The Asian Star January 1 2022

Happy New Year

www.theasianstar.com Vol 20 - Issue 48

Saturday, December 1, 2022

British Columbians break record for peak electricity demand during extreme cold

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Three Indian-origin Canadians honoured with Civilian Award for outstanding achievement Vaikuntam Iyer Lakshmanan; real estate mogul Bob Singh Dhillon, also known as Navjeet Singh Dhillon; and renowned paediatrician Dr Pradeep Merchant were among the 135 individuals honoured with the prestigious award, according to a press note uploaded on the website of the Governor General of Canada on Wednesday.

Three Indian-origin Canadians have been bestowed with the Order of Canada—one of the country’s highest civilian honours—for their outstanding achievement, dedication to the community, helping in building a better nation and promoting bilateral ties between Canada and India.

Internationally renowned scientist and innovator Dr

Continued on page 8

NRIs can now buy property in Inida without prior approval from RBI, except for farm houses and plantations British Columbians set a new record for peak electricity demand on Monday as temperatures dropped well below freezing in many parts of the province. Between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., demand for electricity hit an “all-time high” of 10,902 megawatts, Continued on page 6

Reserve Bank on Wednesday said that NRIs and OCIs do not require its prior approval for acquisition and transfer of immovable property in India, other than agricultural land, farm house and plantation property. The clarification has been issued by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) following queries received at its various offices with regard to acquisition of immovable properties by Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) in the wake of a Supreme Court judgment

Booster shots hard to access for seniors despite BC saying thousands unbooked Hundreds of thousands of booster shots remain unbooked over the next month despite seniors across the province saying they’re struggling to find available appointments in their local health region. The province’s vaccination program is targeting people at greatest risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Last Thursday they expanded it to those aged 63 and 64, urging them by email or text to book their third shots through the province’s “Get Vaccinated” system. Due to the lack of local appointments, some seniors, including Surrey’s Laura Sharpe, are resorting to getting their dose of protection elsewhere. “I went online within 15 minutes of receiving the text and there were no open appointments,” said the 64-yearContinued on page 7

relating to Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA). “It is hereby clarified that the concerned Supreme Court Judgment dated February 26, 2021 in Civil Appeal 9546 of 2010 was related to provisions of FERA, 1973, which has been repealed under Section 49 of FEMA, 1999,” RBI said in a release.

At present, the central bank said “NRIs/OCIs are governed by provisions of FEMA 1999 and do not require prior approval of RBI for acquisition and transfer of immovable property in India,

Trudeau says China ‘Playing’ Western States against each other Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said China has been “cleverly playing” Western nations as they compete economically and trying to divide them against each other.

“One of the challenges that we’ve had as a western world is that we compete with each other,” he told Canada’s Global News in an interview published on Saturday. “We’re trying to see how can we get better access for Canadian beef than Australian beef to this country or that market.” “There’s been a bit of competition amongst friends, because we’re capitalist democracies, on trying to do well. Especially given the extraordinary economic opportunity of the rising Chinese middle class,” he said.

Continued on page 6

Metro Vancouver was hit by cold this past week as multiple snow spells and rains hit the region from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Eve.

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Saturday, January 1, 2022 Snowfall transforms Lower Mainland into winter wonderland

SeaBus service resumes as Metro Vancouver transit faces snow and cold weather conditions Commuters between Vancouver and the North Shore were left facing major delays Thursday afternoon, after SeaBus service was suspended due to flooding.

TransLink was forced to suspend service after a burst pipe caused major flooding at Waterfront Station around 1:30 p.m.

The transit agency implemented a bus bridge over the Lions Gate Bridge as an interim measure, before SeaBus service was restored around 4 p.m.

Lower Mainland blanketed in white as 1520 cm of snow falls across the region.

SkyTrain and West Coast Express service was not affected by the flooding, Lovegreen said.

Elsewhere on the system, transit riders were experiencing significant delays due to snow and icy conditions.

Click to play video: ‘Snowfall and thin ice

warnings for Metro Vancouver’ Snowfall and thin ice warnings for Metro Vancouver. Both the Expo and Millennium SkyTrain lines were operating “slower than normal” due to the snowy conditions, TransLink said.

The bus system was experiencing heavier impacts due to traffic and snow, and Lovegreen said there had been some issues with the speed of snow removal earlier in the day.

“Our buses are only as good as the roads they drive on,” TransLink spokesperson Tina Lovegreen said. “So that’s why we’re in communication with municipalities to prioritize those bus routes, to be able to clear those roads so our buses can keep going. This morning we did see some delays and problem areas particularly in the North Shore, Burnaby, Port Coquitlam and New Westminster.”

Recent snowfalls tranform the entire Lower Mainland and South Coast of BC into winter wonderland. But some commuters face few trecherous roads on early Thursday morning in Surrey.

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Lower Mainland blanketed in white as 15-20 cm of snow falls across the region Lower Mainland residents awoke to a thick blanket of fluffy snow on Thursday, much to the delight of tobogganers and the chagrin of commuters. “From late last evening here in the Vancouver area, until about 6, 6:30 a.m. this morning, we saw 15-20 cm in snow — a little more in pockets,” said Global BC meteorologist Mark Madryga. Higher elevation areas in the North Shore, Coquitlam and Guildford in Surrey were particularly hard hit, and drivers reported difficult conditions across the region.

Police were called to a major crash overnight in Surrey on 176th Street near 97th Avenue, where a vehicle lost control in the bad weather, and was subsequently hit by another vehicle, leaving one person in hospital. Several other vehicles also lost control on the hill. Vancouver manager of street operations Amy Sidwell said crews were brining streets in anticipation of the snow, but that more precipitation fell than the five to 10 cm the city had expected.

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A stretch of highway in Surrey was closed overnight Wednesday after dangerous weather conditions led to multiple vehicles colliding.

In a news release early Thursday morning, Mounties said 176th Street, or Highway 15, was closed between 96th and 88th avenues.

Police said the incident happened in the southbound lanes near 92 Avenue late Wednesday night.

“A late model station wagon was travelling south bound on 176th Street, when it lost control due to the hazardous weather conditions, and was struck by another vehicle,” Mounties said in the news release. “Several other vehicles also lost control on the hill, resulting in several other minor collisions.”

One passenger from the station wagon was taken to hospital to have injuries treated. No other injuries were reported, police said.

“Alcohol and speed have been ruled out as factors in the collision, and the weather conditions are the major contributing factor.

The incident is still under investigation,” Mounties said in their update.

“Motorists are asked to avoid the area for the foreseeable future.”

Anyone with information or dash-cam video is asked to call Surrey RCMP at 604599-0502. Tips can also be left anonymously with Crime Stoppers.

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Saturday, January 1, 2022

BC bracing for increase in COVID hospitalizations amid 5th wave, health minister Health Minister Adrian Dix said the province is increasing hospital capacity in anticipation of increased demand due to the record-breaking fifth wave of COVID-19.

The province recorded 2,944 cases on Wednesday, the highest ever number of daily cases, with the rolling average of positive cases up significantly over the past two weeks to nearly 15 per cent due to the more infectious Omicron variant.

Hospitalizations, however, have not yet increased at the same pace, with an independent modelling group predicting peak hospital demand in the middle of January.

Dix said the province has a total hospital bed capacity of 11,582 — with 9,229 base beds and 2,353 surge capacity. Nearly 75 per cent of those beds are occupied, Dix said, with 8,669 patients requiring acute care. “[The number of patients] is significantly less than what it was three or four weeks ago,” he said. “Our challenge is to ensure that we have sufficient capacity to deal with COVID-19 patients.”

Dix said about 57 per cent of the province’s critical care beds are now occupied as well, with 420 patients in the ICU out of a capacity of 728.

“We are making adjustments and creating capacity for an expected increase in acute care and critical care patients,” he said.

Dix made the announcements at the first news conference since Christmas Eve. Officials also announced on Wednesday that an in-person return to K-12 schools would be delayed by a week for most students.

At the news conference, health officials announced that B.C. would continue to roll out third doses based on age and clinical vulnerability after criticism that the province was not prioritizing teachers for booster shots.

RCMP investigate targeted shooting in Whalley At approximately 8:05 a.m., Surrey RCMP responded to a report of a shooting at a home in the 13900-block of Laurel Drive. Police located a man suffering from an apparent gunshot wound and was taken to hospital. RCMP say the parties are known to one another and the shooting is targeted. Police said there is no indication of an ongoing threat to public safety.

Multiple officers are in the area looking for the suspect. The public is being asked to avoid the area while units, including the Integrated Police Dog Service, are investigating.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502

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Dix said the province had administered 128,000 more booster shots than original forecasts as part of an “accelerated” booster campaign, with all those above the age of 60 to receive invitations to book third doses by the end of the week.

Most people are eligible for a booster dose six months after their second shot, according to the province, with certain clinically vulnerable groups including Indigenous people being provided a dose five months after their second shot.

More than 50 per cent of Indigenous people in B.C. had received their third dose, according to Dix, and he said 240,000 eligible people in B.C. had not yet booked their third shot.

B.C.’s contact tracing and testing at maximum capacity, health officials say

Canada secretly tracked 33 million phones during COVID-19 lockdown: report Canada’s federal government admitted to secretly surveilling its population’s movements during the COVID-19 lockdown by tracking 33 million phones.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) clandestinely tracked the devices to assess “the public’s responsiveness during lockdown measures,” the agency acknowledged last week, according to Blacklock’s Reporter, which first reported the disclosure. Canada’s entire population totals 38 million, according to Statistics Canada.

“Evidence is coming in from many sources, from countries around the world, that what was seen as a huge surveillance surge post 9/11 is now completely upstaged

by pandemic surveillance,” David Lyon, author of “Pandemic Surveillance” and the former director of the Surveillance Studies Centre at Queen’s University in Ontario, said.

According to an unnamed rep, PHAC will continue the tracking for at least five more years.

