The Asian Star June 13 2015

www.theasianstar.com Vol 14

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Indian woman with rare TB triggers health scare in US

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Issue 20 Saturday, June 13, 2015

n Indian woman with a rare drug-resistant form of tuberculosis has triggered a health scare in three US states and for co-passengers on her flight from India, as American authorities are tracking down hundreds of people who may have been in her contact. The woman, who arrived in Chicago from India on April 4 and travelled by car to visit relatives in Illinois, Tennessee and Missouri, is now being treated at an isolated facility at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. She is suffering from an extremely rare drugresistant form of the disease, known as XDR-TB, which is immune to most

tuberculosis drugs, The New York Times reported. Continued on page 7

Canadians need to be serious in demanding political changes By Umendra Singh anadian have a serious problem in front of them – more serious than the increasing debt, increasing house prices, lack of jobs for the youth, even. The problem is how to keep thieving politicians in the Senate, Parliament, provincial legislatures and city halls in check. The Auditor General’s two year probe into how Senators are claiming expenses shocked many Canadians. The report showed how Senators routinely dinged the taxpayers, claiming expenses for doing public work when in fact they were attending to their own personal business, including going to anniversary parties of friends, funerals of friends and relatives, etc. Private corporations, charities and Continued on page 4

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Fair price and honest service is Nu Look Optical’s mantra for success

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Jagjeet Dhaliwal

Yoga event on Burrard Bridge cancelled after week of biased complaints

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ancouver’s Om the Bridge yoga event has been cancelled following a week of controversy and organizers say they will look for another venue. Sponsors Lululemon, YYoga and Altagas announced Friday they were pulling out after backlash ensued over costs and the bridge closure among other issues. Christy Clark also announced Friday she would not participate in the event, scheduled for June 21. “Unfortunately, the focus of the proposed Burrard Street Bridge event has drifted towards politics, getting in the way of the spirit of community and inner reflection,” Clark

said in a statement. “It was for that reason I decided not to participate.” Jill Batie, a spokeswoman for Lululemon, confirmed the yoga wear company had decided not to participate in the Om the Bridge event, scheduled for June 21 on Burrard Bridge. “Downward dogs with a few thousand of our closest friends seemed like the perfect way to celebrate International Day of Yoga. Until it didn’t,” an emailed statement from Batie read. “We’ve read your posts and the media reports, and heard the disappointment in the voices of our community frustrated Continued on page 7

Tory & Liberal Senators looted the public: AG’s report

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fishing trip, contracts for professional services and one senator’s own 50th wedding anniversary celebration are some of the ineligible expenses filed under the guise of parliamentary business, Auditor General Michael Ferguson found in his comprehensive two-year review of Senate spending released today. This is the first full look at the auditor general’s report after leaks last week revealed 30 current and former senators were flagged for questionable spending claims totalling nearly $1 million. Nine of those cases, including those of two sitting senators, have been sent to the RCMP for possible inves-

tigation. During a press conference to discuss his findings, Ferguson said he was “struck by the overall lack of transparency and accountability” exercised both by the institution as a whole and by some individual senators. “A number of senators simply felt they didn’t have to account for, or they didn’t have to be transparent, with their spending,” Ferguson said, adding it wasn’t just about not making information available but seemed to be a “strongly-held part of the culture.” The audit found “a lack of independent oversight,” with senators governed Continued on page 6

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ransgressions by MPs have been handled solely by the secretive, multi-party board of internal economy, which polices House of Commons spending and typically demands only that the improperly spent funds be reimbursed. A double standard? No question, says Garry Clement, a retired police chief and former RCMP superintendent in charge of financial crime investigations.“When you look at those cases (involving MPs) and actually what happened, it’s breach of trust,” Clement said in an interview. “I would suggest that every one of those could be supported under a criminal charge.” Since 2010, the board has demanded reimbursement from:– Liberal MP Judy Sgro, $60,000 in improperly claimed living expenses for renting an Ottawa condo she had sold to her children.– Liberal MP Wayne Easter, $8,050 in living expenses claimed for a property he no longer owned. – Former Liberal MP John Cannis, $106,842 for living expenses claimed for an apartment rented from his wife. – 68 current and former NDP MPs, $2.7 million for allegedly improperly using their Commons budgets to pay the salaries of staffers in satellite party offices. – 23 NDP MPs, $1.17 million for allegedly improperly using free parliamentary mailing privileges to send almost 2 million partisan missives. The board has also ruled that former Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe wrongly used parliamentary resources to pay the $100,000-plus annual salary of his party’s director general for six years. However, it did not demand reimbursement in that case because,

Continued on next page

Local Continued from page 2

Saturday, June 13, 2015 i 3

Why are the MPs facing less scrutiny over improper spending

it concluded, the rules governing the use of for our money back? I don’t want to see peo- vatives are now using the expenses scandal mands for abolition of the upper chamber. parliamentary resources were not clear at ple go to jail if they don’t have to,” Tkachuk in the Senate, which has gone well beyond “The Senate is the whipping boy. At least they the time. The rules have since been clarified said in an interview. He finds it frustrating anything the Commons has ever done to (MPs) can say, ‘Well, we go back to the people but not sufficiently to prevent a nastyTEL20150508_H1 dispute that New Democrat MPs and some Conser- 10:18 identify and punish transgressors, to fuel de- and if they think we did wrong, FFH_Asian Star_JrPg:Layout 1 05/06/15 PM Page 1 over NDP MPs’ subsequent use of parliamentary resources. The TELUS STORES NDP has launched a court chalAbbotsford lenge to the rulings against its Highstreet Shopping Centre Sevenoaks Shopping Centre MPs, charging that the board is 2140 Sumas Way a “kangaroo court” motivated by 32915 South Fraser Way partisanship and insisting that a Aldergrove 26310 Fraser Hwy. real, impartial tribunal would Burnaby clear them. Apart from filing the Brentwood Town Centre initial applications for judicial Crystal Mall Lougheed Town Centre review of the rulings, the court Metropolis at Metrotown . challenge has languished with3855 Henning Dr. out any movement since last fall. 4501 North Rd. Coquitlam Yet no party has welcomed Coquitlam Centre putting MPs’ spending under Westwood Mall the same impartial microscope 1071 Austin Ave. Delta senators’ spending has underScottsdale Centre gone at the hands of auditor 1517 56th St. general Michael Ferguson. 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OPINION

From page 1 Canadians need to be serious in demanding political changes lobby groups were indirectly subsidized would satisfy regional differences – as Ontario Another alternative is to only appoint electby senators who charged taxpayers for and Quebec have the most MPs – who will ed backbench MPs to the Senate (sort of a travel to their board meetings or other also be Senators. Or an agreement amongst double duty). Each MP could also be a Senbusiness activities, the auditor general’s repolitical leaders could lead to each party leader ator automatically (for the same pay) and this port on the Senate shows. appointing a number of Senators proportionate to the popular vote the party received in the previous election or proportionate to the elected MPs the party has. Again it will be an unwritten rule that will have to be honored by all. Or (depending on the ruling of the courts in the case before it now), party leaders will just agree to appoint no one to the Senate or deny it funding, leading to a slow death. However, I like the diea if each MP being a Senator as wel the best. The MP’s senate term will also end when the Parliament is dissolved. This will require political changes but it is far easier to make changes to the Senate (approval by 7 provinces and majority of the population compared to approval of all provinces and fifty percent of the population required to abolish the Senate). Whatever it is, it will require agreement from the three major parties – Conservatives, Liberals and the NDP. This will be next to impossible but not impossible. Americans have a similar unwritten rule in their presidential election. Americans have an electoral college system whereby each state’s electoral college is supposed to decide which candidate will get that state’s electoral vote. But, by consensus, for well over a hundred years, all votes of each state goes automatically to the candidate who polls the majority of the votes in that state. There is no written rule or constitutional amendment requiring that a state’s electoral votes go to the candidate who polled the most votes in that state. Constitutionally, it is the state’s electoral college which should decide who gets the state’s support. The electoral college was put in place by American founding fathers as a somber second thought (like our Senate) just in case the population voted for a nitwit to be the president and the electoral college would then use its powers to stop that nitwit from getting into the White House. Americans realized that this somber second though idea is undemocratic and did not fit in modern day politics (just like the Canadian On page 6

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6 i Saturday, June 13, 2015 Continued from Page 1... according to rules they have designed themselves. The report said senators can choose not to enforce those rules and can keep information from being disclosed to the public. “Transformational change” is required to address the weakness and problems the audit uncovered, the report said. “Simply changing or adding to the existing rules will not be enough.” The audit was launched after questions arose about living expenses claimed by Brazeau, Duffy and Mac Harb, and Wallin’s travel expenses, in late 2012 and early 2013. Harb resigned and the other three were suspended as the RCMP investigated their expenses. All have been charged except Wallin. Senate Speaker Leo Housakos spoke with reporters in the Senate foyer shortly after the release of Ferguson’s report, followed by Government Leader Claude Carignan and Senate Liberal Leader James Cowan. Housakos said the Senate embraces “wholeheartedly” the fundamental principle of accountability within the auditor general’s report and will look at all the recommendations and institute them “step-by-step going forward.” He said the upper chamber has already begun instituting some of them. But he did not go

