The Asian Star - March 30, 2024

US lawsuit could change Real Estate commissions in Canada

B.C. analysts say a legal settlement in the U.S. that upends real estate agent commissions could have ripple effects across the Canadian housing market, potentially making it cheaper to buy or sell a home.

The National Association of Realtors, which represents more than a million agent in the U.S., has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the industry group of artificially inflating real estate commissions. The trade group agreed to pay US$418 million to compensate home sellers and will change commission rules, doing away with the standard six per cent sales commission.

It represents a major shakeup of the U.S. housing market and the impacts could be felt

in this country, where a proposed class-action lawsuit alleges a “conspiracy” that inflates real estate commissions and costs homeowners tens of thousands of dollars.

Garth Myers is a partner at Kalloghlian Myers LLP, the Toronto-based law firm that launched the lawsuit against the Canadian Real Estate Association and dozens of

Illegal and Temporary residents rise to 2.7 million as Ottawa tries to curb migration

Canada’s population grew by nearly 1.3 million in 2023, an expansion that was largely driven by the arrival of temporary residents, a group the federal government is now trying to restrict as the country faces a prolonged housing crisis. Last year, the ranks of temporary residents – which include international students, asylum seekers and people here with work permits – grew by just over 800,000, according to figures released Wednesday by Statistics Canada. This was the second year in a row that temporary immigration accounted for most of the population growth.

As of January 1, Canada was home to 2.67 million temporary residents, nearly doubling in just two years. This cohort currently represents 6.5 percent of the total population.

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brokerages. It alleges the defendants, which represent more than 150,000 brokers and real estate agents in Canada, “conspired, agreed or arranged with each other to fix, maintain, increase or control the price for the supply of buyer brokerage services for residential real estate.” If the class-action lawsuit is successful, Myers said, it would have a “profound effect not just on the real estate industry generally, but for Canadians at large. It would have the effect of reducing transaction costs of buying and selling residential real estate.”

The Federal Court has not yet certified the case as a class-action suit and none of the allegations have been proven in court. A spokesperson for the Canadian Real Estate Association said in a statement: “We believe the allegations to be without merit and will continue to defend against these claims.”

Experts advise BC residents to prepare early for wildfire season

As wildfire season approaches, experts are advising B.C. homeowners and communities to prepare for a potentially challenging wildfire season.

Lori Daniels, Koerner Chair of the Centre for Wildlife Coexistence at the University of British Columbia (UBC), says an ongoing multi-year drought, which contributed to last year’s severe wildfire season, “has primed us for another intense summer.”

“Almost a hundred fires from last season are still burning in northeast B.C., with new wildfires breaking out,” said Daniels in a UBC News interview. “Now is the time to start thinking about how to be ‘FireSmart.’”

FireSmart B.C., which aims to educate people on how to mitigate wildfire damage, offers a series of guidelines to decrease losses from wildfires and improve fire resiliency in communities. While Daniels says wildfire management is becoming increasingly challenging in B.C. and across the world due to climate change, she and other experts hope spring rains will follow this year’s dry winter to reduce wildfire risks.

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BC files third unexplained wealth case, targets cash, gold linked to $169-million

QuadrigaCX cryptocurrency fraud

B.C. wants a co-founder of the failed cryptocurrency firm QuadrigaCX to explain the source of funds used to obtain cash, gold bars, jewelry and luxury watches.

In its third so-called unexplained wealth order case, the province is targeting more than $600,000 in assets of Michael Patryn, which were seized by the RCMP in 2021 from a safety deposit box in a CIBC branch in

The province alleges the cash, gold, jewelry and watches, including Rolexes, are linked to fraud involving QuadrigaCX. Thousands of people who held cryptocurrency are estimated to have lost a total of at least $169 million.

A filing by the province Wednesday adds the socalled unexplained wealth order to a case submitted in B.C. Supreme Court in June 2023 where it seeks to have all the assets forfeited as proceeds of unlawful activity.

The B.C. NDP government introduced new measures last year to combat money laundering that include the unexplained wealth orders. If successful in court, the orders put a reverse onus on a person to explain where money came from to buy their assets in cases where there is a suspicion of a crime.

“Gold bars may be highly liquid, and flashy luxury goods, such as jewelry and Rolex watches, attract attention, but they are

also attracting the attention of police and our government. If they are the proceeds of criminal activity like fraud, drug trafficking or money laundering, we will go after them,” B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said in a statement Wednesday. In a response filed last October to the forfeiture case, Patryn (also known as Michael Dhanani, Omar Dhanani and Omar Patryn) said the cash, gold, watches and jewelry are not the proceeds of unlawful activity. Patryn’s last known location was Thailand, according to the forfeiture case.