The PHAC bought location and movement data from Canadian telecom giant Telus to “understand possible links between the movement of populations within Canada and the spread of COVID-19,” an agency spokesperson said, according to the paper.

The public health organization plans to continue tracking population movement for at least the next five years to control “other infectious diseases, chronic disease prevention

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By Michael Taube

OPINION

Saturday, January 1, 2022 Is Omicron the beginning of the end of COVID-19?

It was another quiet and relaxing Christmas in our household. We gazed at the tree for hours, admiring the lights and ornaments. We opened our presents, watched movies, read books, ate sumptuous meals, and listened to J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. My son could occasionally be heard laughing and singing to a DVD of Ricky’s Room. For those of you who are blissfully

unaware of this short-lived Canadian children’s program, think of it as a low-rent version of Barney & Friends. Substitute an annoying purple dinosaur with an equally irritating blue rhino on a small budget set, and you get the picture.

If that doesn’t make most people shudder, I don’t know what will.

Oh, wait. Yes, I do – the Omicron variant is spreading like wildfire in Canada.

Omicron, the 15th letter in the Greek alphabet and means ‘little O,’ was first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) on Nov. 24. It was initially detected by laboratories in Botswana and South Africa (the country that ultimately reported it) on Nov. 22, based on samples collected in the two weeks previous.

Omicron has been officially confirmed in more than 80 countries. It’s “probably” spread to most countries, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the media on Dec. 15, “at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant.”

In slightly over one month, Omicron has officially displaced Delta as the most commonly identified variant of the original coronavirus.

While the number of deaths associated with this new variant appears to be much lower than the original coronavirus and Delta variant, the spread has been more intense.

Countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, France, Poland, Greece, Australia and Germany have experienced massive surges.

Canada has experienced a significant increase with the Omicron variant, too.

Ontario and Quebec both exceeded 10,000 COVID-19 cases on or before Christmas Day, but the two provinces have witnessed decreases since then (9,418 and 8,231 on Dec. 27, respectively).

Alberta announced 1,647 new cases on Dec. 22, while B.C. was at 2,441 on Dec. 23. Saskatchewan recorded 194 cases on Dec. 23 and said 148 of them were suspected or related to Omicron. Nova Scotia recorded 581 cases on Monday. Manitoba hit 675.

Newfoundland and Labrador announced a recordbreaking 357 infections over a three-day period during the holidays. New Brunswick reported 639 new cases, and Prince Edward Island had a twoday total of 156 cases.

According to the federal government’s health website, the Omicron surge pushed the country’s total COVID-19 case count to 2,000,976 as of Boxing Day. The case count is likely even higher than what’s being reported and will surely rise when it’s updated.

None of these statistics are pleasing. Yet there may be a silver lining.

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Saturday, January 1, 2022 Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit now open for applications

The federal government announced today that the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit (CWLB) is open for applications. The benefit, which gives temporary income support to employed and self-employed people who cannot work due to a COVID-19 lockdown, pays $300 a week. It’s only available to those in a lockdown region who can’t work as a result of capacity restrictions. In a news release, the Canada Revenue Agency said British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador and Nunavut are designated as lockdown regions. “This list will be updated as provincial or territorial governments introduce changes to public health restrictions,” the release reads.

Payments will be retroactive to December 19. The benefit was created early this month but was not initially available to anyone as the federal government had not designated any

regions as being in lockdown. The government later expanded eligibility so that COVID-19 public health orders restricting public access to businesses by at least 50 per cent would be included under the definition of a lockdown order. Federal government expands lockdown supports to people, businesses affected by capacity limits A new COVID benefit is now in effect, but no one can access it. Full eligibility criteria can be found on the CRA’s website. Applicants must have lost more than half of their income. “Through Bill C-2 and the expansion of the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit, we are supporting Canadian workers through targeted income support as regions implement public health measures to stop the spread of COVID-19,” Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough said in the release. National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier said the government would continue “monitoring the

Police seek driver in frightening Victoria hit-and-run caught on camera Victoria police are appealing for the driver in a hit-and-run collision that was caught on camera Thursday morning to come forward.

The crash happened just after 9 a.m., at the intersection of Bay and Blanshard streets, where police say a woman was crossing the street on a green light. Investigators say someone driving a late-model silver or grey MINI Countryman

struck the woman in the crosswalk, then continued through the red light nearly missing other vehicles in the intersection.

Anyone with additional video of the incident or information that could help the investigation is asked to contact Victoria police at 250-9957654 or Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477

21 cold temperature records broken across BC amid weather warnings More temperature records were broken in B.C. Monday as most of the province remains blanketed by extreme cold and Arctic outflow warnings. On Boxing Day, 21 records were broken for low temperatures and on Monday, another 21 records fell, according to preliminary data from Environment Canada. Warnings have been in place for multiple days as some B.C. regions are dealing with “a bitterly cold airmass,” while others are feeling the impacts of an Arctic ridge of high pressure. According to Environment Canada, wind chill of at least -35 C is expected Tuesday evening and heading into Wednesday in northern and central B.C. In Metro Vancouver, it could feel as cold as -20 C. Monday’s frigid temperatures saw Vancouver’s record break when it got as low as -15.3 C. The previous record of -12.8 C was set in 1971. Vancouver homeless population suffering as extreme temperatures drive shelters over capacity Other temperature records broken in B.C. according to Environment Canada’s preliminary data include: Abbotsford area – new record of -15.6, old record of -15 set in 1968 Agassiz area – new record of -16.5, old record of -13.9 set in 1968 Bella Bella area – new record of -12.8, old record of -8 set in 1996 Clinton area – new record of -35.8, old record of -26 set in 1992 Gibsons area – new record of -11.6, old record of -5.6 set in 1968

Hope area – new record of -18.4, old record of -17.8 set in 1968 Malahat area – new record of -11.6, old record of -2.5 set in 1992 Naksup area – new record of -17.5, old record of -17.4 set in 1996 Osoyoos area – new record of -17.9, old record of -15.6 set in 1971 Penticton area – new record of -20.6, old record of -19.4 set in 1968 Port Alberni area – new record of -16.5, old record of -9.4 set in 1968 Port Hardy area – new record of -11.7, old record of -10 set in 1968 Powell River area – new record of -12, old record of -8.9 set in 1968 Quesnel area – new record of -38.9, old record of -38.6 set in 1996 Sechelt area – new record of -11.6, old record of -6.7 set in 1971 Sparwood area – new record of -31.2, old record of -30.6 set in 1971 Squamish area – new record of -15, old record of -12.8 set in 1968 Summerland area – new record of -22.4, old record of -20.6 set in 1971 Tatlayoko Lake area – new record of -37.9, old record of -29 set in 1996 White Rock area – new record of -13, old record of -11.1 set in 1968 As of Tuesday morning, 22 regions in B.C. were under extreme cold warnings while 11 others were under Arctic outflow warnings. While some warnings are in place through Wednesday, other regions are being warned to expect these cold temperatures until the new year.

BC schools to have a staggered re-start in January; essentiaL workers’ kids return first Schools across B.C. will re-open for inperson learning in January, but some students won’t return to class until Jan. 10.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Wednesday (Dec. 29) that the children of essential workers will return to school next week on Jan. 3 or 4. All other K-12 children will go back to school one week later on Jan. 10.

Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside said that schools will be open for children of healthcare workers, along with students with additional needs. She said that the extra time will allow schools to assess the impact of the Omicron variant and put in proactive new

safety measures.

Eligible parents who need their children to be in school as of next week should contact their schools, the minister added. A provincial list of essential workers urges schools to prioritize inperson schooling for the children of workers in health care, health services, social services, law enforcement, emergency response and for first responders.

Whiteside said that schools will be reinforcing the importance of daily health checks, holding assemblies and staff-only

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Saturday, January 1, 2022

From page 1

BC break record

according to BC Hydro. The previous record of 10,577 megawatts was set in 2020.

“Electricity demand during that hour was the highest it’s ever been during a single hour and that’s likely attributable to the increased heating load that comes with a drop in temperatures,” said utility spokesperson Simi Heer in an interview. Environment Canada placed much of the coast, Interior and Lower Mainland on extreme cold or Arctic outflow warnings on Dec. 27, with wind chills ranging from minus 20 to below minus 50.

Cities including Abbotsford, Agassiz, Hope, Powell River and Squamish set new historic temperature records for the day.

Warnings for Vancouver Island and the Okanagan were removed on Tuesday, but

Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and the Sunshine Coast are still expecting wind chill values near or below -20 until Wednesday. The extreme temperatures prompted BC Ferries to cancel two Queen of New Westminster sailings departing Tsawwassen and Duke Point, due to frozen water pipes and unsafe conditions on the deck. BC Hydro said Tuesday it has enough supply options to meet British Columbians’ demand, as the abnormally chilly weather is forecast to continue until the end of the week in some parts of the province. If users want to ease the pressure during peak hours, however, BC Hydro suggested shifting the timing of activities like laundry and running the dishwasher to mornings, afternoons or late evenings.

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Trudeau says China ‘Playing’ Western States against each other “So how do we access that? Well, we’ve been competing. And China has been, from time to time, very cleverly playing us off each other in an open-market, competitive way,” he said, without specifying any actions from China that prompted his remarks. He also urged countries in the West to put up a more united front in response. “We need to do a better job of working together and standing strong so that China can’t play the angles and divide us one against the other,” he said. Canada’s relationship with China has been frosty ever since the 2018 detention of the Huawei chief financial officer and eldest daughter of its billionaire founder, Meng Wanzhou, over accusations of violating US trade sanctions with Iran. In retaliation for

her arrest, China detained two Canadian citizens on national-security charges for nearly three years. Even before Meng’s arrest, both nations had repeatedly fallen out over China’s humanrights record.

More recently, Canada and some of its allies, including the US and UK, announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, citing the nation’s human-rights record. “Quite frankly, on the issue of arbitrary detentions where we saw dozens upon dozens of countries signing on to this in a very real way declaring that no, coercive diplomacy is not all right,” Trudeau said.

