The Asian Star January 9 2021

www.theasianstar.com Vol 19 - Issue 49

Saturday, January 9, 2021

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Canada to vaccinate federal inmates against Covid-19 before seniors & frontline workers

Indian-American lawmakers criticise storming of US capitol

Canada will start inoculating its federal prison inmates against COVID-19 starting Friday, protecting a vulnerable population that many jurisdictions have struggled to keep safe during the pandemic, a government statement said on Wednesday. Correctional Service Canada said in the statement it would start with 600 elderly and medically vulnerable inmates, followed by more when additional vaccine becomes available. Study seeks to answer: What’s the best type of music for psychedelic therapy? Three inmates have died due to COVID-19 as of Jan. 5 and there are 144 active cases, out of about 12,500 federal inmates in the country, according to government data.

Inmates are vulnerable not only because they live in high-risk settings in what are often older and poorly ventilated buildings but also because they often have comorbidities that worsen prognosis should they fall ill, public health experts say.

Continued on page 7

All the four Indian-American Democratic lawmakers, Dr Ami Bera, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna and Raja Krishnamoorthi have expressed disgust after they were forced to take shelter at safe places as thousands of angry supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol. Lawmakers were evacuated to secure locations after protesters breached security and entered the Capitol building on Wednesday, where members of the Congress were going through the process of counting and certifying the Electoral College votes to affirm Joe Biden’s victory in the November 3 presidential election.Sheltering in Cannon (building), Congressman Khanna tweeted. Cannon building is one of the prominent buildings within the US Capitol that houses officers of the member of the US House of Representatives.

Continued on page 7

Biden picks Indian-American Vanita Gupta as associate attorney general US President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday nominated Indian-American Vanita Gupta to be the associate attorney general and roped in Judge Merrick Garland for the position of attorney general. He also announced the nominations of Lisa Monaco as deputy attorney general and Kristen Clarke for assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division. “Our first-rate nominees to lead the Justice Department are eminently qualified, embody character and judgment that is beyond reproach, and have devoted their careers to serving Continued on page 8

Accused in alleged drug trafficking ring forfeit houses, cash, jewelry valued at $2.3 million The accused in an alleged drugtrafficking ring have forfeited to the province houses, cash and jewelry valued at more than $2.3 million. The settlement is outlined in a consent agreement filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Dec. 10 between the B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office and Ashok Kumar Naidu, also known as Roy Naidu; his spouse, Gina Chinamma Naidu; Avenel Anish Naidu, the Naidus’ son; Avenel’s Continued on page 6

An explosion caused by police munition is seen while supporters of President Trump gather in front of the US Capitol Building.

South Asian man gunned down in South Surrey A high-profile Lower Mainland gangster was shot to death early Wednesday inside his parents’ South Surrey home. Gary Kang was gunned down about 5am at the home in the 16000-block of 30 Avenue in the Morgan Creek area of Surrey. Just last month, Kang pleaded guilty in BC Supreme Court to several charges related to a major 2018 Vancouver Police investigation and was awaiting sentencing.

A sweeping publication ban was imposed by Justice Kathleen Ker on reporting details of the plea deal and the upcoming sentencing hearing for Kang, his brother Sam and

an associate named Kyle Latimer.His brother Randy Kang was shot to death in Surrey in October 2017. Gary Kang was wounded in the targeted hit.

Continued on page 6

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Saturday, January 9, 2021

Call Mel directly on 604 697 3251 to set up a complimentary consultation or visit our website at simpsonthomas.com

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Vol 19 - Issue 49

Saturday, January 9, 2021

BC man stuck in USA amid new travel rules An Okanagan man fears he will be stuck abroad due to new travel restrictions imposed by the Canadian government. Rory Millikin chose to ring in the new year in Lake Tahoe, Nev. He left on Dec. 30, 2020, but the next day, the federal government announced all travellers returning to Canada must get a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of their departure.

“It has absolutely ruined this vacation,” he told Global News on Wednesday. “You can’t leave us stranded down here.” Millikin said where he is located in the U.S., it takes up to five days to get a COVID-19 test result back. “Even the CVS or Walgreens, which is in Canadian terms like Shoppers Drug Mart, these are the big national chains that are doing these PCR COVID tests, these guys say, ‘Look, its four to five days typically here,’” he said. Canada said it is bringing the measures into place in a bid to quell

new cases of COVID-19, helping to prevent those carrying the virus from stepping foot on Canadian soil. “This new testing requirement will help prevent further introduction and transmission of COVID-19 and new variants of the virus into Canada,” said Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair.

There is a list of 24 countries, including Mexico, that are exempt from the 72-hour window until Jan. 14. Air travellers from those countries have up to 96 hours to get a test before stepping on a plane to Canada, but the U.S. is not on the list of exemptions.

“I know these are strange times but at times like this, the government has a responsibility to be very clear, to consult with the airlines, to understand that, look, we are slamming this policy right after Christmas, there is clearly a bunch of us that are already down here, so why not have an exemption to those that are here?” he said.

When asked about Canadians like Millikin stuck in the U.S. due to longer test turnaround times, federal officials didn’t offer a solution.

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Covid-19 social gathering restrictions to be extended until February 5 in BC BCs ban on social gatherings amid the Covid-19 pandemic has been extended until midnight February 5, 2021. “Now is our time to stay the course,” provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Thursday.

B.C. reports 761 new cases of COVID-19, highest one-day total since Dec. 13 “If further action is required we will take that,” Henry said, adding that if the numbers decrease then health orders might change. Henry is urging everyone to adhere to the guidelines and know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

“There is without a doubt, brighter days ahead,” she said.

This includes activities such as indoor and outdoor events, with the exception of drive-in and drop-off events, musical or theatre performances, galas, silent auctions and watching movies in theatres.

Funerals, weddings and baptisms can still be held with a maximum of 10 people attending, including the officiant.

Receptions are not allowed, however.

Meetings, such as city council meetings and alcoholic anonymous meetings can still be held as long as COVID-19 guidelines are in place.

Rental and home viewings are restricted to a maximum of six people if space allows.

In-person religious gatherings and worship services remain suspended.

Employers must make every effort to provide work from home options where possible.

Fitness centres, studios, gyms and exercise facilities are allowed to operate with safety guidelines in place, but highintensity activities remain suspended.

Indoor and outdoor team sports for people 22 years of age and older are suspended.

All organized indoor and outdoor sports for people 21 years of age and younger must follow viaSport’s Return to Sport Phase 2 guidance.

There can be no travel for games or training unless the athlete’s home club is outside of their immediate community.

Continued on page 7

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OPINION

By Sylvain Charlebois, Professor Dalhousie University

COVID-19 has had an impact on Canada’s food industry but, over time, resilience will prevail. However, the federal government’s pre-holiday announcement that it will increase the carbon tax to $170 per tonne by 2030 will have a long-term impact on consumers.

Saturday, January 9, 2021 Trudeau’s carbon tax short-sighted in so many ways Climate change is a real and significant problem. We need to act quickly, and the carbon tax seems to provide a simple and fair solution. The Trudeau government is clearly committed to the carbon tax now.

This tax – more of a policy – is essentially aimed at penalizing polluters. That’s a good idea,

in principle, but is short-sighted in many ways.

For some farmers, a tax of $170 per tonne is a game-changer. By 2030, a typical 5,000acre farm would have to shell out more than $150,000 in new tax, based on some estimates, without any compensation. That’s enough to compromise any farm’s ability to make a profit.

As well, how a $170 tax impacts the competitiveness of the sector will depend greatly on what happens at Canada’s borders and beyond. Given the competitiveness of national and international food markets, a $170 tax per tonne imposed in Canada, but not imposed in other major exporting and importing countries, will undoubtedly penalize our farmers.

Producers can’t increase their prices even if production costs increase on the farm. This is quite simply price-taking economics. Unlike the processing and distribution sectors, this economic reality afflicts production specifically.

The government is considering imposing a border control tax on food products from elsewhere, but nothing is confirmed.

Taxing domestic production would give importers a significant competitive advantage.

Protecting our farmers is imperative.

Of course, with the arrival of president-elect Joe Biden and vice-president-elect Kamala Harris in the White House, things could get easier internationally. Like the Canadian government, Biden intends to ratify the Paris climate accord on behalf of the United States. The agreement encourages nations to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To this end, American producers may also have to pay a tax, like those in Canada.

Agriculture producers are among the best environmental stewards in the world.

They earn their living mainly by having access to abundant natural resources.

Environmental recklessness is just not an option.

But incentives to make big changes are lacking. For example, there’s no economical substitute for propane to dry out grain at harvest. We need to develop new technologies to offer environmental options to our producers.

There are also significant risks for consumers.

Farmers keep claiming that food prices will rise, in part because of the carbon tax, which will hit $50 per tonne by next year.

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Saturday, January 9, 2021 Nearly one-third of Covid-19 cases in BC in 2020 were Surrey residents Surrey residents accounted for nearly one-third of all COVID-19 cases recorded in the province of BC in 2020, but the disease touched every corner of the province, according to new geographic data released by the BC Centre for Disease Control.

