Asian Star - March 18, 2017 by The Asian Star Newspaper

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Vol 16 - Issue 07

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Fruiticana starts campaign to buy equipment for BC Children’s Hospital Fruiticana has started a campaign to buy a very important equipment for BC Children’s Hospital. All Fruiticana locations in BC will be collecting donations in March to help BC Children’s Hospital purchase a muchneeded Anesthesia Monitor. Anesthesia monitors, which are attached to anesthesia machines, help to control and manage the delivery of drugs and ventilation to ensure a patient breathes properly. “For our campaign

this year, we wanted to help BC Children’s Hospital address a specific need”, says Tony Singh, President and CEO of Fruiticana. “So, when the Hospital Foundation approached us and I learned how this Anesthesia Monitor will help such young children, we were fully committed.” “We are profoundly grateful for Fruiticana’s commitment to the health of children across BC,” says Teri Nicholas, President and CEO of BC Children’s Hospital Foundation. Continued on Page 6...

NRIs divorce wives by Whatsapp Two Hyderabad-based Muslim women, who were divorced by their NRI husbands over WhatsApp, have approached the High Court, seeking justice. Their husbands are residing in the United States. Soon after receiving triple talaq messages on WhatsApp, the women started facing harassment from their in-laws and were being forced to leave their houses. The women, Heena Fathima and Bahrain Noor (married to two brothers), have not received any divorce documents from their husbands. “The way we were divorced is not valid under Islamic law,” they said. One of the victims, who has two children from the marriage, alleged she was harassed after her second child also turned out to be a girl. Asking the court to declare the “divorces” illegal and arbitrary, they also urged the court to issue directions to the authorities concerned, to frame rules and guidelines to spell out when a “triple talaq” would be considered valid. The two women filed police cases against their relatives last week. Continued on Page 6...

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Certified Capt Amrinder Singh sworn-in as Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh took oath as Punjab’s 26th Chief Minister at a simple ceremony at the Raj Bhawan in Chandigarh on Friday. Seven MLAs were sworn in as Cabinet Ministers and two as Ministers of State with Independent charge. It will be Capt Amarinder’s second stint as CM, having headed a Congress government in 2002-07. The CM assured to set up a Special Task Force to eliminate drugs as one of the first steps to be taken. Continued on Page 26...

AAP’s Challo Punjab campaign for NRIs turns into ‘Choro Punjab’

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Recent uptick in gang violence shows the system is failing in BC, say critics A rash of brazen daylight shootings and murders show that B.C.’s anti-gang strategies are failing to stem the violence, critics charged Tuesday. Over the past week in Metro Vancouver there were three targeted murders of ganglinked men, as well as a fatal stabbing and at least two other shootings. Former Solicitor General Kash Heed, a longtime Vancouver cop, said gang violence is continuing because the main police approach has been to react to it after the fact. “We are still in very strong reactionary mode to gang violence that is occurring,” he said. “And politicians are not prepared to make those fundamental changes to law enforcement to ensure that prevention becomes the mainstay.” Heed said that while some money has been put into anti-gang programs that have had success, “the effort is not sustained for a long period of time.” “And that’s part of the difficulty. So we are not getting in front of this. So what we do is we react to it,” he said. NDP public safety critic Mike Farnworth said more needs to be done to deal with the gang and gun violence that has plagued the region for years. “In terms of the violence that is taking place, it’s clear that the government strategy has not worked to date,” Farnworth said. “Government cannot take its foot off the throat of organized crime.” But Public Safety Minister Mike Morris defended his government’s efforts to tackle the gang problem. He said the Guns and Gangs Strategy, which was announced last year and recently expanded, provides money for police, prosecutors and programming to combat gang violence. Morris said the strategy is working because of the crime statistics coming from police. He used Surrey as an example, which saw a double-digit decline in violent crime last year, in spite of an increase in the number of murders over 2015. “We are seeing the curve coming back down again, which I’m pleased to see,” he said. When asked if the problem is simply migrating from Surrey to other Metro Vancouver cities, Morris said the situation is improving around B.C. “The entire province is vulnerable to gang activity,” Morris said. “We are going to see little pockets that are going to emerge from time to time, but the numbers aren’t going up they’re still going down across the province. The police are doing a pretty good job of containing it.” Surrey’s latest murder victim, Birinderjeet Justin Bhangu, 29, is a well-known gangster with links to the Red Scorpions and Wolf Pack.

Trump’s spokesman confronted by NRI woman at Apple store Asked ‘how does it feel to work for a fascist’ White House press secretary Sean Spicer was apparently out shopping from some new tech when he was confronted by a woman in an Apple store in Washington on Saturday. Shree Chauhan live-streamed her encounter with Spicer as she asked him questions about U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia. “How does it feel to work for a fascist?” Chauhan asked Spicer. “We have a great country,” the press secretary mutters. “Have you helped with the Russia stuff?” the woman asks. “Are you a criminal as well? Have you committed treason, too, just like the president?” “Thank you,” a smiling Spicer says in response to the series of questions. “What can you tell me about Russia?” Chauhan asks.

“Such a great country that allows you to be here,” the press secretary says. It’s unclear what Spicer was referring to. However, in a blog post, Chauhan, an IndianAmerican, suggests that his comment was racially motivated. “When I confronted Mr. Spicer, I wanted to speak truth to power. It wasn’t until hours later that it was revealed to me that Mr. Spicer had said, ‘Such a great country that allows you to be here,’ to me,” Chauhan wrote. “Unlike this administration, I do not believe in “alternative facts”. I believe in facts. I do not believe in accusing someone of this level of racism, if in fact it was not.”

Chauhan said in the blog post that she watched the video “over and over again” and others watch the watch it. “And his words were clear,” Chauhan wrote. “That is racism and it is an implied threat.” The woman admits that she wasn’t “polite” but “when does being impolite mean that I should be thrown out of the United States of America? The country I was born in, the country I was raised in, the country I love despite its flaws.” Chauhan’s encounter with Trump’s spokesperson has been viewed over 500,000 time as of Monday morning.

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Saturday, March 18, 2017

AAP’s Challo Punjab campaign for NRIs turns into ‘Choro Punjab’ Continued from Page 1... Assembly polls despite the heavy campaigning By some sounds, over 30,000 NRIs from in Doaba region-- the bastion of the Non Canada, USA and Europe landed in Punjab Resident Indians (NRIs). to campaign and urge friends and relatives to Prior to the poll results, the AAP leaders vote for AAP. One report on January 19 cited had claimed that NRIs were supporting 100 Canadians flew into Delhi the party during the elections. airport to campaign for AAP. However, post-elections, in However, their efforts had the Doaba region, which has 23 opposite effect. A lot of voters, constituencies, AAP could only who actually live in Punjab, felt win two seats-- from Bolath disrespected by AAP and its and Garhshanka. Sukhpal Singh foreign legion who don’t live nor Khaira,a second time MLA from work nor pay taxes in Punjab Bolath, had won the election in or India but yet tried to tell the 2007 on a Congress ticket. Punjabis who to vote for. The The diaspora wing of the Punjabis answered strongly and party had launched a campaign in unison to the NRIs and AAP’s ‘Chalo Punjab’, for the NRIs Delhi- based leader Kejriwal: who extended their support “we know what the issues are Canadian NRIs arrived for AAP, in the State. Despite here. We know what works here to help AAP in january significant involvement of and we know who to vote for. We NRIs in propaganda, publicity, will be here long after you have returned to perception-building and raising funds, it North America after the election. Unlike you turned out to be damp squib for the party. all, we are not visitors to Punjab. We actually Institute for Development and live here.” Communication (IDC) director and political The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) could win expert Dr Parmod Kumar SAID : “If they only 20 seats across Punjab in the State (AAP) had NRI support the relevant question

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Don Meredith is a prime example why Justin Trudeau was wrong about the Senate Here is yet another reason why the current Senate is undemocratic, unrepresentative, unelected and totally totally unfair to Canadians. And Prime Minster Justin Trudeau was completely wrong in appointing the socalled "independent Senators" - who are in effect pseudo Liberals. Trudeau's inability to deal with the Senate has come to the fore this week after Sen. Don Meredith failed to resign but did beg for forgiveness for his “moral failing” over his sexual relationship with a teenage girl. An independent report stated that 100 Meredith used his influence to get himself 100 involved with a vulnerable underage 95 girl 95 and had sex with her three times in 2012 - after making false promises to her, 75 75 including promising to help the girl get her mother to come to Canada. Last December, Sen Meredith reached six years of service 25 and is now entitled to a gold plated pension 25 for life - whether he resigns, quits or is fired. 5 VICTOR BAINS 5 Other Senators are at a loss at what to do. Some of them have "begged" him to resign 0 0 they would not have to find a way to fire so him. Continued by Page 7...

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Saturday, March 18, 2017

Fruiticana starts campaign to buy equipment for BC Children’s Hospital Continued from Page 1... “By displaying vital information during surgery, the new Anesthesia monitor will ensure we continue to deliver the best possible care.” The new Anesthesia Monitor will enhance patient safety during surgeries at BC Children’s Hospital, as children’s vital signs will be better monitored and managed. Furthermore, the new monitors will result in fewer complications and better surgical outcomes for children as surgical teams can respond more quickly to any change in the child’s condition.

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NRIs divorce wives by Whatsapp Continued from Page 1... The Moghulpura police registered a case against the relatives of Mehreen Noor, for allegedly harassing her, after her husband sent her a “divorce” from the US. Mehreen’s sisterin-law, Syed Heena Fatima, has also lodged a separate complaint against her husband. Triple talaq is interpreted as the Islamic practice of divorcing a woman by uttering the word “talaq” thrice. The All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board (AIMWPLB) has demanded a ban on triple talaq and said men who arbitrarily divorced their wives must be punished. The board had also sought a ban on “nikal halala” that mandates that a woman divorced through triple talaq has to marry another man and consummate the second marriage before she becomes eligible to remarry her first husband. Osman Qureshi, one of the NRI brothers who reportedly divorced his wife on WhatsApp, requested authorities to probe the case in a fair manner. He also asked city police commissioner M Mahender Reddy and home minister N Narasimha Reddy to consider his side of the story while proceeding with the investigation. It was alleged that two NRI brothers had pronounced unilateral triple talaq.The victims -Mehreen Noor and Syed Hina Fatima -went public with their ordeal. Qureshi, who resides in the US, posted

an hour-long video message on YouTube in which he claimed he and his family had not broken Muslim personal laws or any other law. “There are two sides of every story . Those investigating should listen to our side. We have not broken any laws,” Qureshi said. The NRI claimed that due legal process had been followed and that his wife was divorced and that there was documentation to prove it. He said the qazi, who had solemnised the marriage was approached and that divorce proceedings were done according to laid down procedures. The documents, he claimed are with his lawyer, who had `submitted’ them before the authorities. He also claimed that a divorce notice was sent which Noor had refused to accept. “It is not my problem if they refuse to accept the notice,” Qureshi said. He also claimed that the mahar (dower) was paid back. Claiming that he did not want to lie, Qureshi said that he did send the WhatsApp message, but only after the papers of divorce were sent.”I first called them and said that i’m divorcing you for what you’ve done,” he claimed in his video. Qureshi also claimed that his parents, who are senior citizens, are innocent and are being framed even as he claimed that his former in-laws had kept them hostage in their own house. He said that he was verbally abused by his former in-laws

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Saturday, March 18, 2017

Don Meredith is a prime example why Justin Trudeau was wrong about the Senate Continued from Page 4... Meredith is not about to give up a $160,000 a year job for life with no responsibility and no accountability. Meredith, whose job used to be a priest before he became a parasite on taxpayers, says he will not resign because he has done something “immoral” but not “illegal “. His lawyer supports him and says there is nothing in the rules to fire a Senator who tricks a vulnerable underage girl into having sex with him. In other words, he can’t be removed from the Senate. Some Senators have begged Trudeau to get involved and dismiss Meredith but he passed the buck right back to the Senators, saying it is for them to do something. And that is the problem. The Canadian Senate is undemocratic, useless and has no accountability. It needs to be reformed or abolished - preferably the latter. Embattled Sen. Don Meredith begged forgiveness for his “moral failing” over his sexual relationship with a teenager but said Thursday he was not ready to resign. Speaking out for the first time since a damning ethics report, Meredith told The Canadian Press he was taking a leave of absence from the Senate on the advice of his doctor and would be considering his options in the coming days and weeks. “This is a moral failing on my part,” a grim-faced Meredith said in a wide-ranging interview, with his wife Michelle quietly at his side. “As a human being, I made a grave error in judgment, in my interactions. For that I am deeply sorry.” Meredith, 52, repeatedly apologized to his wife, children, his fellow senators and all Canadians for the relationship that took place with the woman known only as Ms. M. His wife and children have forgiven him, he said, and he asked for the same forgiveness from his Senate colleagues and Ms. M. “I believe in the power of forgiveness and reconciliation,” he said as his Toronto lawyer looked on. “We’re humans, and humans make mistakes.” A chorus of voices has called on Meredith to step down amid questions of whether the Senate has the power to force him to do so. Senate sources have said they believe the upper chamber does have the power to expel a senator and declare the seat vacant, and do so by a simple majority vote. The six-year senator said he hoped his contrition should be enough to assuage those who have been calling for him to step down.

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Delta youth takes gold at provincial wrestling championships North Delta teen Gursher Sangha is heading to Ontario for the 2017 Cadet and Juvenile Canadian Wrestling Championships. The Grade 12 North Delta Secondary student earned gold in the provincial championships earlier this month, using his technical skill to make his way to the top of the 78kg division. At provincials, Sangha won all of his games by tech. In wrestling, each move earns the competitors points, and as soon as they gets 10 points ahead of their opponent, they win by tech. Of course, one can also win by pinning one’s opponent to the ground, but that doesn’t seem to be Sangha’s style. In the gold medal match, he beat Lucas Kolobara of Maple Ridge 12-2. That skill didn’t come from nowhere. Sangha, who practices six days a week at Olympia Wrestling Club in Newton, has been wrestling since his dad first introduced him to the sport in Grade 8. It wasn’t always easy: Sangha’s first tournament was in the summer of 2013, and he lost. “I didn’t really expect to lose – I thought I was going to win,” he said. “But it was only my third

or fourth month wrestling, and as I got more [experience] I started getting better.” He’s a self-described aggressive wrestler who usually attacks first, and by Grade 10, he was winning most of his matches.

“After I won my first match, I wanted to win more and more after that.” This year Sangha’s been on a winning streak, taking gold at the Fraser Valley Championships and qualifying for provincials.

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Homicide investigators are trying to identify a man clearly featured in surveillance video and photographs both before and after the brazen daylight murder of Birinder Bhangu in Surrey this week. Staff Sgt. Jennifer Pound showed how close members of the public were to the targeted execution in a parking lot outside the Comfort Inn Hotel in the 8200-block of 166th Street on March 13. Bhangu, 29, is a well-known gangster with links to some of the recent violence in the Lower Mainland. He had a criminal record dating back more than a decade for driving offences, property crimes and drug trafficking. The suspect in his murder is dressed all in

black with his face uncovered. Pound said it is rare to have such clear images of a murder suspect. “A big important piece to that puzzle right now

is asking for the public’s help in telling us who that suspect is,” she told reporters Friday.

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Part of Surrey Tax Centre evacuated The suspicious white powder found inside an envelope of the Surrey Tax Centre this morning turned out to be benign. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will take steps to see into who put it there,â&#x20AC;? Surrey RCMP Sergeant Alanna Dunlop said. She said the â&#x20AC;&#x153;non-hazardousâ&#x20AC;? powder, the nature of which has not yet been revealed except that it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dangerous, was contained in an envelope and found in the mailroom.â&#x20AC;? Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis said earlier this morning he hoped the mysterious white powder his team investigated at the tax centre in Whalley was the result of a prank.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re hoping itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a prank. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see 100 them often,â&#x20AC;? he said, recalling post-Sept. 11, 2001 anthrax scares. 95 Nineteen staff members at the centre were isolated in a containment area 75 100 while the fire department used a spectrum analyzer on95 site to determine what the powder 25 was. 75 Surreyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tax Centre, at 9755 5 King George Boulevard, is one of three sites nationally 0that will 25 be converted from a processing centre into a 5national verification and collection centre. The other two are in Shawinigan, 0 Quebec and St. Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Newfoundland.

Meteor spotted in Lower Mainland sky Did you see a flash of light shoot across the sky Thursday night? Several drivers and spectators took to

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Overdoses claim 102 lives in BC in February

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More than 100 British Columbians died because of an illicit drug overdose last month. The latest numbers from the BC Coroners Service on Friday showed 102 people died in February because of a suspected overdose. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s down from the 112 deaths recorded in January, but is still an average of more than seven deaths every two days. The highest number of overdoses were recorded in Vancouver with 29 people, followed by Surrey at 14, and Kelowna at 11. Most of the deaths â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 89 per cent â&#x20AC;&#x201C; occurred inside, with more than half in private homes. No deaths were reported at the overdose prevention sites since they were set up in Surrey, Vancouver, and Nanaimo in

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South Asian man’s confession about wife killing heard in court A man accused of murdering his wife and one other man told undercover police that before his spouse’s slaying, people were telling him to get rid of her and that he twisted her neck during the fatal assault.

For two days, a B.C. Supreme Court jury has been listening to details of Jaswant Singh Gill’s confession to the killings of wife Gurpreet (Ruby) Gill, 33, on Valentine’s Day in February 2006 and Thomas Eldon Akerman, 26, in December 1994. He has pleaded not guilty to the seconddegree murder of Gill and not guilty to the first-degree murder of Akerman. The court heard that Gill, who had a stormy relationship with his wife, told a police officer — posing as the leader of a criminal organization — that before the slaying people were telling him the same thing: “Get rid of her. Get rid of her. Get rid of her.” He added later: “What I did was, I did what my parents told me to, to get rid of the relationship.” Gill said his wife “flipped her switch” when he confronted her. “It was just, she just kept going on and on about my mother, just cursing her, just — I mean, wishing like the evilest things on her,

do you know what I mean?” Asked by the officer what kind of fight it was, Gill replied that it was a “twisting of the neck.” “And then like, did it break her neck?” asked the undercover cop posing as Mr. Big. “Ah, I didn’t hear it,” said Gill. “But it might have,” said the officer. “Was she still alive after that?” “Ah, there was a lot of her demon coming out,” said Gill, who added that by demon he meant an energy “like a vibration.” Gill confessed to being on top of the victim, holding her down and making eye contact with her during the assault. “Yeah, I was looking right at her and making sure that it was the real her, the one that I saw, when I seen her in India.” Gill told the officer that after he killed his wife, he put her in a plastic bag, stored her body in a refrigerator before getting the assistance of another man to dispose of the body on “military” lands in Richmond. Court has heard that Gurpreet Gill came to Canada from India after an arranged marriage with her husband in 2000, initially living in Victoria with the husband’s family and later moving to Vancouver to be with Gill. Gurpreet’s mother reported that her daughter was missing to the Vancouver police, initiating a missing person’s case that eventually turned into a homicide investigation. During his meeting with the undercover officer at a hotel in Whistler, Gill made the startling admission that he’d killed another person and two in total. He said he shot a man three times in a vehicle parked near Metrotown. Akerman was shot while he sat in a vehicle at a park in Metrotown.

Tsunami siren createed anxious moments in White Rock, south Surrey More than a few White Rock and south Surrey residents had some anxious moments Thursday when the Semiahmoo First Nation tested a tsunami siren alert — without indicating it was a test. “Our fire chief said there were three lines going for 20 minutes with people calling and saying ‘What’s happening? Is this a drill or for real?’,” said White Rock spokeswoman Farnaz Farrokhi of the incident. “The public was quite confused and it was not clear that it was not a test. We hope it never happens again.” Farrokhi said the Semiahmoo First Nation informed the city that it would be conducting an evacuation drill for the First Nation community just east of the city starting at 11 a.m. However, she said, Semiahmoo officials didn’t inform the city that the alarms would not be accompanied by clear messaging that it was a test only. She said the test caused panic among many residents, who believed it was a real

evacuation, particularly when they heard, “This is a tsunami warning, please vacate and get to higher ground or inland now, do not return.” She said the city was concerned about the First Nation’s lack of communication and has communicated its concerns and need for clearer communication with the city and public in the future. Farrokhi said the city’s Facebook and Twitter accounts lit up from anxious residents, and that “one woman came in with her cat wondering what to do.” She said others drove to neighbours’ homes to warn people that a tsunami was on the way and to “get out.” Farrokhi said the test lasted for about 20 minutes but was not heard by officials at city hall. “We’re fine with the testing, but very disappointed that they didn’t put in a warning either before or after,” she said. A representative for the Semiahmoo First Nation could not be reached for comment.

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Premier Clark dismisses Horgan as a leader who lacks a spine With less than two months before the election, Premier Christy Clark is dismissing her primary opponent as a leader who can’t find his backbone or even lead his own caucus. Clark offered a harsh critique of the NDP’s John Horgan during an interview with Postmedia News on Thursday, saying that as the legislature adjourned to kickstart the unofficial election campaign she’d seen enough of Horgan in action to conclude he isn’t up to the job. “John, he is not as strong a leader as I thought he would be,” said Clark. “He hasn’t been able to corral his caucus, there’s so much disunity in the group, they are always fighting with each other. He can’t seem to take a position on any of the important policies, things it’s obvious we are all going to have to take a position on. “I know people sort of thought (former NDP leader) Adrian Dix was flip-flopping, but John Horgan … has got a bigger problem in terms of finding his spin, finding his backbone. That was something I’ve learned about him over the last little while in watching the NDP.” Horgan returned fire in a news conference. “I think it’s time for a change. (The Liberals) have been here overly long, they are bloated, they are arrogant, out of touch and their singular focus is filling up their coffers with

Panasonic’s new Indian washing machine has a curry-stains mode

big money and making sure they address the needs of the people passing them the bucks.” Clark likened Horgan’s situation, with competing internal pressures and MLAs not fully supportive of his leadership, as similar to the fractured caucus she inherited as Liberal leader in 2011 when she replaced Gordon Campbell. “We all have to live with the circumstances we got,” she said. “So I know how hard this is to do, but I think in John there is kind of a profound, maybe it is fear or weakness I don’t know, but he really hasn’t turned out to have the spine that Adrian Dix had.” The legislative session concluded Thursday with Clark’s Liberals having spent much of the time on the defensive over criticism that her party is beholden to wealthy corporate donors. The RCMP is investigating whether any political parties have received illegal donations from donors, such as lobbyists, who’ve expensed their contributions back to their companies or unions. The NDP leads the Liberals in the latest Mainstream/Postmedia poll, and data shows a majority of voters want limits on the size of campaign political donations. Though it dominated the session, Clark said she doesn’t expect the donation issue to be front-of-mind during the campaign, which formally begins April 11.

The new Panasonic Stain Master machines have an intensive stain-removal mode which is being marketed in India as a curry-stain removal button; it also has other Indianfocused modes, such as one for removing hair oil. They are planning other Stain Masters customized for other Asian markets with stain-removal buttons tailored to their national cuisines and stubbourn stains.

Vancouver mayor pleads for BC to direct $10 million to drug-overdose treatment With new numbers showing that overdose deaths continue in Vancouver, Mayor Gregor Robertson is pleading for the provincial government to pump recently acquired federal money into drug substitution therapy. According to figures released by the city Thursday, Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services reported 92 overdose calls between March 6 and 13 while police reported 12 suspected overdose deaths. While this was a drop from the week prior — during which 174 calls and 14 suspected overdose deaths were reported — the city said it is higher than the historical average. And despite the perception that overdoses spike when income-assistance cheques are issued, the numbers show that “overdoses are happening all the time and are very challenging to predict,” the release said. Vancouver Fire Department Capt. Jonathan Gormick said while there have been fluctuations in the numbers, the results don’t offer much hope. “We used to see huge spikes on income assistance Wednesdays and the day or two after … but now when we look at the numbers, that spike is diminished. And it’s not that the spike has gone down, it’s because every other day is just as busy,” said Gormick. He said the urgency and frequency of the calls leave first responders with very little time to do other tasks such as training, maintenance or even just down time for lunch, let alone adequate rest to counter the emotional toll of handling overdoses and deaths day in and out. “It’s literally every day now,” said Gormick. “It’s an every-day crisis.” Robertson called the impact of the fentanyl crisis on Vancouver families “truly heartbreaking” and said the B.C. government needs to spend $10 million it received from the federal Minister of Health to fight the

overdose crisis on treatments such as opioidsubstitution therapy. “Those funds should be used to broaden access to clean prescription drugs and substitution therapy, and expand treatmenton-demand services to save lives and help people recover from substance use,” he said in the release. The majority of calls came from the Downtown Eastside, but cases outside the downtown area “remained significant,” the city said.

