being used,” said Fry. “It’s not the issue of the gym so much. It’s the personal use of the civic asset like that that I find more galling.
“The point being, for me, is that it was an actual functional board room that we used quite extensively and was inexplicably expropriated and [we’re] scrambling to find other locations for that.”
Canada got a beautiful new dollar coin based on an iconic novel
The Royal Canadian Mint has dropped a new coin that pays homage to one of the country’s most famous children’s novels and its author.
The special one-dollar circulation coin honours the life of the legendary author L.M. Montgomery, best known for writing Anne of Green Gables. The Royal Canadian Mint is set to officially unveil the new coin this afternoon in PEI, which is the birthplace of Montgomery and where Anne of Green Gables takes place.
The coin includes a portrait of Montgomery and her signature, as well as patchwork quilts to represent PEI. On the left side, you can see the iconic profile of Anne Shirley,
the Anne of Green Gables heroine, with her signature braided hair looking out at the PEI landscape. Artist Brenda Jones created the design and has a unique connection to Anne of Green Gables as her grandparents owned the home associated with the famous story.
Man charged with selling precursor chemicals in Richmond
A man is facing five drug charges tied to alleged events that took place from 2022 to 2023.
Ge Wang, 53, was charged with four counts of selling chemicals with the intention for them to be used for producing controlled substances.
According to court records, he was accused of selling PMK ethyl glycidate and 4-piperidone, which are considered precursor chemicals, on four occasions between December 2022 and February 2023.
Wang also faces one charge of possessing psilocin and/or psilocybin, a controlled substance, in Vancouver for the purposes of trafficking. The charges were laid on March 1 this year and Wang pleaded not guilty to all charges in Richmond Provincial Court on June 25. He also elected to be tried by a judge and jury. Wang is scheduled to return to Richmond Provincial Court on July 3 to fix a date.
Hundreds of stolen catalytic converters seized in major Burnaby RCMP operation
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The man ran a mobile metal recycling business, which salvaged vehicles and legitimately shipped catalytic converters across the border in bulk, according to police, but he was also suspected of buying stolen catalytic converters and including them in his U.S. shipments.
In June 2023, Burnaby RCMP executed search warrants at four locations linked to the suspect, including his home, business and an industrial works yard, and seized 439 catalytic converters, 392 of which were pre-packaged for shipment to the U.S.
“The accused was alleged to be heavily involved in the purchase of stolen catalytic converters, resulting in the largest catalytic converter seizure our officers have ever seen,” Bunaby RCMP Sgt. Jamie Belleville said in the release.
Singh’s first court appearance is scheduled for July 2 in Surrey provincial court.
Last month, Jasvindar (Jas) Singh, 50, was charged with one count each of possessing property obtained by crime over $5,000 and trafficking in property obtained by crime over $5,000.
Man charged with second-degree murder after woman’s death in Sicamous
A man has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a woman that prompted Mounties in Sicamous to issue a safety warning last week.
The RCMP Southeast District Major Crime Unit says provincial prosecutors approved the charge against the 37-year-old man on Monday, five days after he was initially arrested.
The Mounties say paramedics tried to save 66-year-old Jo Ann Jackson, who was found unresponsive in the driveway of a mobile home park just outside Sicamous last Thursday, but she was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene.
RCMP say officers arrested a male suspect who was released from custody the next day on what they described as an “undertaking
for manslaughter with several preventative conditions,” including a ban on returning to the mobile home park.
At the time, the Mounties said Jackson’s death was believed to be an isolated incident, but investigators believed “there could be a potential public safety risk.”
The latest RCMP statement says the man was arrested again on Monday after prosecutors approved the second-degree murder charge against him, and he will be held in custody pending an application for a bail hearing in B.C. Supreme Court.
Police say the man from Sicamous has an appearance scheduled in provincial court in the community on July 2.
Man charged after victim allegedly blacked out and was sexually assaulted in downtown Toronto
A male bartender from Waterloo who was charged earlier this month after allegedly spiking a patron’s drink at a bar in downtown Toronto and sexually assaulting them is facing an additional charge. The first incident that was reported to Toronto police happened on Oct. 14, 2023.
