The Asian Star March 27 2021

www.theasianstar.com Vol 20 - Issue 8

Covid-19 surging in BC as province reports 800 new cases in one day New Covid-19 cases continue to climb in British Columbia, where the province announced 800 new cases on Thursday along with five more deaths. It’s the highest single-day total since Dec. 2, and pushed the seven-day rolling average for new cases to 674.

Continued on page 6

Protesters call on Jagmeet Singh to denounce hatred towards Hindu-Canadians Hindu-Canadians from Burnaby are calling on federal NDP Leader and Burnaby MP Jagmeet Singh to be more vocal in denouncing hatred directed towards them in the wake of the Indian farmers’ protests. So far, they are disappointed by the MP’s response. On March 11, a group of concerned HinduCanadians plastered “missing” signs over Singh’s constituency office in Burnaby.

This was the fourth action taken by the group over the last month. They had paid the office three visits before asking each time for the MP to specifically denounce the harassment Hindu-Canadians have faced in recent months. Sushil Nagar, one of the group’s members provided examples of the kind of harassment perpetrated against Hindus. These include vandalism, fake negative reviews Continued on page 8

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Brothers killed in Richmond had drug trade history One of two brothers found dead inside a burning Richmond house early Friday was supposed to be sentenced next month on trafficking charges in Langley from two years ago.

Chaten Singh Dhindsa, 25, was arrested and charged in February 2020, but released on bail shortly afterward, according to the online court database. He was convicted last November and was scheduled to be sentenced April 13 in Surrey Provincial Court.

Sgt. Brenda Winpenny, of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said the anti-gang agency is “analyzing the associations of these individuals in order to mitigate and suppress any potential retaliatory conflict that may occur as a direct result of these gang-related homicides.”

Chaten Dhindsa was also convicted of three counts of trafficking, as well as possession Continued on page 6

Apple faces Indian engineer’s bias lawsuit over her heritage Apple Inc. lost an early round in a discrimination lawsuit brought in the U.S. by a female engineer from India who says her two managers, one from her country, the other from Pakistan treated her as they would in their own countries, as a subservient. The woman’s case in California state court is the latest to allege workplace bias in Silicon Valley that focuses on cultural prejudices of some tech workers from South Asia. Cisco Systems Inc. is fighting a suit brought by California’s civil rights agency alleging bias against a member of India’s so-called lower

castes, known as Dalits. Anita Nariani Schulze is part of the Sindhi minority -- she is Hindu, with ancestry in the Sindh region of what is now Pakistan. Her complaint alleges that her senior and direct managers, both male, consistently excluded her from meetings while inviting her male counterparts, criticized her, micromanaged her work, and deprived her of bonuses, despite positive performance evaluations and significant team contributions.

CBSA arrests South Asian man in $1million gold smuggling case The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced that a two-year investigation has led to the conviction of a Toronto man, and corporation, for smuggling gold jewelry into Canada. “This successful prosecution highlights the tireless work and great investigative efforts of both CBSA border services officers and our

BC to offer early Covid-19 vaccines to people with serious health conditions Hundreds of thousands of BC residents who are considered “clinically extremely vulnerable,” or CEV, will be able to book their Covid-19 vaccine appointments staring Monday, March 29.

The B.C. government says that approximately 200,000 residents over the age of 16 are considered CEV, including people managing certain types of cancers, people with severe respiratory conditions, and people with rare blood diseases.

Anyone who is considered extremely vulnerable to Covid-19 will be contacted

Tel:604-591-5423

through a letter in the mail with information on how to book a Covid-19 appointment starting next week. If you believe you are extremely vulnerable and do not receive an information letter by April 15, health officials say you should call your regional health authority or check the province’s online vaccine registration system, which is slated to launch on April 6.

People who fall under the CEV category are asked to bring their information letter to their vaccination appointment to confirm their status.

Continued on page 3

criminal investigations team,” a statement from Lisa Janes, CBSA regional director general, Greater Toronto Area Region, reads.

“The discovery of this [jewelry] smuggling scheme demonstrates our commitment to ensuring the integrity of Canada’s border laws and economy.” Back in early 2018, border Continued on page 7

2

Saturday, March 27, 2021

S .

T R up

A 0 2 1 l in e T H S ne w 2

S i th o ur E R rd w

F ac k ya O T ur b E

or e l p x

yo

00 PILOT 4,000 THE DYNAMIC 2021

GET A

CASH REBATE TE¥

TOURING

ECON MODE & ECO ASSIST™ • BLIND SPOT INFFORMATION SYSTE

-

CANADIAN BUILT. CANADIAN DRIVEN.

CIVIC 0.99% 48 THE WELL-EQUIPPED 2021

SEDAN TOURING

LEASE FROM

UPP TO T

#

MONTHS NTHS

ECON MODE & ECO ASSIST™ • HONDA A SENSING™ S SAFETY TECHNOLOGY • TURBOCHARGED ENGINE

For exclusive deals, follow:

15291 Fraser Highway, Surrey

604-583-7421

https://www.facebook.com/SurreyHonda/ https://twitter.com/hondasurrey https://www.surreyhonda.com/

#Limited time lease offer is from Honda Canada Finance Inc. (HCFI), on approved credit. Lease examples: New 2021 Civic 4D Touring CVT (FC1F9MKN)/2021 CR-V Touring 4WD (RW2H9MKS) for a 48-month period/36-month period, for a total of 208/156 weekly payments of $90/$135, leased at 0.99%/0.99% APR. 20,000-kilometre annual allowance (12 cents/km excess charge). Total lease obligation is $18,724/$21,049. Lease payments include freight and PDI of $1,670/$1,840 and applicable fees, but do not include lien registration fee (up to $85 in certain regions) and lien registering agent fee (up to $6), which are due at time of delivery. No down-payment required. Taxes, insurance, license, and registration fees (all of which may vary by region) are extra. β “Honda Bonus” lease or finance cash of $750 on select in-stock 2021 CR-V models available on lease or finance transactions from HCFI on approved credit only, deducted from the negotiated selling price after taxes. Offer ends March 31, $4,000 Cash Rebate available on qualifying Honda Pilot models and cannot be combined with special lease/finance offers. Conditions apply. Offer ends March 31, 2021 and are subject to change or cancellation without notice. Dealer may sell/lease for less. Dealer order/trade may be necessary. Offer available only at participating Honda dealers in Western Canada. Offers valid on select new in-stock 2021 vehicles. Models may not be equipped as shown and are for illustration purposes only. Visit Honda.ca or your Honda dealer for details. dealer

www.honda.ca

3

Saturday, March 27, 2021

RCMP lays charges against BC couple in alleged Ponzi scheme BC to offer early Covid-19 vaccines to people with serious health conditions From page 1 Anyone who is considered extremely vulnerable to Covid-19 will be contacted through a letter in the mail with information on how to book a Covid-19 appointment starting next week. If you believe you are extremely vulnerable and do not receive an information letter by April 15, health officials say you should call your regional health authority or check the province’s online vaccine registration system, which is slated to launch on April 6.

People who fall under the CEV category are asked to bring their information letter to their vaccination appointment to confirm their status.

To book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment, people who are clinically extremely vulnerable will still have to call their regional health

authority. Contact information for each health authority can be found here.

HowdoIgetthecoronavirusvaccineinB.C.?

“B.C. has made tremendous progress on our age-based vaccine program,” said Health Minister Adrian in a statement Tuesday.

“Now, we are able to expand to those people who are at increased risk from COVID-19 due to underlying medical conditions or various medical treatments,” he said.

The province says that physicians, care providers and international data helped define what B.C.’s current CEV list is.

A full list defining who a clinically extremely vulnerable person is in B.C. can be found on the provincial government’s website here.

Health officials say that the CEV vaccine distribution program will run parallel to the province’s age-based approach, which is currently focusing on seniors.

RCMP have laid charges in what they say was a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme operating out of Calgary and Bragg Creek.

Husband and wife Brian Kitts, 65, and Shannon Kitts, 55, of Summerland, B.C., are each charged with fraud over $5,000; theft over $5,000, and laundering the proceeds of crime. The couple — who were arrested in Summerland — are to appear in Calgary Provincial Court on April 12.

According to RCMP — which launched a criminal investigation following a referral from the Alberta Securities Commission — the Kitts were operating companies named Vesta Capcorp Inc. and Vesta Equity Partners when they lived in Bowness and later Bragg Creek.

The companies — pitched to investors as real estate financing firms — were actually a Ponzi scheme, RCMP allege. The scheme resulted in the loss of $2 million of the more than $5.5 million invested by various investors between February 2014 and September 2016, according to RCMP. The investigation was conducted by the Alberta RCMP Integrated Market Enforcement Team (IMET), a specialized unit under the RCMP federal policing program that detects,

206 - 55 Water Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 1A1

investigates and deters market fraud. The IMET unit works closely with the Alberta Securities Commission to protect investors and enhance confidence in Canada’s capital markets.

The investigation was also carried out in collaboration with the Forensic Accounting Management Group, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada, Public Prosecution Service of Canada and Specialized Prosecutions of the Province of Alberta, the ASC, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In 2019, Brian Kitts and Vesta Capcorp were sanctioned by the Alberta Securities Commission, which concluded Kitts was running a “Ponzi-like scheme.” Kitts was ordered to pay a $600,000 penalty (plus $150,000 to cover the costs of the investigation and hearing) in relation to the fraud.

