The Asian Star December 07 2019

www.theasianstar.com Vol 19 - Issue 45

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Oppal says Surrey Mayor wrong about policing transition timeline The man in charge of a joint provincial-city committee tasked with overseeing Surrey’s transition from the RCMP to its own police force says Mayor Doug McCallum is incorrect in his claim that the work will be finished by Dec. 11 and ready for Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth’s perusal. “We’ve been working very hard, we’ve been working with the minister over the last five or six days,” McCallum told reporters in

a scrum Monday night. “The general consensus over there is that they need to speed up the process. They’ve given us the green light to have our police, the committee’s work will be finished on Dec. 11.

I understand the committee is working very well on both sides and generally, they probably will all agree and sign off on the report that they’re

Continued on page 7

CPPIB to invest up to $600-million in India’s National Investment & Infrastructure Fund Canada’s biggest public pension fund is investing up to $600 million in India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), as it seeks to grow its infrastructure bets in Asia’s thirdlargest economy. The deal includes a commitment of $150 million in NIIF’s Master Fund and co-investment rights of up to $450 million in future opportunities to invest alongside the Master Fund, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) said in a statement on Thursday.

The NIIF is majority-owned by institutional investors, but says is anchored by India’s government, which is also an investor in its Master Fund.

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Port Coquitlam mayor says his fight against a cocktail party taught him about the power of China’s govt For Brad West, it was a simple question: “Should a foreign government be able to buy access to elected politicians that are supposed to be working in the interests of our people and our communities?” When the mayor of Port Coquitlam learned that the Chinese government had been hosting a cocktail party for the municipal politicians at their yearly provincial convention, he was, to put it mildly, perplexed.

“The answer is, ‘No, they should not be able to do that,’” West says. “And you could go out and talk to just about any person on the street, and you would have got the same answer.”

Continued on page 7

Amazon & Walmart under estimated India’s small shop keepers

In the heart of New Delhi’s largest wholesale bazaar, merchants who normally compete with each other have united against a common enemy.

“Amazon, Flipkart!” one merchant after another shouts into a microphone from a small stage in Sadar Bazaar’s central traffic circle. Some 50 other shopkeepers gathered around shout back in unison: “Go back! Go back!” The sit-in, which

created more chaos than usual among the rickshaws, motorbikes and ox-carts plying the market road, was one of as many as 700 protests against Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc. -- owner of local e-commerce leader Flipkart -- that organizers say took place at bazaars across India on a recent Wednesday.

4 suspects in gang-rape, murder case shot in police encounter All four suspects in the gang-rape and murder of a veterinarian in Telangana have been killed in an encounter with the police.

The police said the four suspects, aged between 20 and 24, had been taken to the spot of the crime for recreation of the crime scene when they tried to escape and were shot.

Locals had on Thursday demolished the wall behind which the crime was committed.

Telangana Police had secured the suspects’ remand on Thursday for a week on the ground that they needed to reconstruct the crime scene. Keeping in view the public outrage, the suspects were earlier kept in a local jail so that people did not lynch them.

Continued on page 37

South Asian man killed in Surrey shooting identified as gang member Police revealed the man slain man in Surrey on Sunday night as 21-year-old, Verron Nand.

Verron Nand, a young associate of the Brothers Keepers gang, was shot dead in Surrey on Sunday night and another man was left with serious injuries. Integrated Homicide Investigation Team Sgt. Frank Jang said both victims were known to police.

According to media reports Verron Nand, who had no criminal record, is associated with the BK, which has been locked in a bloody Lower Mainland gang conflict with rivals from at least

two other groups.

“We believe this was a targeted shooting and determining the motive is one of our priorities right now,” Jang said. “We are especially appealing to Verron’s closest friends and associates to help us understand why anyone would do him harm.” The BK has connections to the

Exercising? Dieting? But no results?

Just can’t seem to get rid of those stubborn areas of fat?

Hardside chapter of the Hells Angels, which has had two full-patch members slain in just over a year. “It is early in the investigation, but what I can tell you right now is that our two victims — the deceased and our surviving male — are both known to police. We don’t believe this was random.

We believe this was a targeted incident,” Jang told reporters. He said investigators, who are working with Surrey RCMP and the forensic identification team, want anyone with Continued on page 7

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www.theasianstar.com Vol 18 - Issue 45

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Liberal MP Ken Haride calls for referendum on Surrey City’s plan to set up its own police force MP Ken Hardie is calling on city council to hold a referendum on its plan to replace the RCMP with its own city police force, given new information that’s come to light. “I’m calling for either a referendum or a ballot question in the next municipal election,” Hardie, Liberal MP for Fleetwood-Port Kells, told the Now-Leader. “I think what I’m calling for is to have the public make the final decision. What we heard in the campaign, the promise from Doug and his coalition, was very aspirational but nobody knew the implications – what it would mean, what it would cost, etcetera.”

Hardie noted that when the Safe Surrey Coalition-dominated council unanimously voted to start the transition process at its inaugural meeting on Nov. 5, 2018, the new council “still didn’t know everything they needed to know. The Surrey MP says the city’s 2020 budget, approved Monday, reveals that “our overall level of safety and security services will fall because of the shift of funding to cover the cost of the new police force.”

“Now we know more – maybe all we need to know, maybe not – but what we’ve

seen so far suggests that we need to turn this back over to the public because of the implications,” Hardie said. “Not just the cost of doing what council envisions as far as the police service is concerned, but the cost, the things that we’ll forego because resources are being re-directed to the police service – amenities, firefighters, etcetera, etcetera.” Hardie argues that now the implications of replacing the RCMP with a city police force are “more broadly known,” it becomes “more and more an issue that the public should have the final say on this, especially because I don’t think the mayor was elected with a mandate to do this, not the way that election turned out.” He’s referring to how the Safe Surrey Coalition came up the middle “largely due to the split created when Surrey First devolved into two competing blocs.”

“Given what’s at stake,” Hardie said, it’s his view as a citizen and taxpayer Surrey residents “need more details, then we need to get our hands directly on the decision.”

“No final decision should be taken, nor should major expenditures be undertaken until Surrey residents are satisfied that this transition is truly in our best interests.”

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OPINION

Saturday, December 7, 2019

The struggle for free speech on Canadian campuses Free speech is under siege on many university campuses, including in Canada. Professors, administrators and students are ‘deplatforming’ invited guests, or disrupting and disparaging their fellow academics who fail to toe the politically correct party line.

With precious little evidence, these speakers are said to be “sexist,” “racist” or “Islamophobic.”

So closed-minded enforcers, just like their hockey namesakes, try to prevent these guests from speaking – shouting them down, blocking entrances to lecture halls, setting off fire alarms or physically attacking them.

In March 2017, American political scientist Charles Murray was prevented from speaking at Middlebury College in Vermont. In August 2019, Amy Wax, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, was demeaned by hundreds of her colleagues and students for publishing a well-reasoned opinion piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Her ‘crime’ was arguing in favour of bourgeois values and against what were once called lower class values.

In Canada, the best known political attack was

against the University of Toronto psychology professor Jordan Peterson, who was apparently told by senior university administrators to use gender pronouns like ‘zur’ when speaking to students. Thankfully, Peterson rejected the demand. Similarly, graduate student Lindsay Shepherd was called into a kangaroo court of senior administrators at Wilfrid Laurier University because, as a graduate teaching assistant, she showed a few minutes of a video – from TV Ontario no less – in which Peterson defended his rejection of some gendered pronouns.

As it turned out, both of these people won their battles, which is rather surprising. Surprising and infrequent, because many others have not.

Consider, for example, the cases of lecturer Paul Bali from Ryerson University, Prof.

Ricardo Duchesne at the University of New Brunswick, Prof. Rick Mehta from Acadia and Jeff Muehlbauer, an assistant professor at Brandon University. These intellectuals have suffered conspicuous repercussions for speaking out.

Nevertheless, some recent developments give us renewed hope. Most important, two Conservative provincial governments, those

of Jason Kenney in Alberta and Doug Ford in Ontario, have passed laws requiring universities to establish free speech on campuses or suffer financial penalties.

Given the ideological standoff on Canadian campuses today, such draconian laws are needed. A law enforcing free speech is a serious dilemma because it will force universities to accept free speech on campus.

As a result, other provincial governments will probably wait to see what happens before acting themselves. As well, a committee of distinguished professors at the University of Chicago has written a report on free speech. It reminds professors, administrators and students that free speech is the gold standard for excellent universities. This committee argues that professors and students need unrestricted freedom to study almost anything and to support or refute any idea, policy or practice existing anywhere in the world.

The value of free inquiry is the very reason for universities, and it’s the foundation of free and democratic societies. The truly fortunate part of this story is that some Canadian universities are beginning to implement the Chicago principles.

Policies supporting freedom of speech are slowly creeping through the hallowed halls of universities, at least those in Alberta and Ontario.

A few universities in other provinces even started to recognize free speech as an important issue. Recently, the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship sponsored a panel discussion at Concordia University entitled “Disinviting, noplatforming, and disrupting: Do such tactics have a place at the University?” As well, a group of students and faculty at the University of British Columbia have established a free speech club with Ben Shapiro as the first guest.

Nevertheless, we need to remember what Muehlbauer said, after a long and painful ordeal at Brandon University: “I am in the boneyard now,” meaning that his academic life was over.

Unfortunately, academic life may be over on some Canadian universities. An institution without academic freedom is not a real university, and it should not be supported by either taxpaying citizens or fee-paying students.

Rodney A. Clifton is a senior fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and a professor emeritus at the University of Manitoba.

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Saturday, December 7, 2019

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Saturday, December 7, 2019

Oppal says Surrey Mayor wrong about policing transition timeline From page 1 they’re going to be, with agreement from all sides. That report should be done and handed to the minister around Dec. 11. Wally Oppal, a former B.C. attorney general and Supreme Court Justice, was appointed chairman of the committee after the NDP government gave the City of Surrey approval to establish its own police force in August. Asked Thursday afternoon if McCallum’s timeline is correct, Oppal replied with a blunt “no.”

“No. No, we’re still – this is a very complex area, this whole idea of establishing a police force and it’s got to be done properly,” he explained. “So, we’ve had very productive

meetings, and so we’re making good progress but we can’t circumvent the time period and we can’t compromise quality in order to get the report done before then. We don’t even have a meeting set until next week, actually.”

Port Coquitlam mayor says his fight against a cocktail party taught him about the power of China’s govt From page 1 So West began speaking against the reception, which had first started in 2012.

West asked how a country holding two Canadians, consultant Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor, in apparent retaliation for the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, and which was simultaneously imposing sanctions on Canadian goods, could be welcomed by civic leaders.

To make his point, he showed up outside this

September’s reception with two boxes of Tim Hortons doughtnuts that had photographs of Spavor and Kovrig attached to them.

He faced criticism for his actions. The 34-yearold father was accused of grandstanding to further his political career; others levelled what he described as “thinly veiled threats” that his city could suffer a loss in services or funding if he kept criticizing the reception and the Chinese government.

Surrey man killed in shooting identified as gang member From page 1 information about the shooting, or with dashcam footage from the area, to contact them at 1-877-551-4448 or ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.

“Dashcam video is proving to be crucial to our investigations,” Jang said. So far, no motive has been established in the shooting.

Jang also said investigators are looking at whether a burning vehicle found in Burnaby shortly after the shooting could have been used by the killer or killers. Just minutes after the gunshots were reported in Surrey, Burnaby RCMP received reports of a car on fire at Fraser Foreshore Park, near Fraser Park Drive and Byrne Road. “We are looking into that, but certainly there is no definitive link,” Jang said.

Police haven’t yet spoken to the survivor given the seriousness of his injuries — “there will be a time for that and certainly we are

going to speak to that,” Jang said. “It is terrible what happened. It is a concern for us whenever there is a shooting in our community.” Verron Nand was shot and killed in residential area of north Surrey and was identified as 21-year-old Verron Nand. RCMP responded to a report of gunfire near 114 Avenue at 136A Street in the Bolivar Heights area around 11 pm on Sunday.

Officers found Nand, who was pronounced dead at the scene, and a second man, who was taken to hospital and is now in stable condition.

“We believe this was a targeted shooting and determining the motive is one of our priorities right now,” said Sgt. Frank Jang with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team in a statement. “We are especially appealing to Verron’s closest friends and associates to help us understand why anyone would do him harm.”

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or many Canadians the news they woke up to from across the pond in London was difficult to fathom.

Another global scandal putting Canada in the headlines? Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, sipped on a cold drink and was burned by a hot mic.

Trudeau was caught on camera at a Buckingham Palace reception for NATO seemingly trash talking President Donald Trump. On the video, where audio is heard intermittently, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asks French President Emmanuel Macron, “Is that why you were late?”

But it is Trudeau who interrupts to say, “He was late because he takes a ... 40-minute press conference at the top.”

And Trudeau goes on from there, hands gesturing, mouth grinning. You get the picture, and so did news streams and social media feeds around the world. Trump drama turns NATO gathering into a diplomatic soap

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Trudeau’s hot mic comments cause consternation in Canada opera Trump drama turns NATO gathering into a diplomatic soap opera The slight did not go unnoticed by Trump, who called Trudeau “two-faced.”

But it was his son, Donald Trump Jr., who picked up on his father’s turn of phrase on Twitter, tweeting a picture of Trudeau dressed in blackface, referring to a scandal earlier this year when it was revealed that the Prime Minister had worn racist makeup several times. Trump Jr. writes, “As usual @realDonaldTrump is 100% right!!! Trump calls Trudeau ‘two-faced’

see evidence below,” referring to a photo of Trudeau wearing blackface when he was teacher nearly two decades ago. For his part

Trudeau did not apologize to Trump but said, “Last night, I made a reference to the fact that there was an unscheduled press conference before my meeting with President Trump and I was happy to take part of it, but it was certainly notable.”

Canadian officials traveling with the Prime Minister tell CNN the cocktail conversation was taken out of context and Trudeau was merely telling fellow colleagues about his day. But Canada’s Conservative opposition leader, Andrew Scheer, said there was no excuse for such a mistake in front of a global audience.

“Justin Trudeau’s poor judgment, lack of professionalism and love of drama continues to weaken Canada’s position on the world stage,” Scheer said during a speech to Conservative members of parliament. New Democratic Party opposition leader Jagmeet Singh repeated a criticism of Trudeau first heard during the blackface scandal and seemed to subtly agree with Trump on the Prime Minister’s character. Analysis: Leaders learn the hard way that Trump will be Trump at NATO meeting Analysis: Leaders learn the hard way that Trump will be Trump at NATO meeting “What I’ve said often about Mr. Trudeau is that he certainly says some things

Tories, NDP won’t support throne speech but Bloc will back Liberals’ agenda if it comes to vote The Conservatives and the New Democrats are against it, but the Bloc Québécois supports it, so should the throne speech be put to a vote in the House of Commons, it has enough support to pass. The Liberal government is not obliged to put the speech from the throne to a vote in order to seek confidence from the House.

That’s not stopping Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer from promising to put forward an amendment to the speech Friday to cover what Scheer called “missed opportunities.”

Scheer said he wants language included in the speech detailing his party’s election promise to build a national energy corridor that would send oil east and electricity west, even though the Liberals, NDP and Bloc are firmly against the idea. Scheer also said his amendment will call for the government to repeal the tanker ban off the West Coast and the government’s signature environmental assessment legislation that lays out conditions for approving national resource projects in Canada. Should the Conservative amendment contain those provisions, it’s unlikely to get support from the Liberals, the NDP or the Bloc. Throne speech promises tax cut, climate action and ban on military-style firearms Speaking after the speech, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said that while the speech did say the Liberal government would work to help energy sector employees across the country, it never mentioned any industry by name. “The fact that it’s so unclear about oil makes it so that it’s hard to vote against something which is not even named in the speech, even if we understand well that this is the intention,” he said. Blanchet said that if the speech comes to a vote, he could support it because there’s enough ambiguity in it to suggest the government also supports Quebec’s hydroelectric and forestry workers.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet respond after the Throne Speech.

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Your next bill for MSP is going to be the last one British Columbians should be receiving their final Medical Services Plan bill this month, the premier says.

The NDP government campaigned on a promise to end MSP, and previously announced the premiums would be eliminated as of January 2020.

On Thursday, John Horgan issued a reminder that the final bills would be sent in December. “The cost of health care should not be a burden on people, but for too long, unfair MSP premiums made it hard to get ahead,” Horgan said in a statement.

“This represents one of the largest middle-class tax cuts in B.C.’s history and will make a big difference in people’s lives.”

The government estimates individuals will save up to $900 a year, and families will save up to $1,800.

It’s a net tax cut of about $800 million, the province said.

Finance Minister Carole James said not having to pay premiums will free up money for residents of B.C. to spend on food, rent and child care.

“Families have more money for themselves and to invest in B.C. businesses,” she said.

In a statement, the government reminded those who have automatic payments set up through their bank or credit union to cancel the arrangement to ensure the payments stop.

B.C. was one of the last provinces in Canada to have health care premiums. The government estimates about $50 million a year will be saved in administrative costs by getting rid of the premiums.

Residents are reminded that they still need to be enrolled in MSP and have a BC Services Card to be eligible for provincial health care.

Murder victim Jagvir Malhi was not involved in gangs, says IHIT The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) has confirmed that Jagvir Malhi, who died Nov. 12 after being gunned down in Abbotsford, was not involved in gangs or criminal activity but knew people who were. Cpl. Frank Jang of IHIT confirmed. “What we can say at this point is that Jagvir Malhi was associated to those involved in the Lower Mainland gang conflict,” Jang said. He did not say who those people were nor did he elaborate on a possible motive for the murder, including whether Malhi might have been killed in a case of mistaken identity or whether the shooter(s) were trying to send a message to someone involved in the conflict.

Jang said no arrests have yet been made.

“We’re still appealing to those with

information to come forward,” he said.