Previously, only the other QuadrigaCX company co-founder, Gerald Cotten, who died suddenly in India in 2018, was accused of having benefited while client in Canada and other countries lost millions.

Under B.C.’s new law, the unexplained wealth orders must be applied for in each case through the courts and meet certain tests. If successful, the information from the orders can then be used to pursue cases where the province aims to seize assets or money.

The orders have met criticism, including from the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, which has argued these type of measures undermine constitutional rights, have not been adequately tested, and would be expensive to implement.

Family-run jewelry store robbery in Surrey caught on video

A family-owned and operated jewelry store in South Surrey was the target of four thieves in an early morning break-in on Monday.

Andy Nguyen, whose parents own the store, said the four thieves looked like they knew what they were doing and were quick to make off with more than $100K in jewelry.

“It was unbelievable,” Nguyen told. “It’s scary. Nothing like that’s ever happened before. Multiple people coming in and destroying everything.”

The stolen goods were not insured.

The break-and-enter happened on Monday at 4:18 a.m. at the Semiahmoo Shopping Centre and was captured on a CCTV camera.

In the video, the four suspects, wearing masks and hoods, are seen smashing the store’s display cases.

Nguyen said his parents are devastated about what happened.

“(The store) almost means everything,” he said. “I think because that’s all that my parents have and that’s all that they’ve had to raise us.”

Nguyen said his parents have had the store for more than 10 years and his mom told him she is scared to go into work now.

“My mom absolutely loves work,” he said. “She just loves being there. She loves talking to all our customers that come by and friends and stuff. Just to have the words come out of her mouth that she doesn’t feel safe and she’s scared. That’s like, it’s really heartbreaking.” Surrey RCMP said an investigation is ongoing.

“The four suspects are believed to have departed in a dark-coloured SUV,” Surrey RCMP Cpl. James Mason said. “The brazen action of these individuals is a concerning reminder of the impact criminals can have on our community. They had a plan and they executed it.” The mall has onsite security, who called the incident into police. Nguyen said they are going to keep moving forward as a family as best they can. “We never thought this would happen,” he said. “It’s like a movie.”

Anyone with information about the theft is asked to contact Surrey RCMP at 604599-0502.

South Asian Real estate agent fined $55K, loses licence after assignment misconduct

After handing in her real estate licence in 2020 amid a misconduct investigation, Gobinder Kaur (Gina) Takhar has now had it officially cancelled following an agreement with the BC Financial Services Authority, which also includes a $55,000 fine.

Takhar’s spouse.

In 2017, three sisters sought to buy the investment properties using a modest inheritance as the down payments. Combined, the final cost of both properties was $850,000 and the assignment fees totalled $75,000.

Takhar was found to have committed professional misconduct by failing to disclose the nature of her representation to assignees looking to purchase two properties in Chilliwack, in 2017.

Between 2010 and 2020, Takhar was licensed as a trading representative with Global Force Realty Ltd., according to BCFSA.

According to a signed consent order with the regulator, Takhar was involved in the assignment of two properties by an initial buyer — a corporate entity — whose sole director and minority shareholder was

The sisters closed the deals by November 2017 but on Nov. 27, 2017 lodged a complaint with the Real Estate Council of BC. At issue was an alleged lack of proper disclosure.

“The complainants say that throughout all of their communications and meetings with Ms. Takhar, beginning with their meeting in February 2017 when they confided in her and provided her with the Confidential Information, and throughout all their dealings with Ms. Takhar regarding [both] properties, Ms. Takhar’s actions lead them to believe she was acting as their agent and was acting in their best interests.

“Ms. Takhar maintains that she was fully transparent regarding her neutral role in the transactions and regarding the assignment fee. Ms. Takhar accepts that she did not clearly explain her role in the transactions to the sisters,” the order states.

Takhar voluntarily surrendered her licence in August 2020 but BCFSA pursued cancellation of the licence, plus a penalty.

A faster spinning Earth may cause timekeepers to subtract a second from world clocks

Earth’s changing spin is threatening to toy with our sense of time, clocks and computerized society in an unprecedented way — but only for a second.

“Can

I get the health-care services I need? ”

The BC Government is working to strengthen health-care access and services to help you get the care you need when you need it.

Recruiting more doctors, nurses and allied health professionals

Pharmacists can now prescribe for many conditions

More funding for cancer prevention, screening and treatment

Expanding home and community care services to more seniors

For the first time in history, world timekeepers may have to consider subtracting a second from our clocks in a few years because the planet is rotating a tad faster than it used to. Clocks may have to skip a second — called a “negative leap second” — around 2029, a study in the journal Nature said Wednesday.

“This is an unprecedented situation and a big deal,” said study lead author Duncan Agnew, a geophysicist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. “It’s not a huge change in the Earth’s rotation that’s going to lead to some catastrophe or anything, but it is something notable. It’s yet another indication that we’re in a very unusual time.”