The latest BCCDC map shows cumulative cases of the coronavirus recorded in each of the province’s “local health areas” between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020.

Over the course of the calendar year, the local health area that includes most of the City of Surrey recorded 16,109 total COVID-19 infections, or roughly 31 per cent of the 51,983 cases of the disease that were confirmed in the province in 2020. B.C.’s largest city, Vancouver, is broken down into six different local health areas, but adding them together shows a total of 8,249 cases in 2020, or almost 16 per cent of B.C.’s total for the year.

The local health areas that comprise the cities of Abbotsford and Burnaby posted the next-highest overall caseloads, with 3,377 and 3,077 infections, respectively.

No other city or local health area in BC recorded more than 3,000 cases of COVID-19 in 2020, and the only region to record more than 2,000 total infections was the Central Okanagan local health area, which includes the City of Kelowna.

While the highest overall case counts in the province are found in major cities, every region of the province saw at least a few residents test positive for COVID-19 last year, according to the BCCDC’s map.

Indeed, some regions with sparse populations recorded per-capita totals for infections that rival those seen in Surrey and other Lower Mainland hotspots.

The Northern Health regions of Nechako,

Burns Lake and Nisga’a each saw case totals that equate to more than 1,200 infections per 100,000 residents in 2020.

Surrey, Abbotsford, Burnaby, New Westminster, Delta, and four of Vancouver’s six local health areas also crossed the 1,200 cases per 100,000 threshold.

No regions in either the Interior or Island health authorities recorded that many infections per capita. The regions in Interior Health with the highest density of cases were Central Okanagan, Revelstoke, and Kettle Valley, each of which saw between 900 and 1,200 infections per 100,000 residents.

Two separate groups of B.C. doctors and nurses are calling for the province to reverse course on a decision to delay second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, arguing the move is unscientific, unsafe and unethical. Their concerns are laid out in two letters obtained

by CBC News — one from the Doctors of BC’s section of emergency medicine and the other signed by more than 100 nurses from across B.C.The Doctors of B.C. letter calls for help from its leadership to raise the issue with provincial officials.“We understand the rationale for this decision; however, there are several reasons why this decision by public health is extremely alarming, unethical and a violation of the rights to informed consent,” the letter says. On Dec.

24, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry revealed that B.C. will delay second doses of COVID-19 vaccines to up to 35 days after the first shot.That’s despite federal authorizations and guidelines that say the Pfizer-BioNTech shots should be spaced out by 21 to 28 days and the Moderna shots by 28 days. The recommended timing for the doses comes directly from the manufacturers, based on their clinical trials. Researchers have found the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be just 52 per cent effective after one dose; however, Public Health England argues its review of the data suggests efficacy rises to about 89 per cent by 15 days after the first shot. The Moderna shot is estimated to be 80.2 per cent effective after a single dose.

Continued on page 7

In Island Health, per-capita caseloads were significantly lower. The highest numbers of infections per 100,000 residents were seen in the Vancouver Island North and Alberni/Clayoquot local health areas, which each recorded between 300 and 600 cases per 100,000 in 2020.

On Thursday, the BCCDC also released its latest map of weekly cases by local health area, which shows data only for cases recorded between Dec. 27 and Jan. 2.

That map shows the highest per-capita infection rates for the week being recorded in the Surrey, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Lillooet, Revelstoke, Golden, Peace River North, Burns Lake and Nisga’a local health areas. That map can be found here.

Calgary man, B.C. woman killed after stopping at side of highway 3, near Creston RCMP say a Calgary man and a BC woman have been attacked and killed after stopping on the side of a highway just west of Creston.

Police say the victims were found at around 7pm on Wednesday just a few kilometres outside Creston at a pullout on Highway 3.

Both had been stabbed and police say the suspect is reported to have fled in a vehicle belonging to one of the victims.

A statement from the Mounties says a 40-year-old Calgary man was pronounced

Doctors and nurses want BC to rethink ‘extremely alarming’ delay to 2nd Covid-19 vaccine dose

dead at the scene and a 25-year-old West Kootenay woman was rushed to hospital but could not be revived.

The stolen vehicle was found near Salmo, about 80 kilometres away, but police say the suspect has not been located.

Staff Sgt. Scott Aschenbrenner, commander of the Southeast District Major Crime Unit, says it’s believed the suspect and victims knew each other, but names have not been released.

A global PANDEMIC is NO time for STANDARDIZED testing iStoc St k

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and worsened the deep inequities in our schools and society.

That’s why BC teachers believe so strongly that, at least for this school year, the Ministry of Education must stop the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA).

With in-class learning disrupted and families’ lives full of anxiety, this is not the time to add to students’ stress with needless testing. And, with such inequitable access to technology and resources, it’s just not a fair assessment of their learning.

Instead, let’s take the time to build community and create class environments where students feel safe and ready to learn.

If you have children in Grade 4 or 7, teachers recommend that you write to your school principal and request that they be excused from the FSAs. For more information, including a sample withdrawal letter, visit bctf.ca.

A message from the Surrey Teachers’ Association

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Saturday, January 9, 2021

Accused in alleged drug trafficking ring forfeit houses, cash, jewelry valued at $2.3 million

From page 1

girlfriend, Alisha Ann Watkins; and Can Auto Electric and Appliance Repair Ltd. A list of all the Canadian politicians who vacationed abroad while you locked down The consent order grants judgment to the civil forfeiture office of two properties in Mission and another in Coquitlam. The properties are valued at $2.1 million, according to B.C. Assessment Authority records. The civil forfeiture office has the right to sell the houses for proceeds that will be paid to the province.

Court records in separate actions by financial institutions show that two

of the houses have mortgages totalling about $800,000 — so the payout to the province will be reduced by that amount.

The Naidus had to hand over “vacant possession” of the houses by Dec. 31, according to the consent order.

The defendants also agreed to forfeit more than $200,000 in cash, five designer handbags, two Rolex watches and a gold necklace, according to the consent order.

New Westminster police had seized the cash, some in U.S. and Mexican currency, and the jewelry during an investigation that uncovered the alleged drug-trafficking ring dealing in cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine, according to the forfeiture suit.

Indian-American lawmakers criticise storming of US capitol From page 1 Trump was rejected in courts by people his party appointed, rejected by states where his party was in power, and now by his party’s Senate leader and Vice President. Democracy is still sacred for Americans. That spirit will overcome today’s violence. Prayers for the injured, Khanna said.Congresswoman Jayapal said that she was safe. I was one of a dozen representatives in the gallery above the House floor. We pulled out gas masks and had to get down on the ground. Capitol police barricaded the doors and had guns drawn. We were eventually told that we had to quickly exit, said the first-ever Indian American woman elected to the US House of Representatives.

I can’t contain my rage at Donald Trump and Republicans who invited, incited, and fuelled this terror. Our country and our democracy will have to recover from these deep wounds and it won’t be easy. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and thoughts for our safety and for America, she tweeted. Congressman Bera, the senior-most member of the so-called Samosa Caucus, tweeted that he was safe. “The storming of the US Capitol is dangerous and disgusting…, he said.

Congressman Krishnamoorthi was also locked down when Trump supporters stormed the Congress. He said that he is in fight or flight mode. The Indian-American Congressman blamed the speech of President Trump for the unprecedented breach of the US Capitol. Our country is better than this, our democracy is stronger than this, and we will move forward. But this is a dark day for our country, he said. Trump – who lost the popular and electoral college vote – continues to dispute the results. He alleges that there was massive voters fraud and electoral malpractice. Election officials have denied the allegations.

South Asian man gunned down in South Surrey From page 1 Just over a year ago, another rapper aligned with the Brothers Keepers named Tyrel Nguyen Quesnelle, 22, was charged in Randy Kang’s murder and with the attempted murder of Gary Kang. The Kangs have been aligned with the Red Scorpions and locked in a violent conflict for years with the Brothers Keepers gang. At one point, the Kangs and the BK were aligned but the two sides split around the time of Randy Kang’s murder, leading to shootings and murders ever since, especially after BK founder Gavinder Grewal was murdered inside his leased North Vancouver penthouse on Dec. 22, 2017.

Gary Kang, 24, had convictions for only minor offences like driving while prohibited and breaching court-ordered conditions prior to his guilty plea last month. The charges to which he pleaded guilty are also covered by the ban. He was originally charged in August 2018 after the Vancouver Police-led Project Territory investigation. At the time, VPD said the Territory probe, which also involved the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, resulted in the seizure of 93 firearms, 59 prohibited devices, more than 9.5 kilograms of fentanyl, close to 40 kilograms of other illicit drugs, as well as $833,000 cash, $800,000 worth of jewelry, and collector cars valued at $350,000. Kang and his brothers grew up in southeast Vancouver and had been on police radar for years before Randy’s 2017 murder and the 2018 arrests.