The ASC panel that made the decision ruled that Kitts engaged in “fraudulent misconduct” by misrepresenting to investors how their funds would be used, diverting funds to unidentified businesses not within investors’ reasonable expectations, and using investors’ capital to repay principal and pay imaginary profits to investors.

4

OPINION

By Andrew Pickford and Jeffrey Collins Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Saturday, March 27, 2021

When will Canada start to stand up to China?

Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden joined his Japanese, Indian, and Australian counterparts at the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (or Quad) summit.

This informal grouping remains the most powerful collection of countries focused on confronting the security, economic, and geostrategic challenges posed

by China. Canada may not have been there but there is finally a growing realization across political parties and wider society that China’s actions necessitate that we stand up and stand together. Under Xi Jinping, China has global superpower ambitions that involve undermining the international order founded by the U.S., Canada and other allies after the Second World

War. International institutions like the World Health Organization (WHO) are to be co-opted, while international laws and norms governing the law of the sea in places like the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea are to be ignored. Moreover, any foreign government that gets in the way of China’s interests quickly becomes roadkill under Beijing’s economic and (increasingly) military might.

Canada has already gotten a taste of Xi’s medicine with the kidnapping of citizens Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig in December 2018 following the detention on a U.S. extradition request of Meng Wanzhou, deputy chair and CFO of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, days earlier. The years since have seen import bans on canola, restrictions on Maritime lobster, and the clandestine seizure of at least 100 tons of personal protective equipment in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, to name a few.

Any attempt to create a coherent strategy against Beijing’s bullying has been undermined by the quixotic belief that a unique mix of Trudeau familial history, international star power, and Laurentian business connections would lead to a blossoming in relations between Canada and China. Unfortunately, this proved to be a flimsy foundation for engagement with a China that was more authoritarian, protectionist and aggressive than the last time the Liberals were in power in the early 2000s. It’s up to civil society to push against this visionless approach from Ottawa. In a recent study published by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute last October, we argued that Canada follow the example of its Commonwealth cousin and Quad member, Australia, and take a stand against China’s bullying and human rights violations. This contribution is one of many such calls for Canada to move off the sidelines.

These efforts, combined with a growing awareness of China’s belligerence in the wake of the Kovrig and Spavor kidnappings, have led to a shift in public opinion. In June, four-out-of-five Canadians expressed a belief that Ottawa must speak up about China’s human rights abuses. A similar number believe we should be even more bullish, specifically on issues of our national values. Only seven per cent have an even moderately positive view of the PRC regime. Acting on this groundswell, the House of Commons voted unanimously (notwithstanding abstentions and the conspicuous absence of virtually all of the Trudeau cabinet) to support a non-binding motion labelling Beijing’s mistreatment of its Uyghur and other ethnic Turkic Muslims as genocide. This multiparty support was a significant change and an important juncture.

Even former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose government in its later years in power oversaw the introduction of a foreign investment agreement with China, has warned that Beijing is now a “competitive rival” against Western interests.

www.theasianstar.com # 202 - 8388, 128 St., Surrey, BC V3W 4G2 Ph: 604-591-5423 Fax: 604-591-8615 E-mail: editor@theasianstar.com Editor: Umendra Singh Associate Editor: Chhavi Disawar Marketing and Sales: Ravi Cheema......................604-715-3847 Shamir Doshi....................604-649-7827 Harminder Kaur...............778-708-0481 Parminder Dhillon..........604-902-2858 Pre-Press: Iftikhar Ahmed

Design: Avee J Waseer Contributing writers: Jag Dhatt, Akash Sablok, Kamila Singh, Jay Bains Publication Mail Agreement No 428336012 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Circulation Dept.

New address: # 202 - 8388, 128 St., Surrey, BC V3W 4G2 All advertising in The Asian Star is subject to the publishers’ approval and the advertiser agrees to indemnify the publishers against claims arising from publication of any advertisement submitted by the advertiser.

5

Saturday, March 27, 2021

BC records deadliest February yet for illicit drug overdose deaths Another record death toll for overdoses in British Columbia shows this isn’t just a big-city problem and it must be addressed in every community in the province, Premier John Horgan said Wednesday.

The BC Coroners Service reported the province’s deadliest February yet for illicit drug overdoses with 155 lives lost last month.It’s the 11th consecutive month in which B.C. has recorded more than 100 fatalities, says chief coroner Lisa Lapointe in a news release.

She says the number of deaths highlights the

ongoing critical risk to public health and safety from the illicit drug market.The latest overdose statistics sparked debate in the legislature, with the Opposition Liberals demanding the government take vigorous action in next month’s budget to address mental health and addiction services. “The loss of 155 lives in February represents a 107 per cent increase over the same month in 2020,” said interim Liberal Leader Shirley Bond.

2 men charged after woman’s burned body found in Burnaby Homicide investigators say two people have been charged with first-degree murder and indignity to human remains after a grisly discovery in a Burnaby park last week. The accused, a 21-year-old man named Carlo Tobias and a 15-year-old minor who police cannot name, are charged with killing 49-year-old Ma Cecilia Loreto, whose body was found burned in Greentree Village Park early in the morning on March 18. Sgt. Frank Jang, a spokesperson for the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, told reporters Wednesday that police believe Loreto was killed at her home in New Westminster earlier in the evening on March 17. Police were called to the park around 1 a.m. that night, where they found her burned body.

The discovery left residents in the neighbourhood on edge, concerned that the violent crime that had occurred in their local

park might mean they too were unsafe. Jang said neighbours’ concerns were “valid,” but that the investigation so far indicates that the crime was an isolated incident and does not pose an ongoing threat to the public. “We believe that this was not a random incident,” Jang said. “This was not gang-related. This was not drug-related. This was not a random incident.

From what we can tell from the investigation, we believe that everybody knew each other.

The two accused and our victim, Ma Cecilia, knew each other.” Asked what the relationship between the three individuals was, Jang said he could not share that information in order to avoid inadvertently identifying the accused youth. Information about their relationship will come out in court, assuming there is a trial, he said.

6

Saturday, March 27, 2021

From page 1

the purpose of trafficking, after a 2015 CFSEU investigation. He was sentenced in August 2017 to five months in jail and a 10-year firearms prohibition. At the time, CFSEU said the probe targeted those suspected of being linked to a number of titfor-tat shootings in Surrey and Delta. Even those wounded by gunfire were refusing

Brothers killed in Richmond had drug trade history to cooperate with police, and were making flippant comments like “the bullets fell from the sky.” CFSEU referred to Dhindsa and the others arrested as low-level drug traffickers who were operating a dial-a-dope line. Two houses were searched and cocaine, heroin, crystal meth, $7,000 cash and several vehicles were seized. Dhindsa and five others were also

arrested in December 2015 after a Surrey man told police he was assaulted, threatened and held against his will. Dhindsa lured the man to a location in Surrey where the others then beat him “with fists and weapons resulting in injury to his face, neck, shoulders and back,” a B.C. Supreme Court ruling said. He later pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm

and was sentenced in July 2018 to 229 days in jail and another 10-year firearms ban. His younger brother Joben has no charges nor convictions in B.C. But he did file a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court in January 2021 against a one-time co-accused of his brother for injuries Joben said he sustained in an accident while driving with the man in December 2018.

The house where the Dhindsas were killed is owned by another Richmond resident, according to land title records. The owner could not be reached for comment. The double-murder is the first of brothers on the Lower Mainland since Oct. 19, 2007, when Michael and Corey Lal were gunned down with four others by Red Scorpion killers in the Surrey Six slayings. In October 2017, Scorpion gangster brothers Randy and Gary Kang were targeted in a Surrey shooting.

Randy died and Gary was injured. Then on Jan. 6, 2021, Gary Kang was shot to death inside his parents’ South Surrey home as part of the same gang conflict that led to the Dhindsas’ deaths.

Covid-19 surging in BC From page 1

In a written statement, health officials said 264 of the new cases were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 381 were in the Fraser Health region, 45 were in the Island Health region, 50 were in the Interior Health region and 58 were in the Northern Health region.

Active cases also climbed again to 5,856, while the number of people isolating due to exposure reached just under 10,000. B.C. identified another 191 new cases of COVID-19 variants of concern, for a total of 1,772. Two-hundred and fifteen of those cases remained active. Since last Thursday, the total number of cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, first identified in the U.K., have grown by 50 per cent, while the number of cases of the P.1 variant first identified in Brazil have more than tripled. “The bottom line with the

Get a head start on Spring this year!

OUR STAFF WILL BE HAPPY TO TAKE YOUR CALL

604-596-9201

Art Knapp Surrey Marketplace Giftware & Decor

West Coast & Mackenzie seeds Ladies Fashion & Jewelry

Candy Corner

4391 King George Blvd.

Surrey, BC V3Z 1G6 Art Knapp Surrey location only

From page 1

Saturday, March 27, 2021 CBSA arrests South Asian man in $1million in gold smuggling case From page 1

border officers at Toronto Pearson International Airport seized a “large quantity” of jewelry from a traveller, which prompted an investigation by the Greater Toronto Area Region Criminal Investigations Section. It was determined that the jewelry was the result of a smuggling operation. In July 2018, a link to another traveller was determined, who also attempted to smuggle jewelry into Canada. “In October 2018, as a result of evidence obtained through further investigation, CBSA criminal investigators determined that Lovely Gold Inc. and its director, Rahu Sinnathamby of Scarborough, schemed to enlist travellers to bring gold

jewellery, such as earrings and bracelets, to Canada,” the information from CBSA explains.