Malhi was shot at about 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 12 while he was driving in the area of Ross and Simpson roads in west Abbotsford. He lived in the area and was on his way to University of the Fraser Valley, where he was in his second year of criminology studies.

He was airlifted from the scene, but died shortly afterwards in hospital.

Following the shooting, IHIT stated that the killing was believed to be “gang-related,” although they didn’t specify the connection.

That prompted numerous people, including two friends who spoke directly to the media, to speak out – mostly through social media – about Malhi, saying he was not involved in gangs and was in fact a role model in the community.

Liberal MP upsets Regan to become Speaker in minority Parliament Liberal MP Anthony Rota has been elected Speaker of the House of Commons, beating out fellow Liberal Geoff Regan, who was Speaker during the last session of Parliament and wanted to continue. Rota, 58, represents the northern Ontario riding of Nipissing-Timiskaming and was a deputy speaker in the last Parliament. His election to the top job this time is being billed by some as an early sign of how the official Opposition intends to throw its weight around now that the Liberals have been reduced to a minority.

The Conservatives, with 121 seats, didn’t have the numbers to elect one of their own to the challenging post. But with the Speaker being elected via a preferential ballot, they could try to ensure Rota came out on top.

Two Conservative MPs, Bruce Stanton and

Joel Godin, and one New Democrat, Carol Hughes, also put their names on the ballot.

Under preferential balloting, MPs list their first, second and subsequent choices.

The votes for the last-place candidate are redistributed to his or her supporters’ second choices, a process that continues until one candidate emerges with more than 50 per cent of the vote. To place Rota at the top of that list, all of the Conservatives -- with support from MPs from other parties -- simply had to rank Regan farther down. The decision to try and unseat Regan as a show of strength was made at the Conservative caucus meeting earlier this week but MPs refused to discuss it publicly citing the confidentiality of caucus proceedings.

LOCAL

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Canadian banks brace for subdued 2020 earnings growth after worst year since crisis Canadian banks are bracing for another year of subdued earnings growth in fiscal 2020 after a disappointing quarterly reporting season closed out the worst year of profit expansion since the global financial crisis.

Toronto Dominion Bank (TO:TD), Canada’s largest bank by assets, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TO:CM) posted smaller-than-expected quarterly profits on Thursday, sending shares sliding, a similar reaction to the results of all but one of the remainder of Canada’s six biggest banks.

CIBC shares fell 4.8% and TD shares dropped 2.8% and both were on track for their worst close in almost two months. The Toronto stock benchmark fell 0.4% (GSPTSE).

Since Bank of Nova Scotia (TO:BNS) kicked off fourth-quarter reporting on Nov. 26, the Canadian banks index <.GSPTXBA> has lost 3.5%, compared with the benchmark’s 1.1% decline.

Canadian banks are facing rising loan loss provisions and limited appetite for dealmaking as economic uncertainties mount. Oil price declines and decade-high consumer insolvencies in Canada are also creating headwinds. “Certainly, the days of robust growth for banks are over,” said Barry Schwartz, chief investment officer at Baskin Asset Management, who forecasts 3% to 5% earnings growth in fiscal year 2020. “Banks aren’t going to grow more than the economy over the long term. A lot of the growth we saw over prior years was really a recovery from such terrible environments coming out of the financial crisis.” Earlier in 2019, stronger growth in Canadian banks’ U.S. businesses helped offset slower growth at home, said Bryden Teich, portfolio manager at Avenue Investment Management. But slower U.S. expansion more recently, as well as challenges to other segments like capital markets as deals

activity has stalled, will continue to weigh on banks into 2020, he said. Adding to their woes is higher expenses as they invest in new technologies and take restructuring charges

to boost efficiencies. The most notable was Bank of Montreal (TO:BMO), which took a C$357 million restructuring charge to cut about 5% of its workforce.

Illicit drug users need to remain cautious because thousands still overdose in BC, Coroners Service says The number of illicit drug overdose deaths has dropped in BC, but the coroners’ service says users need to remain cautious about an unpredictable and toxic drug supply.

The BC Coroners Service says there were 69 suspected overdoses deaths in October, a 42-per-cent decrease from those killed by illicit drugs in the same month last year.

Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe says while fatalities have decreased, the service knows from their health-care partners that the

number of non-fatal overdoses remains high.

She says the decrease in overdose deaths is a promising trend, but the drug supply in the province remains unpredictable and the longterm impact of drug toxicity can be severe.

The coroners’ service says the crisis is far from over, pointing out that B.C. paramedics responded to more than 20,000 overdose calls between January and October this year.

The service says when paramedics respond to a potential overdose patient, that person has a 99-per-cent chance of survival.

South Asian man found guilty of assault for touching bus driver’s thigh without her consent A man who touched a Vancouver bus driver’s leg for less than five seconds in 2018 has been found guilty of assault. In the decision last month in B.C. Provincial Court, Justice Lee said Sarjit Singh Toor’s contact with bus driver Leah Osachuk “was not a mere trifle or of a minor nature,” and found Osachuk was in a vulnerable position that made it difficult to defend herself during the incident. Osachuk testified that on on Oct. 19, 2018, she stopped her southbound bus at Main and Hastings streets, where the assault suspect boarded. The driver testified the man was unstable on his feet and needed help from other people to get on the bus, further describing him as “wobbly” and “loosey goosey.” She also suspected the man was either drunk or on drugs. Osachuk said the man stopped beside her and asked if she was going to Victoria Drive and 49 Avenue, then placed his hand on her right shoulder. “Don’t touch me,” Osachuk said she told the man. “I am aware of where you are going. Have a seat.”

The man then took a seat at the back of the bus. At Commercial Drive and Venables Street, the man approached Osachuk to tell her something. Osachuk told him again to take a seat, but the man remained standing just behind her.

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Saturday, December 7, 2019

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Racist video prompts Vancouver School Board to draft anti-discrimination policy Angry and emotional parents shared stories of frustration with members of the Vancouver School Board Wednesday night over the way a hate-filled racist video made by a student was handled.

In the video, which made the rounds on social media in November 2018, a boy who was then a student at Lord Byng Secondary ranted about how he hates black people and wants to physically harm them.“His word was the N word which he used multiple

times. He said they were stupid and stinky as F,” said BC Community Alliance’s Marie Tate, who watched the video. “He said he wanted to line them all up and throw an explosive in there and go kaboom.” For some parents of students of colour, the way the school and district dealt with the situation was almost as shocking as the video.

“We were in the school explaining to them that this is racism. This is a hate crime,” said Rita Baboth, whose daughter attended Lord Byng at the time. “But it was not accepted.

Bag of cocaine left in grocery store aisle

Anyone out there missing their cocaine? The Oceanside RCMP would like to chat.

An employee at a Parksville Qualicum Beach area grocery store found a suspicious baggie on the floor of an aisle on Wednesday, Dec. 4 and turned it over to police.

Turns out, it was 3.6 grams of cocaine.

“If you are in the habit

of dropping significant quantities of cocaine in very public places, consider attending the Oceanside RCMP detachment as we sure would like to talk to you,” said police in a press release.

“We are just grateful that this was found by a responsible employee and did not fall into the hands of a chil

Sorting fact from fiction about Vancouver’s plastics ban Vancouver’s plans to ban certain plastic items highlight many misconceptions around waste management, the national plastics industry group has said.

In a critical look at the city’s bylaws phasing in bans of plastic bags, singleuse plastics and styrofoam containers next year, the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) made several claims in a news release Wednesday concerning recycling, carbon footprints and whether there was much support for banning plastics.

Last week, Vancouver city council voted to phase in a ban on plastic straws and plastic

shopping bags. Under the bylaw, plastic straws will be banned starting in April, and plastic bags will be banned in January 2021.

Earlier this year, the city banned businesses from serving food and beverages in foam cups and containers, starting in the new year.

The main issues the CPIA raised about the city’s single-use reduction strategy, and what we learned: Claim: The city is replacing recyclable polystyrene food packaging with unrecyclable paper alternatives

Surrey fugitive captured in California was motivated by revenge, $160,000: court documents Brandon Nathan Teixeira, the man arrested in California on Sunday for the murder of Nicholas Khabra in South Surrey, was motivated to kill by revenge and an alleged $160,000 bounty, according to U.S. District Court documents.

The documents, filed Dec. 2, allege that Teixeira did not act alone in planning the killing, which occurred Oct. 23, 2017, in the 14300-block of Crescent Road.

As well, they disclose aliases that the 28-yearold is alleged to have used leading up to the shooting – including the name Ryan Provencher – the same name as one of two South Surrey men found dead near Ashcroft in August. At the time their bodies were discovered, police said the men’s deaths likely “involved criminality.”

Integrated Homicide Investigation Team Sgt. Frank Jang said Wednesday he could not comment on when or under what circumstances Teixeira may have used the name Provencher, as the matter is before the courts.

However, investigators are “100 per cent” certain that Teixeira is indeed the man who was arrested, he said.

“We have our man. It is not Ryan. I’m not sure what that connection is,” Jang said.

A first-degree murder charge against Teixeira was announced in September 2018.

Jang shared news of Teixeira’s “dynamic” arrest on Monday afternoon (Dec. 2). It followed an anonymous tip that pointed U.S. authorities to a residence in Oroville, Calif., a small city north of Sacramento.

Jang told Peace Arch News Wednesday that Teixeira’s violent attempts to elude capture that day – including reportedly ramming an armoured police vehicle – highlight the threat he posed while at-large.

“When we say he was a danger to the public, he really was. He put all of those officers’ lives at risk,” Jang said.

Western Canada oil stocks swell to record high due to Keystone outage, rail strike Western Canadian oil stocks climbed to a record high 39 million barrels as of Nov. 29 due to a temporary outage of the Keystone oil pipeline and a strike by Canadian National Railway Co workers, data provider Genscape said on Thursday.

Despite the rail strike, Canadian rail loadings in November averaged a record-high 351,000 barrels per day of oil, Genscape oil market analyst Dylan White said in a statement.

“Canadian markets remain hypersensitive to any operational disruption, particularly

on outbound pipelines,” White said. Alberta producers have struggled to move crude through congested pipelines, resulting in the provincial government curtailing production this year to reduce a glut.

The United Conservative Party government is aiming to remove the curtailments sometime next year, but bottlenecks worsened after an Oct. 29 leak in North Dakota temporarily shut down TC Energy Corp’s Keystone, a pipeline that runs from Alberta to Nebraska, for 12 days.

Keystone currently runs at reduced pressure.

LOCAL

Saturday, December 7, 2019

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BC stratas, such as condos, told to minimize risks as insurance spikes 50 to 300% Strata buildings across B.C. are being told to “evaluate the risks” as condo owners grapple with a spike in insurance costs.

A strata title allows individual ownership of part of a property or lot. It is generally either an apartment or townhouse with shared ownership in the remainder of the building: the “common property.”

The Insurance Bureau of Canada says strata corporations should address any risks that may result in a claim to help lower their rates.

This comes after the Condominium Home

Owners Association of B.C. warned the cost of insuring strata buildings across the province had gone up between 50 and 300 per cent.

The association also warned of an increase in deductibles, noting

Man killed in crash due to ‘absolutely treacherous’ conditions on Coquihalla Winter means icy roads are dangerous and drivers should be careful, RCMP say A man in his 20s is dead following a crash in what RCMP are calling “absolutely treacherous” conditions on the Coquihalla Wednesday morning.

Cpl. Mike Halskov said the man was driving north along the Coquihalla at about 6:30 a.m. when he came up a “very icy” stretch of road near the summit.

Halskov said when RCMP arrived, they found a number of cars that had slid around the road due to “absolutely treacherous road conditions.” “[The man] came upon the situation and collided with a stopped transport truck,” Halskov said. The driver, who was from the Lower Mainland, was killed and his two passengers were taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Halskov said that this time of year, roads are often slippery and conditions can change without warning.

“The number one thing is to have your vehicle properly equipped and maintained.

You can’t be driving on summer tires,” he said.

Drivers on most B.C. highways must have tires marked M+S or with a snowflake.

Those caught without risk a $109 fine.

Halskov said people should drive to the conditions, not just the speed limit, even that means slowing down.

If they do hit ice, Halskov warned that “generally, hitting the brakes is the worst thing you can do.”

He said drivers should gently let off the gas and steer in the direction they want to go, keeping all movements slow and controlled.

No one hurt, but 6 forced out of home after overnight fire in South Vancouver Six people have been displaced after a house fire in South Vancouver early Thursday morning.

Vancouver fire received multiple 911 calls about a fire on Marine Drive near Argyle Street just after midnight Wednesday.

Neighbours said they heard sirens and saw flames coming out of the front window of the house.

“We saw that the flame was all the way to the sky and was really high,” said Saiful Alam, who lives across from the house.

“It was very smoky — all around the neighbourhood was smoky.”

Southeast Marine Drive was closed from Argyle to Beatrice Street for several hours

as crews cleaned up after the fire.

Alam said firefighters were at the scene within minutes.

Crews attacked the fire from the outside and were able to make entry quickly.

Batt.

Chief Paul Gobillot with Vancouver fire said his crews got the fire under control shortly after arriving.

“Happy to report that there were no injuries. All occupants were able to get out and the fire was knocked down in about 15 to 20 minutes,” he said.

The six residents of the house have been displaced for the night. The

buildings t h a t previously had a $10,000 or $25,000 deductible are now facing fees as high as $100,000 or more.

De Pruis said things such as geographical location, claims history and a building’s age can affect strata insurance costs.

But the Condominium Home Owners Association of B.C. disagrees, saying a lack of insurance providers is mainly to blame.

“Because there are so few of them, they can pretty much set the rates,” said Tony Gioventu, executive director with the association.

“At some point, what becomes unreasonable and requires government intervention is going to be a question that we’re going to have to debate,” he said.

Anonymous pro-China letter and a fight at Richmond high school prompt district-wide meetings Senior staff at the Richmond School District met with principals after tensions over China-Hong Kong relations led to two separate confrontations among students at one school on the same day.

On Nov. 25, a fight broke out between a group of students and an open letter was posted on another student’s locker in support of China at Richmond Secondary School.

In a statement, district spokesperson David Sadlersaysadministratorsattendedtothematter and met with students and families involved.

Staff also met with principals at all 10 high schools on the issue to assess the magnitude of concerns. However, he says no other schools conveyed concerns.

One of the students involved in the fight shared his frustrations following the incident on a pro-Hong Kong Facebook page for Canadians, but the post has since been deleted. At the time, he said he and opposing students were suspended for three days.

In the second incident, a Grade 8 student who displayed pro-Hong Kong paraphernalia on his locker found a pro-China letter taped to his locker.

The letter in support of China which called a student “educated, but uncivilized,” was taped to the locker of a pro-Hong Kong eighth-grader at Richmond Secondary School.

It was signed only from, “a Chinese person.” It says they are not looking to threaten the student, only to educate him but tells the student to “mind his own business” and calls him “uncivilized.”

It ends by saying the movement in Hong Kong is “unjust” and “evil.”

SadlersaysallmembersoftheRichmondschool community are expected to behave according to the district’s code of conduct and show, “respect for self, others, property and the environment.”

The heated geopolitical situation in Hong Kong has spilled over in Metro Vancouver.

In September, students at Burnaby North Secondary School were seen on camera pushing and shoving over a difference of opinion in

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LOCAL

Saturday, December 7, 2019

YVR wants rapid transit connections to Surrey & White Rock improved The Vancouver Airport Authority would like to see improved rapid transit in Surrey and White Rock to better connect the cities to YVR, with the airport authority suggesting an extension of the Canada Line to the south.

As part of the Transport 2050 project, TransLink held public consultation throughout the Lower Mainland, as well as collecting more than 30,000 surveys and “4,000 ideas.” Part of that was stakeholder submissions, which included YVR. The authority’s submission states it would like to “extend rapid transit” to communities south of the Fraser River; “improve east-west rapid transit connections” from YVR to Surrey and beyond; have “fast and reliable road (and transit) connections” between YVR and highways 99 and 91; and have “seamless connection” from YVR across the U.S. border for people and cargo.

YVR suggests that the SkyTrain’s Canada Line should be extended to White Rock, “capitalizing on the George Massey Crossing project.”

Metro Vancouver’s board of directors recently endorsed an eight-lane replacement for the current tunnel.

Vancouver board endorses 8-lane replacement for Massey Tunnel, Nov. 2, 2019 In the interim, YVR suggests TransLink provide a direct rapid bus from the South Surrey Park and Ride to YVR “to serve employees and passengers.”

Currently, there are buses (namely the 351, the 352 and the 354) that operate between the park and ride and Bridgeport Station in Richmond, where people can then take the Canada Line to YVR. For improving east-to-west rapid transit connections, YVR states TransLink should “transform Metro Vancouver’s radial rapid transit system to grid-oriented, highcapacity, easy-to-use network,” which would be supported by the “incorporation of river corridors and new rapid bus routes” to connect YVR with regional centres such as Surrey, New Westminster and Metrotown in Burnaby.

Senior pedestrian taken to hospital after being hit by vehicle in Vancouver

A 70-year-old man has been taken to hospital after being hit by a car in Vancouver, early Wednesday morning.

The incident happened at West Broadway and Cambie Street shortly before 1 a.m.. Emergency crews flooded the area and quickly rushed the man to hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Itappearsthataneastbound-travellingLexus sedan struck the pedestrian at the crosswalk.

Damage could be seen on the front windshield of the car.

Personal belongings and a pair of

Nike shoes were left on the road along with medical supplies and a bloody towel.

Vancouver police collision investigators spent several hours taking photographs and gathering measurements. Several evidence markers were also placed on the roadway where the accident happened.

The roads were wet and it was raining at the time. It is unknown if those were contributing factors to the crash, but Vancouver police say the driver of the vehicle is cooperating with them and the investigation is ongoing.