Ice melting at both of Earth’s poles has been counteracting the planet’s burst of speed and is likely to have delayed this global second of reckoning by about three years, Agnew said.

“We are headed toward a negative leap second,” said Dennis McCarthy, retired director of time for the U.S. Naval Observatory who wasn’t part of the study. “It’s a matter of when.”

It’s a complicated situation that involves, physics, global power politics, climate change, technology and two types of time.

Earth takes about 24 hours to rotate, but the key word is about.

Experts advise BC residents to prepare early for wildfire season

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“It’s surprising how quickly we can bounce back, but the trends with climate change and … an El Niño year have not been looking good in terms of the scale of snow and rain we need,” Tim Morris of the B.C. Watershed Security Coalition told CBC’s The Early Edition.

“There’s still hope that we might get these heavy rains as we approach summer, but we don’t want it all at once because then we get very large floods as well.”

Wildfire preparations

Daniels said B.C. has made significant strides to proactively thin out forests near communities in fire-prone regions.

“This enhances firefighters’ ability to contain fire before it reaches homes,” she said.

Mathieu Bourbonnais, a former wildland firefighter and assistant professor at UBC Okanagan, told UBC News that the ?aq’am First Nation in southeast B.C. successfully implemented preventative measures that saved “many homes and the Cranbrook International Airport during the St. Mary’s River fire in July 2023.”

“While these plans require years of planning with a narrow implementation window, their effective execution can protect communities and restore wildlife habitat and cultural resources,” he said.

“Each season that passes without implementing these measures means we miss opportunities to enhance resilience and learn to coexist with wildfire.”

Barinder S. Sanghera

All

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Fraser Institute News Release: Size of government on the rise across Canada

The combined size of the federal, provincial, and municipal governments increased in all but two provinces over the 2007 to 2022 period (relative to the sizes of their economies), finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.

“The size of government increased in eight of ten provinces and the country as a whole over the last decade-and-a-half,” said Alex Whalen, associate director at the Fraser Institute and co-author of The Size of Government in Canada in 2022.

The study measures federal, provincial, and local government spending in each province as a share of the economy (GDP) from 2007 to 2022, the most recent year of comparable data.

It finds that government size grew in every province except Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan during that period. In 2022, the size of government relative to the economy as a whole across Canada ranged from a low of 26.8 per cent in Alberta to a high of 63 per cent in Nova Scotia, and was 40.5 of Canada’s total economy.

Previous research has shown that the size of government (as a share of the economy) to maximize economic growth and social progress is between 26 and 30 per cent of the economy (GDP). When governments exceed that size, it imposes negative effects on the economy, such as crowding out private sector investment, but without providing proportionate benefits such as greater social progress.

“It’s important to understand just how much governments across Canada have grown in recent years, and what impact that might have on our economy moving forward,” said Jake Fuss, director of fiscal policy at the Fraser Institute and co-author.

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BC provides some clarity for those being impacted by short-term rental restrictions

As the Province gears up to enact its restrictions against short-term rentals on May 1st—housing units which are rented out on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo— the government decided to share some last minute clarifications.

The new clarity is in regards to strata hotels and motels—units of a building which are each privately owned, but rented out through an administrator who also handles daily cleaning.

People may acquire these types of properties for a variety of reasons, including return on investment, capital appreciation and personal usage benefits.

Typically, these types of hotels or motels operate and look exactly the same as any hotel or motel, however the units are privately owned and those owners stand to benefit from them.

The Province says that because this legislation is meant to ensure that more longterm housing options come to the market, not remove units from the overnight hospitality industry.

These types of units have been exempt from the beginning, but some were unsure of if their units qualified so the BC government opted to create newer, clearer regulations that will clarify what makes a unit a ‘strata hotel/

motel’ unit.

Subject to government approvals, in April the Province will exempt an existing strata hotel or motel from the principal residence requirement if one of the two following options applies to the unit:

That before December 8th, 2023, the accommodation was similar to a hotel or motel and and continues to have a staffed front desk on site, cleaning staff or contractors or a platform for owners to access accommodation information about their unit, which are provided in a manner similar to a hotel or motel.

That before December 8th, 2023, the accommodation was similar to a hotel or motel and more than one strata lot on the property is not able to be used as a principal residence by anyone due to a restriction under zoning, a rental management agreement or a restrictive covenant under the Land Title Act.

The Province says that all units on the property are to be treated the same so treatment is consistent.

For newly built strata hotels and motels to be exempt from the principal-residence requirement they must have all three services listed above in option one, in addition to one of the legal-use restrictions described in option two.