“Lovely Gold Inc. and Sinnathamby paid for the airline tickets of the travellers and directed them to not declare the jewellery to the CBSA. The investigation resulted in the discovery that Lovely Gold Inc. and Sinnathamby were responsible for smuggling jewellery into Canada over a period of 17 months.”

On March 1, Lovely Gold Inc. and Sinnathamby pleaded guilty to two counts each of evasion of duties, with a total criminal fine for the four charges equalling $760,000.00. The individual and the corporation must pay an additional $246,614.40 in regulatory penalties.

‘The Execution of Bhagat Singh’ The time for execution was unusual. It was not at dawn but at 7.30 p.m. in the cool, crisp evening of23 March 1931, just as twilight was setting in. This was when the Chief Superintendent of Central Lahore Jail, Major P. D. Chopra, escorted a lean, sinewy young man of twentythree years to the raised scaffold in the grounds of the jail.

Looking on, a bewildered Deputy Jail Superintendent, Khan Sahib Mohammad Akbar Khan, struggled in vain to choke back his tears. The lush green trees outside the jail swayed in the gentle wind. Bhagat Singh was the condemned man. The most famous man in India. He grasped at the rope as it was brought near. Despite the deprivations of prison life, his face was still handsome.

Undaunted and undeterred by the fate that awaited him, his hands dug deep into the fibrous strands of the braided, twisted piles of yarn which were about to extinguish his life. Bhagat Singh kissed the hangman’s noose. It was an occasion he had longed for, waited upon, and even planned. Calmly, assuredly, and with a wry smile on his face, he took a quick glance sideways in both directions.

He then airily placed the noose around his neck. Before he knew it, the noose drew in and fastened tight around his throat. The trapdoor fell open under his feet. His body cascaded. The plunge snapped his neck in two. Bhagat Singh was hanged.

Two of his comrades, Sukhdev and Rajguru, met with a similar fate at the same time in what became known as the Lahore Conspiracy Case. They too went to their deaths defiantly. All three had requested that they be executed by firing squad due to their status as political prisoners, and not hanged by the neck as common criminals; this had gone unheeded. Bhagat Singh had walked in the middle, with Sukhdev on his left and Rajguru on his right. It was not too difficult to see why they felt so elated, because as they had walked the path to the gallows Bhagat Singh sang out a verse. The other two joined in: ‘Dil se niklegi na marker bhi watan ki ulfat / Meri mittee se bhi Khushbue watan aegi’ (‘When we are dead there would be still patriotism left in us / Even my corpse will emit the fragrance of my motherland’). On the scaffold, Sukhdev and Rajguru also kissed the hangman’s noose.

They too tumbled down the trapdoor with a heavy thud, dying instantly. It was all over so quickly. Afterwards, their bodies were hurriedly taken down from the gallows.

They were dragged along the dirty passageway, chopped into pieces and stuffed into sacks, which were then whisked out of the jail compound surreptitiously. Outside the jail, the remains were unceremoniously stacked on a truck. The truck made haste, speeding northwards from Lahore to Kasur, some two hours’ drive away. There, on the banks of the River Sutlej, two holy men awaited. The harried men, dressed in full priestly garb, clutched their prayer books for solace. One was Sikh and the other Hindu. The priests read out the final prayers over the dismembered bodies, which were quickly loaded onto a funeral pyre to burn fiercely in the eerie silence of the night. Before the pyre had fully burnt out, and as dawn threatened to break over the silent waters of the Sutlej, the roaring fires were hastily put out.

The charred remains were then hurled into the river. The precise spot was to be later identified as Post No. 201.

For more Updates, Visit our Website

www.theasianstar.com

7

8

Saturday, March 27, 2021 From page 1

Protesters call on Jagmeet Singh to denounce hatred

left on Hindu-owned businesses, physical attacks and death threats made via phone calls and social media. The farm bills initiated by India’s parliament in September 2020 have been controversial, sparking mass protests across India by farmers who see the bills as a threat to their livelihoods.

But Nagar says the attacks go much deeper than the bills. Nagar and other IndoCanadian organizations are looking to counter incendiary narratives related to the protests as they allege the agenda has largely been hijacked in Canada. As Nagar alleges, the farmers’ protests present a platform for anti-Indian government sympathizers to spread their views against the current Hindu government in India. Similarly, Nagar says some people are using the position to spread hate against anyone not

against the Indian government. Nagar says that, over social media, Canadian-Hindus have been called “Nazis”, “cow piss drinkers”, “Modi’s dogs”, idol worshippers, demons and anti-farmers. “Whenever this Indian government is trying to do things for people, [pro-farmer supporters] are always framing it as an anti-human rights kind of thing. We are really bothered by it because this is framing Hindus in a bad light,” Nagar said. “This leads to a lot of negativity on social media; outside, kids are getting bullied in school, people are getting bullied in the workplace, on social media.” On Feb. 28, confrontations between pro-India protests and counter-protests turned violent during a car rally in Brampton, Ontario. Physical and verbal clashes resulted in Jagmeet Singh’s brother-in-law Jodhveer Dhaliwal being charged with assault causing bodily harm.

Why Pakistan wants peace with India? and Modi prefers it over war as well The first reaction among informed Indians to Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s 13-minute speech at the Islamabad Security Dialogue last Thursday would be a yawn. All he’s saying is, India and Pakistan should bury the past, make a new beginning, they have a shared stake in peace so they can focus on their economies, and so on. Isn’t this what every Pakistani leader, elected or not, has said at some point of time? Then they stab you in the back. So, what’s new?To borrow and twist that phrase from the disclaimers in mutual fund advertisements, if the past is the only guide to future performance, there is no point talking about Pakistan. Just buy more sniper rifles and sit on the LoC. So, how do we break the deadlock? Bombing them to the Stone Age isn’t the answer. We know that after Kargil, Op

Parakram and Pulwama/Balakot. Even toughtalking US security-diplomat Richard Armitage, who famously used this threat to make Pakistan fall in line after 9/11, knew it was just hyperbole.

In the 20 years since, the US has bombed large parts of Afghanistan to the Stone Age several times over. But it is the Americans who are retreating in defeat.Militarily, diplomatically, politically or economically, achieving anything by force is out of the question. As former Army chief General V.P. Malik said in a conversation with me earlier this month on ThePrint’s ‘Off The Cuff ’, it isn’t possible today to achieve any of our territorial objectives, PoK or Aksai Chin, by military force. Besides the capability question, any such adventure would immediately run into global disapproval and force a ceasefire earlier than you can advance a few miles.

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Covid-19 might have been in Canada earlier than when it was first identified: expert he novel coronavirus might have reached Canada weeks before the first official case was diagnosed in late January of 2020, says an expert who tracks pandemics.

Prof. Sarah Otto of the University of British Columbia said it is possible there were infections of COVID-19 a month or two before the first official case.

A traveller could have returned to Canada and was just getting over the illness or was sick and didn’t go out while they were infectious, she said.

Reconstructing early travel patterns of those carrying COVID-19 around the world might lead to better policies before pandemics take hold, said Otto, who is an expert on the mathematical models of pandemic growth and control

in the university’s zoology department.

“I don’t think that we had any cases that then sparked community spread,” she said.

Researchers have developed a phylogenetic or family tree of the COVID-19 strains from around the world to determine when the virus was in the community, she said. They analyzed over 700,000 sequences of its genome from positive cases since it was first found in Wuhan, China, in late 2019.

“If you trace this family tree, you can go back to the ancestor and figure out when it first arrived in humans,” she said in a recent interview.

“And that family tree kind of funnels together into one place in time, and that is around the end of 2019.”

9

10

Saturday, March 27, 2021 As Covid-19 cases surged, Indian police shut down scam centres targeting Canadians. Now, they’re back An explosion of Covid-19 cases last summer ripped through the Mumbai suburb of Malad West with such devastation, Indian police poured in to lock down the busy streets and the low-rise office towers that cram them.

In doing so, officers inadvertently disrupted scam calls targeting Canadians by shutting off the flow of fraudsters who work inside call centres across the area. But that’s all ended now. When strict lockdowns abated in the mega-city, the hunger of criminal syndicates for the millions they successfully steal outweighed any ongoing public health fears.

“There are six to seven centres [within] 80 to 100 metres,” Jayesh Dubey explained to CBC Marketplace via video conference under

the cover of night from within the business quarter. And in one night, they’ll steal “$70,000 to $80,000.” The bank inspector scam was responsible for at least $3 million reported stolen from Canadians in 2020, says the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

For months, Dubey, a whistleblower within the scam centre industry, has been observing the “hundreds of workers” pouring into entire floors of buildings. He says that in the early days of the pandemic, scam centres were shut down. But now they’re back in full swing, with scammers posing as tax officials and bank employees, convincing unsuspecting Canadians to pay up or risk serious consequences.