Forestry industry facing uncertain future as mills close across BC When Chris Pollard wanted to list his Toronto condo, he decided to try a private sale in his neighbourhood first.

And thanks to a Supreme Court decision last year against the Toronto Real Estate Board, he and his wife were able to look up how much similar units had sold for in the area to better price the home themselves.

P r i v a t e listings and other alternative sales models are still outliers in Canada’s real estate market, despite an opening up of data on sale prices and listing history.

Still, last year’s ruling has ushered more information for consumers into the market and spurred innovation opportunities, said Anthony Durocher, d e p u t y commissioner for the Competition Promotion Branch of the bureau.

“For the a v e r a g e

Seeking applicants for

Counselling Position Gobind Sarvar School is an Elementary/Junior High School located in Fleetwood / Anniedale area of Surrey.

It is a school that develops well-rounded students with a deep sense of personal integrity, high moral character, love of learning and self-confidence to realize their full potential. We are currently seeking applicants for Counselling Position. Preference will be given to candidates with effective interpersonal skills to establish connections with students and parents and strong knowledge of children’s developmental and educational needs. The candidate must possess diploma / degree in counselling. Experienced counsellors will be preferred.

How to Apply:

Please email your resume with covering letter and two letters of reference to:

Attn: Hiring Committee Gobind Sarvar Elem / High School Email: info@gobindsarvar.ca

We thank all applicants for their interest.

However, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

consumer, they’re able to benefit from greater choice of online tools to enable them to make an informed decision,” he said of the change, which came after seven years of “hard-fought” litigation.

“That’s really a great outcome for competition and innovation.”

The additions to the online real estate landscape have taken a variety of forms, including international companies like Redfin that promise low commissions.

Meanwhile, Canadian players like Zoocasa and HouseSigma are expanding their datadriven models, regional startups like Fisherly are emerging as other boards change rules and realtors are setting up their own data sites.

Stephen Glaysher, who’s worked as a downtown Toronto realtor for 18 years, set up a site called MLS Sold Data as a resource for current and potential clients to boost transparency and trust.

He said he’s long been an advocate of more disclosure on sale prices, in part to keep his own industry in check.

“I see a lot of unethical business practices with real estate agents,” said Glaysher.

He said it’s been too easy in the past for realtors to fudge numbers when determining bid and sale prices, where they could manipulate comparables up or down by as much as $200,000 to make sure they win a bidding war.

“You can doctor it to make it look how you want it to look.”

He said clients can double-check data themselves now that sale prices can be made available online, though he worries some people could make wrong decisions by not analyzing the data properly.

TREB, which fought the release of data largely over privacy concerns, said the ruling has started to dilute the MLS

Telus to buy German call centre firm Competence Call Center for $1.3 billion Telus Corp. is buying a German call centre company through its Telus International subsidiary for about $1.3 billion.

Vancouver-based Telus says it has agreed to acquire Competence Call Center (CCC), a business services provider of with a focus on customer relations and management and content moderation.

Telus says the deal, which consists of debt and equity, adds to the valuation of its international arm, bolstering the case for an initial public offering targeted for the next 12-24 months.

Darren Entwistle, president and CEO of Telus, said in a

release Wednesday that the company is pleased to welcome Competence Call Center employees and customers into the Telus family.

Entwistle says the merger will positively impact the financial and operational strength of Telus, supporting the advancement of its broadband networks in Canada as well as customer service.

The acquisition will result in a sizeable diversification of Telus International’s operations and client base in Europe, with 50,000 employees in 20 countries across North and Central America, Europe and Asia, the release said.

LOCAL

Saturday, December 7, 2019

BC health authorities intervene in three China-owned senior care facilities after reports of neglect Health authorities have imposed outside management at a trio of senior care homes on Vancouver Island in an uncommon intervention, two years after Ottawa approved the sale of the facilities to a Beijing-based company.

Citing neglect of residents and chronic staffing shortages, the region’s medical health officer has appointed an administrator to run the Comox Valley Seniors Village and the Nanaimo Seniors Village, while health authority staff were sent in to run part of the Selkirk Seniors Village in Victoria.

All three care homes belong to the Retirement Concepts chain, the largest

private provider of residential long-term care beds in British Columbia. The chain was sold to China’s Anbang Insurance Group in a deal approved by Ottawa in 2017 despite widespread concerns about how foreign ownership might affect the quality of care.

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said the decision to send in outside staff to oversee units within the facilities is an extraordinary move. He added that it has been five years since any care home in the province has been put under the supervision of an administrator.

“These are very unusual steps,” he said an interview. “This is urgent action that we take because of our concern for residents.”

Retirement Concepts officials could not be reached for comment about the provincial intervention.

At the time of the sale, the federal government offered assurances that care levels in the homes would be maintained.

The minister who gave the sale the green light, Navdeep Bains, said “the new owners agreed to maintain at least the current levels

15

of full-time and part-time employees at facilities operated by Retirement Concepts.”

Azim Jamal, the former owner of Retirement Concepts, also said at that time there was no reason for Canadians to be concerned. “There will be no changes to our team or our day-to-day operations.”

Burnaby man identified in connection with CRA phone scam A Burnaby man has been identified as a suspect in an RCMP investigation into organized crime groups accused of scamming Canadians by posing as Canada Revenue Agency officers, demanding payment through cash and gift cards.

According to B.C. Supreme Court documents, officers searched the home of Haoran Xue last July after a probe linked him to retail mailboxes set up around the Greater Vancouver Area.

Details of the investigation are laid out in a lawsuit filed in midNovember by the director of B.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Office, who now wants to seize the 26-year-old’s home as the proceeds of crime.

According to the lawsuit, the RCMP claim Xue has transferred $1 million in and out of his bank accounts since January 2019.

Investigators tailed him for several weeks last summer and ultimately seized a cellphone that allegedly contained the names of victims and the addresses to which they were told to send specified amounts of money, the documents say.

‘Very lucrative’ Ryan Duquette, a partner

with global cybersecurity firm RSM, says the allegations point to the kind of money involved in phone scams that have become a constant source of irritation for Canadians.

“These sorts of scams are very lucrative,” said Duquette. “We don’t see as many people being arrested and charged for crimes like this in

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ICBC & Private Claims Canada, just because it does take a lot of police resources in order to track down these sorts of scams and the perpetrators behind them.”

Telescammers not only want your money.

They’re also after your phone number In a statement, the RCMP confirmed that the investigation is ongoing and that no charges have been laid.

Youth charged in South Surrey mechanic’s killing due back in court on Deccember 18 The two youth who were charged in White Rock senior with significant injuries. connection with the August stabbing death of South Surrey mechanic Paul Prestbakmo remain in custody and are set to return to Surrey Provincial Court later this month.

B.C. Prosecution Service spokesperson Dan McLaughlin confirmed this week that the pair – who cannot be identified – are next due in court on Dec. 18.

The date was set during a Nov. 27 appearance.

Prestbakmo died in the early morning hours of Aug. 16, after he was found “unresponsive with serious injuries” in a parking lot near 152 Street and 18 Avenue.

Charges against the teens – aged 15 and 16 years old – were announced in midSeptember by officials with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team. At the time, the teens were already in custody for breaching court-imposed conditions on a separate matter, Sgt. Frank Jang told media.

In late October, police announced further charges against the pair – of aggravated assault – in connection with an incident that occurred just hours before Prestbakmo died, and left a

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Saturday, December 7, 2019

ICBC Insurance Premium changes – what does this mean for my car insurance?

Abby Pang

As of September 1, 2019, ICBC has made some insurance policy changes. These changes take the approach that at-fault crashes should follow the driver instead of the registered owner.

When you go to renew your insurance after September 1, 2019, your insurance broker will ask you to list everyone who drives or will be driving your vehicle. This is now a requirement.

Under the new ICBC insurance policy changes you must list all drivers of your

vehicle, especially household members, employees and anyone who has driven your vehicle for more than 12 days in the 12 months.

You can add or remove drivers at any time – for instance, if a friend decides they want to start driving your vehicle and you did not list them at the time of renewal, you must contact your insurance broker immediately and list them as a driver before they start driving your vehicle.

So how does this impact your insurance premium?

Basically, the Basic insurance premium you pay when you go in for your renewal will consist of your base insurance premium (which is $1,063 as of April 1, 2019), driver category (i.e. driving experience/crash history

City of Surrey Budget Needs Economic Development Focus The Surrey Board of Trade has issued a formal response to a 5-year financial plan t and presented to the City of Surrey Finance Committee at the Public Hearing on December 2nd.

“The message to the City of Surrey Finance Committee (Mayor and Council) was that the City Budget needed to have an economic development focus, which includes investments in Surrey’s public safety infrastructure - police and fire services,” said Anita Huberman, CEO, Surrey Board of Trade.

The Surrey Board of Trade will be issuing a formal letter to both sides of the BC Government (Minister of Public Safety & Solicitor General Mike Farnworth and the

BC Liberal SolicitorGeneral and Public Safety Critic, Mike Morris) to immediately assess the Surrey situation which again results in no human capital investments to police and fire services in the short term.

“This is important to Surrey’s city-building business organization because a continued lack of investments in police and fire services compromises businesses – and the expedient and efficient delivery of these services when needed.”

In 2020, and in the short-term, there will be no police or fire service personnel additions, despite Surrey’s growing population of 800-1000, per month.

of listed drivers) and vehicle category (i.e. where you live and how you use the vehicle).

So 75% of your Basic insurance premium will be based on the principal operator and 25% will be based on the highest risk driver you have listed. However, this does not mean that you can just add lower-risk drivers to reduce your insurance premium. If the listed driver is lower-risk than the principal operator, then there will only be a reduction if the listed driver is a household member or employee.

Additionally, if you have a learner driver listed, there will be an additional Learner Premium applied to your insurance premium.

If an unlisted driver causes an accident while driving your vehicle, you could face a one-

time financial consequence. The financial consequence is 15 times the difference between what you paid for your last insurance renewal and what it would have cost if you had listed the unlisted driver who caused the crash. The financial consequence can go up to a maximum of $5,000.

Our legal team at Simpson, Thomas & Associates believes that it is important for all vehicle owners and drivers to be kept well informed about such changes.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a motor vehicle accident, please call us at (604) 689-8888 to schedule a complimentary consultation.

Hundreds of BC communities & thousands of workers struggle to survive in forestry industry carnage It seems barely a day goes by without an announcement about layoffs, temporary closures or permanent mill shut downs in British Columbia’s struggling forest industry.

As a result, thousands of workers, their families and many communities have been left facing uncertain futures.

The layoffs and shutdowns are causing widespread economic and social pain, says B.C. Liberal forestry critic John Rustad.

“It’s unfathomable to think of the carnage

that’s already happened, let alone what will happen this winter,” he said in a recent interview. “It’s going to be a very bleak winter.”

Basically, I would say 80 per cent or more of the coastal forest sector is down B.C. Liberal forestry critic John Rustad Rustad said on a visit to Campbell River a car dealer told him he repossessed 10 vehicles from forestry workers who were out of work.

One laid-off worker asked him if he could keep his vehicle until Christmas and sold the dealer a load of firewood to make a payment, Rustad said.

Surrey residents to have a say on belt-tightening budget The transition from RCMP to a Surrey municipal police force will mean belt-tightening in several areas Surrey residents will have an opportunity to sound off on a five-year draft budget that will give them a municipal police force with minimal tax increases, but no additional officers or firefighters and limited support for arts and recreation.

A public meeting will be held Monday at 1 p.m. in council chambers to present the city’s five-year financial plan and give the public a chance to comment.

According to the draft plan, the cost of transitioning from the RCMP to a municipal police force will put a cap on resources for fire protection, city services, and support for arts and recreation in the coming years.

“It’s a bit of a Catch-22,” Coun. Laurie Guerra said Saturday. “Council voted unanimously to create a municipal police force.

Now we have to pay for it. It’s the way it is.”

When asked if the funding for the fire department would put public safety at risk, Guerra said “not at all,” adding the fire chief had “assured” council safety would not be compromised.

$192K provincial grant to support Sources Food Hub in Surrey Sources Community Resources Society is to receive nearly $192,000 in provincial funding for its food security program.

In a news release issued Thursday by the Ministry of Social Development, Sources Resource Centre executive director Denise Darrell noted that the money will be used to support the Sources Food Hub. The Hub project provides education and training on food processing and reducing food waste.

The program does this by redistributing recovered and harvested foods to community agencies based in Surrey, according to the Sources website.

The grant from the province will allow the project to expand to include a culinary program for youth.

“With these funds, we will be able to take the first step to mitigate food insecurity in our community,” Darrell said.

“While we continue our work to rescue and redirect food that would otherwise go to waste, we will integrate a culinary training program to provide skills training and create job opportunities for people who have significant barriers to educational and employment opportunities,” Darrell said.

According to the release, the project, in partnership with Dan’s Legacy, will provide Surrey, White Rock, Burnaby and Langley with food-based employment and skills training for youth aging out of foster care, Indigenous youth, women survivors of gendered-based violence and new Canadians.

Saturday, December 7, 2019

D

eepika Padukone, who will now be seen as an acid-attack survivor in Chhapaak, has shared some painful details about her battle with depression. The actor wrote in a New York Times blog post about how the kindest thing she had done for herself was to accept her condition.

Opening up about her clinical depression, Deepika wrote in the blog, “I started experiencing symptoms in 2014. It was mid-February, and I

Hrithik voted sexiest Asian male of the decade Hrithik Roshan has been voted the Sexiest Asian Male of 2019 as well as the last decade in an online poll released in London on Wednesday. The 45-year-old actor who has box-office hits such as ‘War’ and ‘Super 30’ topped the annual ‘Sexiest Asian Male’ ranking compiled

by British news weekly ‘Eastern Eye’, based on votes from film fans around the world, heat generated on social networking sites as well as wider impact

over the year. Roshan scored a double win as he topped the overall ranking for the last 10 years as well. “I would like to thank everyone who feels so and has voted for me; I am flattered,” said Roshan, as he stressed that he did not view it as an “achievement”. He said: “Just a person’s looks are not relevant in the larger scheme of things. I don’t judge people by the way they look. Similarly, I don’t judge myself either by the way I look.

Hrithik’s journey from real-life Bihari mathematician Anand Kumar in “Super 30” to crack espionage agent gone bad, Kabir, in “War,” told by the man himself.

2019 has been incredible for Roshan with two back-to-back successes. It was a difficult journey for the actor to ace the role of a Bihari for “Super 30” and then immediately get into the skin of Kabir for “War.”

Deepika Padukone on her battle with depression had fainted after a long day of work. The next morning, I woke up with an empty feeling in my stomach and the urge to cry.” Recalling the time she was on the peak of her career and dating Ranveer Singh, she went on to add, “On paper, that should have been a great period in my life — I had

just starred in four of my most memorable movies, my family was extremely supportive and I was dating the man who would later become my husband. I had no reason to feel the way I did. But I did.” Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh along with their family

during a visit at Golden Temple on the occasion of their first wedding anniversary, in Amritsar. (Photo by Sameer Sehgal/ Hindustan Times) Deepika revealed that all she wanted to do was sleep as she didn’t have to deal with reality while being asleep. “I was exhausted and sad all the time. If someone played a happy song to cheer me up, it only made me feel worse. Waking up every day felt like a huge endeavour,” she said.

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Bollywood

Saturday, December 7, 2019

‘When You Enjoy Something, It Stops Being Challenging!’ says Kriti Sanon She has a double-bill: the lead in “Panipat” and a cameo in “Pati Patni Aur Woh,” both releasing Dec. 6. Ask her if it is like a Parveen Babi-like cameo in the original 1978 film of which the latter is a remake, and she pleads, “Please don’t ask this question.” Yes, we got our answer.

On that note, we begin our conversation with the everon-the-ball Kriti Sanon, who has come a long way (in just five years) from the time this writer had predicted big things for her just after watching just a song in the promo of her debut film (and hit), “Heropanti.”

Her resume includes “Bareilly Ki Barfi” (“The film that really opened doors for me!”) and “Luka Chhupi,” never mind the duds “Raabta” and “Arjun Patiala” (common producer

Dinesh Vijan still cast her in “Luka Chhupi” and the forthcoming “Mimi” besides in a cameo in “Stree”) or the tiny role in “Dilwale.”

Her next also includes “Bachchan Pandey.”

Anil Kapoor & buddy Bazmee in laughter Anil Kapoor who stayed relevant 37 years after his lead debut in film. The other is a writer of over 28 years’ standing who has been a director since 1995 and remains relevant Anis Bazmee. Anil Kapoor, who is also a producer and a singer, has been acting in cameos since the late ‘70s but made his first mark in his 1983 home production “Woh 7 Din.” Since then, the variety has been mindboggling, as widely known, and there is virtually no genre he has not done, no role he has not played. Rather proud of himself, he smiles cockily when we mention that we recall his characters very vividly, come Lakhan, Munna, Eeshwar, Majnu and more.

Anees Bazmee has written or cowritten so many hits including “Shola Aur Shabnam” and “Aankhen” before directing films like “Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha” (1998), “Deewangee” (2002) and “Singh Is Kinng” (2008) and “Ready” (2011) besides crazy ensemble comedies like “No Entry” (2005), “Welcome” (2007), “Welcome Back” (2015), “Mubarakan” (2017) and now is set to release “Pagalpanti.” The two insist on giving the “Pagalpanti” interview together, and Kapoor has been a part of all of Bazmee’s ensemble cast comedies. Q: Anees-ji, you have made many comedies with single heroes, but whenever you have an ensemble comedy, this gentleman—Anil (Kapoor)-sir walks into it.

Anil Kapoor: You are not feeling bad about it, na? You are also not trying to remove me from his future films? Anees Bazmee: Whenever I make a film, I have to deal with 25 different temperaments among the actors, and at that time, you feel you must have a kindred soul that walks with you! Someone who will defend you and take your side in an argument with another artiste! (Grins) That’s Anil! And I don’t think any actor can play Kishan in “No Entry” or Wi-Fi Bhai in “Pagalpanti” better than Anil.