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Saturday, January 9, 2021 From page 5

Doctors and nurses want BC to rethink ‘extremely alarming’ delay to 2nd Covid-19 vaccine dose

B.C. extends ban on social gatherings until Feb. 5, announces 761 new COVID-19 cases The doctors’ and nurses’ letters raise similar concerns about the lack of data on the efficacy of the vaccines if second doses are delayed. “By not following the advocated guideline, B.C. has elected to unroll the vaccine in a fashion that is not supported by the existing evidence and could be considered ‘experimental,’” the doctors’ letter says. A spokesperson for the Doctors of B.C. said representatives are meeting with government officials, including Henry, to discuss the doctors’ concerns about vaccine rollout. During Thursday’s news briefing, Henry defended the decision to delay second doses. “We did an ethical review, we looked at the data, we looked at the modelling of how many people we could best protect and we looked at the operational issues of how much vaccine we’re expecting,” she said. “Absolutely, the science bears out that this is a reasonable approach that maximizes our ability to protect

Canada to vaccinate federal inmates against Covid-19 before seniors & frontline workers From page 1 Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the government was following the advice of an advisory committee which said people congregated together in places such as prisons were at higher risk.

But the move came under fire from the federal opposition Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole, who posted on Twitter that, “Not one criminal should be vaccinated ahead of any vulnerable Canadian or front line health worker.”

The president of the union representing Canadian correctional officers said he supported prioritizing inmates but wanted vaccines now for his members, as well. The Corrections Canada statement said prison staff would get inoculated through their province or territory and that the agency is working closely with these governments to ensure health workers in prisons are vaccinated in the first phase.

Many jurisdictions have struggled to keep people behind bars safe during the pandemic. According to an October report from the National Academies Press, COVID-19 infection rates among the incarcerated population were nearly five times higher than that of the general U.S. population.

Vaccination is “a really important initiative to address the higher risk of transmission in prisons and the fact that there are multiple active outbreaks in prisons,” Dr. Farah Mawani, a social and psychiatric epidemiologist with Unity Health Toronto.

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more people during this, the most infectious period where we have the highest risk of transmission.” Both letters also raise ethical concerns about informed consent, arguing that those who received a first dose before Dec. 24 understood they would receive the second on the authorized schedule. The nurses’ letter to Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix says, “Individuals were explicitly informed by those who were administering the vaccination that a second dose would be required within 21 days for the Pfizer vaccine. “The decision to announce a delayed vaccination schedule after doses have begun to be administered is in itself an experiment that we unknowingly became a part of and that we did not consent to.” But Henry disputed that characterization Thursday, saying, “What people consented to was a two-dose series.” Health Canada currently recommends the doses be given “as close as possible to the authorized dosing regimen,”

according to an email from a spokesperson.

However, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization is currently looking into the scientific and ethical evidence on delaying second doses so as many people as possible can receive the shot, and an update is expected soon.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, on the other hand, has come out strongly against delaying second doses, calling the idea “premature and not rooted solidly in the available evidence.” In a statement released Monday, the American body said there is a significant risk to public health in changing the vaccine schedule. “We know that some of these discussions about changing the dosing schedule or dose are based on a belief that changing the dose or dosing schedule can help get more vaccine to the public faster,” the statement reads.

“However, making such changes that are not supported by adequate scientific evidence may ultimately be counterproductive to public health.”

Social gathering restrictions to be extended until February 5 The vaccine rollout continues in B.C. with the plan to have half-a-million people vaccinated by the end of March.

So far, 41,064 people have been vaccinated in the province.

B.C. reports 761 new cases of COVID-19, highest one-day total since Dec. 13 Henry reported 761 new cases of the virus Thursday, along with eight more deaths bringing B.C.’s death toll to 970.

Story continues below advertisement All of the fatalities were in long-term care.

Thursday’s reported case count was the highest one-day total of new cases since Dec. 13.

There were 6,349 active cases in the province, along with at least 8,849 people isolating due to possible exposure. That figure did not include the Northern Health region.

In addition, there are two more people who have contracted what is known as the U.K. variant of COVID-19.

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Saturday, January 9, 2021 Biden picks Indian-American Vanita Gupta as associate attorney general From page 1

the American people with honor and integrity,” Biden said. “They will restore the independence of the Department so it serves the interests of the people not a presidency, rebuild public trust in the rule of law, and work tirelessly to ensure a more fair and equitable justice system,” he said.

Gupta, 46, is currently serving as President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. If confirmed by the US Senate, Gupta would be the highest ranking IndianAmerican in the Department of Justice. They are among the “most accomplished” legal minds in our country who also reflect the best of America’s full range of talents and background, Biden said.

“I am honored they accepted this call to serve at such a critical time in our nation’s history,” he said. A former acting assistant attorney general and one of the best-known and most respected civil rights attorneys in America, Gupta would be the first woman of colour to serve in this role.

She has spent her career fighting successfully for greater equity in our justice system and advancing

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the rights and dignity of every American, Biden’s transition said. Gupta served as acting assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division — the chief civil rights prosecutor for the United States. She is a successful consensus builder on tough issues, with years of experience on managing complex settlements and advocacy experience. Judge Garland is an independent jurist on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. A consensusbuilding voice, Garland has worked under Democratic and Republican administrations.

He led investigations into some of the most high-profile cases and crises in modern history and coordinated the government’s response to the Oklahoma City bombing. Judge Garland’s nomination underscores the President-elect’s commitment to restore integrity and the rule of law, boost morale of the dedicated career professionals at DOJ, and build a more equitable justice system that serves all Americans, the transition said.

How a 45% decrease in testing and lack of data over the holidays have obscured COVID-19 transmission rates Over the last two weeks in British Columbia, a number of factors have made it difficult for people tracking the COVID-19 pandemic to make firm determinations about whether transmission of the virus is declining. “I think we’ll just have to wait for another week or so to see,” said Jens Von Bergmann, a Vancouver data scientist.

This is largely due to a decline in testing of around 45 per cent — from a daily average of around 12,000 in late November and early December to around 6,500 a day since Dec. 20. It means that while the average number of daily cases has declined by 13 per cent since Dec. 20, the positivity rate has risen to its highest average in the course of the pandemic. At the same time, hospitalizations have risen slightly. “It’s really hard to put a lot of certainty into anything,” said Von Bergmann.

Here’s what we know about the decrease in testing, and when we’ll be able to have a better sense of where B.C. stands. Why the testing decrease? According to Daniel Coombs, a UBC mathematician who has worked with the province on its pandemic modelling, the decline in testing can be attributed to three main factors. The first is a sharp decrease over the holidays in testing by private organizations — which usually account for 20 to 30 per cent of overall tests — much of which is due to film productions going on pause.

The second factor is some people choosing not to get tested when they otherwise would due to personal holiday considerations — a point emphasized by Chief Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry last week.

But the third factor has less to do with the holidays, and more to do with the trend

line B.C. was on before they began. “Since a month ago, there’s been a decline in the number of cases before testing went down,” said Coombs.

“Not massive, but it has been going downward. And less cases means less contact tracing required, less testing of asymptomatic people.”

Coombs said the one exception is in Northern Health, where cases rapidly increased before the holiday period, and the positivity rate has been above 17 per cent in recent days.

Both Coombs and von Bergmann said it was difficult to know what percentage of people who typically would have gotten tested over the holidays would have been positive.

“We could build better models that also account for holidays … but I don’t think anyone has done this, “said Bergmann.

In addition, since Dec. 18, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control has not issued its weekly situation report, which provides additional data, including the public testing positivity rate.

Fewer COVID-19 tests in B.C. could be driving lower case numbers, Dr. Bonnie Henry says Its next report will be released on Friday, two weeks after Christmas. That information will come at the same time positive tests based on transmissions happening at Christmas gatherings will be fully known.

Those who track the numbers are hopeful that additional information will provide additional clarity.

“If you called me in two days, I would feel more comfortable,” said Coombs.

“But right now … it’s just a little too early to say.”

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Saturday, January 9, 2021

Suspect in Creston double homicide found dead: RCMP RCMP say the suspect in a double homicide in Creston, B.C. has been found dead in the Kootenay community of Salmo.

Police found the man deceased near a motel, and say “criminality is not suspected” in his death.Police had launched a manhunt across the southeastern corner of the province, after two people were found two people with critical stab wounds Wednesday night.

RCMP and BC Ambulance were called just after 7 p.m. on Wednesday to the Highway 3 pullout near the Summit Creek Bridge outside Creston.

They arrived to find a 40-year-old Calgary man who was badly injured but still alive. He succumbed to his injuries despite medical aid.A second victim, a 25-year-old woman

from the West Kootenay region, was also suffering serious injuries. She was rushed to hospital but was also later pronounced dead.

Both victims had been stabbed by a suspect who reportedly fled the scene in a vehicle associated with one of the victims, police said.

Investigators said they later found the vehicle near Salmo, just west of Creston.

“We can appreciate this is not the outcome the victims’ families may have hoped for, but we hope this news brings them comfort in their grief,” Staff Sgt. Scott Ashenbrenner said in a media release.

The RCMP Southeast District Major Crime Unit was deployed from Kelowna.

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Saturday, January 9, 2021

Almost 50 cases of Covid-19 tested positive at Surrey secondary school - superintendent says Nearly 50 people associated with five different classes at Earl Marriott Secondary School in Surrey have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a letter from the school district’s superintendent to members of the school community on Sunday. In the letter, Surrey schools superintendent Jordan Tinney writes that the school district sent out several coronavirus exposure notices as winter break was approaching and into the break itself.