CPP premiums set to rise in January, a bigger jump than planned Jan. 1 is going to feel like Groundhog Day for all those paying into the Canada Pension Plan. Like last year, contributions are going up again by more than originally planned, and the reason again lies with the unique impacts of the pandemic on the labour market.

Here’s a rundown of what’s happening.

Why CPP premiums are going up The increase is part of a multi-year plan approved by provinces and the federal government five years ago to boost retirement benefits through the public plan by increasing contributions over time. The increases started in 2019.

A KPMG note in November said the maximum employer and employee contributions will hit $3,499 each in 2022, an increase from $3,166 this year. For selfemployed contributions, the maximum amount will be $6,999, up from $6,332.

The pension plan requires contributions to go up alongside the upper limit on earnings that are subject to those premiums. For next year, the earnings ceiling, known as the yearly maximum pensionable earnings or YMPE, was supposed to be $63,700, an increase of $2,100 from the 2021 limit. But the actual amount is going to be higher at $64,900, for a 5.3 per cent increase, which is the largest in three decades. CPP adds $17B to assets now worth more than $409B despite pandemicBusiness group calls for freeze on CPP premiums set to rise January1, 2022.

The reason is due to the pandemic’s lingering effects on the labour market.

The formula to calculate the earnings limit looks at what people are earning on average each week, and compares changes between 12-month periods that end June 30.

What has happened during the pandemic is that average weekly earnings have jumped because there are fewer people working in lower-paying jobs. Without them, the average increase appears more dramatic than what it is.

What happens next Federal Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole had called on the government to push off this year’s bump, saying it wasn’t the right time for another premium increase with inflation driving up the cost of living for consumers, and many small businesses still trying to build back their revenues.

Any changes to contribution rates or the earnings ceiling where contributions top out would need the approval of Parliament and seven provinces representing at least two-thirds of the national population — a higher bar than what’s required to amend the Constitution.

So premiums are going up.

But there’s more The changes to the Canada Pension Plan aren’t done. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to work with provinces to increase by 25 per cent the amount paid out in CPP benefits to widows and widowers.

7

Saturday, January 1, 2022 From page 1

old. “So, I called a person at Immunize B.C. We expanded the search to Guildford, Cloverdale, Langley and Delta — there was nothing. We stopped searching at April.”

With New Year’s Eve plans of dining with her husband in Victoria, Sharpe expanded her appointment search to Vancouver Island.

“There were tons of available appointments there. I booked one because I was going there, otherwise, I wouldn’t have,” Sharpe said. “Surrey is the second-largest city in all

WestJet cancels 15% of flights amid Omicron COVID-19 staff shortage WestJet Airlines says it is being forced to cut 15 per cent of its flights through to the end of January as it deals with staffing shortages due to the Omicron variant.

“We are running roughly 450 flights a day.

So if you look at the percentages, that works out to be about 60 or 70 flights that you might see that would be cancelled per day and then consolidated onto other flights,” said WestJet VP of communications Richard Bartrem.

Bartrem said they are currently re-jigging flights and contacting travelers.

“For example, where we may have four or five flights to a particular destination over the course of the day, we might consolidate that into two or three and then take the people who are flying on those other flights that have now been canceled and moving them onto the flights that will continue to operate.” He said travelers will have the option of taking other flights or getting a refund. The Calgary-based airline says it has seen a 35 per cent increase in active cases among staff in recent days, with 181 WestJet employees currently affected by COVID-19. Bertram said Omicron has had a major impact on staff. “Since the start of this in March 2020 we’ve had a total of 577 cases where WestJetters have…tested positive with COVID. 181 of those or 31% have actually occurred within the last week so it really does demonstrate the rapid increase that we are

Booster shots hard to access for seniors despite BC saying thousands unbooked of B.C. and there population, the are no third-dose h e a l t h appointments authority is within the next setting up four months?” vaccinations at Similar frustration our community resulted for Thetis hall.”

Island resident Although the Jerry Stevens, who clinic is set for is still waiting to Jan. 11, Stevens book his third hasn’t been dose. “When I able to secure try to respond a booking. The to the booking senior is now invitation emails I receive from Vancouver asking the question: “Why is the province Island Health I get a ‘sorry no facilities are initiating text and email invitations when available for the postal code,’ ” the 68-year- there aren’t appointments?” old said Sunday. “Because we have a small

Health Minister Adrian Dix told a news conference Friday that unclaimed appointments for B.C.’s third COVID-19 vaccine rollout totalled 7,000 last week, 25,000 the following week and 203,000 in the first three weeks of January.

Twenty per cent of the eligible population have received their third dose and 75 per cent of those 70 and older who are eligible have received a booster dose. Of the B.C. residents defined by provincial health authorities as “extremely clinically vulnerable,” including those living with cancer, severe respiratory illness or recipients of organ transplants, 135,253 have received their third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

“Tens of thousands of health care workers have received a third shot and well over 50,000 Indigenous people as well,” Dix said.

Continued on page 8

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Saturday, January 1, 2022

From page 1

Three Indian-origin Canadians honoured with Civilian Award for outstanding achievement

“Today, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, announced 135 appointments to the Order of Canada,” it said, sharing the list of the recipients.

“Delighted to see the contributions of the dynamic Indian heritage community in Canada being recognized with Order of Canada. Congratulations to Dr Vaikuntam Iyer Lakshmanan, @BobDhillon_MEQ and @ PradeepMerchant,” the High Commission of India in Ottawa tweeted on Thursday.

According to the citation, Lakshmanan

To avoid further strain on B.C.’s health-care system, the province says it is considering allowing COVID-positive health-care workers to continue working in some capacity, even after they have tested positive for the virus.

“We expect that we’re going to see increased absenteeism given the rates of transmission we’re seeing in the community,” Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said at a news conference on Wednesday.

Henry says the idea is still being examined by officials and they may have an update soon.

“We are looking at fitness for work for people who have mild illness in the healthcare setting,” said Henry.

“We need to look at what measures need to be in place to ensure that people who have a very mild illness or are asymptomatic are able to do work in those essential work settings, if needed,” said Henry.

from Mississauga, Ontario was honoured “for his philanthropy and for his expertise in hydrometallurgy and business, which have greatly benefited his profession, community and Canada-India relations”.

Founded in 1997, Bob Dhillon’s Mainstreet Equity Corp is the first Sikh-owned company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Calgary Herald newspaper reported.

The 56-year-old businessman from Calgary, Alberta was recognised “for his achievements in business, and for his unwavering commitment to

philanthropy and higher education,” the citation read.

Merchant has played an active role in building a strong professional and business organisation in Ottawa. He was instrumental in establishing and is currently the Chair of the Governing Council of Canada-India Centre for Excellence at Carleton University, according to the Indo Canadian Business Chamber.

Merchant from Greely, Ontario, has been honoured “for his long-standing contributions to his community, including his philanthropy

and his leadership in the promotion of bilateral ties between Canada and India,” according to the citation.

“The Order of Canada is one of our country’s highest civilian honours.” Created in 1967, it recognises “outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation...Those who bear the Order’s iconic snowflake insignia have changed our nation’s measure of success and, through the sum of their accomplishments, have helped us build a better Canada”, the press note said.

BC considers allowing COVID-19 positive health-care staff to work

While the idea of having COVIDpositive workers on the job is still being discussed, it’s already receiving backlash from some in the health-care system.

B.C. bracing for increase in COVID hospitalizations amid 5th wave, says health minister In a statement to CBC, the Hospital Employee’s Union, which represents more than 50,000 health-care workers in B.C., said while they agree that the impact of Omicron may lead to “further staffing shortages and compromise patient care... it is important to protect vulnerable patients

and other workers, by staying home when symptomatic.” “In addition, we are concerned that some workers with mild symptoms could be putting their own health at greater risk by working instead of resting and recovering,” said the union’s secretary-business manager,

Meena Brisard, in the statement.

The Hospital Employee’s Union says the province needs to talk to health care unions while officials consider the “significant” change. Henry said the province was closely monitoring the situation in Quebec where hospitalization numbers have climbed rapidly. In B.C., the number of people in hospital due to COVID-19 has remained relatively steady despite a surge in new cases.

On Tuesday, Quebec decided to allow some infected workers to return to their jobs on a case-by-case basis. Then on Wednesday, Manitoba announced it is now permitting health-care workers who have mild COVID-19 symptoms, but have tested negative for the virus to return to work.

Officials in Ontario have said they’re considering similar measures, while Alberta has allowed unvaccinated health-care workers to continue working, with regular testing.

WestJet cancels 15% of flights amid Omicron COVID-19 staff shortage

Wishing everyone in our community

and best wishes for the new year!

A message from the Surrey Teachers' Association

seeing with the Omicron variant.” Bartrem said WestJet is calling on both the federal and provincial governments to revisit the isolation period, saying in the United States the Center for Disease Control has moved their isolation period from 10 days down to five. The Saskatchewan government has already gone ahead and decreased the self-isolation requirement to five days from the date of a positive test or 48 hours after symptoms have ended. But Gil McGowan with the Alberta Federation of Labour said the only people who benefit from that are employers. “If we move in that direction –

and I want to make it clear we think it’s completely wrong-headed that the U.S. moved in that direction – but if we here in Canada do the same we will be putting workers at risk and we will be putting the public at risk,” said McGowan. Air

Canada, meantime, said it’s monitoring the situation, but blames current flight delays mainly on poor weather conditions. In a statement to Global News, the airline said: “Air Canada continues to evaluate and adjust its route network as required in response to the trajectory of the pandemic, governmentimposed travel restrictions.

Saturday, January 1, 2022 Father believed to be involved in child abduction turns himself into Alberta RCMP Alberta RCMP said the father at the centre of a news release about a child abduction turned himself and his son into the Wetaskiwin RCMP Detachment Monday at 10:30 p.m.

The boy was turned over to RCMP unharmed and will be “reunited with his mother,” RCMP said. Malin Anthony Nyhus, 35, was being held in custody for a judicial interim release hearing.