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Horoscope

Salman Khan’s ‘Munna Badnaam Hua’ Aries

March 21 - April 20 With the sun in your sector of adventure inspiring you to travel, and a major focus on your career zone, you may find your energy is scattered at times. In addition, feisty Mars continues its journey through Scorpio, and this could encourage an intense approach to personal goals. This week is exceptional, though, as jovial Jupiter moves into Capricorn to boost your career hopes, business affairs, and ambitions. If it has seemed like you’re getting nowhere, this

“Dabangg 3” song “Munna Badnaam Hua” and it is revealing that Salman & Warina in “Dabangg 3” song will burn the dance floor, it is reported that even director Prabhudeva will be seen grooving with the duo in the song. Interestingly, while shooting the last leg of the song, Khan came up with the idea to have the directoractor-choreographer join him in the dance.

Any step that Khan does become a hookstep, and given that Prabhudeva is nothing less than a dance icon, “Munna Badnaam”

Taurus

is set for a sparkling run. Also, on the sets, Khan called his styling team to see if there are similar jackets that can be worn by him and Prabhudeva (now back to a spelling minus the “h” after “d”!) and once they were sourced, the duo, along with Hussain, finished the song.

“Sharing screen space with Salman in a song after “Mera Hi Jalwa” from “Wanted” was like a magical moment for me,” says the director. “I can never refuse his request. Hopefully, people will like us in the song together yet again.”

19

Bollywood

April 21 - May 20 The call of the wild could get even stronger this week as lively Jupiter enters your adventure and travel zone for a stay of around a year. This fortunate influence could bring opportunities to expand your options by learning, traveling, and generally moving out of your comfort zone. The focus on this zone is powerful anyway, and it wouldn’t be surprising if your life began to change in fortuitous ways.

You will need to knuckle down and work hard to accomplish your goals, but it will be worth it.

Gemini

May 20 - June 21 The focus on a more intense sector intensifies this week, so you could be in a unique situation. What could help is the movement of jovial Jupiter into Capricorn and this same zone. It remains here for around a year, and it could encourage you to have more faith in yourself and a greater ability to tap into your inner resources. You might be pushing yourself hard to get certain things accomplished, but don’t forget to ask for help. You don’t have to do any of this alone.

Cancer

June 22 - July 23

Your sector of relating is very much in focus, and this looks set to be the case for some time. If you’ve ever wondered if your relationships would become peaceful and relaxed, the movement of expansive Jupiter into your relationship zone could be a blessing and a boon. It remains here for approximately one year, and during this time it could encourage a more positive perspective on key bonds. From a romantic standpoint, you may have your sights on someone, and this could coincide with some intense

Leo

June 24 - August 23 It may seem like you’ve been working hard for a long, long time now, and yet instead of things getting easier, you might have more on your plate than ever. Help could be at hand, though, as easygoing Jupiter moves into your work and lifestyle sector on Monday for a yearlong stay. Its presence here can help you see things from a different perspective by looking at the bigger picture. If you feel like you’re stagnating in your current situation, lively Jupiter might encourage you to look for something that’s

Virgo

August 24 - Sept 24 The sun continues in your home and family sector, encouraging you to get your place shipshape as the holiday season gets underway.

But the main focus is on your sector of leisure, creativity, and enterprise. Philosophical Jupiter moves in for a stay of around a year, and its presence could boost your spirits. If you’ve worked hard and seen few results, they may begin to show up now. Conversations over this week could be intense and prove to be a turning point regarding a project, business matter, or perhaps the future of a relationship.

Libra

Sept. 24 - Oct 22 With a very potent focus on your home and family sector, you may wonder how this holiday season will pan out. If there have been various issues to contend with, sobering Saturn’s developing connection with powerful Pluto could encourage you to do something about it. However, as upbeat Jupiter moves into this same zone and the sign of Capricorn, its presence could uplift your spirits. You may begin to have faith that things can work out as you hope. And it can bring a very positive quality to any celebrations and gatherings

Scorpio

Oct 23 - Nov 22 There’s a lot going on in your sector of talk and thought that could keep you very busy. But as fortunate Jupiter moves into this zone on Monday for a yearlong stay, you will begin to have faith that there will be a breakthrough. If you’re battling certain problems, upbeat Jupiter’s presence could connect you with someone who inspires you and perhaps enables you to see things in a more constructive light.

Still, you could be involved in some serious conversations. This week could see you making progress on a plan, relationship, or perhaps both.

Sagitarius Nov 23 - Dec 22

Money matters may get a boost this week as fortunate Jupiter moves into your financial sector for a stay of about a year. If this side of life has been difficult for a while, upbeat Jupiter’s presence can help you weather the storm and bring a buffer in the form of financial assistance or extra income that could turn things around. However, you’ll also be eager to make the most of your money and resources and invest wisely, and positive Jupiter can assist you with this.

Capricorn Dec 23 - Jan 20

You could be a force to be reckoned with as a major focus on your sign puts the emphasis on you, your plans, and your goals.

However, with abundant Jupiter entering your sign on Monday for a stay of about a year, you’ll have support from the cosmos. This upbeat planet can give you faith in yourself and lighten your mood. With sobering Saturn and powerbroker Pluto moving closer prior to merging next month, your life could seem a very serious

Aquarius

Jan 21 - Feb 19

With a full house in your spiritual sector, there is a lot going on within that could help change your inner game. There is good news in this regard, though, as philosophical Jupiter enters this zone from Monday for a yearlong stay. As it moves through Capricorn, it could help you develop faith in a higher power as well as in yourself. Your intuition may be enhanced, and this could be a great help when dealing with the ups and downs of life. Still, with dynamic Mars moving through your sector of goals and career, you might have big plans. Are your head and heart in sync, though?

Pisces

Feb 20 - March 20 Your social life could be a big deal, with plenty going on to keep you busy. However, the focus here is enhanced as generous Jupiter moves in for a yearlong stay and brings a jovial and expansive quality to social events, get-togethers, and celebrations. If you’ve taken on a lot in terms of participating in group activities, leading community projects, and organizing key events, this upbeat planet can help you make light work of it all. Still, you might be eager to do some restructuring by making a few changes either to the people you connect with or the activities you

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Saturday, December 7, 2019

Bollywood

Remake of 1978’s ‘Pati Patni Aur Woh’ Remakes in general do not work as well as sequels, for there is no fame or branding.

They are also never made as copies but have to be modernized and modified for the times. And so, unless that is done intelligently and with judicious changes, they usually come croppers. BR Studios takes on the remaking of “Pati Patni Aur Woh” that was a hit in 1978. It is the next generation banner of BR Films, which originally made this then-revolutionary story on infidelity told in a fun way (with of course some necessary emotions). As a subject, it was loved by the audiences then

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despite the Adults Only tag and its bold theme.

Today, in the era of living-in and multiple sexual partners, the topic hardly evokes sensation. Thus the best that can be done is to make a comedy with small-town sensibilities, where such activities are still more frowned upon though prevalent. The setting is Kanpur, where Abhinav a.k.a. Chintu Tygai (Kartik Aaryan) is bored of his existence (Aaryan specializes in monologs, so there is one here as well). He has done his studies well, qualified, got a steady government job in the Public Works Department and has been married off to a glam and ambitious schoolteacher Vedika (Bhumi Pednekar).

Saturday, December 7, 2019

21

Press release

Seniors Living Expo & Job Fair coming to Vancouver on Nov. 21 - 22, 2020 A “rising tide of seniors” and the resulting labour shortages facing the seniors’ care sector will both take centre stage at the first Seniors Living Expo and Job Fair, at the Vancouver Convention Centre, November 21-22, 2020. The two-day consumer show highlighting seniors living, with an accompanying job fair for career hunters interested in working in the sector, will

showcase the exciting growth in independent living, assisted living, long-term care, home support and home care, and the accompanying services today’s older adults seek. “By 2030, one-in-four Canadians will be over age 65, and seniors and their families have a lot of questions when it comes to housing and wellness services,” explains Daniel Fontaine, CEO of the BC Care

Providers Association (BCCPA) which is producing the Expo and Job Fair with EngAge BC. “There’s unprecedented growth in the number of seniors living in British Columbia.

In fact, in just 20 years we’ll have 1.6 million seniors here, that’s double the number in 2013.” Fontaine says today’s older adults have different expectations than prior generations when it comes to housing and care. “As a

group, they’re better educated, more prosperous and living longer, and together with their families they’re asking for the broadest possible range of lifestyles and wellness services,” Fontaine notes. “That growth, and the rising tide that’s happening right now, is also driving the incredible career opportunities in the seniors care sector right across the province.

Continued on page 27

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English classes to succeed in Canada It was a cold, rainy, and dark day when Gurpreet arrived in Canada. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to move to her new home in October, when Vancouver slowly moves into the cold season. Luckily, in her new home many people spoke her language but that was also a curse. As an engineer she came to Canada with big hopes to work in her profession. After sending out loads of resumes, she only got invited to a few job interviews and never received any callbacks never mind job offers. Some comments about her English and pronunciation made her think, that she should improve her language skills. She would also need to do an English test (IELTS) to be able to get her permanent residency. In Surrey there were few English schools, and even those that did exist were quite expensive. Gurpreet struggled to find something which fit her budget.

Then she came across an ad for MOSAIC engage English classes. It fit within her budget and offered her the training she needed to realize her goals. MOSAIC engage is a charitable non-profit school that works to help newcomers find their path to success in Canada through improving and assessing their English skills. It is part of the larger settlement organization MOSAIC which works with newcomers from around the world with employment and settlement programs. As a non-profit MOSAIC tries to keep its prices reasonable enough so that price is not a barrier to a student taking its courses. ‘At MOSAIC, we pride ourselves on creating a welcoming community, where we support our students and give them English language skills that they can use in their day to day life”, says Matthew Levan, Manager of MOSAIC engage. When Gurpreet started her classes at MOSAIC she couldn’t understand her instructor and felt very selfconscious about speaking. But with the patient support of her teacher Syed she soon gained confidence. She passed her IELTS with the score she needed to get eligibility for permanent residency.

When we last talked to her eyes glowed when she talked about the moment she received her IELTS score from MOSAIC’s IELTS Test Centre in Newton, Surrey. ‘They accompanied me from improving my English and pronunciation through preparing for the IELTS exam to actually doing the IELTS test.

Now I sent off my paperwork to IRCC and am awaiting my PR-card’, said Gurpreet. She also confirmed that a job interview she went to was looking hopeful and she could be receiving a job offer soon with a local engineering firm.

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Vol. 10 No. 45

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Saturday - December 7, 2019

Home sales in every BC region to recover in 2020 - a forecast. Total home transactions across province expected to rise 11 per cent versus 2019, with average sale prices also predicted to increase in every area.Although every region in B.C. is expected to see lower home sales in 2019 than in 2018, sales will more than recover in

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Housing market forecast through 2020

2020, according to a September 5 forecast by the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA).Overall in 2019, residential transactions across the province are predicted to be five per cent lower, at about 75,000 units, than the 78,505 sales of 2018.

Every one of B.C.’s 12 boards is expected to

report a year-over-year decline in total sales across 2019, with drops ranging from one to 14 per cent. However, BCREA forecasted that every board will see considerable sales jumps in 2020, totalling a province-wide increase of nearly 11 per cent to 82,700 homes — which the association said would be just below the

E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com 10-year annual average. “B.C. markets are showing signs of recovery after nearly a year and a half of policy-induced declines,”

said Brendon Ogmundson, BCREA’s deputy chief economist. “We expect that recovery to continue into next year, with home sales normalizing around long-term averages.”

BCREA BC home sales forecast Sept 2019 Having seen the steepest annual sales declines in 2018, and a forecast drop of

housing market to see modest price growth in 2020 and 2021, predicts CMHC

The Metro Vancouver housing market will remain “balanced” over the next two years with home prices expected to increase in line with population growth, according to the latest housing market outlook report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Housing sales and prices have dipped recently as a result of multiple factors — including rising mortgage rates and new taxes — but the CMHC predicts that starting in 2020 and through 2021, there will be a modest increase both in prices and sales volume.

Attached homes, condos and apartments priced under $700,000 are expected to generate the strongest demand because “homes in this price range can be accessible to buyers making a purchase based on their income compared with properties requiring substantial equity for a down payment,” says the report. The report says housing starts are expected to remain high, especially multi-family homes, which currently account for 88 per cent of unit starts.

25

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Are homebuyers benefiting from the Supreme Court decision on open housing data?

When Chris Pollard wanted to list his Toronto condo, he decided to try a private sale in his neighbourhood first.

And thanks to a Supreme Court decision last year against the Toronto Real Estate Board, he and his wife were able to look up how much similar units had sold for in the area to better price the home themselves. Private listings and other alternative sales models are still outliers in Canada’s real estate market, despite an opening up of data on sale prices and listing history.

Still, last year’s ruling has ushered more information for consumers into the market and spurred innovation opportunities, said Anthony Durocher, deputy commissioner for the Competition Promotion Branch of the bureau.

“For the average consumer, they’re able to benefit from greater choice of online tools to enable them to make an informed decision,” he said of the change, which came after seven years of “hard-fought” litigation.

“That’s really a great outcome for competition and innovation.”

The additions to the online real estate landscape have taken a variety of forms, including international companies like Redfin that promise low commissions.

Meanwhile, Canadian players like Zoocasa and HouseSigma are expanding their datadriven models, regional startups like Fisherly are emerging as other boards change rules and realtors are setting up their own data sites.

Stephen Glaysher, who’s worked as a downtown Toronto realtor for 18 years, set up a site called MLS Sold Data as a resource for current and potential clients to boost transparency and trust.

He said he’s long been an advocate of more disclosure on sale prices, in part to keep his own industry in check.

“I see a lot of unethical business practices with real estate agents,” said Glaysher. He said it’s been too easy in the past for realtors to fudge numbers when

determining bid and sale prices, where they could manipulate comparables up or down by as much as $200,000 to make sure they win a bidding war.

“You can doctor it to make it look how you want it to look.”

He said clients can double-check data themselves now that sale prices can be made available online, though he worries some people could make wrong decisions by not analyzing the data properly.

TREB, which fought the release of data largely over privacy concerns, said the ruling has started to dilute the MLS system, because some consumers aren’t providing information or not even listing on the system over privacy concerns.

John DiMichele, president of TREB, said in a statement that he’s concerned how people both in and outside of the industry are using the data. He said the board, which has restrictions including no scraping, mining, or monetizing of the data, is looking to protect its intellectual property and defend personal information. “We are currently in the process of auditing and protecting confidential information in TREB’s database, which is what our members and consumers expect and what the law demands.”

Aware of privacy concerns, real estate site Zoocasa has taken down some price history information on request, generally a couple a month, said CEO Lauren Haw.

Condos, the ‘future of our communities,’ now cost more per square foot than a detached home Condominiums may be the “future of our communities” but per square foot, they are hardly a bargain. According to a Royal LePage report released today, aside from Vancouver and Calgary, every major city’s condo price per square foot has increased. With the exception of Vancouver, the median price per square foot of a condo is now higher than that of a single family detached home nationwide. Canadian home prices are up — but by the smallest amount in

a decade. Seven reasons Canada’s housing market is stronger than it looks Vancouver’s housing market is dismal — but you still need six-figure income to get your foot in the door “While condo units are smaller, they are the present and future of our communities. With more development opportunities, they can meet both the growing need for housing and lifestyle expectations of homebuyers,” said Phil Soper, the president of Royal LePage in a

press release. The Greater Ottawa condo price per square foot appreciated the fastest among the cities that were measured, rising 17.9 per cent year-over-year to $395, while the Greater Vancouver price actually declined the most by 8.3 per cent to $764. “We are seeing significant interest in Ottawa’s south and west ends from residents working in the nearby military and technology hubs,” said Kent Browne, broker

Over 11% of Vancouver condos have a non-resident owner, says new CMHC report

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Over 11 percent of Vancouver condos have at least one non-resident as an owner, a number that jumps to more than 19 per cent when it comes to newer built condos.

The information is contained in a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation housing market insight report which also found that non-residents — defined as someone who

doesn’t have their principal residence in Canada — tend to own more expensive properties than residents, especially in Vancouver.

Some of the other findings: 7.2 per cent of all Vancouver properties have at least one non-resident owner.

Non-resident ownership is highest in

and owner of Royal LePage TEAM Realty. The city of Vancouver remains the most expensive condo market in the country, with homebuyers paying $1,044 per square foot for a condo and $1,279 per square foot for a single-family detached home. Greater Calgary offers the lowest condo price per square foot, with a fall of 6.7 per cent to $313.“For the fourth consecutive month, condo inventory in the region declined compared to last year.

26

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Saturday, December 7, 2019

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Vedic Seniors Parivar Center of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey is going to celebrate the Christmas with Bollywood Music- A social get together on December 28th 2019 (Saturday) at Shanti Niketan hall of Lakshmi Narayan Temple 8321 - 140th street Surrey BC from 11.00 am to 3.00 pm. There will be live entertainment program with hilarious jokes and Bollywood music. Appetizers will be served in the beginning, Vegetarian Pizza and dessert will be served for lunch. We have invited well known Musician of South Asian community, Dr. Sunil Bhatt, who has kindly accepted our request to entertain all of us with his melodious old Bollywood Hindi songs. Please be an important guest of the celebration, Your presence will be very much appreciated by all seniors. Please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator / Organizer Tel. 604 - 507 - 9945 for further information.