Saturday, March 27, 2021

British Columbians in for a big adjustment with Aboriginal title settlement, lawyer says British Columbians are in for a big shock when ownership of large parts of the province switches from the Crown to First Nations, says Aboriginal rights and title lawyer Jack Woodward.

Woodward, who acts on behalf of First Nations in court, believes it’s going to be a big adjustment but that’s going to be a good thing for the province.

“Over the next generation, we’re going to see a replacement of ownership of large parts of the province,” Woodward said during a one-hour presentation hosted by the Campbell River Mirror on Zoom March 18 entitled Understanding Indigenous Rights and Title in Canada.

The shift in ownership will be from what is normally called Crown ownership to Indigenous ownership, “Not for the entire province but…for fairly large chunks of it,” he said.

The public was invited to listen into a conversation between Woodward and Binny Paul, the Campbell River Mirror’s Local Journalism Initiative Reporter. Woodward is currently representing the Nuchatlaht First Nation, which has received a trial date of March 15, 2022 from the B.C. Supreme Court to proceed with its Aboriginal land title case.

The Nuchatlaht case is significant as it could pave the way for other First Nations in B.C. First Nation’s historic land title case The Nuchatlaht case is a direct application of the precedent-setting 2014 Tsilhqot’in decision, where the Supreme Court of Canada granted declaration of aboriginal title to more than 1,700 square kilometres of land in the Interior of

British Columbia to the First Nation. Woodward was the lawyer for Tsilhqot’in Nation too.

In his March 18 presentation, Woodward said the change in ownership of large chunks of land in B.C. from Crown – or public – ownership to Indigenous ownership means that the land will be under local control. It won’t be under the control of distant capitals – like Victoria and Ottawa – nor foreign corporate head offices.

“Unfortunately, the history of British Columbia has been a history of resource giveaways so that now much of the forests of British Columbia are actually owned by corporations that are owned by foreigners,” Woodward said, “so the province doesn’t belong to British Columbia now anyway.”

But you can expect that to change and it’s going to be a “big shock and a big surprise and a big adjustment for the system to get used to,” Woodward said.

“There’s going to be a different landlord,” he said. “It’s going to be a local landlord, not a foreign landlord.”

Two conditions lead Woodward to the belief that that will be a good thing for the province: a traditional respect for land and the environment in First Nations culture and a legal obligation to protect it.

Traditionally speaking, you might say that First Nations are more likely to be better stewards of the land than in the present system where you have governments in Ottawa and Victoria that are somewhat remote from the local territory.

11

12

Saturday, March 27, 2021

6WUHHW $/( 25 6

$YHQXH $/(

6

)25

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

(

(

)25

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

9GNEQOG VQ VJKU EGPVTCNN[ NQECVGF 5VQTG[ *QOG KP 9GUV 0GYVQP 6JKU JQOG UKVU QP C NCTIG 53( .QV YKVJ C JWIG FTKXGYC[ 6JKU JQOG HGCVWTGU UGRCTCVG UWKVG

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

(

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

$TCPF PGY UGXGP DGFTQQO JQOG KP 9GUV 0GYVQP 6JG US HV RQTEJ YGNEQOGU [QW Y C Z ENGTGUVQT[ VQ CNNQY NQVU QH NKIJV 6JG NKXKPI FKPKPI TQQOU JCXG EGKNKPIU RNWU C IWGUV DGFTQQO RKGEG GPUWKVG QP VJG OCKP NGXGN 0KEG UK\GF YQM MKVEJGP QHH VJG OCKP MKVEJGP CU YGNN CU C RKGEG DCVJTQQO 6JGTG KU C OWF NCWPFT[ TQQO QHH VJG ICTCIG 6JG WRRGT NGXGN HGCVWTGU C OCUVGT DGFTQQO GPUWKVG YCNM KP ENQUGV RNWU VYQ CFFKVKQPCN DGFTQQOU DCVJU 6JG DCUGOGPV KU FGUKIPGF HQT C DGFTQQO DGFTQQO UWKVG %NQUG VQ 0GYVQP GZEJCPIG UJQRRKPI NKDTCT[ GVE 0GCT $GCT %TGGM 2CTM $GCT %TGGM 'NGOGPVCT[ (TCPM *WTV 5GEQPFCT[ UEJQQNU 1P VTCPURQTVCVKQP TQWVG &QP V YCKV QP VJKU COC\KPI JQOG %CNN VQFC[

&HQWUDO $YH (

6$/

)25

&200(5&,$/ )25 6$/( LHCN F0J, V4ZLST %ZUT, NCS9\ $T\ EXW,N VWRU G\ NZUREZU GZ PZON E[Q GZ Y',$Z P2NZ> NZUREZU VU, LYF 6ZQGZU V4ZQ T\ O0P, LP$ZG $T\ P2M8GZ JZKN: QZO VL4T K<> LYNU\TZ GXNZQ Q80 Y\F[ M: .U,GZU, OH, YC.UZ LNUZH\ T\ G\[ OH, LT$ZU K<> PZON M: VWZ3 Q80 SU\6ZQ QZ NUR> NZUREZU Q80 LQCM, G\.[ OH, NZO NUR

)25

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

$YHQXH (

$/ 25 6

)

(

6$/

(

6$/

)25

)25

$YH (

6$/

)25

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

$GCWVKHWN DTCPF PGY JQOG UGV KP VJG 5QWVJ 5WTTG[ 9JKVG 4QEM CTGC $CUGOGPV HGCVWTGU C VJTGG DGFTQQO UWKVG 6JG JQOG JCU C NCTIG QRGP OCKP HNQQT YQM MKVEJGP CPF VQR QH VJG NKPG CRRNKCPEGU 6JG WRRGT HNQQT HGCVWTGU C PKEG UK\G OCUVGT DGFTQQO CPF GPUWKVG RNWU VJTGG CFFKVKQPCN DGFTQQOU YKVJ VYQ DCVJTQQOU 6JG DCUGOGPV KU HWNN[ HKPKUJGF CPF JCU C TGE TQQO 5WPP[ UQWVJ DCEM[CTF YKVJ EQXGTGF RCVKQ VQ GPLQ[ CNN [GCT TQWPF %NQUG VQ 5QWVJ 4KFIG 5EJQQN UJQRRKPI TGETGCVKQP CPF OQTG 'CU[ CEEGUU VQ *KIJYC[

$YH D 6WUHHW &HQWUDO $YH $9(18( 675((7

6$/

)25

$/(

6

6

)25

$ 675((7 6WUHHW

$/(

(

6$/

)25

(

6$/

)25

9GNEQOG VQ 5WNNKXCP 5VCVKQP $4#0& 0'9 *QOG YKVJ $GFTQQOU $CVJTQQOU CPF 5WKVGU

7RUVCKTU HGCVWTGU HQWT DGFTQQOU KPENWFKPI OCUVGT DGFTQQOU YKVJ YCNM KP ENQUGVU 6JG OCKP HNQQT CNUQ JCU C HWNN YCUJTQQO HQTOCN NKXKPI FKPKPI IQTIGQWU MKVEJGP YQM MKVEJGP YKVJ UVCKPNGUU UVGGN JKIJ GPF CRRNKCPEGU HCOKN[ TQQO CPF EQXGTGF FGEM )TGCV HKPKUJKPI YKVJ CET[NKE ECDKPGVT[ VJTQWIJQWV &QYPUVCKTU KP VJG DCUGOGPV VJGTG CTG OQTVICIG JGNRGT UWKVGU QPG KU C DGFTQQO YCUJTQQO UWKVG

YKVJ VJG QRVKQP VQ MGGR VJG JCNH DCVJTQQO CPF DGFTQQO HQT WRUVCKTU WUG CPF QVJGT KU C DGFTQQO YCUJTQQO UWKVG $QVJ UWKVGU YKNN RTQXKFG ITGCV TGPVCN KPEQOG HQT OQTVICIG JGNR 8GT[ EGPVTCN NQECVKQP YKVJ GCU[ CEEGUU VQ -KPI )GQTIG *KIJYC[U #ORNG RCTMKPI YKVJ FQWDNG ICTCIG FTKXGYC[

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

(

6$/

)25

%140'4 .16

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

675((7 3$5. $9(18( 6WUHHW :LQUDP 5RDG (

6$/

)25

(

6$/

)25

(

6$/

)25

6$/(

)25

6JKU JQOG KU NQECVGF UVGRU CYC[ HTQO .KVVNG %CORDGNN 4KXGT CPF 'CUV $GCEJ KP 9JKVG 4QEM 6JG CTGC QHHGTU UQOGVJKPI HQT GXGT[QPG HTQO GZRNQTKPI VJG DGCEJ UYKOOKPI RCFFNGDQCTFKPI MC[CMKPI MKVG HN[KPI ICNNGTKGU YCNMKPI VJG RTQOGPCFG CPF RKGT .QVU QH ITGCV FKPKPI KP VJG CTGC 6JKU US HV JQOG YCU DWKNV Y SWCNKV[ CPF KU QRGP EQPEGRV 6JG JQOG HGCVWTGU JKIJ GPF CRRNKCPEGU CPF ECDKPGVT[ RNWU C NKDTCT[ DGFTQQOU CPF DCVJU 6JG JQOG KU CP QRGP EQPEGRV RNCP CPF JCU C VYQ DGFTQQO UWKVG FQYPUVCKTU /KPWVGU VQ 2GCEJ #TEJ DQTFGT %NQUG VQ *KIJYC[ CPF -KPI )GQTIG $NXF *QOG JCU C XCEWWO U[UVGO UGEWTKV[ CPF OCP[ SWCNKV[ HGCVWTGU 5EJQQN ECVEJOGPV CTGCU KPENWFG 5QWVJ /GTKFKCP 'NGOGPVCT[ CPF 'CTN /CTKQVV 5GEQPFCT[ .CPG CEEGUU