Earlier that day, RCMP said they were searching for the three year old and asked the public for help. The boy was supposed to be returned to his mother on the afternoon of Dec. 24 as part of a judicial order, but wasn’t dropped

off. Wetaskiwin RCMP said the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench had issued that order on Dec. 23.Alberta RCMP engaged the assistance of the Wetaskiwin RCMP General Investigation Section (GIS) and Wetaskiwin Crime Reduction Unit (CRU), as well as the assistance of municipal police agencies throughout Alberta to exhaust efforts to locate the father and son.

Wetaskiwin RCMP do not believe the child was in danger of serious harm or death and as such, did not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert to be issued at this time.

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Saturday, January 1, 2022 Drug users and health workers question government-issued merchandise in Stop Overdose campaign

Drug users and a harm reduction nurse are criticizing the province for merchandise it gave out as part of its Stop Overdose B.C. campaign.

A nurse with Victoria’s AIDS Vancouver Island took photographs of flower seeds, tote bags, and a branded pouch containing a tea bag.

The items were delivered to some members of the drug user and harm reduction frontline community, and its packaging encouraged “courageous conversations” about overdoses and stigma against substance users.

2021 now deadliest year for illicit-drug overdoses in B.C., after record 201 deaths in October, coroner says “I thought this must be some kind of joke,” said Corey Ranger, clinical nurse lead of the Safe Supply Project at AIDS Vancouver Island. “I was immediately appalled and really distraught that this is where our time and energy and resources were being allocated.” “It’s so out of touch and so inappropriate — we are currently seeing 6.5 British Columbians dying every single day by toxic drug supply, and we’re talking about courageous conversations?” B.C.’s Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Sheila Malcolmson, was not available for an interview Wednesday. Her ministry’s Stop Overdose B.C. website states that “courageous conversations” about substance use, when done without blame, can “save a life.” As overdose numbers climb, B.C. drug advocates question role of addictions ministries For Karen Ward, a City of Vancouver drug policy advisor and substance user, the message is out of touch. She said the province needs to change laws around illicit drugs if it wants to the end the crisis that’s claimed thousands of lives, and only worsened during the pandemic.

“It really sums up their whole approach — it’s empty, performative, and misses the point,” Ward told CBC News. “They’re talking about courageous conversations … They could have some in the Legislature, maybe in policy terms.”

She said the cost of the merchandise is beside

the point. “I’m sure the grand scheme of things, it’s pennies,” she said. “We actually want a safe supply of drugs, not tea or various crap.”

She and Ranger both say B.C.’s promised prescription “safe supply” has fallen short, leaving thousands of drug users without prescription access, forced to rely on what they can buy on the street. Much of that illicit supply is contaminated by potent and dangerous narcotics such as fentanyl and carfentanyl. Jail not the answer for people caught dealing fentanyl to support their own drug addictions, B.C. judge says British Columbia expanding life-saving tools available to first responders: health minister Ranger quipped that if B.C. had distributed opium poppy seeds in its seed packs, it might have been useful. In a statement to CBC News, the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions said the items were sent this month as thank-you gifts to participants in a peer focus group of substance users. They were originally made in 2019 to “support a previous phase of a public awareness campaign ... to reduce stigma,” including at major sports games, Recovery Day and school events.

“Addressing this crisis will take more than just government investment,” a ministry spokesperson said via email. “We need to end the stigma around substance use.” “Our government is unwavering in our commitment to end this toxic drug crisis,” the ministry said, adding its most recent budget included $500 million “to support and build up” mental health and addiction services, on top of the province’s annual funding of $2.7 billion.

For Moms Stop the Harm co-founder Leslie McBain, the items were a “slap in the face.” “I couldn’t really understand what the efficacy of this would be,” she said. “Is this going to change anybody’s thoughts on drug use and on stopping overdose?” Her own son, Jordan, died in 2014 of an overdose at age 25. This Christmas was particularly painful in her house. “For some reason, this year was harder for me than than other years ... the grief of not having that person

Union calls for delayed return to class, priority booster shots for BC teachers The union representing roughly 46,000 teachers in B.C. is calling on the province to delay the return to classrooms and give priority access to booster shots to all school staff.

British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) president Teri Mooring said she has asked the government to move classes online until at least Jan. 10 in order to assess the impact of the Omicron variant on staff and students.

“Omicron is running rampant in communities and it makes sense that is going to happen in schools as well,” she said in an interview Tuesday.

“We do think we need to take the first little bit to see how many teachers are impacted.”

It is still unclear in B.C. and across the globe what impact the highlytransmissible variant of COVID-19 will have on classrooms that are resuming in-person learning after the holidays.

In a Monday statement, the Ministry of Education said it is planning to continue in-person learning in the new year with enhanced safety measures. The Ministry of Health has not indicated teachers will be prioritized for boosters. “Many school staff were prioritized early for their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and would have then

received the invite for their second dose early,” reads an emailed statement from the department on Monday.

“As a result, the same school staff will receive their booster dose invitations earlier, based on the NACI recommended interval of at least six months between 2nd dose and booster shot.”

Unless teachers added to the province’s list of booster shot priority groups, however, they could be waiting eight months between their second and third shot.

Right now, the only people eligible for a booster six months after their second shot are those 63 years of age or older, along with Indigenous adults, residents of independent living or long-term care facilities, and health-care workers.

People who are categorized as clinically extremely vulnerable and people who initially got two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are also eligible, and those 61 years of age and older can book appointments.

Mooring said a lack of booster shots among teachers could lead to a rise in cases and symptoms that could keep more school staff at home. That means some schools may not be able to operate due to staffing shortages, she warned.

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Saturday, January 1, 2022

It’s been a year of running out of adjectives to describe Canadian real estate during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Low interest rates and insatiable demand helped break the annual national sales record

by October and prices are up the most ever year over year. RBC says housing affordability hit a 31-year low in 2021. “Homebuyer demand is supercharged and inventories are near historical lows in virtually every market, creating intense competition between buyers and pressured prices up,” said RBC senior economist Robert Hogue, in a new report.

“These conditions have widely eroded housing affordability in the past year.” Ontario

Claims by a Vernon couple that a neighbour’s privacy screen devalued their property have been dismissed. Joel and Samantha Becker claimed the privacy screen resulted in their Okanagan Lake view being “stolen” and demanded close to $300,000 in compensation.

The couple claimed the screen was a “spite fence” but a Civil Resolution Tribunal said “spite fence” is not recognized in Canadian law. The tribunal also said the privacy screens did not

LOCAL / NATIONAL

‘2021 was like Black Friday’: Canadian real estate year in review and predictions for 2022 was already a tough market to get into before the pandemic, but many are now locked out completely. Hogue says we could see these priced-out buyers migrate to areas like the Prairies and Atlantic Canada, which didn’t experience the same kind of price explosion. “If I were to use one word to describe 2021 it would be a frenzy, 2021 was like Black Friday,” Nasma Ali,

founder and realtor at One Group which serves the Greater Toronto Area, told Yahoo Finance Canada. The suburbs and beyond were particularly hot as buyers sought out more space. Ali says the massive price gains aren’t sustainable.

She is hoping for a more balanced market in 2022 but expects demand to continue to outpace supply until the spring and summer.

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Home price growth year over year (The Habistat “By July things will slow down, especially August,” said Ali. “All the people that really wanted to move because of COVID, by then that will be kind of the last batch. Ron Butler is a founder at Butler Mortgage and has been in the mortgage industry for 26 years. He says the mortgage market was remarkable as housing broke records, with many brokerages seeing their total business rise 50 per cent from the year before. “That’s not even growing or acquiring, that’s just sort of same-store sales,” Butler told Yahoo Finance Canada. “That’s an amazing number. I mean, that’s not a natural course of business to be up 50 per cent.”

BC couple loses lawsuit over privacy screen installed by neighbour significantly impact the lake view or violate the strata building’s regulations. The Beckers made several complaints to the strata council asking it to tell the neighbours to take down the screens.

But the strata refused, so the Beckers took the matter to the Civil Resolution Tribunal in an effort to have the tribunal order the strata to enforce its bylaws and have the screens removed.

In a decision handed down Dec. 22, tribunal member Chad McCarthy wrote “the bylaws provide no authority for the strata to remove the privacy screens.” All of the Beckers claims were dismissed. The couple asked for $180,000 of allegedly lost property value, $50,000 for “hardship due to discrimination and alienation” and $30,000 for what they said was the value of

bylaw fines they said should have been issued by the strata council to the neighbour. McCarthy found the screen did block the view from parts of the Beckers second floor condo, but the lake could be seen from other locations in their home.

The couple claimed the strata of the Brooks Lane building did not enforce applicable regulations designed to preserve residents’ lake views.

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Star & Style

Saturday, January 1, 2022 ‘Madhuban’ Sunny Leone stands out in latest dance track

Comedy in Dharmender’s era Dharmendra is one of the fortunate actors who had received several opportunities to share screen space with Tun Tun. Dharmendra took stroll down memory lane and recalled working with Tun Tun. “TunTun ji was my most darling heroine. I miss such loving persons ..... but life goes on and on,” he tweeted.

Dharmendra also shared one of his stills with Tun Tun from the movie ‘Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya’.

Fans became extremely

nostalgic after seeing D h a r m e n d r a’s post for Tun Tun. “It was a beautiful film.

Miss Tun Tun ji,” a social media user commented.

“Cute post.

Woh bhi kya samay tha,” another one wrote.

Tun Tun passed away at the age of 80 in 2004.

‘Mr & Mrs 55’, ‘Pyaasa’, ‘Aar Paar’ and ‘Mome Ki Gudiya’ among others are her iconic films. She was also an accomplished playback singer.

which I have also showcased my dancing and this one kicks it up a notch. Madhuban has got immense love from the fans on social media. It’s great to be a part of a song that will bid adieu to 2021 in style and welcome 2022 with a bang.”

