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VOL 25 - ISSUE 21
www.theasianstar.com SATURDAY, JULY 5, 2025
Caps on salaries of Metro Vancouver politicians is ‘long overdue’ There are more calls for caps on the salaries of local politicians, after Global News reported some of their earnings. Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie took home nearly $400,000 last year. Municipal Affairs critic Tony Luck said, “I definitely support the provincial government coming and supporting caps. It’s long overdue and it needs to be done for bringing fairness and equity and transparency for the citizens.” Including stipends and expenses, Brodie received $244,000
from Richmond, $64,000 from Metro Vancouver, about $40,000 from TransLink, $24,000 from the South Coast Transportation Authority and $28,000 from the Municipal Finance Authority – totaling $397,482. New Westminster Councillor Daniel Fontaine consolidated the numbers, noting Brodie is “making far in excess of a B.C. cabinet minister, in fact, he’s making almost as much as the President of the United States.” Continued on Page 6..
Ontario Premier Doug Ford wants judges elected by people
Ontario Premier Doug Ford hasn't been shy about sharing his thoughts on Canada’s bail system for accused criminals. In a self-proclaimed “rant” earlier this year, Ford teed off on the topic — arguing that judges should be elected, not appointed, and that too many dangerous people are being repeatedly set free while they await trial. “This is absolutely ridiculous, how these judges keep letting people out over and over and over again. I'm just done with it,” Ford said, promising to hire more “tough-on-crime” judges and justices of the peace. During an appearance this week on Village Media’s ‘Closer Look’ podcast, OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique was asked to weigh in on Ford’s remarks. Carrique was among the many senior law enforcement officials who pushed for bail reform after the tragic 2022 killing of rookie OPP officer Greg Pierzchala, who was shot by a wanted man out on bail for assault and weapons charges. Continued on Page 10...
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Vancouver home sales fell 10% in June Vancouver-area home sales dropped 9.8 per cent in June but the real estate board says that could signal a recovery after larger declines in previous months. Greater Vancouver Realtors says residential sales in the region totalled 2,181 units last month, down from the 2,418 sales in June 2024 and about 25 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average. The board’s director of economics and data analytics, Andrew Lis, noted the year-over-year sales drop was roughly half of the decline in May, adding that if momentum continues, “it may not be long before sales are up year-over-year, which would mark a shift (from) the unusually low demand we’ve seen so far this year.” There were 6,315 newly listed properties in June, a 10.3 per cent increase from last year and 12.7 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average for the month. Total listings rose 23.8 per cent year-over-year to 17,561.
2 arrested in connection with 2024 Surrey extortion attempts RCMP in British Columbia say they have arrested two people in connection with an investigation into extortion attempts in the Lower Mainland. Police said they arrested the two suspects, both Surrey residents, on Thursday for firearms, arson and extortionrelated offences in Surrey. “There’s multiple incidents.
The time frame is late 2023 to 2024, but there are actually several different incidents we believe this group was responsible for,” RCMP Lower Mainland District Assistant District Commander and Operations Officer Chief Superintendent Duncan Pound said Thursday. Continued on Page 6..
AG Nikki Sharma not in favor of the public electing judges By Umendra Singh: BC Attorney General Nikki Sharma said she does not agree with Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) chief that judges should be elected by the public instead of being appointed by the attorney generals on the recommendation of committees. “I totally disagree with that,” Ms Sharma said. Ford made the suggestion last week after he was upset by the ease with which people facing serious criminal charges get released on bail by judges despite the accused having lengthy criminal record or facing serious criminal charges. “I disagree with that because I think, from my perspective, we do need further bail reform but not elected judges.,” Sharma told The Asian Star. Continued on Page 10...
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