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Child forced to leave foster parents whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d raised him since birth

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We love you more than anything in the 95 world. â&#x20AC;? Those were the words of a foster dad as 75 he said goodbye to his nine-year-old foster child, whom he had raised since birth. Frightened and confused, the child refused to leave the only home heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d ever 25 known.â&#x20AC;&#x153;Make sure you use your words 5 because your words can be powerful,â&#x20AC;? the dad said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you love me, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll leave me 0 where I am,â&#x20AC;? the child cried. It was the scene caught on video in December 2016 when the B.C. Ministry of Children and Family Development decided it was time the boy went back to live with his birthmother and biological sister, who was also raised in foster care.

The foster dad â&#x20AC;&#x201C; who is being referred to simply as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Johnâ&#x20AC;? in order to protect the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s identity â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and his wife had cared for the boy since he was only seven months old. The child called him â&#x20AC;&#x153;Daddy.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;[It was] more crushing than anyone will ever know,â&#x20AC;? John told. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When you see a child â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that all he knows is the house he was brought up in for almost nine years â&#x20AC;&#x201C; being taken away.â&#x20AC;? The young boy was ultimately persuaded to live with his birthmother after being reassured he could keep in touch with his foster parents. But weeks later, John says he received a worrisome email from the child, saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;HELP.â&#x20AC;?

BC teen charged with child porn offences involving 11-year-old boy An Abbotsford teen is facing multiple child porn and cyberbullying related charges 100 allegedly targeting an 11-year-old boy after living in the U.S. Police say the teenager, 95 whose name hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been released, is accused of demanding sexual images from the boy in 75 exchange for â&#x20AC;&#x153;rewards.â&#x20AC;? The offender allegedly threatened the boy with â&#x20AC;&#x153;repercussionsâ&#x20AC;? if he didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do as he was asked, police said in a statement. The teen 25 was arrested earlier this month after officers seized computers and a cell phone in a search 5 of his home. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s since been charged with 0 luring a child, sexual interference, extortion and making child pornography. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve grown more accustomed to hearing

of charges against adults who are preying on children, but when you have youth preying on a child, it is certainly something that is alarming, eye-opening and concerning as well,â&#x20AC;? said Const. Ian MacDonald. In October, investigators in Texas contacted Abbotsford police about the alleged victim. They believed the offender in the case was living in the B.C. city. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In this case, the 11-year- old boy courageously reported the interactions with the suspect to his parents, despite the threats he received. If it werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t for those actions, the offences would have continued and potentially could have involved many other victims,â&#x20AC;? MacDonald said.

Saturday, March 18, 2017

LOCAL

Carjacking ends in fiery crash in East Vancouver A carjacking on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside ended with a fiery collision when the stolen taxi ran into another vehicle and burst into flames. Police say the incident began around 7:15 pm Tuesday when a man jumped into a Black Top cab stopped at West Hastings Street near Carrall Street.

The suspect allegedly hit the driver several times and forced him out of the van before driving off. The vehicle was soon spotted speeding through nearby Chinatown before crashing into another vehicle at the intersection of

Clark Drive and Venables Street in East Vancouver. The suspect then jumped from the burning cab and allegedly attempted to carjack another vehicle stopped at the light. The driver of that vehicle, a 40-year-old woman from North Vancouver was not injured in the attack, but was extremely shaken up, said police. Meanwhile a bystander managed to get ahold of the carjacking suspect and pin him to the ground, holding him until police could arrive and arrest the suspect. Police say a 34-year-old Burnaby man remains in police custody and is facing potential charges for robbery. His identity has100not yet been released. The intersection was closed for several 95 hours for the police investigation, but reopened in time for Wednesday morning’s 75 rush hour traffic.

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had an idea about how to increase facilities for people with mental health and addictions issues in the city. “[He] jumps out, and says, ‘Bill, we’ve got an option here, we have an idea,’ and that’s really the foundation of how we brought this to fruition,” said the psychiatrist. Now, the idea is about to become a reality. St. Paul’s is adding two modular units — one in

each of the hospital’s courtyards — to expand the emergency room with services specifically geared toward addictions and mental health issues. The $3.5 million project, called the HUB, is intended to streamline treatment options for patients who could otherwise end up straight back on the street, rather than in psychiatric treatment or recovery programs. “We’ve had a massive upswing, in terms of the number of people coming to St. Paul’s emerg for addictions, for mental health,” said MacEwan. “We haven’t really been satisfied with how we’ve been able to respond.” “On an annual basis, we get about 12,500 visits for mental health and addiction to our emerg and we only admit to our hospital about 20 per cent of those patients,” he said. “So many of those people are discharged, and what we’re trying to do is divert them 100 over to the HUB and the transitional centres, so95we can make that visit to our hospital more meaningful.” 75 According to MacEwan, St. Paul’s looked to Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital, where the Rotary Transition Centre gives vulnerable 25 people who haven’t been admitted to hospital 5 after an emergency visit a place to rest and 0 clean up.

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Man wakes up to being stabbed in East Vancouver home invasion A 19-year-old man is in police custody and another man is recovering after he was awoken overnight in his East Vancouver home to find himself being stabbed. Around

1:15 a.m. PT, police were called to a home on Ferndale Street near Lakewood Drive and found a man inside with a serious stab wound, said Vancouver police spokesperson Staff

Sgt. Randy Fincham. “This 27-year-old man who was sleeping at the time was woken to someone actually stabbing him, so obviously very frightening for anybody to wake up to a situation like that,” Fincham said. “[It was] a very gruesome scene when the police arrived on scene, for the roommates as well.” Police spoke with the victim and others who live inside the house and were told that the intruder wasn’t known to them. In about 45 minutes, police located a possible suspect a few blocks away in the area of East Pender Street and Garden Drive, but the 19-year-old man ran away when officers tried to speak with him, Fincham said. A K-9 unit was used to track the suspect, and he was arrested nearby a short time later. The suspect, who suffered a minor injury, is new to Vancouver but doesn’t have a significant history of crime elsewhere in Canada, Fincham said. Police are still investigating to see if anything was stolen from the home of the victim, who

has since been treated and released from hospital, Fincham said. “We don’t know at this point why that

particular home was targeted, why this individual or these individuals possibly, were being targeted,” he said. “We have nothing to suggest at this point that the victim had anything that would draw someone to that home.” He said there were a number of reports of cars broken into in the area of Nanaimo and East Hastings in the hours before the attack and said police are not yet sure if these incidents are related. “We’re hoping there may have been someone who saw something,” Fincham said.

Judge calls for harsher sentences for fentanyl dealers A judge at B.C.’s top court is calling for stronger sentences for those who sell fentanyl. In a ruling posted online Friday, the B.C. Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal to increase the sixmonth sentence of a 59-year-old man who was caught with drugs, including 2.6 grams of the deadly opioid. The Crown had argued that the sentence wasn’t enough, given the “inherent danger” of accidental overdose linked to fentanyl. The effort was denied, since fentanyl-related deaths were not as prevalent at the time of the offence. But the three judges agreed the court

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should identify a higher sentencing range because of the current “public health crisis associated with illicit fentanyl consumption.” The judge who dissented in the judgment, Justice Mary Newbury, called for a sentence of 18 to 36 months or possibly higher. Frank Stanley Smith, a first-time offender, tried to sell drugs to an undercover police officer in 2015 on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The current sentencing range for first-time offenders is six to 12 months – the same as heroin.

Victim identified in targeted shooting in Surrey The victim of what police say was a targeted shooting Monday afternoon in Fleetwood has now been identified. Birinderjeet Justin Bhangu, 29, of Surrey was in a parked vehicle in the 8200-block of 166 Street just outside a Comfort Inn Hotel when was shot several times March 13. He was transported to hospital, but died of his injuries. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) is now conducting the investigation, working with Surrey RCMP and the BC Coroner’s Service. “This blatant act of violence was committed in a busy area of the community, and fortunately no one else was hurt,” said Cpl. Meghan Foster of IHIT. “Mr. Bhangu was known to police and evidence collected suggests this was a targeted homicide. Anyone who may have information about Mr. Bhangu’s murder is asked to contact police.” IHIT says a dark Nissan Pathfinder fled the scene. Investigators continue to gather evidence, and will canvass the neighbourhood today seeking more information. Anyone with information is asked to contact the IHIT Information Line at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448), or by email at ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.

LOCAL

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Opinio poll on race has troubling implications for Canada A new poll commissioned by CROP-Radio Canada examined Canadians’ attitudes towards different minority and immigrant groups, and found that despite priding ourselves on our tolerance and openness, it does not extend equally to all groups. When it came to integration into Canadian society, only 12 per cent of respondents believe that Muslims are very well integrated into

Canadian society, compared to 47 per cent who hold this opinion of Italians, 43 per cent of Jews, and 31 per cent of Asian Canadians. The group considered second least-integrated was Haitians, at 14 per cent. Additionally, one in four Canadians and one in three Quebecers polled is very or more or less in favour of banning Muslim immigration to Canada, a la Donald Trump. And 60 per cent of Quebec and 44 per cent of Canadian respondents feel very or somewhat unfavourable to the building of a mosque, a far greater percentage than object to the construction of the houses of worship of other faiths. Those numbers don’t surprise Amira Elghawaby, communications director of the National Council of Canadian Muslims. “Different polls indicate that there are negative attitudes towards Muslims in Canada. According to Abacus and Forum research numbers from 2016, four-in-10 Canadians hold biased views towards Muslims,” she told iPolitics. The poll also asked another set of

questions, on the issue of trust and who Canadians believe. While there is little appetite for a Canadian Trump, the type and contents of the populism that got him elected is highly popular here. Eighty-eight per cent of Canadians and nine-in-10 Quebecers do not believe the so-called ‘elites’ – defined as politicians, businesspeople, scientists and the media – because they all “have something to sell you”. Fully 55 per cent said they agree “completely” or “very much” with this sentiment. In Quebec this number hits 58 per cent – a number that has risen pretty consistently since 2004, when it stood at 41 per cent. This echoes the findings of other studies such as the annual Edelman Trust Barometer, which found trust “in crisis” around the world – including Canada. For the first time since Edelman began tracking trust in business, government, NGOs and media in 2012, Canada slipped to the “distruster” category. This leads to two observations, both of which have serious implications for Canadians politics and immigration policy. The first is a dissonance between the lack of support for a “Canadian Trump” and the support Canadians profess for some of his policies and the populism that underscores them. Rejecting a “Canadian Trump” may have more to do with the President’s personal style or attitudes than his incarnation of antielitism, or his views on immigration. On the Conservative side of the aisle, this would explain the appeal of leadership candidate Kevin O’Leary, as well as the decision by fellow candidate Kellie Leitch to run on screening newcomers for Canadian values (74 per cent of Canadians and a similar number of Quebecers polled support the idea). It also has implications for the NDP leadership race: should the party elect a populist politician in the mould of Bernie Sanders, or continue its attempts to stake out more middle-of the road ground between itself and the Liberal party?

$1 million winning Lotto Max ticket remains unclaimed with deadline approaching Someone in Burnaby B.C. could be $1 million richer and their deadline to claim the prize is fast approaching. A $1 million winning Lotto Max ticket was sold in Burnaby on Oct. 30, 2015, but it has not yet been claimed. The deadline to do so will be Oct. 30, 2016. The location where the ticket was sold will not be disclosed as that is part of the verification process. Winners have one year from the draw date printed on the ticket to claim the prize so lottery players are being encouraged to check their pockets and drawers to see if they are holding the winning ticket. The B.C. Lottery Corporation (BCLC) says only four major prizes have gone unclaimed in B.C. since 2006 with a total of $534,572.70. All four prizes matched five or more numbers

so it was not the grand prize. The unclaimed prizes were $99,318.50 in 2006, $104,534.60 in 2008, $113,807 in 2009 and $219,912.60 in 2016. The BCLC says no top lottery prize in B.C. has ever gone unclaimed. Last year, a winning $50-million Lotto Max ticket was presented to lottery officials, just days before the one-year deadline to claim the prize was set to expire. In December, 2014, a woman filed a civil claim in B.C. Supreme Court, claiming her co-worker was hiding the ticket that was part of a workplace pool. However, the winners, Friedrich Mayrhofer, 67, his wife, Annand, and his son, Eric, tried to stay anonymous and claim the prize, but that’s against British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) rules.

FUNERAL NOTICE Davinder(Raju) Dhami 16-8-1962 to 8-3-2017. It is with heartfelt sadness that the family of Raju announces the passing of our loving husband,father,brother,son and friend. Survived by his loving wife Pupee and son Ankit mother Surjit brother Mintu and sisters Bubbly and Pinky. Funeral services at 1230 Saturday March 18th followed by antim ardaas at Brookside Gurudwara 140th Street Surrey. For contact Mintu at (604) 809-6279

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Kudos and concerns over $250M roadwork in Surrey and Delta

Pic by: Chandra Bodalia

Meet and greet reception with BC Liberal candidates, Jas Johal (left), Richmond Queensbourough and Michael Lee (right), Vancouver Langara with former Attorney General Wally Oppal at Fraserview Hall on March 11.

Bc woman acquitted of counselling distraught husband to commit suicide A woman accused of counselling her husband to commit suicide has been acquitted by a provincial court judge in Cranbrook. Terri Reimer wept Thursday as Judge Ron Webb ruled there was reasonable doubt the defendant encouraged Bill Reimer to try to

take his life on March 22, 2016. Court was told Bill Reimer had already consumed more than 100 prescription pills when he and his wife had an angry exchange that was overheard by a family member, a former RCMP officer, as she spoke with him by phone. Rhonda Reimer testified that she overheard the accused call the complainant a “coward”

and that she would get him a gun. The judge found insufficient evidence to convict Reimer of a charge of administering a noxious substance with intent to endanger. He also ruled inconsistencies in testimony throughout the proceedings also prevented him from convicting Reimer of counselling suicide. Following the acquittal, Terri Reimer said she was at peace and she believed her husband would feel the same way. “He definitely wasn’t expecting me to end up in this position, so I think we are both going to be happy with the decision,” she said. Court heard that the couple’s marriage was under stress and Bill Reimer had previous suicidal episodes after his wife admitted to infidelity and a $300,000 gambling debt. In February, Terri Reimer testified she would never tell her husband to commit suicide. “I love him too much. I still do,” she told the court.

The Surrey Board of Trade is welcoming a multi-million dollar highway project south of the Fraser River, but one critic is concerned the long-term impact will be the exact opposite of the intention. Last week the federal and provincial governments, along with the Tsawwassen First Nation and the Fraser Port Authority, announced highway improvements totaling $250 million in Delta and Surrey. The government said the improvements will ease commuter congestion and increase truck traffic to the port. Increasing truck traffic will help facilitate Asia-Pacific trade and in turn boost the economy, it added. Surrey Board of Trade CEO Anita Huberman said the new project was a positive initiative. “This is a pretty significant announcement. It really focuses on increasing our road networks to focus on international trade,” she said. Peter Hall, a professor of urban studies at Simon Fraser University, was more critical. He said rather than ease congestion, the improvements will do just the opposite in the long run. “Frankly I think they’re defeating their own end,” said Hall. “We know that expanded growth capacity results in more traffic, so I fear they’re still caught in that self-defeating cycle of trying to build more infrastructure in order to have less traffic.” Hall questioned the province’s decision to invest in the specific highways, especially considering the Massey Bridge project, which is intended to ease congestion anyway. The improvements to the highways will

make it easier for commuters from White Rock and South Surrey to avoid the new bridge and the toll by opening up access to the Alex Fraser Bridge, he said. “What do you care about when you’re driving? You care about how quickly and

reliably you can get where you want to go.” Hall said he would prefer to see an investment in rail networks being built to ship goods to the port and he questioned the Fraser Port Authority’s decision to put $80 million into inland roads instead. However Huberman said the province’s multi-million dollar plan is aligned with Surrey’s goals for economic development. She agreed with the government’s assessment that road upgrades will make B.C. more economically competitive and open up opportunities for increased international trade. The CEO stated Surrey is a major manufacturer of goods shipped to Asian markets like food, beverages and metal products — all of which Huberman said will have an easier time getting to port after the upgrades.

Christy Clark announces panel to investigate political fundraising The B.C. Liberal government has announced the formation of a special panel to look into the province’s political fundraising rules, following heavy criticism of the governing party’s own practices. Premier Christy Clark announced Monday that the deputy attorney general has been asked to form an independent panel of nonpartisan experts to consider ideas around campaign finance reform.

“What I’m proposing today is a process to take political parties and politicians out of the process,” said Clark. “Regular review is important because there hasn’t been significant changes since 1995.”

The premier said the panel will consider changes, including some already brought forward to the legislature by the NDP and Green Party, as well as submissions from citizens. The panel will report to the legislative assembly but won’t be in place in time for the May 9 provincial election. The B.C. Liberals have sloughed off the idea of reforming campaign finance rules in the past. Clark did not say what changed her mind. Currently, there are few limitations to how political parties can raise funds in the province. The B.C. Liberals raised over $12 million last year. Last week it was announced that the RCMP is investigating potential Elections Act violations involving allegedly illegal lobbyist donations to the B.C. Liberal Party. The B.C. Liberal Party has also been criticized for its practice of throwing high priced “pay for access” events featuring the premier and cabinet ministers. And until recently Christy Clark was paid a stipend of $50,000 per year from the B.C. Liberal Party, in addition to the wage she collects as premier.

Saturday, March 18, 2017

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Saturday, March 18, 2017

Why Canada will come to regret its embrace of refugees Pretty soon the US might not be the only North American country clamoring for tighter security on its southern border. Because suddenly, in the age of Trump, Canada has an illegal-immigrant problem. No, Barbra Streisand, Keegan-Michael Key and Bryan Cranston have not yet made good on their threats to pack up their stuff and slip into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s immigrant-loving Canada if Trump won. But at an almostunguarded point just off Roxham Road in upstate Champlain, desperate people, many of them Muslims, are sneaking across the border from the US to Canada. Once arrested in Canuckland, they get a bus ticket to Montreal, a comfy room (the YMCA is a popular spot) and a hearing into their refugee status. I call that a win-win: Prime Minister Dreamboat gets all the refugees he wants, and America no longer has to worry about the exact same people. Each illegal crossing represents one less headache for us, one more headache for them — sorry, one more beautiful soul to bask in Trudeau’s utopia. “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada,” Trudeau tweeted last month, trolling Trump. That isn’t exactly how things work in the non-Twitter world, of course: The March 8 New York Times story about the secret

crossing noted that if the same migrants turned up at a legal border checkpoint attempting to gain entry to Canada while asking for asylum, they would be turned away, ordered to remain in the US. So the migrants figure they must first commit a crime — crossing the border illegally. Once they’re on Canadian soil, they’re part of the Canadian criminaljustice system. The Times story shows no interest in whether the border-jumpers in question are illegal immigrants to the US, though all of them are illegal immigrants to Canada. But I’m assuming most of the Times’ subjects were here illegally before they went there illegally. The Times story makes it look as though Trump’s dark rhetoric, comments about radical Islam and executive order restricting immigration from six countries with major terrorism problems are creating woe and desperation for nice people the US should find a spot for. Some of the migrants are from places like Yemen and Turkey. But if, as the Times also seems to think, Canada is a haven for minorities and immigrants, especially Muslims, aren’t these people better off up north? If the Times is really worried about an epidemic of hate crimes and Islamophobia in the US, shouldn’t the tone of its coverage be celebratory rather than mournful? Shouldn’t it be singing “Climb

Coding wiz, 13, trying to personally assist 100,000 people Tanmay Bakshi, 13, speaks quickly and passionately. The ambitious teen gestures with both arms, and litters his sentences with the type of positive language that you’d expect from a professional speaker. In fact, his business card lists ‘keynote speaker,’ along with software developer, cognitive developer, [IBM] Watson developer, author and YouTuber. Bakshi’s YouTube channel, where he shares computer programming advice, has more than a quarter million views and nearly 12,000 subscribers. On Wednesday morning, Bakshi will deliver a keynote address to about 1,500 people — mostly youth — at the B.C. Tech Summit in Vancouver. Organizers expect hundreds more to watch the speech on the online livestream. “[It’s] about, really, how the youth can get involved in technology, why they should get involved in technology, and of course, the present and future of technology, which is — beyond doubt — artificial intelligence,” said Bakshi at the Vancouver Convention Centre on Tuesday. The young coder spends a lot of time helping other young people get involved in programming. He receives roughly 20 questions a day via email, Twitter, and YouTube comments. The people getting in touch with him range from about eight years old to 75, and he tries to answer as many as he can — 5 to 10 per day. “I actually have a goal to help and reach out to at least 100,000 aspiring kid coders and beginners to help them innovate and

in fact, I’m already around 3,400,” said Bakshi, whose mother keeps track of how many individuals he has directly helped. “Some are wondering how they can get into programming,” Bakshi explained. “[For] some, it’s really just motivational sort of emails, some have, specifically, problems with, you know, applications or their code.” “I absolutely love to respond to [the questions] and help them out personally,

one-to-one.” Bakshi’s forthcoming book is titled, Hello Swift: iOS App Programming For Kids and Other Beginners. Bakshi became enthralled in coding and thinking about artificial intelligence technology after stumbling across the IBM Watson project in 2015. He’s since been granted honorary status as an IBM Cloud Advisor, and has even found mentors at IBM. His father, Puneet Bakshi, who works as a computer programmer, noticed his son’s interest when he was only five years old. Puneet refers to himself as an “old-time kind of programmer,” as opposed to his AI-focused son.

Slower pace ahead for BC’s economic growth

The latest forecast from the Central 1 Credit Union says the total amount of goods and services produced in B.C. will climb by 2.3 per cent in 2017. Central 1 says B.C.’s economic growth this year will fall far short of the 3.8-per-cent expansion recorded in 2016, although growth is expected to rebound by almost half of a percentage point to 2.7 per cent in 2018 and 2019.

It says a low Canadian dollar will help the export of goods and services but stronger commodity prices will push up overall price levels, as consumer prices edge up about two per cent this year and 1.8 per cent in the following two years. The forecast warns ongoing softwood lumber trade talks and the risk of tariffs could drag growth, and low global gas prices will keep a lid on any major liquefied natural gas projects in the province until at least the 2020s. After a 33-per-cent surge in 2016, housing starts in B.C. are expected to tumble by 13 per cent this year, but Central 1 predicts the drop will be cushioned by other economic factors. “Household demand will remain the backbone of economic growth, but we will see further rotation towards government spending, trade and an increase in investment, as the contribution from the housing sector diminishes,” says Bryan Yu, the credit union’s senior economist. Government spending and higher commodity prices are expected to pick up the slack, Yu says, although there could be a chill from potential softwood lumber tariffs.

Ev’ry Mountain” as these neo-Von Trapps escape the clutches of Trumpofascism? Mind you, I’m pro-immigrant myself. I’d like to see America welcome millions more immigrants — legal ones. My immigration policy, though, is informed by Jerry Seinfeld’s thoughts on why a preference for the underclass is pretty dumb: “‘Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses . . .’ I mean, why don’t we just say, ‘Give us the unhappy, the sad, the slow, the ugly, people that can’t drive’ . . . in other words any

dysfunctional defective slob that you can somehow cattle prod onto a wagon, send them over, we want ’em.” I say give us your entrepreneurs, your plutocrats, your MBAs, your job creators. We’ll let you know when we’ re running low on desperate, unskilled people. There’s nothing in the American character that says we have to welcome anybody who wants to come here, just as there’s nothing in the American character that says we have to be either hawkish or isolationist

A British Columbia credit union says the province’s economy will remain strong through 2019, but Metro Vancouver’s oncesizzling housing market will no longer fuel the growth.