“Sunny has made the song look so beautiful. Singing this song was so much fun. It’s high on energy and a super dance number. I am so glad with the response the song has already received,” Kanika Kapoor said.

If a song has been crooned

by Kanika Kapoor and its music video features Sunny Leone, it is sure to become a hit. The singer-actor duo launched their latest track “Madhuban”, which unfortunately fails live up to the expectations. The song has been composed

by Shaarib and Toshi.

Talking about the song, Sunny Leone said in a statement, “I have been lucky that the audience has loved all my songs in

Bigg Boss 15:

Rakhi Sawant accuses Shamita Shetty during their physical fight Bigg Boss 15 saw a spat between Rakhi Sawant and Shamita Shetty. This happened after she said that Devoleena Bhattacharjee had won the task. Shamita Shetty said she was the person who put in the egg in the dragon pit. The two started abusing one another. Rakhi Sawant got flared after she referred to her as an idiot. Rakhi Sawant came charging at home. Shamita Shetty kept on telling Rakhi Sawant not to come close. Finally, she ended up pushing

Rakhi Sawant. After that, she started crying. The lady said that Shamita Shetty had touched Rakhi Sawant’s breasts.

She revealed that she had implants and they hurt. Also Read - Bigg Boss 15: Karan K u n d r r a - Te j a s s w i Prakash’s fight and patch-up annoy viewers; fans say, ‘Ghatiya actors’ — read tweets Later, Rakhi Sawant told Tejasswi Prakash that the silicone implants pose health issues.

Prithviraj: Akshay and Manushi Chhillar starrer in trouble?

After being delayed multiple times, Akshay Kumar and Manushi Chhillar starrer Prithviraj is all set to release on January 21st.

The teaser of the movie was released last month, and the trailer was supposed to be out this month. However, there are reports that

they will stop the screening of the film.

Also Read - Trending Entertainment News Today: Sooryavanshi is 2021’s highest grosser, Raid 2 announced, Arjun Kapoor tests COVID-19 positive and more Gurjar leader Himmat Singh said,

the film might get postponed. Meanwhile, the movie has landed into big trouble.

According to IANS, Gurjars in Rajasthan have threatened to stop the screening of the film if the makers continue to use the term ‘Rajput’ for Prithviraj Chauhan. The community claims that Prithviraj was not a Rajput, he was from the Gurjar community.

Also Read - Pushpa box office collection: Allu Arjun’s film SMASHES records of Yash’s KGF; amasses Rs 45. 5 crore in Hindi belt in 13 days A couple of days ago, the members of the community had staged a protest in Ajmer, and they had threatened that if Prithviraj Chauhan is not shown as a Gurjar king,

“#Prithviraj Movie is made on the basis of Prithviraj Raso written by Chand Bardai and the same was shown in the teaser of Prithviraj movie.. After studying the inscriptions available in history, researchers have believed that Chand Bardai wrote it around 400 years back after the reign of Prithviraj Chauhan. In the 16th century, the Raso epic was written which is fictional. The epic is written by Chand Bardai in Pringal language which is a mixture of Bajra and Rajasthani languages. During the reign of Gurjar emperor Prithviraj Chauhan, the Sanskrit language was used but not the Pringal language which has been used by the poet.”

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Star & Style

Saturday, January 1, 2022 Cost of Malaika’s Christmas outfit will leave your jaws dropped Malaika Arora, a fashion diva. Her fashion game is always point on.

She is an inspiration to all the fashion bloggers out there. She made peopls’ head turns with her Christmas evening as she was out there for dinner party at Karisma ’s house along with her beau Arjun Kapoor. Malaika wore a velvet green Gucci outfit that nearly cost around 2.45 lakh. Yes, you read that right! Her fashion statement often grabs a lot of eyeballs.

Malaika looked SEXY AF

in that Gucci out and she carried a Judith Leiber bag that approximately cost rupees one lakh thirty thousand rupees.

Overall her entire attire with bag costs 3lakh 70 thousand.

Malaika is on the judges panel in the show India’s Got Talent.

She was host and judge of the MTV Supermodel of the Year in 2019 and a judge of India’s Best Dancer in 2020.

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Anushka makes fans go ‘Uff teri adaa’ over her latest sun-kissed selfies Anushka Sharma along with her baby daughter Vamika is currently in South Africa as Virat Kohli plays the Test Series.

The family of three are going to spend the New Year together.

The actress who has been away from acting for a while now has been traveling a lot with her baby to give Virat Kohli company over his cricketing tours. That is how they are ensuring that both are able to witness the initial growing up stages of their little princess. For her fans, Anushka is ensuring that she is sharing constant updates on social media. Recently, she posted a few beautiful selfies on Instagram

and fans are in love with it. Also Read - Sidharth Malhotra-Kiara Advani to Katrina Kaif-Vicky Kaushal: Bollywood couples and their New Year 2022 party plans Anushka Sharma shared two sun kissed pictures on Instagram. We see her flaunting her gorgeous hair and her sweet smile in the pictures. She shared them with the caption, “Hairthere- everywhere.” She is dressed in an oversized black dress. Fans are totally in love with her adaa.

Many are dropping heart emojis while many are just drooling over her beauty.

Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan become most tweeted-about actors of the year!

One of the main reasons people come to Twitter is to keep informed about their interests and be entertained. Over the years, Twitter has become an essential part of people’s entertainment journey and experience, connecting them to their favourite artists and people who care about the same things. Entertainment conversations on the service aren’t limited to just films and television, but also cover cultural topics like fandom, fashion, and so much more. Actor Sonu Sood won praise for his humanity and kindness in the midst of the pandemic.

The actor’s contribution to COVID-19 relief in India inspired millions across the country, with people showering him with gratitude. People also connected on Twitter to talk about the exciting slate of released

Alia Bhatt in short dress

Ranveer Singh showers love on lady luck Deepika Padukone, stars making an appearance!

Padukone is an active endorser for several brands and products, including Tissot, Maybelline, Coca-Cola, and L’Oreal Paris, among others.

In 2014, Business Standard reported that Padukone earned ₹50 million (US$660,000) to ₹60 million (US$800,000) per endorsement deal and TAM AdEX named Padukone the most visible face on television in India that year.

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Alia Bhatt was voice seen on the sets of The Kapil Sharma Show to promote RRR. She was seen wearing a short yellow dress.

But it was her footwear fashion that caught the fans’ eyes. “Eisa lag raha hai iski heels mein polythene fass gayi hai,” wrote her fan. She did a mini ramp walk f sorts for the paps.

Alia Bhatt will next be seen in the panIndian magnum opus RRR directed by SS Rajamouli. The film is all set to release in theatres on January 7, 2022. Towards the end of September, when the Maharashtra government had announced the reopening of theaters, the makers of the Alia Bhatt starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi revealed that their film would be releasing on January 6, 2022. Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Gangubai Kathiawadi is headlined by Alia Bhatt. However, by mid-November, the makers of Gangubai Kathiawadi averted a clash with RRR by postponing the release of their film.

At the trailer launch event of RRR on Thursday, Alia spoke about her thoughts when both her films were about to clash at the box office. “SS Rajamouli is who he is because of his mind. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is who he is because of his mind and his understanding of cinema. It’s nothing for me to worry about. Even at that moment, I was like ‘kya hi hoga’ (What will happen?).

It will be Alia vs Alia, Ajay vs Ajay because he is there in Gangubai as well. Eventually, it is not happening that way. Gangubai Kathiawadi is releasing on the 18th of Feb. Jayantilal (Gada) is also part of both,” she

and upcoming movies this year. He become the most-tweeted-about actor in 2021.

Sonu Sood, Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan become most tweetedabout Bollywood actors in 2021 KiaraAdvani,SonuSoodandAayushSharma spotted at Le Meridien hotel in New Delhi Spotted: Daisy Shah, Karan Deol, Karisma Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha and Sonu Sood at Mumbai Airport

Spotted: Tiger Shroff, Katrina Kaif, Tara Sutaria, Suniel Shetty and Sonu Sood at Mumbai Airport Akshay Kumar’s Sooryavanshi, Bell Bottom, among other films, drove conversations making him the second-most tweeted-about actor in Bollywood in 2021.

People tweeted about Shah Rukh Khan as he battled turmoils in his personal life amid Aryan Khan’s arrest. While he continue to stay in the headlines.

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LOCAL / NATIONAL RCMP says it cleared its backlog of complaints — but not before some of the complainants died

After years of criticism, the RCMP now says it has cleared its backlog of public complaints and is in the midst of implementing recommendations coming from its watchdog agency — but some of the complainants are no longer alive to see the results. The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP (CRCC) is called upon hundreds of times a year to investigate public complaints about RCMP activity, ranging from claims of bad behaviour to allegations of botched investigations. When a member of the public has an issue with the way they were treated by Mounties, the local detachment investigates the complaint first. If the individual isn’t satisfied with the RCMP’s findings, they can turn the case over to the CRCC. Whenever the watchdog isn’t

satisfied with the RCMP’s original actions, it sends a report to the RCMP commissioner for review. Only after RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki and her team respond to the watchdog’s findings and recommendations can the CRCC’s final report be compiled and released. Over the past few years, hundreds of those reports have been left in limbo awaiting the commissioner’s response — sometimes for years. So far this fiscal year, the watchdog agency has finished more than 160 “adverse” reports — ones that came to conclusions that were unfavourable to the RCMP. One of those reports concluded that the RCMP failed to adequately investigate a teen’s sexual assault, while others confirmed people were arrested without reasonable grounds.

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Saturday, January 1, 2022

2021 year in review: BC’s political newsmakers of the year The unprecedented nature of 2021 has thrust a number of politicians and others in British Columbia into an unexpected spotlight.

Tk emlúps te Secwépemc and the First Nation’s Chief Rosanne Casimir were thrust into the national spotlight in May. Casimir led publicly in the First Nations response to the discovery of unmarked graves of what are believed to be more than 200 children found near the site of a former residential school in Kamloops.

The 53-year-old was front and centre in calling for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to come and visit the community. Trudeau turned down an invitation on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to visit the community.