Child care provider required at a private home Location Surrey, BC - Salary $14.50 to $14.75 / Hour (To be negotiated) Permanent, Full time 40 Hours / Week Start date As soon as possible Job requirements Languages English Education College, CEGEP or other non-university certificate or diploma from a program of 1 year to 2 years Experience 1 year to less than 2 years Additional Skills Assume full responsibility for household in absence of parents, Perform light housekeeping and cleaning duties, Shop for food and household supplies, Travel with family on trips and assist with child supervision and housekeeping duties, Wash, iron and press clothing and household linens Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ages School age (6 - 12 years), and 2 - 3 years Specific Skills Bathe,

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Saturday, December 7, 2019 Press release

Billions in NDP promises abandoned as Legislature adjourns As the Legislative Assembly adjourns for the year, BC Liberal Opposition Leader Andrew Wilkinson is calling on John Horgan to come clean with British Columbians on which NDP promises will be abandoned now that Horgan has spent nearly every last penny of taxpayer money his government inherited in just two short years.

“John Horgan and the NDP have ripped through billions of dollars of your money while housing is still unaffordable, ICBC rates are going up, gas prices are the highest in North America, and renters haven’t seen a cent they were promised,” said Wilkinson.

“British Columbians are already getting hammered by the NDP’s 19 new or increased taxes and with the cupboards now bare, you have to wonder if this government plans to increase even more taxes to try and pay for all their failed promises.”

Wilkinson also remarked on how John

Horgan seems more focused on delivering his next punchline than on how to address his failed promises such as: Surrey portables still increasing Still no ride-hailing No universal $10-a-day childcare No George Massey Tunnel replacement No $400 renters rebate Only 2,055 child care spaces created vs. the promised 24,000 Only 2,400 new affordable housing units vs. the promised 114,000 Over $800 million in capital investments needed for critical transportation, education, and housing projects delayed in 2019 “Instead of taking action on a number of files, the NDP has chosen to spend tax dollars on reports, studies that stall progress, countless failed lawsuits, and sweetheart deals for their friends and insiders,” added Wilkinson.

“Whether you’re a frustrated

Seniors Living Expo & Job Fair coming to Vancouver on Nov. 21

- 22, 2020 “That’s why we will host what we believe will be the largest job fair of its kind in Canada, right alongside the Expo, which is aimed at seniors and their families.” Presented by Essity, a leading global hygiene and health company with the leading brand TENA, Canada’s Seniors Living Expo will feature a wellness plaza, exhibitor zone, and presentation stages featuring hourly discussions and insights from experts on seniors living, with opportunities for audience interaction and questions. The Job Fair will feature opportunities for prospective employees to meet directly with a broad range of employers as well as participate in our “Peer to Peer” information sessions. “The Expo and Job Fair will take place over 30,000 square feet at the Vancouver Convention Centre, giving us plenty of room for major exhibits and presentations,” adds Fontaine.

Fontaine says the Seniors Living Expo and Job Fair has also enlisted recently retired host of the CBC Early Edition program, Rick Cluff, as well as former Vancouver city councillor and community leader Maggie Ip as ambassadors for the show.

“We’re expecting upwards of 20,000 visitors with a target audience of older adults aged 60-plus,” says Fontaine. “We’re particularly interested in those seniors and their family members who are looking at the full range of options when it comes to lifestyle and personal wellness. Families are an important part of that target audience as we know they often play a big role in advising their elderly loved ones on housing and care options.”For more than 40 years, the BC Care Providers Association has been the leading voice of non-government seniors’ care in British Columbia. Every year, BCCPA’s 350 members across the province provide some 30,000 seniors with long-term care, assisted living and home care and home support.

EngAge BC, an operating arm of the BCCPA, develops and operates programs and marketing initiatives that promote privatelyowned independent living, assisted living, long-term and home care operators. In addition to producing the Seniors Living Expo and Job Fair, EngAge BC operates Route 65, an online service that matches interested seniors with wellness and seniors living options, and Assurity, a province-wide quality assurance and certification program launching in 2020.

Media contacts: Trevor Pancoust tpancoust@pacegroup.com 604.646.3567

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Saturday, December 7, 2019

1 in 5 homes bought by newcomers - survey One in every five homes in Canada is bought by newcomers to the country, according to a Royal LePage survey released on Wednesday.

The Royal LePage Newcomer 2019 Survey, which was commissioned by the real estate company, found that newcomers spend about three years in Canada before buying a home and that 75 per cent of newcomers arrive with savings or cash to help buy a home. About 1,500 people, all of whom arrived in Canada within the last 10 years, were interviewed by public opinion polling and market research company Leger for the survey and it was conducted online in August.Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage, said in an interview with CBC’s Radio-Canada that the survey found that newcomers represent about 21 per cent of all homebuyers in Canada. That

number suggests people new to the country are contributing “significantly” to real estate demand, he said.“We know that Canada is a country of immigrants and we know that newcomers to Canada are an important part of our economic growth. What surprises us in the data is just how important they are to Canada’s real estate market,” Soper said on Tuesday.If current international migration levels are maintained, Royal LePage estimates that newcomers are expected to buy 680,000 homes in Canada over the next five years.

The projected home sales was calculated using historic migration levels from Statistics Canada, the survey’s home ownership rate of newcomers and Canadian Real Estate Association and Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation unit sales data.

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Canada housing market bouncing back, but not to boom times: Reuters poll Canada’s housing market has turned the corner and prices will increase modestly faster over the coming few years, a Reuters poll of economists and property market analysts predicted, but with no return to boom times any time soon. After an eight-year period of rising house prices that culminated in near double-digit gains in 2017, the market slowed significantly, particularly in urban hotspots Toronto and Vancouver, partly thanks to government efforts to curb property inflation.

But a strong domestic economy, rising immigration and lower mortgage rates have helped the housing market make a comeback in the second half of this year. The Nov. 4-20 Reuters poll of 18 economists predicted average national house prices to beat the current inflation rate of 1.9% and rise 3.0% next year and 2.9% in 2021, a significant upgrade from 1.8% and 2.0% expected in an August poll. Those were the most optimistic

views since polling began for those periods early this year. “The pillars strongly supportive of housing demand in Canada have remained intact: remarkable job creation, superior wage growth and a very low interest rates environment,” said Sebastien Lavoie, chief economist at Laurentian Bank. “The low and stable housing starts to labour force increase ratio is one of many metrics indicating no risk of over-building and refuting overblown concerns about the Canadian housing market.” Over 80% of poll respondents who answered an additional question, 14 of 17, said housing market activity was more likely to rebound than slow down over the coming year. “The same ingredients that were present in some housing markets three years ago - namely strong underlying demand, tight supply and low interest rates - are present again,” said Carolyn Wilkins, senior deputy governor of the Bank of Canada

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Bank of Canada wary of business investment surge that seems too good to be true

arlier this week, New Look Vision Group Inc., Canada’s biggest seller of eyeglasses, bought a Miami-based outfit called Coco Lunette Holding LLC, which runs a dozen stores in swanky Florida locations such as Boca Raton and Naples.

Not only was the acquisition the first in the United States for Montreal-based New Look, it was the first foray into the American eyewear market by a Canadian company, ever, according to the Dec. 2 announcement.

“We are always on the lookout for great opportunities,” chief executive Antoine Amiel said in an interview.

Headline economic data over the past couple of years have tended to obscure

such confidence.

Hiring was off the charts, but measures of investment were lacklustre.

On a quarter-to-quarter basis, business spending on machinery and equipment dropped in three of four quarters through the end of June, according to Statistics Canada data.

The decline was discouraging, but it made sense. The trade wars were choking exports, so it stood to reason that companies would retrench until the uncertainty passed. The Bank of Canada gave serious consideration to cutting interest rates in October in part because its forecasts showed that business

investment was sure to drop again in the third quarter.

StatCan reported last week that business investment surged at an annual rate of 9.5 per cent in the third quarter, reversing a seven-per-cent drop in the second quarter. And revisions showed that investment in non-residential structures and machinery and equipment had actually accelerated to an annual rate of 18 per cent at the start of the year, suggesting companies took advantage of lower taxes on investment that the Trudeau government implemented at the end of 2018.

And just like that, business confidence argues for leaving interest rates unchanged, not cutting them. With inflation at the central bank’s target, there’s no reason to take out insurance against the trade wars if companies are finding ways to push forward on their own.

“One thing that surprised us was business investment,” Timothy Lane, a deputy governor at the Bank of Canada, said in a speech in Ottawa on Dec. 5, explaining this week’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged. “We were expecting investment to decline in the second half of the year, but instead we have seen solid growth.”

Lane was presenting the Economic Progress Report, which the central bank uses to refresh its assessment of the economy between the release of its quarterly outlooks. For the most part, the world has unfolded as the Bank of Canada thought it would two months ago.

Gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 1.3 per cent in the third quarter, just as policy makers predicted it would.

That was a sharp slowdown from the second quarter, but Lane said recent data support their view that the “slowdown will be temporary.”

The central bank’s cautiously optimistic tone this week surprised some on Bay Street. As long as the trade wars rage, there will be a constant threat that Canada could be knocked off course.

“In a risk-filled outlook, with any signs of economic deterioration, it may yet choose to err on the side of supporting growth,” said James Marple, an economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank.

Canada’s trade deficit narrows to $2.9 billion

Canada’s February trade deficit was $2.9 billion, narrowing the gap from a revised shortfall of $3.1 billion in January.

Exports were down 1.3 per cent in February, while imports declined 1.6 per cent.

Statistics Canada revised January’s numbers to show a smaller deficit — by more than $1 billion — compared to its initial estimate of $4.2 billion.

The combined trade deficit for February, January and December, which reported a shortfall of $4.8 billion, was $10.8 billion — the country’s biggest three-month deficit on record.

Canada imported less gold, electronics, industrial machinery, consumer goods and car parts during the month.

On the other side of the ledger, the country also exported less of just about everything that wasn’t energy.

Exports to the U.S., meanwhile, increased by far more than imports did, so Canada’s trade surplus with its biggest trading partner widened from $2.6 billion in January to $3.5 billion.

The trade gap with the rest of the world, meanwhile, widened from $5.7 billion in January to $6.4 billion.

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Former Liberal MP Amarjeet Sohi promises to stay active in politics Amarjeet Sohi needed some time off after the federal election.

It’s not hard to understand why — the Liberal government’s former minister of natural resources fought hard to keep his seat in Edmonton Mill Woods but was among the casualties of the Conservative wave that swept the Prairies. His disappointing election night saw Tim Uppal take the seat with 50.3 per cent of the vote.

Less public, though, was the personal struggle that Sohi and his family endured in the midst of the campaign.

About three weeks before election day, Sohi’s wife Sarbjeet was diagnosed with kidney cancer. She had successful surgery during the campaign period and was back by her husband’s side as the polls closed.

“It was a pretty difficult election from a personal point-of-view,” Sohi said. “It’s always difficult during a campaign to balance your campaign needs and your family needs, but my

wife has been with me from Day 1, she’s been with me through this journey.

“Luckily, her cancer was diagnosed early and she’s doing well now. She’s recovered. Family is always the No. 1 priority for me, and having her beside me is why I’ve been able to do what I’ve been able to do.”

After clearing out his offices in both Edmonton and Ottawa, Sohi took some time off. He’s been spending time at home, with his family. He went to Las Vegas on a quick vacation with some friends, and he’s grown out a beard — “when you’re sitting at home, the last thing you want to do is shave,” he laughed. He’s also doing a lot of reading, but his politics-heavy reading list betrays a desire to stay involved in public life.

He’s also spent a lot of time reflecting on his unique path to office, coming to Canada as a teenager knowing almost no English.

He’s writing a lot about his experiences, and says the opportunities that Canada provides is a topic he’s considering sharing thoughts on through public speaking.

Lifetime ban sought for Edmonton real estate agent The Real Estate Council of Alberta is seeking a lifetime ban of an Edmonton real estate agent who had already been suspended for one year and fined $21,000.

Mehboob Ali Merchant (pictured) admitted to several breaches of the Real Estate Act that occurred between 2011 and 2019, according to an Oct. 21 RECA written decision.

A RECA hearing panel found Merchant leased a condo without p ermission, mishandled a commission, and withheld documents from investigators.

“The Industry Member committed multiple breaches that were criminal in nature and involved intentional deception for the purposes of enriching himself,” Merchant’s admission of conduct reads as contained in the RECA decision.

“The theft, fraud and identity fraud were all committed intentionally, with full knowledge that he was deceiving his victims,” the RECA hearing panel summary reads. On Oct. 31, RECA’s

executive director filed an appeal, citing errors in the decision and seeking a lifetime ban.

“Had it not been for these errors, the Hearing Panel would have imposed the proper sanction of licence cancellation and lifetime licensing prohibition.”

A date for the appeal has yet to be posted on RECA’s website.

Merchant, an 11-year veteran of the industry, later unsuccessfully attempted to retract his admission. “I want to make it very clear to the hearing panel that I signed the … agreement under duress, extreme pressures and stress,” he argued in challenging the procedural fairness of the hearing. Merchant worked under the name Ali Merchant in Edmonton with the Century 21 Platinum Realty company but is no longer listed on its website. RECA has yet to post a hearing date for Merchant’s appeal on its site. When asked to comment on the initial RECA ruling and the executive director’s appeal, Merchant declined on multiple occasions. Merchant later faced criminal fraud charges in connection with one of the breaches, but claimed they were dismissed. It’s not clear if other charges are pending.

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New Burnswick doctor suspended after online chat with cop posing as teen

A New Brunswick doctor who was found guilty of misconduct in England after an online chat with a cop posing as a teen has been suspended from practising in New Brunswick for nine months.

The suspension, announced Saturday by the New Brunswick College of Physicians and Surgeons, matches a suspension earlier this month by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Hafeez Awan was sanctioned after making “sexually motivated” remarks to someone who identified herself as a 13-year-old girl.

The person he was conversing with in an internet chat room, by text message and on WhatsApp was actually a police detective.

The electronic conversations at issue occurred in January 2016 when Awan was working in

Leeds and nearby Wakefield.

He moved to Canada in October 2017, and began a practice in Saint John.

The board of the New Brunswick College of Physicians and Surgeons met Friday to consider Awan’s case.

On Saturday, registrar Dr. Ed Schollenberg said they adopted the suspension from the U.K. “We reached an agreement with Dr. Awan that he would allow us to impose the same penalty they did in Britain. Basically, being found guilty in another jurisdiction of misconduct is, in itself, misconduct for our purpose,” he said in an interview.

In its ruling, the U.K. tribunal said that after being told he was conversing with a 13-yearold, Awan “continued to try to engage with Person A via different social media platforms

Consumer insolvencies in Canada spike to highest level since financial crisis Canadian households are showing signs of cracking under the strain of growing debt burdens, new data shows and Ontarians are being hit particularly hard.

The number of consumer insolvencies jumped by nearly 11 per cent from September to October, according to the latest monthly report from the federal Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.

In the 12 months ending in October, more than 135,000 Canadian households declared bankruptcy or filed a consumer proposal, an increasingly popular alternative to bankruptcy. That’s the fastest annual pace

since 2010, when Canada’s economy was being rocked by the global financial crisis.

Consumer insolvencies in Canada have jumped to their highest level since 2010, when Canada was emerging...

OSB/HuffPost Canada Consumer insolvencies in Canada have jumped to their highest level since 2010, when Canada was emerging from the global financial crisis.

Ontario has seen the largest spike in consumer insolvencies, up 22 per cent in October, compared to a year earlier. Prince Edward Island (up 20.3 per cent), Nova Scotia (up 17.3 per cent) and British Columbia (up 15.6 per cent).

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Canadians aren’t feeling very optimistic about job security or their finances

Canadian consumer confidence dropped for a second month as global growth concerns spill over into household sentiment.

The Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index, a composite gauge based on weekly telephone polling, ended November at 54.8, the lowest month-end reading since January and well below historical averages.

The last two months have seen a dramatic turnaround in confidence, even as financial markets rebounded and speculation emerged

the U.S. and China are moving closer to a trade deal. Decelerating growth in Canada along with a divisive federal election that left parliament fragmented and stoked regional tensions may have the country’s consumers on edge.

A separate survey, for example, found only 22 per cent of Canadians showed strong confidence in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ability to create conditions for economic prosperity.

Every week, Nanos Research asks 250 Canadians for their views on personal finances,

job security, the outlook for the economy and where real estate prices are headed.

Bloomberg publishes four-week rolling averages of the 1,000 telephone responses.

The survey produced deteriorating scores for all four questions, with the most surprising result in the job security category.

Only 58.9 per cent of Canadians described their position as at least somewhat secure at the end of November, the lowest reading in more than six years and down from as

high as 72 per cent in early March. This is a bit of a puzzle, given Canada’s jobless rate has been hovering near four-decade lows.

Canadians’ have also become less confident over the past month about their personal finances, the health of the Canadian economy and the prospect for real estate prices.

Regionally, the decline was broadbased west of Quebec. Respondents in Ontario, the prairies provinces and British Columbia all reported weaker

Trans Mountain pipeline expansion takes step forward with new construction phase

The CEO of Trans Mountain says he’s “a little greyer” than he was 10 years ago when planning began for an expansion of the Edmonton-to-Burnaby oil pipeline, but he’s still proud to oversee the official launch of Alberta construction.

Ian Anderson, who switched employers when the pipeline and its proposed expansion were sold to the federal government in 2018 for $4.5 billion, repeated a vow Tuesday to have expansion project pipe in the ground before Christmas.

Speaking in a frosty field west of Edmonton, he said the project has been steadily improved as it was repeatedly delayed over the years and is now set to be the “best darn pipeline in the world” with enhanced leak detection and thicker pipe in key segments.

The announcement comes just two weeks before a court hearing in British Columbia could decide whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government can complete the project.

The proposal to nearly triple Trans Mountain’s flow of crude to 890,000 barrels per day is one of three by the industry to expand pipelines to U.S. refineries from Alberta,

where existing pipelines are congested.

TMX, as the project is known, moves crude to the British Columbia coast, where some shipments may reach Asian markets.