“We had some classes and individuals who were required to self-isolate over the holidays, which is not how we would want anyone to spend their winter break,” Tinney writes in the letter. “We have subsequently met with Fraser

Health to learn more about those closing days and how we might review and adjust our plans as we open for January.” The letter goes on to outline “a few things” the school will be doing differently when classes resume, including reminding parents to complete their children’s daily screening for COVID-19, encouraging mask use at secondary schools even in classrooms where they’re not required, and adjusting protocols related to staff common spaces and physical education classes. The Canadian Union of Public Employees for school support staff in B.C. posted Tinney’s letter on Twitter and encouraged everyone involved in B.C. schools to “exercise caution, act responsibly and out of caring and compassion for others around you.”

2 suspects accused in death of Calgary police officer turn themselves in Two men wanted on first-degree murder warrants for the death of Calgary police Sgt. Andrew Harnett have turned themselves in.

Harnett, 37, a 12-year veteran of the Calgary Police Service, was killed when a vehicle fled while he was conducting a traffic stop around 10:50 p.m. local time Thursday in the area of Falconridge Blvd. and Falconridge Drive N.E. Nearby officers and paramedics who arrived on scene tried to save the officer, but he was pronounced deceased in hospital near midnight. At about 11 a.m., officials named two suspects wanted for murder in connection with Harnett’s death. Amir Abdulrahman, 19, and a 17-year-old who can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act are facing charges of firstdegree murder after turning themselves in to police later in the day. Police had earlier named the 17-year-old suspect, having made an application to the Youth Division of the Calgary provincial court.

He can no longer be named now that he is before the justice system. Police had also released images of a suspect vehicle, which was located a short time later and taken for forensic testing.

“Time is crucial in the progression of investigations, as evidence can be tampered with or destroyed if not quickly secured,” said homicide Staff Sgt. Martin Schiavetta.

“It was because of numerous tips from the public that we were able to locate and seize the suspect vehicle within hours and examine it for key evidence.

We are grateful for the collaboration between the Service, our media partners and the community in working together to find answers in this tragedy.” Police say the 17-year-old is alleged to be the driver of the sport utility vehicle that

struck Harnett while Abdulrahman was his passenger. Police said Harnett joined the force 12 years ago after serving as a military police officer.

During a media availability on Friday, Calgary Police Chief Mark Neufeld said Harnett was a decorated officer who won at least two Chief ’s Awards for saving lives.

“A family has lost a son, a sibling has lost a brother, a spouse has lost a partner and many, many members of our service have lost a really good friend,” he said. The president of the Calgary Police Association said Harnett always kept his duty to keep Calgarians safe above all else. “He made the ultimate sacrifice while fulfilling his oath to protect Calgarians,” said John Orr. “Andrew did not do this for praise or for personal gain. He did so because he has a deep commitment to service in his community.” Orr says every member of the CPS has put their grief aside to help in the investigation into Harnett’s murder. “I want to let Andrew’s family know that he is in all of our hearts and our thoughts and he will be remembered always.”

Neufeld added a second vehicle was also involved in the crash and did make contact with Harnett, but did not get into further details about exactly how his injuries were inflicted.

The driver of the second vehicle did remain on scene and Neufeld says they are cooperating with the investigation.

Harnett’s investigation of the vehicle prior to the incident was instrumental in identifying suspects.

“He is helping us solve this and bring those responsible to justice,” said Neufeld.

The murder of a police officer carries a mandatory first-degree murder charge, but an intent to kill still needs to be proven.

Sgt. Andrew Harnett died in hospital after he was hit and dragged by a vehicle during a traffic stop on Dec. 31, 2020.

Saturday, January 9, 2021 BC Supreme Court gives OK to class-action lawsuit against WestJet over baggage fee A class-action lawsuit against WestJet Airlines has been given the green light by B.C.’s Supreme Court.

This week, B.C. Supreme Court Justice J. Francis ruled in favour of plaintiff PhebeJoy Trotman, who was seeking a class proceeding against WestJet regarding its baggage-fee charges from 2014 to 2019.

In the lengthy court ruling, which can be viewed here, the plaintiff claimed that WestJet charged a baggage fee during a time period when customers would not have to pay a fee for their first checked bag.

“The plaintiff claims that, by charging fees for baggage carriage in a manner contrary to WestJet’s own tariffs, WestJet violated the Competition Act, breached its contract

with its customers, and was unjustly enriched,” the court ruling explained.

The decision also noted that “by law, every commercial airline in Canada must publish tariffs, which form part of the airline’s contract with each of its customers.”

It said for domestic flights, the requirement to publish and display tariffs is set out in the Canada Transportation Act. For international flights, the requirement is set out under Air Transportation Regulations.

The court decision went into detail about WestJet’s baggage fees, noting that “from October 2014 to March 2016, WestJet’s domestic tariff contained conflicting Continued on page 15

Police looking for suspect in stabbing in Downton east The Vancouver Police Department has released surveillance footage of an altercation on East Hastings Street early Tuesday morning that left a man with non-life-threatening stab wounds.

The incident happened at about 2 a.m.

Tuesday in front of the Astoria Hotel on Hastings Street near Hawks Avenue.

The surveillance video shows two men hanging onto each other as they fight on the sidewalk. One of the men — identified by police as the suspect — is seen holding a knife. A witness rushes toward them before pausing cautiously.

Vancouver Police Department shows an altercation in East Vancouver that left a man with non-life-threatening stab wounds. 0:52 “We want to speak with the other

person involved and anyone else who may have seen this altercation take place,” said VPD Const. Tania Visintin.

Visintin said in a written statement that a 47-year-old man was stabbed by the suspect, who walked away to the west on Hastings Street. The stabbing victim was taken to hospital.

Police described the suspect as: Around five feet, ten inches tall (178 cm).

Thin build.

Wearing black rain jacket, black sweat pants and a grey baseball hat at the time of the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators at 604-717-4022.

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LOCAL

Saturday, January 9, 2021

A

Public health agency president says employee’s trip to Jamaica was A ‘unacceptable’ The president of the Public Health Agency of Canada says it is “unacceptable” that one of the agency’s managers ignored advice and vacationed in Jamaica last fall.

Iain Stewart said that although the trip taken by Dominique Baker in November was not related to her work for the federal agency, its employees are expected to heed public health advice not to travel. Baker has now removed a blog post from her personal style blog and videos from her Instagram account about an all-expenses paid trip she took to an expensive resort in Montego Bay in November.

Her bosses were alerted to the trip just as a series of stories emerged about politicians and health officials ignoring the warning not to travel while the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage. Baker is the manager of the office of border and travel health — a Public Health Agency of Canada program tasked with keeping communicable diseases out of Canada and reducing public health risks to travellers.

Her trip was paid for by Air Canada Vacations as part of its work hiring social media “influencers” to promote their tours. The November 24 blog post Baker published about the trip is no longer online. The federal public health agency “takes these matters very seriously,” Stewart said.

“PHAC has consistently told Canadians they should avoid travel during the pandemic,” he said. “To have employees disregard this travel advice is unacceptable.

As a general principle, we expect PHAC employees to encourage Canadians to follow public health advice, not to engage in nonessential travel.” He said the agency became aware of the trip after photos were posted on social media as part of a campaign to promote international vacations.

“When the situation was brought to PHAC’s attention, the matter was acted upon immediately and a review was initiated. We will not comment further to respect the employee’s privacy.” Baker’s videos included a description of what it was like to fly during the pandemic, and the precautions taken by the airline and the hotel to keep people safe.

Stewart also was asked whether there was an ethical issue with an employee accepting a free trip. He said the agency has a Values and Ethics Code which requires employees to declare any “real, potential or apparent” conflict of interest.

Stewart did not say if Baker is being disciplined for the trip, or if she declared any conflict related to it.

In the last two weeks, the list of federal and provincial politicians and health officials whose international vacations have gone public has grown long. Several MPs and provincial legislature members and staffers have been demoted from cabinet or have lost roles on committees and as cabinet aides as a result.

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Health Canada delays drug-pricing reforms, citing COVID challenges for manufacturers Health Canada says it’s delaying the implementation of long-awaited changes to Canada’s drug-pricing regime by another six months.

A spokesman for the department says the amendments to patented medicine regulations, which were set to take effect Jan. 1, will now come into force on July 1.

Study seeks to answer: What’s the best type of music for psychedelic therapy?

Geoffroy Legault-Thivierge says the postponement is intended to give pharmaceutical manufacturers more time to adjust to new reporting requirements while dealing with the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The overhaul is set to recalibrate how the arm’slength Patented Medicine Prices Review Board calculates fair prices for patented medicines.

Drug manufacturers and patient advocates have balked at the plan, citing concerns that the regulations could stifle scientific innovation and reduce access to therapies for rare diseases.

Legault-Thivierge says federal and Quebec courts have upheld most of the amendments, but struck down key provisions that would require manufacturers to disclose third-party rebates, including deals with provincial drug programs.