Police said at about 6 p.m. that day an individual attended a hotel bar in downtown Toronto and was served beverages by a bartender who claimed to be offering them a “special drink.”
They said that the victim then blacked out after consuming the drink and was sexually assaulted by the bartender. On June 12, Manish Patil, 35, of Waterloo, was arrested and charged with sexual assault.
Eight days later, on June 20, police investigated a second alleged sexual assault involving the same man. They said that the incident happened on May 13. In this case, the accused reportedly invited a victim who was staying at a hotel in Toronto’s downtown core to go for drinks across the street from the bar where he worked.
After the drinks, the victim went to her room and blacked out, police said. They said that the man returned to work and at one point sexually assaulted the victim.
On Monday, Patil was arrested and charged with sexual assault. Investigators believe there may be more victims and are urging anyone with information to contact Toronto police at 416808-5200 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
11 people died from heat in 2023, BC Coroners Service says on anniversary of 2021 heat dome
The BC Coroners Service says 11 people were killed from heat-related causes in 2023 and is urging people in British Columbia to take “extra care” as we head into the hottest part of the year.
The BCCS says all 11 deaths occurred between May and August, with 80 per cent of the deaths happening in July and August last year.
The coroner found two-thirds of the deaths were among people over the age of 60, with men accounting for almost three-quarters of all the recorded heat-related deaths.
“Extreme heat can have devastating consequences. In June and July 2021, 619 people died due to record-high temperatures in British Columbia,” the coroner stated Wednesday. The heat dome descended on the Pacific Northwest between June 25 to July 1, 2021. It was the single deadliest weather event in Canadian history.
Temperatures in some places in B.C. soared into the mid-to-low 40s, while Lytton saw the mercury rise to just shy of 50 degrees Celsius.
The deaths in 2021 were most concentrated in the Lower Mainland, specifically in the Burnaby, New Westminster, and Vancouver regions.
The coroner’s service is urging residents to check in on family, friends, and neighbours, especially those living alone when the temperature heats up.
“Visit cooler environments, such as cooling centres, malls, libraries and other air-conditioned community spaces; stay hydrated and avoid physical activities outside; and never leave children or pets alone in a parked car,” it added.
B.C.’s senior advocate, Dan Levitt tells CityNews that his office took part in the coroners’ death review panel, and found that most of the
Footage of Vancouver synagogue arson suspect released by police
The Vancouver Police Department is releasing footage of last month’s arson at the Schara Tzedeck Synagogue in hopes that someone will recognize the suspect.
The incident happened on May 30 around 10 p.m., when a suspect poured an “accelerant” at the front door to the synagogue.
Police explained at the time that members of the synagogue were able to extinguish the fire before it could spread and cause extensive damage. “Our Major Crime Section immediately launched an investigation, and we have continued to collect and analyze evidence with hopes of identifying the person who committed this crime,” said Const. Tania Visintin. “Today, we are releasing security video of the suspect, and we’re asking anyone who can help us identify him to come forward.”
The suspect is described as wearing a white baseball cap, a dark grey jacket, and black shorts, and was wearing a surgical face mask at the time of the incident.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver at the time described the incident as a “deliberate act of hate” and an “attempt to intimidate” the Jewish community, saying “antisemitic rhetoric has reached a feverish pitch in our city and region recently.”
Anyone with information about the arson is asked to call VPD’s Major Crime Section at 604-717-2541. The VPD will be holding a news conference on the developments Wednesday.
The annual inflation rate unexpectedly ticked higher in May, raising doubts about what the Bank of Canada will do when it makes its next interest rate decision in July in “bumpy and choppy” conditions.
Statistics Canada said Tuesday the annual rose to 2.9 per cent in May, compared with 2.7 per cent in April.
The move higher follows a decision by the Bank of Canada, which targets an annual inflation rate of two per cent, to cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point earlier this month to 4.75 per cent. TD Bank senior economist James Orlando said called the inflation report a disappointment as both core and overall inflation rose higher. “Now, one bad inflation print doesn’t make a trend, and inflation remained below three per
cent,” Orlando wrote in a report.