Temporary residents rise to 2.7 million as Ottawa tries to curb migration

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The Statscan figures underscore the challenge Ottawa faces as it tries to clamp down on migration. On Thursday, the federal government said it would reduce the proportion of temporary residents to 5 percent of the population over the next three years, a plan that will be finalized in the fall. Earlier this year, the government announced a two-year limit on study visas.

The measures follow widespread criticism of the government’s approach to immigration. Several economists at Canadian banks have accused the federal government of losing control of the immigration system, leading to a surge in demand for things that are already in short supply, such as affordable housing and access to health services.

“We are stressed in all directions,” said Bank of Montreal chief economist Robert Kavcic. “The supply side (of the economy) cannot respond quickly enough.”

Overall, the population grew 3.2 per cent in 2023, the fastest pace of growth since 1957. Nearly 472,000 people became permanent residents of Canada last year. The federal government is increasing the admission of

permanent residents to 500,000 in 2025.

While the government sets annual targets for PR admissions, it has not previously done so for temporary residents, although that will change with last Thursday’s announcement.

Statscan said that without temporary migration – that is, counting only permanent immigration and natural change (births minus deaths) – the population would have increased by 1.2 percent, or almost three times less than it did.

Canada relies almost exclusively on international migration (both temporary and permanent) to drive its population growth, which will account for 98 percent of the overall increase in 2023.

Stronger immigration has been a guiding principle of the federal government under the Liberal Party. He has argued that immigration is badly needed to counteract the effects of an aging society and to fill vacant positions that have frustrated the business sector.

Lately, a surge in newcomers has bolstered Canada’s economic numbers. Real gross domestic product rose 1.1 percent in 2023, but after accounting for strong population growth, economic output has declined per person.

Two more towers up to 80 storeys tall, more rental housing could be coming to Burnaby’s Brentwood

A new park and two new highrise towers soaring up to 80 storeys tall could be added to Burnaby’s Brentwood town centre, and residents can share their thoughts on the plan at an open house on April 2.

Changes to the Brentwood site master plan, the Amazing Brentwood development at 4567 Lougheed Hwy., would see the number of towers and allowed heights increased due to the number of nonmarket rentals required by a relatively recent policy, according to a staff report.

Where the original 2013 master plan called for 13 towers, the amended plan includes designs for 15 towers, and the two additional highrises could be up to 80 storeys tall.

to 70 storeys, showing the towers can be built under maximum allowable height).

The Amazing Brentwood developer Shape Properties most recently applied in October to develop Tower 7, proposed as a 56-storey

The two tallest under the original plan are now built as Towers 1 and 2 at Brentwood.

Both towers are 53 residential storeys atop a three-storey commercial podium (the range for those towers allowed up

market rental building with 614 units.

The amended plan also outlines a potential location for a child-care facility and a new central park, which would “serve as a community hub and provide needed green space to the residents.”

Canada’s population hits 41M months after breaking 40M threshold

Nine months after reaching a population of 40 million, Canada has cracked a new threshold.

As of Wednesday morning, it’s estimated 41 million people now call the country home, according to Statistics Canada’s live population tracker.

The speed at which Canada’s population is growing was also reflected in new data released Wednesday by the federal agency: between Jan. 1 2023 and Jan. 1 2024, Canada added 1,271,872 inhabitants, a 3.2 per cent growth rate — the highest since 1957.

Most of Canada’s 3.2 per cent population growth rate stemmed from temporary immigration. Without it, Canada’s population growth would have been 1.2 per cent, Statistics Canada said.

From Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023, Canada’s population increased by 241,494 people (0.6 per cent), the highest rate of growth in a fourth quarter since 1956.

Usha George, a professor at the Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement at Toronto Metropolitan University, told Global News in June a booming population can benefit the economy.

“It is not the bodies we are bringing in; these are bodies that fill in the empty spaces in the labour market,” she said.

“They bring a very-high level of skills.” However, Ottawa has recently sought to ease the flow of temporary immigration in a bid to ease cost-of-living woes. Immigration Minister Marc Miller said on March 21 Ottawa would set targets for temporary residents allowed into Canada to ensure “sustainable” growth in the number of temporary residents entering the nation.

The next day, BMO economist Robert Kavcic in a note to clients the new limits will have a positive impact on Canada’s rental market and overall housing crisis.

Man charged with two murders committed as police in B.C. were investigating him

Brigitte Tougas says she was shocked this month when she learned a man named Justin Bos had been charged with fatally shooting a Surrey resident in August 2022.

Shocked because Bos had already been charged with killing her son Cody Mostat in Langley on March 25, 2022, the day after he celebrated his 30th birthday.

And at the time of both murders, Bos was under investigation by B.C.’s antigang agency for allegedly converting airsoft guns into functioning firearms.

shot to death in Surrey, on Aug. 27, 2022.