LOCAL

Tory & Liberal Senators looted the public: AG’s report so far as to say that the Senate will accept the recommendations as written.When it comes to an independent oversight mechanism, for example, Housakos referred to the expense claims arbitration process, headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Ian Binnie.“There will be more disclosure, more oversight and better controls,” Housakos said.Binnie was appointed by Housakos last month to act as an arbiter for disputes arising out of the auditor general’s findings and future questions over senators’ spending. For his part, the auditor general said the appointment of an independent arbiter was “a step in the right direction,” but added to ensure adequate oversight, a body with more powers and more responsibilities is needed. 80,000 claims investigatedAuditing the Senate doesn’t come cheap. It cost taxpayers $23.5 million for Ferguson and his team to go through the files of individual senators with a fine-toothed comb, ultimately yielding only about $1 million in questionable expenses. Ferguson said he isn’t happy to have spent that much money and resources, but he argued the value goes beyond a straight dollar-to-dollar comparison. Look at the results, he said, which will include tightening up of senators’

expenses and an overall change in behaviour. convocation and the fishing trip, according to The comprehensive audit examined more the audit. Former Liberal senator Rod Zimthan 80,000 expense claims of 116 current mer, left, in an engagement photo with Mayand former senators between April 1, 2011 gan Sensenberger, is among nine current and and March 31, 2013. Those expenses, totalling former senators facing RCMP investigation $45 million, include travel and living expenses over their expenses. Oliver’s written response, and contracts. At the heart of the audit was included with the report, calls the findings whether or not expenses were primarily for the “not factually correct” and a misrepresentaconduct of parliamentary business. The three tion of his own “patient explanations” of his cases with the highest sum of questionable expense claims. The audit found that many of claims, which are among the nine referred to Zimmer’s expenses were ineligible because he the RCMP, are: $176,014: Liberal-appointed declared Winnipeg, Man. as his primary resiRod Zimmer (Man.), who resigned in 2013 dence but spent 613 of 731 days included in over health concerns. $131,434: Liberal-apthe audit period in Ottawa. He claimed travel pointed Marie-Paule Charette-Poulin (Ont.), expenses for 14 trips in which he flew to Winwho resigned in April over health concerns. $110,051: Liberal-appointed Rose-Marie Losier-Cool (N.B.), who retired in 2012. The others facing possible investigation by the RCMP include sitting senators Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu (Que.) and Colin Kenny (Ont.) and former senators Gerry St. Germain (B.C.), Donald Oliver (N.S.), William Rompkey (N.L.) and Sharon Carstairs (Man.). Ontario Liberal Colin Kenny is one of two sitting senators whose expenses are being recommended for investigation by the RCMP. FerFormer Liberal senator Rod Zimmer, left, in an enguson said that in five of the gagement photo with Maygan Sensenberger nine cases, his team determined the senators and former senators were found nipeg then back to Ottawa on the same day. to have been primarily residing in the national The audit found Zimmer and his wife, Maycapital region. gan Sensenberger, took $102,524 worth of He added that in four of the cases, a lack of round trips from Ottawa to Winnipeg without cooperation on the part of senators, as well as conducting parliamentary business — and that missing documentation, prompted the referral Sensenberger charged the Senate $2,072 in to “other authorities with more investigative personal taxi rides in Ottawa and another $645 powers” in order to determine the situations. in unexplained expenses. Twenty-one other senators are flagged for The audit also found that Zimmer claimed ineligible expenses. Housakos and Carignan $12,435 for two professional contracts that said Boisvenu and Kenny will also be referred were not for parliamentary business, and did to the Senate ethics officer to see if discinot return a digital camera and computer plinary action is needed. Asked why the two equipment to the Senate after he retired. weren’t immediately suspended without pay In a 500-word response to the audit’s findlike senators Mike Duffy, Patrick Brazeau and ings, Zimmer argued Winnipeg was his priPamela Wallin, Carignan said the system has mary residence but that he spent most of his since changed. He said after criticism of the time in Ottawa due to health concerns and the Senate’s actions in those cases, it was deterstress of travel. The audit found that Chamined it was inappropriate for a legislative rette-Poulin had “conflicting or insufficient inbody to decide what the most appropriate formation” for more than $130,000 in claims, sanctions are. St. Germain’s $​ 67,588 in quesquestioning whether some of her travel extionable expenses included travel for staff penses were for her work as a counsel for a law members who attended six charity and politfirm, to visit family members or to support her ical parties at his homes, as well as his 50th husband’s business activities. The audit details wedding celebration, a gala where he received that she has repaid $5,606 of those questionan award, and his own retirement party. St. able expenses. Boisvenu, who announced he Germain argues in his written response that was leaving the Conservative caucus last week public business was also conducted during the after learning he was the subject of an RCMP flagged trips and his staff were needed for investigation, was found to have $61,076 in support. St. Germain has repaid part of the questionable claims, including $38,577 spent questionable expenses, according to the Senon travel and accommodations for parliamenate. The audit found Oliver claimed $48,088 tary business that may have been for personal in questionable expenses for himself and his business related to his advocacy for the rights wife, including a family member’s convocaof victims and their families. New Democrat tion in Kingston, golf with former senators MP Charlie Angus said Tuesday the auditor in Montreal, a fishing trip and meetings with general’s report is important is because “we’re a family member and a tailor. The audit also dealing with a body that does not see itself as questioned whether $22,982 of those expensaccountable to the Canadian people. “I’ve yet es were for trips taken as part of his role in an to hear anyone say I’m sorry. I’ve yet to hear organization that promotes wines, cuisine and anyone in the Senate say, ‘Yes, this is an embartourism overseas. rassment and we need to transform ourselves.” Oliver has repaid $1,442 including for the

Canadians need to be serious in demanding political From page 4 changes Senate doesn’t) but Americans could not agree on how to get rid of it. So they chose to just ignore it. The electoral college votes are always the same as what each state’s majority votes – it never differs even though it can differ under the constitution. Americans did not change the electoral

college or get rid of it. They just ignored it. And we Canadians can do the same. Let us just ignore the Senate and not appoint anyone to it, not give it any money and pretty soon it will go the way of the American electoral college.

LOCAL

Saturday, June 13, 2015 i 7

Indian woman with rare TB triggers health scare in US

Story from Page 1... The unidentified woman is in an isolation room designed for patients with dangerous respiratory infections, according to the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC today described her condition as stable. Health officials in Illinois were working with the CDC to find people with whom the woman may have had prolonged direct contact, in close quarters. Health officials say the risk to the public is low. TB is nowhere near as contagious as the flu or measles. But people who had long periods of close contact with the patient, like the relatives with whom she stayed, are at risk. For people who were on

the flight with the woman, the odds of catching TB are low but not zero. The CDC said that it will obtain the flight manifest for the woman’s trip from India and notify passengers who may have been exposed.Based on her medical history and molecular testing, she was diagnosed with XDR TB, it reported. She was initially placed in respiratory isolation at a suburban Chicago hospital and later transported by air ambulance to the NIH Clinical Center. The woman is suffering from an extremely rare drug-resistant form of the disease, known as XDR-TB What is XDR-TB? XDR-TB, an abbreviation for extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, is a form of TB which is resistant to at least four of the core anti-TB drugs.

Yoga event on Burrard Bridge cancelled after week of biased complaints Story from Page 1...

by the location, cost and date. We had the best intentions. And so we’re taking a deep cleansing breath and over the next several days, we’ll be reimagining a celebration that honours the spirit and tradition of yoga and serves our communities in a more meaningful way. Because ultimately, yoga is about connecting us to ourselves, each other, our environment, and eventually, our truth. Look for more information on our social channels coming soon. Thanks for your understanding. Namaste.� In a statement posted online, YYoga CEO Terry McBride said they have been listening to the community, and that they would be looking at other ways to celebrate International Day of Yoga. “The importance of celebrating the tradition of yoga still rings true for us. We are working with our partners from the community to deliver something that serves them in

a more meaningful way,� he said. “Please stay tuned for something that will reflect the tradition of yoga, and the wishes of our community ... in a park.� The move follows Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson saying he won’t take part in the event, option instead to celebrate National Aboriginal Day, and a tweet earlier Friday from Premier Clark saying she won’t participate. Premier Clark’s office said it was always her plan to attend the yoga event, but she has since felt it has become too political to make a personal appearance. Clark’s office would not say what she intends to do instead, saying the premier’s schedule will be revealed closer to the actual day. Since last Friday’s announcement there has been a significant backlash over the $150,000 cost to taxpayers, the bridge closure, the LNG sponsor and that it’s being held on the same day as National Aboriginal Day.

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LOCAL

8 i Saturday, June 13, 2015

ess than a year ago, the Liberals under Justin Trudeau were comfortably leading in the polls, their victory against a tired Conservative government and drifting NDP opposition looking all but inevitable. Today, the party is losing steam and in danger of dropping out of a three-way race with its erstwhile floundering opponents. That the Liberals have been slumping in the polls for months has been overshadowed by the sudden NDP surge since the victory of its provincial cousins in Alberta in May. But the Liberal slide has been prolonged and significant. The Conservatives currently lead in ThreeHundredEight.com’s polling averages with 31 per cent support, with the Liberals at 29 per cent and the NDP at 28 per cent. But that represents a dramatic shift in a short period of time. As recently as October, the Liberals were averaging 36 per cent support

in the polls, putting them seven points up on the Conservatives and 12 points ahead of the NDP. Since then, the Liberals have dropped seven points, with four of those points going to the NDP and two to the Conservatives. Worse, the Liberals’ decrease has accelerated. The party was polling at around 34 or 35 per cent between November and February, and still enjoyed a lead over the Conservatives. But by the beginning of March, they were down to 33 per cent, and by the end of that month, 31 per cent. The Liberals have lost about four points over the last three months, compared to a three-point drop in the previous five. The Liberals led in virtually every single poll from the day that Justin Trudeau became leader in April, 2013 to the end of last year. But over the last 16 national surveys, the Liberals have led or been tied for the lead in only four.

