www.theasianstar.com
Vol 19 - Issue 16
Saturday, May 18, 2019
Tories accuse Liberals of playing politics by stripping references to religious groups from terror report The federal Tories are accusing the Trudeau government of playing politics by stripping specific references to specific religious groups from its annual report on terrorism. Conservative publicsafety critic Pierre Paul-Hus suggested to the House of Commons nationalsecurity committee Monday that the Liberals bowed to “pressure tactics” simply to avoid offending anyone. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the government removed the terms “Sikh,” “Sunni” and “Shia” from the report when referring to extremism to avoid conveying the impression that an entire religion or community is a threat to national security. Continued on page 7
For Kamala Harris, memories of an Indian warrior mother guides her Speaking from the Senate floor for the first time, Kamala Harris expressed gratitude for a woman on whose shoulders she said she stood. In her autobiography, Harris interspersed the well-worn details of her resume with an extended ode to the one she calls “the reason for everything.” And taking the stage to announce her presidential candidacy , she framed it as a race grounded in the compassion and values of the person she credits for her fighting spirit. Though a decade has passed since Shyamala Gopalan died, she remains a force in her daughter’s life and her Continued on page 8
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Richmond Hospital leads the way as birth tourism continues to rise The number of pregnant foreigners coming to B.C. hospitals so their newborns can get automatic Canadian citizenship continues to rise. Births by non-residents of B.C. increased 24 per cent from the 2016-17 fiscal year to 2017-18, from 676 babies to 837 the following year, according to records obtained through freedom of information requests. About two per cent of all births in B.C.
hospitals are now by non-residents, just as the birthrate among B.C. residents is dropping. Richmond hospital continues to be at the forefront of the phenomenon, with the total number of babies born to nonresidents of B.C. at the hospital rising from 337 in the 2014-15 fiscal year to 474 by 2017-18. Four Continued on page 7
Boyfriend charged with second-degree murder of 2017 Bhavkiran Dhesi’s killing Bhavkiran Dhesi’s boyfriend was were a couple, but it was unclear a “person of interest” early in the whether they were together investigation into the 19-year-old’s at the time of Dhesi’s death. August 2017 murder. After almost Dhesi’s family last saw her two years of police work, Harjot Singh around 9 p.m. on Aug. 1, 2017, Deo, 21, was arrested on Friday at when she told them she was Vancouver International Airport and going out for a couple of hours. charged with second-degree murder. Just over three hours later, the Deo remains in custody and his next Bhavkiran Dhesi SUV she was driving was found court date is scheduled for May 27 in provincial on fire in the 18700-block of 24th Ave. court in Surrey. Police said that Deo and Dhesi in South Continued on page 6
BC legislature clerk retires after scandal probe finds misconduct by him The B.C. legislature’s top official has retired from his job Thursday after the release of a report by former chief justice Beverley McLachlin into misspent taxpayer money inside the capital building. Clerk Craig James retired immediately as part of a “non-financial settlement” with the legislature after McLachlin’s report found he violated four of five areas of his employment. However, sergeant-at-arms Gary Lenz, who also stood accused of wrongdoing, did not violate the terms of his employment. He remains suspended with pay. “The special investigator found that Mr. James did engage
in misconduct with respect to four of the five allegations, specifically in relation to making expense claims where improper purchases (were) of a personal nature, by directing the creation of three benefits to his personal advantage outside established protocols, improperly removing legislative assembly property … and by improperly using legislative property,” said NDP government house leader Mike Farnworth. Clerk of the Legislative Assembly Craig James makes a statement to the media in Va n c o u v e r, Continued on page 7
Bollywood beauties at the French Riviera Please see page 19