“But it does speak to the unevenness of the path back to two per cent. For this reason, we think the BoC will likely pause at its July meeting, before cutting rates again in September.”
The Bank of Canada’s next rate decision is set for July 24 when it will also publish its latest outlook for the economy in its monetary policy report. Following the inflation report, financial markets suggested the odds that the central bank would cut rates in July were lower.
However, Olivia Cross, North America economist at Capital Economics, noted that some of the strength in inflation was due to factors that are likely to be one-offs, and given there is another inflation report before the late July meeting, stuck with her view that the bank will cut again next month.
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Nunavut judge sentences Toronto woman to 3 years prison for Inuit identity fraud
A Nunavut judge has sentenced a Toronto woman to three years in prison in a case of Inuit identity fraud.
Karima Manji, who is not Indigenous, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud over $5,000, after her twin daughters used fake Inuit status to receive benefits from two organizations.
The judge went beyond the Crown’s recommendation for two years jail.
The judge says Manji defrauded the territory’s Inuit by stealing their identity and victimizing the family of an elderly Inuk woman, who has since died. The judge says Manji’s actions are an egregious example of the exploitation of Indigenous Peoples and the punishment must fit the crime. Charges against Manji’s daughters were dropped after the mother pleaded guilty.
Calling his conduct “despicable” a Calgary judge on Monday sentenced a city restaurant owner to an 18-month conditional sentence for violating the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
“You control their lives, and when you take advantage of them you’re committing one of the grave injustices that we see in these courts,”
Justice Harry Van Harten told Karthikeyan Stalin. Stalin, 44, the owner of Masala Bhavan, a South Indian cuisine restaurant, pleaded guilty to two charges under the IRPA for swindling a temporary foreign worker he hired under the federal government program.
Van Harten said as an immigrant himself, Stalin should have understood the implications of taking advantage of a newcomer to Canada.
“You should know because you immigrated here, and somebody probably helped you become a permanent resident and then a citizen (in 2014),” the Calgary Court of Justice judge said, in accepting a joint submission from Crown prosecutor Omelia Tedesco-White and defence lawyer Cory Wilson.
The Abbotsford Police Department (AbbyPD) says it stopped and impounded 42 vehicles last week in nearly as many hours.
Over a 48-hour window, the department’s Traffic Enforcement Unit reportedly focused on stopping drivers speeding in “high-traffic” corridors. Police say they stopped 42 drivers for excessive speeding, giving each a ticket and impounding their vehicles for a week. AbbyPD says it handed out $15,686 in fines to drivers in the two days.
The highest speed clocked during the 48-hour window was from a driver allegedly going 147 kilometres per hour in a 60 km/hr zone.
In a press release Wednesday, the AbbyPD
“In other words, if you’re gonna help people come to this country you owe them an obligation to look after them and to treat them fairly. And you did not do that here. That’s despicable.”
According to a statement of agreed facts made in a court exhibit, Stalin used the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to hire Dinesh Kantharaj to come to Calgary from India to work as a cook at Masala Bhavan.
As part of the program, Stalin was required to have a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) done to determine the likely effect a particular worker would have on the Canadian labour market.
In 2017, Stalin contacted Kantharaj in India to offer him a job as an ethnic cook at the restaurant.
“Stalin told Kantharaj that he would be required to provide Stalin $10,000 to cover the LMIA fees. Kantharaj agreed. Recovering the costs of the LMIA from the TFW is not permitted,” the court exhibit stated.
In January 2018, the worker borrowed $5,000 to make an initial payment and paid that amount back in small increments over time.
reminded drivers that speeding is the top contributing factor to car crash fatalities in B.C. every year, accounting for 29 per cent of fatal crashes. According to ICBC, on average, 84 people die, and 2,168 are injured in speed-related crashes every year in the province. ICBC says penalties for one speeding ticket can range from $138 to $483 and three points off your driving record.
‘Homeless can remain on streets if they want to’
Elderly homeless people living on the streets cannot be forced to move to a State home against their will.