EYEGLASSES

The drop in support for the party has coincided with softening numbers for Trudeau as well. In Nanos Research’s weekly rolling polls between November and April, Trudeau was generally the choice of 30 to 31 per cent of Canadians as the best prime minister, against 30 to 34 per cent for Stephen Harper and 17 to 19 per cent for Thomas Mulcair. But in the survey published this week, Trudeau stood at just 27 per cent, behind Harper (29 per cent) and just ahead of Mulcair (25 per cent). NDP eating into Liberal support from coast to coast No one part of the country has been responsible for the slide in Liberal support. In British Columbia, the Liberals stood at 34 per cent in mid-February, but have since dropped seven points. The New Democrats have gone from just 22 per cent to 31 per cent over that time, while the Conservatives have held steady. The Conservatives have also been holding their own in the

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Prairies and in Atlantic Canada, whereas the Liberals have slipped. In Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the Liberals have gone from 31 per cent just a month ago to 27 per cent today. The NDP, meanwhile, has jumped from 20 to 25 per cent. The New Democrats are up eight points in Atlantic Canada since early March, while the Liberals have decreased from 52 per cent to 45 per cent. In Ontario, the Liberals were polling as high as 42 per cent in October. They were still at a relatively robust 36 per cent in mid-April, but have since fallen to 32 per cent. The Conservatives have taken a small step back here, from 36 to 34 per cent over the last two months, while the NDP has jumped six points to 26 per cent. The downward trend for the Liberals in Quebec has been more gradual. The party was at 32 per cent from November to January before slipping to between 28 and 30 per cent through to March.

Ottawa cab driver suspended for abusive rant

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Liberals losing steam as election approaches, polls suggest

An Ottawa taxi driver has been suspended after being caught in a profane and racist rant while apparently refusing to move his cab for an ambulance outside the Rideau Centre Wednesday afternoon. In a minute-long video uploaded to YouTube, the Capital Taxi driver can be seen shouting at least two dozen profanities at security guards, including a racial slur hurled at a black officer, while being calmly asked to move for an approaching ambulance. Coventry Connections suspended the driver “immediately” and will investigate the incident to determine if further action will be required, according to the company’s chief executive.

PERSON OF THE WEEK

Saturday, June 13, 2015 i 9

Fair price & honest service is NuLook Optical’s mantra for success Shruti Prakash-Joshi

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agjeet Dhaliwal of Nu Look Optical is a man of many talents. A Punjabi by birth, he was raised in Kolkata in West Bengal, worked for a newspaper, moved to Canada in 1991, obtained an Opticians diploma, and eventually opened his own optical store in New Westminster. “As soon as I arrived here, I decided to upgrade my education and an Optician’s diploma best fitted what I intended to do,” explained Dhaliwal in an interview with The Asian Star. Dhaliwal’s first started work as an Optician in North Vancouver, moving on to Oakridge Mall and then to an eye doctor’s office, gaining valuable experience, before opening his own Optical store in New Westminster in 2001. “My

fair prices coupled with honest and experienced service. I work according to customer’s needs and not my own needs,” explained Dhaliwal. And it is not simply a good job done at NuLook Optical. The after-care of patients is equally important for Dhaliwal and therefore if you are a client here, you will get regular calls reminding you that it’s time for Jagjeet Dhaliwal your next appointment either with your optician or your doctor. “We even tell our clients about their warranties,” said Dhaliwal talking about the level of after care that his clients get at NuLook. Located in a convenient area in

and expertise and providing the best service that I can to my existing clients,” said Dhaliwal, adding that perhaps he might expand in the future. “The best part of my business is seeing smiles of happiness and gratitude on client’s faces when they re-

alize that they are able to see better,” said Dhaliwal. “It’s almost as if a new world has opened up for them. And each time I am able to do this whether it is through a new part of glasses for an elderly person or smart looking contacts for another client, it makes my day,’ said Dhaliwal. NuLook Optical is located at #26c800 McBride Boulevard, New Westminster, BC, V3L 2B8 • 604 525 3737 • nulookopticians@telus.net

Jagjeet Dhaliwal (right) with a customer in his store

friend used to own this store and when he moved to Toronto, I decided to take over,” said Dhaliwal talking about the conveniently located store on McBride Blvd in New Westminster. NuLook Optical has state of the art equipment for vision testing and contact lens fitting and the main objective is to help people have a 20/20 vision. NuLook Optical also has an eye doctor visit the store once a week so that the clients can have expert’s opinion about their eye sight. “The secret of our success is that we firmly believe in giving

New Westminster, easily accessible from both Burnaby and Surrey, NuLook Optical has a wide variety of clients from all ethnic backgrounds. “We are not limited to only South Asian clients, but serve an equal number of Chinese, Filipino and Caucasian clients as well.” The store is open for business from Monday to Saturday but will soon start opening on Sundays as well. “A number of people have suggested that I should expand and open more stores but for now I am satisfied by making the best use of my experience

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10 i Saturday, June 13, 2015

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Saturday, June 13, 2015 i 11

Surrey getting first wave of new Mounties, government says

anada’s minister of public safety says the deployment of the first 20 of 100 new RCMP officers promised to Surrey “is already underway.” Steven Blaney announced this Thursday, during Question Period in Ottawa. “Today, I am pleased to announce that the deployment of the first 20 members committed to Surrey is underway and that boots are already on the ground,” Blaney said. “I have made it a priority to ensure that Surrey would received the

RCMP members that they had requested.” Blaney did not say when the other 80 will arrive, however. “No one should ever be afraid for their personal safety, or the safety of their families, when walking down a street in this country,” Blaney said. “That is why we announced last month that 100 additional RCMP members would be deployed to Surrey to help fight against the growing concern of gang-related violence.”

Pharmacist charged for allegedly setting up robbery at own shop

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n Ottawa pharmacy owner has been charged for allegedly setting up a robbery at his own dispensary last year to peddle the drugs on the street. A robbery on Oct. 26, 2014, around 1:55 p.m. at the IDA pharmacy on Rideau Street was reported to police. According to the pharmacist, a man was armed with a knife when he demanded prescription drugs. It was reported that the suspect got away with a large quantity of prescription drugs, police said. Staff Sgt. Mike Haarbosch said some of the information about the robbery as relayed to police by the pharmacist “became questionable and warranted additional investigation.” Police tracked down and interviewed the man who allegedly committed the robbery and say they don’t anticipate charging

him. Police arrested Waseem Shaheen, 44, on Tuesday. On Wednesday he appeared in court on charges of public mischief, fraud over $5,000, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and drug trafficking. “We’d like to investigate robberies where it’s a genuine crime and a credible series of events that’s reported,” Haarbosch said. “But, that said, when we’re putting time into something that is not as credible, we’re going to take that equally as seriously and there could be consequences.” Marshall Moleschi, registrar and chief executive of the Ontario College of Pharmacists, confirmed that the organization was “actively engaged in an independent investigation of this matter.” Shaheen is scheduled to appear in court next on June 25.

Award winning restaurant duo Vikram Vij (left) and Meera Dhalwala received honorary degrees from the Simon Fraser University at the Spring Convocation held at the SFU’s Burnaby campus last Tuesday. Photo: Chandra Bodalia

Don’t hog the left lane

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rivers now need a good reason to travel in the left lane on high-speed, multi-lane highways throughout the province of British Columbia. Beginning today, new regulations will come into effect that will clarify rules regarding travelling in the left lane. Drivers on multi- lane highways where the speed is more than 80 kilometres per hour must stay to the right unless they are: *

Overtaking and passing another vehicle. * Moving left to allow traffic to merge. * Preparing for a left hand turn. * Moving left to pass an official vehicle displaying a flashing light. During periods of congestion, the actual travel speed drops to 50 kilometres per hour or less, drivers are encouraged to use left leftmost lane to keep traffic flowing.