He says the federal ruling is under appeal, and Ottawa is reviewing the Quebec decision while it determines its next steps.

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, January 9, 2021

Covid-19 outbreak declared in VGH unit Two patients in the hospitalist unit at Vancouver General Hospital have tested positive for Covid-19.

In response an outbreak has been declared, according to Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH).

The unit, LB8A, is now closed to new admissions and transfers. Visits have also been suspended except in the case of end of life.

“Vancouver General Hospital remains open and is prepared to safely receive and care for

all individuals who require urgent and emergent care.

At this time, there is limited impact to other areas of Vancouver General Hospital,” states VCH in a press release.

To help stop the spread of the outbreak new protocols are in place, including close monitoring of patients and staff and increased cleaning.

At the same time, a previous outbreak in the respiratory unit (T12A) has been declared over.

Photographers attacked at pro-Trump rally in downtown Vancouver Photographers were attacked in downtown Vancouver on Wednesday while documenting a rally in support of Donald Trump.

Among them was CBC News journalist Ben Nelms, who said a man charged at him without provocation and punched him in the face.

“He was upset that I, along with other members of the media were taking pictures and reporting the event. Physical violence against members of the media is wrong and doesn’t just happen outside of Canada, but here in Vancouver,” Nelms said in a statement.

Nelms was shaken up but not seriously injured.

Video captured at the scene shows two other men being shoved by a man with a ponytail. In another altercation, a woman who had earlier identified herself to CTV News as “Melania Slovana” allegedly struck a photographer over the head with a modified American flag while yelling at him.

“You are not allowed to take a picture of me, you have to ask us to take a picture,” she said.

In Canada, people are legally

allowed to take pictures and video in public places without permission.

The incidents happened outside the Vancouver Art Gallery, where about two dozen people gathered to show their support for Trump and his efforts to overturn the results of the country’s fair and democratic election.

Most of the people in attendance, who were carrying Trump flags and signs, were peaceful.

Protester Corrina Conlan told CTV she has been “praying for all the hidden votes that have been stolen to be exposed.”

“I love Trump. He stands for Christians,” said Conlan, who was wearing a red Trump 2020 toque. “This country was built and fought for by Christians. We believe in freedom.”

Conlan indicated she was not aware of the latest developments in Washington, where armed rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol Building, but expressed some support for their cause.

“If it has to come down to that,” she said. “I know in Ukraine they took the politicians and roughed

Welcoming letter to 2021

By Vibhooti Vaishnav

Welcome 2021, You are the light at the end of the tunnel, you bring us hope, A hope that you will enable us to restore and resume our life that has come to a halt.

2020 will go down in history as a year of pandemic but you, 2021, will be remembered as a year that saved us.

Welcome 2021, with all your might, make us laugh and talk and eat and hug again, bring the friends and family fun, all the joy that 2020 had deprived us of.

Welcome 2021 With all our hearts But remember your importance is only because of 2020.

For 2020 made us learn how to be in touch on line, be it school, work or social time.

Yes, if it wasn’t for 2020, you would be another year , but you will be on a pedestal as you will bring us out of darkness into the light.

Although we despise 2020, it was a wake up call, an eye opener.

We learned a lot about different worlds.

Of the world of virus, human behaviour, politics, healthcare systems, crises and stress and economic and financial hardships.

We faced outcomes and we overcame hurdles.

And we went in distress but we also resolved, we learned to endure with grit, we learned to get up and move on with resilience.

To our dismay, We revealed an ugly face of human kind but we also saw some wonderful cooperative collaboration of humans, we experienced some very disrespectful behaviours at the same time we participated in acknowledging and cheering of frontline workers. We saw some misguided crowds who wanted to execute their rights and in parallel, we saw a whole class who went out of their way to help out the one in need.

Unfortunately we lost loved ones in solitude, lost jobs and incomes were real crunch for far too many. Distress, despair, depression, broken relationships endured were the true test of times.

In this duality of life lies our true nature

that surfaces with circumstances and the way we show up during the difficult crises, is our true self. 2020 was a mirror that showed us not just what we want but what we are, as an individual, as a society, as a nation, as a world.

We Thank you, 2020, for teaching us biggest lessons of lifeTo value time, and enjoy every moment.

Not to regret but to learn from past and not to worry but be prepared for future and thus live in the now, the present moment with content.

To value family and friends, to spend some time and to listen, attend to needs, and be grateful instead of complaining. To value things, money and relationship as they are and not

Happy New Year 2021 blindly run after them. Money and things are means not goals of life.

And to learn to adapt, adjust, to accept and to move forward with what life has to offer us.

2021 , you bring us the essence of life back, for we look forward to be able to be free and fearless from this little virus, we look forward to travel and admire the nature and history around us, we look forward to share and care for our friends and family, we look forward to have a new perspective to life , to appreciate, to love, to empathize, to serve.

We promise to accept and face the challenges of life, adapt to changes and keep that inner flame of survival burning, implement what challenging times of 2020 has taught us.

More importantly to live.

So welcome 2021 and Thank you for bringing new hope and new beginnings, that we all deserve.

Have a Happy healthy safe year as we enter a new decade.

LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, January 9, 2021 Care home workers at BC’s most devastating Covid-19 outbreak struggling Staff trying to contain the province’s worst COVID-19 outbreak are reporting they’re tired, stressed out and scared.

That’s the latest on Vancouver’s Little Mountain Place where 41 people –more than a third of the residents– have died since that outbreak was declared Nov. 22.

Mike Old, the interim Secretary-Business Manager with the Hospital Employees Union, says nearly 120 HEU members work there.

“I am concerned over the long term about the mental health of our members. I mean, we’re going to be living with the consequences for a very long time. The most important thing is that we control community infection because, as community infections rise, it’s inevitable that they will get into care homes and as we’ve seen, it can have devastating consequences.”

For weeks, families with loved ones at the privately-operated complex have been complaining about information not be readily shared with them by operators of the home in which 114 of the 117 available beds were occupied before the outbreak was declared.

Old says they’re aren’t the only ones having trouble accessing data.

“It’s really important in terms of ongoing confidence and sort of our public health direction that we have transparency around numbers –especially in the long-term care system. Nobody wants Public Health officials to be doing busy work that takes us away from trying to protect seniors and save lives.”During a conference call Tuesday night, family members were told 53 of the 99 residents who tested positive are now cleared and only three of the 70 infected staff members have yet to recover.

Old said, Little Mountain Place is a tightknit community and many HEU members have been part of that team for several years.

“Workers there are very stressed, a bit scared and very tired, but they’re going to work every day to try and make sure that residents get the care they deserve. You know, under the single-site order, our ability to bring in staff from other sites is somewhat limited.”

Old also confirms employees from other hospitals and care homes within the Vancouver Coastal Health region have been brought in to help address staffing shortages until this outbreak can be declared over.

Court gives OK to class-action lawsuit against WestJet over baggage fee provisions with respect to the price of the first checked bag on a domestic WestJet flight.”

For example, it said, “the carrier will accept one piece of checked baggage without charge for a passenger only for the flight on which the passenger is travelling.”

But it also said, “a first, second, third or fourth piece of checked baggage … will be charged according to the fee tables below.”

It also noted that, “between September 2014 and February 2018, WestJet charged

passengers travelling domestically on econo fares, WestJet vacations and group fares $25 for their first checked bag.”

The court decision also said WestJet’s international tariff contained a similar inconsistency from January 17, 2016, until March 2019.

The court noted that Section 54 of the Competition Act “makes it an offence for a merchant to express two or more prices to a customer at the time of purchase and to charge the higher price.”

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Quebec to impose 8:00pm provincewide curfew until February 8, to halt COVID-19 surge Quebec Premier Francois Legault is imposing a provincewide 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew beginning Saturday and for the next four weeks as a way to halt surging COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations. Legault told reporters Wednesday he wanted to give Quebecers an “electroshock” regarding the critical situation in the province’s hospitals, which he said are overburdened with COVID-19 patients who are mostly over the age of 65. Quebec will become the first in the country to impose such a drastic measure to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The premier said that despite the fact schools, retail

stores and many other businesses have been closed since December, COVID-19 infections continue to rise. He said the transmission is coming from private gatherings. “We are obliged to provide a type of shock treatment so that people reduce their visits,” he said.

Legault says anyone found on the street after 8 p.m. without good reason would be subject to a fine of between $1,000 and $6,000.

The premier says all non-essential businesses that he ordered closed in December will remain closed until at least Feb. 8, when the curfew is scheduled to be lifted.

More UCP members travelled out of Canada for holidays, despite Alberta premier advice to avoid unnecessary trips Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s efforts to squelch a scandal over members of his government travelling abroad for the holidays appeared to fall short on Saturday as at least four more politicians copped to jet-setting against public health recommendations.

The MLAs apologized and those still abroad made a beeline back to Alberta just a day after Kenney declined to punish his municipal affairs minister for travelling outside the country and issued a directive for all members of his caucus and senior staff to return home.