Canada is the world’s fourth-largest crude producer, but struggles to get new export pipelines built due to opposition from environmental activists that has forced the Alberta government to curtail production and prompted an exodus of foreign investors.

Anderson said the pipeline will take 30 to 36 months to build, which means it could be completed in the second half of 2022, but he declined to update the last cost estimate of $7.4 billion

Bank of Canada holds interest rates steady The Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate on hold where it has been for more than a year as it said Wednesday that ongoing trade conflicts and related uncertainty continue to weigh on the global economy.

The central bank’s overnight rate target has been set at 1.75 per cent since October of last year.

In its rate announcement, the Bank of Canada said there is early evidence that the global economy is stabilizing and growth is still expected to edge higher over the next couple of years.

“Financial markets have been supported by central bank actions and waning recession concerns, while being buffeted by news on the trade front,” the bank said.

“Indeed, ongoing trade conflicts and related uncertainty are still weighing on global economic activity, and remain the biggest source of risk to the outlook.”

Stock markets tumbled Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he

had “no deadline” to end a 16-month trade war with China that has hurt the global economy and downplayed the likelihood of reaching a deal before the U.S. elections next year.

New U.S. tariffs are set to kick in on many Chinesemade items, including smartphones and toys, on Dec. 15, in addition to taxes already being imposed on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods imported by the U.S. Meanwhile, a resilient Canadian economy has allowed the Bank of Canada to keep interest rates on hold even as many of its international peers have moved to ease monetary policy amid concerns about the global economy.

Economic growth in Canada slowed in the third quarter to an annual pace of 1.3 per cent, in line with the Bank of Canada’s forecast in October. Consumer spending and housing helped support

Cities ask for gas-tax fund boost in 100-day wish list for Trudeau government Canada’s cities are asking the federal Liberals for more money and new ways to fund municipal projects as part of their newly released wish list for the first 100 days of the Trudeau government’s second mandate.

The document urges the Liberals to boost annual increases to the gastax fund that gives money directly to cities to pay for work on roads, bridges, highways, transit and water systems.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is also asking the Liberals to permanently double the value of the program, funded by taxes that drivers pay at the pump, after the government gave the fund a one-time boost in the 2019 budget.

‘I am staying on to fight the fight’ says Scheer amid more calls for resignation McKenna dons hard hat, vows to pick up pace of infrastructure projects Scheer maintains core parliamentary

team, names new deputy leader The group also wants the government to eliminate caps on funding for transit rehab projects, allow other spending to help cities upgrade their council chambers and administrative buildings, and double the money for projects that help communities adapt to climate change.

The requests come at the tail end of the federation’s meeting in Ottawa this week, which will include a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this afternoon.

Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna told the gathering of municipal leaders on Wednesday that getting projects built quickly is her top priority.

This report was first published by The Canadian Press on Nov. 28, 2019.

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Trudeau admits to making fun of Trump behind his back After US President Donald Trump called him “two-faced,” Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, admitted that he and other world leaders were talking about the US President when they were caught on camera at a Buckingham Palace event the night before.

The video, which has gone viral, shows British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron, Trudeau and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte appearing to have a laugh about Trump’s behavior during the summit. But none of the leaders explicitly named Trump. “Last night I made reference to the fact that there was an unscheduled press conference before my meeting with President Trump. I was happy to be part of

Trudeau, he’s a nice guy.” Trump also canceled his own press conference scheduled for the end of his trip to the NATO summit. The President was caught on a hot mic of his own after the cancellation, saying, “Oh, and then you know what they’ll say. ‘He didn’t do a press conference. He didn’t do a press conference.’

That was funny when I said the guy’s two-faced, you know that.” The 25-second clip was first reported by CBC, begins with Johnson asking Macron why he was late. “Is that why you were late?” Johnson asked. Macron nodded, as Trudeau replied, “He was late because he takes a ... 40-minute press conference at the top.”

At no time in the video do the leaders mention Trump by name. None of them

Queen Elizabeth with NATO leaders at Buckingham Palace to mark 70 years of NATO alliance.

it but it was certainly notable,” Trudeau said during a Wednesday press conference. Trump arrives for tough NATO meetings under impeachment cloud Trump arrives for tough NATO meetings under impeachment cloud Trudeau indicated that he wasn’t concerned about his comments impacting the USCanadian relationship, but Trump reacted angrily earlier Wednesday calling Trudeau “two-faced,” before adding, “honestly with

seemed to be aware that the conversation was being recorded, although they were talking openly and loudly enough to be heard by others. “You just watched his team’s jaws drop to the floor,” Trudeau also appears to say at one point. Trudeau said during his press conference that the comment was made in reference to Trump’s announcement during their bilateral meeting that the upcoming G7 summit will be hosted at Camp David.

Trump slams “two-faced” Justin Trudeau for mocking him in leaked video The video that surfaced on Tuesday showed leaders including Trudeau, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson & French President Emmanuel Macron at Buckingham Palace gossiping about Trump on a hot mic. “Well, he’s two-faced. And honestly with Trudeau, he’s a nice guy. I find him to be a very nice guy. But you know the truth is that I called him out on the fact that he’s not paying 2%, and I guess he’s not very happy about it.... He’s not paying 2% and he should be paying 2%. It’s Canada. They have money.” Flashback: Trump described Canada as “slightly delinquent on defense spending” yesterday, and insisted

twice that Trudeau provide his country’s current defense spending figure as a proportion of GDP (Trudeau said it was around 1.4%). Trump was speaking today alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, herself a frequent target of Trump’s over defense spending. Asked about German spending ahead of their meeting, Trump said: “Well, Germany’s a little bit under the limit, I will say that, but we’ll talk about that now.” Context: Trump and Trudeau have never had a warm relationship. As Axios’ Jonathan Swan writes, Trump finds Trudeau an irritant at best.

RCMP owe the Aga Khan’s island more than $56,000 for PM Trudeau’s vacation The Royal Canadian Mounted Police owe the managers of the Aga Khan’s private island in the Bahamas more than $56,000 for meals, accommodations and jet ski rentals during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s controversial vacation, media reports. Three years after the trip, the force has not yet reimbursed the costs “despite efforts made to do so,” said RCMP spokeswoman Acting Sergeant Caroline Duval.

While the RCMP say they have tried to pay what they owe, their financial accounting system generally requires invoices. The managers of the Aga Khan’s island said that they want to be reimbursed for costs they incurred on behalf of the force — but they don’t want any invoices.

According to documents obtained under the Access to Information Act following a complaint to Canada’s information commissioner, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police incurred a $56,000 tab in 2017 for “accommodations/ meals/jet ski rentals” for the Prime Minister’s Protection Detail (PMPD), the RCMP unit that guards Canada’s prime ministers.

The force said the costs were directly linked to the unit’s mandate “to provide close protection measures to the Prime Minister and his family.” The RCMP refuses to say how much of the money was spent on jet ski rentals, saying

“doing so could expose security details about the number of personnel assigned to protect the PM and his family.”

Documents outlining the costs the RCMP had to reimburse list five charges ranging from $3,500 to $22,000. Duval said nobody other than RCMP personnel used any jet ski rented on behalf of the force. A wooden pathway leads to a scenic lookout on Bell Island in the Bahamas.

The documents also reveal that the PMPD tried to prevent the cost from being revealed to the public. It asked that the $56,000-plus tab be exempted from proactive disclosure and be censored to remove references to the costs being incurred during the Trudeau family’s Christmas vacation. Under federal government rules, departments are supposed to proactively reveal details about contracts worth more than $10,000, unless disclosing them would jeopardize things like public safety or national security. In a memo dated Feb. 14, 2017, RCMP Manager of Contract Quality Assurance Markos Vennos questioned why the PMPD wanted to exempt the spending from disclosure since the vacation was over.z“I sent the rationale for nondisclosure that PMPD provided up through my Director who in turn sought advice from our DG,” he wrote.

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Saturday, December 7, 2019

Japan says it won’t sign China-backed RCEP trade pact without India Japan is not considering signing a Chinesebacked regional trade pact without India, the top Japanese negotiator said Friday, ahead of a series of diplomatic exchanges in the coming weeks that include a visit to Delhi by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. India announced this month it was withdrawing from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, citing the deal’s potential impact on the livelihoods of its most vulnerable citizens. China said that the 15 remaining countries decided to move forward first and India was welcome to join RCEP whenever it’s ready. “We aren’t thinking about that at all yet,” Deputy Minister for Economy, Trade and

Industry Hideki Makihara, said in an interview with Bloomberg. “All we are thinking of is negotiations including India.”

Abe has sought to beef up ties with India across a range of fields to balance China’s regional dominance. Japanese and Indian foreign and defense ministers hold their first joint meeting in a socalled ‘two plus two’ format this weekend. Both countries are also part of four-way security talks with Australia and the U.S. called the Quad, a move that Beijing has complained could stoke a new Cold War. “It is meaningful from the economic, political and potentially the national security point of view,” Makihara said of the inclusion of the world’s largest democracy in

Former PM Manmohan Singh sets record straight on Gujral Doctrine Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today set the record straight on the Gujral Doctrine which has often been criticised for being soft on Pakistan and China. Dr Singh also said the 1984 Sikh massacre in Delhi could have been avoided had then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao heeded Gujral’s advice to call in the Army.

“When I became Prime Minister, I asked him about the relevance of the Gujral Doctrine and he said it doesn’t apply to Pakistan and China,” recalled Dr Singh, reminiscing his association with former PM Inder Kumar Gujral on his 100th birth anniversary at a function hosted by his son and Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral.

During an evening of soul-searching, former President Pranab Mukherjee wondered if the Congress had not withdrawn support to the Gujral government and allowed it to complete its full term, perhaps the BJP would not have won over 180 seats in the elections that followed.

The Gujral Doctrine, enunciated in the mid-90s, spoke of going the extra mile to build ties with neighbours. It came under criticism as many thought its embedded principle of non-reciprocity was being too soft on Pakistan. Former Foreign Secretaries Shivshankar Menon and Shyam Saran upheld the application of Gujral Doctrine to other SAARC countries, except Pakistan. This aspect has been little known

B SE EST RV IC E

Former finance minister slams govt on economy & Kashmir A day after his release from Tihar jail, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram launched a scathing attack on the government for economic mismanagement, calling the slowdown “a manmade catastrophe.” “Government is clueless on the economy; it is stubborn, mulish in defending catastrophic mistakes like demonetisation and flawed GST,” said the former finance minister. Chidambaram said the Congress was better equipped to pull the economy out of slowdown, but “we have to wait for better times”. “Economy can be brought out of slowdown, but this government incapable of doing that,” he added. Chidambaram said there was “fear everywhere, the media is also gripped with fear” alluding to industrialist Rahul Bajaj’s remarks. “Even after seven months of this fiscal, BJP govenment believes the problems faced by economy are cyclical. Government is wrong,” said Chidambaram addressing

media persons at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi.

To fix the economy, Chidambaram said the place to start is a correct diagnosis.

Chidambaram said nothing summed up the state of economy better than the falling GDP numbers. “The Prime Minister has been unusually silent on the economy. He has left it to his ministers to indulge in bluff and bluster. The net result, as The Economist put it, is that the government has turned out to be an ‘incompetent manager’ of the economy,” he said. Chidambaram said the Congress will oppose the Citizenship Amendment Bill in Parliament next week and spoke for the freedom of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

In his first presser upon release from jail, he said, “As I stepped out and breathed the air of freedom at 8 pm last night, my first thought and prayers were for the 75 lakh people of the Kashmir valley who have been denied

Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria safe, says IAF after shooting incident at Pearl Harbour In the wake of a shooting incident in Pearl Harbour shipyard, the Indian Air Force said on Thursday Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, who is currently in the US military base there, is safe. The IAF Chief is at the US base in Hawaii to attend a conclave of chiefs of air forces of leading countries to deliberate on evolving security scenario in the Indo-Pacific

region. “The IAF Chief and his team are safe,” said a spokesperson of the IAF. Another official said while the IAF Chief is staying at the US air force base in Pearl Harbor, the incident of shooting took place in the naval base. The two places are not close to each other, the official said. According to reports, a US sailor shot and wounded three people at the Pearl Harbour Naval Shipyard in Hawaii on Wednesday before taking his own life.

23-year-old gang-rape victim seeks permission to end her life

CAN-AM LUMBER

A gang rape victim from Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli has sought permission to end her life because of police inaction. The victim and her family were detained by the police and later sent back to Rae Bareli on Wednesday when she tried to go to the Chief Minister’s residence here. According to the victim, 30, the incident took place 13 months ago and the case was lodged at the Bhadhokhar police station in Rae Bareli. “Three persons were involved in the gang rape, but the police have not initiated any action against them, even though they were named in the FIR. They are moving freely and issue threats to me and my family. I have stopped going outside as they hurl insulting comments. My husband fell sick because of all this. If the Chief Minister cannot provide me justice, he should allow me to end my life then,” she told reporters.

The woman said that the accused included a CRPF jawan and his two unidentified

accomplices who raped her at gunpoint on October 18, 2018 when she had gone to relieve herself. The FIR was registered on November 1 after court’s intervention. She further alleged that the police made her do several rounds of the police station for recording statement, medical test and investigation, but did nothing against the accused.

Rae Bareli Superintendent of Police, Swapnil Mamgain, said: “The case is being probed by an ASP rank officer.

The investigation are on and action will be taken accordingly.”

Additional Superintendent of Police (east) Lucknow, S. C. Rawat said: “The couple was stopped from going to the Chief Minister’s residence. They were carrying a banner with the message, ‘arrest the accused of gang rape or allow death wish’. The issue has been referred to the Rae Bareli police.”

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Cabinet opium video leaves Congress red-faced A light-hearted talk on opium availability during the December 2 Punjab Cabinet meeting today left the Congress Government embarrassed, with a video on the drug use going viral on social media. Within hours, the Opposition took on the government on its claims of tackling the drug menace in the state. Taking a serious view, CM Capt Amarinder Singh ordered charge-sheeting of two officials of the Public Relations Department. In the unedited video, said to be released inadvertently by the PR Department, some Cabinet ministers were seen taking a dig at each other while referring to opium as “kali dvayi” (black medicine).

As one of the ministers from Malwa clarifies to the CM his position on use of the drug, a

senior minister from Malwa is heard telling the former he would have to go to Rajasthan to get opium. Another minister, again from Malwa, is heard enquiring about where to get the drug from. Another minister from Malwa, who initiated the talk, is heard listing the benefits of the drug, triggering laughter. Fireworks were witnessed at today’s Cabinet meeting with Jail Minister Sukhjinder Randhawa and Revenue Minister Gurpreet Kangar taking on own government for not standing by the ministers.

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PUNJAB

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Punjab govt fails to pay Rs 7,650 cr dues towards PSPCL The failure of the Punjab Government to clear dues worth Rs 7,650 crore towards Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has created a “financial mess” in the state. The power corporation is finding it difficult to carry out major repair works and development works due to which its employees and pensioners, who have not been paid in recent months, have raised a banner of revolt against the government. Official figures gathered from the PSPCL indicate that the total subsidy payable by the Punjab Government to the PSPCL, including arrears, in 2019-20 was Rs 14,972 crore, which was to be paid in advance monthly instalments.

However, every month there has been a

delay and now the pending subsidy stands at Rs 5,500 crore. In addition, various state government departments are defaulting on the payment of Rs 2,150 crore, taking the amount to a whopping Rs 7,650 crore. Sources inside the PSPCL said due to the delay on part of the government to release the money, contractors attached with the power utility have started quoting higher rates as they know their payments will be delayed. “The PSPCL is already borrowing money at interest and is struggling to carry out urgent repairs, let alone any development works in the entire state. In many districts we are unable to shift low level wires and also shift transformers due to paucity of funds,” they said.

Amarinder promises safe environment to industry, investors Asserting his government’s commitment to providing industry with a safe and stable environment for growth and investment, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday sent out a stern warning to Pakistan, as well as to anti-social elements within the state, against any attempt to destabilise Punjab.

“Behave, or else be prepared for the consequences,” the Chief Minister warned the neighbouring country, as well as any gangsters or goondas trying to disturb the peaceful environment of the state, which offers industry a highly congenial environment for development. During an interactive discussion during the keynote session on the first day of the Progressive Punjab Investors Summit (PPIS) 2019, Capt Amarinder said he had issued clear directions to the Punjab Police to handle any internal or external threat with an iron hand. On Pakistan’s recent attempts to create trouble in Punjab, he said they had been successfully pushed back by the police, which had neutralised the various groups infiltrated into the state by the Pak Army backed ISI.

Trader’s burnt body found in Tarn Taran The half-burnt body of a 27-yearold man was found on the Harike–Patti road in Tarn Taran district on Thursday morning.

The deceased has been identified as Anoop Singh. Police also recovered his car from the spot.

Police officials claimed Singh was killed with a sharp-edged weapon and then set on fire. The incident took place at Booh Vanjnah village, a kilometer away from the Harike Police Station.

Jagjit Singh Walia, SP (Investigation) said, “The body has marks of a sharpedged weapon and is badly burnt. We are investigating the matter. More facts would be revealed after the post-mortem report.” Police officials claimed that Singh was a trader and used to deal in cold drink products. The family members of the deceased said that he was engaged and his marriage was scheduled for February next year. A pan card and some other documents have been recovered from the car. The deceased is survived by two brothers and a sister. Police officials said that the body has been sent to Patti civil hospital for post-mortem.

“Pakistan has its own problems, but I won’t let them make their problems my problem,” asserted the Chief Minister, pointing out

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Expect Rs 2K crore GST arrears by Dec 18, says Finance Minister The state is likely to get its arrears amounting to Rs 2,000 crore by December 18 out of the total Goods and Services Tax (GST) dues of Rs 4,100 crore from the Centre. Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said he pleaded the case along with finance ministers and representatives of other states to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman regarding early release of GST compensation and arrears.