Casimir raised her concerns about Trudeau not coming, and he eventually visited on Oct. 18.

During the visit, Casimir pushed again for Ottawa to fund a healing centre in Kamloops to help survivors and address the intergenerational trauma caused by residential schools. Abbotsford’s mayor was a latecomer to politics, first becoming elected to city council a decade ago at the age of 61.

The former rancher and the CEO of Pacific Northern Rail Contractors Corp has been mayor now for seven years but has never been tested quite like November.

As storms hit his community, he led with compassion and tireless energy. So tireless, he slept three hours a night in the early days still managing to tend to his animals on his farm. It was his leadership during

worries the Barrowtown Pump Station would fail that was widely praised by those in his community and those across the province. As long as there is a pandemic, Dr. Bonnie Henry will be an integral part of the lives of British Columbians. There are few that with the signature on the bottom of a provincial order can dramatically change the way we live our lives. Henry was praised across the country for her calm demeanor.

As the pandemic dragged on, the criticism mounted as well. Threats against the provincial health officer led to her requiring a police detail.

Henry’s decision to widen the gap between the first and second dose has been praised as a crucial decision in boosting B.C.’s vaccination rates. Her decision not to close Whistler before spring break has been criticized as fueling the Delta-driven third wave. The man of many numbers has entrenched his position as the province’s number giver in chief. Health Minister Adrian Dix has provided consistent updates on the number of cancelled surgeries, the percentage of people vaccinated while managing the larger file in this government’s mandate. But Dix has focused on more than just COVID-19. The province has opened more primary urgent care centres and directed additional resources to the plagued ambulance service. The 57-year old also appointed Mary Ellen Turpel Lafond to investigate when allegations of racism was brought to light in the province’s health care system late in 2020, with the review concluding this past year.

LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, January 1, 2022

PMO spent $10.05-million in 2020-21, cabinet offices’ expenditures rose 10 per cent

Canadian activist and Cantopop star Denise Ho released on bail in Hong Kong Cantopop star and Canadian citizen Denise Ho was released on bail Thursday afternoon following 36 hours of detainment in Hong Kong.

Human rights advocates were calling on Canada to intervene and provide diplomatic aid to Ho after she was arrested Wednesday morning alongside six journalists.

Former federal justice minister and renowned human rights lawyer Irwin Cotler says Canada has a responsibility to take a stand as the leader of the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations earlier this year, and as one of the founding countries of the Media Freedom Coalition.

“What we’re seeing is a frontal assault not only on media freedom, not only on the safety and security of journalists, not only on the democracy movement — but on democracy itself in Hong Kong,” Cotler said.

“The Canadian government has specific responsibilities here, apart from the responsibilities of the community of democracies.”

Hong Kong pro-democracy news site closes after raid, arrests.

Hong Kong police arrest 6 journalists amid crackdown on dissent under national security law Cotler met Ho at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy in 2020.

“Sheinspiredmeandhasbeenacourageous voice for the promotion and protection of human rights and democracy,” he said.

Ho, like Cotler, is a Montrealer. She was born in Hong Kong, but raised in Brossard, on the South Shore. After high school, she attended CEGEP in Montreal before moving back to Hong Kong.

As a pop star and musician, she became one of the first local celebrities to come out as gay in 2012 at the Hong Kong Pride Parade, and has advocated for LGBTQ rights since, in addition to her involvement with the city’s pro-democracy movement for which she was also arrested in 2014.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly tweeted Wednesday that Canadian consular officials “are engaged and stand ready to provide assistance on the ground” and that Global Affairs is monitoring the situation.

“Canada will always stand up to support democracy and freedom of the press. We are deeply concerned by the arrests in Hong Kong of current and former board and staff members from Stand News, including Canadian citizen and activist Denise Ho,” Joly wrote.

At a 2019 protest in Hong Kong, Ho said growing up in Montreal helped her want to speak out for fundamental rights.

“For me, Canada is another home.

So what I have learned there, I am applying it here in Hong Kong,” she said.

The news of Ho’s arrest came as a shock to members of the group Hongkongers at McGill, a pro-democracy student group at the Montreal university.

15

The Prime Minister’s Office expenses rose by 6.9 per cent in the last fiscal year as spending for all ministerial offices, including the PMO, reached $68.21-million, according to the federal government’s public accounts for 2020-21.

The great majority of ministerial office spending, including the PMO, was for personnel. Of the $68.21-million spent by ministerial offices, $67.3-million was spent on personnel. All the cabinet ministers, excluding the PMO, spent $58.16-million on their offices last year.

The public accounts, which were tabled in the House of Commons on Dec. 14, show that cabinet office spending rose more than $6.25-million from 2019-20 to 2020-21. The new accounts audit government spending from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021.

Justin Trudeau’s (Papineau, Que.) PMO spending reached $10.05-million in the last fiscal year, an increase of 6.9

per cent from $9.39-million in 2019-20.

The PMO spent $9.84-million on staffing.

Get Today’s Headlines Newsletter Canadian politics and policy stories that are shaping the day. Weekdays.

By entering your email address you consent to receive email from The Hill Times containing news, analysis, updates and offers. You may unsubscribe at any time. See our privacy policy The increase was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the PMO. “The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on Canadians’ lives and the way they work. Workplaces needed to adjust to the new reality to ensure public health and continued operations. The Prime Minister’s Office was no exception,” a PMO spokesperson said in an email, noting that the office created a task force dedicated to responding to COVID-19 issues.

“This is especially important as we face new variants and work to finish the fight against COVID-19.

Snow hits BC’s South Coast after overnight winter storm Residents of B.C.’s South Coast from Vancouver Island to Chilliwack are waking up to winter landscapes and snow-covered roads after a storm system swept through the region overnight. Beginning Wednesday evening, the storm brought snowfall up to 15 centimetres in some areas, including Sechelt and North Cowichan. An Environment Canada snowfall warning remains in place for much of the South Coast as light snow continues. It’s expected to taper off later Thursday morning.

Environment Canada meteorologist Philippe-Alain Bergeron said the storm followed a somewhat unusual trajectory.

“It’s a little compact storm that was making its way down the coast and it’s really squeezed

between that big upper ridge over the Pacific and that’s why the trajectory was almost north to south,” he said.

Meanwhile, arctic highs are still being felt over B.C’s Interior and the Canadian Prairies.

Bergeron said Thursday will be colder than average in British Columbia, but only by about 5 degrees compared to the 10 to 15 degrees colder-than-average temperatures experienced over the last few days.

Darren Ell, general manager for Mainroad Lower Mainland Contracting, said 30 trucks from his company have been out for hours moving massive amounts of snow off provincial highways between the U.S. border and 1st Avenue.

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Saturday, January 1, 2022

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Saturday, January 1, 2022 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that the increase in global atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) is primarily due to fossil fuel use and, in a smaller but still significant level, to land-use change.

Global warming can result in many serious alterations to the environment, eventually impacting human health. It can also cause a rise in sea level, leading to the loss of coastal land, a change in precipitation patterns, increased risks of droughts and floods, and threats to biodiversity. The effects are already evident in areas like Nunavut, Canada, where Inuit hunters are facing survival challenges due to the thinning of the ice. Explorer Will Steger gives an account of hunters in the Baffin Island, who are faced with the dilemma of unsafe hunting due to ice loss, risking their lives to get in contact with sea animals. Besides the visible effects on people’s livelihoods, global warming is predicted to have a strong and adverse impact on human health. The populations of countries that have contributed the least to global warming are the

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The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that climate change is responsible for at least 150,000 deaths per year, a number that is expected to double by 2030. The effects of global warming will cause dire health consequences: Infectious diseases.

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India

Saturday, January 1, 2022

Central govt asks 19 states, UTs to ramp up Covid testing to identify cases, restrict spread The Centre on Thursday urged 19 states and union territories to ramp up Covid testing “in a big way” to identify cases promptly and restrict its spread in view of the increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant, and the larger preponderance of asymptomatic cases. A decline of over 50 per cent has been seen in testing in Arunachal Pradesh (68 per cent), Assam (58 per cent) and Nagaland (52 per cent), it noted. The other states and UTs where testing is low includes poll-bound Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Comprehensive, adequate and smart testing is an important step in controlling the transmission of the virus, Additional Secretary in the Health Ministry Arti Ahuja said in a letter to the states

and UTs concerned. “The need for enhanced testing is even greater today, keeping in mind the increased transmissibility of Omicron, and the larger preponderance of asymptomatic cases. Besides, ramping up testing in the initial days itself will help to ensure that the infected individual does not spread the virus to others,” Ahuja said. “However, it is observed that there has been a considerable decline in COVID-19 testing in some states, which is a cause of serious concern,” she said. The official advised the states and UTs to ensure focused and comprehensive testing as per extant ICMR guidelines and to ramp up testing in a big way to identify Covidpositive case promptly and also to restrict transmission.

Govt declares Nagaland ‘disturbed area’ The Centre on Thursday declared the entire Nagaland as a “disturbed area” for six more months with effect from December 30 under the AFSPA while terming the state’s condition “disturbed and dangerous”.

The move came days after the Union government constituted a high-level committee to examine the possibility of the withdrawal of the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from Nagaland.

The AFSPA has been operational in Nagaland for decades.

“Whereas the Central government is of the opinion that the area comprising the whole of the state of Nagaland is in such a disturbed and dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary.

“Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (No. 28 of 1958) the Central Government hereby declares that

whole of the State of Nagaland to be ‘disturbed area’ for a period of six months with effect from December 30, 2021, for the purpose of the said Act,” a home ministry notification said.

The notification was issued by the additional secretary in the Home Ministry, Piyush Goyal, who has been named the member secretary in the panel to examine the possibility of the withdrawal of the AFSPA. The committee is headed by secretary-level officer Vivek Joshi.

The high-level committee has been set up apparently to soothe the rising tension in Nagaland over the killing of 14 civilians.