More UCP members travelled out of Canada for holidays, despite Alberta premier advice to avoid unnecessary trips Calgary-Klein MLA Jeremy Nixon has been ordered to return home from Hawaii and Lesser Slave Lake MLA Pat Rehn is on his way home from Mexico, a spokeswoman for the premier confirmed Saturday, while Red Deer-South MLA Jason Stephan said he was on his way back from Phoenix, Ariz., and Calgary-Peigan MLA Tanya Fir apologized late Friday for travelling to the U.S.

“Albertans have done a tremendous job following public health guidelines and I commend them,” Fir said on Facebook. “I recently travelled to the U.S. to visit my sister.

I have since returned and will abide by the premier’s new travel directive. I sincerely apologize for this situation wholeheartedly.”

Rehn also took to Facebook to apologize, thanking his constituents for their work reducing the spread of COVID-19.

“Given this, I apologize for the fact that I recently took a previously planned family trip, following a busy legislative session,” his post reads. Kenney’s spokeswoman Christine Myatt confirmed he had been in Mexico.

“I assure you that I will work hard to regain your trust,” he wrote. “Please know I have followed all public guidelines and will observe quarantine regulations upon my return. I deeply regret this decision to travel.”

Stephan struck a less conciliatory tone, saying on Facebook that he doesn’t consider himself an exception

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14103 110 AVE., N.SURREY

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Truly delightful huge basement entry app. 7200 sqft. home sits on rectangular 9965 sqft. lot. House features 11 bedrooms & 10 washrooms build by good reputation builders. Main floor has 5 bedrooms & 4 bath with huge family room,living room,kitchen,& spice kitchen.Ground level basement has 27'x15' media room with bar & washroom for upstairs use.House has 3 spacious ground level basement suites (3 bed.+3 bed & bachelor suite).Total rent of the suites is $3500/month.Very nice tenants.Easy access to Pattulo bridge, Port Mann bridge & shopping center.Motivated sellers.Easy to show.

Truly delightful fully renovated 6 bedroom basement entry home sits on rectangular 7920 sf flat lot in most demanding area Aldergrove Langley.Main floor features 3 bed ,2 bath with new kitchen /island ,new flooring,new tiles , new woodwork,new fixtures,splash back,granite counters,new tiles,new cabinet, new windows,new zebra drapes,4 new washrooms & much more .Newly built 3 bedroom unauthorized basement suite with rear separate entry.Excellent renovated covered 333 sf Patio & deck.Landscape front & fully fenced back yard. Storage shed.Walking distance to both schools,shopping,community center with pools,water Park,ice arena,playing fields& to all major routes.

$1,779,000

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Hot deal! First Time Buyers or Investors, great investment property with reliable tenants, centrally located in a great neighbourhood. 2 bedroom and 1 bath spacious ground level apartment. Well maintained complex, with many updates on the complex over the last couple of years including, roof, windows, balconies, boilers, security cameras, fob access systems and landscaping. There is shared laundry on every floor. Wheelchair access, elevators secure underground parking. Close to Bus stop, walking distance to shopping, restaurants, banks and

This well-maintained family home w/3-beds up, suite-potential down and a detached workshop/garage has everything you and your family needs, all located centrally. It's a 5 -10min drive to Guildford Town Centre & Hwy 1; only a 3min drive to Gateway Skytrain Station. The 2-level home has a brand-new furnace, dishwasher & washing machine +plenty of other extras including a mobile accessible alarm system and a cozy living room gas fireplace for winter nights. The back deck located off the dining room is perfect for summer barbecues! In addition to the carport and the driveway that fits up to 4-5 vehicles, the 10,200sf lot (60x170) has a massive 1100sf detached workshop that will

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5843 180 STREET, CLOVERDALE 6559 CLAYTONHILL PLACE, CLOVERDALE

$912,500

Solid family home on almost 10,000 square foot rectangular lot in Cloverdale with loads of potential. Large open lot offers plenty of space for a pool, playground & trampoline; or use the extra space to build your dream home. Great central location close to shopping, transit & schools. Same owners since 1987. Three bedrooms up, one down in partially finished basement (just needs a closet). Walkout basement with its own entrance offers potential for two bedroom suite. Large covered patio off the living area overlooks the private, sunny backyard. Transform it into a modern, functional family home

$1,695,238

Welcome to CLOVERDALE'S NEW MASTERPIECE with beautiful VIEWS which is built in the prestigious and quiet Claytonhill neighbourhood. With almost 6000 sq. ft. of spacious living, this family home features 9 BEDROOMS & 9 BATHROOMS and is situated on a 6875 sq. ft. lot. Open concept main floor with decks offering views of BC's mountains, A/C, HRV, security system & more! Beautiful tile floors and engineered wood is carefully placed throughout the home.

9ft ceilings showcased throughout the home with an exquisite chef's kitchen, wok kitchen and bedroom that can be used for all your different needs. This AMAZING home has left no expenses spared with EVERY bedroom on main and upper floor offering a WALK-IN CLOSET and EN-SUITE. 2 BASEMENTS each having 2 beds (2+2),

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Saturday, January 9, 2021

Saturday, January 9, 2021

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INTERNATIONAL

Saturday, January 9, 2021

Goodale rejects Iran’s offer to compensate Canadian victims of downed Ukraine plane Canada’s special adviser on the Iranian military’s downing of a passenger jet one year ago this week is rejecting Tehran’s offer to pay $150,000 to the families of those killed in the tragedy.

Ralph Goodale, the former Liberal public safety minister, says Iran doesn’t have the right to offer compensation to victims’ families unilaterally.

Goodale told The Canadian Press the final amount will be subject to negotiations between Iran and Canada and the four other countries whose citizens were killed on the plane. Iranian state television announced on Dec. 30 that the Tehran government was setting aside $150,000 for each family that lost someone on the plane. The announcement caught Canada and the other countries offguard and appeared intended to mitigate the growing criticism of Iran as the oneyear anniversary of the killings approached.

“There is a negotiating process that

has yet to take place,” said Goodale.

“But it hasn’t yet begun. So, it’s a bit premature for a number to be circulated in the public domain, because none of the other parties involved in this process have had any input whatsoever.”

Goodale was appointed last March to lead Canada’s response to the Jan. 8, 2020 shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard that killed all 176 people on board.

They included 55 Canadian citizens, 30 permanent residents and 53 more travellers bound for Canada, including many Iranian students, as well as citizens of Britain, Afghanistan, Sweden and Ukraine.

Goodale, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other government members are to meet privately Thursday in a virtual event with families and loved ones of those who perished.

Trudeau has spoken to all of them recently, said Goodale, and he will reaffirm his commitment to declare Jan.

Turbine-powered Indian hypercar coming to USA As buyers eagerly await the long-delayed arrival of the Tesla Roadster, another unconventional hypercar may end up arriving first. It’s called the Shul, and it comes from Indian automaker Vazirani Automotive that first showed off the car at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Rather than run on pure electric power like a Tesla, the Shul uses a gasoline-powered turbine to propel four electric motors on each axle. No performance figures exist for the car just yet, but the company’s CEO and Chief Designer Chunky Vazirani is confident that his creation is one-of-a-kind.

“We don’t believe we have any competitors,”

Vazirani told CarBuzz. “Our goal was to make the simplest battery solution out there.

Through the years of internal R&D, we tried various methods including liquid-cooled battery packs like Tesla and most other brands have implemented. But we found that solution to be complex, heavy, and energy inefficient.”

“As cooling is ultimately all about the heat exchange with the air, we got inspired from the aircooled Porsche era and brought that inspiration to the 21st century to cool batteries,” Vazirani explained. “We feel our solution is optimal when it comes to design complexity and weight.

4 killed in violence as Trump supporters storm US Capitol Hundreds of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday in a stunning bid to overturn his election defeat. But after hours of chaos in which police battled to regain control, lawmakers returned to Congress to begin certifying Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

In the gravest assault on the symbol of American democracy in more than 200 years, rioters forced their way past metal security barricades, broke windows and scaled walls to fight their way into the Capitol, where they roamed the hallways and scuffled with police officers.

Police said four people died - one from gunshot wounds and three from medical emergencies - during the chaos.

A police officer detains a pro-Trump protester during clashes at a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, at the US Capitol Building in Washington, US, January 6, 2021.

Some besieged the House of Representatives chamber while lawmakers were inside, banging on its doors and forcing suspension of the certification debate.

Security officers piled furniture against

the chamber’s door and drew their pistols before helping lawmakers and others escape

By Wednesday night, both houses of Congress resumed their debate on the certification of Biden’s Electoral College win, and it quickly became clear that objections from pro-Trump Republican lawmakers to Biden’s victory in battleground states would be rejected overwhelmingly,

including by most Republicans.

“To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today - you did not win,” Vice President Mike Pence, who presided over the session, said as it resumed. “Let’s get back to work,” he said, drawing applause.

Police struggled for more than three hours after the invasion to clear the Capitol of Trump supporters before declaring the building secure shortly after 5:30 p.m.

One woman died after being shot during the mayhem, Washington police said, although the circumstances were unclear.