Tougas said in an interview that there are many unanswered questions about how two men could be killed despite the accused being under police investigation at the time of the killings.

“How is this even happening?” the Kelowna mom asked Tuesday. She said the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team had a suspect in her son’s slaying almost immediately, even though a charge wasn’t laid for six months.

By then, Troy Michael Regnier had been

“It just doesn’t make sense.

… Somebody definitely dropped the ball.”

IHIT has not publicly disclosed a motive in either murder. Bos and Mostat were acquaintances. When Regnier was killed, police said three suspects were “arrested at the scene, who were believed to have been known to the victim, though at this time no charges have been laid.”

Bos, 38, is due in Surrey provincial court on April 14 for an appearance on the seconddegree murder charge laid on March 12 in connection with the Regnier murder.

Surrey targeted shooting injures 1, police looking for suspects

Mounties in Surrey say a man was shot and injured Tuesday night in the city’s Fleetwood neighbourhood.

The Surrey RCMP says officers received reports of shots fired just before 10:45 p.m. on Richardson Drive near 85 Avenue.

When they arrived, Mounties found a man with injuries “consistent with having been shot.”

“He was transported to local hospital for medical treatment,” police said. “There are no individuals in custody.” Mounties say officers will be in the neighbourhood

Wednesday canvassing and speaking with witnesses.

“The investigation is ongoing. This was a targeted incident involving a person who is well known to police,” Mounties added. “The victim has non-life threatening injuries and remain in hospital.”

Mounties believe the shooting is connected to the ongoing B.C. gang conflict.

Police are asking anyone with information about the incident, including dash cam footage, to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604599-0502 and quote file #2024-42654

Over 10 Years

Federal government announces new measures to help renters

Ahead of the upcoming federal budget, the Canadian government has announced new measures to help renters and to make it easier for them to become homeowners.

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault and Minister of Transport and Quebec Lieutenant Pablo Rodriguez held a press conference on Wednesday in Montreal to discuss some of the new plans. Guilbeault said that the government understands how difficult it is for renters and why it’s important to protect their rights.

“We know that tenants have difficulty navigating the various provincial laws and lack resources to fight conflicts with their landlords, whether it’s a faulty heating system, an illegal rent increase, or the socalled rent evictions,” he explained. “To protect renters’ rights and ensure that renting at home is fair, open, and transparent, I’m proud to announce, starting in 2024-25, we will provide $15 million in federal support to a new tenant protection fund.”

The $15 million tenant protection fund

will provide legal aid to better protect tenants against unjust rising rent costs, renovictions and bad landlords. One new measure will include making sure that renters get credit for on-time rent payments.

The Canadian government will amend the Canadian Mortgage Charter and want landlords, banks and credit bureaus to make sure that rental history will be considered for credit scores.

“It’s too hard to find an affordable place to rent, especially for younger Canadians. That’s why in budget 2024, we’re taking action to protect renters, make the rental market fairer, and open new pathways for renters to become homeowners. Let’s make sure renters count,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a press release.

Additionally, the federal government will create a new Canadian Renters’ Bill of Rights which will be developed and implemented in partnership with provinces and territories.

This would require landlords to disclose a history of apartment pricing so that renters can negotiate fairly.

Truck strikes overpass near George Massey Tunnel

An investigation has been opened after a commercial vehicle struck an overpass, at 10 a.m. Tuesday, near the George Massey Tunnel in Metro Vancouver.

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Also

A dash camera captured the collision on video and was posted on Facebook. The B.C. Ministry of Transportation said no one was injured and the structure has no critical damage. Back in March, B.C. introduced more strict measures to penalize truck drivers and companies who hit overpasses and bridges, which include fines up to $100K and jail time up to 18 months.

“With these new penalties, we are taking the strongest action possible to keep our

roads safe and to keep people, goods and services moving,” Transportation Minister Rob Fleming said in early March.

“This also sends a message to commercial truck drivers that they are responsible for the safe transportation of goods and services on our roads, and a lax attitude toward safety will not be tolerated.”

Fleming said overpass and infrastructure crashes have cost the province millions of dollars in repairs, along with lengthy highway closures and supply chain disruptions.

According to the province, 35 overpasses and bridges have been struck by commercial vehicles since 2021.

Man injured after shooting in the Cloverdale area of Surrey

Mounties in Surrey are investigating after a man was shot Tuesday night in the Cloverdale area. The RCMP said they received reports of shots being fired in the 8500-block of Richardson Drive shortly before 11 p.m..

The injured man was taken to hospital with gunshot wounds. His condition was not known

No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting. Officers will be in the neighbourhood Wednesday to speak with witnesses.

Anyone with information, including dash cam footage around the area of between 84 Avenue and 88 Avenue and 168 Street and 172 Street between 10:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. is asked to call Surrey RCMP.