4 charged in massive Yahoo hack, including a Canadian The United States announced charges Wednesday against a dual Canadian-Kazakh national, two Russian intelligence officers and a fourth man, who lives in the U.S. but has ties to Russia, accusing them of a massive data breach at Yahoo that affected at least a half billion user accounts. The hack targeted the email accounts of Russian and U.S. officials, Russian journalists, and employees of financial services and other businesses, officials said. “We will not allow individuals, groups, nation states or a combination of them to compromise the privacy of our citizens, the economic interests of our companies, or the security of our country,” said acting assistant attorney general Mary McCord at a news conference. The person arrested in Canada is Karim Baratov, 22, a dual Canadian-Kazakh national. He was taken into custody in Ancaster, Ont., on Tuesday. “Our job was to locate and arrest one of the people,” Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash told The Canadian Press. “We did that safely without incident.” Toronto officers were involved because their fugitive squad has a strong reputation, Pugash said. He could offer no further information about Baratov but said the suspect had been turned over to the RCMP. “This was a very large operation,” Pugash added. U.S. officials said Baratov also went by the names Kay, Karim Taloverov and Karim

Akehmet Tokbergenov. Baratov made a brief appearance in a Hamilton courthouse on Wednesday morning and was returned to custody.

Mike Le, owner of All In Detailings in Mississauga, Ont., called Baratov an exotic car buff who had mentioned doing some “computer geek stuff.” His client was popular and flashy but also reserved about anything personal, Le said. “All my friends know him, too, and none of them know anything about his life,” Le said. “He’s very secret about his life.” Le said he worked on an Aston Martin for Baratov, who he said frequently bought and sold expensive cars. Baratov’s Facebook profile links to a Russian-language company website that offers a “server in Russia with any configuration and unlimited traffic” and “persistent domains in China.” A neighbour said police were at Baratov’s home all day Tuesday, but said he didn’t know him personally. “He doesn’t seem to work all day, he just drives up and down the street, and always has a different coloured car,” said neighbour Kerry Carter.

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Saturday, March 18, 2017

Did you sell your home in 2016? Let the CRA know or else… If you sold your home in 2016, you need to let the taxman know as failing to do so could cost you up to $8,000 in penalties. You heard that right. Canadians didn’t used to have to report the sale of the home that was their primary residence, but the Liberal government changed that when it

introduced new federal mortgage rules last October. Starting this tax-filing season, a home sale that took place after January 1, 2016 needs to appear on your income tax return. Here’s what you need to know: The changes do not affect your ability to claim the principal residence tax exemption, one of the most cherished provisions of our country’s income tax system. If you made

money from selling your home, you don’t have to pay a capital gains tax on the proceeds. From now on, however, you need to report the sale in order to be able to claim the exemption. The new rule is meant to reduce tax evasion and take some steam out of overheated housing markets by closing a loophole exploited by real estate speculators. Without a requirement to disclose the sale of a primary residence, house flippers had an easy time buying and selling property tax-free. The primary residence exemption was never meant for such transactions, but what were the chances of an audit when the CRA wasn’t even aware the sales? When the Liberals introduced the reporting requirement, it was widely seen as a measure to crack down on foreign buyers. But the primary residence exemption has been widely abused by Canadians as well, York University professor Lisa Philipps has noted in the Globe and Mail.

Senators determined to expel Don Meredith after his relationship with teenage girl Some members of the Red Chamber are so determined to expel Senator Don Meredith that they have tasked the Senate’s law clerk with combing through the Constitution in search of a line they can use to force the Toronto-area senator to step aside for good. The Senate’s ethics watchdog last week found that Meredith breached the upper chamber’s ethics code by engaging in a relationship with a young woman that started when she was 16 years old. In the Senate, some colleagues have suggested the behaviour demands nothing less than his removal. The 52-year-old senator could be suspended without pay rather easily — a simple majority vote on a motion would suffice — but that punishment would only last until the end of the parliamentary session and would have to be continually renewed. Meredith, who was appointed as a Conservative senator by former prime minister Stephen Harper in 2010 before becoming a member of the Independent Senators Group (ISG), denies many of the allegations levelled against him by the woman in question — who is identified as “Ms. M” in the report prepared by ethics officer Lyse Ricard — but concedes he had sexual intercourse with her on at least one occasion. Ricard found reason to believe Meredith and Ms. M had intercourse three times, including once when the woman was 17 years old. Meredith denies the allegation. At first glance, the Constitution Act, 1867,

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power; bankruptcy; treason or conviction of a felony, or if a senator does not meet property qualifications. But the law clerk is pointing to section 18 as one possible avenue, according to sources who asked for anonymity given the sensitive nature of the file. The section confers on members of the Senate the “privileges, immunities or powers ... enjoyed, and exercised by the Commons House of Parliament in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.” Section 18, drafted by the Fathers of Confederation, has been read by some senators to mean that a Canadian parliamentarian can have no fewer powers than a British MP, including the same right to expel. If Meredith were to resign tomorrow, he would collect approximately $24,000 annually starting at age 60, according to calculations provided by the Senate.

national coffers to pay the extra $20 billion required to meet that standard. Key Findings: • Just over half (52%) say U.S. President Donald Trump is right that NATO members should spend the recommended amount of two per cent of GDP, but the majority (60%) are disinclined to see an increase Canada’s defence spending • By a rate of three-to-one Canadians are more likely to say Trump decision to reinstate the Mexico City policy on maternal health is bad one (62%) than a good one (20%) • On Russia, having heard Donald Trump’s openness to leader Vladimir Putin, threequarters of Canadians (77%) say that Canada should maintain its current approach, which has included sanctions and cold relations in the past several years

seems to enumerate only five areas as to when a senator can be permanently disqualified: an absence for more than two consecutive sessions; allegiance or adherence to a foreign

Half of Canadians support Trump on NATO spending, but fewer actually want to meet that mark E-mail: khushpal@sovereignlaw.ca

As Finance Minister Bill Morneau gets set to table what is already being touted as a “cautious budget,” he will find Canadians aligned with one of his government’s key foreign spending policies – even if it puts this country on a divergent path from the U.S. A new public opinion poll from the Angus Reid Institute – the final installment in a threepart-series on the Canada-U.S. relationship in the Trump era – finds Canadians mostly fine with their country continuing to maintain its own foreign policy course, notably on the question of defence spending. While Canadians are almost evenly split on the question of whether members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) – to which Canada belongs – should spend two per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence, fewer than half (40%) say Canada should be digging deeper into

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John Horgan’s NDP leads in BC polls The provincial election in British Columbia is now less than two months away. And that means the polls are back. After the failure of the polls in the 2013 vote, British Columbians might be forgiven for looking at them with skepticism. But the performance of the polls since 2013 suggests there is no reason to assume they are unreliable or that British Columbians are somehow unpollable. Nevertheless, there is justification for looking at the latest numbers with a fair bit of caution. Pollsters have gotten skittish in British Columbia. This time four years ago, 27 polls had been conducted in the province in the previous 12 months. But only eight polls have been published in the last year in B.C. and three of them over the last month. Those polls, all conducted by Mainstreet Research for Postmedia, suggest the margin between Christy Clark’s governing B.C. Liberals and John Horgan’s New Democrats is narrow — the latest survey conducted at the beginning of March put the NDP lead at just four points among decided voters. The NDP has been polling at between 37 and 39 per cent over the last three polls, compared to a range of 33 to 37 per cent for the Liberals, 13 to 17 per cent for the Greens and 10 to 13 per cent for the B.C. Conservatives. Even with leads in Greater Vancouver and on Vancouver Island, which

should put Horgan’s NDP in a good position to secure a majority government, the margins are close enough that an NDP win is far from a sure thing even if the vote was held today. But it won’t be. The election is scheduled for May 9 and the latest Mainstreet poll pegged undecideds at 25 per cent. These undecideds would not need to break towards the Liberals by huge numbers to overturn the NDP’s lead. And campaigns matter — Adrian Dix’s NDP had a 15-point edge at this point in 2013. That lead in the polls was cut in half by the end of the campaign. When the votes were finally counted, Clark’s Liberals ended up winning by just over four points. Another wildcard in the 2017 vote is the B.C. Conservative Party. Currently without a leader, the party is unlikely to field anything close to a full slate of candidates. That will leave a significant amount of its 10 to 13 per cent support among decided voters up for grabs. Mainstreet’s polling on who Conservative voters say is their second choice is muddled — the Liberals stood to be the main beneficiaries in one poll, the NDP the next. The party’s position on the right of the political spectrum, however, suggests the Liberals probably have the better chance of scooping up more of that orphaned support in ridings where the Conservatives do not put up a candidate.

Former veterans ombudsman considers federal NDP leadership bid

Former veterans ombudsman Pat Stogran says he is considering a bid for the federal NDP leadership. Until 2007, Stogran was a career soldier who led the first Canadian battle group into Kandahar during the Afghan war. Stogran says he is worried about the direction of the country and what sort of environmental, social and security legacy will be left for his children and their children. “I served, and I say we need a government with a vision,” Stogran said. “I have been apolitical all of my life. I have never belonged to any party. And I have voted based on issues, not the colour of tie they wear.” At the moment, he isn’t a member of the NDP. It is a “huge handicap,” Stogran said. “But I believe it’s where I belong because their heart is the right place.” Stogran emphasized that he has not made up his mind about running for the leadership, but is being motivated by broken Liberal government promises, including those made to veterans. Although the Liberals have poured billions of additional dollars into the benefits and treatment of ex-soldiers, they have yet to fulfil a campaign pledge to return to system of lifetime pensions as compensation for injuries.

Handpicked to be the country’s first veterans ombudsman by the former government of prime minister Stephen Harper, Stogran had many backroom battles with the bureaucracy over benefits and political indifference. It culminated in 2010 when his term was not renewed and the disagreements with the Conservative government spilled out

in the public. Stogran at the time described the attitude of Veterans Affairs as “penny pinching.” In making a bid for the NDP’s top job, Stogran said he already brings a reputation of standing up for average people, who are often ignored. He said he believes people are tired of politics as usual and they’re fed up with “corporate elites” running the country through either the Conservatives or the Liberals. “People have had a gut full of the initiatives of Harper, but [Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau is cut from the same cloth,” said Stogran. “Same garbage in a different bag.”

Bank watchdog saw surge in complaints about dubious credit card applications months ago One of Canada’s top consumer watchdogs says it is moving up its plans to review sales practices at Canadian banks, following a surge in complaints from customers about being signed up for credit cards that they hadn’t asked for. Brigitte Goulard, the deputy commissioner for the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), told that it regularly reviews Canada’s financial services industry as part of its mandate to raise consumer awareness and ensure lenders are adhering to all laws and regulations in the sector. The agency was planning on making sales practices at banks the focus of this year’s review anyway, she said, even before it was

published multiple accounts of dubious sales practices at many lenders by over-worked employees, who admit to signing up people for products without their knowledge in order to hit unreasonable sales targets. Amid overwhelming public response to the stories, Goulard said the agency decided to move up its investigation and make it public. “We are on top of this issue and considering seriously the allegations we are seeing in the media,” she told. Goulard said FCAC saw a surge in complaints in January from consumers who were upset that their banks had allegedly signed them up for various credit cards without them having applied for them.

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Alberta’s debt soars to $45 billion, but budget has no big cuts, no new taxes Alberta’s debt is projected to soar to $45 billion in the coming year as the NDP government continues to borrow heavily to finance operations and build infrastructure. The 2017-18 provincial budget unveiled Thursday by Finance Minister Joe Ceci lacks specific details about how the NDP government plans to return the province to a balanced budget or to start paying off the debt. The $45 billion debt amounts to a nominal GDP ratio of 13.8 per cent with debt servicing costs of $1.4 billion. Alberta budget: the highlights The debt is forecast to hit $71.1 billion by 2019-20, with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 19.5 per cent. Debt servicing costs by then are estimated at $2.3 billion. This year’s deficit is forecast at $10.3 billion, half a billion less than last year’s budget deficit. The government has no plans to raise taxes or cut services this year. Ceci plans to reduce the deficit to $7.2 billion by 2019-20 by keeping operating spending increases to 2.2 per cent and 2.7 per cent in the next two fiscal years. He said the province should return to balanced budgets by 2023. “We’re going to work to control spending below population [increases] plus inflation, and gradually reduce the deficit,” he said. “And we’re not going to make drastic cuts to the things that would only hurt Albertans to get to balance more quickly.” Wildrose Leader Brian Jean called the budget a “debt-fuelled disaster.” “This budget threatens to send us over the fiscal cliff with higher spending, higher taxes and a plan that plunges Alberta, believe it or

not, into $71 billion of debt by the time the NDP face voters in 2019,” he said. Interim Progressive Conservative Leader Ric McIver was also frustrated by the debt figures. “Alberta’s children, 20 and 30 years from now, will be paying for things that they don’t get to enjoy, which is why I call this a huge intergenerational transfer of wealth,” he said. ‘Those poor kids in elementary school now don’t know what’s hitting them, but they sure will when they get a job and they start paying taxes.” Budget 2017 gives Albertans the first detailed look at how the government intends to spend the carbon levy, which came into effect Jan. 1. The budget also earmarks money for new projects including 24 new or modernized schools, a hospital for Edmonton, a new Red Deer courthouse and a $131-million, 200-bed long-term care facility in Calgary for seniors with complex needs. The government plans to borrow $6 billion for capital projects and $6.4 billion for operations. Last year, mounting debt, increased spending and the province’s reluctance to impose a provincial sales tax caused three credit rating agencies to downgrade Alberta’s credit rating following the April 2016 budget. Ceci said he won’t cut services Albertans need in a bid to balance the books. He wouldn’t answer whether he thought his plan would satisfy the credit agencies. “We’re going to bring down the deficit and when we bring down the deficit to balance and we start to run surpluses, we will attack the debt in this province,” he said.

Canada Revenue Agency online services running again after being offline since last week The Canada Revenue Agency is reporting that all of its online services are back in service after being down since Friday afternoon due to an “internet vulnerability” that was discovered during website maintenance. In an update posted on the CRA website, the agency said that as of 5 p.m. Sunday,

individuals and businesses have been able to file electronically, make payments and access all other digital services. “The CRA acted quickly to temporarily take down our online services, including electronic filing, and put in place the necessary maintenance security patches to ensure that all information and systems remained safe,” the statement read. “We took this action as a precaution, not as the result of a successful hack or breach.” The agency said tax returns that had already been filed were processed normally while the services were down and that Canadians

should not “expect a delay in getting their refund.” The CRA first took its website down as a precaution at midnight on March 10. It said it has worked around the clock over the past two days with other government departments to address the issue. Affected services included My Account, My Business Account, Represent a Client, the MyCRA mobile application, the MyBenefits mobile application, Netfile, EFILE and Auto-Fill My Return. Statistics Canada also took its website offline, although in a statement, a spokesperson said that systems used to conduct surveys were separate and not affected by the outage. The agency said the issue would not affect the distribution of its daily morning statistical release, which is also available through social media and to email subscribers. Alain Belle-Isle, spokesperson with the Treasury Board of Canada, said in a statement to CBC News the necessary fixes to the issue “were applied and tested” before the affected sites were brought back online. “The government of Canada takes the privacy of Canadians very seriously and ensuring the security of Canadians’ personal information is our priority,” he said.

NATIONAL

SOUTH ASIA

Pak, Afghan top officials meet in London to ease tensions The UK has quietly hosted a meeting of top officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan where they discussed ways to ease tensions between two countries after a series of terror

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attacks in Pakistan, according to a media report. The meeting between Pakistan’s Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Afghanistan’s National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar was hosted by UK’s National Security Adviser Sir Mark Lyall, the Dawn reported. It is the first high level faceto-face interaction between both countries after Pakistan closed border last month alleging that Afghan-based militants are mounting attacks, the report said. Last month Pakistani military shelled a militant training camp on the Afghan side of the Durand Line.

India’s neighbour makes stability challenging: US Senator The Indo-US ties are one of the most important in the world and essential to maintain stability in South Asia, a Republican Senator has said while stressing that India’s neighbour makes things challenging. Senator Richard Burr, who has first-hand access to the information on terrorism in the region and Pakistan’s tacit support to such groups, made the remarks while speaking at a round table organised by the US India Friendship Council and the US India Business Council at the Capitol Visitor Center. “The United States-India relationship is one of the most important in the world. It’s absolutely essential to stability in that region. And how do I say this in a diplomatic way. “(India’s) Neighbourhood is not one of the best in the world,” Burr, the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said on Wednesday. “Neighbourhood makes things very challenging,” he said without naming Pakistan. “So to have stable governments that look towards prosperity for its people and looks towards the United States for relationships that are long lasting and trustworthy, we could not have a better partner than we do in India,” he added. The North Carolina senator said when America is prosperous, the rest of the world is

prosperous as well and when it does not have a right architecture for everybody who wants to succeed here, it dampens the opportunities elsewhere around the world,” he said. The 90-minute panel discussion was also attended by several other US lawmakers including Senators Thom Tilles and Joe Donnelly. Congressman George Holding and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, the two CoChairs of the Congressional India Caucus, along with Indian-American lawmakers Ami Bera and Ro Khanna and Congressman Ted Yoho attended the event during which they reiterated their commitment to India US relationship. “In Washington, one of the few things that Republicans and Democrats alike agree on is strengthening the Indo-US partnership. The need now is for a positive and concrete agenda in the 115th Congress and with the Trump Administration to take advantage of this historic opportunity,” Indian-American entrepreneur Swadesh Chatterjee said in his address. He said if India and the US cannot cooperate as the closest of friends, addressing mutual interests will be severely harmed. “These interests range from the fight against terrorism to the prevention of a hegemony in Asia and to economic development,” he said.

Women empowerment crucial for peace in Afghanistan Need Workers, Pay ACCORDING TO Experience

India has stressed that gender euality and women empowerment are essential factors for the success of the peace process in Afghanistan. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin cited the example of an Indian NGO named SelfEmployed Women’s Association (SEWA) which is working with the women in Afghanistan and providing vocational training in areas of food processing, garment stitching and embroidery. “Women empowerment and gender equality are essential to peace building,” he said during a session here yesterday on opportunities for women’s economic empowerment in insecure areas of Afghanistan. So far nearly 4,000 poor women and

widows have benefited from the program and thousands more will receive the training in the second phase of the project by next year, he said. He said that under the project Afghan a federation named Sabah Bagh-e-khazanah, which has 22 women’s groups who formulate their business plans, run their production centers and sell their products in the local markets. Initially about 45 local master trainers received training from visiting SEWA teams from India. They also visited India for vocational training and in turn imparted the skills to thousands of Afghan women, particularly war widows and destitute women, he added. The total cost of the project was about $2 million.

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Saturday, March 18, 2017

With UP, Uttarakhand win, BJP closer to getting President of its choice

EVMs tamper-proof, says EC With losing parties alleging rigging of results in the recently concluded Assembly elections by tampering with electronic voting machines (EVMs), the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday reiterated these were tamper-proof, as ever, and the integrity of poll process was preserved. “ECI unequivocally reiterate that given the effective technical and administrative safeguards, EVMs are not tamperable and integrity of the electoral process is preserved,” the EC said in a statement. Strongly rejecting the charges levelled by BSP leader Mayawati and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, the EC said, “At this stage, baseless, speculative and wild allegations are being made which deserves to be rejected.” The commission said it did not receive specific complaints or concrete material from political parties and candidates about alleged tampering with EVMs during the elections and went on to add: “BSP’s representation on EVM tampering was without any specific allegation and it had already rejected the claim of the party”.

The Rajya Sabha saw repeated adjournments today as Congress members protested vehemently against the BJP government formation in Goa and Manipur, calling it the “murder of democracy”. The Congress protested through the day in the Upper House raising slogans and storming into the Well of the House as it alleged “stealing of mandate” in Manipur and Goa where it was not invited to form the government despite being the single-largest party. The House witnessed adjournment of proceedings during the zero hour and question hour. Raising the issue in the zero hour, Congress leader Anand Sharma cited rulings by the Constitution Benches of the Supreme Court to state the Governor was bound to invite the party with the largest number of MLAs to form the government and prove its majority on the floor of the House. He said the mandate had been violated

and established law and the constitutional position had been disrespected. He said a party which has won the elections in a big state is “stealing MLAs, stealing the mandate to cobble the government”. “It is a murder of democracy only because they have won. They do not have the right to do what they have done,” the Congress leader said. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the Congress was not accepting defeat with grace. He said the reference about the Governor should be expunged as references on the conduct of a person in high authority could not be made without a substantive motion. CPM leader Sitaram Yechury backed the Congress’ stand that the single-largest party should be invited first. He said the Vajpayee government, which had lasted for just 13 days, had been invited to form the government as it was the single-largest entity.

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could clinch a measly 19 of the 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, also looks like having received a shock. The party’s victory in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand has ensured that its share in the electoral college, which would elect the next President, goes up significantly. The term of President Pranab Mukherjee is coming to an end on July 24 this year. The notification for the Presidential election could be issued sometime in June. The electoral college which elects the President through the system of proportional representation comprises of elected MPs and members of state legislative assemblies -- a total of 4896 voters including 4120 MLAs and 776 elected MPs. While the Lok Sabha Speaker, an elected member, can vote, two nominated members from the Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha and 12 nominated MPs in the Rajya Sabha cannot. The value of an MLA’s vote depends on the size of the state he or she represents. But the value of the vote of a MP is the same and does not vary. The total value of the electoral college is 10,98,882. Before the assembly polls, the NDA was short of 75,076 votes in terms of value. But after BJP’s astounding performance in UP, Uttarakhand and Manipur, the gap will narrow down to 20,000 votes, an official in the Election Commission explained. If it is able to get the support of parties like

Congress cries foul over Goa, Manipur; stalls RS

AIADMK with 134 MLAs and BJD with 117 MLAs, it can place the person of its choice in the Rashtrapati Bhawan easily. In the 243-member Rajya Sabha, the BJP as of now has 56 members, while the Congress with 59 is the single largest party. With yesterday’s win, the BJP is set to emerge as the single largest party in the Rajya Sabha too next year and the NDA’s tally would be close to 100. It would, however, still be short of a majority in the upper house. Mayawati’s BSP, which finished a poor third with a tally of just 19 seats, will not be in a position to send her to Rajya Sabha again when her current term ends next year.

Note: Programme can be change.

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Manipur gets first BJP CM The first BJP-led ministry in Manipur was installed today with Governor Najma Heptulla administering the oath of office and secrecy to a nine-member ministry headed by Chief Minister N Biren Singh in Imphal in presence of a galaxy of BJP leaders and outgoing Chief Minister and Congress veteran O Ibobi Singh. A former Congress minister in the state, N Biren Singh shifted allegiance to the BJP in October last year. The first BJP government in Manipur assumed power with the support of four MLAs each of Nationalist People’s Party (NPP) and Naga People’s Front (NPF), the lone MLA of LJP, lone MLA of AITC, one Independent and one Congress MLA. With 21 MLAs of the BJP, the ruling coalition has a strength of 33 MLAs in the 60-member Manipur House.

BJP president Amit Shah who, along with Union minister Venkaiah Naidu, was scheduled to attend the swearing-in ceremony, could not come because of a snag in their aircraft and had to return to New Delhi. One of the NPP MLAs and former Director General of Police in Manipur, Y Joykumar Singh, was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister. He was once considered the right-hand man of Ibobi Singh in respect of tackling law and order in the insurgencyravaged state of Manipur. All the four NPP MLAs have been accommodated in the ministry, which still has three berths to be filled. The titular king of Manipur, Leishemba Sanajaoba, who had attended BJP campaign meetings during elections, was also present at the Raj Bhavan.