(

%WUVQO $WKNV $TCPF 0GY 5VQTG[ *QOG DGF DCVJ *QOG YKVJ UWKVGU

1RGP EQPEGRV RNCP QP VJG OCKP HNQQT Y (7.. YCUJTQQO NCTIG MKVEJGP URKEG MKVEJGP OWFTQQO FKPKPI TQQO ITGCV TQQO &GP QP OCKP QHHGTU ITGCV QRVKQPU HQT CP QHHKEG DGFTQQO VX TQQO QT RNC[TQQO 7RUVCKTU QHHGTU C NCTIG UK\GF OCUVGT DGFTQQO GPUWKVG JCU FQWDNG UKPMU YCNM KP UJQYGT VWD CNQPI YKVJ OQTG DFTOU HWNN YCUJTQQOU $CUGOGPV YCU VJQWIJVHWNN[ RNCPPGF QWV CPF HKPKUJGF VQ OCZKOK\G URCEG CPF KU 5( YKVJ C URCEKQWU UGNH EQPVCKPGF DGFTQQO NGICN DCUGOGPV UWKVG CPF C UGRCTCVG HWNN TGE TQQO OGFKC CTGC CPF HWNN DCVJ HQT QYPGTU UKFG DQVJ YKVJ UGRCTCVG RTKXCVG GPVTCPEGU *KIJ 'PF HKPKUJKPI VJTQWIJQWV GCU[ CEEGUU VQ *KIJYC[ )QNFGP 'CTU $TKFIG KU YKVJKP C OKPWVG FTKXG VQ 2TGUVKIKQWU 2CEKHKE #ECFGO[

6$/

6$/

6

6$/

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

/276 )25 6$/( ,1 %522.6:22'

/,1'(1 '5,9( $9(18( $YH 'HZGQH\ 7UXQN 5RDG

$/(

)25

(

6$/

)25

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

6WUHHW )25

(

6$/

)

$ $9(18( ( 6$/ )25

)25

)25

6WUHHW

$9(18(

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

9GNEQOG VQ %GFCT *KNNU .QECVGF QP C SWKGV UVTGGV QP C JWIG 53(6 4GEVCPIWNCT .QV 5RCEKQWU NGXGN URNKV JQOG YKVJ NCTIG DGFTQQOU CPF DCVJTQQOU # ITGCV UVCTVGT JQOG QT KPXGUVOGPV RTQRGTV[ %NQUG VQ UEJQQN CPF VTCPURQTVCVKQP %WTTGPVN[ 4GPVGF VQ IQQF VGPCPVU CV RGT OQPVJ WVKNKVKGU 2NGPV[ QH RCTMKPI 8GT[ RGCEGHWN CPF SWKGV PGKIJDQWTJQQF $QQM [QWT UJQYKPI PQY

$WKNF [QWT FTGCO JQOG QP VJKU *7)' 53(6 .QV KP VJG FGUKTCDNG 2CPQTCOC 4KFIG #TGC %CNN HQT FGVCKNU

+08'56/'06 #.'46 )TGCV QRRQTVWPKV[ VQ QYP [QWT QYP KPXGUVOGPV RTQRGTV[ QT NKXG QP OCKP HNQQT CPF JCXG C RQUUKDKNKV[ QH C OQTVICIG JGNRGT QT KP NCY UWKVG FQYP YKVJ UQOG OKPKOCN YQTM <QPKPI QH 4 /( CPF UGRCTCVG OGVGT GPVTCPEG 5QOG ITGCV 5 6$ TGPQXCVKQPU KP VJG NCUV UGXGTCN [GCTU KPENWFKPI QRGP )2 EQPEGRV MKVEJGP FKPKPI CTGC CNNQYKPI NQCFU QH PCVWTCN NKIJV KP 5RCEKQWU OCUVGT DGFTQQO QHHGTU JKU JGTU ENQUGV URCEG CPF UVQTCIG HWNN DCVJTQQOU YKVJ UQCMGT VWD KP VJG OCKP .QVU QH UVQTCIG VJTQWIJQWV RTKXCVG HGPEGF [CTF KP VJG DCEM CPF NQVU $WKNF [QWT FTGCO JQOG QP VJKU *7)' 53(6 QH RCTMKPI OCMG VJKU CP CVVTCEVKXG RCEMCIG %GPVTCN .QV KP VJG FGUKTCDNG 2CPQTCOC 4KFIG #TGC %CNN NKUVKPI NQECVKQP ENQUG VQ UJQRRKPI EGPVTGU CPF HCUV HQQF CIGPV HQT FGVCKNU TGUVCWTCPVU 6CMG C NQQM DGHQTG VJKU QPG KU IQPG

6WUHHW

+ . \ Q P K P I ' C U [ CEEGUU VQ 5EQVV 4QCF 2CVWNNQ $TKFIG )TGCV NQECVKQP %JGEM HWVWTG NCPF RQVGPVKCN

LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Langley woman nominated for Women of Distinction Award A Langley business woman has been nominated for an award for moving the needle on diversity in Canadian boardrooms.

YWCA Metro Vancouver has announced Alyssa Barry as a nominee in the category of “Business & the Professions” for its 38th annual Women of Distinction Awards.

YWCA is a 125-year-old organization striving to achieve women’s equality.

Barry serves as the head of strategy, operations and communications at Artis REIT, a real estate investment trust company.

“Alyssa is an expert at fostering relationships with Canada’s top leaders, identifying and recruiting them as potential board members,” YWCA said. “She has contributed extensively

to strengthening corporate governance in Canada by speaking at conferences and on podcasts about the importance of director independence, diversity and sound corporate governance.”

Barry also serves on the advisory council for Women Get on Board’s mentorship program and has been an active member of the Canadian Investor Relations Institute, and Women in Capital Markets and has participated in many other programs and forums that have enabled her to give back to her profession.

The YWCA Women of Distinction Awards honour individuals and organizations who contribute to the well-being and future of the community. The Women of Distinction Awards is also the YWCA’s signature fundraising event.

13

Canada’s carbon pricing is constitutional, Supreme Court rules n a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled the federal Liberal government’s carbon pricing regime is constitutional — a major decision that allows Ottawa to push ahead with its ambitious plan to ensure every province and territory has a price on carbon to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Some provinces — notably Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan — have forcefully opposed the carbon tax, arguing natural resources are in the provinces’ jurisdiction under the Constitution.

Chief Justice Richard Wagner, writing for the majority, said the federal government is free to impose minimum pricing standards because the threat of climate change is so great that it demands a co-ordinated national approach.

He agreed with the federal government’s argument that climate change is a pressing matter of national concern and said it’s constitutionally

permissible for Ottawa to take the lead on a threat that crosses provincial boundaries.

“Climate change is real. It is caused by greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities, and it poses a grave threat to humanity’s future,” Wagner wrote. Wagner found that Ottawa can act under the Constitution’s “peace, order and good government” clause, better known as POGG — which gives the federal government authority to enact laws to deal with issues that concern the entire country.

Ottawa has tried to justify constitutionally questionable laws in the past by citing the POGG clause. It has succeeded in few of those cases because the Supreme Court tends to defer to the division of powers set out in sections 91 and 92 of the Constitution Act, 1867.

In this case, Wagner said, invoking POGG is justified.

14

LOCAL / NATIONAL Canadian housing boom raises concern, with homes selling far above asking prices

The US may be experiencing its biggest housing boom in decades, but one country has been outpacing its peers in home-price growth: Canada. Just like in the U.S., the U.K., Australia and elsewhere, Canada is experiencing a housing craze fed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the demand for more space, rock-bottom interest rates, and demographics, with millennials moving into their prime-buying years. Yet Canada has seen a more dramatic price run-up than all Group of Seven countries. According to housing data collected by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, nominal house prices in Canada rose at an annual rate of about 16% in the fourth quarter from the previous three-month period, outpacing the U.S., the U.K. and elsewhere.

While in the U.S. there are few concerns about a bubble or a 2008-style crash, that’s not the case in Canada, where some analysts and economists worry about real estate’s outsize role in the country’s economy that could be exposed in the next downturn. Canadian housing as a share of gross domestic product was 9.3% as of the fourth quarter of 2020, up from 7.5% a year earlier and from 6.6% a decade ago. In the U.S., housing is 4.6% of GDP, and the U.S. level at the height of its housing boom reached only 6.7%, according to data from BMO Capital Markets.

In addition, starting in the third quarter of last year for the first time since data were collected in the 1960s, Canadian investment in real estate outstripped business investment in nonresidential structures, machinery and equipment as a share of GDP.

Saturday, March 27, 2021

New Pattullo bridge will be completed in 2023 Crews have officially begun working on the early stages of the Pattullo Bridge Replacement project, scheduled for completion in 2023.