Claims on the latest form of kava adulteration as done in some overseas countries has the potential to initiate a second ban on export of kava from the Pacific including Fiji.

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka made this comment in his response to a statement by NZ based lecturer Dr Apo Apolosa that planting of kava in the US could affect export from Pacific Island nations including Fiji.

Mr Rabuka said the Pacific has already experienced economic fallout from the manipulation and adulteration of safe kava in the early 2000s through the European Kava Ban. “This latest form of kava adulteration (with substances like kratom) and I would also suggest the growing of kava outside of the Pacific, has the potential to initiate a second ban,” he said. “A lot of the plants that now form the staple diets of countries around the world

were introduced by early and later settlercommunities and were not endemic to the settled lands, islands and regions.

“The various past bans decisions placed on kava imports from the Pacific were based on mostly scientific advice more about the adverse social and perceived or anticipated health effects it would have on the importing countries’ population.” He cited, as an example the Australian Restrictions which included a ban in some Aboriginal settlements because they were using it to excess and not mixing it to the social doses used in Fiji or mixing it with alcoholic or methylated spirits and other substances.

“Some bans imposed by other economies were probably based on protecting their own therapeutic manufactured or herbal medicinal drugs.”

Acting DPP files appeal against sentence

Acting Director of Public Prosecutions, John Rabuku, has filed an appeal against the sentence of the former Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended Commissioner of Police, Sitiveni Qiliho.

According to a statement issued by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the Notice of Appeal against the sentence was filed in the High Court this afternoon.

The former PM and the suspended COMPOL were found not guilty and acquitted accordingly by Resident Magistrate Seini Paumau at Suva Magistrates Court on October 12, 2023.

The State had filed an appeal against their acquittal where the Acting Chief Justice then overturned the Magistrate’s decision and found the two guilty as charged. The matter was then sent back to the Magistrates’ Court for sentencing. In sentencing the duo, Magistrate Puamau announced that both their convictions would not be registered.

Mr Rabuku said “the sentence delivered by Magistrate Puamau is unsatisfactory, is wrong both in fact and in law and does not reflect the considerations and tariff of cases or matters of similar nature.”

The State has filed four grounds of appeal, and they are as follows:

* That the sentence imposed by the learned Magistrate against both the Respondents are manifestly lenient and in breach of sentencing principles, case laws and the tariff set in other similar matters and offences.

* That the learned Magistrate erred in law and in fact when she made a finding that there were no aggravating factors against the Respondents.

* That the learned Magistrate erred in law and in fact in considering irrelevant factors in sentencing the Respondents; and

* That the learned Magistrate erred in law and in fact when she made a finding that there was no victim and that the offending was a technical breach by both Respondents.

New minimum wage expected, says Singh

A new minimum wage is expected to be announced in the upcoming 2024/2025 National Budget. This was the assurance given by Minister for Employment, Productivity, and Industrial Relations Agni Deo Singh.

“We have set up the 10 wages councils, the wages council nominations have been received and the appointments have been done,” he said.

“We are rolling out the work on the minimum wages — the minimum wage and the sector wages.

“The minimum wage is going to be announced in the next budget and it is going to be effective from August 1 for all sectors. It’s going to be there 100 per cent.” This, he said, was going to come through the tripartite forum.

“So, there is no apprehension from employers or any other sector. It’s not that we will pluck it from the air. We are going to make sure it’s something fair and something that gives workers a living wage.”

He said the Government was in the process of addressing other concerns involving the employment sector including a labour law review and other rights that “had been taken away”. Meanwhile, the first Employment Relations Forum was organised in Suva yesterday.

With the theme “Future of Employment Relations in the World of Work – Navigating the Fijian Work Landscape”, Mr Singh urged all those present to reflect on the trends, advancements, and disruptions shaping the future of work in Fiji.

Fijians eligible for new PR visa

Fijians will be eligible to apply for a new permanent resident visa program offered by the Australian government.

The Australian Department of Home Affairs stated this new program is aimed at boosting Pacific permanent migration to Australia and is an essential part of plans to deepen connections with the Pacific and contribute to a peaceful and prosperous region.

A total of 3000 Pacific islanders will be selected under the Pacific Engagement visa (PEV) that will be decided through a ballot.

“The new Subclass 192 – Pacific Engagement visa will commence in 2024.

It will provide up to 3000 permanent places annually for citizens of participating Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste and their immediate family members. This is in addition to Australia’s permanent migration program,”‘ stated the Australian Department of Home Affairs.

“To be eligible for the PEV, applicants must be aged between 18 and 45 years, have a formal job offer in Australia and meet other visa requirements, including English language, character and health checks. “PEV holders will have access to medicare, government-funded school and higher education places.”