India fast-tracks hydro projects in Kashmir India has fast-tracked hydropower projects worth $15 billion in Kashmir in recent months, three federal and state officials said, ignoring warnings from Islamabad that power stations

on rivers flowing into Pakistan will disrupt water supplies. The swift approval of projects that had languished for years came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested last year that sharing the waterways could be conditional on Pakistan clamping down on anti-India militants that New Delhi says it shelters. Pakistan has opposed some of these

projects before, saying they violate a World Bank-mediated treaty on the sharing of the Indus river and its tributaries upon which 80 per cent of its irrigated agriculture depends. The schemes, the largest of which is the 1,856 MW Sawalkote plant, will take years to complete, but their approval could prove a flashpoint between the nuclear-armed neighbours at a time when relations are at a low ebb. “I say the way you look at these projects, it is not purely a hydro project. Broaden it to a strategic water management, border management problem, and then you put in money,” said Pradeep Kumar Pujari, the top ranking official in the power ministry. Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman, Nafees Zakaria, said he would confer with the Ministry of Water and Power on the proposed Indian projects, saying it was a technical matter. He noted, however, that India would be attending a regular meeting of the Indus Commission later this month in Lahore, even though the broader peace dialogue was on hold.

Parrikar, BJP’s poster boy in Goa, returns as Chief Minister For Manohar Parrikar, who proved himself to be BJP’s best bet in Goa by sewing up a coalition and proving its majority on the floor of Assembly, it is a homecoming and another stint as chief minister of the coastal state. Despite failing to secure a simple majority in the polls, the BJP managed to win the support of two regional parties besides the backing of two Independents, outsmarting the Congress which emerged as the single largest party with 17 seats in the 40-member House. Right from the start of campaigning, the BJP had sent across a subtle message that if it wins, the government would be headed by Parrikar. A metallurgical engineer from IIT Bombay, Parrikar, postelection, displayed splendid political acumen and skill in forging a coalition winning over the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and Goa Forward Party (GFP).

Born in a middle-class business family in Mapusa in north Goa, Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Parrikar graduated to the BJP from the RSS ranks. He joined the RSS in his school days and always held that the ideology and training he received from the organisation stood him in good stead in public life, most importantly in decision-making. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who handpicked him as Defence Minister in November 2014, has often lavished praises on Parrikar for his dedication and hard work, especially in the context of the surgical strike last year. Parrikar was first elected to the Goa Assembly in 1994. He served as the leader of the opposition from June to November 1999. In a state known for political swings as well as rise and fall of ministries, Parrikar’s first stint as chief minister was from October 24, 2000 to February 27, 2002. He had his next term at the top slot in the state.

UP decimation could spur a grand alliance to counter BJP As the opposition picks up the pieces after BJP’s thumping win in UP, the idea of a “mahagathbandhan” is gaining currency in Congress with a view that anti-BJP parties will increasingly see mutual cooperation and alliances as their only option for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Top Congress managers told that a grand alliance of SP, BSP and Congress may emerge from the rubble of the UP decimation which has left no party with the “illusion” that it can fight BJP led by PM Narendra Modi alone. BJP won an overwhelming threefourths majority in the politically crucial state with 403 assembly and 80 Lok Sabha seats, reducing reigning regional outfits led by Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati to second and third positions. With the latest results reinforcing the 2014 Lok Sabha tally —NDA won 73 seats, SP picked up just five and Congress two — the discussion in Congress is veering around to the

need to explore a joint strategy. With a second successive election in UP showing BJP has opened up what seems like an unbridgeable advantage over rivals, there is a push for changing tack. The possibility of a major opposition gangup has not escaped BJP either as a senior leader from UP said the saffron party may have to look at further raising its vote share from the current 40% by the time the next national election comes along. Congress sources said once the shock wave unleashed by the UP results subsided, informal talks could be initiated to broach a “mahagathbandhan” with SP and BSP. The mutual rivalry and animosity between SP and BSP, and the conflicts between their social bases, has kept a grand alliance at bay for long. It was a major reason why the successful RJD-JD(U)-Congress experiment of Bihar could not be repeated in UP.

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Saturday, March 18, 2017

Captain keeps home; Mohindra gets health, Sidhu local bodies, Manpreet finance

Capt Amarinder Singh will hold the portfolios of home and vigilance, Brahm Mohindra health, medical education and parliamentary affairs, Navjot Singh Sidhu local government and Manpreet Badal will be in charge of the finance ministry. On the advice of Amarinder, who was sworn in on Thursday, Governor VP Singh Badnore allotted portfolios to the newly inducted ministers. Announcing this here, a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said Amarinder would hold the portfolios of general administration, personnel, home affairs and justice, vigilance and all other departments not assigned to any other minister. Cabinet Minister Brahm Mohindra has been given the portfolios of health and family welfare, research and medical education and parliamentary affairs. Navjot Singh Sidhu has been allotted the portfolios of local government and tourism

and cultural affairs, archives and museums. Manpreet Singh Badal has been assigned the departments of finance, planning and employment generation. The departments of forests, printing and Stationery, and welfare of SCs and BCs would be looked after by Cabinet Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot. Cabinet Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa has been given the charge of rural development and panchayats and water supply and sanitation. Cabinet Minister Rana Gurjit Singh had been allotted the portfolios of irrigation and power. Aruna Chaudhary, Minister of State (Independent Charge), has been assigned the portfolios of higher education and school education. Another Minister of State (Independent Charge) Razia Sultana has been allotted the portfolios of PWD (B&R), social security and development of women and children.

Priority will be to restore lost glory of Punjab Newly inducted Punjab Cabinet Minister Manpreet Singh Badal today said priority of the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government will be to restore the “lost glory” of the state. “Restoring Punjab’s lost glory is what we will work for,” Manpreet, the estranged nephew of ex-Chief Minister Parkash Singh

Badal, told reporters here after taking oath as state Cabinet minister. Manpreet, who had served as the finance minister in the SAD-BJP government in 2007, said the Congress government’s priority would be to “bring the state’s economy, which has been completely devastated under the SAD-BJP regime, back on track”.

Capt Amarinder Singh takes oath as Punjab CM Continued from page 1... Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh were among those who attended the ceremony. Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Sachin Pilot, Rajiv Shukla and Raj Babbar too were present. Security personnel had a tough time tackling a stream of Congress leaders trying to get through the security cordon. With five-time MLA Brahm Mohindra placed at number two and Navjot Singh Sidhu at number three in the ministry, ahead of Manpreet Singh Badal, all speculation on Sidhu being given the post of Deputy CM has been put to rest, at least for the time being. Patiala seems to have got a lion’s share with the CM and three of his ministers — Mohindra, Sidhu and Sadhu Singh Dharamsot (Nabha) — hailing from the district. Sources said Capt Amarinder had a word with Rahul on portfolios. Sidhu was reportedly keen on getting Excise and Taxation, but the CM chose to keep the portfolio with himself. The CM, accompanied by ministers, later took charge at the Secretariat amid a multifaith prayer ceremony. Congress Legislature Party leader Capt Amarinder Singh was on Thursday sworn in as the 26th Chief Minister of Punjab. He took oath as CM for a second time at a well-organised ceremony at Punjab Raj Bhawan here. Minutes before the beginning of the ceremony, security personnel had a tough time controlling Congress leaders trying

to get through the security cordon at the entrance to the VVIP venue for special dignitaries. Amarinder was wearing a full-sleeve kurta and a black jacket and sported his medals. A battery of Congress leaders were present. These included former PM Manmohan Singh, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Himachal CM Virbhadra Singh, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Rajinder Gupta, Navin Jindal, Sachin Pilot, Rajiv

Shukla and Raj Babbar. Amarinder, along with seven cabinet and two ministers of state (independent charge), was administered the oath by Governor VP Singh Badnore. The first one to take oath after Amarinder was seniormost Congress MLA Brahm Mohindra, followed by Navjot Singh Sidhu, Manpreet Singh Badal, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Tript Rajinder Bajwa, Rana Gurjeet, Charanjit Singh Channi and ministers of state Aruna Chaudhary and Razia Sultana. Mohindra, immediately after taking the oath, walked up to Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi to take their blessings. Other ministers followed suit. Rahul warmly greeted Charanjit Singh Channi, Navot Sidhu and Manpreet Badal.

PUNJAB

Saturday, March 18, 2017

27 MLAs in new House face criminal charges Of Punjab’s 117 elected MLAs, 27 face criminal cases. And 11 of them face “serious” charges such as murder, attempt to murder,

dacoity and robbery, according to a 44page booklet released by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR). The booklet carries details of the legislators’ background, financial status, educational qualification, gender and other details as mentioned by them in the affidavits submitted to the Election Commission. Partywise, nine of the 77 Congress MLAs, four of AAP’s 20 MLAs, one of the 15 Akali MLAs and both Lok Insaf Party MLAs (Bains brothers) face criminal cases. In all, 59 MLAs have assets worth over Rs5 crore and 36 of them between Rs1 crore and Rs5 crore. Only eight MLAs have assets less than Rs25 lakh. Those who top the wealth list are Congress’ Rana Gurjit Singh (Rs169 crore), SAD’s Sukhbir Singh Badal (over Rs102 crore) and AAP’s Sukhpal Khaira (over Rs66 crore). Six MLAs have an annual income of more than Rs1 crore, as declared in their Income Tax returns for 2015-2016). They are Navjot Singh Sidhu of the Congress (Rs9 crore), Aman Arora of AAP (Rs4 crore) and Rana Gurjit Singh of the Congress (Rs2 crore). This time, only six women have been elected to the

Atul Nanda appointed Punjab Advocate-General

Supreme Court lawyer and senior advocate Atul Nanda was on Thursday appointed as Punjab Advocate-General. He replaces senior advocate Ashok Aggarwal, who resigned as the state’s top law officer soon after the change of guard in Punjab almost six years after he was appointed by the previous SAD-BJP government. A prominent lawyer, Nanda has even appeared for the Supreme Court in its cases and is familiar with Punjab and its politics. Among other things, he has dealt with alleged corruption cases against Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. One of the first tasks before him would be appointment of law officers in terms of Supreme Court’s March, 2016, order. The Apex Court order makes it clear that the State would have to fix eligibility criterion before constituting a search committee. After its nod, the names would be sent to the Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Shiavax Jal Vazifdar. He, in turn, would get the names examined by a committee comprising High Court judges. The appointments would eventually be made after taking into account observations on suitability of candidates.

Vidhan Sabha. Their number in the earlier House was 14. Three MLAs, all from AAP, have assets worth about Rs3 lakh. They are Rupinder Kaur Ruby (Bhatinda Rural), Kulwant Singh Pandori (Mehal Kalan) and Pirmal Singh Dhaula (Bhadaur). Jaskirat Singh, state coordinator, ADR, said the objective of the booklet was to inform voters what kind of leaders had been fielded.

No deputy CM post for Sidhu, takes oath as Cabinet minister Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu was on Thursday inducted as a Cabinet minister in the new Congress government in Punjab headed by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. Sidhu was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore. However, Sidhu has not been designated as Deputy Chief Minister, as was being speculated in political circles. Sidhu, who joined the Congress party

in January, just days ahead of the February 4 assembly elections in Punjab, won the Amritsar-east assembly seat with a margin of over 42,000 votes. Sidhu had earlier remained Member of Parliament (MP) from Amritsar when he was part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was elected MP in 2004, 2007 (byelection) and 2009. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Narendra Modi government in April 2016.

FIJI

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Fiji wins Bronze in Vancouver 7s

The Vodafone Fiji 7s team has won the Vancouver 7s Bronze final after defeating USA 28-24. Fiji scored four converted tries to give something back for the Fijian fans who had turned up in numbers to cheer for their heroes. Not even 30 seconds on the clock and Waisea Nacuqu scored the first try. Later in

the second minute USA speed merchant Perry Baker hit back with his 100th career try. The other tries was scored by Samisoni Viriviri, Vatemo Ravouvou and Setareki Bituniyata. Fiji was earlier thrashed 40-7 by England in the Medal semis. Meanwhile England defeated South Africa 19-7 in the medal final.

Families suffering, says NFP leader Many young families in the country are struggling to make ends meet. That’s the view of National Federation Party (NFP) leader Professor Biman Prasad after the results of the Tebbutt-Times poll which revealed the cost of living and employment as the top issues ahead of the 2018 polls. The cost of living was ranked the number one issue by 46 per cent of those polled and employment ranked second by 32 per cent of respondents. According to Prof Prasad, the polls pointed out that about 50 per cent of the voters were concerned with the rising cost of living and unemployment. He said the FijiFirst Government in its manifesto during the 2014 General Election promised to keep

value added tax (VAT) rate to zero on basic food items. “Yet in last year’s budget, they raised the VAT on basic food items from 0 to 9 per cent, directly hitting the low income people. “To make matters worse, they have increased duties on many items including fees, fines and charges, as well as increase in sea port charges, the cost of which is directly passed on to the consumers.” He claimed all promises of free medicine, free water and free electricity put to the people before the last election had fallen flat and many of the lower income people who were supposed to benefit from this have not because of poor implementation.

Fiji Airways staff share $6 million in profits Fiji Airways’ 800 staff members have reaped the fruits of their labour in 2016 with a pre-tax profit share payment of $6 million. While announcing the payout in Nadi yesterday, Minister for Economy and Aviation Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said this was the biggest payment made to staff in the airline’s history. He said non-managerial staff would receive $4000 each while managerial members would get no less than $9000 each. He said the large profit sharing payment was the result of a record year for the airline. “I’m delighted to announce that the Fiji Airways

Group has recorded the biggest profit ever in its history before tax in the fiscal year ending 31st December, 2016,” he said. “The group’s revenue was $825.3m compared to the $815.3m in 2015. “The group passenger numbers increased to 1.4m, an increase from 1.3m for the previous year. The group’s profit before tax is $84.5m compared to the $70.2m for the previous year. You’ve gone up by about $14m.” He said this was an outstanding result for the airline. “This is a testimony to the collaboration that has taken place between yourselves and your management team involved in service delivery.”

Krishna Datt wants opposition parties to unite Forner Fiji Labour Party member and minister Krishna Datt says while voting along non-racial lines is a healthy objective, he fears that may not be achieved in the 2018 General Election. And Mr Datt says results from the 2014 election indicate majority of voters on racial lines can still switch allegiance according to how they perceive their needs are being met. “In this coming election I fear it is going to be very solidly along those racial lines, we may all talk about being non-racial which is a healthy thing, a healthy objective to achieve in the future,” Mr Datt said. “And it has been reflected once in about 80 per cent of Fijians of Indian descent voting for the FijiFirst party in the last election does indicate that people can cross the line when it does suit their economic and security. “But by and large that vote is till floating. One cannot take that for granted it can move back.” He added some survey results indicated up to 40 per cent of iTaukei votes went to FijiFirst as well. “Now that’s a significant number,” Mr Datt said. “Now it tells us that the ground under iTaukei unity of the past is shaking. “That tells us younger people or even older people are beginning to rethink their attitude about where their bread and butter lies.” Mr Datt said any party hoping to win Parliament would have to abandon extremist views and garner votes from a wide cross

Girl, Year 4, youngest glue-sniffer The latest report of substance abuse received by the National Substance Abuse Advisory Council (NASAAC) is of a young girl in Year 4, who was found sniffing glue in the classroom. This was shared by NASAAC director Manoa Senikarawa during the 119th Fiji’s Principal Association Conference yesterday. “Just last week, I received a report of one of the young girls in Year 4, taking the whole tin (glue) and sniffing it in the classroom,” he said. “And one of the other students beside her told the teacher that her desk-mate was sniffing something and it was filled with glue.

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section of society. “So any opposition party will not only have to get the votes of the Fijians of Indian descent, they will also have to get the iTaukei vote as well,” he said. “Manifesto platforms will have to be fairly neutral. “This has been one of the good things that have come out of the new elections, that all parties will have to now shed their extremist style of getting votes.” Yesterday, National Federation Party leader Professor Biman Prasad said while race was a fact of life, it had not prevented Fiji from being a peaceful multi-ethnic, multi-racial and multi-religious nation where people lived and worked side by side and coexist peacefully. “Most importantly, issues affecting the people are clearly non-racial as the recent Tebutt poll clearly shows,” Prof Prasad said. “The electorate wants sound and sensible leadership to resolve the two most pressing issues affecting them. “These are the debilitating cost of living and the depressing lack of decent employment. “The NFP is well placed to resolve these because our policies have always been nonracial and focused on equality, dignity and justice for all our people.” Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry said the concept was not new and he had been vigorously pushing for a united front for some time now, even before the 2014 election.

“It shows the amount of things that our young kids are being inundated with.” Mr Senikarawa said children learned from what they saw happening around them and this placed even more emphasis on the important role parents played in ensuring the safety and welfare of their children. He said NASAAC conducted educational training in school to foster research into abuse, the use of liquor and addictive or illegal substances. He encouraged school leaders to help in advocacy to be able to discourage and prevent young people from being exposed to abuse to illegal substances. The theme of the conference was “Excellence through Inclusive Leadership”.

PAKISTAN

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Pakistan asks Facebook to block ‘blasphemous content’, seeks Interpol help to curb it online After a Pakistani court last week threatened to ban social media networks if they failed to censor content considered insulting to Islam, the country’s main investigation agency said

it’s asked Facebook to block “blasphemous” content. It added that the agency is also in talks with Interpol to identify “blasphemous” content, reported Pakistani newspaper Dawn today. Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) told a high-level meeting yesterday that the agency has sent a formal request to Facebook but the company’s management

has yet to respond. A senior diplomat at Pakistan’s embassy in Washington was tasked with contacting Facebook to seek the requisite information under US Right to Information laws, Dawn wrote. Pakistan’s interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan urged Facebook to comply. “I hope that the management of Facebook will respect the religious sentiments of 200 million Pakistanis and tens of millions of users of Facebook in Pakistan and will cooperate in that regard,” he was quoted as saying in a ministry statement, according to Dawn. Khan also said that the government would use all available options to ensure the removal of “blasphemous” material from social media sites. Both these requests come after the Islamabad high court last Thursday ordered the government to start an investigation into online “blasphemy” and threatened to ban social media networks if they failed to censor content deemed insulting to Islam, lawyers told AFP.

World Bank approves $450 million assistance The World Bank today approved a financial assistance worth $450 million to Pakistan to support its efforts to help the poor and most vulnerable people in the country. The Finance for Growth Development Policy (FGDP) is a policy credit of $300 million that would assist Pakistan’s efforts in promoting an inclusive and transparent financial sector, a statement by the World Bank (WB) said. The bank said the programme aims to raise financial access throughout Pakistan to 50 per cent of adults, including 25 per cent women, by 2020, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported. According to the statement, in the next three years, FGDP aims to boost private sector credit access to small and medium enterprises to 15 per cent from 7 per cent in 2015. “Pakistan has made significant progress in the implementation of economic reforms,” WB Country Director for Pakistan Illango Patchamuthu said. However, despite the substantial

development in the initial reform programmes and recent progress in the financial sector; there remains a significant unfinished reforms agenda as financial access and inclusion remain low,

Patchamuthu added. An amount of $100 million, under the National Social Protection Programme, will help Pakistan strengthen the national social safety net systems for the poor in a bid to improve their human capital and to promote beneficiary families’ access to complementary social and productive services.

Pakistan to declare Gilgit-Baltistan as its fifth province In a move that may raise concerns in India, reports suggest that Pakistan is planning to declare the strategic Gilgit-Baltistan region also known as Northern Areas as its fifth province. Pakistan’s minister for inter-provincial coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada told Geo TV that a committee headed by advisor of foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz had proposed giving the status of a province to Gilgit-Baltistan. “The committee recommended that GilgitBaltistan should be made a province of Pakistan,” Pirzada said on Wednesday.

He also said that a constitutional amendment would be made to change the status of the region, through which the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passes. The four provinces that are presently under Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab, and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Gilgit-Baltistan shares a geographical boundary with Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and India considers it as part of the undivided Jammu and Kashmir, while Pakistan sees it as a separate from PoK.

The USD 46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passes through this region, and reports said Pakistan was mulling to elevate the constitutional status of the region in a bid to provide legal cover to the CPEC. Reports also said China’s concerns about the unsettled status of Gilgit-Baltistan prompted Pakistan to change its status. According to an earlier report in Dawn newspaper, Pakistan was mulling to elevate the constitutional status of the region in a bid to provide legal cover to the CPEC.

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The move could signal a historic shift in the country’s position on the future of the wider Kashmir region, the paper had quoted experts as saying.

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NRI

Saturday, March 18, 2017

US assures India of speedy justice to Indian-American victims The US on Sunday night assured India of working with all agencies to ensure “speedy justice” to the Indian-American victims of bias-related incidents. “State Department, on behalf of US government, expressed condolences and assured they are working with all agencies concerned to ensure speedy justice,” the Indian Embassy in the US said in a series of tweets. India’s Ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna reached out to the State Department to convey his “deep concerns” to US government on recent tragic incidents involving Harnish Patel and Deep Rai. Sarna also “underlined” need to prevent such incidents and protect Indian community. Indian Embassy officials are in constant communication with local police officials in both the cases. In the case of Patel, the County Sheriff has pointed out that this may not be a hate crime. “We will remain in touch with them,” an Indian Embassy source said. The Consulate General of India in Atlanta has deputed a consular official to meet the family and offer condolences and any required assistance.

“It is also in touch with the local community organisation of expat Indians, including those from Gujarat,” sources said. “I condemn this hateful act, the shooting of a local man because he is a Sikh. We all must stand together,” said Congressman Rick Larsen. There have been a slew of bias-related incidents in the US, raising concerns over the safety of Indian-American community. Patel, 43, the owner of a convenience store in Lancaster County, South Carolina, was found dead of gunshot wounds in the front yard of his home on Thursday. Rai, 39-year-old Sikh, has been shot outside his home by a partially-masked gunman who shouted “go back to your own country”, in a suspected hate crime. A series of troubling cases have reported where members of the Indian community have been targeted in apparent hate crimes. It comes close on the heels of shooting in Kansas last month in which 32-year-old Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla was killed when 51-year-old US Navy veteran Adam Purinton opened fire at him and his friend Alok Madasani, yelling “get out of my country”.

NRI from Australia arrested for helping friend to rape his wife A non-resident Indian (NRI) from Australia and his mother were arrested on Monday by the Kanchanbagh police after he allegedly forced his wife to have unnatural sex with him. He also allegedly allowed his friend to rape his 21-year-old wife recently. The Kanchanbagh police said Mohammed Salimuddin had married the woman in 2016 and later left for Australia to pursue post-graduation. He used to ask her to get nude and video chat with him. He would also ask her to send her nude videos. With no other option left, the victim used to send her videos to Salim, who in turn would show them to his friends in Australia, police said. On February 13, Salim returned to India

and since then has been forcing his wife to have anal sex. A few days ago, Salim took his friend Chand, a resident of Hafeez Baba Nagar, to his residence. The victim was given sleeping pills and then Salim started to get intimate with his wife. To her surprise, she discovered that someone else was also in their bedroom and it turned out to be Chand. “The victim fell asleep and Salim allowed his friend Chand to rape her. The victim realised what happened the next morning and complained to us,” deputy commissioner of police (South Zone) V Satyanarayana said. Based on the victim’s four-page complaint, the Kanchanbagh police arrested Salim on Monday.