This was highlighted by Department of Social Welfare official Nikita Chand, while responding to a general query on the high number of elderly and homeless people across the country. Speaking during ‘The Aged and Care Work in Disaster and Climate Impacted Fiji’ at the Suva Civic Centre yesterday, she said the ministry continued to facilitate safe homes for the homeless. “We do know — that is an issue
everyone has been raising, but what we would like to create awareness on is — as an individual you have your rights, so those we have profiled, if they wish to be in a State home, they are given that option,” Ms Chand said.
“But if they decline, we can’t force them. It becomes their personal choice.
“So, for any individual, regardless of their age category, if they choose to be on the streets and are not harming anyone, they are not committing a crime, if they do not want to move out, we do not have the right to move them.
Govt debt to hit $10.5B next month and $11B by July next year
The management of government debt, and growing the Gross Domestic Product will be the key for the coalition government as it prepares for the delivery of the 2024/2025 National Budget.
The question remains on whether government debt will hit around $10.5 billion by the end of this month and $11 billion by July next year. All this will be answered based on the actual figures against the projected ones in the current budget, and whether the government is looking at innovative ways to increase revenue and to slow down the borrowings which stood at about $9.882 billion after the 2022/2023 National Budget.
The clear push needed to increase our GDP which is the total value of the goods and services produced in the country, will be reflected in the budget on how much we plan
to do to grow sectors like agriculture, mining, the small and micro enterprise sector, the Business Process Outsource sector, fisheries, forestry, and the expansion of the tourism sector. We also need to do more to get more productive and build on our exports as in 2023, total exports were forecast to grow to $2.4 billion. Our imports totalled $6.7 billion last year, led by growth in mineral fuel, machinery and transport equipment and food imports. Although import costs are expected to moderate from easing supply disruptions and lower commodity prices, the demand for imported items is expected to remain elevated given the pickup in domestic economic activity. All of the targeted growth plans need maximum private sector input through an environment that brings confidence into the economy.
$50m hotel project set to transform tourist town
Public Service Association Investment Company Pte Ltd (PSAICFPL) and Cove Management Ltd yesterday announced a historic hotel construction project agreement which will be built in Martintar, Nadi. This landmark project will bring to life a 101-bedroom hotel valued at $50million, which marks a significant milestone for the investment company’s strategic expansion into the hospitality industry and would be named Days Inn by Wyndham Nadi, Martintar. PSAICFPL managing director Rajeshwar Singh said they were thrilled to partner with Cove Management and operate a hotel under the banner of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.
“This project not only signifies our entry into the hospitality sector but also reflects our commitment to driving economic growth and creating job opportunities in Fiji,” Mr Singh said.
He said they believed Days Inn by Wyndham Nadi, Martintar would set a new
Need
standard for the hospitality sector in the region. Wyndham’s vice-president of development for Southeast Asia and Rim Matt Holmes said they were delighted to collaborate with PSAICFPL and Cove Management.
“Our shared vision of delivering exceptional guest experiences and sustainable development forms the cornerstone of this partnership,” Mr Holmes said.
The ageing population is projected to increase by 2025 and there is a need for government policies and support services for older persons, says Department of Social Welfare representative Nikita Chand. While speaking during “The aged and care work in disaster and climate impacted Fiji” roundtable discussions at the Suva Civic Centre yesterday, Ms Chand raised the concern of a potential imbalance between older persons and younger people by 2050. Ms Chand said according to the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection, there were more older women
compared with men, across the four divisions in Fiji. She said the number of older persons more than 60 would continue to increase by 2050. Ms Chand said women continued to become the highest contributors to the ageing population in Fiji. She said the importance of tailoring support services to the specific needs of older men and women based on their respective living situations.
“So that also advises us that when we are looking at support services, we must consider support services for older women and support services for older men, because the needs vary.”
Minister for Fisheries and Manager charged with abuse of office
Minister for Fisheries and Forests Kalaveti Ravu has been charged with one count of abuse of office by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC). Ministry of Fisheries Regional Manager North Tekata Toaisi
has also been charged with one count of aiding and abetting by FICAC. The pair will appear at the Sigatoka Magistrates Court at 2pm this afternoon. According to FICAC, details on their charges will be released in due course.