The project is managed by Acciona Infrastructure Canada and Aecon Group Inc., and expected to cost $1.377-billion.

The renderings convey that the new cablesuspension bridge will have four lanes in total, and they expect to open the new crossing in 2023.

As many have noticed, the original 80-yearold bridge has been in dire need of a makeover.

Not only is the bridge old, but it is no longer able to accommodate the number of daily crossings.

For this reason, the lanes on the bridge are being built 10% wider and will therefore accommodate heavier traffic. In addition, the bridge will be built with the possibility to expand into six lanes.

The new bridge will be located just north and upstream of the existing bridge, and will provide: t " TBGFS DSPTTJOH XJUI XJEFS MBOFT BOE B centre median that separates traffic travelling in opposite directions. t .PEFSO MBOF XJEUIT UP JODSFBTF DBQBDJUZ on the bridge by 10%.

This is what the new pattullo bridge will look like, once completed in 2023.

t *NQSPWFE DPNNVOJUZ DPOOFDUJPOT JO /FX Westminster and Surrey. t 4FQBSBUF QFEFTUSJBO BOE DZDMJTU QBUIT The crossing is part of the Major Road Network, serving primarily as a connection between Surrey, New Westminster and Burnaby.

As a result, it is a critical transportation link for the movement of people, goods, and services.

To facilitate the new bridge there will be a realignment and extension of Scott Road creating a direct connection to King George Boulevard. In addition, the bridge will connect with the westbound lanes of Highway 17.

Mass vaccination centres set to open in South Surrey, Cloverdale and Delta Five mass COVID-19 vaccination centres – including ones in South Surrey, Cloverdale and North Delta – are being opened by Fraser Health, and are to be available to book appointments by the end of the month.

Vaccination centres at the South Surrey Recreation Centre (14601 20 Ave.) and Cloverdale Recreation Centre (6188 176 St.) – as well as locations in Coquitlam and Chilliwack – will be accepting appointments on March 29, while the North Delta site, at the North Delta Recreation Centre (11415 84 Ave.) begins its booking process today (March 23).

Press release

A testing and immunization centre at the South Surrey Park and Ride – with vaccinations done by drive-through appointment only – is already open.

According to a Fraser Health news release issued Tuesday, the new clinics “will support our current immunization plans and will remain open through phases three and four as we work to immunize our communities over the coming months.”

For a full list of current clinics – as well as whether they are in operation yet or not – visit www.fraserhealth.ca/vaccineclinic. To book an appointment, use Fraser Health’s online booking tool (https://fraser-health-staff-vaccinations. myhealthinfo.ca) or call 1-855-755-2455.

Tegart advocates for greater supports for students struggling under COVID

BC Liberal MLA for Fraser-Nicola and Opposition Critic for Education Jackie Tegart is calling for greater supports for teachers, staff, and students as well as more government oversight on the quality of education

B.C. students are currently receiving.

Tegart cited the personal experiences of many students and families, who are currently struggling under reduced instructional hours in the current model implemented by the Vancouver School Board with a lack of direction or intervention from government.

Lee speaks to need for continued effort to combat racism in BC Press release

BC Liberal MLA for Vancouver-Langara Michael Lee addressed the stark increase in hate crimes and overt acts of racism in B.C. over the past year, stressing the need for greater education and awareness to collectively fight racism in our society.

He highlighted examples of systemic and

While money is going into real estate, economists point out that houses don’t produce the goods and services to meet domestic and

institutional racism in B.C’s history, the impacts of which are still felt today. During his speech in the Legislature, Lee highlighted the need to continue to work to be vigilant in addressing bias and racism in our institutions and in our communities and to find ways to foster greater empathy toward others.

NATIONAL

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Laid-off tourism and hospitality workers to fill non-clinical roles in vaccination clinics More than 1,400 tourism and hospitality workers laid off due to the pandemic are being enlisted by the province to work in non-clinical roles in mass vaccination centres across B.C. Premier John Horgan said during a news conference Wednesday that the initiative will provide hundreds of temporary positions for people who lost their jobs in B.C.’s hard-hit tourism and sport sectors. Businesses and community groups — including the Vancouver Canucks, the Vancouver Giants, Tourism Whistler, the PNE and Canada’s two major airlines — have already begun to call and train hundreds of staff who will work in non-clinical, logistical roles at immunization centres to help move

people through the clinics efficiently and safely.

“B.C. depends on our vibrant tourism sector and it’s been decimated,” Horgan said. “Many of the tourism operators, many of the companies like the Giants and Canucks who depend on people in seats and are not going to have people in seats, understand that the sooner we work together to get our communities fully vaccinated, the sooner B.C. and Canada and the world can begin to interact again.” Other community partners for the vaccination program include Air Canada, WestJet, the B.C. Pavilion Corp., Ceres Terminals Marine, Pacific Destinations Services, the Canadian Red Cross, the Fraser Valley Bandits and the Vancouver airport.

Elderly Asian woman who fought back against attacker donates $1 million raised to charity Xiao Zhen Xie, a 75-year-old Asian woman, was standing at an intersection last Wednesday when a white man ran up and, without provocation, allegedly punched her in the face.

In the week that followed the attack, nearly US$1 million has been donated to help Xie with her medical expenses, but she isn’t keeping it.

In an update to the GoFundMe page set up for Xie, her grandson wrote that she insists on donating the money to combat anti-Asian racism. Since that announcement, hundreds more people have continued to give to the page.

“She said we must not (submit) to racism and we must fight to the death if necessary,” wrote Xie’s grandson, John Chen, on Tuesday. “She insists on making this decision, saying this issue is bigger than her.”

On Thursday morning alone, over 100 people gave their money to Xie’s fund.

“Thank your grandma for shining (a) beautiful

light to guide us all to a place beyond hatred, brutishness, and the worst of the human race,” wrote one person with their donation on Thursday.

“I was going to donate anyway because she tore that guy up. She stopped him from hurting anyone else. But then when I saw she wanted to donate the money to a cause rather than keeping it, I knew I couldn’t wait any longer,” wrote another.

Xie was attacked on Market St. in San Francisco, the morning after six Asian women were killed by a gunman in the Atlanta area.

The 75-year-old had been waiting to cross the street when she was suddenly hit by the man.

She picked up a wooden plank and hit him right back.

A video of the aftermath of the incident, posted to twitter, shows Xie holding an ice pack up to her bloody eye, clearly distraught, while the man is on a stretcher.

15

Feds watching housing markets ‘very closely’ as CMHC warns of vulnerabilities The Canadian government says it is watching housing markets closely after a CMHC report released on Thursday indicated that the market on a national scale was becoming increasingly vulnerable to economic shocks.

“We are of course watching housing markets across the country very, very closely and carefully,” Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters in a press conference.

Feds watching housing markets ‘very closely’ as CMHC warns of vulnerabilities “We are very aware, also, of the challenges that many Canadians face — particularly young Canadians — in buying a home,” she said. “So it’s something that we’re looking at carefully.”

Rapid price hikes across alreadyovervalued cities in Ontario and Eastern Canada have played a large role pushing those markets into vulnerable territory, according to the housing agency’s fourth quarter assessment.

“It’s clear that the pace of house price growth that we’ve seen is not sustainable,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist.

“Compare February 2021 to February 2020, house prices across Canada are up 25 per cent.”

In Toronto, price acceleration plus a

simultaneous increase in rental vacancies caused the CMHC to deem the city as highly vulnerable when, in the third quarter, it received a moderately vulnerable score.

Canada receiving 1.5M Covid-19 vaccine doses from USA next week: Fortin The dose-sharing deal with the United States has been finalized, and those 1.5 million shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine are set to arrive next week, Maj.Gen. Dany Fortin announced Thursday.

Nearing the end of the first quarter and factoring in the scheduled deliveries for next week, Canada is on track to hit and possibly considerably exceed the total target of eight million COVID-19 vaccine doses delivered by the end of March, depending when next week these U.S. doses land.

“Public Service and Procurement Canada has recently negotiated the delivery of 1.5 million doses from the U.S., expected to

#106 - 7565 132 St. Surrey, BC 604.572.3005

arrive in Canada in the next week. When we have a confirmed delivery date to Canada, this quantity will be added to the quarterly distribution goal of vaccine doses,” Fortin said.

As part of the agreement, Canada is expected to have to return the favour by sending the U.S. back 1.5 million doses in the coming months, though with the vaccine rollout in that country well underway U.S. President Joe Biden is expecting to have enough supply for all eligible adults by the end of May, whereas Canada continues to hold on to an end-of-September timeline for wrapping up the mass immunization effort.

16

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Say you ask someone who looks different from you where they’re really from.

Your intention might not be hateful. But the question is still racist. It says you see them as an outsider. Racism can be unintentional, which is why we all need to be intentional about being anti-racist.