Protests for the withdrawal of the AFSPA have been going on in several districts of Nagaland ever since an Army unit killed 14 civilians in the state’s Mon district earlier this month, mistaking them as insurgents.

The AFSPA empowers security forces to conduct operations and arrest anyone without any prior warrant. It also gives immunity to the forces if they shoot someone dead.

INDIA

Saturday, January 1, 2022 Heavy to very heavy rains pounded Chennai and the suburbs on Thursday, inundating roads and subways, and the intense spell may turn out to be one of the heaviest witnessed in recent years.It was a repeat of scenes witnessed here last month as motorists struggled to manoeuvre their vehicles on flooded roads and subways while showers led to traffic congestion as well in many areas. Starting from

Heavy rains hit Chennai, roads & subways inundated noon, most areas in the city and suburbs began receiving rainfall and it was heavy to very heavy in several locations.

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the highest rainfall of 17.65 CM was recorded in MRC Nagar here. It was 14.65 CM and 10 CM at Nungambakkam and

Meenambakkam respectively.

In other areas, including those falling under neighbouring Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts, the showers ranged from 1 CM (Madhavaram) to 10 CM (Nandanam). The rainfall data was recorded between 8.30 AM and 6.15 PM today. Isolated heavy to very

19

rainfall activity is likely to continue over north coastal Tamil Nadu and adjoining areas of south coastal Andhra Pradesh during next three days and decrease thereafter, the IMD said. Weather enthusiasts made claims in the social media vis-a-vis the intensity of rains and on showers beating previous records.

Consult health experts, govt on Covid situation, not political parties: Congress tells Election Commission Lashing out at the Election Commission, the Congress on Thursday asked it to consult health experts, seek data on COVID-19 from the government and take an independent decision on holding elections in five states rather than acting like a “toothless tiger”.

Taking exception to Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra’s remarks in Lucknow that all political parties favoured holding elections on time following all Covid protocols, Congress chief spokesperson

decision,” Surjewala said in a statement here.

“Constitutional responsibility of elections lies solely with Election Commission of India (ECI),” he said.

He told the Election Commission that the countrywide data of COVID-19 infection, its spread, the doubling time, the results of genome sequencing and the vaccine efficacy against the Omicron variant was with the Modi government and not with political parties.

Randeep Singh Surjewala said the details about the Covid situation was with the Modi government and not with political parties.

Elections are due early next year in five states—Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur.

“Instead of acting like a toothless tiger, ECI should ask for data from Modi government, share it with all parties, consult health experts-epidemiologistsvirologists and take an independent

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Saturday, January 1, 2022

Special Investigation Agency files chargesheet against Hurriat leader, 8 others for ‘selling’ MBBS seats The Special Investigation Agency (SIA) of Jammu and Kashmir Police filed its first chargesheet against nine people, including a Hurriyat leader, in a case related to “selling” of MBBS seats in Pakistan to Kashmiri students and using the money to support and fund terrorism, officials said on Thursday.

The case was registered by the Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK), a branch of the police’s CID, in July last year after receiving information through reliable sources that several unscrupulous people, including some Hurriyat leaders, were hand in glove with some educational consultancies and were “selling” Pakistan-based MBBS

seats and seats in other professional courses in colleges and universities.

The CIK, which has been designated as the SIA now, filed its chargesheet before a court against Mohammad Akbar Bhat alias Zaffar Akbar Bhat, the chairman of Salvation Movement, a constituent of hardline Hurriyat Conference.

Others named in the chargesheet are Abdul Jabbar, Fatima Shah, Altaf Ahmad Bhat Qazi Yasir, Mohammad Abdullah Shah, Sabzar Ahmad Sheikh, Manzoor Ahmad Shah, Syed Khalid Geelani and Mohd Iqbal Mir of Mahaz Azadi Front.

Congress claims big win in Karnataka urban local body polls The results of 58 Urban Local Bodies (ULB), 57 gram panchayats and bypolls of 9 wards (ULB) across Karnataka have thrown mixed results for the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress party.

Both claimed victory saying that they have the majority and confidence of the people.

Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said the Congress emerged victorious in 500 wards, against the 435 won by the ruling BJP. The JD(S) bagged only 45 wards.

Surjewala congratulated Karnataka

Congress chief DK Shivakumar, CLP leader Siddaramaiah, the MLAs and all senior leaders of the party on the electoral outcome.

The elections to ULBs which were delayed by three years were held on December 27. After counting of votes started, trends indicated a close fight between the BJP and the Congress.

Opposition leader Siddaramaiah claimed that this result shows that people are dejected with the BJP government. The results have shown that they can’t win elections with money power, he said.

India blocks foreign funding for Mother Teresa charity India’s government has refused to renew the foreign-funding licence for a charity founded by Mother Teresa.

The Missionaries of Charity has thousands of nuns supervising projects like homes for abandoned children, schools, clinics and hospices.

On Christmas Day, India’s home ministry announced it had not renewed the registration due to “adverse inputs”.

Hindu hardliners have long accused the charity of using its programmes to convert people to Christianity.

The charity has denied these allegations.

In a statement on Monday, it confirmed that its renewal application had been denied, and that it would not operate any foreign funding accounts

“until the matter is resolved”.

Earlier the chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, drew criticism after tweeting that the government had frozen the charity’s bank accounts. But the government and the country have both since denied that the accounts were frozen.

The Kolkata-based charity was founded in 1950 by Mother Teresa, a Roman Catholic nun who moved to India from her native Macedonia.

It is one of the world’s best-known Catholic charities. Mother Teresa was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work, and she was declared a saint by Pope Francis in 2016, 19 years after her death.

6 JeM militants gunned down by security forces in separate encounters in J-K; Army jawan loses life Six Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants, including two Pakistani nationals involved in the December 13 attack on a police bus on the outskirts of the city, were killed in twin encounters in south Kashmir that also left an Army jawan dead, officials said on Thursday.

While three militants were killed in an overnight encounter in Anantnag, three others were killed in the gunfight which took place in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday evening, the officials said. Two jawans and a police personnel were injured during the Anantnag operation, they said.

The encounters took place after the forces

launched a cordon and search operation in Nowgam Shahabad area in Anantnag district, and Mirhama area of Kulgam – both in south Kashmir – after specific inputs about the presence of militants in these areas on Wednesday evening. “In the last about five days, security forces have carried out multiple operations across the Valley resulting in 11 hardcore terrorists being neutralised, killed. On Wednesday night, in two separate operations, six terrorists, including two Pakistani terrorists, of JeM cadre have been neutralised in Kulgam and Anantnag,” General officer Commanding of the Army’s 15 Corps, Lt Gen D P Pandey said.

Overseas Citizen of India cardholders need RBI nod to purchase farm property Those holding Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards need Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) permission to buy agricultural land, farm houses and plantation property. But they need not seek the RBI’s prior approval to buy or transfer immovable property in India, said the apex bank in a clarification after it received a large number of queries based on newspaper reports on a Supreme Court Judgment.

The Supreme Court’s judgment on February 26, 2021, in a civil appeal was related to

provisions of FERA which has been repealed.

At present, NRIs and OCIs are governed by provisions of FEMA and do not require prior approval of the RBI for acquisition and transfer of immovable property in India, other than agricultural land, farm house and plantation property. The sale and transfer will have to be as per the terms and conditions laid down in Chapter IX of the FEMA (Non-debt Instruments) Rules of October 17, 2019, said the RBI.

21

Saturday, January 1, 2022

Punjab Jaswinder Multani questioned in Germany over terror cases Jaswinder Singh Multani, an activist of the banned terror organisation Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), was being questioned in Germany at the behest of Indian security agencies over his involvement in terror incidents in Punjab, officials privy to the development said today.

The German Federal Police, in reply to a query by The Tribune on Multani, neither denied nor confirmed his arrest. In

an e-mail communication, the press officer of the German police said as a matter of principle, they did not divulge personal information and the Indian authorities should be contacted for the purpose.

A controversy had erupted earlier in the day when SFJ general counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannu released a purported video, claiming Multani had not been arrested.

CM Channi announces increase in wages of Asha workers and mid-day meal workers Doling out goodies to poorest of the poor on election eve, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi here on Thursday announced a substantial increase in wages of Asha workers and mid-day meal workers.

There are 22,000 Asha workers and 42,205 mid-day meal workers in the state.

With this the long-pending demand of both has been met.

Man arrested for robbing Rs 45 lakh at gunpoint in Phagwara A man was arrested for allegedly being involved in a Rs 45 lakh robbery, the police here said on Thursday.

Shankar Maini, an employee of a money exchange firm, was abducted and robbed at gunpoint on December 25.

The accused has been identified as Akhil Rawat alias Sonu of Chandigarh, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP)

Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh said.

Addressing the media, he said Rs 22 lakh and two cars were recovered from him.

Maini was kidnapped from Phagwara by three armed men who had their faces concealed with mufflers.

The assailants bundled Maini in their car and dumped him in Goraya after snatching the bag carrying cash, said the SSP.

Hearing of Bikram Majithia’s anticipatory bail plea adjourned The hearing of Bikram Singh Majithia’s anticipatory bail petition was on Thursday adjourned to January 5.

His counsel, Mukul Rohatgi, was not available for a physical hearing.

Advocate Arshdeep Singh Cheema,

representing Majithia, requested a virtual hearing but it was denied as the bench was hearing matters in physical mode only.

Thereafter, he sought an adjournment which was allowed by the bench of Justice Lisa Gill.

Pakistan Pakistan buys 25 J-10C fighter jets from China Pakistan acquired 25 J-10C fighter jets from China in response to India’s purchase of Rafale. Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said 25 all-weather aircraft comprising J-10C would attend 23 March’s Pakistan Day celebrations. Apparently, China has come to the rescue of its closest

ally by providing J-10C, one of its highly reliable fighter jets. The J-10C aircraft were part of the Pak-China joint exercise last year, where experts from Pakistan had the opportunity to have a close look at these. Pakistan had a fleet of US-made F-16s, which is considered a good match for Rafale.