Besides Punjab, the Finance Ministers of Delhi, Puducherry and

Madhya Pradesh and representatives of Kerala, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal attended the meeting over delay in payment of compensation. Punjab is awaiting Rs 2,100 crore as compensation while arrears stand at Rs 2,000 crore for August and September period.

“We are facing issues due to delay in compensation. We can’t close jails, schools and hospitals or cut spending on social security. Besides salaries, we have to pay pensions.

SAD, BJP on collision course, Rajoana

Coalition partners SAD and the BJP are on a collision course on the issue of pardoning Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted of assassinating former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. A day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced in Parliament that no pardon was given to Rajoana, the Akali leadership took a strong stand saying dictatorial attitude will not work in the

country and the party will go to any limits for the protection of Sikh sentiments on the issue.

SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia told mediapersons that the party was shocked at the statement of the Union Home Minister and soon a delegation led by the party president Sukhbir Singh Badal would meet Shah on the issue. He said much had been lost in the past due to hurting Sikh sentiments, adding that

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INDIA

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Indian citizenship to those facing persecution will assure them better lives: PM Referring to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said Indian citizenship for those facing persecution in their home countries would ensure that they get a better tomorrow.

Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Modi said although a lot of apprehensions were expressed ahead of the

Supreme Court’s Ayodhya verdict, after it was pronounced, the people of the country proved all such apprehensions wrong.

Referring to the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, the PM said the decision might seem a politically difficult one, but it had raised a new hope of development for the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Nine killed, 10 injured as bus hits truck in Madhya Pradesh Nine passengers were killed and 10 others seriously injured when their bus rammed into a stationary truck in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa district on Thursday morning, a police official said. The mishap took place near Gudh road, located about 25 km from here, at around 6.30 am when the bus was on its way to Sidhi

district from Rewa, he said.

“The bus hit the stationary truck from behind, killing nine people and injuring 10 others,” Rewa’s Superintendent of police Abid Khan said. The injured persons were admitted to the district hospital, he added.

Accel India announces $550M sixth fund to deepen its India commitment Fifteen-year-old venture capital fund Accel India today announced that it had closed its sixth India fund to the tune of $550 million. With this new capital, the VC firm will continue placing bets in seed and early-stage startups across India despite the reigning sentiments of a slowdown. “We look at a 10year window when investing in startups so we do not just go by the current local market conditions,” Accel partners said. The firm believes that it has been on the ground for 15 years and has seen a few cycles of slowdown, “so if we have something good, we look at it,” they said. Started in 2005 in India, Accel is credited with placing some early bets on more than 100 early-stage Indian startups, including Flipkart, Swiggy, and Freshworks.

Some of these early bets, which Accel terms as its ‘Originals’, have given the firm happy

dividends and a reputation of a ‘kingmaker’ in the Indian startup ecosystem. Accel India The Accel India investment team “When we started our first fund in India in 2005, the world was a very different place. Just one in 50 Indians had access to the internet and mobile phone ownership was nascent. Yet we firmly believed that India was on the cusp of a big change,” the VC firm notes in its official release. The firm started with an $800,000 investment in Flipkart and continued backing the company until the startup was acquired by Walmart in an enviable deal worth $16 billion, valuing it at over $21 billion—the largest-ever acquisition of a private, venture-backed company in the world. Accel invested $1 million in Freshworks in 2011 when the software-asa-service category from India was almost

Deputy CM Dushyant fights own govt in court The JJP may have entered into a postpoll alliance with the BJP-led Haryana Government and leaders of the two parties may claim to be on the same page when it comes to policies, but Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala continues his fight in court with the very government he represents over security concerns. As JJP party chief, he had filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High court prior to the Assembly elections, seeking security in view of the “threat” from an international gang after he received a call on his mobile. On November 26, the police filed an affidavit in court, stating that Dushyant had already been provided security owing to his post as Deputy CM. The next hearing in the case is slated for February 6, 2020. Sources in the BJP described it as a case of government versus government. “He (Dushyant) was given security right after taking oath as

Deputy CM. Once he became part of the government, he should have withdrawn the case. However, he chose to keep the issue alive and moved no application for withdrawal on the last hearing,” a senior leader said.

Dushyant maintained that the Home Ministry was to file a reply in court as per its findings and the action taken so far. “Since the court and the police are dealing with the matter, they should complete the procedure. Also, the threat call from another country needs to be investigated. The security given by the police is not a solution to that.” The petition pertains to the Home Department which is headed by Haryana’s seniormost minister Anil Vij. Dushyant and Vij are engaged in another legal battle pertaining to a defamation suit. Dushyant has shown no inclination to withdraw the case and Vij says he will go when summoned.

Child rapists should be deprived of right to mercy petition: President President Ram Nath Kovind said on Friday that those convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act should be deprived of their right to mercy petition. The President, who was addressing an event on women’s safety in Rajasthan’s Abu Road, said that while it was for Parliament to take such a decision, “but the thought of all of us is moving ahead in that direction”.

“Incidents of demonic assaults on daughters shake the conscience of the country. It is the duty of every parent, citizens, yours and mine to strengthen among boys the sense of respect towards women.

“In this context, several things are coming

up. Such convicts have been given the right of mercy petition by the Constitution. I have said that there should be reconsideration on this.... In cases under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, they should be deprived of the right of mercy petition. They do not need any such right,” he said. The president’s remarks came at a time the country witnessed several cases of brutal attacks on women. A rape survivor from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh was set alight by five men, including two people accused of raping her, on Thursday when she was on her way to court. The woman has been battling for life at a hospital in Delhi with 90 per cent burns.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar gets ACB clean chit in Vidarbha irrigation scam Maharashtra’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has given a clean chit to NCP leader and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in the multi-crore Vidarbha irrigation scam.

The ACB, in its affidavit submitted in the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, has ruled out Pawar’s involvement in cases of alleged irregularities in approval and commissioning of irrigation projects in the Vidarbha region.

The affidavit was submitted on November 27, a day before the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of the Shiv Sena-NCP-

Congress was sworn in the state on November 28. The court had asked the ACB to clarify its stand on the role of Pawar, a former Water Resources Development Minister, in these cases. Pawar, the NCP MLA from Baramati in Pune district, was Water Resources Development Minister during 1999-2009 when the Congress-NCP combine was in power in Maharashtra. Pawar had also served as chairman of Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC), which had cleared irrigation projects in which irregularities were alleged.

INDIA

Saturday, December 7, 2019

18 Indian workers killed in Sudan factory blast At least 18 Indian workers were among 23 people killed, while many others were seriously wounded in an LPG tanker blast Dec. 5 at a ceramic factory in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. At least 130 people were also injured in the blast. India has set up an emergency hotline, while an Embassy representative has rushed to the site.

Thick plumes of black smoke billowed into the sky after the blaze broke out at the ceramic tile manufacturing unit. Over 130 people were injured in the blast. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted: “Have just received the tragic news of a major blast in a ceramic factory “Saloomi” in the Bahri area of the capital Khartoum in Sudan. Deeply grieved to learn that some Indian workers have lost their lives while some others have been seriously injured. “The Embassy representative has rushed to the site. A 24-hour emergency hotline +249-921917471 has been set up by @ EoI_Khartoum. Embassy is also putting out updates on social media. Our prayers are with the workers and their families.” At least 68

Indians were working at the ceramic factory ‘Seela’ in Bahri area of Khartoum at the time of the LPG tanker blast on Dec. 5 evening.

The Indian embassy in Khartoum said: “As per latest reports, but so far not confirmed officially, 18 are dead.” It added that “some of the missing may be in the list of dead which we are still to receive as identification is not possible because of the bodies being burnt.”

The embassy listed seven Indians as admitted to the Al Amal hospital in Bahri, Khartoum, including three in the ICU. It listed 16 Indians as missing, and gave a list of 34 Indians as having survived the accident.

Most of the Indians are from Bihar, UP, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his anguish at the deaths. “Anguished by the blast in a ceramic factory in Sudan, where some Indian workers have lost their lives and some are injured. My thoughts are with the bereaved families and prayers with the injured. Our Embassy is providing all possible assistance to those affected,” he tweeted.

4 suspects in gang-rape, murder case shot in police encounter From page 1

Cyberabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar said at a press conference later in the evening that his men resorted to “retaliatory” firing after two of the accused opened fire at police after “snatching” weapons from them. He said one of the accused, Mohammed Arif, was the first to open fire, even as the 10-member police team that took them to the crime scene were attacked with stones and sticks. The police returned fire after initial “restraint” and asking the accused to surrender, he said. The snatched weapons were in “unlocked” position, he added.

The accused were not handcuffed when the firing took place and the incident happened between 5.45 am and 6.15 am this morning, he

said. A police sub-inspector and a constable suffered head injuries and were undergoing treatment, he said. “Even though our officers maintained restraint and asked them to surrender, without listening to us, they continued to fire and attack...our people started retaliation. And in that retaliation four accused got killed,” he added. The encounter took place on NH 44, very close to the place where the four men raped the 26-year-old veterinary doctor. Two of the four worked as truck drivers and two were cleaners. All were in their twenties. The vet was brutally gang-raped and killed by the four before they burnt her body in the Shamshabad area, close to Hyderabad

37

India’s crashed lunar lander is spotted by NASA In September, India’s historic attempt for a soft landing of their spacecraft and rover, the Chandrayaan-2 Vikram lander, ended prematurely when they lost communication with the craft. Now, images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal the crash site and final resting place of the mission. NASA included colored dots to show the initial impact site of the lander, as well as the debris field created by the crash and the upturned regolith, or moon dust.

The lander was expected to settle about 373 miles from the lunar south pole on September 7, but the team lost contact with the craft shortly before touchdown. This image shows the Vikram Lander impact point and associated debris field.

This image shows the Vikram Lander impact point and associated debris field.

An image mosaic collected ten days later was released to the public for citizen scientists to scan for signs of the lander. An Indian engineer and amateur astronomer Shanmuga Subramanian identified the debris field and contacted NASA. They were able to confirm the finding by comparing before and after images provided by the orbiter. “As far as I am concerned the Chandrayaan-2 mission was a success. The crash landing of Vikram was sad... but it has got people talking about ISRO and the lander... that is a positive,” Subramanian told CNN affiliate CNN-News 18, referring to the Indian Space Research Organization.

“I feel elated that NASA acknowledged

my contribution... I used NASA’s images to make my observations. It is difficult to spot debris on moon... I could only spot one piece of debris,” he added.

The debris field is 466 miles to the northwest of the impact site. The images show dark streaks, dots of debris and a brighter halo of impact.

The landing would have ushered India into the small collection of nations that have achieved successful soft lunar landings including the United States, China and the former Soviet Union. And the mission was targeted to land on the far side of the moon, a largely unexplored region.

The next phase would have been a rover traveling on the lunar surface and collecting mineral and chemical samples for remote scientific analysis. The automated rover is named Pragyan (meaning “wisdom”).

India&#39;s lunar mission shows space exploration is not just about immediate success India’s lunar mission shows space exploration is not just about immediate success The Chandrayaan-2, which means “moon vehicle” in Sanskrit, took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in southern Andhra Pradesh on July 22. Weighing 3.8 tons and carrying 13 payloads, it had three elements: lunar orbiter, lander and rover.

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SOUTH ASIA

Saturday, December 7, 2019

China threatens retaliation as US passes Uyghur Bill The US Congress overwhelmingly passed a Bill seeking a tough response from the Trump administration over reports of mass detention centres in China’s Muslim-majority Xinjiang province, prompting Beijing to threaten possible retaliation.

The US House of Representatives on Tuesday passed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, which among other things, proposes that America redirects resources to address the mass internment of over

1,000,000 Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in China.

The Act, which calls for an end to the detaining, torture and harassment of the Uyghur communities in China, was passed by the Senate earlier. By passing this Bill, the Congress is showing that the US will not turn a blind eye to the suffering of the oppressed, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy said. “As

with the Hong Kong Democracy and Human Rights Act, we are sending a simple but powerful message to the Communist Party: power cannot be maintained at the expense of the rights of the people without substantial consequences,” he said.

Senators Marco Rubio and Bob Menendez, Ranking Member of the Senate

Foreign Relations Committee, said that the Bill is an important step in countering the totalitarian Chinese government’s widespread and horrific human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

Among these include the mass internment of more than one million Uyghurs and other predominantly ethnic Turkic Muslims, as well as Beijing’s intimidation and threats against US citizens and legal permanent residents on American soil. —

Australia repeals law giving refugees onshore medical care

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Australia’s conservative government on Wednesday repealed a contentious law that allowed ill asylum-seekers languishing in Papua New Guinea and on Nauru to travel to the country for medical treatment.

The so-called “Medevac” law was passed in February, permitting refugee transfers from the Pacific nations if they were requested by two or more doctors.

About 180 have since been brought to Australia for medical support under the law, which was pushed through parliament by opposition and independent lawmakers.

Canberra has sent anyone attempting to arrive in Australia by boat to Papua New Guinea’s Manus island and Nauru, and have argued the “Medevac” law offered a back door entry to the country. It claimed the law had “exposed Australians to unacceptable risk” and weakened national security.

The law was repealed on Wednesday in a tight vote after the government negotiated the support of outspoken independent Senator Jacqui Lambie, who refused to detail the conditions of giving her support.

629 poor Pakistani girls sold as brides to China

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Page after page, the names stack up: 629 girls and women from across Pakistan who were sold as brides to Chinese men and taken to China. The list, obtained

by The Associated Press, was compiled

by Pakistani investigators determined to break up trafficking networks exploiting the country’s poor and vulnerable.

The list gives the most concrete figure yet for the number of women caught up in the trafficking schemes since 2018.

But since the time it was put together in June, investigators’ aggressive drive against the networks has largely ground to a halt. Officials with knowledge of the investigations say that is because of pressure from government officials fearful of hurting Pakistan’s lucrative ties to Beijing.

The biggest case against traffickers has fallen apart. In October, a court in Faisalabad acquitted 31 Chinese nationals charged in connection with trafficking.

Several of the women who had initially been interviewed by police refused to testify because they were either threatened or bribed into silence, according

to a court official and a police investigator familiar with the case. The two spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared retribution for speaking out.

At the same time, the government has sought to curtail investigations, putting “immense pressure” on officials from the Federal Investigation Agency pursuing trafficking networks, said Saleem Iqbal, a Christian activist who has helped parents rescue several young girls from China and prevented others from being sent there.

“Some (FIA officials) were even transferred,” Iqbal said in an interview. “When we talk to Pakistani rulers, they don’t pay any attention. “ Asked about the complaints, Pakistan’s interior and foreign ministries refused to comment.

Several senior officials familiar with the events said investigations into trafficking have slowed, the investigators are frustrated, and Pakistani media have been pushed to curb their reporting on trafficking. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared reprisals.

Continued on next page

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SOUTH ASIA

Saturday, December 7, 2019 UN agnecies prepare draft to appeal donors funds for Rohingya refugees

The United Nations agencies & NGOs, along with donors, prepared a draft of joint response plan (JRP) for 2020, for about $877 million, to look after the Rohingya refugees currently sheltered in Cox’s Bazar as well as the host communities, according to media reports.

After the draft is finalized, an appeal for the amount, which is $43 million less than the $920 million target in 2019 JRP, is likely to be launched in a couple of months, the sources said. Under the 2020 JRP, the fourth one since August 2017, an additional 100,000 people from the host communities will be covered, said the sources, adding that the number was 330,000 in the outgoing third JRP. According

from previous page

to the financial tracking system of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), $301 million – about one-third of the appealed $920.5 million for 2019 – has yet to be collected, with only 25 days of the year left.

“A draft of the 2020 JRP, asking for about $877 million, has been prepared. We had a meeting of Inter Sector Coordination Group in Cox’s Bazar yesterday [Wednesday].

UN agencies, international NGOs, NGOs and donors took part in the meeting,” a senior

629 Pakistani girls sold as brides to China

“No one is doing anything to help these girls,” one of the officials said. “The whole racket is continuing, and it is growing.

Why? Because they know they can get away with it. The authorities won’t follow through, everyone is being pressured to not investigate. Trafficking is increasing now.”

He said he was speaking out “because I have to live with myself. Where is our humanity?”

China’s Foreign Ministry said it was unaware of the list.

“The two governments of China and Pakistan support the formation of happy families between their people on a voluntary basis in keeping with laws and regulations, while at the same time having zero tolerance for and resolutely fighting against any person engaging in illegal cross-border marriage behavior,” the ministry said in a statement faxed Monday to AP’s Beijing bureau.

An AP investigation earlier this year revealed how Pakistan’s Christian minority has become a new target of brokers who

pay impoverished parents to marry off their daughters, some of them teenagers, to Chinese husbands who return with them to their homeland. Many of the brides are then isolated and abused or forced into prostitution in China, often contacting home and pleading to be brought back. The AP spoke to police and court officials and more than a dozen brides — some of whom made it back to Pakistan, others who remained trapped in China — as well as remorseful parents, neighbors, relatives and human rights workers.

Christians are targeted because they are one of the poorest communities in Muslim-majority Pakistan. The trafficking rings are made up of Chinese and Pakistani middlemen and include Christian ministers, mostly from small evangelical churches, who get bribes to urge their flock to sell their daughters. Investigators have also turned up at least one Muslim cleric running a marriage bureau

Rohingya refugees government official deeply engaged with the process told this correspondent yesterday.

“Mind it… it is a draft. There may be changes later,” he added.

39

Asked about the reduced amount involving the upcoming JRP, the official said: “As the emergency period is over and the crisis has settled, some sectors, including shelter, will need less funding.” The money will be used to meet the humanitarian needs of the Rohingyas as well as vulnerable people of the host communities, the sources said. Food security, health, shelter, nutrition, protection and logistics are some of the key sectors where the available fund will be used, they said, adding that there will be sector-wise allocations for the whole year. About the unmet funding under 2019 JRP, officials of the government and UN agencies said that 67% funding is “one of the best in the world.”