RCMP arrest man in Ottawa for kidnapping of Canadian woman in Somalia

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man was arrested Thursday in Ottawa for the 2008 kidnapping of Amanda Lindhout in Somalia. The RCMP say Ali Omar Ader was the “main negotiator” in the kidnapping. He now faces Canadian Criminal Code charges, including hostage-taking, and appeared in an Ottawa courthouse on Friday. The RCMP said they made the arrest after a long, complicated investigation titled Project Slype that included undercover officers, wiretaps and surveillance, but offered few details as to how they tracked the Somali in Africa and followed him to Canada. “This investigation posed a number of significant challenges as it was carried out in an extremely high-risk environment in a country plagued with political instability,” assistant commissioner James Malizia with the RCMP said at a press conference. He said the investigation spanned seven years. The case could prove a major test for the Canadian courts extraterritorial reach under anti-terrorism provisions passed in the post-9/11 era.

sentence and a four-year mandatory Lindhout was kidnapped in August minimum if the hostage-taking involved 2008 alongside Nigel Brennan, an Ausa firearm or a criminal organization. tralian photographer, and their So“This arrest is a testament to the investimali translator and driver, while gative team’s perseverance and I wish to working as a freelance journalist. thank them for their excellent work,” said For fifteen months, she was shackled, Malizia. Amanstarved, beaten and da Lindhout beraped before their fore she was kidfamilies paid a renapped in 2008. portedly million-dolIn her new book, lar ransom — an orshe admits she deal she’s detailed in was naive and her bestselling book inexperienced, A House in the Sky. travelling to a Her captors were young, dangerous counteenage boys who brutries for the thrill talized her for months. of adventure. A “I was kidnapped by release explains a handful of teenage Amanda Lindhout in Somalia in 2011. how the RCMP was able to arrest a forboys, so you can only imagine the types of eign citizen on Canadian soil for an alabuse I endured, and it probably surpasses leged crime committed in another counwhere your imagination can ever go,” she try. It states the force’s “mandate extends told NBC reporter Kate Snow after her beyond Canada’s borders where the exrelease. Ader faces charges under a hostra-territorial provisions of the Criminal tage-taking provision in the Criminal Code Code come into effect and the RCMP is updated in 2009. It carries a maximum life

reliant upon the assistance of its domestic and international law enforcement and security partners.” Canada Border Services Agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development and the Australian Federal Police assisted with the investigation. THe RCMP would not say if Somali officials were also involved. Ader appeared briefly in an Ottawa courtroom by videolink on Friday and he is schedule to reappear the following week. His lawyer declined to comment yet on the charges. Ader just made a very brief appearance by video from the courthouse cell block. He will be back next Friday at 1:30. — Meghan Hurley (@meghan_hurley) June 12, 2015 Ader’s lawyer, Samir Adam, says it’s too early to comment on the nature of the charges Lindhout, who returned to Canadian soil in December 2009, has publicly said she forgives her captors and has used her new platform to raise awareness of famine and other issues in Somalia. She returned in 2011 to bolster aid efforts during a massive drought.

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12 i Saturday, June 13, 2015

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Downfall of an immigrant family involved in crime

wo of their sons died in gangland shootouts, two others face drug trafficking or murder charges in mob-related cases, and a fifth is on the run abroad. Now, their parents are learning another hard lesson in breeding a self-made crime group — they’ve lost the $170,000 they posted to have their eldest son released from jail. Hossein Al Khalil and Soumayya Azzam were fighting in court to salvage bond money paid to have Nabil Alkhalil released. Their bond was lost when he fled Canada on a bogus passport soon after. The judge’s ruling against them — with Nabil still a fugitive — is but one entry in an unrelenting stream of bad news involving their sons. “These two parents of five sons came to Canada, presumably to make a better life for themselves. Now, having buried two kids before they reached the age of 20, they have two more facing the possibility of a long time in prison,” said Sgt. Lindsey Houghton of B.C.’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. “The actions of these boys have destroyed that family.” The family arrived in Canada from Saudi Arabia as refugees in 1990, although their roots are believed to be in Iran, and settled in Surrey, B.C. After two sons were killed in gangland violence, they moved to Ottawa and Montreal. “They took all of their organized crime and gang connections with them,” said Houghton. The couple’s second son had been the first to die. In 2001, Khalil Alkhalil, 19, was shot dead in Surrey in a gunfight over a drug debt. His killer claimed self-defence and was freed. The shooter’s lawyer was beaten up in court by angry supporters of Alkhalil, and the shooter himself was later gunned down in Kelowna in a case that remains unsolved. The fourth son, Mahmoud Alkhalil, was

one of three people killed in a notorious gunfight in 2003 between gang rivals in Vancouver’s Loft Six nightclub. He made it out of the building, but was found bleeding and unconscious after crashing his car 20 blocks away. When he succumbed to his injuries at age 19, he already had a lengthy criminal record. The youngest son, Rabih “Robby” Alkhalil, was only two when he came to Canada. In February, Rabih was extradited to Canada after his arrest in Greece; Crown attorneys in three provinces are now lining up to see who gets first crack at prosecuting him. In Vancouver, he is charged with first-degree murder in the 2012 hit on gangster Sandip “Dip” Duhre in the Sheraton Wall Centre. In Toronto, he is charged with first-degree murder in the 2012 shooting of Johnnie Raposo on the patio of the Sicilian Sidewalk Cafe in Little Italy. In Montreal and in Niagara Falls, Ont., he faces cocaine smuggling charges with a member of the Hells Angels. The couple’s third son, Hisham “Terry” Alkhalil, was arrested last year in Ottawa in what officers called “a pre-emptive strike” to avert a gang war. Police seized 24.5 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of $12.5 million, four guns and an opulent $1.2 million home Hisham was about to move into. Nabil is the eldest. Soon after his release from jail in 2005 for assault, his Cadillac was stopped for speeding on Highway 401 near Cornwall, Ont. When Nabil, the driver, was asked to open the trunk, he drove off, leaving his brother Hisham behind as he led police on a long, high-speed chase. When he was caught, a duffel bag with 11 kilos of cocaine was found nearby. Nabil was convicted of cocaine trafficking and ordered deported, as he had been before. Continued on next page

Shots fired near Surrey restaurant

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hots were fired outside a Surrey restaurant on Monday evening and while the suspects and intended targets fled, Surrey RCMP are confident they’ll be able to quickly identify some of the people involved. Police say they received reports of gunfire at just after 9 p.m. June 8 in a parking lot near 72 Avenue and 120 Street (Scott Road) – the border street between Surrey and Delta. Officers recovered evidence at the scene confirming shots had been fired and spoke to witnesses who said the suspect vehicle may have been a silver SUV that fled the scene. Two males who had been eating at the Earls restaurant appear to have been the intended targets, say police. They also fled in a blue vehicle before police arrived. There were no injuries reported and the men thought to be

targeted have not contacted police. “We have recovered a substantial amount of evidence at the scene and believe we will be able to identify some of these people quickly,” said Surrey RCMP Sgt. Dale Carr. Police say they’re especially concerned about the most recent shooting as it took place in such a public area. There are several restaurants and businesses near the busy intersection, as well as a movie theatre nearby. There have been more than 30 shootings in Surrey and Delta since March. Anyone with information on this or any of the incidents is asked to call the tip line at 604-915-6566 or if you wish to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). You can also leave an anonymous tip online at www.solvecrime.ca

Renowned Oscar-nominated director, Deepa Mehta (middle) with Simon Fraser University President, Andrew Petter (second from right) at the SFU campus after receiving a honorary degree from SFU on Wednesday. Photo: Chandra Bodalia

LOCAL

Health minister Terry Lake rejects NDP’s call for a public inquiry into 2012 firings

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.C. Health Minister Terry Lake says who was accountable.” the government has already apolo- Seven employees were fired in 2012, in gized for its heavy-handed response what the government has since admitto the 2012 firings of seven health research- ted was a “regrettable mistake.” It has alers. B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake says ready settled out of court with most of the NDP’s demand for a public inquiry into them. One of the researchers, UVic cowhy the provincial government fired sev- op student Harold Roderick MacIsaac, en health researchers and then misled the was found to have committed suicide. public about a police Documents released last investigation that nevweek show the RCMP were er happened is unnecnever given evidence by essary. “At the time I the government to investithink the government gate the wrongdoing which made a mistake and was used to justify the firwe have apologized for ings, despite the governbeing so heavy-hand- B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake says the ment telling the public an ed in the response government has already apologized for investigation was ongoing. and indicating the its heavy-handed response to the 2012 “As far as the Ministry firings of seven health researchers. seriousness of the of Health was concerned RCMP investigation,” in the use of data, there said Lake. Lake said the government has was no criminal intent there,” said Lake. already accepted accountability for all the “However in terms of contracts and profindings of inappropriate conduct by an curement, that was up to the Office of the independent reviewer last year. “The Mc- Comptroller General to review. I underNeil report that we’ve done shows there stand that review has been completed and were mistakes made in terms of person- handed over to the RCMP and it would now nel issues and the way people were man- be up to the RCMP to determine if further aged from an HR point of view,” he says. action is warranted or not.” No intention to Recommendations will be followed to mislead: Lake Lake is adamant that there correct that and we have put in a different was no intention to mislead the public. “In system in terms of making sure we are not all of the information that I’ve seen, I can putting people in a position where the best tell you that in my opinion no one is trydata stewardship practices are not followed.” ing to malign or do anything willful.” But Review highly limited says NDP HowDix says the government’s response to this ever, the NDP says the review was highly problem has not been sufficient and there limited. “The reviewer — because they are still many unanswered questions. “The were all pointing fingers at one another — way [the health workers] were treated couldn’t determine who was responsible here is beneath contempt and we need anfor the decision,” says NDP MLA and forswers and it’s time that those officials that mer party leader Adrian Dix. “They need were responsible were questioned under to be brought under oath to determine oath about what they did and didn’t do.”