Learn more at antiracist.gov.bc.ca

17

18

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Financing Option Available

1899

.99

$

www.armadascooters.com BUY NOW and PAY LATER FINANCING

"No Gas, License or Registration Required"

CIAL SPE N IO EDIT

CENTAURI FOLDING 36V 300W

MANTIS SUPREME 72V

ION 60V 500W ELECTRIC

RETALIATOR 72V 500W

ENFORCER 72V 5000W

AVENGER 60V ELECTRIC

BATTALION III 60V 1000W

PREDATOR ELECTRIC MOTO 72V

INVADER II ELECTRIC

COMBATANT II 72V 500W

Larry Mah 604.765.3589

armadascooters@gmail.com

14333 - 104th Ave., Surrey, BC

Saturday, March 27, 2021 Supreme Court says Mumbai police commissioner’s plea against home minister is serious but ‘let High Court deal with this’ The Supreme Court Wednesday refused to entertain former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh’s petition in which he had sought a CBI probe into what he described as “various corrupt malpractices” by Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

A bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said the contentions raised in Singh’s petition are serious in nature and affect the public at large, but observed that high court was the appropriate forum to file such a petition. The court gave Singh liberty to move a fresh plea before the Bombay High Court.

In a writ petition filed under Article 32, 1988-batch IPS officer had asked the top court to quash the state government order that removed him as the Mumbai Police commissioner and posted him as Director General (Home Guards).

“The petitioner has invoked writ jurisdiction of this Hon’ble Court to seek unbiased, uninfluenced, impartial and fair investigation in the corrupt malpractices of Shri Anil

Deshmukh, the Hon’ble Home Minister of Government of Maharashtra, before the evidences are destroyed,” stated Singh’s petition.

Singh’s lawyer, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, urged the bench to hear the matter “of some serious proportions”. He said the scandal had rocked the entire country, with a senior woman police officer Tuesday supporting Singh’s allegations.

“The officer has said that the minister has been taking money for effecting police transfer,” Rohatgi added. According to him, the transfer of Singh and other officers is in violation of the Supreme Court verdict in the Prakash Singh case that prohibits transfer of senior officers without completing two years’ tenure.

“It can only be done when a police officer is facing an inquiry,” Rohatgi said. Justice Kaul commented that no state was following the guidelines laid down in the Prakash Singh case. “States do not want to give up the control over their police,” the judge said.

Sadhguru storms Twitter to free Tamil Nadu temples from government control Spiritual leader Sadhguru launched a ‘100 tweets’ Twitter campaign on Wednesday to bring people’s attention to the dilapidated condition of temples in Tamil Nadu. Soon after, several people tweeted in support of the ‘Free Tamil Nadu’s Temples’ campaign. In a strong statement to the political parties and the government in the state, Sadhguru said in his tweet: “#FreeTNTemples a Movement born of deep Anguish. Today I am putting 100 tweets, not to browbeat anybody, but just out of deep pain. Anguished cry of the community must be heard.” Due to the unfortunate legacy that the

East India Company left us with, the Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu continue to be in the control of the government. This has led to the deterioration and suffocation of glorious Tamil traditions. The HR&CE (Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department), which holds 44,121 temples in the state, told the Madras High Court that 11,999 temples have no revenue to perform even one daily puja.

The heart-wrenching tweets featured pictures and videos sent in by devotees from all over Tamil Nadu, documenting the neglect and dilapidation of what were once magnificent citadels of Tamil ethos.

Justice NV Ramana: From a student leader to next Chief Jusitice From a student leader who fought for civil liberties during the nationwide Emergency in 1975 while sacrificing an academic year to taking over as the 48th chief justice of India next month, justice NV Ramana has had a remarkable journey.

Born into a humble family of agriculturalists in Ponnavaram village of Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district, justice Ramana was asked by his father in June 1975 to pack an extra change of clothes after he presided over a public meeting against the Emergency.

“My father was convinced that I will be arrested,” justice Ramana recounted his experience at an event in the national capital

in January when he added that he had no regrets losing a year of college when he saw so many young people sacrifice their lives for the sake of human rights.

Before he joined a law college in 1980, justice Ramana worked as a journalist for a regional newspaper for two years. He was enrolled at the Bar in 1983. As a lawyer, he practised in the Andhra Pradesh high court, central administrative tribunal, the AP state administrative tribunal, and the Supreme Court in civil, criminal, constitutional, labour, service and election matters, with specialisation in constitutional, criminal, service and inter-state river laws.

HC orders Delhi govt to pay nearly Rs 900 crore to MCDs by end of March The Delhi high court on Wednesday directed the state government to release the remaining amounts due to the three civic bodies towards their Basic Tax Assignment (BTA) on the basis of revised estimates presented in the budget for the year 2021-22, within the current financial year. A bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rekha Palli said that the amount, which is nearly ₹900 crore, is one of the major and important

sources of revenue for the corporations.

It said that this contribution by the Delhi government to the corporations is used to meet the expenditures towards the salaries and other expenses on a day-to-day basis. “….we direct the Delhi government to release in the financial year the remaining amount due towards BTA to the three corporation on basis of revised estimates presented in budget for year 2021-22,” the court said.

Mumbai records 5,000 new Covid-19 cases in one day Mumbai reported its highest-ever singleday spike with over 5,000 new Covid-19 cases for the first time since the pandemic outbreak.

With 5,185 new COVID-19 cases, the city’s total tally increased to 3,74,611, according to the health bulletin. While 2,088 people have recovered from the disease, six people succumbed to the virus

in the last 24 hours. The recovery rate of Mumbai city is 90% while the overall growth rate of Covid cases stands at 0.79%.

Total recovered cases in the city stand at 3,31,322 and the death toll is 11,606. Mumbai has 30,760 active cases.

In addition to that, the active containment zones in the financial capital of the country stand at 39 and a total of 432 buildings are sealed.

19

20

INDIA

Saturday, March 27, 2021

India reports ‘double mutant’ coronavirus variant as daily deaths reach record high A new and potentially troublesome variant of the coronavirus has been detected in India, as have variants first detected in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil, health officials said Wednesday.

Health Ministry officials and experts, however, cautioned against linking the variants with an ongoing surge in new infections in India.

Cases in India had been plummeting since September and life was returning to normal. But cases began spiking last month and more than 47,000 new infections were detected in the past 24 hours, along with 275 deaths — the highest one-day death toll in more than four months.

The virus has been mutating throughout the pandemic. Most mutations are trivial, but scientists have been investigating which

variations might make the virus spread more easily or make people sicker. The three variants first detected in South Africa, Britain and Brazil are considered the most worrisome and have been designated “variants of concern.”

The three variants were found in seven per cent of the nearly 11,000 samples that India sequenced since Dec. 30. The most widespread of these was the more contagious variant that was detected in the U.K. last year.

The new variant found in India has two mutations in the spike protein that the virus uses to fasten itself to cells, said Dr. Rakesh Mishra, the director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, one of the 10 research institutes sequencing the virus.

Rajya Sabha okays Delhi Bill amid opposition’s uproar The Rajya Sabha cleared the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021, through a voice vote in the absence of Opposition members, who staged a walkout in protest against the government not heeding to their demand of referring the Bill to the select committee for scrutiny and wider consultations.

The Lok Sabha has already passed the Bill.

“This government is rigid and is pressing ahead with the Bill. Hence, we are walking out,” Leader of the Opposition in the House Mallikarjun Kharge said after the discussion on the Bill was completed.

Earlier, the House witnessed heated exchanges between Opposition and ruling party members.

India’s ambassador to USA urges shipbuilding industry in India fully utilise bilateral instruments A top Indian diplomat has urged the shipbuilding industry in India and the US to fully utilise the strategic trade authorisation licence exemption granted by Washington to New Delhi, as well as the bilateral Industrial Security Annex Agreement.

Speaking at a webinar, India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu said shipyards in India today make some of the most complex ships and submarines. However, for some of the core technologies, India looks up to its friends like the US. The United States

Shiv Sena alleges collusion between BJP and some Maharashtra officials Stating that the BJP’s “key motive” is to create instability in Maharashtra by imposing President’s Rule, the Shiv Sena on Wednesday alleged “collusion” between the BJP and some officials with an aim to weaken the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

The Sena also referred to the “phone tapping episode” and the disappointment expressed by Sanjay Pandey, a DG rank officer, that he was sidelined to claim the collusion.

On Tuesday, senior BJP leader and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis claimed that he had 6.3 GB data of telephone calls intercepted by then Commissioner of Intelligence Rashmi Shukla in which names of several key police officers figured.

He also met Union Home Secretary in Delhi and demanded a CBI probe into “corruption” in police transfers in Maharashtra.

‘What about Sanjiv Bhatt case,’ Sena asks BJP amid Param Bir row As former Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh approached the Supreme Court over corruption allegations against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and his alleged “malicious” transfer in the backdrop of the Mukesh Ambani bomb scare case, the Shiv Sena on Wednesday, 24 March, said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was working in cahoots with certain senior officers in the state in order to destabilise the state government.

Training guns at the Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh state governments, the Sena asked why similar allegations against law makers and home ministries in the BJP-ruled states were not being raised and probed.

“As far as Pandey and Singh conveyed their feelings via a letter, it was alright.

But they made sure that the letters reach the media and that doubts are cast on the credibility of the government,” the editorial

India records highest daily spike in Covid-19 cases this year: Gov’t India recorded its highest daily tally of coronavirus cases this year with 28,903 new infections, taking the total COVID-19 tally to 1,14,38,734, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated. The number of deaths increased to 1,59,044 with 188 new fatalities, the highest in around two months, the data updated at 8 am showed. Registering an increase for the seventh day in a row, the total active caseload has increased to 2,34,406 which now comprises 2.05 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 96.56 per cent, the data stated. As many as 30,254 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours on December 13.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,10,45,284, while the case fatality rate has dropped to 1.39 per cent, the data stated.