30,000 animals to be sacrificed at Nepal temple festival Nepal’s Gadhimai temple is all decked up for a five-yearly sacrificial ritual that will see over 30,000 animals, including buffaloes, sacrificed over two days at a massive slaughterhouse set up at the temple premises, ignoring protests

by animal rights groups and an apex court order. Gadhimai, located in Bariyapur 100 km from Kathmandu, comes alive every five years when the mass slaughter is held.

Sri Lanka Prime Minister open Public Relations Division The Prime Minister’s Office inaugurated a Public Relations Division near Temple Trees, yesterday.Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa opened the Public Relations Office.Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the main objective of opening a Public Relations Office is to provide immediate solutions to public issues after consulting the appropriate government

institution.

“A large number of people come and meet me daily seeking solutions to their issues. So this office would be more convenient for them,” the Premier said.

Prime Minister’s Secretary Gamini Senarath, Ministry Secretaries, Trade Union Leaders and other dignitaries were present at the occasion.

40

FIJI

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Measles outbreak in Samoa kills dozens of children, puts island nation in holiday lockdown The small Pacific island nation of Samoa has closed schools and is restricting travel ahead of the holiday season as the death toll from a measles outbreak tops 50 in the latest flare-up of a global epidemic of the virus.

The vast majority of the dead are children under four years old, according to a government update.

The highly infectious disease has been crossing the globe, recently finding a susceptible population in Samoa, where vaccine coverage was only about 31 per cent when measles took hold, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In just over two weeks, the official death toll has jumped more than tenfold to 53 on Monday, the Samoan government said. There are now more than 3,700 cases of measles recorded in the population of around 200,000.

Samoa declared a national emergency last month and mandated that everyone in the country get vaccinated.

“All our schools are closed, national exams have been postponed,” Rev. Vavatau Taufao, general secretary of the Congregation Christian Church in Samoa, told Reuters.

“We are still having church services but if it gets worse we will have to stop church altogether — and it’s almost Christmas.”

Samoa officials declare emergency in measles outbreak that has killed 6 Measles cases are rising worldwide, even in wealthy nations such as Canada and the United States, as parents shun immunization for philosophical or religious reasons, or fears — based on misinformation that has been debunked by doctors — that such vaccines could cause autism.

Other nations, through either poverty or poor planning, have let immunization levels slip, exposing their youngest members to a disease that aggressively attacks the immune system.

Bainimarama meets Prince Charles Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama met with Prince Charles in London before his departure for the Conference of the Parties 25.

Bainimarama says Prince Charles had the distinction of handing over Fiji’s Instruments of Independence.

He says to this day Prince Charles remains a great ally to the Fijian people especially in the campaign for climate action. The Prime Minister also met with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Baroness Patricia Scotland in London yesterday where a number of other issues regarding climate change were discussed. Bainimarama says climate change can no longer remain a mere topic for discussion and it needs decisive and immediate action from everyone. He says Fiji acknowledged the good efforts made

by the Secretariat to have climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience widely discussed in their respective forums with Member Countries. With the annual UN climate meetings presently underway at the COP 25 in Madrid, Spain he says it is equally important for every nation to continue to raise concerns and to never give up on any opportunity to take deep and decisive action.

International drug syndicate that used Fiji waters for alleged drug smuggling further dismantled after arrest of Mangolini An international drug-smuggling syndicate, using the South Pacific waters including Fiji to allegedly import cocaine and methamphetamine may have been further dismantled after the arrest of Sydney man, Giuseppe Claudio Mangolini. The 45-yearold man from Burwood in the inner west was arrested as he arrived at Sydney Airport on Saturday, upon returning home from travels in Fiji and Europe. Mangolini has been charged over his alleged role in an international drug smuggling syndicate and appeared in Sydney Central Local Court today.

He is alleged to have been a key member

of a criminal transhipping syndicate responsible for importing border-controlled drugs across the Pacific and into Australia and New Zealand. Mangolini is the second Australian man to be arrested at the airport in connection with the alleged criminal network this year, after 33-year-old Vince Loreto was arrested in October for allegedly importing 39kg of cocaine from Fiji.

The Sydney Morning Herald says that Fiji has become a popular layover for traffickers attempting to import illicit substances from the US and Latin America to New Zealand and Australia, where drugs command some of the highest street prices in the world.

Prouds opens its second domestic store in PNG Prouds which has been operating at Jackson’s International Airport in Port Moresby since July 2015 has opened its second domestic store in Papua New Guniea.

This is exactly nine-months after opening the first store accessible to the general members of the public at Waigani Central

in February this year. Prouds Vision City Mega Mall has provided 18 new employment opportunities. Group Managing Director Mahesh Patel says the expansion not only creates new jobs but also gives customers more options on really high quality international brands at affordable prices.

New Zealand releases draft cannabis legalization bill New Zealand Government released Tuesday a draft cannabis legalization and control bill for public debate.

A voter referendum will be held next year, at which, New Zealand residents would be able to vote for or against recreational cannabis use legalization.

The draft bill defines the basic features needed to form a regulated recreational marijuana use market. The final draft bill will be introduced in the beginning of 2020 and it will consider public feedback on the current draft.

Fiji’s first-ever the Sangam Retirement Village to be built in Nadi Fiji’s first-ever retirement village, the Sangam Retirement Village, is expected to be built in Nawai, Nadi where 16 villas will be sold at a price of about $295,000 each. While launching the project at Suva Sangam Hall today, National President for TISI Sangam Fiji, Sadasivan Naicker says the project will cost them around $3.4 to $3.6 million.

Naicker says it is their dream to set up a retirement home for the elderly people of Fiji as a number of senior citizens are being abandoned by their families. He says the two-

bedroom villas are not restricted to Sangam members only. Naicker adds 45 hectares of freehold land will be used for the project and they are expecting this to commence in April next year before their Annual Conference.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Sangam Foundation, Sanjeev Mudaliar says they already have expressions of interest from overseas who want to buy retirement homes in Fiji. Mudaliar says the project is aimed at giving the people of Fiji cheaper and affordable housing for those who are retiring.

Former accounts officer of Art and Soul Ltd found guilty of money laundering by Suva High Court A former accounts officer of Art and Soul Limited has been found guilty of money laundering by Suva High Court Judge, Justice Aruna Aluthge this morning, and the sentence hearing will take place on the 21st of January 2020.

Nousheen Mezbeen Hussain was convicted of one count of theft, one count of obtaining property by deception and one count of money laundering. Justice Aluthge concurred with the assessors’ unanimous opinion of guilty

for all charges. Between 1st January and 31st May 2012, Hussain dishonestly appropriated $15,362.78 from Art and Soul Limited and between 8th February and 2nd March 2012, she dishonestly obtained $1,772.10 from the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service. Between 1st January and 31st May 2012, she laundered a total of $17,134.88 that was proceeds of crime, knowing that the money was derived or realised directly or indirectly from some form of unlawful activity.

16 confirmed cases of measles in Fiji There are now 16 confirmed cases of measles in Fiji with the latest confirmed case being a 24-year-old from Sakoca in Tacirua. The Suva Subdivisional Outbreak Response Team has rapidly responded to this latest case. 11 of the confirmed measles cases are from the Serua/ Namosi Subdivision specifically in Wailali, Wainadoi, Navunikabi and Makosoi in Deuba.

3 confirmed measles cases are from Samabula, Tacirua and Vatuwaqa in the Suva subdivision while 2 other cases are from Koronivia and Nasilai Village in Nakelo in the Rewa subdivision. The second phase of

the measles immunisation campaign started yesterday. The Ministry says across Fiji, the immunisation campaign will target any child who has not received 2 dozes of a measles vaccine, any child aged 12 and 18 months who is scheduled for their routine measles immunisation, any person in Fiji travelling overseas, all health care workers and all airport and hotel staff. The Ministry of Health says that in the Central Division only, the campaign will also target all children aged 6 months to 5 years, all people born between 1980 to 2000 (19 years to 39 years)

PAKISTAN

Saturday, December 7, 2019 Gov’t constituted three-member committee of key ministers to draft new legislation on extension or reappointment of army chief ’s tenure, according to media reports, days after Suprem Court granted six-month extension to the incumbent Army Chief General Bajwa.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak & Minister for Planning Asad Omar are part of the committee, The Express Tribune reported. The committee

Gov’t forms panel to constitute army chief’s extension was set up after the Supreme Court gave the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan six months to legislate and iron out the lacunae in the reappointment or extension of tenure of an army chief, allowing the incumbent,

Govt urges UK to return Nawaz Sharif after treatment Gov’t of Pakistan has written a letter to name from the Exit Control List (ECL) without British authorities, seeking return of PM Sharif placing any conditions. The Bench, which after his medical treatment in UK, according was hearing the plea filed by PML-N seeking to media reports. Sharif, 69, left for London unconditional removal of Sharif ’s name from ECL, also maintained that the in November for medical treatment duration of his visit could be after a Court allowed him to travel extended if his health required. for four weeks.

The three-time prime minister, According to media reports govt who was sentenced to seven years has written letter to British authorities in prison in a corruption case seeking handing over of Sharif to in December last year, has been Pakistan after his medical treatment diagnosed with an immune system in Britain. The government’s letter disorder and doctors in Pakistan gave details of the cases against Sharif. recommended that he should A two-member Bench headed by go abroad for treatment as his Justice Ali Baqir Najafi ordered the condition continued to deteriorate federal government to remove the Nawaz Sharif despite best possible care in the former premier and Pakistan Muslim country.

League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader’s

Afghan woman arrested with explosives A suspected Afghan woman terrorist was on Wednesday arrested from a bus station here and police seized explosives she was transporting in a tin box.

Four other members of Afghan terrorist network were also apprehended by the police on the basis of information provided by the woman terrorist, SP City Peshawar

Muhammad Shuaib said.

The woman was held while she was taking a bus for Lahore near Haji Camp Adda in Peshawar. The police claimed that that the terrorists wanted to target public places in Lahore. The bomb disposal squad diffused the explosive materials. All arrested terrorists have been shifted to undisclosed location for further investigation.

13 agricultural labourers killed in Jordan fire Thirteen Pakistanis, including eight children, died early on Monday when a blaze tore through their corrugated metal home in a rural area of western Jordan, authorities said.

Rescue services said “13 people died and three others were injured when fire broke out in a corrugated metal house” on a farm in South Shona, around 50 kilometres west of Amman. The makeshift building was home to two Pakistani families working as agricultural labourers, they said in a statement.

Fire service spokesman Iyad al-Omari told state television channel Al-Mamlaka that eight children, four women and a man had died in the blaze at around 2 am, which was likely caused by an electrical fault.

Jordan is home to thousands of Pakistanis, many of them agricultural labourers.

House fires in Jordan are often caused by the use of cheap but dangerous forms of heating while the occupants are asleep.

Court orders a board to examine Zardari’s medical condition A medical board to examine the health condition of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s widower Asif Ali Zardari. The board has been constituted by court which directed to submit its report on Wednesday, according to media reports.

Zardari, 64, was arrested in June in corruption cases, approached the court on Tuesday seeking bail on medical grounds in two corruption cases.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday constituted the medical board comprising doctors of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and the personal

41

physician of Zardari.

Hearing a petition seeking bail for Zardari on medical grounds, an IHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamer Farooq sought a report from the medical board on December 11, when it will resume the hearing of the identical petitions filed by the former president as well as another bail petition filed by his sister Faryal Talpur in the fake bank accounts case.

The case is related to a massive money laundering scam that was previously being probed by FIA (Federal Investigation Agency).

Geneneral Bajwa, to stay on as Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) until a new law determined his terms of service.

The members of the committee will also debate on the new legislation with

the Opposition parties in Parliament, the report said.

During the landmark hearings in Supreme Court, a three-member bench issued the verdict after the Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan submitted an undertaking that Parliament would enact a new law on the matter.

Gov’t to sell unused state properties at Dubai Expo The gov’t of Pakistan has decided to sell its precious unutilised state properties at the Dubai Expo to attract foreign and Pakistani investors, according to media reports on Thursday, as the cash-strapped country tries to overcome a ballooning balance-of-payments crisis and bolster its public finances. Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the precious government properties will be sold for better utilisation of funds on public welfare projects. The funds generated through the exercise will be spent on public welfare schemes related to education, health, food and housing, Dawn newspaper reported. “These unutilised state properties will be marketed at the Dubai Expo to attract

foreign and Pakistani investors to buy these assets,” Privatisation Secretary Rizwan Malik informed the prime minister. “Unfortunately, criminal negligence was done by the previous governments as they did not utilising these valuable properties. Despite billions of rupees’ assets, various federal government institutions are bearing losses of billions of rupees every year,” Khan said. Khan also warned that stern action would be initiated against officers found to be creating hurdles in the identification of non-utilised government-owned properties, according to media reports. The International Monetary Fund in July approved a three-year USD 6 billion loan.

NRI

42

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Kamala Harris ends 2020 presidential campaign Sen. Kamala Harris ended her 2020 presidential campaign on Tuesday, an abrupt departure for a candidate who was once seen as a leading contender for the Democratic nomination.

The California Democrat told her senior staff of the decision Tuesday morning, and later sent an email to supporters and released a video on Twitter. “To you my supporters, my dear supporters, it is with deep regret -- but also with deep gratitude -- that I am suspending our campaign today,” Harris said in the video.

“But I want to be clear with you: I am still very much in this fight,” Harris continued.

“And I will keep fighting every day for what this campaign has been about. Justice for the people.

All the people.” Harris’ exit from the race is a precipitous fall for a candidate who launched her campaign to high expectations. The senator has struggled for months to move her low poll numbers and said Tuesday that financial pressures led her to end her bid. The lack of support and money led to internal squabbling in

the closing months of the campaign, campaign sources told CNN, all of which contributed to her inability to stay in the race. “So here’s the truth today. I’ve taken stock and looked at this from every angle, and over the last few days have come to one of the hardest decisions of my life,” Harris said. “My campaign for president simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue.”

“I’m not a billionaire. I can’t fund my own campaign. And as the campaign has gone on, it’s become harder and harder to raise the money we need to compete,” Harris said. Harris will travel to the early-voting states this week to personally and privately thank staff and supporters there for their hard work and dedication. The move drew a snarky tweet from President Donald Trump, who said, “Too bad. We will miss you Kamala!”

Harris fired back: “Don’t worry, Mr. President I’ll see you at your trial.” Harris launched her campaign on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January,

Sundar Pichai becomes most powerful man in Silicon Valley On Tuesday, Google’s parent company Alphabet dropped the bombshell that cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are stepping down as CEO and president, respectively, and that the 47-year-old Pichai will become CEO of all of Alphabet.

The move comes over four years after Page orchestrated the most genius retirement plan in the history of business. Growing bored of Google’s day to day chores, he split the company into several “Other Bets,” or separate companies exploring science projects like selfdriving cars and smart cities, while leaving the main internet search business to his trusted

deputy Pichai. That freed Page to explore his passion projects. Now, after spending the last several years effectively AWOL from the public and much of Alphabet, Page and Brin, both 46, are out just in time for the company to muddle through its biggest challenges in its history. And poor Pichai has been tasked with navigating Alphabet through all of it, while Page and Brin get to shield themselves from all of the scrutiny and challenges.

But even as the new leader of Alphabet, Pichai is stuck between a rock and a hard place. And Page and Brin will still loom over all of it.

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Not standing up to a Prez who abuses power will set wrong precedent: Pramila Jayapal

Not standing up to a President who abuses power would set a wrong precedent, and that is not good for the future of the country, Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal has said while strongly supporting the impeachment moves against President Donald Trump. “If we don’t stand up now to a President who abuses his power we risk sending a message to all future Presidents that they can put their own personal political interest ahead of the American people, our national security and our elections and that is the gravest of threats to our democracy,” Jayapal said on Wednesday. During the first day of impeachment hearings against Trump

by House Judiciary Committee, Jayapal came

out in strong support of impeachment against the President.

She is the only Indian-American member in the powerful House Judiciary Committee.

“This is a deeply grave moment that we find ourselves in,” she said, adding that this is a threat to the nation “if we cannot impeach a President who abuses his office for personal advantage we no longer live in a democracy, we live in a monarchy, or we live under a dictatorship.”

The first-ever Indian-American woman elected to the House of Representatives, Jayapal, said that it is her view is that if people cannot depend on the fairness of the elections, then what people are calling divisive today will be absolutely nothing compared to the shredding of American democracy.

NRI brothers plead guilty to smuggling drugs in UK in chickens

Two Indian-origin “Throughout the course brothers have pleaded of this investigation, which guilty to participating in the has gone on for more activities of an organised than three years, we have crime group, which was systematically dismantled involved in smuggling an organised crime millions of pounds worth of group that was involved illegal drugs into the UK via in the importation and a series of front companies Manjinder Thakhar & Davinder Thakhar distribution of Class A drugs linked with the importation of pleaded guilty after being caught following across the West Midlands,” chicken from the Netherlands. an investigation and will be sentenced said Colin Williams, NCA in January.

Manjinder Singh Thakhar Branch Operations Manager. and Davinder Singh Thakhar pleaded guilty “As well as drugs, the gang also attempted after being caught following an investigation to source firearms, presumably to be used by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to threaten others in support of their and will be sentenced in January next year. criminality. The investigation has uncovered Two ringleaders of the Birmingham-based links to criminal networks in London and organised crime group, Wasim Hussain the Netherlands, and our partnership with and Nazrat Hussain, have been jailed for a the Dutch police was crucial,” he said. combined sentence of around 44 years after a On three occasions, heroin and cocaine trial at Birmingham Crown Court this week. worth around 5 million pounds was seized hidden in chicken shipments.

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