Downfall of an immigrant family involved in crime

From previous page visited the Lebanese embassy to obtain a ut because he is considered state- passport but was unsuccessful, she said. less — no country will grant On Nov. 3, 2013, Nabil left home and him travel papers as a citi- called her three days later saying he was zen — he is considered unremovable. “somewhere in the Middle East,” she said. He was released from immigration de- He is willing to meet Canadian officials tention in 2010 after his parents posted abroad so they can confirm his depar$170,000 as surety. Nabil’s wife, Louisa, told ture. but no such arrangements have been court her husband wanted to leave Canada made, court heard. It was a violation of because rival gangs were targeting him and many of his strict conditions, includhis family. She said Ottawa police warned ing curfew and residences requirements. him of threats against his life and he caught Canada Border Services Agency wrote a private investigator watching their home. to Nabil’s parents, saying their bond had He feared rivals planned to kill him as retal- been forfeited and demanding cheques iation against his brother Rabih. He once to cover the remainder of the surety.

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Saturday, June 13, 2015 i 13

Gov’t has apologized for misleading public over B.C. health firings Christy Clark

he day after documents were released showing the government misled British Columbians over an RCMP investigation into the firing of health researchers three years ago, Christy Clark said apologies had already been made, and there was nothing further to add. “I don’t have anything more to add to that,” Clark said Friday. “And what I’ve said in the past is we, government, very much regrets that mistake that was made. It shouldn’t have been made and (government) has apologized for it. It was wrong.” Asked whether she was referring to an apology for the firings or for misleading the public, Clark answered, “Both”. Seven employees were fired in 2012, in

what the government has since admitted was a “regrettable mistake.” It has already settled out of court with most of them. One of the researchers, UVic co-op student Harold Roderick MacIsaac, was found to have committed suicide. NDP leader John Horgan says the latest apology is well short of accountability and he wants a public inquiry into the matter. “It’s just not good enough for the premier to say I’m sorry again,” he said. “These peoples’ lives were turned upside down, one life was lost and the people that made these decisions are still being paid very well by the people of B.C. with no accountability and that’s wrong.”

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Man who shot Edmonton Police Officer was harassing a family online

orman Walter Raddatz, the man suspected of being responsible for the killing of Edmonton Const. Daniel Woodall, had an extensive hate crimes file related to online bullying of a family in the city. However, Raddatz did not have a significant criminal record beyond the criminal harassment file, police Chief Rod Knecht said at a news conference. The hate crimes file dated back to February 2014, in which he is accused of anti-semitism. Raddatz, 42, allegedly shot and killed Const. Woodall on Monday night. Woodall, 35, was one of eight officers sent to a west Edmonton home to serve Raddatz with an arrest warrant on a charge of criminal harassment. The officers had no reason to believe there was any threat when they went to the house, Knecht said. He said police had the authority to break

down the door if no one answered. The first shots from a high-powered rifle were fired through the closed door. Sgt. Jason Harley, 38, was shot in the back, though the round was stopped by his vest. He was treated and released from hospital. ‘Body armour saved his life’ “It is clear that the body armour saved his life,” Knecht said. Woodall was hit several times. None of the bullets hit his body armour. “Sadly, he died on scene due to a catastrophic wound,” Knecht said. The remaining officers took cover and were pinned down by gunfire for at least 10 minutes. “Because they could not tell where the shots were coming from, the safest course of action was to remain static,” Knecht said. “As we recognize the accomplishments of Const. Woodall, we will remember that Sgt. Harley and

the other officers came very, very close to death.” Neighbour Ryan Colton said he watched the entire shooting from the deck of his home. He said three undercover officers arrived at Raddatz’s home then called for backup. When two uniformed officers showed up, the officers surrounded the home. Supervisors soon arrived and gave the go-ahead to enter the home with force, Colton said. Shots fired after battering ram used Police shouted to Raddatz through the window that they were going to use a battering ram, but he continued to refuse entry, he said. “After three hits from the battering ram to the door, that’s when he started opening fire on the officers.” Colton said after officers dragged Harley out of the line of fire, he and another neighbour carried the wounded officer further away from the house. Colton said he did not see Woodall get

shot, but overheard officers saying the constable was down in front of house. “They couldn’t get to him, because he was just shooting one after another,” Colton said. Police counted 53 bullet holes in the house and garage across the street from the home. They did not return fire, Knecht said. Knecht would not characterize the shooting as an ambush, but said Raddatz would have been aware police were prepared to breach the residence. The house was subsequently engulfed in flames. A body was found in the burned basement of the home, but police are waiting for autopsy results for identification and cause of death. Police are not looking for any other suspects. Colton said he barely knew Raddatz, describing him as a “deadbeat” neighbour who rarely mowed his grass or shovelled his sidewalks, and

kept vehicles and garbage on his property.

MoleScope skin cancer app developed for smartphones in Vancouver

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new smartphone app for monitoring skin cancer made its debut at the World Congress of Dermatolo-

gy in Vancouver on Tuesday. Maryam Sadeghi, (pictured) director of the Digital Health Hub, designed the Mole-

Scope app and device during her PhD research at Simon Fraser University. “It enables patients to have access to the

same system that doctors have in their clinic,” said Sadeghi. “As a patient, I don’t have to wait 12 months to use [a doctor’s] phone or... camera to look at my mole. I can do this from home.” PhD supervisor found melanoma The app works by attaching a mini-microscope to a smartphone camera, which takes images of skin moles and uploads them to a cloud-based analytical platform, where doctors can view it in closer detail. Maryam Sadeghi shows off an early version of MoleScope, an app for smartphones and iPads that people can use to monitor for signs of skin cancer. (Simon Fraser University) This allows people to monitor their moles and skin health, share images with family and healthcare providers and eventually, connect with skin specialists online. The app has already been tested, and has received approval from Health Canada. Sadeghi says it has even been put to practical use. “My PhD supervisor, she found her melanoma when she was designing the device, just testing the image quality,” said Sadeghi. “We were fortunate that she found it in an earlier stage.” App could help remote communities Dr. Susan Poelman, a dermatologist at the University of Calgary, says the device could help solve problems in her own clinic. “Usually what I try to do is get good images with my iPhone hovering over the dermatoscope,” said Poelman. The MoleScope app uses a microscopic device that attaches to a smartphone camera “Using this new technology is going to make it less cumbersome in terms of keeping track of moles.” Sadeghi eventually wants to use MoleScope to help communities that don’t have access to skin cancer specialists. “There are telehealth programs already that [the] government is already funding to connect remote areas to major centres,” she said. “The problem they have... is that they don’t have access to high quality images.” Two versions of the MoleScope are expected to retail at $149.00, and a professional model will cost $200.00 .

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Woman dies from injuries sustained in Calgary gas-and-dash

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aryam Rashidi, the Centex gas station attendant who was hit by a stolen truck while trying to stop a theft on Sunday, has died. “She’s gone, I lost my wife,” her husband, Ahmad Rashidi, said as he took his son to the hospital. “I lost everything Calgary police say the 35-year-old woman, also known as Ashtiana, had followed a pickup truck that had not paid for gas. She stood in front of the vehicle to get it to stop, but the truck hit and ran over her. “We are devastated at Maryam’s passing,” said Centex Petroleum president Alnoor Bhura. “Our thoughts and heartfelt sympathy go out to her family and friends. We pray they are able to get through

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“Any gas station or gas company is free to implement a system that requires paying for fuel prior to the pump being operational,” he said. “They don’t require a law to tell them to do that.” Staff at the Centex station on 16th Avenue in northwest Calgary said it was only Maryam’s third day on the job. A manager there said the staff are shocked and sad. Police believe one of the suspects, who was a passenger in the stolen pickup, may be a minor. The truck was found abandoned last night in the Varsity neighbourhood in the city’s northwest. Police confirmed on Tuesday night they have taken two males into custody in connection to the incident. They will now interview the persons of interest to see if they were involved before moving forward with the investigation.

Accused killer was on bail

Joshua Cody Mitchell, 20, was charged on Jan. 30, 2015, with dangerous driving, possession of stolen property — a vehicle — as well as driving without a licence and driving without insurance. A justice of the peace released Mitchell on $2,000 cash bail following his January arrest. As part of his release conditions he was not allowed to be in a private vehicle without its registered owner. Other outstanding charges include failure to appear in court in February and fraud under $5,000. Mitchell is facing several charges: Criminal negligence causing death. Dangerous driving causing death.

Most British Columbians support mandatory childhood vaccinations: poll

lu shot supply in Vancouver dwindling in record year No public health risk in B.C. after Alberta H5N1 death A majority of people in British Columbia believe childhood vaccinations should be mandatory, according to the latest poll by Insights West. In B.C., 78 per cent of survey respondents said they believe vaccinations for childhood diseases like polio and measles should be mandatory. Only about one in five of survey respondents said they thought parents should be the ones making decisions on whether their children should be vaccinated. However, support for mandatory vaccines for adults isn’t nearly as favourable. Only 19 per cent of

Petronas-led LNG project makes final investment decision in B.C.

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this time of sadness and pain. We are all struggling with this at the moment.” He says gas thefts occur every day in Alberta and the company’s policy is for employees to call police instead of putting themselves at risk. Earlier this week Bhura called for “pay before pump” legislation. 2 males taken into custody Maryam Rashidi Barrie Harrison with Occupational Health and Safety, which is investigating the incident, says new legislation is not a priority right now.

Saturday, June 13, 2015 i 15

NG prospects have ‘darkened,’ report says Environmentalists raise alarm over Fraser River LNG tanker terminal LNG royalty agreement casts doubt on B.C. election promises: Critics Pacific NorthWest LNG has committed to doing business in British Columbia. The consortium planning to export liquefied natural gas from Price Rupert announced Thursday it has made a positive Final Investment Decision on its proposed $36 billion project. If built (the project still needs to pass federal environmental assessments, agree to deals with opposing First Nations and have government ratify of the Project Development Agreement in Victoria), PNW LNG would represent the biggest capital investment in B.C. history. “A Final Investment Decision is a crucial step to ensure that the project stays on track to service contracted LNG customers,” said PNW LNG president Michael Culbert in a statement. “The integrated project is poised to create thousands of construction and operational careers in the midst of the current energy sector slowdown.”