NRI commits suicide after being blamed for wife’s death

A 27-year-old NRI committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan in his Brij Vihar residence in Surya Nagar on Monday evening, two days after his wife allegedly ended her life in the same house. Ajit Mishra, who worked with an MNC in Abu Dhabi and was on a vacation in India, was booked on March 11 along with his family members under Section 304 B (dowry death) of the IPC for his wife Megha’s demise. His body was (AN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL APPROVED AND FUNDED BY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, B.C.) discovered by his father, who subsequently informed his entire family, and the police were called. No suicide note has been recovered by the cops from the spot. The body has been sent for an autopsy. However, the reason behind his 25-year-old GOBIND SARVAR SCHOOL is serving the community since September 2016 in a brand wife’s death remains new building. Grade 8 will also be added in September 2017. unclear, though her family members have GOBIND SARVAR SCHOOL is centrally located for all communities of Lower Mainland accused Ajit and and FraserValley including Langley and Abbotsford. Bus service is provided in all these areas. his family members of torture and GOBIND SARVAR SCHOOL provides high standards of academic education with harassment, which affordable tuition fees (only $90 per month).All teachers are B.C. Certified. ultimately led to her death. GOBIND SARVAR SCHOOL has dedicated group of young volunteers teaching Punjabi, “Her husband, Kirtan, Gatka and Sikh History to more than 600 students during afternoon and weekend her parents-in-law, her husband’s elder classes. brother and his wife, GOBIND SARVAR SCHOOL takes pride in offering a great sports program to our young and her husband’s younger brother, all generation. of them have killed GOBIND SARVAR SCHOOL is accepting registrations for grades KG to 8. Register your Megha for dowry,” said Gandhir Kumar (32), child as soon as possible for session 2017-18 as seats are limited. her maternal uncle. According to Kumar, Please contact the school office for further details or visit our website. the family received a call from Megha’s parents-in-law around 5 am on March 11. “They informed Ph: 604-930-2122 email: info@gobindsarvar.ca, website: www.gobindsarvar.ca us that she had committed suicide and

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we should go and collect her body from Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in Dilshad Garden,” he said. “But when we reached the hospital, the doctor told us that Megha was taken to the same hospital the previous day as well after she survived a suicide attempt,” Kumar said. He added, “The doctor told us she died of her internal injuries she sustained during the suicide attempt, when she was again brought to the hospital on March 11 after she bled profusely from her mouth. During this entire episode, they did not even inform us once and we got to know only after she died.” Police said though an FIR for dowry death has been lodged against Ajit; his parents Devinder Mishra and Leela Devi; his elder brother Sunil Mishra and his wife; and his younger brother Vinay Mishra at Link Road police station, no one has been arrested yet. “This case has become complicated now as Ajit has died. We are probing the

case from all angles,” said Rojant Tyagi, SHO of Link Road police station. Megha, who was originally from Bihar, was married to Ajit for the past three years, but they did not have a child. Ajit used to visit her every six to eight months as he was working in the UAE. Police said the couple had a strained relationship and they used to fight quite often. “Anyway, we will wait for the postmortem reports of the couple,” a police officer told.

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FRUITICANA

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Saturday, March 18, 2017 Saturday, March 18, 2017

Meet Malavika, the beauty who replaced Deepika Padukone in Majid Majidi’s next Theatre actor Malavika Mohanan has bagged the lead role in Iranian auteur Majid Majidi’s India-set film Beyond The Clouds. Earlier, there was a buzz that actor Deepika Padukone had auditioned for the role, but things did not work out. Malavika, who is said to have been handpicked by Majidi himself, is a beauty in her own right. She has modelled for several brands that include travel magazine and fashion brands. Beyond The Clouds is being described by the makers as a beautiful story centered around a brother-sister relationship. A source in the know of developments said: “Majidi found his leading lady in Malavika as he was looking for a face, that could fit the character.”

Sonakshi Sinha Announces She’s Single. Has The Bunty Sajdeh Chapter Really Ended? How does one steal the star’s thunder at the success party of his film? Just ask Sonakshi Sinha. The actress was among the guests at the success bash of Badrinath Ki

Dulhania and instead of the film’s stars Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt, it was Sonakshi who grabbed eyeballs. SpotboyE.com was just around the corner and we can tell you that she did NOT get the attention for the right reasons. As soon as she walked in, everyone noticed that Sonakshi had NOT removed the price tag from her dress. And then after a couple of drinks,

Sonakshi loudly announced, ‘I am single’. This came as a surprise because according to the grapevine Sonakshi and boyfriend Bunty Sajdeh were thinking of tying the knot. Sonakshi and Bunty, who manages some of the top athletes in the country, were secretive about their relationship and went to great lengths to avoid getting clicked together. Neither of them have spoken about their equation but things seemed to be getting serious. Sonakshi and Bunty have been spotted together at various parties, and often dined together. They also rang in 2017 together in Dubai. Sonakshi bonded with the Sajdeh family at Bunty’s mother Kkirran’s 60th birthday party in January. Reports had claimed that Sona (as Sonakshi is fondly called) gets on well with Bunty’s sisters Richa and Seema Khan too.

Priyanka Chopra has an update for Quantico fans Priyanka Chopra, currently busy shooting the second season of TV series Quantico, took to her Twitter and confirmed that filming for the season was about to end. She wrote, “Last 2 episodes before we finish shooting for the rest of #quantico season 2! So many mixed emotions..it’s been a long haul...” The show enjoyed a massive following in its first season and cemented PeeCee’s place in Hollywood. Recently, the star visited The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to promote Quantico and played Holi with the host, Jimmy Fallon. Recently, there have been rumours that show’s dwindling audience could lead to a cancellation. The website The Cancel Bar predicted: “In its fall run on Sundays, Quantico averaged a 0.76 rating in adults 18-49 with a lead-in (Secrets

and Lies) that drew just about the same ratings. In its first two Monday episodes, with a Bachelor lead-in almost three times as large as that of Secrets and Lies, Quantico has averaged 0.75. Quantico probably won’t move much higher than its current ratings this season. It is what it is at this point, and that’s a show ABC should cut ties with at season’s end.” On a related note, Priyanka Chopra will be making her Hollywood movie debut with Seth Gordon’s Baywatch reboot, alongside Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron.

Saif Ali Khan Shooting For Chef in NY In the 2014 Hollywood comedy Chef, Jon Favreau plays a portly chef who lives in his cargo pants and sweaty shirts. Saif Ali Khan steps into his shoes in the Hindi remake of Chef but he will look a lot more dapper. We have exclusive pictures of Saif shooting for the film in the streets of New York and he is dressed in a rather chic coat. And with this Saif Ali Khan has returned to sets after a brief paternity leave. The star and wife Kareena Kapoor welcomed their first child, Taimur Ali Khan, in December. Like the American film, the Hindi remake revolves around a professional chef who after a public altercation with a food critic quits his job at a popular restaurant and returns to his home town to fix up a food truck.

On the culinary road he reconnects with his estranged ex-wife and young son while selling street food in cities along the way.The role was played to perfection by Jon Favreau.

mid-day

Friday, March 17, 2017 | www.mid-day.com | twitter.com/mid_day | epaper.mid-day.com

have you heard? Bollywood

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IN THE PIPELINE

Star son Harshvardhan Kapoor is said to be in talks with Karan Johar for Saturday, March 18, 2017 a project. The Mirzya (2016) actor will begin work on it after he wraps up Vikramaditya Motwane’s much-delayed project, Bhavesh Joshi.

What lies beneath?

SRK’s fancy wheels run over lensman’s leg

Kajol took to Instagram to share this snapshot of her gang of girls sporting quirky animated hats from an ad shoot. She captioned the image, “Hats off please.” The actress, who recently wrapped up the shoot of Dhanush-starrer Tamil film VIP 2, seems to be in no hurry to give her nod to her next Bollywood film. She was last seen in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Diwale (2015).

TELLY TATTLE

Horror comedy Veteran actress Surekha Sikri will return to the TV show, Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani, as a ghost. With the story taking a paranormal turn, leading lady Eisha Singh, who plays the role of Naina, will also double up as a ghost. It appears that the producers are taking the eerie route to attract more eyeballs. We aren’t sure if this horror will distil into comedy on screen.

Sequel in Austria! Rumour mills are abuzz with news that Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, who are currently filming for Tiger Zinda Hai in Austria, are bonding. There are hushed whispers about them rekindling their romance. Given that Sallu’s ‘special friend’ Iulia Vantur is tied up with music commitments, we wonder if she’ll wing her way to Austria soon.

Summer-body ready Disha Patani has set temperatures soaring with her latest Instagram post, in which she sports a bikini. Tiger Shroff’s rumoured girlfriend is seen leaning against a tree by the beach. She captioned the picture, “Beach life, missing the breeze.” She may not have any films in hand after MS Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016) and Kung Fu Yoga (2017), but Disha knows how to stay afloat on social media.

Shah Rukh Khan’s car ran over a photographer’s leg on Wednesday. The actor, who was making his way to Alia Bhatt’s 24th birthday bash, immediately alighted and instructed his driver and bodyguard to rush the lensman to a city hospital. The star also ensured the injured, a newbie who apparently got excited on seeing the superstar, was treated by his personal doctor. Thankfully, his injury was not severe. He is currently on the road to recovery.

Hop, skip and keep jumping Big screen calling Telly actress Ridheema Tiwari, currently seen as the sensuous Maldawali in Ghulaam, is headed to Bollywood with Vidya Balan-starrer Begum Jaan. Ridheema is known for sporting daring sheer sarees on her shows, and has continued with her defiant act in her film debut too. Another telly name, Amal Sehrawat, last seen as Sangram in Yeh Ristha Kya Kehlata Hai, will feature in a negative role in an upcoming Amitabh Bachchan-starrer. At over six feet, Amal is often offered lean, mean and menacing characters. He was earlier seen in Satya 2 (2013).

ON THE SET

When you’re happy and you know it Vidya Balan, Shaan, Ashish Chowdhry, Terence Lewis, Salim Merchant and Samir Kochhar, among others, will come together to celebrate International Day of Happiness (March 20). They will be wishing everyone, “Happy is the new rich!” on social media. It was Shaan who came up with the idea and got his friends on board.

Mar

Commando

*ing: Vidyut Jammwal, Esha Gupta

Mar

Badrinath Ki Dulhania

*ing: Varun Dhawan, Alia

Akshay Kumar and Radhika Apte shot for a song sequence for R Balki’s Padman in Maheshwar, Indore. The duo was spotted cycling across multiple locations.

New Released Bollywood Films Mar

Phillauri

*ing: Anushka Sharma, Diljit Dosanjh

Mar

Naam Shabana *ing: Taapsee Pannu Akhshay Kumar

Apr

Jagga Jasoos *ing: Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif

Freddy Daruwala, who plays the parallel lead in Vidyut Jamwal-starrer, Commando 2, has zeroed in on a new fitness mantra. He skips daily and ensures he completes 1,000 repetitions, breaking at every 250 counts. This addition to his regimen is expected to boost his stamina for his dance and action routines. The prep, it appears, is a part of his three-film deal with Vipul Amrutlal Shah’s production house.

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Bollywood

Photographer Accidentally Injured When SRK’s Car Entered Alia’s Birthday Bash Just as King Khan was entering Alia’s building in Juhu to wish her on her 24th birthday, an overenthusiastic paparazzi in the form of a group of photographers, were trying their best to get a picture of SRK, as his car entered. In the chaos that ensued, a young photographer called Deepak Hooda got hurt as the car that was carrying Shah Rukh Khan (being driven by his driver) accidentally hit the photographer’s leg.

Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone and Kriti Sanon are in the running to bag Hrithik Roshan’s film with Kabir Khan

In the past 2-3 years, Hrithik Roshan has rejected countless number of films. Everytime his name was announced for a film, we jumped with joy because that amount of hotness needs to be showcased more often on the big screen. World seems like a better place then…ahem! Anyway, without getting lost in his beauty, we will get to the point. So Hrithik made us really happy recently when he confirmed that he will be part of Kabir Khan’s next. And now we have an update on the same. We hear Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone and Kriti Sanon are in the running to play his ladylove in the film. Yes, all three would look simply sizzling with Hrithik because he himself is so gorgeous. Now we have seen Katrina and Hrithik’s chemistry in Bang Bang and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, so we pretty much know what they can bring to the table. They are one good looking couple we can’t get over with it. But it seems that’s exactly the reason why Kabir is slightly sceptical about this jodi. A source close to the development reveals, “Kabir is very close to Katrina. They are best of friends. But given the fact that, Hrithik and Katrina’s jodi has already been seen by the audience, he wants to experiment with a fresh pairing”. So, Deepika and Kriti have more chances of bagging it than the Baar Baar Dekho babe. Hrithik had confirmed with a daily saying, “Working with Kabir is going to be fantastic. And I feel very assured (working) with Sajid,” while Kabir on his part had added, “Hrithik, Sajid (Nadiadwala) bhai and I have been very eager to work together for a while now. So it’s happening, for sure.” The source also revealed that it will be yet another war film for Kabir after Tubelight.

The injury initially seemed quite bad, and 21-year-old Deepak fell to the ground, unable to move in pain. Concerned, Shah Rukh immediately got down from the car, lifted up the photographer and put him in the car, ensuring that he was taken to the Lilavati hospital Emergency Ward, in the same car with his team. A source close to the photographer said, “It was no one’s fault, but the photographers

were a little too close to the car. The moment it happened, Shah Rukh’s concern was visible and his swift action, commendable. Thankfully, the injury is not very serious and we are awaiting his test reports.” Deepak is a Versova resident, and his cousins have now reached Lilavati hospital, and SRK has been constantly in touch with his team, to check on Deepak’s injury and progress.

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Bollywood Horoscope Aries

Libra

March 21 - April 20

Sept. 24 - Oct 22

Compromise will be necessary. Think about your budget before booking a trip. You will have the getup and go to con tribute a great deal to groups of interest. Passion is inevitable and commitments can be made during the heat of the night. Your lucky day this week will be Saturday.

Do things because you want to, not because someone else thinks you should. Don’t reveal any personal details. You could be your own worst enemy if you overreact to something you’re told. You should make special plans for you and your lover. Your lucky day this week will be Sunday.

Taurus

Scorpio

April 21 - May 20

Oct 23 - Nov 22

Your attitudes at work will open new avenues for you. Those you work with may have little consideration for the underdog. Your mind will be on matters that deal with secret affairs. A day at the beach may satisfy the whole family. Your lucky day this week will be Saturday.

Take a look at investment opportunities. Regardless of your first reaction, the outcome will be favorable. Don’t let your mate force you into making a decision that you aren’t ready to make. Don’t believe everything you hear. Your lucky day this week will be Tuesday.

Gemini

Sagitarius

May 20 - June 21

Nov 23 - Dec 22

It might be best not to spend your money on luxuries this week. You’ve been hurt before and could be again if you don’t play hard to get. You must not lead someone on or show interest in them for the wrong reasons. Snap out of it. Your lucky day this week will be Monday.

Cancer

Don’t think the worst if you hear something negative about your partner. Your creative talent may well be recognized by others this week Watch your weight gain due to water retention. You will learn a great deal from people with different cultural backgrounds. Your lucky day this week will be Saturday.

Capricorn

June 22 - July 23

Navi Brar and Husanpreet’s new song out – Muchh Vs Gutt : Canada based Punjabi singer Navi Brar recently launched is latest track ‘Much Vs Gutt’ along with Husanpreet. The track is a duet song themed on a sweet-sour lovefight relation of the two characters. The title of the song clearly states the song is based on the pride of a man’s mustache and the beauty of a woman’s hair, which, the two singers have given their melodious voices to. The song was launched on 1st of March all across the TV Channels and Social Media platforms by Amar Audio. Lyrics to the track are given by Preet Sangheri, music is by Raj Yashraj and the Video of the song is done by famous Punjabi Music Video Director Navraj Raja. Navi Brar speaks about the song: “We’re happy to see how people are loving the track. The whole team’s hard work and passion has really brought the song out so well. I’m sure I will be able to find some space in people’s hearts and I promise to continue bringing out much more good tracks for my audience!” Husanpreet says, “The whole efforts that we

put in the making of the track and its video have really showed up well. Everywhere we go, people are enjoying the song, we’re getting amazing feedbacks over the social media.” Music Director of the song, Raj Yashraj says, “It was fun working on a duet track like

this! The lyrics demanded a powerful and dance-beat music, and I’m glad we are able to bring it out well. I’m happy to be a part of this beautiful project.”

Dec 23 - Jan 20

Don’t let any money slip through your fingers this week. Your high energy should be spent pleasing your mate. Be professional, and you will advance much more quickly. Your dedication and fortitude when dealing with humanitarian groups will enhance your reputation. Your lucky day this week will be Thursday.

Leo

Your temper could get the better of you if you confront personal situations. Do a little extra work at home. Go after your goals and don’t be afraid to ask for assistance. Overindulgence may cause conflicts. Your lucky day this week will be Wednesday.

Aquarius

June 24 - August 23

Jan 21 - Feb 19

Insincere gestures of friendliness are likely to occur. Partners may try to argue with you; however, you must stand your ground. Major moves will be emotional and not necessarily to your benefit. You need to spend some time with individuals who have more experience than you. Your lucky day this week will be Sunday.

Virgo

Try not to hesitate; act on your initial instincts. You can help a close friend find solutions to personal problems. Look into events that you might find interesting, and compromise by doing a few things that you both like to do. Good friends will give you honest answers. Your lucky day this week will be Thursday.

Pisces

August 24 - Sept 24

Feb 20 - March 20

Loss is evident if you don’t consider all the angles. Go out with friends and avoid the situation on the home front. Make your intentions perfectly clear and find out exactly what is expected of you. Do a little shopping. You’re likely to find a real bargain. Your lucky day this week will be Wednesday.

Insincere gestures of friendliness are likely to occur. Don’t overindulge in anyway. You should be getting into selfimprovement projects. Your outgoing charm and obvious talent will be admired. Your lucky day this week will be Thursday.

Baahubali 2 can bail Bollywood out in 2017 Every year Bollywood struggles to make large amounts of money to keep going. There are so many films that release but only a handful of them become successful which puts a lot a pressure on the industry. Everything rests on Shah Rukh, Aamir, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar to continuously bring in the big bucks. Fortunately, there are a few youngsters too who promise rich dividends. This year, Badrinath Ki Dulhania starring Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt made great money at the box office. But is it enough? In last three months, we didn’t really have a huge blockbuster that could leave Bollywood cash rich and Baahubali 2 can totally change that. We asked our trade experts what they see the follow up of the war epic to earn, the number they gave made us freeze. They are expecting a whopping Rs. 500 crore turnover for the film. Aamir Khan should already feel the jitters. Akshaye Rathi, trade analyst, predicted, “Baahubali 2 is going to come and sweep the box office like a tsunami in Hindi,

Tamil, Telugu and every other language. I feel that Baahubali 2 will easily make Rs 200 crore in the Hindi version alone. And if we add all the version, then it is going beyond Rs 500 crore India nett. box office collection. Rs 400 crore is a sure shot, but it can potentially go past Rs 500 crore too.” If you look at the way the films in last three months, there hasn’t been a huge blockbuster yet. The industry is reeling

under the effect of that. The fact that two big films like Raees and Kaabil clashed, made Bollywood lose out on big numbers. Fortunately, Jolly LLB 2’s success brought smiles on everyone’s face and now Badrinath Ki Dulhania is reaping benefits. Check out this chart to know the hits of 2017 and their box office collection.

Bollywood personalities’ birthdays

Shashi kapoor March 18

Tanushree DUTTA March 19

Rani Mukherjee March 21

KANGNA RANAUT March 23

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Eshwar Shakti

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Movie Review

Aa Gaya Hero â&#x20AC;&#x201C; As I watched Govindaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest attempt at being a hero, I regretted the box office failures of two movies â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Kill Dil and Happy Ending. If these movies had not flopped, perhaps Govinda would have been confined himself to playing scenestealing supporting roles, instead of being a lead hero in a movie called Aa Gaya Hero. Directed by Dipankar Senapati, Aa Gaya Hero is a revival of an abandoned Govinda project called Abhinay Chakra. Why they did that, well, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a question that only Govinda can answer. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s our review of Aa Gaya Heroâ&#x20AC;Ś Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s it about Ravinder (Govinda) is assigned to catch a terrorist who would even give Bond villain Blofeld a complex with a hi-tech hideout in a hill and a laugh so sinisterly bad that there should be a restraining order on it. For some unexplained reason, the mission is called Abhinay Chakra. But our Hero who never sleeps runs after random bad guys, dances with skimpily class girls in too many songs, and keeps on mouthing pre-historic dialogues for absolutely no reason at all. Just like the existence of the movie, that shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have been in our theatres in 2017. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hot Errâ&#x20AC;Śletâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skip this oneâ&#x20AC;Ś Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not Aa Gaya Hero is a relic of a forgotten era that even Bhojpuri cinema would disown in this time and space. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really strange

Govindaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attempt at being a masala hero will make a mess of your brains

that Govinda even thought that this movie would give him back his superstardom since Aa Gaya Hero brings him in the same league as Mr Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. But at least, we could laugh at MSG movies. The same is not the case with Aa Gaya Hero. Govinda had given us so many entertaining

his attempt at being a masala hero sucks big time. In an era, where even Salman Khan is doing a movie like Tubelight, Aa Gaya Hero is an archaic mess that should never have seen the light of the day. Filled with hammy acting, badly choreographed action and dance sequences and random

movies in the â&#x20AC;&#x2122;90s like Dulhe Raja, Coolie No 1, Saajan Chale Sasural and others. For this reason, we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t laugh at him but pity him when he desperately wants to show his fans that he still has the zeal to mouth punchlines, fight with his frame and dance like he used to in the heydeys. Well, no one can question his dancing skills but

scenes popping up every now and then, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a wonder that distributors even thought of buying this one. There are characters who appear and disappear at will, comic sequences that make Comedy Nights Bachao feel like Saturday Night Live and girls whose dressing sense is as bad as their performances.the movieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

treatment of female characters is a complete sham, especially when we are working hard towards women empowerment. Every baddie in the movie wants to scream out every line, while the junior artists seem to have been told that acting means trembling your body. The dialogues are total gems like â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Makkhi ke Pankh nikalne se makkhi pari nahi hotiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I am a natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, I kid you not. The screenplay is so much in ruins that Govinda feels the need to explain every random stuff through a voiceover. Forgotten actors like Chandrachur Singh and Harish are cast for no reason, and I am feeling really bad for talented performers like Ashutosh Rana, Makarand Deshpande, Murli Sharma for agreeing to be a part of this farce and make a mockery out of themselves. And I am pretty sure the names they mentioned under the screenplay, editing and direction credits are as real as the Loch Ness monster. What to do Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an idea â&#x20AC;&#x201C; rent DVDs of Jodi No 1, Partner, Dulhe Raja which had Govinda in top form and ignore this one ever existed. For Aa Gaya Hero is an abhorrence in the name of cinema and a two-hour long insult to the talent of Govinda that he heaped upon himself. Avoid this one at all costs.

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Saturday, March 18, 2017

Alia to spend time with Emma Watson on b’day? After bringing in her 24th birthday with a few close friends on Wednesday, Alia Bhatt is set for extended celebrations by hosting a preview of Emma Watson’s Beauty And The Beast at a suburban multiplex today. Her friends and family, including sister Shaheen, are expected at the screening. Alia admires the Hollywood actress’ work and believes the outing would be the ideal way to de-stress after the blitzkrieg promotional spree of her latest outing, Badrinath Ki Dulhania. While we are hoping to see rumoured beau Sidharth Malhotra at the do, sources say he will be held up at the shoot of Ittefaq, also featuring Sonakshi Sinha. Squeeze some time for bae, Sid?

Trying times for Aishwarya, Abhi

ON THE SET

Days after being admitted in a Bandra hospital, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s father, Krishna Raj Rai, continues to be critical. A steady stream of visitors has turned up at the medical centre, with Big B’s brother, Ajitabh Bachchan and his daughter Naina, also paying a visit. Aishwarya and hubby Abhishek have been constantly monitoring Rai’s health.

Salman Khan has been spotted with facial fuzz on the set of Ali Abbas Zafar’s Tiger Zinda Hai. It’s believed that this lean, mean, bearded appearance will be his look in the action flick. The unit is shooting in Austria now.

KJO-KANGANA SPAT

‘It’s great bathroom reading’ Sonam Kapoor usually has an opinion on every subject. It comes as no surprise then that she didn’t hold back from sharing her views on the spat between Kangana Ranaut and Karan Johar. In a television interview, she said, “I find it entertaining. I find it great stuff for bathroom reading. It’s mudslinging of the worst kind. I don’t know Kangana, but I know Karan well. I find Kangana entertaining and that’s about it. I believe you are a feminist when you build other people up, especially other women. Dragging someone down or criticising someone is distasteful.” Did Sonam just put her foot in the mouth yet again?