ISI Chief does not want his pictures or videos to be released Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief, Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum instructed authorities not to release his images or video to media, according to reports.

Lieutenant General Anjum was appointed Director-General ISI, last month. He replaced Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed.

On Monday, Pakistan’s National Security

Committee approved the country’s first-ever National Security Policy.

The high-level meeting was also attended by DirectorGeneral ISI Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum.

However, photos and videorecording of the meeting released by the Pakistan govt showed all the other top dignitaries.

Govt detains 85 people for role in Sri Lankan man’s lynching uthorities in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Wednesday said they have detained 85 main suspects after determining their role in the brutal lynching of a Sri Lankan national in Sialkot city earlier this month.

A mob of 800 men, including supporters of the radical Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), attacked a garment factory in Sialkot on December 3 and lynched its 49-yearold general manager — Priyantha Kumara

Diyawadana — before setting his body on fire over allegations of blasphemy. An official said over 100 other suspects were also included in the investigation but no evidence of their involvement in the case was detected, thus they were not named in the FIR and some of them who were detained were released.

“We want to present a strong case against prime suspects in the court and investigation teams are working hard on it,” he said.

Six killed in gas heater leakage Six people, including three children, were killed due to a gas leak in Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local media reported.

According to the reports, the incident took place in a house at Gulshan Colony due to gas leakage from a heater, according to media reports.

The rescue workers said that all the people in the house were sleeping and gas heater was active to keep themselves warm.

The whole house got filled with gas resulting in the deaths, the reports added.

FIJI Fiji should be ashamed of its treatment of late academic, says Ali human rights advocate in Fiji says the country should be ashamed of what happened to academic Brij Lal and his family.

Academic Prof Brij Lal who was deported from Fiji in 2009. Shamima Ali said while the region mourns Lal’s death, people should not forget the injustice meted out to him and his wife.

Ali said the government disrespects academia and the contributions they make to Fiji’s development.

In the case of the Lals, Ali said there has been a “miscarriage of justice and a gross violation of their basic human rights - the right to nationality and citizenship and to a fair trial.”

Ali said Lal’s “writings and utterances irked the government” so they banned him from Fiji.

“And Dr Padma Lal, along with her husband, was also banned from Fiji.

“This smacks of sexism and once again disregards Dr Lal’s illustrious career as an ecological economist and her work on the sugar industry and environment.

“I urge the Fiji Human Rights and Anti Discrimination Commission to step up and

challenge this draconian decision of arbitrarily banning citizens and taking away their birthright.”

Lal’s legacy will live on as an upstanding human being and citizen of our country, Ali said.

“Shame on you, Fiji. Those who violated his and Padma’s rights will surely live in ignominy and infamy.

“There is still time for a change, to amend the wrongs, too late for Brij but not for his family.”Fiji’s main opposition party says the death of Professor Lal in exile was a sad time for Fiji.

The Social Democratic Liberal Party said Lal hoped that he would one day return to his homeland.

Fiji claims to have democracy but it still has a very long way to go, said Sodelpa leader Viliame Gavoka.

“The news of Prof Brij Lal’s passing fills me with great pain,” he said.

“We all know about him, a favourite son of Fiji who was refused permission to return home.

“He lived and hoped that he would one day come home and many of us pleaded for his case.”

Fiji braces for third wave of Covid-19 Less than a month after reopening to the world, Fiji is bracing for a third wave of the coronavirus outbreak.

Two weeks ago, Fiji was reporting less than 10 cases of the Covid-19.

On 24 December, the ministry reported 109 new cases; 40 of them were recorded on 23 December and 69 cases on Christmas Eve. Fiji reopened its borders to international travellers on 1 December and thousands of tourists have arrived from its partner countries such as New Zealand, Australia and the United States.

While it is not clear how many of the latest cases are tourists, RNZ Pacific is aware some tourists at a Fiji resort are being

isolated after testing positive to Covid-19.

In a message dated 27 December and obtained

by RNZ, the InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa in Nadi had advised its guests that “there are currently several guests at the resort who have returned positive Covid-19 tests”.

Intercontinental said these guests were “isolating in a dedicated area of the resort, as per Ministry of Health guidelines and protocols”.

“While these guests are isolating and do not pose a risk to other guests, we remind you to remain vigilant and to advise the resort team immediately if you develop any symptoms.

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NRI / INDIA

Saturday, January 1, 2022

Record new 1,313 Omicron cases in Delhi, highest since May India’s tally of the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID on Thursday crossed 1,000.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, meanwhile, said Omicron is gradually spreading in the community and the variant of concern has been found in 46 per cent of the latest samples of regular COVID cases analysed in the national capital.

According to the latest data available from the Centre and the states in the night, the total number of Omicron cases in the country was around 1,200.

Maharashtra reporting its highest single-day infection with the new strain, as states further tightened measures to deal with the surge in coronavirus cases.

Omicron COVID tally crosses 1,000-mark 1313 new Covid cases in Delhi, highest in 7 months Himachal reports one Covid death, 65 fresh cases J&K reports 139 new cases of COVID, 1 death More than 100 people test positive for COVID-19 in Bihar Assam reports 101 fresh COVID-19 cases, two more deaths Haryana reports 23 more Omicron cases; tally mounts to 37 Goa logs 261 new COVID-19 cases, one death; active count at 856 Maharashtra reports jump in cases with 5,368 COVID-19 infections, 22 deaths Over 144.45 crore Covid vaccine doses administered.

Surrey’s Christmas Eve budget disrespects taxpayers and city’s financial future: Councillor Linda Annis

Press release

Surrey, B.C. (December 24, 2021): Surrey First Councillor Linda Annis says the fact that she’s putting out a news release critical of the mayor’s 2022 budget on Christmas Eve sums up what’s wrong with the way Doug McCallum is dealing with Surrey’s finances and tax dollars.

“I’m expecting the mayor and his four councillors to use their majority to push through a more than $1.2 billion budget at today’s rushed two-hour council meeting,” said Annis. “That works out to more than $600 million per hour, or $10 million per minute. In the history of our city we have never approved anything that big so quickly, with so little due diligence, no real community consultation, or even a cursory review. It’s absolutely the wrong way to run a city our size and a budget this big.”

Annis said she wants the city to have an independent auditor general for exactly these sorts of issues,

something Doug McCallum opposes.

“Every major city in Canada has an auditor general, so does the federal and provincial governments, added Annis. “What we’re seeing today represents the worst possible financial management, and reflects the arbitrary way the mayor and his four councillors completely ignore the people and taxpayers of Surrey. The sad reality is that the less people know, the more Doug McCallum likes it.”

Annis said the 2022 budget adds more debt, drains city financial reserves, and is completely misleading when it comes to the real cost of the police transition from RCMP to the Surrey Police Service, a cost she now pegs at $200 million-plus.

“Budgets are about detail and when you look at the city’s 2022 budget it doesn’t add up for Surrey taxpayers,” added Annis.

Media contact: Councillor Linda Annis 604-345-0211

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Saturday, January 1, 2022

By Vibhooti Vaishnav

W

e had started the journey of 2021 with so much hope, with vaccination on the horizon, we anticipated journey to be without anxiety and frustration. We almost got there with wonderful vaccination rates and reached some normalcy. We were ready to disembark 2021 and embark on 2022 with Joy and Hope of Christmas. But alas! Grinch in the form of omicron came along. Having said that, number of Covid cases breaking the records all around the world is not all Omicron, it is still the Delta strain. One would anticipate occurrence of Covid be quite less, since vaccination.

What went wrong? Once again it is human behavior. It seems we let our guards down, we started partying and attending weddings and gatherings and travelling and somehow failed to keep the protocols of distancing and sanitizing and masking up. Result is transmission of virus, more the transmission more the mutation in this ever so smart virus. Now our hope is that this mutation trend continues to be less and less virulent and then it becomes the part of the flu family that can be incorporated in general vaccine.

But wait a minute, Covid vaccine

by Pfizer and Moderna are of different technology so we will have to take two jabs every year. One for regular flu and the other for Covid. And this will still not give 100% protection. So what can we do? We make a lifestyle change. Mask up, wash hands, keep distance and keep vaccinated as needed. This has to be a new way of life now.

Yes we all are exhausted of this tiny little virus taking centre stage in our lives, dominating every decision at political, social, economic level. Future of our kids is also in jeopardy as they are dealing and learning a skill set that is going to change their psychology and outLook towards life. We don’t know if this is for better or for worse.

It seems like we have not moved forward at all after December 2019. Two whole years have gone by but we don’t feel that because these two years we could not do what we wanted to do, we were dominated by this smallest being, a virus that has not only shown a mirror to mankind but has taken the mankind by storm and brought us to the brink of break down. Frustration is at its peak in every field. Frustration leads to depression or aggression and we saw both in various ways. It seems like we are stuck and are dictated on the terms of this

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Another round around the sun virus and it is depleting us of our life energies, since we could not add new experiences and connections in these two years. It is so devitalization and debilitating.

We all grew two years older without adding full life experiences. This makes some of us quite angry and makes us take wrong decisions, which could be regressive and that is exactly what we are

seeing worldwide. Endurance has become a virtue now.

For those who have lost loved ones, this is not a joke. For people who have experienced the disease first hand, know what it takes to tackle this virus.

Now it is our responsibility to minimize the spread and regain normalcy keeping this weakening, enfeebling, draining bitterness and resentment aside because these are

all impediment in living life to its fullest.

Now that we embark on 2022, we can only keep hoping for the best but be prepared for the worst. We cannot let our guards down on virus and we cannot let our hope and faith and trust in each other go down either. Let us all wish that first sunrise of 2022 bring the light of hope, health, assurance, trust and may we all continue our journey around the sun by elevating ourselves above all the divisiveness that we have seen in the past couple years dominated by Covid. Let us all experience new joy and contentment in the coming year.

Wishing you all a lot of social support and safety and A very happy and healthy 2022

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Saturday, January 1, 2022