INDIA

Saturday, January 9, 2021

19

What to expect from next round of talks between Centre and the farmers

A

head of the eighth round of talks with Union ministers on Friday, BKU leader Rakesh Tikait on Thursday said the government can try as much as it can but farmers will not go back home till the three Acts are repealed. “The government still has time till tomorrow. It can make a law on MSP and take back the three laws and fulfil demands of the agitation.

“The tractor march today was a trailer, the full movie will be shown on January 26 (Republic Day when farmers have planned a tractor parade),” he said. Meanwhile, slamming the “attempts to defame the agitation”, Dr Darshan Pal of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha said “few anti-social elements are disturbing the protests by various activities”.

A day in the life of ‘One-Man Hindutva Army’ in India’s Uttar Pradesh Vijaykant Chauhan celebrates the fact that his life’s purpose – stopping ‘love jihad’ – is now supported by the police and government.

Vijaykant Chauhan, in his early 40s, wakes up alone every morning at 5 am. His room is simple, he says – and reiterates that a simple life is the best.

He peeks out of the door and has a quick look at about a hundred cows standing just outside, in his gaushala, before he plans for the “busy” day ahead.

Besides working to stop “love jihad” in his home state, Uttar Pradesh, Chauhan runs a cow shelter called Pracheen Sidh Peeth Shri Shri Gau Devi Mandir Gaushala near Bharatmata Chauk Numaish Camp, Saharanpur. He spends hours collecting fodder for the cows, as well as carrying out an awareness campaign in the mornings, driving a tiny e-rickshaw. Inside the vehicle, he has installed a small temple.

This e-rickshaw is his “carrier” for six hours every morning, while he drives to at least 2,000 houses to collect fodder for the cows in his gaushala. “I begin my day seeing devoted Hindus donate fresh, good food for cows.

After that, I start with my visits and other meetings,” he says.

Chauhan has been written about extensively before; he was even the subject of a near-5,000 words article in The Guardian in 2015 – soon after the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government came to power in India.

Given the extensive media coverage he has witnessed, one may expect smooth, polished responses from him. “But I am not here to please anybody. Muslims are oppressive, violent, aggressive,” he announces with conviction.

“Jab Muslim kam hote hain toh bhaichare ki baat karte hain, aur jab sankhya me zyada hote hain toh logon ko chara bana ke kha jaate hain (When Muslims are in a minority, they talk about brotherhood, but when they are the majority, they eat people like hay),” he adds.

Chauhan’s thick moustache is reminiscent of how “Indians” are often depicted in Hollywood movies. Despite being an image of a macho Indian man – a heavy moustaches, dusky skin and a muscular body covered by army-print clothes – he is still unmarried and single. “This celibacy is for the cause of Hindutva…I anyway stay very busy with my work these days,” he explains.

Now, he is busier than ever – he has to make sure Muslim men are not able to marry Hindu women. Since The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, was passed, he even has the support of the police and the state government.

“The discipline committee is investigating reports and individuals concerned will be handed over to the police. We are again reminding the government ahead of tomorrow’s meeting that these laws should be completely repealed and remunerative MSP should be made into a legal right of all farmers. We will never accept the amendments offered by government and towards fulfilling our demands, we will continue to intensify the protests,” he said, making clear unions’ stance at the meeting.

While after the January-4 talks, it is more or less clear the government has ceded all it intends to persuade farmers to end the agitation speculations are it may offer or propose the choice of implementation of

the three contentious laws on States, giving them the power/freedom to enforce them.

Farmer’ leaders say after what Punjab BJP leaders said after their meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that “Maoists have infiltrated the movement, the PM knows best and farmers should listen to him, it is clear the government has not understood the gravity of the situation”.

“It is not about which party is in power in which State, it is about farmers,” they say.

However, while farmers threaten escalation it seems the government too is prepared for a long haul. Sources say the government has already relented on the proposed Power Act, the Ordinance on stubble pollution and offered amendments to the three Acts. “They (farmers) should tell us something new, we are ready to

discuss the three Acts clause by clause,” they say.

Given the kind of support/traction the agitation has received from common people, the matter has moved out of the hands of unions’ leaders for any resolution on lesser terms, this farmer and government negotiators know well. “It is now a people’s movement,” says a union leader. But as Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has also pointed on many occasions, for the government “it is the matter of the entire country and not just Punjab and Haryana”.

Politically, it is the question of 23 Lok Sabha seats of Punjab and Haryana and it remains to be seen how far the BJP-led Centre is willing to go to save those. Small and marginal farmers comprise almost 80 to 85 per cent.

20

INDIA

Saturday, January 9, 2021

Why India is banning the export of newly approved vaccines India authorized two COVID-19 vaccines on Sunday, paving the way for a huge inoculation program to stem the coronavirus pandemic in the world’s second most populous country.

But India will not allow the export of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine for several months, Adar Poonawalla, Serum Institute’s CEO, said Sunday. The ban on exports means that poorer nations will probably have to

wait a few months before receiving their first shots.

The company also has been barred from selling the vaccine on the private market.

“We can only give (the vaccines) to the government of India at the moment,” Mr. Poonawalla said in an interview with The Associated Press, adding the decision was also made to prevent hoarding.

Honda offers early retirement in India amid slowing motorcycle sales Honda Motor Co is offering voluntary retirement to some permanent employees at its motorcycles and scooters unit in India amid slowing demand there following the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said on Wednesday.

Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI), the country’s second-largest manufacturer of two-wheelers, said it planned to realign its production strategy to improve operational efficiency and

ensure long term business sustainability.

“The Indian auto industry is going through an exceptionally challenging phase from the past three years considering the prolonged demand slowdown and overall economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic,” the company said in a statement.

While automakers globally have been battered by the pandemic, companies in India have also been hit by slowing demand since 2019.

India’s proposed changes to anti-smoking law face objections from tobacco industry India’s tobacco industry will object to a proposal to ban smoking zones in hotels and prohibit advertising at cigarette kiosks as the government steps up anti-smoking efforts, two executives said on Wednesday.

India has over the years introduced tobacco controls and launched campaigns to deter its use, but enforcement of the law has been a challenge. The World Health Organization says nearly 1.35 million people

die each year in India due to tobacco use.

India released draft changes to its tobaccocontrol law over the weekend to ban smoking zones in hotels, restaurants and airports.

The proposal also calls for increasing the minimum legal smoking age from 18 to 21.

If implemented, the plan is seen hitting sales of companies such as ITC, Godfrey Phillips India and a unit of Philip Morris International which operate in the country’s $12 billion cigarette market, executives said.

77% Indian adults lost income due to Covid-19 pandemic: Survey 2020 has been a challenging year that no one could have predicted would turn out in the manner in which it did. The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic sent economic shockwaves globally, and its impact extended beyond an international health crisis.

The economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, in India, led to the reduction in economic activities, subsequently forcing businesses to scale or shut down their operations.

It resulted in many families being affected due to the sharp increase in unemployment.

In November 2020, Lotto247.com conducted a survey to understand the financial impact the

Covid-19 pandemic had on its Indian market.

Over 1,700 adults participated in the survey.

The survey found that 77% of economically active adults in India had lost income due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the findings, the most affected age group were adults in their 40’s. Over 80% of adults in the 40’s lost income as a result of the pandemic. Adults in their 50’s, compared to those in their 40’s, were less affected. However, 73% of them still lost income. Those aged 70 and older were the least affected age group. Only 30% of them lost income due to the pandemic.

Four dead at India steel plant after suspected gas leak Four contract workers at the Steel Authority of India Limited’s Rourkela steel plant in eastern India died on Wednesday after a suspected gas leak, the state-owned company said in a statement.

The four men were employees of private firm M/S Star Constructions and were engaged in maintenance work at the plant’s coal chemicals department, SAIL said.

“The workers felt unwell at around 9 a.m. on 06.01.2021 and were immediately rushed to the

ICU of Ispat General Hospital (IGH) at Rourkela for treatment,” the company said in a statement.

“A high-level committee has been formed to inquire into the cause of the incident and all emergency protocols have been immediately activated in the plant.”

The inspector general of police Kavita Jalan told Reuters that the police were investigating the deaths.

The plant was functioning normally, public relations officer Dhirendra Mishra said.

India’s services sector loses more steam in December, job cuts resume Growth in India’s dominant services industry continued to lose momentum in December as a resurgence in coronavirus infections weighed on new business and employment, a private survey showed on Wednesday.

A waiter wearing protective face mask and gloves sets a table inside a restaurant of JW Marriott hotel, after authorities eased lockdown restrictions that were imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease

Asia’s third-largest economy has been gradually recovering from a coronavirusinduced recession but is not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels soon, especially within the service industry - the engine of economic growth and jobs in the country.

The Nikkei/IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 52.3 in December from November’s 53.7 but held above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction for a third straight month.

Criticism mounts over India’s ‘abrupt’ approval of COVAXIN Criticism of India’s approval of a local COVID-19 vaccine without proof of its efficacy grew on Wednesday after news that a regulatory panel approved the shot just one day after asking the vaccine maker for more evidence it would work.

A medic fills a syringe with COVAXIN,

an Indian government-backed experimental COVID-19 vaccine, before administering it to a health worker during its trials, at the Gujarat Medical Education and Research Society in Ahmedabad, November 26, 2020.