Bollywood

Vocal acrobats for Pawni Her voice helped Sunny Leone seduce Shah Rukh Khan in Laila Main Laila (Raees, 2016), and now, Pawni Pandey is set to advance her music training. The classical singer will take off to California to practice vocal acrobats over a two month-long course. She is keen to apply some of the techniques to her upcoming Bollywood songs.

Ready for the kill Rhea Chakraborty has been training in the martial arts form of Krav Maga, an Israeli self-defence system that blends multiple techniques. The actress also practices the art to stay fit. It seems Rhea, who will next be seen in Mohit Suri-directed Half Girlfriend, is ready for an action flick. Any takers?

Watcha talkin’ about, huh? Vidya Balan has found a new friend in Ila Arun. The former discussed on Kapil Sharma’s chat show how the duo bonded during the shoot of Begum Jaan over industry gossip. Guess they are the newest additions to B-Town’s gossip girls.

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Spotlight

SHIAMAK Celebrates Dance over the Weekend! The SHIAMAK Dance Academy staged the Spring Funk shows in Vancouver and Toronto. SHIAMAK funks it up with each season; spring was no different as dance enthusiasts from Vancouver and Toronto performed at the Spring Funk™ shows in grand style. Themed “Celebration”, the entertainment started right from the lobby till the end of the show in the main auditorium. A pre event contest “Show Me Your Jalwa” had participants displaying their talent in the lobby. The show was an interesting mix of medleys ranging from musicals, retro hits, current hits and festivals. It was a cultural extravaganza with an eclectic mix of the east and the west. The audience was treated to power-packed performances from students of ages four to eighty four. A surprise call from Shiamak before the show had all the performers

and Safeeya Pirani were spotted at the event in Vancouver. The Advance Training Program (juniors and adults) as well as the Special Potential Batch in Toronto showcased their remarkable dance-ability in performances ranging from a stage interpretation of La La Land, contemporary dance pieces and a medley of Bollywood songs. Students undergo rigorous technique training in various dance styles in these programs. Shiamak took his motto of Have Feet. Will Dance.™ one step further to “Have Spirit. Will Triumph.” with his not for profit organisation, Victory Arts Foundation. Classes from The Richmond Developmental Disabilities Association, The

motivated to give it their best. “Whether it is summer, winter or spring funk, students experience the joy of learning dance and performing in front of a live audience. The experience empowers them to overcome stage fright and encourages team work. The instructors ensure that students learn not only dance but about the cultural symphony that dance builds, and helps them create a space where they can truly express themselves.” said Shiamak. Spice Radio hosts Ronil Desai

Burnaby Downs Syndrome Research Foundation and The North Shore Connexions Society had the audiences stand in appreciation as they truly embodied this motto. A non-stop Bollywood medley of all the current hits was the perfect finale to packed shows in the two cities. Shiamak tweeted post the show “True to the theme, #Celebration it was as @shiamakvanc & @shiamaktoronto came on stage in style at

#SpringFunk show! Congrats !!!” As the new season begins, SHIAMAK is ready to FUNK IT UP with a new batch for Summer Funk™ commencing from April 3rd in Vancouver and May 23rd in Toronto at various locations.

Pranutan: My Dad Mohnish Bahl Has Always Felt The Responsibility Of Living Up To Our Lineage Pranutan Bahl is the latest aspirant in B-town. The 24-year-old featured in a recent commercial for the FMCG brand Tropicana and is hoping to step into Bollywood now. The daughter of renowned actor Mohnish Bahl, spoke about her future plans. Excerpts: You come from a film family but you got your start on the digital platform F*#@ The Couch... I had put my profile on F*#@ The Couch primarily because I didn’t want to completely rely on my family background. I joined it to discover the opportunities and get a real view of things. How was your experience of working with Suniel Shetty who founded the agency? It was great, he is very supportive. He would push me to perform better during auditions and showed immense faith in me. Was studying law a back-up plan? No, I wanted to complete my education and I liked Law as a subject. Is it difficult to live up to the name of your grandmother Nutan? It’s not difficult--- but it places a lot of responsibility on your shoulders, just like it did on my dad’s shoulders. My dad still feels the responsibility and probably never stopped feeling it. To carry forward my grandma’s lineage and legacy is a huge task. Her legacy as an actor is pretty evident but also as a person she was extremely commendable.

How do you intend to carry forward the legacy? There’s nothing happening right now. No ads, no films, nothing! Let’s see how it goes for me. The only thing that I’m very particular about is not letting down the legacy of my family especially my grandmother’s.

Did you get any offer after your Tropicana Ad? Nope. Your dad is a famous television star, so why not TV? For my debut, I would go with films because it’s my home ground! And my father is a film actor primarily and he’s done TV only in the last 10-15 years, plus my grandmother,

my aunt, they are all movie actors. Which is your favorite film of Mohnish Bahl? I loved him in Maine Pyaar Kiya. I loved Jeevan, his character in the film.. Are you taking any special training in acting or dance? I have learned Bharatnatyam and have taken some training in contemporary dance as well. But I haven’t gone for any specialized acting classes yet. How supportive is your father of your decision to enter Bollywood? My dad and mom are extremely supportive since films are their home turf. Also, I have completed my education and as a family unit, they were keen that I finish my studies first. So now, let’s wait and watch where I land. Would you bare skin on screen? It all depends on the script. I would like to go with my instinct. How comfortable are you with kissing and lovemaking scenes? I would completely go with the script. I can’t have any preconceived notions. Who are the directors you want to work with? I like all the directors who have a good script and vision. But I love Shoojit Sircar, Ayan Mukerji and my all-time favorite Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Stars you want to work with? I’m very fond of Aamir Khan and Ranbir Kapoor. I’m absolutely crazy about their work.

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Review by Jag

2017 FORD RAPTOR

sterel, QC: Imagine you wake up, turn on the TV and see something dreadful. What people thought would never happen, has happened – World War Z has become a reality and your family needs to get to the safe zone. Trouble is, you need to find a bullet-proof vehicle that will go through anything while keeping you safe. With your survival-of-the-fittest skills in full throttle, under the guise of darkness, you make your way over the Ford dealership, just a couple of blocks away. Nobody’s there…it’s quiet. And you see it, the all-new Ford Raptor, and let out a sigh of relief – you’re going to be okay. While the above situation is, fingers crossed, not likely to happen, the Raptor may be the vehicle of choice in case it does. To test out just how good the new Raptor is, we were invited to beautiful Quebec to drive the truck on not only roads, but on special snow and ice tracks at Megaglisse and boy, were we impressed. What’s New? The Raptor made its debut in 2009 as a SVT (Special Vehicle Team) model. Rather than being a street rocket like the Lightning, this truck was built on Ford’s baja truck, offering amazing off-road capabilities. The truck was able to go head-to-head with custom built vehicles to tackle baja type races, and did so admirably. For the 2017 Raptor, one of the biggest changes happened when team Ford decided to pull the 6.2L V8 and swap it with a more powerful, 2nd generation 3.5L EcoBoost V6, which now churns out 450HP and 510 lb-ft of torque – yes, you’re reading that right! That’s a lot of power and torque from a V6. This beast of a powerplant is mated to a brand new 10-speed SelectShift automatic transmission (which is across all F-150’s) that is geared to keep the engine in its sweet spot at all times. Although we had the Raptor for only a few hours, I can confirm that the new transmission is quite good, with shifts being timely and quite quick. When needing to get away quick during the zombie apocalypse, the Raptor won’t disappoint. What’s more is the sweet sound that resonates out of the real dual exhausts with dual tailpipes – these are raised and tucked away under the rear bumper to improve departure angle. Terrain won’t be a problem either for this Raptor – it’s already built a reputation for being able to handle most types. Now with six driver-selectable pre-set modes, you can be assured that this truck will be able to go anywhere and over anything. The redesigned, larger FOX Racing Shox allow for more suspension travel, making the ride not only comfortable on the roads, but appropriate when off-road – Ford says the suspension travel is enough to help prevent the Raptor from bottoming out in most situations. There’s also reinforcement to the suspension mounting points that won’t cause the truck to bend if severely abused. What I really liked was Sport Mode, in which the gear shifts and ratios are tuned perfectly for a great sporty driving experience. For anyone standing in front, the Raptor has a menacing presence, like any raptor should. Its massive signature grille,

aggressive and muscular stance, and giant front skid plate are enough to tell everything else, alive or dead, to get out of the way. This new Raptor is the best-looking so far; in fact, I wasn’t a fan of some of the previous iterations of the truck, but this one is quite a piece of

Interior: For the most part, the Raptor and its more docile sibling, the F-150, share the same interior. The Raptor does add bolstered seats with contrast stitching, a contoured steering wheel with magnesium paddle shifters, and six overhead auxiliary switches to control aftermarket equipment. It’s a great interior space for the enthusiast, worker, and regular driver. Winter Off-Road Driving As I said earlier, we all know what the Raptor is capable of in off-road conditions, especially the desert. However, Ford Canada had something special for us at Megaglisse – a winter driving course that we journalists were to power through first, work. With the truck six inches wider than a regular F-150, it’s and then, a hot lap as passenger with a professional driver. not an easy beast to park, especially in your average garage. Live Navigating through the course was a little tough; the path was in a condo or apartment? Good luck! tight and the truck is huge. Never-the-less, through snow, ice, and Road Driving Impressions mud, the truck pulled through without a glitch. Let’s face it, the people buying this truck and The exclusive 2nd generation BF Goodrich KO2 either those who want the oomph factor for social tires provided exceptional traction and are built reasons or serious enthusiasts who need a true and to take on the toughest off-road threats that can tried truck that can compete in desert or gruelling be thrown at them. Again, I have to say that even off-road competitions – either way, you’re set! as our heads bobbed around as we pummeled I hadn’t driven the Raptor for a few years and as through the rutted track, the interior was quiet I climbed into the cockpit, I knew I was in for some and comforting. The bolstered seats, unique to serious smiles. Engine started, seat adjusted, belt the Raptor, provided excellent support and yes, buckled, Sport mode activated, and I was ready to the heated seats and steering wheel were great go. Right off the bat, I had to hit the throttle to see too. For the hot lap, I really was able to see what if the new 3.5L V6 was all that it should be and yup, the Raptor could do. The professional driver Jag Dhatt two big thumbs up! This truck really hauls and in disengaged traction control and took off. My Jag Dhatt is an automotive, Sport mode, using the magnesium paddle shifters, self-proclaimed driving skills were shot down by motorcycle and lifestyle the shifts were abrupt, as expected. I was able to fly journalist. He is an AJAC the time we finished the hot lap. When you put member and regular through the 10 speeds easily – the first 7 being for a truck as impressive as the Raptor in the hands contributor writer to many spirited driving while the last 3 more for highway of a professional driver, you really get a sense of print and online media use. the what’s possible; even more impressive is that outlets. What surprised me most was for such a beastly both the driver and Raptor weren’t pushing the truck, it was surprisingly quiet in the cabin. Like its limits. non-steroid “regular” F-150 counterpart, the Raptor is very well Some Final Thoughts insulated. The military-grade aluminum used for the body and The 2017 Raptor is everything you would expect from an bed can help shave the weight of the truck by up to 500 pounds, extreme truck and then some. Yes, people will look at it and which you can feel when driving and cornering. get out of the way, with most doing a double-take. And if you’re For the few hours we had this truck on the road, it drove ever caught in a zombie apocalypse, the Raptor will scorch the better than I expected it to – it was civil when I needed it to be road and trails to make sure you get to the safety zone. and downright psychotic every other time.

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Classifieds JOBS

Vacancies for Framer-Helper MN Framing Ltd. located at 6281 Knight Street, Vancouver BC V5P2V9 has an immediate vacancy for Framer Helper. Job Title: Framer Helper Number of Vacancies: 1 Location of work: Job requires on-site at various job sites within the lower mainland. Job Type: Full time, permanent position with 30-40 hours per week. Overtime at the rate of 1.5 times after 40 hours per week. Compensation: $20 per hour Benefits: WCB Coverage with 4% vacation pay Key duties: • Load and unload construction material and taking them to job site, • Move tools, equipment from storage to job site; • Assist framer with forming and framing related work; • Help put up, level, and

JOBS install building framework • Remove rubble and clean work areas, machines and equipment to maintain a clean and safe jobsites • Perform other related job duties as required Job requirements: Some experience as a labourer will be an asset but not mandatory. Training provided on site. Work conditions: • Physically demanding, handling heavy loads, combination of sitting, standing and walking • Able to work long hours, weekends and outdoor in various weather conditions Contact: If you meet the requirements, please send your resume at mnframing@ hotmail.com. Only those who our basic expectations will be contacted for an interview. We thank you for your interest in our company! ------------ Mar 09-2017

NOW HIRING Bus Driver Gobind Sarvar School, located at 8820 – 168 Street, Surrey, B.C. is looking for a school bus driver living in Abbotsford area. If you are licensed to drive a school bus, please email your resume and driver’s abstract to: info@gobindsarvar.ca or call Jaspreet at 604-930-2122 for further details.

JOBS Vacancies for FramerCarpenter MN Framing Ltd. located at 6281 Knight Street, Vancouver BC V5P2V9 has immediate vacancies for FramerCarpenter. Job Title: Framer-Carpenter Number of Vacancies: 2 Location of work: Job requires on-site at various job sites within the lower mainland. Job Type: Full time, permanent position with 30-40 hours per week. Overtime at the rate of 1.5 times after 40 hours per week. Compensation: $26 per hour Benefits: WCB Coverage with 4% vacation pay Key duties: • Read & Interpret blueprints, drawings & sketches to determine specification; • Estimate height, width, length & other proportions;

JOBS • Measure, cut, shape & assemble the major structural elements of a wood-framed buildings using woodworking machines, power tools and hand tools; • Build house foundations, Construct building framework including wall, beams, partitions, floor, doorframes, ceilings; • Inspect and replace damaged framework or other structures and fixtures; • Be able to understand building materials and building codes; Job requirements: • Completion of High School • 2-3 years of experience in trade or completion of 3-4 year apprenticeship program Work conditions: • Physically demanding, handling heavy loads, combination of sitting, standing and walking • Able to work long hours,

JOBS weekends and outdoor in various weather conditions Contact: If you meet the requirements, please send your resume at mnframing@ hotmail.com Only those who our basic expectations will be contacted for an interview. We thank you for your interest in our company! ------------ Mar 09-2017 Office Manager Required We need a office manager to hire and give training to workers and staff. Must have 3 years of experience in management. Punjabi and hindi speaking is required. Salary will be based on experience. Please call : 604-722-5000 ------------ Feb 18-2017

LOOKING FOR CLASS 1 TRUCK DRIVER A trucking company, Planet Pride Logistics, located at 11411 Shell Road, Richmond BC V7A3W7 has immediate vacancies for 5 Long Haul Truck Drivers. Term of employment: Full time, Permanent Position Shifts: Weekdays, Weekends, Evenings Salary: $23.50 per hour for 50 hours per week, overtime after 60 hours of the rate of 1.5 times with Vacation pay of 4%. Requirement: Class 1 driving license with Air brake endorsement

Duties: Drive and operate company’s long haul trucks within all over Canada, receive and relay information to central dispatcher, maintain log book, bill of landing. Do pre-trip, en-route, posttrip inspection for any mechanical or body defect, reports incidents to the manager immediately and accurately. Please send your resume at planetpride.logistics@ gmail.com or fax at 778-297-4402 Gill to Furmaan Kaur Gill

Saturday, March 18, 2017 Abbotsford, B.C: Community Safety Meeting for Parents and Youth followed by Questions and Answers Session. When: 4:30pm Doors Open and 5:00pm Start time, March 18th, 2017 Location: W.J Mouat Secondary School, 32355 Mouat Dr, Abbotsford Gurdwara Sahib Kalgidhar Darbar will be hosting a Community Safety Meeting to raise awareness on gang related issues and to also discuss positive programs for South Asian youth in Abbotsford. Community Leaders, Parents and youth are invited to bring their suggestions. Gurdwara Sahib Kalgidhar Darbar has started a Community Awareness Team which includes Community Partners, Parents and youth who will bring important issues arising in front of the community and have open talk and solutions for these issues. They understand that the issues are not a quick fix, but as a team they would like to actively and meaningfully learn from and share information with different segments of the community to enhance knowledge and skills. Community and Policing Partners for this event are Abbotsford Community Services and Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit-BC -----------------------------------------South Asian Seniors - Filing Income Tax Returns Free From February 26th 2017 to May 2nd 2017. Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey informs South Asian Seniors that during the Tax filing period we can help you to file your Income Tax Returns for the year 2016 free of cost, through the community volunteer program of Canada Revenue Agency, from February 26th 2017 to May 2nd 2017. If you are living in Surrey / Delta. The eligibility Criteria are as follows 1.Single individual with annual income limit up to $ 30,000. 2. Couples with annual income up to $ 40,000. 3. Adult with one child annual income up to $ 35,000, add the income limit by $ 2,500 for each dependent child. Interest income not over $ 1,000.00 and this income will be included as total eligibility. With no investment income, no rental income , no

business or partnership income and no capital gain or loss. Sin# card and photo identity will be required to prove the documents. Project funded by Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program for Hindi speaking seniors. If you are eligible then please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator Tel. 604 - 507 - 9945 for further information. -----------------------------------------South Asian Seniors - Filing Income Tax Returns Free From February 26th 2017 to May 2nd 2017. Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey informs South Asian Seniors that during the Tax filing period we can help you to file your Income Tax Returns for the year 2016 free of cost, through the community volunteer program of Canada Revenue Agency, from February 26th 2017 to May 2nd 2017. If you are living in Surrey / Delta. The eligibility Criteria are as follows 1.Single individual with annual income limit up to $ 30,000. 2. Couples with annual income up to $ 40,000. 3. Adult with one child annual income up to $ 35,000, add the income limit by $ 2,500 for each dependent child. Interest income not over $ 1,000.00 and this income will be included as total eligibility. With no investment income, no rental income , no business or partnership income and no capital gain or loss. Sin# card and photo identity will be required to prove the documents. Project funded by Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program for Hindi speaking seniors. If you are eligible then please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator Tel. 604 - 507 - 9945 for further information. -----------------------------------------Free Self Employment Program offered by PICS Are you unemployed or working less than 20 hours per week? Are you thinking of launching your own business? Join PICS for an information session on PICS’ Self Employment Program at one of PICS Offices: Suite 205, 12725 80th Ave, Surrey – Every 2nd Wednesday of the month

FOR LEASE Two retail units 3000sqft #130/140 - 304785 Cardinal Ave Abbotsford

(604) 725-6734 / (604) 595-1445

Community News OR 8153 Main St (near Marine Dr), Vancouver – Every 3rd Wednesday of the month All info sessions are from 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM This program offers • Business Start-Up Training • Business Plan Writing • Business Advisor Support • Networking Events • Support During Business Launch Period Seating is limited. To attend a session, please preregister at Katarina.Low@pics.bc.ca or 604-5967722 Ext 150 -----------------------------------------South Asian Seniors are planning to visit Australia & New Zealand through 13 days cruise and 2 days extra tour of Sydney (Australia) total 16 days including travel time. The cruise itinerary starts from Sydney (Australia) on November 17th 2017, one day visit at each of these ports, Melbourne (Australia), Burnie (Tasmania- Australia), Wellington (New Zealand), Napier (New Zealand), Tauranga (New Zealand), Auckland (New Zealand), Bay of Islands (New Zealand) and back to Sydney (Australia). Every port the ship Norwegian Jewel will stop, all seniors will go for city tour by bus. All arrangements will be made for your air travel from Vancouver to Sydney (Australia) and return from Sydney to Vancouver, Cruise bookings, all port city excursions, city visits of Sydney (Australia), hotel stay in Sydney, food ( Pure Vegetarian or Non Vegetarian as per your choice) during Sydney City visits, also local bus pick up from Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple Surrey to Vancouver airport & back to Temple on return from Vancouver airport. The total tour will be of 16/ 17 days including travel time from 14th November 2017 to 2nd December 2017. The travel insurance with Medical Coverage, Cancellation, Interruption and Baggage loss is a must,

which you can arrange yourself or get the one we arrange for the whole group Insurance at a reasonable price to cover Basic Medical Coverage, Cancellation, Interruption, & Baggage Loss etc. The maximum cost for the whole trip to cover everything including return air tickets will be approximately $ 4,500.00 US Dollars per person. All staterooms are Double occupancy, so you should select your partner to share the stateroom with you on the ship. If you are interested to join South Asian group of Seniors, you should be in good health to walk independently, can afford the Luxury in life for 16/ 17 days, then only call. The entire amount $ 4,500.00 US Dollars or Equal ant Canadian Dollars as per present Bank rates will be spent on you only and will be taken from you in 4 installments with intervals. You will have to pay me $ 750.00 US Dollars per person for Cruise deposit to confirm your stateroom, and if you don’t have your travel insurance as mentioned above then you have to pay me $ 205.00 US Dollars per person for group travel Insurance in addition to cruise deposit. Please remember the Travel insurance once purchased can not be cancelled or transferred to somebody else. The final payment for the cruise is due by 20th June 2017 and you will be able to pay through your credit card directly to Cruise Web. For the other payments for Air Travel, Port City Excursions and hotel stay & food expenses etc. you will be informed time to time. The prices I have negotiated for the cruise are the rock bottom prices which can not be held for long and we are getting two amenities free, Gratuity for 13 days Cruise is Free and Cocktail Drinks are free for 13 days of Cruise for Ocean view cabins and above. Inside cabins will have only one Amenity Free of your choice. I have only room for two more couples or 4 friends to share two cabins on the ship, So don’t miss the chance of enjoying the Luxury in life for 16/ 17 days to visit Australia & New Zealand and call Surendra Handa Organizer/ Tel. 604 - 507 - 9945.

12 23 HITLIST

Hitlist

mid-day

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Friday, March 17, 2017 | www.mid-day.com | twitter.com/mid_day | epaper.mid-day.com

Creepy boss at work? Call this number

Not just Phillauri, Anushka promotes Phulkari too!

Close on the heels of TVF fiasco, Taapsee Pannu launches sexual harrasment helpline for media and entertainment industry MOHAR BASU mohar.basu@mid-day.com

AFTER Pink (2016), Taapsee Pannu emerged as the face of firebrand women, who refuse to cower and condone wrongdoings. Staying true to her on-screen image, the actress has launched a helpline to assist women in the domains of harassment and mental distress. The effort seems well-timed given recent molestation allegations by ex-employees of The Viral Fever (TVF) against founder-CEO Arunabh Kumar. A set of professional counsellors has been roped in to provide assistance to the complainants/victims. Calls to the helpline number (01149694998) will be answered by trained executives, who will redirect them to a counsellor. Redressal committees at regional levels have also been instituted to facilitate the process. The initiative has been taken by Event and Entertainment Management Association. Helpline curator Sabbas Joseph tells mid-day, “We wish to create an environment where women can deliver to their full potential. Women in advertising, media, and entertainment are both role models and influencers. It is a positive step towards making lives of working women a little easier.” Though Taapsee isn’t clear about her opinion on the ongoing TVF controversy, she feels the helpline will go a long way in creating better workplaces. She says, “It is a profound initiative for all working women, especially in the events, entertainment and media industry. It is not just a step towards making the working environment safe for women, but also in making the world a better place.”