‘Let’s sit down and talk’: Pak PM to Imran
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday extended an olive branch to his predecessor and political rival Imran Khan, offering to hold talks with him if was facing “troubles” in jail.
“If their [PTI] founder is facing troubles [in jail], then I reiterate: come, let’s sit down and talk,” Sharif said in the National Assembly. “Let us sit together to take the country ahead. Let us talk...”
Banned terror outfit in Pakistan confesses to work for sabotaging CPEC projects, claims provincial minister
A senior commander of the banned terror group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has claimed that his outfit is working with outlawed separatist groups in Balochistan to sabotage the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects, the restive province’s Home Minister Mir Zia Langrove said on Wednesday.
“Nasrullah aka Maulvi Mansoor, who heads the defence shoora in the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), was arrested recently in Balochistan by security forces while he was planning terror attacks in the province. Maulvi Mansoor has revealed some very important information about the terror activities in Balochistan,” Langrove told a press conference in Quetta.
Plan’s Central Apex Committee, The News International reported.
A video confession of the Maulvi shown at the press conference showed him admitting that the TTP with the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) was engineering abduction cases and sending the abducted people to Afghanistan while they were shown as missing persons.
“I fled to Afghanistan during the Zarb Azab operation and since then I have been carrying out terror attacks on Pakistan army posts on the border,” Mansoor said.
The arrests came a day after the federal cabinet approved Operation Azm-e-Istehkam — a reinvigorated and re-energised national counterterrorism drive decided by the National Action
“The TTP and BLA are working together in many areas. We kidnap people for ransom and take the victims to Afghanistan and then we show them as missing persons,” he said in the video confession.
He said top commanders of the BLA had also sought refuge in Afghanistan with the TTP.
Britain’s wealthiest family Hindujas ‘appalled’ by Swiss court’s jail term order; file appeal
Britain’s wealthiest family, the Hindujas, have said they were “appalled” by a Swiss court’s ruling of jail terms for some members and have filed an appeal in a higher court challenging the verdict finding them guilty of exploiting vulnerable domestic workers from India at their villa in Geneva. In a statement issued on behalf of the family on Friday, lawyers from Switzerland stressed their clients – Prakash and Kamal Hinduja, both in their 70s and their son Ajay and his wife Namrata – had been acquitted of all human trafficking charges.
sentenced to between four and four-and-a-half years in prison.
“Our clients have been acquitted of all human trafficking charges. We are appalled and disappointed by the rest of the decision made in this court of first instance, and we have, of course, filed an appeal to the higher court, thereby making this part of the judgement not effective,” reads the statement signed by lawyers Yael Hayat and Robert Assael and Roman Jordan.
They also dismissed media reports that any members of the family faced detention after court reports from Geneva said the four were
“Under Swiss law, the presumption of innocence is paramount till a final judgement by the highest adjudicating authority is enforced. Contrary to some media reports, there is no effective detention for any members of the family,” they said.
Sri Lanka survived economic crisis because of India’s support
Sri Lanka has survived two difficult years of its economic crisis and it was possible because of the financial support of USD 3.5 billion from India, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Saturday and emphasised his commitment to maintain a strong partnership with New Delhi.
Addressing the 31st All India Partners Meet in Colombo from June 20-22, Wickremesinghe said that he during his last visit to India
to attend the new government’s swearingin discussed with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the core areas of partnership.
“Having now survived two difficult years, I must acknowledge that this was possible because India gave us a loan of USD 3.5 billion. All that will be repaid,” he said.
Wickremesinghe said that sustainable energy is one of the grave areas that the two nations would be jointly working on.
CID files chargesheet against former Karnataka CM Yediyurappa in POCSO case
The Crime Investigation Department probing molestation charges against former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday filed a chargesheet in the special court dealing with POCSO cases.