B.C. residents think the flu vaccine should be mandatory and a vast majority (79 per cent) believe each person should be allowed to decide whether they want the shot.

The poll also found that 31 per cent of people in B.C. still believe or are undecided about a link between childhood vacci-

nations and autism, a link first purported but since fully retracted by the medical journal The Lancet.

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16 i Saturday, June 13, 2015

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Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii on alert for drought conditions

ater experts are warning of drought-like conditions in Metro Vancouver this summer, and parts of the province are already on high alert. With record-low snow packs, the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources says Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii can expect serious water shortages unless significant rainfall comes by the end of June. B.C.’s water stewardship manager Valerie Cameron says those areas have been designated as very dry, or level three on the province’s drought levels gauge system. That is just one level shy of the worst drought conditions and it is the earliest the province has designated the regions to level three conditions this early in the year. “Weather is really going to be the wildcard for us in the coming months,” she says. “We can’t do anything to manage the natural environment of course, so we’re really going to have to emphasize water

conservation, community effort, and industry effort to try to manage water supplies the best we can to carry us through to the fall.” Lower Mainland not far behind All users of water in those areas, including farms and industry, are asked to voluntarily cut water use by 20 per cent. The province has the power to order industrial users to curtail water use, or suspend water licences, when drought conditions reach stage four. While Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria do have large water reservoirs, Cameron says people need to obey local watering rules and restrictions. “The Lower Mainland area and Lower Fraser [area] and the Southern Interior are not that far behind. They’re drought level two, but we’re evaluating them, and they may be going up to level three shortly.” Currently the three reservoirs at Coquitlam, Seymour and Capilano are at 91 per cent capacity, which is typical for this time of year.

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Delta mom wins $12.5-million

he had just gotten groceries on her way home from work when Delta’s Lisa-Marie Draganiuk decided to check her lottery ticket. The numbers that came up sent her into a delirium. In shock, she immediately called her husband. Then people began to gather around, everyone realizing she was not only a winner – she was Lisa-Marie Draganiuk from Delta won $12.5 million in the June 5 Lotto Max draw a big winner. Draganiuk’s June 5 Lotto Max ticket was one of to pick her up from work – hopefully for four winners in the $50-million draw – the last time. “She is a single mom and leaving her with a $12.5 million cut. The has done so much for me and I’m really 33-year-old dental hygienist said the prize looking forward to returning the favour,” changes everything for her and her fam- said Draganiuk. She said her family will ily. “We can live the life we aspire to live soon begin house hunting. They had been and raise our family comfortably,” she said. wanting to move but were unsure how they’d come up with enough money for She was most looking forward to telling a down payment. Now, she says, the possiher mom about the windfall and planned bilities are endless.

B.C. health officials vigilant over MERS outbreak in South Korea

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recent outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in South Korea has B.C. health officials assessing how they can prepare if any cases of the potentially deadly virus are reported in the province. “What’s most important right now is that we make sure our frontline clinicians are vigilant, are monitoring for travel history in people who are presenting with severe respiratory illness, so they can identify these patients early and protect themselves and other patients in their institutions as quickly as possible,” said Dr. Danuta Skowronski, physician and epidemiologist for B.C. Centre for Disease Control. According to Skowronski, MERS coronavirus likely originated in bats, but found its way into camels in the Middle East, notably in Saudi Arabia, where it has established a niche and is able to spread efficiently within its animal host. “Sequencing the virus shows it is still very similar to what was detected in the Middle East and elsewhere,” said Skowronski. “The outbreak in South Korea, all of the cases so far, somehow have a link to health care settings, either contact with a case, because they were health care workers or other patients or family members or visitors to cases. There hasn’t been community transmission of the virus.” Symptoms include fever, vomiting) The outbreak in South Korea bring the total of MERS cases globally to 1,244, based on World Health Organization data, with at least 446 related deaths. Typical MERS symptoms reported include fever, cough and shortness of breath, as well as diarrhea and vomiting. The Public Health Agency of Canada’s list of symptoms also includes muscle aches and chest pain. Skowronski says 25 countries have reported cases so far, but more than 85 per cent of the cases are in Saudi Arabia. “It’s not easily transmitted. The health care settings seem to facilitate that transmission because of the closeness of the contact, the nature of the care and frankly how sick people are when they present with MERS to the hospital. “They are shedding lots of virus and are at their peak infectious period.” While Skowronski says Canadians are at low risk from this virus, she advises people travelling to South Korea to be prudent.

LOCAL

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SkyTrain strands commuters at rush hour again

kyTrain riders were left stranded and frustrated once more on Tuesday after the rapid transit system ground to a halt during the afternoon rush hour. TransLink said a technical failure at approximately 4:30 p.m. caused 19 trains between Waterfront and Royal Oak stations to time out and suddenly stop in the middle of service.

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It took two hours for the majority of the trains to be manually guided to the nearest station and evacuated. In the meantime, thousands of commuters were forced to spend their afternoon rush hour waiting in long lines – some blocks long – to board temporary bus bridges between stations and significantly delay their trips home.

Independent data on housing crisis required: NDP MLA

he public will only believe independent data when it comes to the impact of foreign money on Vancouver’s housing market, an NDP MLA says. The B.C. Real Estate Association (BCREA) released a report this week saying that foreign ownership impacts less than five per cent of the market, and has little bearing on affordability for first-time homebuyers. David Eby, MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey, said that while the data may be true, the public will have a hard time taking the association at its word. “The public doesn’t see them as independent in this debate. Everyone sees the conflict of interest,” he said. “The public is looking for independent, empirical data about foreign investment and speculation. That’s going to be the only thing that settles this debate.” Though downplaying the impact of foreign ownership, the BCREA report does point to a lack of data on the issue, and recommends the provincial government attach a “residency declaration” somewhere in the land transfer form process to more accurately track foreign influence on real estate sales. Eby is calling on the province to collect even more data than that.

Vancouver airport customs breach blamed on Air Canada employee

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Saturday, June 13, 2015 i 17

n Air Canada employee is at fault for Sunday’s customs security breach at Vancouver International Airport, officials there say. Three passengers bypassed customs and left the airport when passengers on a flight landing from Beijing were misdirected to the domestic terminal. While the Canada Border Services Agency attempts to track down the three individuals who left without getting cleared by customs, the airport says it’s implemented new measures that will prevent the lapse from happening again. “This is a very serious event,” says Steve Hankinson, vice-president of operations and information technology at the airport. “We have worked closely with [Canada Border Services Agency], Air Canada and RCMP to ensure this type of thing never happens again.” Hankinson says the issue came down to a set of doors not being properly managed. “One set of doors leads to the aircraft. Another set of doors, if closed, direct the passengers to CBSA and if open, then lead you into the Domestic Terminal.”

He also wants the province to use BC Hydro data to hone in on the number of vacant houses in the city, and says it should also compel the federal government to release data on real estate sales that use foreign funds (Ottawa already collects data on foreign investments over $10,000, he said). “The big problem has been we have two levels of government that believe the market will solve itself,” he said.

Hundreds of commuters line up down Cordova Street outside Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver on Tuesday after SkyTrain service was disrupted during the afternoon rush hour. The line-up stretched around the block.

LOCAL

18 i Saturday, June 13, 2015

Federal health minister ‘outraged’ by Supreme Court ruling on marijuana Medical marijuana legal in all forms, Supreme Court rules

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edical marijuana patients will now be able to consume marijuana — and not just smoke it — as well as use other extracts and derivatives, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday. The unanimous ruling against the federal government expands the definition of medical marijuana beyond the “dried” form. The country’s highest court found the current restriction to dried marijuana violates the right to liberty and security “in a manner that is arbitrary and hence is not in accord with the principles of fundamental justice.” Restricting medical access to marijuana to a dried form has now been declared “null and void” — Sections 4 and 5 of the Controlled Drug and Substances Act, which prohibits possession and trafficking of non-dried forms of cannabis, will no longer be in effect. The federal government, however, isn’t pleased. “Frankly, I’m outraged by the Supreme Court,” said Health Minister Rona Ambrose. “Let’s remember, there’s only one authority in Canada that has the authority and the expertise to make a drug into a medicine and that’s Health Canada,” she said during a press conference. “Marijuana has never gone through the regulatory approval process at Health Canada, which of course, requires a rigorous safety review and clinical trials with scientific evidence.” The respondent in this case, Owen Smith, called it “a very emotional day.” “I’m proud and really happy today for all those people who are going to benefit from this ruling,” he said at a press conference in Victoria, B.C. The decision upholds earlier rulings by lower courts in British Columbia that said they went against a person’s right to consume medical marijuana in the form they choose. Many users felt smoking it was even po-

tentially harmful. However, methods such as brewing marijuana leaves in tea or baking cannabis into brownies left patients vulnerable to being charged with possession and trafficking under the law. According to evidence submitted to the trial judge, it came down to forcing a person to choose between a legal but inadequate treatment, and an illegal but more effective choice. Federal health minister ‘outraged’ “It’s a positive — it’s a great thing for patients ... and people who need extracts who can’t smoke their cannabis or don’t even want to in the first place,” said David-George Oldham, founder of The ARC, a consortium of cannabis patients, doctors, activists and chemists. “Imagine smoking seven grams of cannabis when you’re having a migraine so bad that just moving your fingers is excruciating pain,” he said during a scrum outside the Supreme Court. “Taking a [cannabis] pill is a lot more sensible and having pills stocked in my cupboard makes a lot more sense than having just raw cannabis out and about in my house.” Arrest of pot baker sparked court challenge The case stems from Smith’s 2009 arrest in Victoria. Smith, a baker for the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club, was found with more than 200 cookies and 26 jars of liquids, including cannabis-infused massage oils and lip balms. The baker was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking and unlawful possession of marijuana. The club delivers medical marijuana products to its members, but doesn’t have a licence to produce it. At his trial, Smith argued that the law under which he was charged was unconstitutional and violated Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees the right to life, liberty and security of the person.