Bollywood bhakti

people, especially the youth. We live in difficult times and the only way for us to regain balance and strength is by After Hanuman Chalisa single, composerlooking within. I hope my interpretation of the divine singer Shekhar Ravjiani now releases own prayer helps listeners find version of Gayatri Mantra strength, peace and tranquilSOUMYA VAJPAYEE TIWARI Amitabh Bachchan unveiled ity.” soumya.vajpayee@mid-day.com the single on Tuesday. Shekhar has a personal conWhat inspired him to record nect with the chant, too. He says it has been an inteBESIDES scoring music for the devotional track? gral part of his growHindi films, composer-singer Shekhar says, “The ‘I ing up years. “It Shekhar Ravjiani is equally fo- Gayatri Mantra hope my takes me back to cussed on independent proj- unites one with simpler, more ects. However, his songs are the universe. interpretation innocent times, unlike what his contempo- Revered for of the divine when we, as generations raries mostly churn out. prayer helps kids, listened to After his successful devo- but taken for listeners find our inner voice tional single on Hanuman g r a n t e d and found hapthe Chalisa that garnered over six today, strength, piness in the lakh views on YouTube, power of the peace’ smallest things,” he Shekhar has now crafted one mantra needs to says. on the Gayatri Mantra. be experienced by

MOHAR BASU mohar.basu@mid-day.com DURING the shoot of her upcoming film Phillauri, Anushka Sharma found a special place for Phulkari, the colorful, vibrant threadwork integral to Punjabi culture. With her love for Phulkari reflecting in her outfits in the family entertainer, Anushka took it upon herself to source and find the best local fabrics and handloom for the characters, adding dollops of ethnic flavour to the film. Says a source from the film’s set, “Anushka bought a huge amount of fabric from a local market in Punjab for the shoot. Her co-actor Mehreen Pirzada’s mother is well versed with that area and she helped her get quality Phulkari fabrics and

Karishma Tanna to do a cameo in Ranbir Kapoor’s biopic on Sanjay Dutt Karishma Tanna’s last notable outing in Bollywood was Grand Masti. Post that, she has been busy on TV with shows like Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, Nagarjuna – Ek Yodhha and Big Memsaab. The good news is that she has signed on a new Bollywood project and a big one at that. The sexy lady will be doing a cameo in Ranbir Kapoor’s biopic on Sanjay Dutt. The film helmed by

Rajkumar Hirani has been making news ever since it was announced. As we know Paresh Rawal and Dia Mirza are already confirmed for the project. Now, Karishma Tanna is also on board. This is indeed a big project for the leggy lass. She will also an important cameo in the film and is thrilled to share screen space with Ranbir Kapoor. Karishma is understandably ecstatic

about it. She confirmed the news to a portal saying, “Yes, I am doing a guest appearance in the Sanjay Dutt biopic. I have shot for the first schedule of it.” Karishma also has an important role in Sunny Leone’s Tina & Lolo, which is yet to be released. During Jhalak, everyone was all praises for Tanna as a performer and this film sort of validates it.

Punjab’s Phulkari Phulkari, a rural tradition of handmade embroidery, literally translates to flower work. It has a history etched in the culture of Punjab. Spun from the charkha, this style of embroidery is patterned on odhnis, shawls, kurtis and chunris.

unique pieces from a silversmith there. Anushka also bought a lot of jewellery from that man since she believes in supporting local craftsmen. She even got her Patiala salwars stitched by a tailor in that city.”

To follow your favourite stars log on to www.mid-day.com

Saturday, April 2, 2016

i 5

Saturday, 2, 2016 Saturday, April April 2, 2016 i 5i 5

Vol. 6 No. 31 Saturday - April 2, 2016 - Tel: - Tel: 604-591-5423 E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com 604-591-5423 - -E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com Tel: 604-591-5423 E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com Vol. 6 No. 31 - Saturday - April 2, 2016 - Tel: 604-591-5423 - E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com

31 -- March Saturday Vol. 8 No.Vol. 07 6- No. Saturday 18, 2017- April 2, 2016

Vancouver’s skyline to rise amid an office-tower building boom

Vancouver’s skyline to riserent amid anAverage office-tower building boom house prices up 3.5% in pasthisyear, Ontario housing minister vows to boost Vancouver’s skyline to rise amid an office-tower building boom next two years due to competition. it Suisse is optimistic building tower tower is optimistic his building will will he $240-million $240-million Credit CreditSuisse/ Suisse/ Mr.Mr. Shokri others expectnext two years due to competition. it Suisse he Shokri andand others say say theythey expect The landlords who will likely suffer The landlords who will likely suffer next two years due to competition. start to fill as the completion date gets closer. start to fill as the completion date gets closer. it Suisse tower is optimistic his building will SwissRealtower tower the heart of many many of the new towers toseries start signing SwissReal ininthe heart ofToronto of the new towers to start signing tenant worth $519,521 inGehriger, February he $240-million Credit Suisse/ Mr. Shokri and others say tenant they expect control after CBC tenancy a result of the current boom are ownas aasresult of the current boom are ownThe landlords who will likely suffer Franz Gehriger, the CEO of SwissReal Franz the CEO of SwissReal start to fill as the completion date gets closer. downtown as they getget closer to completion. ThatThat downtown Vancouver Vancouver will will bebe leases leases as they closer to completion.

T T

SwissReal tower the heart of the new towers to start signing The Ontario housing minister vowsin that ofbuildings, the average home Act of couldmany be tabled in the legislature, sayingtenant The market isbought sothe outthe ofthe whack in Golden ers of older Shokri said. Asare ersThe ofasprice older Mr. Canadian Shokri As abuildings, result of Mr. the current boomsaid. ownGroupGroup who bought original historic who original historic Franz Gehriger, CEO of the SwissReal completed ininless than a ayear, but sosofar,far, will is is partly because companies in Vancouver, completed less than year, but partly because companies in Vancouver, downtown Vancouver be leases as they get closer to completion. That the province will soon unveil new “rental only that he’s pushing his staff to have it readywell, ticked up by 3.5 per cent to $519,521 in Horseshoe area stretching from just east of new developments in the suburbs, well, new developments in the suburbs, stock-exchange building in 2002 before parters of older buildings, Mr. Shokri said. As stock-exchange building in 2002 before partGroup who bought the original historic only has upupthan totomove in.in.butwhich want to be in energy-efficient onlyone onetenant hassigned signed move which to because benew, in new, energy-efficient completed inskyrocketing less a cost year, far,do do iswant partly companies in Vancouver, controls” totenant address the to so February, even as the national figures continue shortly. Toronto and southwest toward Hamilton and which have already experienced higher neringnering with Credit Suisse to develop it,before said it, whichwell, have experienced newalready developments in the higher suburbs, The tenant has one committed forfor a a10th buildings, to operate on short timelines. with Credit Suisse develop said stock-exchange building into2002 partThe tenantonly 10th of move buildings, tend to operate onainshort timelines. tenantToronto. has signed upof to in. tend which do wantcome to be new, energy-efficient lease a home inhas andcommitted around to be rates skewed byrecent activity in themay country’s Ballard’s comments few hours aftervacancy beyond that the imbalance between supply inhave years,years, may have the main group interested in leasing Vancouvacancy rates inhotalready recent have which experienced higher the 370,000 square feet – leaving a state of As well, he said, prices in the new thenering mainwith group interested Credit Suisse in to leasing developVancouit, said the 370,000 square feet – leaving a state of As well, he said, prices in the new The tenant has committed for a 10th of buildings, tend to operate on short timelines. asvacancy they compete each other. Ministerthat Chris Ballardforspoke about biggest market: Toronto. NDP MPP Tabuns said he would tabletrouble and space demand is “without ” CREA ver office is theprecedent, technology rates in with recent years, may have trouble as they compete with each other. emptiness unusual an office sky-the buildings willPeter come i Saturday, July 25, 2015down in the mainthese groupdays interested Vancouvertheoffice space these daysin isleasing the technology theisis370,000 square feet – leaving a 4state of Saturday, Aslikely well, he said, prices in end emptinesschanges that unusual for an office skybuildings will likely come down in the new 4private i July 25, 2015 In Vancouver, the co-developer of theAssociation, Cred- sector. upcoming on Thursday, following the The Canadian Real Estate a member’s bill that calls for an said. Those companies make their deciscraper in this city. Even so, a huge shift in trouble as they compete with each other. sector. In Vancouver, the co-developer of the Credver office space these daysprice is thefigure technology Those companies make theircan deciemptiness thatso, is unusual for aninoffice buildings will rule, likely come down in the scraper in this city. Even a huge shift 4 i Saturday, July which 25, 2015 announcement NDP private which represents realtors, reported Wednesday to skythe so-called 1991 exempts CREA says the average be business tenancyofisaexpected as themember’s region In Vancouver, the co-developer of the Cred- sector. Those companies make their deciscraper in this city. Even so, a huge shift in bill promising much the same thing — and that the average price property built after Nov. 1, 1991 from business tenancy is expected as the region experiences something it has not seen bebusiness tenancy expected as region aexperiences CBC seriesbuilding focusing on the fallout continues to be pulled rent control. something it hasisboom not seen be-the provincial fore: anToronto office-tower much the limited safety net for renters has created upward by sales activity Former premier Mike Harris’s Tory experiences something it has not seen before: an office-tower building boom much of which is speculative construction rathin Greater Vancouver government made the loophole law fore: an office-tower building boom much of which is speculative construction rather than for specific committed tenants. which is committed speculative construction rathin 1997, saying that it would spark and Greater Toronto, er“This thanis kind forofofspecific tenants. uncharted territory for Vaner ofthan for specific committed couver, ” said Mehdi Shokri, aterritory principal with “This is kind uncharted for Van- tenants. developers to create more apartments which remain two of “Thisteam isShokri, kindatofAvison uncharted territory the capital markets Young. couver, ” said Mehdi a principal with for Van- to address what was considered a Canada’s tightest, most active and expensive couver, said Mehdi Shokri, a principal with stagnating rental supply. “But I don’t markets see a ”big disaster occurring. ” the capital team at Avison Young. housing markets. But tenancy advocates argue that The ICredit Suisse is onlyteam the at most Avison “But don’tthe seecapital a tower bigmarkets disaster occurring. ” Young. the move didn’t spur the necessary “That said, Greater visible and furthest of aasecond I along don’t see big disaster The Credit“But Suisse tower is only thewave mostoccurring.” level of rental property development Vancouver’s share of of new office towers planned fortower VancouThe Credit only the most visible and furthest alongSuisse of a secondiswave — and Ballard told CBC Toronto national sales activity has ver and somevisible key suburbs. A first cluster and furthest along of a second wave of new office towers planned for Vancoudiminished considerably of towers – some twooffice million square feet –for Vancou- that he agrees. of new towers planned ver built and downtown some key in suburbs. Athree first cluster The minister said that he’s over the past year, giving was the past years. ver andtwo some key suburbs. A first cluster ofAnother towers – 11 some square feet “absolutely” open to revisiting that it less upward influence on the national misleading, which is why it prefers to track office million developments are – of towers – some two million square feet – particular segment of the law. average price,” CREA said. something it calls the Aggregate Composite was built downtown in theofpast three years. proposed within blocks Credit Suwas built downtown in the past three years. If the two cities are stripped out, the value Multiple Listings Service House Price Index for Another young professionals this city. “With the number of people we have 11 tower officeatindevelopments isse’s Exchange Howe and Westare Another 11 office developments are to Toronto and the GTHA every year, of the typical Canadian home would drop by — a term that boils down to CREA’s attempt “It’s absolutely unacceptable renters are moving Pender streets, even while the office-vaproposed within blocks ofthatCredit Suproposed within blocks of Credit Sufacing the pressure that they’re facing to smooth out the numbers by adjusting for cancy in the tower region to today, inch isse’s rate Exchange atcontinues Howe and West” clearly it’s not working,” he said. “There’s such more than $150,000 to $369,728. isse’s Exchange tower at Howe andpressure West for people looking for a good place February is not typically a popular month things like seasonality, and the type of housing. Ballard told CBC Toronto in anbuilding. interview. up as a result of the firstwhile wave of Pender streets, even the office-vaPenderbrokers streets, say eventhewhile the for home sales, but sales were up in 70 per cent “So legislation to call home.” Even despite those adjustments, the Toronto Butwe’ll commercial city is office-vacancy ratebein bringing the regionforward continues to inch cancy raterent in the regiontowers. continues thatabout expands onpopulated the controls that are to inch Earlier Thursday, Jim Murphy, president of all markets from January’s level, CREA said. area’s numbers are downright booming, up 23 not to be by ghost up as a result of the first wave of building. up as” a result of the first wave of building. And as was the case with prices, “the per cent in the past 12 months to $727,300. currently in place. and CEO of the Federation of Rental Housing But commercialcommercial brokers saybrokers the city is city is say Staff within But the housing ministry havethe Providers, said that rental regulations help to national increase was overwhelmingly driven “It’s pretty much the best time to be selling not about tonot be about populated ghost towers. to be by populated by ghost towers. been consulting with tenants and landlords maintain some security for investors, and by an increase in activity across the Greater a Toronto home in at least 30 years,” Bank of across the province since Ballard took over changing the rules will create uncertainty. Toronto Area (GTA) and environs,” CREA Montreal economist Robert Kavcic said, “with the portfolio last spring, the minister said “Now is not the time to make changes that said. almost all new listings getting absorbed within in an interview. He couldn’t commit as to would adversely impact investor confidence,” Homes are selling briskly in the Toronto the month.” area, but that’s not the case in the rest of the when the changes to the Residential Tenancy he said in a telephone interview. Detached houses in the GTA are up 26 country, where competition among potential per cent in the past year, and condos are buyers is less intense, so listings take longer to up by almost as much — 19 per cent. “The sell. latter is pretty good evidence that supply“In and around Toronto, many potential side fundamentals have been left in the dust,” Buying a home can be difficult. House Toronto Real Estate Board’s monthly market move-up buyers find themselves outbid Kavcic said. hunters must save for a down payment, may watch report. in multiple-offer situations amid a short Markets close to the city are doing even face bidding wars and even forgo conditions Mamourian said the limited listings mean supply of listings,” CREA’s chief economist better, with places like Guelph, London and once considered staples of a home purchase homes sell fast and buyers should prepare Gregory Klump said. “As a result, they aren’t Barrie pushing 30 per cent gains in the past for long periods before making a successful putting their current home on the market. year. “Note that these markets really began offer, like financing or an inspection. But those who already own a home and offer. It’s something of a vicious circle from the to burn around the same time that prices It’s a different situation in cooler markets, standpoint of a supply shortage and a challenge within Toronto itself began to detach from want to move into a bigger place or downsize must also decide whether it’s best to buy or like Calgary, where there’s a plethora of for first-time and move-up homebuyers alike.” fundamentals,” Kavcic said. sell first. The choice depends on the people, available housing and homes take longer to the house and the city, realtors say, though sell, he said. In that city, new listings were up there are some constants that hold true for 0.88 per cent this August year-over-year and sales were down 4.32 per cent, according to most situations. “If it’s a seller’s market, then you need the Calgary Real Estate Board. “There’s no guarantee of how long to be buying first. If it’s a buyer’s market, then you need to be selling first,” said Ara it’s going to take you to sell that home,” Mamourian, broker and owner of Spring Mamourian said, adding it’s better to sell first and then choose to buy one of the many Realty in Toronto. About half of Mamourian’s clients face homes available in less competitive markets. On the other hand, those who sell first can this decision and, in Toronto’s red-hot real estate market, he often advises they purchase find themselves faced with a time crunch and settling for a home that they otherwise a new home first. The number of new listings this August wouldn’t buy or overpaying for a home to in the Greater Toronto Area was down 1.2 ensure their offer beats out the competition, per cent year-over-year, according to the Mamourian said.

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Wait ... Vancouver’s newest tower goes for how much? Vancouverites are used to hearing how expensive the real estate market is, but the city’s newest tower has managed to surprise residents — once again.

A studio apartment starts at just over $1 million at the new luxurious tower at 1550 Alberni Street. “You basically have to be a multimillionaire to live there,” said Michael Straker, who has lived in the West End for over two decades. The 43-storey tower designed by Japanese starchitect Kengo Kuma and Vancouverbased developer Westbank is described as nothing less than spectacular. The average price is $2,000 per square foot for the curved silhouette skyscraper. While Straker welcomes the tower’s unique architecture, he worries what it will do to the neighbourhood. “You know it is going to be mainly empty and bought as an investment and even people with really good jobs won’t be able to afford it,” he said. A troubling prophecy for a neighbourhood like Coal Harbour where 22.2 per cent of

homes are empty or non-resident occupied, according to 2016 data gathered by Simon Fraser University’s Andy Yan. “What bothers people is a lot of construction is happening but a lot of the new projects don’t seem to be affordable to locals,” said Josh Gordon, assistant professor at the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University. “It doesn’t seem to be catered to what locals can afford, so they feel shut out of the market,” said Gordon. The tower’s developer said the majority of interest has come from the Canadian market. Local architect Michael Geller doesn’t doubt units will be scooped up by investors, but he argues there are numerous benefits to a development like this. “The developers are paying a significant financial contribution to the city, which can then be used by the city to fund new amenities or go to affordable housing fund,” said Geller. Vancouver developer Jon Stovell insists in order to stop the continued inching up of real estate prices, supply needs to go up. “If there were seven other high rises marketing at the same time in the same area, the price wouldn’t be as high,” he said. “You get a tower launched in downtown Vancouver every six to eight months .... if there were six to eight [towers launched] every one month, you wouldn’t see this kind of price escalation,” he said.

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Vancouver’s skyline to rise amid an office-tower building

Canadian home prices rose in February as prices continued to climb in the hot Toronto market, data showed on Tuesday in a report that was unlikely to alleviate concerns from some quarters that the city is facing a real estate bubble. The Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index, which measures changes for repeat sales of single-family homes, showed prices rose 1.0 percent from January. It was the largest February increase on record for the index going back 18 years as prices in Toronto jumped 1.9 percent. In nearby Hamilton, where home values have been boosted as buyers are forced out of Toronto, prices were up 1.4 percent. It was the 13th month in a row that prices have risen in Toronto. While Canada’s housing market has been largely robust in the years since the global financial crisis, some economists have begun to call the Toronto market a bubble. In a research note accompanying the release, National Bank economist Marc Pinsonneault called the Toronto market “especially worrisome.” “In a city where apartments account for only 26 per cent of home sales, affordability of other types of dwellings has become an acute problem,” he noted. The chart below, by National Bank, shows that mortgage payments

he $240-million Credit Suisse/ SwissReal tower in the heart of downtown Vancouver will be completed in less than a year, but so far, only one tenant has signed up to move in. The tenant has committed for a 10th of the 370,000 square feet – leaving a state of emptiness that is unusual for an office skyscraper in this city. Even so, a huge shift in business tenancy is expected as the region experiences something it has not seen before: an office-tower building boom much of which is speculative construction rather than for specific committed tenants. “This is kind of uncharted territory for Vancouver,” said Mehdi Shokri, a principal with the capital markets team at Avison Young. “But I don’t see a big disaster occurring.” The Credit Suisse tower is only the most visible and furthest along of a second wave of new office towers planned for Vancouver and some key suburbs. A first cluster of towers – some two million square feet – was built downtown in the past three years. Another 11 office developments are proposed within blocks of Credit Suisse’s Exchange tower at Howe and West Pender streets, even while the office-vacancy rate in the region continues to inch up as a result of the first wave of building. But commercial brokers say the city is not about to be populated by ghost towers.

Mr. Shokri and others say they expect many of the new towers to start signing tenant leases as they get closer to completion. That is partly because companies in Vancouver, which do want to be in new, energy-efficient buildings, tend to operate on short timelines. As well, he said, prices in the new buildings will likely come 4 i Saturday, July 25, 2015down in the

next two years due to competition. The landlords who will likely suffer as a result of the current boom are owners of older buildings, Mr. Shokri said. As well, new developments in the suburbs, which have already experienced higher vacancy rates in recent years, may have trouble as they compete with each other. In Vancouver, the co-developer of the Cred-

for homes other than condos now take up nearly 64 per cent of the city’s median income: The lofty prices in Toronto despite tighter mortgage lending rules will likely pressure policymakers to take further steps to rein in the market, a Reuters poll showed last month. Vancouver also helped drive the national index higher, with prices rising 1.4 percent, though they were still down 1.1 percent from the peak seen in September last year. Activity in Vancouver cooled last year as the provincial

government implemented a tax on foreign buyers in the city. Prices across Canada were up 13.4 percent compared to a year ago, the biggest 12-month increase since November 2006. Toronto led the pack with a record 23.0 percent surge. It was the latest data to suggest the Canadian housing market was defying expectations of a slowdown, coming on the heels of surprisingly strong housing starts figures released last week.

CMHC mortgage insurance gets more expensive today

Jolly Arts

By Appointment

Canadian house prices post largest February increaseTon record

Starting today, premiums on mortgage insurance from Canada Mortgage Housing Corp. go up across the country. CMHC says its average client will pay about $5 more per month. The price of mortgage insurance, required for homebuyers making a down payment of less than 20 per cent, varies across Canada, as calculations by mortgage-comparison website Ratehub.ca show. For example, a homebuyer in Halifax, where the average home price is $279,362, would pay $4.71 more per month under CMHC’s new premiums.That’s an increase of $1,413 over the life of a 25-year mortgage. In Vancouver, however, where the average price of a home has ballooned to $995,583, the new mortgage insurance premiums would cost $16.35 more each month — or $4,904 over 25 years. In both examples, Ratehub assumes buyers are making the minimum down payment required on a five-year, fixed-rate mortgage of 2.42 per cent amortized over 25 years. Mortgage insurance payments can also be made as a lump sum, rather than monthly payments. CMHC announced the premium increase in January, after the Office of the Superintendent

of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented new rules requiring mortgage insurers to have more capital on hand as a hedge against potential losses. CMHC is a crown corporation, but OSFI’s new rules also apply to mortgage insurance companies, like Canada Guaranty and Genworth. “We do not expect the higher premiums

to have a significant impact on the ability of Canadians to buy a home,” said CMHC senior vice-president Steven Mennill in January. According to CMHC, the average insured mortgage was worth about $245,000 in the first nine months of 2016, with an average down payment of about eight per cent. The average gross debt service ratio (also known as the gross debt-to-income ratio, which measures the monthly cost of housing against monthly income) was 25.6 per cent. CMHC recommends that monthly housing costs be no more than 32 per cent of average gross monthly income.

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couver’s skyline to rise amid an office-tower building boom

edit Suisse/ he heart of er will be , but so far, to move in. or a 10th of ng a state of n office skyhuge shift in s the region not seen beboom much uction rathted tenants. tory for Vanrincipal with vison Young. r occurring.” nly the most second wave for Vancoufirst cluster square feet – three years. pments are Credit Sue and West he office-vanues to inch of building. y the city is host towers.

Real Estate

2 big banks raise alarm over Toronto housing ‘bubble’

it Suisse tower is optimistic his building will start to fill as the completion date gets closer. Franz Gehriger, the CEO of SwissReal Group who bought the original historic stock-exchange building in 2002 before partnering with Credit Suisse to develop it, said the main group interested in leasing Vancouver office space these days is the technology sector. Those companies make their deci-

Two big banks are waving red flags about Toronto housing prices, calling them “simply unsustainable” and a “bubble” in separate reports. The Canadian Real Estate Association said this week that average house prices across the Greater Toronto Area hit $727,300 in February, a figure that has risen by more than 23 per cent in the past year. The group said hot activity in and around Canada’s largest city is “without precedent” and that it’s skewing the national average higher. “It’s pretty much the best time to be selling a Toronto home in at least 30 years,” BMO economist Robert Kavcic said, noting that feverish activity is spilling over into neighbouring regions. “The strength now also spreads as far as Guelph and Barrie, where average prices are pushing 30 per cent year over year, [and] even London and Windsor are seriously gaining momentum,” Kavcic said. “Supply-side fundamentals have been left in the dust.” Much has been written on the difficulties that new buyers are having in the Toronto area, and Kavcic’s colleague Doug Porter expanded on that notion Friday morning with some hard numbers to show just how “other worldly” prices have become. Porter tells the story of a hypothetical couple, Dudley and Darlene Doright, successful young high-earners looking to start climbing the property ladder. By diligently saving, they have managed to hoard away $100,000 as a down payment for a home, which they are looking to buy because they just had a baby. Both earn high incomes, but for the purposes of Porter’s exercise, he assumes that

one will stay home without an income for a while. The other will go to work and earn $225,000 a year. “This still places them on the very cusp of the legendary ‘top one per cent’ of all income earners in Canada,” Porter notes — but adds that even they can’t afford to buy once you break down the numbers. Their sizable down payment means they can qualify for a home costing $500,000, but anything above that would require the additional cost of mortgage insurance under new rules announced last year. But under those same rules, “anything above $1 million is immediately off limits, since it wouldn’t qualify for insurance,” Porter noted. Factoring in the cost of that mortgage insurance and estimating basic costs such as utilities and property taxes, Porter tabulates that the Dorights could afford a house of just over $987,000. The average detached house in the city itself now costs $1.57 million, CREA says, and in the neighbouring suburbs it’s $1.11 million. A semi-detached in the 905 area could be had for well under their budget at $700,000, Porter says, but “they’re not that common in that region, and their price has shot up by 33 per cent in the past year.” Add it all up, and the Dorights exemplify a sobering reality: even people near the top one per cent of all income earners in Canada “are at best able to afford a semi-detached home on the fringes of Toronto, or maybe a low-end detached home verging on teardown status,” Porter said. “Now just imagine the predicament a more typical couple of more modest means faces in the current market environment.”

