www.theasianstar.com
Vol 19 - Issue 15
Saturday, May 11, 2019
Tel:604-591-5423
BC gov’t orders inquiry into gas price gouging
Body of Indian student recovered from Thompson river The body of a missing Indian student has been recovered from the North Thompson River, Kamloops RCMP said. Police first reported the 23-year-old man missing Friday, after they say three friends went swimming in the river near Chestnut Avenue around 6:30 a.m. At the time, police said the student was swept away and his friends were unable to reach him and bring him back to shore. Kamloops Fire Rescue then deployed a boat to search the river, while Kamloops Search and Rescue crews and a police drone were also sent out to try and find the student, but there was no sign of him.
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BC government wants oil companies to publicly testify about the high premiums they charge for motor fuel sold in Metro Vancouver and some other parts of British Columbia. Premier Horgan directed the province’s independent energy regulator to launch an investigation into this spring’s record-breaking spike in gas prices. Mr. Horgan, who has pledged to make life more affordable for British Columbians, is struggling with the issue as both the opposition Liberals and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney blame him for high prices at the pumps.Mr. Horgan in turn is pointing
at Ottawa and at “gouging” oil companies. “British Columbians want to know why refining margins are so much higher than in other parts of the country,” he wrote in his request to the B.C. Utilities Commission (BCUC), noting that the gross revenue on fuel sold in Metro Vancouver was more than double the Canadian average. A spokesman for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers declined to comment. The utilities commission will look at a range of issues, including those margins, the reasons for diminishing supply & pricefixing.
Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy in Pakistan arrives in Canada A lawyer representing a Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy after she spent eight years on death row in Pakistan says she has arrived in Canada. Pakistani officials and others involved in the case said Wednesday that Asia Bibi had left Pakistan to be reunited with her daughters in Canada, where they had been granted asylum. Her lawyer,
Saif-ul Malook, said she had already arrived in Canada. Asia Bibi was convicted of blasphemy in 2009 after a quarrel with a fellow farmworker. Pakistan’s Supreme Court overturned her conviction last year and she had been in protective custody since then. Islamic extremists have rioted over Continued on page7
Toddler left in hot car in Burnaby dies
Money laundering funded $5.3B in BC real estate purchases in 2018, report reveals
A baby boy died after being left in a hot car in Burnaby on Thursday, during a heat wave on B.C.’s South Coast. RCMP say at 5:45 p.m., Burnaby RCMP responded to a report of an unconscious 16-month-old child in a car at Kingsway Avenue and Inman Street. The toddler was transported to hospital where he died. Initial information provided to police is that the child had been left unaccompanied in the car for “a number of hours.” Media reports said the child was in the car for nine hours. The infant’s father was located and both parents are “cooperating in this investigation,” RCMP said. Continued on page 7
An estimated $5.3 billion worth of real estate transactions in B.C. last year were the result of money laundering, helping to fuel the province’s skyrocketing housing prices, according to a new report. An expert panel on dirty money in the overall realestate market estimates that five per cent of the value of 2018 purchases were for laundering purposes, contributing to about a five per cent rise in housing prices. The effect could be more
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BC sisters startup on period products Two British Columbia entrepreneurs are building a fast-growing business on organic menstrual products and straight talk about biology – hoping to demystify puberty and help teen and tween girls “start a discussion about self-care and sex-ed.” Taran and Bunny Ghatrora, founders of Vancouver-based Blume period products, received $3.3-million in seed funding in February from
Bunny Ghatrora, left,
a group of American and Canadian investors including Felicis Ventures, Victress Capital, Panache Ventures and Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation. The money will help the company to double its staff from four to eight, develop new products and create educational Continued on page 6