Well known Vancouver businessman, Ishwarlal Patel, and his wife, Lalita, Patel, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with family and friends last weekend. Photo: Chandra Bodalia

Marijuana edibles might be regulated, says City of Vancouver

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he City of Vancouver might reconsider its ban of marijuana edibles after Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling, which found that medical marijuana is legal in all forms including edibles. Under the city’s proposed regulation for marijuana dispensaries, medical marijuana edibles are strictly prohibited. Councillor George Affleck says the court’s decision is interesting and has been brought up by some speakers at the city’s public hearings into regulation of marijuana dispensaries. “At this point nothing has been changed,” he says. “We’re discussing the report we have in front of us and that does not allow edibles in dispensaries moving forward.”

He did express some concerns. In April, several high school students in North Vancouver became sick from eating pot-infused dessert squares. Two Grade 10 students in particular became dizzy, had heart palpitations and vomited, and one of them had to be taken to hospital. David Malmo-Levine, who owns Stressed and Depressed Association in Vancouver, says he applauds the Supreme Court’s decision and hopes councillors will keep an open mind. “I think edibles serve a really important role for people who don’t like to smoke for people, who like a long onset of effects, for people who can’t smoke on the job ... but still need their medicine.”

Alberta oil jobs few and far in between

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lberta’s oil industry has shed 25,000 jobs already this year Despite a steady rebound in oil prices, landing a job in Alberta’s foremost industry is still a challenge. The province’s oil and gas industry has shed thou-

sands of jobs already this year in the wake of an oil price plunge that began last summer. A few thousand job seekers flocked to Calgary’s convention centre this week for an industry job fair, despite common perception they are most likely on an ill-fated journey. “I think it will take a long time because companies, they have some opportunities, but there are lots of people in front of them to select,” says Khalid Fattah, a civil engineer with more than 20 years of experience. The two-day job fair began Wednesday and nearly 2,000 people registered to attend, the maximum number allowed by organizers. Long lines formed outside every booth as people waited for a chance to drop off a resume and have a quick chat about possible openings. “We don’t have a lot of openings, especially in Calgary and Alberta,” says Bright Eboigbe, an engineer who has been out of work for about a month. “It’s a little bit tight.” Companies looking to hire at the Global Energy Career Expo include Shell and Baker Hughes. Shell Canada laid off a few hundred oilsands workers in January and has been shedding head office staff, as well. Also in January, Baker Hughes announced it was cutting 7,000 jobs worldwide. “There’s a lot of people with great qualifications, great skills and experience,” says Taylor Cook, a recruiter with AECON, an energy, construction and mining company. While her company is hiring in each of its business sectors across the country, she can’t help but notice the concern about the job climate in Alberta. “I’ve heard some people say they are a little scared right now about what’s going on with the economy, particularly in Alberta,” she says. Looking for quality Employment in Alberta this year has been flat overall, although the energy sector has lost 25,000 jobs since September, a drop of 13.5 per cent, according to Robert Kavcic with BMO Capital Markets.

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Phantom real estate bids are enough of a problem that Ontario is cracking down

tarting July 1, the Real Estate Council of Ontario will be enforcing new rules that place strict criteria on what constitutes a bid on a residential property. The goal is to crack down on the elusive phantom bid, which some homebuyers suspect occur in bidding wars, but are unable to prove. Those who think the end is nigh will be heartened by the recent surge in home prices. Yet, if you look closely, it’s hard to see where or how the sky is about to fall. The scam involves a sales agent hinting to prospective buyers there are other bids as a way to coax them to bid higher. “You say, ‘We’re expecting another offer. I do have another offer. You may want to go back to your client and make sure this is their best offer’,” says said Joseph Richer, registrar of RECO. “You are suggesting there might be competing offers when there may or may not be.” With the new rules, “You cannot suggest or even imply that you have an offer unless you have one in writing, signed sealed and ready to be delivered,” said Richer, while adding there have been very few formal complaints about phantom bidding over the years. Richer doesn’t say fake bids are not part of the real estate landscape. Instead, he suggests they might be a bigger problem in some municipali-

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ties than others. “When I have been out at different boards and associations, some have said, ‘It’s not an issue, but it does happen every now and then,’” he said. You cannot suggest or even imply that you have an offer unless you have one in writing, signed sealed and ready to be delivered The current rule is clear that no offer is valid until it is signed. The new rules will force brokerages to keep an offer, or an equivalent summary (basically, a list of buyers and contact info with name of broker, date and time), on record for one year. However, no amounts will actually be included in the history, and suspicious buyers will only be able to find out if there were truly other offers after the bidding, through a complaint to RECO. In which case, a realtor found guilty of creating a phantom offer would be committing a provincial, though not a criminal, offense. The changes will ultimately allow the winner of a real estate auction to see if they had been “played” by agents, says Richer. A winning bidder would also be able to see

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and four staff houses. The furniture and artwork is included. Retired oil and gas executive Greg Noval bought the ranch in 1992. It was also once owned by the Wesley family, known for their ties to the Granum White Sox baseball team in southern Alberta. It is a working ranch with 800 cattle and 36 Angus cross bulls, corrals and barns. A majority of the land is deeded, but 5,700 acres is Crown leased. On its listing page, Sotheby’s International says a buyer could make the ranch a turnkey operation and retain the current staff. The listing also mentions water springs, a trout pond and world-class hunting. discount broker Realtysellers, thinks unscrupulous agents are going to find their way around the new rules. “I’m not sure any legislation will

stop these people,” says Dale. But Dale also thinks that “the issue of phantom buyers might be a concern of buyers who have remorse over the price they paid for a property. They think they overpaid. Some buyers want to blame others for a

real estate / finance

2 i Saturday, June 13, 2015

Real estate website Zoocasa to shut down

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nline real estate brokerage Zoocasa will cease to exist as of June 22. The website, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications, began as a listings website before expanding in 2013 into linking up buyers and sellers with realtors. Zoocasa-recommended realtors would sometimes offer customers sales commissions a few percentage points lower than the industry standard, which is about 2.5 per cent for both the buyer and seller. Earlier this year, the Toronto-based company ran afoul of the local real estate board by mailing clients a list of sale prices for nearby homes every day. Previously, it was much harder to get that sort of proprietary information about how much houses sold for — not just listed for — which encouraged would-be buyers and sellers to work with a realtor directly. The Toronto Real Estate Board took issue with that practice, citing concerns with customer privacy, and sent warning letters out in February to Zoocasa and a number of other online services that were sending out similar data. Some ignored the threat and kept mailing out the data. But Zoocasa complied with TREB’s request. It then registered as a licensed brokerage, giving it access to MLS information that it

included on a relaunched website and sent to clients. TREB asked the company to stop sending out sales info when Zoocasa agreed to get its licence at the start of March. A spokesperson with Rogers told CBC News “the business overall is shutting down — so we will be closing down the website and the mobile app and the operations of the business as of June 22nd, 2015.” “We made this decision to no longer continue our investment as Zoocasa as the business is no longer a fit with our (Rogers) overall plan for the company at large and our core areas of focus.” John Andrews, a professor of real estate at Queen’s University, said Zoocasa was the most likely of alternative agencies to succeed and its demise points to the dominance of the MLS system. “I’m not really surprised by the [shutdown.] The MLS system really had a very strong market share and the various alternatives to listing don’t necessarily provide the whole host of agent services to their markets,” he told CBC News. Selling or buying a home through a service such as Zoocasa can take a lot of legwork and relies on the homeowner or buyer knowing their local market, Andrews added. “The fees they were charging were really very low, so unless they were able to penetrate that MLS market to a great extent, their revenue was pretty limited,” he said.