Housing prices are not just a problem for people in Toronto and its environs. The growing bubble could soon threaten Canada’s entire economy, TD Bank said in a report

Thursday. Higher house prices have been juicing Canada’s economy not only via transaction fees and taxes, but also by a phenomenon known as the “wealth effect.” Broadly speaking, the wealth effect means that when people see the value of their houses go up on paper, they feel richer, so they go out

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and spend real money on other things. That spending boosts the economy, but it can’t go on forever, TD warned. “Home prices across the GTA and surrounding areas appear to be detaching from fundamentals and are simply unsustainable,” the bank said Thursday in its quarterly forecast for Canada’s economy. The good news is that sort of shock “typically requires a trigger,” and the bank sees nothing on the immediate horizon likely to set off a chain reaction. After having taken multiple steps to cool the market from a policy perspective — including higher mortgage insurance premiums that kick in today — Ottawa’s likely staying on the sidelines for now. And the other element fuelling high house prices — low interest rates — are unlikely to disappear any time soon. That means “in the absence of government policy intervention or a sharp movement in interest rates, momentum is likely to keep the Toronto housing party going for at least a few more quarters,” TD said. The risk remains that some factor will eventually take away the punch bowl, and when that happens, there could be a lengthy hangover. Porter notes that when Toronto prices peaked in 1989, it took Toronto prices nearly two decades to recover, once inflation is factored in. As TD put it: “This pace cannot last forever.”

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Please oach do staff, not ealtor contact orappry f business listing an with full workshop r location does school hot lunches and a large amount of info required. es, and acr el Hot velopment and PRIME OFFICE SPACE FOR LEASEAsking $75,000 INDIAN RESTAURANT FOR SALE online stores, social media presence and first page SEO4for alterations five star reviews. Owner selling duede contact for more details. Asking $649,000 catering ordering as well! Do not approach staff please site vailable a to the in next level withthe egina, of R this turn key business your ideas! City Prime office space on street level available for lease. Excellent location prime area Indian cuisine to health issues this is the perfect opportunity to take contact listing realtor for more details. Asking $209,000 each. not Saskatchewan. Prime location, Price is excluding inventory. Please contact for more details on this unique business. Asking $109,900 Perfect for a variety of usessteel including daycare, and take Lowf lease high traffic Established custom abrication and dine in business. aluminum eatout.Gr opportunity our area to own run y to be missed! or e Contact mor f martial arts Church use. with welding business withorservices that Central include:location aluminum custom and stock trailers, NEW LEASING OPPORTUNITY Contractand forrepair, more details. Asking $109,000 details. GROCERY STORE FOR SALE IN DOWNTOWN AREA mobile welding service, crane fabrication, fabrication of residential gates, security bars and much The Mann Corporate Centre is comprised of 23,000 square feet of 'A' Class office/retail space great exposure to Scott Rd. Contact for more details. more! Mon– Fri operation closed on weekends. Please contact me for more details on this hard to MORE 1000 Oa custom open floor 12,000 . forTyour preference. AIL S.F The & RET ACEOFFICE SP Ideal business opportunity well established Grocery and convenience store in busy downtown over three floors. A brand new facility with plan come by opportunity! Asking $149,000 FOR flexibility ALEandSallowsASE & LE designed to provide maximum for area. Excellent sales and profit. Full service store including UPS, cigarettes, world wide money Mann Corporate centre has beenAVAILABLE PRIME OFFICE SPACE FOR LEASE many types of professional users who are seeking a high quality facility with great exposure. For sale Prime 1489 Sq ft office space for sale in busy retail/office complex in Surrey. transfers withDream Western union, slushies, Pizza or alehot dogs, FS fruits, vegetables, halal meats, atm, general Highlights include: State of the art facility with modern finishes, Underground secured Ideal for a variety office types. Visible from business 152 and centrally Established IndianofSweets and Restaurant locatedlocated. in high Asking traf�ic area of Scott Rd, Surrey. Perfect opportunity o andour own t excellent y lease bossterms surrounded by tons of parking provided. Free on site surface parking, more than 3 parking stalls per 1000 Sq ft. 24/7 groceries,vcleaning supplies more.be Low rent, Wide ariety egetarian v v menu eets. with xpanded Can sw tobe egetarian add e dishes non to the $350,000 with ell this and established w Pizza & turn key Indian 13737 96 ve, Central location entre A with City HD recording privilege. easy access to allCmajor routes. menu. Catering services provided regular clientele. Seating for 50. Complete turn key restaurant residential buildings commercial businesses. Perfect opportunity grab this security with Cuisine in y. unning Langle R successfull y or f FOB access and intercom. Please contact listing realtor for details on remaining space, square footage and pricing details. great business opportunity! Asking $129,000 #705 $465,000, #706 $335,000 PHARMASAVE FRANCHISE money making business it is gone! Contact details. Asking $189,900 the veLast ears before y�ixcellent with yedailfor more sales. Special occasions and even Private plan includes a large living room with gasShowers, f/p which Birthdays, open up ton Anniversaries, the spacious eating area. Extra large kitchen with lots of Wedding ceremonies. Wait...there's more! This beautiful treasure of a cabinets and counter space. Large laundrybusiness room, inoffers floor radiant heat,select extra shelving closets, 2 parking stallslinens, and storage gorgeous apparel,infurnishings, jewelry, gifts, locker. Great location with easy access tovintage shopping,treasures transit & Highway 91 & 99. PleaseA call listing realtor for more info. and home décor. beautiful, breathtaking turnkey operation this is a chance to own a niche business created and Asking $329,900

PAYAL BUSINESS CENTRE - 82 Ave & 128 St

CUSTOM TEELS &ABRICATION F BUSINESSOR ALEFS BUSINESS OR F SALE

PIZZA

INDIAN

Asset Sale- DBA "Pharmasave" well established franchise operating since June 2012. Increasing annual script count of approx 12,000/annum. Approx 2400 sq ft of ground floor space leased space w/5 year, 5yr, 5 yr lease + 1 st right refusal to tenant option to purchase the building. Open six days/week (6) doctor offices, High end Fantastic opportunity to run your own Pizza & Indian Cuisine Kroll software, and Oscarfood, CRM software use. Lease area of 2,400 sq.ft. Customized improvements. business! Excellent rated in4.5/5 by customers open 7 daystenancy a Business is runbusy professionally by atake Healthout Carewith Groupavailability Company- enormous expansionifpotential! Owner will week, very location for seating desired. Tons of tourists central to major sites in Hope provide training. Contact me foryear moreround, details. Asking $899,000

BUSINESS OR F SALE

N LIS EW TIN G

CUISINE

and integral area near grocery stores, city hall, local police station, motels and cinema. Well established, great sales and a complete turn key operation that will not last long! Asking $199,000

UNITS OR F SALE &

BUSINESS PIZZA & CURRY RESTAURANT FOR SALE

Close o ys t Da Inn, estern The & Best W Westward Inn o also eyhound the closeGr t station, taxi op st bus y stand and man Establishednear & turny. keycellent restaurant Prime apartments bPizza &ExCurry location & ey for sale. ation. turn oper location Thisk and is opportunity o not be Asking t missed! $139,900 complete turn key operation. Full kitchen in place and complete take out and

COLLECTION / CREDIT COMPANY FOR SALE- ONE IN A MILLION OPPORTUNITY! delivery service.Reasonable parking for space. Onlinesale ordering, Hair lease alonand S ample Business 23 years Established Credit Company for sale. Retail and Commercial collections, Located on media , Hwy verdale F Cloea,all ell arin place w for established business, y your o full website, raser social presence you! Make maintain, higher monthl y evenue. Asking r $69,900 CONVENIENCE & MINI MAR T entrepreneurial Judgments, Tenancy Order Collection, loansTORE andSoutstanding invoices.Take dreams come true. Contact for more details. Asking $109,000 Don't miss this to run yourbusiness own buyopportunity. ConvenienceAsking store/Mini advantage of chance this unique niche $229,000

mart! This well established business is well or-ganized, excellent set up, with all your essential sundries for sale as well as lottery AND the licensing to sell Pizza at this location! Busy area near parks, schools, residences it is the perfect small business! Ample of Well known and established Lighthouse Franchise on King George & 80th in Surrey. Take out opportunity to add your ideas to an already turn key operation! establishment andgreat Partysmall Orders are also handled. The website for all franchise locations is www.lighthouse.menu and they are on Facebook Don't miss this business prospect! Asking $149,000

BUSINESS FOR SALE

LIGHTHOUSE

INDIAN

CUISINE

as well. This business has been established in 2009 and has been run by the same owner since this time. As it is a take out and delivery. Establishment there is not a liquor license at this location. Asking $549,000

SIGNAGE & PRINTING BUSINESS FOR SALE

8321

CAFÉ FOR SALE

cellent 128 Ex locationSt

Asking in

businesses

uses. Asking

ATTENTION FOREIGN MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS!!! 2 BABY ULTRASOUNDUNITS FRANCHISES FOR SALE! OR ALE F S

$349,000

(15299 VE)

$209,000 busy space theClose

space ariousat

Well established .Babyvestment UltrasoundinFranchise, 3D/4D ultrasound (not diagnostic), Private clinic for pregnant moms.ey Excellent opportunity o etail twefront r stor units in al Plaza Full turn key operation this easy to run niche market business e,is perfectStor for oindividuals or couples with is sale. Gr$899,000 Currently ocery leased to this or a Asking units f tw Medical/Health industry backgrounds. Beautifully set up office, low lease rate, excellent hours and easy to run with low overhead expenses. Professionals and New Immigrants with a healthcare background this is a perfect opportunity! Burnaby and Abbotsford locations available. Asking $125,000 each location

INVESTOR Of�ic NEWNG I LIST

Don't miss this rare opportunity to own your own busy Lighthouse Indian Cuisine Franchise! Prime location in Brickyard Station Plaza this fantastic business has Take out and dine in, beautiful décor, quality kitchen, Full Liquor license and full Indian Cuisine 95Menu. AveComplete & 152 940 sqft. is available for franchise. Contact me today for further turnSt., key operation enablesof�ice you to bespace your own boss with this established lease 2nd �loor including 3 small of�ices, meeting room info. on Asking $389,000 and reception. Also available 9400 sqft. space for lease. LOTS OF EXPOSURE.

UNIT FOR SALE

In Mughal Garden plaza 2 units available, approx 4875 sqft.Already leased to long term tenants, to be sold together. Asking $1.25 million

Contact for more info on this opportunity. Asking Only $69,000

17358

104A VE

RES TAURANT OR F ALE S

SURREY VERAS BURGER FRANCHISE FOR SALE

building

to be your own boss! Contact listing realtor for more details. Price : $339,000

J.J AINI S

PLAZA

VERAS BURGER FRANCHISE

8077 eas t KING GEORGE BLVD. The perfect retail

corner unit in busy plaza move in ready. Approx 1200 sq ft perfect for fast food, of�ice or retail Looking close for the perfect franchise well look no more! Established and award space. Easy access to highway, to all winning Vera's in busy Meadow Town Center with major anchors like amenities on Busy King George Hwy.Burgers Great Opportunity contact me today. Superstore, Cineplex Odeon, and many major Financial Institutions and major

retailers. Fully turn key operation with extra large patio, good lease, low franchise fees and beer licence. Current absentee owner this business is a great opportunity to be your own boss and take it to the next level! Asking $229,900

AUTO

BOD Y SHOPOR FSALE

Established auto y or bod shop our sale f own y! be boss y toda L NE IST W Well established ell anduto equipped e w Car A Center which IN G offers complete car &epair. truck inspection, service The ect perf opportunity our to own run businessy with a well ecognized r and established ve . automoti center Contact realtor or ef mor Askingdetails. $139,000

AUTO /TRANSMISSION/CAR REPAIR IN LOWER MAINLAND

Over 37 year well established Auto repair / Transmission Repair / car repair in

NEW G IN LIST

OFFICE ACE SP Large OR shop, ASE F3 Bays, LEample storage space available. the Lower Mainland.

8927

St Currently . 1100 of�ice or sqftand models vailable space lease inf a transmissions, services all makes of re manufactured automatic and standard, clutches, This is a confidential listing ar on eet 152nsd ey. in str differentials. Surr

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PAYAL BUSINESS CENTRE - 82 Ave & 128 St Approx.

11925

VE 95

. 4500 of�ice sqft vailable. ec. space Rea, conference oom. ery r V y nicel

D SOLUNIT FOR LEASE

SOL

ara small of�ice, oom andlunch designed and �inished.

growing area makes this an ideal location for your office. Contact listing realtor NEWNG I LIST

Station, restaurant and Public Transit. This space has 2 offices inside and lunch room as well as washroom. Perfect for Accountants, Notary, Great opportunity to get into a Franchised and or other consulting or Lawyer. The space can also be Immigration Located in a busy commercial plaza in the NE ED easy to operate CandyL business! This established IST W DUCuses as well. 1260 Sq. ft. converted INGPark Shopping heart of Surrey. Lots of traf�ic and close to franchise is located in Ocean Centerfor various REretail

NEW FRANCHISE

OFFICE SPACE FOR LEASE

J.J SAINI PLAZA

BEAUTIFUL TURN KEY A SPALON / OR FSALES

Investment Opportunity in Hope. 7200 Sq. ft large Lot Fully near major anchor Safeway. This rapidly growing franchise currently has 22 locations within BC and Located in the heart in Payal Business Centre, this office is professionally designed. 5 offices, renovated home closeof Surrey to the Alberta. With unique product Imported from the US and UK this franchise is completely turn –key Downtown core.area, 2 separate bed, 2lunch bath reception room and full washroom. 1200 Sq ft Gross lease +gst. This easy to run and $20.00/sq full trainingftprovided. business is perfect for a couple and for those 850 sq.ft home to use as a rental Established auto body shop for sale be your own boss today! wanting to try their hand at being an entrepreneur. Asking $79,900 property. Asking $349,000 Well established and well equipped Auto Care Center which offers complete car &

OFFICE SPACE FOR SALE QUIZNOS FRANCHISE FOR SALE

Excellent opportunity to own your own franchise! Well established and recognized

Established Indian Sweets and Restaurant business located in high Quiznos Subs in Port Coquitlam will enable you to achieve your entrepreneurial traffic area of Scott Rd, Surrey. Wide variety vegetarian menu with dreams! Busy plaza with Earls, Safeway, Scotiabank, McDonalds, Bosley Pet Valu and much more! Residences and commercial businesses all around sweets. Can be expanded to add non vegetarian dishes to the menu. makes this an ideal location. Owners have run it for several years Catering services provided regular clientele. Seating for 50. Complete and are now ready to retire. Contact me for more details regarding turn key restaurant great business opportunity! Asking $129,000 this business opportunity. Asking $119,000

and

sqft

UNIT OR FASE LE ON T 72 & 132 Available for lease. Opp JR Furniture. Good mix of warehouse and of�ice space. Centrally can be run from home or elsewhere. The exclusive Franchise territory for Maple Ridge, Pitt plaza Banquet in Halls, Surr DONAIR BUSINESS located in light industrial zoning. APARTMENT Meadows and Mission is for sale. Fantastic recession proof business that enable children Of�ice for eat vestment sale! In Gr from 3-13+ learn and build withALE Lego bricks. FOR S Teach the fundamentals of S.T.E.M. (science, FOR ALE S #1 1016 Sq cellent xposure, Ft e 12,000 op S.F. ExRETAIL t �loor of�ice y space Khalsa within the MORE 1000 TO & OFFICE SPACE technology, engineering & mathematics). This unique business offers in School Workshops, Amazing opportunity to be your own boss! ,6960ey Surr 120 St Cent er x. comple ull ea F ar eddesignat or oom f classr space and addition Established After Schoolving EnrichmentliClasses, Week long Summer camps, Birthday Parties, preDonair School food outlet in prime busy Business AVAILABLE FOR SALE & LEASE Perfect space with of�ice space. ake vantage T ad ons of ofxposure t om visual fr . 128th e af�ic High st tr area in Langley. Already steady clientele from Classes and the Kidz Night1000 out programs. Realtor for128 more info2 on this cornerPlease of listing ft and 84. CD zoning allows v over sq contact gr in opportunity . $325,000.00 the ous numer businesses ounding, surr tons complexof eat vestment unique opportunity. Asking $79,000 bedroom with den 2traf�ic and lots of opportunity to expand the #2. 1920 sq ft of second vate �loor of�ices, droom,of�iceboar space. bath corned unit in business further. Low lease, and great area reception ea,ar chenette. kit cellent Ex xposure, e op t �loor of�ice y space wit Harleen dens. Gar make this the perfect turn key operation to own Khalsa Business er Cent x. comple ake vantage T ad ons of of xposure t visual fr e om 8077 KING GEORGE BLVD. Great unit available for lease facing King Asking location. centr busy $289,900 Surr your own business today! Asking $99,000 The perfect second floor office space for lease Within busy Triton Centre. Busy and 128th af�ic xcomple eat tr tovestment gr inGas opportunity . $550,000 George Blvd.. Greatstvisual and High retail exposure. Close shopping,

forORTUNITY more details. 1985 Sq.ft. OPP

Approx. 3100 SF of office space available for sale in the busiest plaza in Surrey. Close to Banquet Halls, retailshops & offices. Asking $749,000

BUSINESS FOR SALE

Two adjoining of�ices in a new across om fr SMH. ht Can or be boug Wellleased established Vera's busy Fraser ogether t Burger orfFranchise otal located a onspace t Highway of in an Cloverdale. Well maintained. establishment full turn key operation ready for you 1600 sqft ate. or separ

a busiest to

CENTRE oom/of�ice showr r Center

2590 sqft . etail R ande CUISINE space for LIGHTHOUSE sale INDIAN Asking $649,000

N LIS EW TIN G

LEARNING CENTRE FOR SALE

ACE VAILABLE SP A

., Surrey. -

ITALIAN

units long

Unique and established opportunity to make your entrepreneurial dream come true! This beautiful Café in the heart of White OFFICE Rock is a small business owners ACE SP OR ALE F S dream! Tastefully decorated 3100 excellent breakfast and lunch fmenu ofandsalerarely Approx. vailableSFor of�ice in ey. found…Liquor license as well! Outdoor seating back and front of premises, retailshops & Asking tons ofof�ices. $749,000 parking and many, many more high rises coming in the area currently make this a business owners dream come true.UNIT Turn keyORbusiness you! BUSINESS ALE Fready T and S waiting AA forKHALS Confidentiality agreement to be signed beforeopportunity! viewing the Take vantage ad will eat of have vestment in this gr business. ound Ideal etail/�loor Gr high $149,900 ceilings eys in busy Surr Khalsa Business Asking

OPPOR

Large loading door at the back of the unit. name with two locations in Whistler and one in Squamish this turn key operation will enable you to develop your passion into a profitable career. With excellent Fully carpeted office space lots windows support from the founders, this BC based company is looking for individuals who allowing plenty of light, security alarm believe in health and are community driven and are wanting to utilize that to let Entrepreneurial juices Contact cuisine for more details on the Green Moustache Atheir treasure gem offlow! Italian tucked away and 2 bathrooms. Contact for NEmore W info. term in tenants, to be sold Franchise and joining the Green Moustache family on W.4th! Asking $99,000 Hope! Open for lunch and dinner this quaint LISTING restaurant serves traditional Italian classics in a fantastic atmosphere and ambiance. Perfect casual dining for locals as well as tourist traf�ic. Attention centers,ready Early Childhood related businesses, Teachers and others with Educational backgrounds that Turn keylearning operation for youEducation to implement plaza. enjoy dreams working with Your dream to own your business has arrived. Reputable and your as children! a restaurant owner! Asking $219,000 established Bricks 4Kidz Franchise has over 320 franchises worldwide! This unique business

TOWING COMPANYOR FORFSALES UNIT ALE

Established and reputable towing company that serves clients throughout In den Mughal plaza Gar 2 theavailable, Lower Mainland. to run your ownsqft turn key business to oxIdeal opportunity appr .Already 4875 leased AskingAsking $279,900 $1.25 million in a niche market. Contacttogether. for more details.

FRANCHISE TUNITY

PIZZA BUSINESS FORDSALE SOL LD

GREEN MOUSTACHE FRANCHISE FOR UNIT AT 83tAVE & 130 ST Fully �inished y sideata sideSALE b orunits str otalFORaLEASE f Are you passionate healthy lifestyle? you ready to takesqft of ox.about appr 5540 . Arevailable A or f sale. o unit in anClose t Ample Corner excellent location. your passion and belief in healthy organic foods and juices to the Port K and joinIndustrial y Eas o access t and in the warehouse. next level??ells Look no further The Greenea. Moustache ar Family space bothboth office with their latest franchise locationaci�ic on 1 W. 4th in Vancouver. Already an established ossing. Highway hway Hig and Ptruck cr

N LIS EW TIN G

Don't miss this rare opportunity to own your own busy Lighthouse Indian Cuisine Franchise! Prime location in Brickyard Station Plaza this fantastic business has Take out and dine in, beautiful décor, quality Great opportunity to run your own signage and printing business! This established turn key operation offers all kitchen, Full Liquor license and full Indian Cuisine Menu. Complete varieties banners and signs, vehicle wraps, lettering LED Channel & 3D letters and awning turn keyof operation enables you window to be graphics your &own boss with this canopies and window graphics. Establishedme for five years,for low lease, built upinfo. clientele make this a great business established franchise. Contact today further Asking opportunity! Contact me for more details. Asking $99,000 $389,000

RETAIL

GREAT

Great ranchise F opportunity ed! yjust Bus list Coquitlam Cent er Mall or location oss Chop N Be your own boss! Established Pizza business for sale. Excellent location fin South Surrey withont tons to expand andlong! grow. Only $69,000.00! Franchise! W of opportunity last Asking $158,800

LE ASE

ITALIAN RESTAURANT FOR SALE

A treasure gem of Italian cuisine tucked away in Hope! Open for lunch and dinner this quaint restaurant serves traditional Italian classics in a fantastic atmosphere and ambiance. Perfect casual dining for locals as well as tourist traffic. Turn key operation ready for you to implement your dreams as a restaurant owner! Asking $219,000

INVESTOR OPPORTUNITY

Investment Opportunity in Hope. 7200 Sq. ft large Lot Fully renovated home close to the Downtown core. 2 bed, 2 bath 850 sq.ft home to use as a rental property. Asking $349,000

public transportation, restaurants, of�ice and retail shops. Established recently the spa and salon offers modern décor up to date equipment/furnishings. Excellent turn key operation. Asking R $60,000

AUTO BODY SHOP FOR SALE

truck inspection, service and repair. The perfect opportunity to run your own business with a well recognized and established automotive center. Contact realtor for more details. Asking $109,000

EDUCED29/07

Office for sale! Great Investment #1 1016 Sq Ft Excellent exposure, top floor office space within the busy Khalsa Business Center complex. Full area designated for classroom space and additional office space. Take advantage of tons of visual exposure from 128th st. High traffic complex great investment opportunity. $325,000 #2. 1920 sq ft of second floor office space. Includes 10 private offices, boardroom, reception area, kitchenette. Excellent exposure, top floor office space within the busy Khalsa Business Center complex. Take advantage of tons of visual exposure from 128th st. High traffic complex great investment opportunity. $550,000

27/01