India implemented several measures to facilitate trade during 2015-20: WTO India has implemented several measures to facilitate trade, such as simplification of procedures and customs clearances for imports and exports, according to WTO. Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO) said that the other trade-facilitation initiatives introduced by India since 2015 include introduction of Indian Customs Electronic Gateway (ICEGATE); Single Window Interface for Facilitation of Trade (SWIFT); the Direct Port Delivery and the Direct Port Entry facilities; and the increased

use of the Risk Management System (RMS).

These points were part of the report of India’’s seventh Trade Policy Review (TPR), which began on January 6 at the World Trade Organization. The TPR is an important mechanism under its monitoring function, and involves a comprehensive peer-review of the member’’s national trade policies.

India’’s last TPR took place in 2015.

“During the period under review, India implemented several measures to facilitate trade, such as a reduction in the number of documents required.

Temasek fund backs India start-up bringing AI technology to farms CropIn, an artificial intelligence (AI) and data-based agritech start-up, has raised US$20 million (S$26.4 million) in a funding round led by Temasek-backed ABC World Asia, as the coronavirus pandemic accelerates the adoption of digital technologies in farming.

The Bangalore-headquartered agricultural AI start-up provides Software as a Service, or SaaS, products to farms and development organisations

globally to improve predictability, efficiency and sustainability of crops.

Additional new investors in the Series C funding include Infosys billionaire co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan’s family office and a fund of the UK government, CDC Group.

CropIn has raised US$33.1 million so far.

The company was set up in 2010 by Krishna Kumar, who hails from a family of farmers.

FIJI

Saturday, January 9, 2021

Punjab

Covid-19 cases found in 4 passengers landed in Fiji

Farmers hold tractor march Ahead of the meeting with federal ministers, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said that govt can try as much as it can, but the farmers will not go back home till the three Acts are repealed.

“The govt has time till tomorrow. It can make a law on MSP and take back the three laws.

“Today’s tractor march was a trailer, the entire

movie will be shown on January 26,” he said.

Not expecting any breakthrough before the eighth round of talks with the Union Government, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha in a show of strength started took out a tractor rally.

The protesting farm groups started their tractor rally on the KundliManesar-Palwal (KMP) expressway.

284 new Covid-19 cases, 10 fatalities Ten more COVID-19 fatalities in Punjab pushed the death toll to 5,422 while 284 fresh cases took the infection count to 1,68,187 in the state on Thursday, according to a medical bulletin. There are 2,975 active COVID-19 cases in the state, as of now, it said. Mohali reported the highest number of new cases at

59, followed by Bathinda (42) and Ludhiana (30), among the fresh cases in the state, the bulletin said.

It said a total of 290 coronavirus patients were discharged after recovering from the infection, taking the number of cured persons to 1,59,790.

High Court issues notice in triple talaq case In, perhaps, the first case after the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, criminalising triple talaq came into force, a Muslim woman has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court alleging non-registration of an FIR against her husband for the offence.

A woman accuses her husband gave ‘triple talaq’ to her, by WhatsApp chat.

Taking up the petition through videoconferencing, the High Court today put the State of Punjab and other respondents on notice after taking note of the allegations that the husband gave ‘triple talaq’ on WhatsApp, which was illegal and an offence under Act. Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi also fixed the case for further hearing on March 5.

TV host Kapil Sharma summoned to police, records his statement in cheating & forgery case Kapil Sharma appeared before Crime Branch unit of Mumbai Police to record his statement in connection with cheating and forgery case against car designer Dilip Chhabria, an official said.

The Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) of Mumbai police had unearthed a major DC Avanti car financing and forgery scam and arrested Chhabria in the case last month.

“During the investigation, it came to light that comedian Kapil Sharma had also been

allegedly duped. He showed willingness to share information in connection with the case.

Accordingly, he appeared before the CIU on Thursday to record his statement,” the official said.

The alleged scam came to light when the police seized a DC Avanti, a sports-car manufactured by Dilip Chhabria Design Pvt Ltd, in south Mumbai on a tip-off that its registration number was bogus.

Pakistan Pakistan successfully test indigenously developed rocket system Pakistan on Thursday successfully conducted the test-flight of an indigenously developed Guided Multi Launch Rocket System, capable of precisely delivering conventional warheads deep into “enemy territory”.

According to Director General of Pakistan Army, Media Wing, Major General

in

enemy

Babar Iftikhar, Fatah-1 weapon system can hit targets up to a range of 140 km.

“The Weapon System will give Pakistan Army capability of precision target engagement deep territory,” Iftikhar said.

Bill introduced in US House to terminate designation of Pakistan as major non-NATO ally On the first day of the 117th Congress, a lawmaker has introduced a Bill in the US House of Representatives to terminate the designation of Pakistan as a Major non-NATO Ally.

Introduced by Republican Congressman Andy

Biggs, the Bill removes Pakistan’s designation as a major non-NATO ally, a status that allows for various benefits such as access to excess US defence supplies and participation in cooperative defence research and development projects.

7 suspected terrorists from banned militant group arrested Counter-terrorism police raided the hideouts of outlawed oneShia militant group in Punjab, and arrested seven suspected terrorists who were allegedly planning to attack leaders of rival Sunni groups.

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab police in a statement on Thursday said the suspects from the proscribed organisation SMP

(Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan) were arrested in separate raids over the last 24 hours from cities of Sargodha, Khusab and Sahiwal.It said the network was planning to kill leadership of the opposite sect.

“The main aim of the terrorists was to commit terrorism in order to spread violent sectarianism in the country and to create chaos,” it said.

Anti-terrorism court issues arrest warrant for Masood Azhar An anti-terrorism courti issued arrest warrant for banned group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief, Masood Azhar on the charges of terror financing. The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) issued warrant during a court hearing in terror financing case instituted by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) against some members of the JeM. “ATC Gujranwala judge issued an arrest warrant for Masood Azhar and

directed the CTD to arrest him and present him in the court. The CTD told the judge the JeM chief was involved in terror financing and selling jihadi literature,” an official said. He said the ATC judge issued the arrest warrant for Azhar on the request of a CTD inspector.

Azhar is believed to be hiding in a “safe place” in his native town – Bahawalpur.

Court bans virginity test for sexual assault survivors Human rights activists have welcomed a ruling by a Pakistani court to outlaw a “virginity test” for survivors of sexual assault.

The high court in Lahore, the capital of the Punjab province, on Jan. 4 issued the judgment in response to petitions filed by rights activists

21

and journalists that claimed the intrusive and demeaning practice is unreliable, unnecessary and has no scientific basis. Justice Ayesha Malik said the virginity test “offends the dignity of the female victim” and is contradictory to Article 9 and Article 14 of the Constitution.

The Ministry of Health announce four new border cases of Covid-19.

Permanent Secretary Dr. James Fong says the 1st case is a 35-year-old man who travelled from UK and arrived in Fiji on flight NZ 952 from Auckland on December 24th.

Dr. Fong says the 2nd and 3rd cases are a 25-year-old man and a 27-yearold woman who arrived on flight GA 8250 from New Delhi on December 21st.

He adds the 4th case is a 55-year-old man who

travelled from Mali and arrived in Fiji on the 31st of December on flight NZ952 from Auckland.

All four individuals tested positive during routine testing while undergoing mandatory quarantine in the government designated (and Republic of Fiji Military Forces supervised) border quarantine facilities in Nadi.

Dr. Fong says the individuals have been safely and hygienically transferred to the isolation ward at the Lautoka Hospital in accordance with the standard protocol for confirmed cases.

$200k on free lunch program Hindu religious organisation Then India Sanmarga Ikya (TISI) Sangam spent about $200,000 on its 16- week free school lunch program.

General secretary Damen Gounder said the program complemented the organisation’s core value of providing education to children.

He made the comment in Rakiraki while

thanking volunteers and branch executives for their contribution towards the initiative.

“What you all did is a fine example of what Sangam is. It is to go beyond,” he said.

“Somebody will bring you an idea, you take that idea, and you make it bigger.

Granny not ready for new school year A grandmother who works as a house girl in Nadi says she will face a tough time trying to send her three grandchildren to school this month.

Reena Wati said she was not prepared for the new school year because her meagre income was not even enough to meet their daily expenses.

“I get paid $20 a day which barely caters for

our food and few other expenses and with the school opening very soon, I have not bought anything at all for my grandchildren,” the 56-year-old said.

Ms Wati said everything from stationery, shoes and school uniforms were giving her sleepless nights.

Fiji man to be deported after serving sentence in NZ A Fiji man will be deported back home after he is released from a New Zealand prison where he was sentenced to three years and nine months for strangling his wife and injuring his son.

The man – his name has been withheld to protect the identities of his wife and children – was convicted of assault,

threatening to kill, and two counts of injuring with intend to injure in April last year.

Stuff.co reported this decision was made despite the man arguing he may not be able to access the medical treatment he needed if he got sent back to Fiji.

The man also argued in his case that he was a hard worker

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Saturday, January 9, 2021

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Saturday, January 9, 2021

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Saturday, January 9, 2021