After the Sadashivanagar police here registered a case of molestation in March this year against the BJP stalwart, the Karnataka Director-General of Police Alok Mohan had issued an order transferring it to the CID for further investigation. The case was registered based on a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl who alleged that he molested her daughter during a meeting on
February two this year, at his residence in Dollars Colony here.
Yediyurappa has denied the charge, and said “people would teach a lesson to those indulging in conspiracies against me.”
The 54-year-old woman, who had levelled the charge against Yediyurappa, died at a private hospital here last month, due to lung cancer. The CID questioned Yediyurappa for about three hours on June 17 in connection with the case.
The Karnataka High Court had earlier passed orders restraining the CID from arresting Yediyurappa in the case.
AAP MPs protest against Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest
MPs of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday protested outside Parliament against the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying “it was a gross misuse of investigating agencies”.
Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI as his plea for seeking bail in the alleged liquor scam was to be heard by the Supreme Court. Earlier, AAP MPs – in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha -- boycotted the President’s address.
The protesting MPs said, “We have full respect
for the President but the address is written by the government. That is why we are not attending it.” AAP MP from Sangrur Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said the Modi government talks big about democracy and the Constitution but in reality, the Constitution and democracy are being crushed in the country. Hayer said talks are going on with leaders of the INDIA bloc and Kejriwal’s arrest will be discussed with them and their support sought. He said investigating agencies are being openly misused.
Looking forward to the results of India’s inquiry into Gurpatwant Singh Pannun case: US
The US has said it is looking forward to the results of the Indian inquiry into the allegations that an Indian official was involved in an alleged plot to assassinate Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil.
In November last year, US federal prosecutors charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta with working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot to kill Pannun in New York. Pannun, wanted in India on terror charges, holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada. Gupta, who was arrested in the Czech Republic in June last year, was extradited
to the US on June 14. “They (Indian officials) have announced that they are conducting an inquiry, and we will look forward to the results of that inquiry,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference on Wednesday.
He was responding to a question on members of the Foreign Senate Foreign Relations Committee writing a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling for a strong diplomatic response on the Indian government’s involvement in an alleged assassination attempt on a US citizen on US soil.
Gurdaspur, Pathankot on high alert as 2 suspected terrorists sighted near border
The police districts of Pathankot, Gurdaspur and Batala were put on a high alert even as the police and the BSF launched a massive joint search operation following speculation that two suspected terrorists were roaming near the International Border.
Around Tuesday midnight, the Pathankot control room received a call from a villager of Kot Bhathian hamlet, located near the International Border (IB), claiming that two men, carrying bags filled with arms and ammunition, entered his house. He added that he was forced to prepare dinner after one of the men pointed a pistol at him. Before leaving, the two men threatened him
with dire consequences if he called up the police. Kot Bhathian is near Bamiyal.
The identity of the villager is being kept secret.
Sources say the police grilled the villager to see if he was lying or not. Later, officers claimed he was not “faking things” and that two men had actually come to his house and had dinner.
Pathankot SSP Suhail Qasim Mir was informed in this regard. Minutes later, the police districts of Batala, Gurdaspur and Pathankot were informed and consequently put on the alert. The BSF and the Army were also asked to be on standby.
Restored statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh unveiled at Pakistan’s Kartarpur Sahib
The restored statue of the first ruler of the Sikh Empire, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, which was earlier damaged by religious extremists, was unveiled at Kartarpur Sahib on Wednesday in the presence of over 450 visiting Indian Sikhs. Members of the Sikh community from Pakistan and India posed for a picture in front of the installed statue of the emperor. Punjab’s first Sikh minister (for minorities) and president of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) Ramesh Singh Arora inaugurated the statue. Kartarpur Sahib is also known as Gurdwara Darbar Sahib and is situated about 150 km northeast of Lahore, close to the Indian border.
“We have installed Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s statue at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur
Indian Sikhs,” Arora told PTI.
The 44-year-old Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) leader said that the restored statue is placed at Kartarpur Sahib primarily so that Indian Sikhs visiting here across the border using the corridor could also see it.
“At Kartarpur, better security will also be ensured for the statue of the Sikh leader that was vandalised earlier at Lahore Fort,” Arora said.