FIJI

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Punjab Chief Minister orders mass transfers of school teachers in Punjab Punjab Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh ordered mass transfers of school teachers in line with the Teachers Transfer Policy-2019.

Digitally with touch of a button, Chief Minister cleared the transfers of 10,099 teachers and volunteers to the station of their choice on merit basis. Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla was also present on the occasion. A total of 35,386 online applications were received from aspiring teachers and

volunteers, of whom 15,481 were found ineligible as they fell short of the prescribed parameters of the policy. The remaining 19,905 were found eligible for transfer. For the first time, computer teachers and various categories of education volunteers were brought into the ambit of the Teachers Transfer Policy. The Chief Minister said the transfer policy had been instrumental in successfully achieving the goal of quality education through filling

Several injured as bus falls into drain near Faridkot Several people, including students, were injured as a bus carrying them from Ferozepur to Faridkot fell into a drain on Thursday morning.

The accident took place following a tyre-burst. The driver lost control over the vehicle and it fell into the drain after breaking iron grills.

Residents of Golewala village rushed to help the injured.

rising disproportionately to the population and the vaccine coverage among health workers is extremely low at 65.11 per cent.

While 10 states have achieved 100 per cent coverage of health workers with the first dose, Punjab, despite adequate vaccine supplies, has not been able to cover even the identified groups. Likewise, only 63 per cent of the health workers have received the first shots in Chandigarh,” Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said.

Pakistan Indo-Pak bilateral cricket series may take place this year There could be resumption of bilateral cricket between India and Pakistan.

According to some media reports, PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) has been told to ‘be prepared’ to organise mother of all rivals, i.e India vs Pakistan cricket series.

“We’ve been told to be prepared,” the official was quoted as saying according to

some media outlets. Pakistan Cricket Board, Chairman Ehsan Maani hasn’t confirmed anything but there has been no official denials yet.

It is being reported that both teams could play some cricket series within 2021, despite the year being jampacked with international cricket.

‘India desires cordial relations’: Modi in letter to Pakistan PM Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent a letter to his Pakistani counterpart, saying he desires cordial relations with Pakistan, officials said, as relations thaw between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Modi wrote to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday to congratulate him on the country’s

annual Pakistan Day, which commemorates a resolution passed on March 23, 1940 when the subcontinent was under British colonial rule.

On that day, the subcontinent’s Muslim political leadership in the eastern city of Lahore demanded Muslim-majority states be given an “independent state” status.

Nawaz Sharif made concessions to India but failed to get anything in returnformer high commissioner Nawaz Sharif made unilateral concessions to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and even weakened Islamabad’’s principled position on Jammu and Kashmir, thinking that he would extract something in return but that did not happen, a former Pakistani

diplomat said on Tuesday. Pakistan’’s former high commissioner to India Abdul Basit, in an online interview to Karan Thapar of The Wire, severely criticised Sharif on his policy towards India and said Islamabad’’s reading of Prime Minister Modi was “off the mark”.

High Court dismisses senator’s appeal challenging top Senate post Islamabad High Court dismissed senator Yousuf Raza Gilani’s petition against rejection of seven votes by the presiding officer during Senate elections.

High Court rejected Yousaf Raza Gillani’s petition challenging the Senate chairman election, stating that courts do not intervene in workings of the Parliament.

The former prime minister, Mr Gilani was joint candidate for opposition PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement), challenging the rulling PTI party’s candidate Senator Sadiq Sanjrani. Mr Gilani lost the election by 6 votes compared to Senator Sanjrani’s 48.

The verdict on Gillani’s petition was issued by Chief Justice.

Covid-19 smart lockdown imposed in Karachi’s affected areas The provincial gov’t on Wednesday announced that, smart lockdown will be imposed in some sub-divisions of Keamari District. According to a notification issued in

Heavy rain causes surface flooding in Central & Western divisions Fiji Roads Authority (FRA) is advising motorists to drive safely amidst the wet weather conditions due to surface flooding, especially in the low lying areas.

Several roads are currently being affected in the Central and Western Division’s due to surface flooding caused by the heavy rain and we are advising motorists to avoid driving through flooded water as the depth is hard to gauge.

Please continue to keep a safe following distance in order to prevent accidents on wet and slippery roads and avoid driving into flooded areas.

In some instance, debris may cause overtopping and erosion around the crossing approaches, occasionally resulting in washouts that will temporarily cut off access.

Former police officer files appeal manslaughter conviction A former constable of the Fiji Police Drug Task Force Team, sentenced for causing the death of Josua Lalauvaki, filed an appeal against conviction and sentence.

Kelepi Duri Tautaumacala Kolinisau, 30, was jailed for five years with a non-parole period of three years and four months by the High Court in Suva on November 20, 2019.

Kolinisau assaulted Mr Lalauvaki after an altercation outside a Suva nightclub on September 2, 2018.

Mr Lalauvaki died at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital on October 11, 2018, as a result of injuries he suffered from the assault.

Kolinisau’s appeal case was called at the Fiji Court of Appeal before Justice

Fiji ahead of target in eliminating tuberculosis by 2030 The injured were shifted to Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital.

Rapid surge in Covid-19 cases in Punjab as vaccination seems slow A year since the Covid-19 lockdown was imposed to break the chain of viral transmission, the country finds itself battling a second surge of the infection with the Centre on Wednesday terming “Maharashtra and Punjab as areas of gravest concern”.

Of the 47,262 (the highest daily case tally this year and the highest in 132 days), more than 28,699 are from Maharashtra and 2,634 from Punjab.

“Punjab is a specific worry as cases are

21

this regard, the decision was taken after the district health officer identified some areas as coronavirus hotspots.

Fiji had successfully treated and cured more than 80 per cent of its Tuberculosis (TB) cases over the past three years.

This was revealed by Divisional Medical Officer Central Dr Tevita Qoriniyasi during the World TB Day commemoration at the P.J Twomey Hospital at Tamavua, Suva yesterday.

Dr Qoriniyasi said it was an important achievement in Fiji’s fight against the disease.

“From 2018 to date, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services injected approximately $1.2 million into the TB programme to strengthen its operations, maintain the gains from previous years and progress the programme targets

229 CCTV cameras installed around urban centres People can expect much safer markets, parks and public places as municipal councils have installed 229 CCTV cameras.

Minister for Local Government Premila Kumar says CCTV cameras are installed to create a safer environment for people and to deal with vandalism in towns and cities.

She says they are working with Fiji Police Force in deciding the location of other camera installation and monitoring of live feed.

Kumar mentioned this when questioned

by SODELPA MP Lynda Tabuya in parliament on the status of the installation of CCTV cameras around the urban centres.

She says 56 cameras are yet to be installed and the councils are putting these cameras in and around council properties such as markets and parks.

Kumar says there are at least 9 councils that have taken the initiatives of installing CCTV cameras in the urban areas which include the Suva City Council, Lautoka City Council,

22

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Share more with family this Vaisakhi With $0 Transfer fees1, you can give more this holiday season • Send money with a special rate2 until April 12, 2021 • Now pay with your eligible CIBC Credit Card and earn rewards3,4 • Send money easily from any device by using CIBC Online Banking® or CIBC Mobile Banking® and it will be delivered in as little as 24 hours5 • Get $50 on your first transfer 6. Use promo code: GMT50 Learn more at cibc.com/gmtrewards

CIBC Global Money Transfer™ 1

CIBC foreign exchange rates apply. A CIBC Global Money Transfer and a Foreign Exchange transaction count towards your allowable transaction limit. Bank account transaction fees may apply. Must have a CIBC savings or chequing account, personal line of credit or an eligible credit card to send a CIBC Global Money Transfer. 2Special rate applies only to Indian Rupees from March 30, 2021 to April 12, 2021. 3Only primary cardholders can use their eligible credit card account to pay for the CIBC Global Money Transfer™ service. 4CIBC does not charge interest on a CIBC Global Money Transfer appearing on your statement if we receive full payment of the Amount Due (or for a CIBC Global Money Transfer that has been converted to an Installment Plan during that statement period, if we receive payment in full of the Balance) by the payment due date for that statement. Capitalized terms in this footnote have the meanings set out in the CIBC Cardholder Agreement. 5Most transfers are completed by the next business day; some transfers require 2 to 3 business days. 6If you have a CIBC personal bank account (savings, chequing or a personal line of credit) or an eligible CIBC credit card but have not yet tried CIBC Global Money Transfer ("GMT"), request a GMT transfer and you will receive $50 CA in your CIBC account in 4 to 6 weeks. If you don’t have a CIBC personal bank account or an eligible CIBC credit card, open a new CIBC personal bank account (savings, chequing or a personal line of credit) or apply for a new CIBC credit card and if approved, you can use the CIBC Global Money Transfer service after account opening and you will receive $50 CA in your new account in 4 to 6 weeks. Use promo code GMT50 to claim offer. Offer ends 11:59:59 pm EST on July 31, 2021. CIBC may cancel or change the offer at any time without notice. CIBC Cube Design is a trademark of CIBC. All other trademarks are owned by CIBC.

Saturday, March 27, 2021

23