Setback for AAP as Punjab MP Sushil Kumar Rinku, MLA Sheetal Angural switch to BJP

The exodus of Punjab politicians towards the BJP continued on Wednesday with Aam Aadmi Party’s lone Lok Sabha member from the state Sushil Kumar Rinku joining the saffron ranks along with AAP’s Jalandhar West MLA Sheetal Angural.

Rinku and Angural switched over after resigning from the AAP’s primary membership. Angural will resign as MLA on Thursday.

Joining a day after the BJP announced its decision to contest all 13 parliamentary segments in Punjab alone, Rinku said, “Being in the BJP, I finally see some hope for Jalandhar. I have no lust for power. I am conducting this new experiment with myself for the betterment of Punjab and Jalandhar.”

The move came as a severe jolt to ruling AAP in Punjab, which had named Rinku in its first list of eight candidates for the state. Rinku, a former Congress MLA, joined AAP in April 2023. He won the Jalandhar LS bypoll soon thereafter. The win in a traditional Congress bastion was seen as significant as it followed the party’s embarrassing loss in the Sangrur (vacated by CM Bhagwant Mann) bypoll in June 2022, soon after its sweep in the Assembly poll.

ED raids 26 locations in Punjab over guava scam

The Jalandhar office of the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted raids at 26 locations, including the premises of Punjab Excise Commissioner Varun Roojam and Ferozepur DCRajesh Dhiman (both IAS officers), horticulture officers, revenue employees and realtors, in connection with the guava orchard scam. No arrest was made by the ED in the case today. The raids started this morning simultaneously in Chandigarh, Mohali, Kharar, Patiala, Ferozepur, Bathinda and Barnala. ED officials had already lodged an enforcement case information report (ECIR) on the basis of an FIR lodged by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau in May 2023. The case involves embezzlement to the tune of Rs 137 crore, doled out as compensation for guava

orchards on land acquired by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority. The officials had been reportedly tracking all details and took the first action today.

Sources said cash recovery of a few crores was made from all locations. The search at Roojam’s residence ended at 11.15 pm after 16 hours.

Pressure tactics being used, fears govt as ED raids Punjab Excise Commissioner Varun Roojam’s house

The search operation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths at 26 places in the state, including the residence of Excise Commissioner Varun Roojam, who was earlier questioned by the investigating agency in the excise policy scam, has visibly shaken the government.

Fear looms large in the corridors of power that this raid at the Excise Commissioner’s residence could be a pressure tactic to get him become a witness in the excise policy case of 2022. Since AAP national convener

Arvind Kejriwal has already been arrested in the Delhi excise policy case, there is apprehension that investigation into the Punjab excise policy of 2022, which is under the ED and CBI scanner since September 2022, may once again be brought back on the table.

Roojam, former Financial Commissioner (Excise) KAP Sinha and Joint Commissioner (Excise) Naresh Dubey have been earlier questioned by ED multiple times with regard to the excise policy of 2022. But for the

past several months, this investigation was reportedly on the back burner.

Interestingly, the guava orchard scam case was being investigated by the Vigilance Bureau after an FIR was registered on May 2, 2023. The case being taken up by ED suddenly now has raised the alarm bells.

The raid on Roojam’s residence and others, which also includes Ferozepur DC Rajesh Dhiman, was conducted with regard to the guava orchard compensation scam. Both officers had bought the land in the name of

their respective spouses. The alleged excess compensation received by them, along with over 45 others, has already been deposited in the court after 47 persons were asked to deposit (wrongfully) claimed compensation of Rs 52.08 crore. The wife of Roojam deposited Rs 32 lakh and the spouse of Dhiman has deposited Rs 17 lakh. A total of alleged wrongful compensation of Rs 137.18 crore for acquisition of 1651.59 acres (spread over 15 villages of Mohali) was claimed by 106 persons, including 11 public servants.

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release of urban studio, 1 & 2 bedroom homes in Surrey City Centre.

Couple brutally thrashes grandmother for not cooking as per their liking; arrested after video surfaces

The police on Wednesday arrested a couple from Bhopal after a video purportedly showed them beating the man’s grandmother, an official said.

Taking cognisance of the video, which was widely shared on social media, the police arrested the couple, an official said.

In the purported video, a man can be seen holding the old woman tightly, while his wife appears to be hitting her with a wooden scale.

The victim, who is over 70, had allegedly not cooked food for the couple as per their liking, said police. The video of the alleged assault was recorded by one of the couple’s

neighbours, said the official.

In a post on X, Bhopal Police Commissioner Harinarayanchari Mishra shared that the police had registered a case against Deepak Sen and Pooja Sen, who are originally from Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh.

The couple, who lives in Bhopal’s Barkhedi area, was arrested and further legal steps are being taken, the senior official said.

