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#215 - 7110, 12
VOL 25 - ISSUE 39
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2025
International nature of B.C. extortion cases makes investigations complex: former RCMP officer
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BC Tory critic says 'foreign criminals' behind extortions should be deported The B.C. Conservative public safety critic is calling for more aggressive action to be taken to deal with a rash of extortion cases — some involving targeted shootings — causing fear in B.C.'s South Asian community. Macklin McCall, the MLA for KelownaPeachland, says all levels of government should come together on the issue, and any "foreign criminals" involved in extortion
Two years after the first report of what would become a wave of extortion attempts was made in B.C., the threats, demands and related violence continue to persist in the province. Continued on Page 6...
should be deported immediately. Earlier this week, the Canada Border Services Agency announced that three people had been removed from the country as part of their work in a task force investigating the extortion cases. A further 78 foreign nationals, who may be inadmissible to the country and connected to the spate of shootings and extortion attempts in the province, are under investigation according to authorities. McCall says that, given that transnational crime groups have already been implicated in extortion cases, there should be a concerted effort among authorities to aggressively go after them. Continued on Page 10...
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Trump’s trade war is pushing Canada closer to China It is an image that just a year ago would have seemed unfathomable: the Canadian and Chinese leaders standing side by side, shaking hands and grinning. Ties between the two countries cratered in 2018 when Canadian police arrested Chinese technology executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on US fraud charges. Days later, Beijing locked up two Canadians, Michael Kovrig
and Michael Spavor, on spying charges that Canada slammed as bogus. The diplomatic tussle soured the relationship and engendered a deep mistrust between Ottawa and Beijing. But as President Donald Trump escalates his trade war with one of the US’s closest allies, Canada has looked to a longtime foe for some common ground. Continued on Page 10...
3 people deported in connection with B.C. extortion investigations Three people have been deported from Canada amid an ongoing task force targeting violent extortion threats in B.C.’s Lower Mainland. Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Nina Krieger shared the update Friday, confirming that authorities have also launched immigration investigations into 78 foreign nationals. “Those that commit extortion and terrorize our communities will be pursued,
arrested and charged,” Krieger said. “If individuals come into this country with the purpose of perpetrating violent extortion, they will be removed from Canada following all appropriate laws.” The provincial task force was launched in mid-September with 40 members from an array of law enforcement agencies, including the Canada Border Services Agency. Continued on Page 10...
South Asian woman Sonia Raman appointed WNBA's Seattle Storm coach
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133 Wilson Street 250-572-5444 At the tail end of just her second day at the Seattle Storm practice facility, newly hired Sonia Raman paused briefly Wednesday afternoon before addressing whether she was ready for her first head coaching gig in the WNBA. “I’m just going to be me,” Raman said. “I realize that it’s a whole different level. But, I think just relying on who I am as a person, being genuine, being authentic, and as they say, keeping the main thing the main thing is most important.” The 51-year-old Massachusetts native started her coaching career at MIT, where she was a head coach from 2008-20. She led the school to the Division III NCAA Tournament twice and remains the winningest coach in program history. Continued on Page 6...