Police sources said Deepak runs a barber shop in Barkhedi area under Jahangirabad police station of the MP capital. It was immediately not known when the incident took place.

India, China exchange views on complete disengagement, resolving remaining issues along LAC

The 29th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs has been held and the two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on how to achieve “complete disengagement” and resolve the remaining issues along the LAC, the MEA said on Thursday.

The key meeting was held in Beijing on March 27, it said in a statement.

“The two sides had an indepth exchange of views on how to achieve complete disengagement and resolve the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western sector of India-China border areas,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the statement said.

“In the interim, both sides agreed to maintain regular contact through diplomatic and military channels

and on the need to uphold peace and tranquillity on the ground in the border areas in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and protocols,” it said.

Joint Secretary (East Asia) from the MEA led the Indian delegation. The Chinese delegation was led by Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic

The 28th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs was held on November 30 last year.

Drinking water project divides Congress, DMK

Even as the INDIA bloc bickers over the Mekedatu project, the BJP-JD(S) has made it a major issue in Karnataka.

After the DMK in Tamil Nadu promised to stop the implementation of the Mekedatu project, going against its ally, the Congress in Karnataka has made it a poll issue, promising to implement the project. The DMK, in its manifesto, has promised to halt the project. “Efforts to construct the Mekedatu dam will be stopped. Measures will be taken by the DMK through firm legal actions to protect the welfare of farmers in the Delta region and to ensure water supply to various parts of Tamil Nadu,” manifesto stated.

will release a manifesto declaring the implementation of the Mekedatu project,” JD(S) supremo Deve Gowda said. The Rs 9,000-crore drinking water project involves the construction of a reservoir project at the confluence of the Cauvery

The JD(S) has entered the fray announcing that if it comes to power, the project will be implemented. “We

and its tributary Arkavathi. It has been a contentious matter between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for years.

US makes another remark on Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, reacts to freezing of Congress bank accounts

On comments by a US diplomat regarding the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for alleged money-laundering in

elections,” Miller added.

“And we encourage fair, transparent and timely legal processes for each of these issues,” he stressed.

connection with the Delhi excise policy case, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said they encouraged fair, transparent and timely legal processes for the issue.

Addressing a press briefing, Miller was asked about his response to India summoning the US diplomat over comments on Kejriwal’s arrest and freezing of the Congress’s bank accounts.

The US State Department said they are following these actions closely.

“We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. We are also aware of the Congress’s allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging

However, he denied talking about any private diplomatic conversations, and said, “What we have said publicly is what I just said from here, that we encourage fair, transparent, and timely legal processes. We don’t think anyone should object to that.”

Earlier on

Wednesday, India took a “strong objection” to the remarks of the United States State Department Spokesperson about certain legal proceedings in India.

“In diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others. This responsibility is even more so in the case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

The MEA defended India’s legal system, emphasising its independence and dedication to impartial and expedient judgements.

“India’s legal processes are based on an independent judiciary that is committed to objective and timely outcomes. Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted,” the

Court ruling effectively outlaws Islamic schools in India’s most populous state

A court in India’s most populous state has effectively banned Islamic schools by striking down a law governing madrasas, weeks before a nationwide election that could further polarize the world’s largest democracy along religious lines.

The Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh on Friday declared the Madrasa Act of 2004 to be unconstitutional, according to a court order seen by CNN, while ordering the state government to move students enrolled in the Islamic system into mainstream schools.

“We hold that the Madarsa (sic) Act, 2004, is violative of the principle of Secularism, which is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution of India,” the high court said in its order.

“Since providing education is one of the primary duties of the State, it is bound to remain secular while exercising its powers in the said field. It cannot provide for education of a particular religion, its instructions, prescriptions and philosophies or create separate education systems for separate religions.”

The ruling can be appealed in the country’s Supreme Court.

Uttar Pradesh is home to some 200 million people, about 20% of whom are Muslim, according to the country’s most recent census data from 2011.

It is governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and has over the past decade made headlines for passing

Madrasas provide a system of education in which students are taught about the Quran and Islamic history alongside general subjects like math and science.

Some Hindus also send their children to an equivalent system known as Gurukuls, residential education institutions where students learn about ancient Vedic scriptures alongside general subjects

some of the country’s most controversial laws that critics say discriminate against Muslims and marginalize them in the secular republic. Friday’s court order affects 2.7 million students and 10,000 teachers in 25,000 madrasas, Reuters reported, citing Iftikhar Ahmed Javed, the head of the board of madrasa education in the state.

It comes weeks before a nationwide election - the world’s largest - during which an estimated 960 million people are eligible to vote.

Modi’s BJP is expected to secure another five years in power, ruling an India that has become increasingly polarized along