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Coconut Curry Soup

Ingredients 2 cans (14-ounce/400 mL each) of premium coconut milk 1 heaping tablespoon (20 mL) of Thai curry paste the tender stems of 1 bunch of cilantro, rinsed well2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced, 2 cups (500 mL0 of chicken broth, 1 carrot, shredded, 4 or 5 lime leaves, 2 stalks of lemon grass, halved lengthwise, woody leaves removed2 tablespoons (30 mL) of fish sauce the zest and juice of 2 limes a small knob frozen ginger, a handful bean sproutsa 8 ounce (225 g) package rice noodles 1 bunch of cilantro leaves, rinsed well 2 or 3 green onions, thinly sliced a sprinkle or two salt or soy sauce Methord: Scoop coconut cream from the top of just one of the cans into a large stockpot set over a medium-high heat. Melt the cream, add the curry paste and stir for a few minutes until they begin to sizzle. Add the cilantro roots and chicken and sautĂŠ until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the coconut juice from the first can and all the contents of the second can along with the chicken broth, carrot, lime leaves, lemon grass, fish sauce and

lime zest and juice. Grate the frozen ginger into the broth with a Microplane grater or standard box grater. Simmer for 20 minutes or so. Stir in the bean sprouts. Add the rice noodles, gently pushing them beneath the surface of the broth. Turn off the heat and let stand until the noodles soften, about 5 minutes. Rice noodles don’t need to simmer like pasta to cook; they simply need

to rehydrate in the hot liquid. Stir in most of the cilantro leaves. Remove the lemon grass stalks. Taste and season with a touch more salt (or soy sauce) as needed. Ladle into large bowls and garnish with the green onions and remaining cilantro leaves.

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NATIONAL

20 i Saturday, June 13, 2015

NDP wants MPs to defund the Senate

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‘We may be unable to abolish the Senate unilaterally, but we can cut off its blood supply,’ MP says

he New Democrats, long opposed to the Senate, are trying once again to abolish the upper chamber in an unlikely way — gut it of its funding. It’s not the first time the New Democrats have tried this tactic. “It’s almost a tradition,” said NDP MP Pat Martin, adding that the idea dates back to the 1920s. “Since then, we’ve regularly moved to block the funding for the Senate. We may be unable to abolish the Senate unilaterally, but we can cut off its blood supply.” Martin, who is opposition critic for public works and government services, says he’ll stand in the House of Commons this evening to present a motion opposing the Senate’s more than $57 million in funds for current fiscal year. “My view is, we’ve got to stop giving them money because it only encourages them, it seems,” Martin said. NDP motion comes ahead of AG report According to the Treasury Board, the Senate’s budget for 2015-2016 is estimated at $88.7 million. Of this amount,

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$57 million — which Martin says is for program spending and activities — requires approval by Parliament. The motion will be presented at 6:30 p.m. ET in the House. MPs will vote at 10 p.m. ET after hours of debate. “I don’t know if they will vote against funding the senate, but for God’s sakes, how can they look their constituents in the eye and vote to send them another $57 million? Look at how they managed the last pile of money we gave them,” he said. “So, this is the whole point, is we want Canadians to go into this with their eyes open.” Earlier, Senate Speaker Leo Housakos and Opposition Leader James Cowan announced they are repaying ineligible expenses flagged by the auditor general and will not be contesting the findings before an arbitrator, in a bid to dispel any perception of a conflict of interest. Housakos, Cowan and Conservative Government Leader Claude Carignan are ultimately responsible for the Senate’s new process to handle disputed expense claims.

Top Senate leaders Leo Housakos, James Cowan repaying illegally claimed expenses

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wo of the most powerful figures in the Senate have announced they are reimbursing the full amount of their contested expense claims, ahead of Tuesday’s highly anticipated release of the auditor general’s report. Senate Speaker Leo Housakos said in a news release sent out Monday morning that he has decided to repay the full amount of his expenses in order to protect “the integrity of the procedures and processes we put in place resulting from the auditor general’s report.” It was announced at the same time as Opposition Leader James Cowan’s confirmation that he has repaid his expenses The Senate has changed its meal policy in

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the midst of the ongoing fallout from the two-year expenses audit. Meals provided by the Senate are no longer being served during committee meetings. The Senate originally provided meals for senators during committee meetings, and also allowed them to collect per diems. Senators will still be able to collect their per diems. Senate spokeswoman Nancy Durning confirmed the meal policy change, noting however, that “light snacks may still be served when deemed appropriate.” This is in addition to a pending policy change preventing senators from flying business class at taxpayers’ expense for trips shorter than two hours.

‘Dave Wynn’s law’ aims to make it harder for criminals to get bail

ill C-686 is named after Const. David Wynn who was shot and killed on Jan. 17 while responding to a call at the Apex Casino in St. Albert. It was tabled in the House of Commons by Brent Rathgeber, the MP for Edmonton-St. Albert. Rathgeber’s bill would make it mandatory for prosecutors at bail hearings to present evidence that an accused has a prior criminal history, outstanding charges and a history of failing to appear in court. Wynn’s assailant, Shawn Rehn, was out on bail at the time of the shooting. Rathgeber said Rehn had 38 outstanding charges at the time of his death but was granted interim release without any of the prior offences being mentioned at his bail hearing. Judges and justices of the peace can’t make appropriate decisions without getting the full picture, he said.

“Without adequate information, there is no way to distinguish between a first offender, a criminal amateur, a serial offender or a hard-core criminal.” Rathgeber’s bill would make it mandatory for prosecutors at bail hearings to present evidence that an accused has a prior criminal history, outstanding charges and a history of failing to appear in court. Wynn’s widow Shelley MacInnis-Wynn said judges should have this information when making decisions on bail. She supports Rathgeber’s efforts to change the law. “Unfortunately it won’t make things better for my husband now but hopefully this will help somebody else in the future,” she said. MacInnis-Wynn said her husband used to spend hours preparing for bail hearings so she assumed that it was standard practice to present information about an accused’s background.

NATIONAL

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Mike Duffy pre-signed Senate travel expense claims, court hears

it was just an effort “to stay on top of things. uspended Senator Mike Duffy pre“I received the information from him, signed a stack of blank travel claims I would fill out the form, and everybefore any details about trips had thing coincided at the time — the dates been provided on the documents, his for- of travel, receipts, everything matched.” mer executive assistant testified on Monday. Mercer testified that she would fill out the Under questioning by Crown prosecu- claims either based on information supplied tor Mark Holmes, Melanie Mercer said that by Duffy or details they had a “different process” in Duffy has pleaded not guilty from his organizer. their office. She said that Duffy to 31 charges of fraud, breach She said if there were signed the forms before details of trust and bribery related to exany errors, one of her had been entered, even though, penses he claimed as a senator contacts at Senate fishe admitted, he was supposed to and later repaid with money from nance would be able sign it after to certify the claims. the prime minister’s former chief catch them and notify But Mercer said executive asof staff Nigel Wright. her. (Indeed, Holmes sistants from other Senate offices showed a series of travhad suggested to her to have Duffy sign a stack of blank travel claim el claims in which Merforms, because “that’s what they cer had made errors). did in their office to help expeMercer also testified dite the process for filing claims.” that she never told the Duffy has pleaded not guilty to finance official that 31 charges of fraud, breach of trust Duffy was pre-certifyand bribery related to expenses he ing the travel claims. claimed as a senator and later re“Did you think it was paid with money from the prime appropriate to do it minister’s former chief of staff this way?” Holmes Nigel Wright. The trial, which beasked. ‘I didn’t feel it gan April 7 in the Ontario court of justice in Ottawa, is in its 28th day. was a major issue’ “I Duffy She said since Duffy was think because the othgoing to be travelling quite a bit, it made er office was doing it, I didn’t feel it was a masense to have some pre-signed claims, jor issue,” she said. Court has already heard and he was in agreement, Mercer testified. of trips Duffy took that the Crown alleges “How did you feel about that?” Holmes asked. were for either personal or partisan reasons “At the time I didn’t think anything of it. I thought it would be practical, that it and should not have been expensed to the would be efficient in filing the paper work.” Senate. Earlier, Mercer testified Mercer said she couldn’t recall just how many that she wasn’t aware of the serclaim forms she’d have Duffy sign at once, but vices being provided to Duffy by noted that after he went through a package, a number of individuals who later she’d be “set for a while.” Mercer said there received cheques for those serwas nothing “malicious behind this” and that vices through a Duffy associate.

Commons committee wants tighter rules for MP gift, travel disclosures

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embers of Parliament would have to disclose more about gifts they receive and the sponsored trips they take under new recommendations from a House of Commons committee. The committee on procedure and House affairs urges a tightening of the conflict of interest code for MPs to increase transparency — suggestions that come amid intense scrutiny of questionable spending by senators. Federal conflict of interest and ethics commissioner Mary Dawson carries out confidential investi-

gations of complaints against MPs alleged to have breached the code. The code prohibits MPs from accepting gifts unless they are routine expressions of hospitality or protocol. Even then, any acceptable gift worth more than $500 must be publicly disclosed — a value the committee recommends be lowered to $200. In addition, the committee says any outside contributions above the gift threshold to an MP’s travel should also be publicly revealed — a move that would toughen the current reporting standard.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

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Ex-aide’s cellphone charges paid through Duffy associate, court hears

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ike Duffy arranged to have the cause Duffy already had a few phones though monthly fees of his executive as- Senate communications. Duffy arranged for sistant’s cellphone paid through reimbursement, court hears his associate, after Senate administration “I arranged through Bell that I would pay said it would not cover the costs, court heard the monthly fees on it, and Senator Duffy arTuesday. “I think he said that he would ar- ranged for me to be reimbursed,” she said. range for Gerry Donohue to reimburse me,” “The Senate did not want to pay those Diane Scharf testified. “Now we did not want monthly fees. They would provide the phone, to circumvent Senate rules. We were just they would do the configuration, but they trying to serve the public.” Court has heard didn’t pay the little monthly fee.” Court exhibthat Donohue had been awarded a series of its reveal that Scharf was paid three cheques Senate research contracts Duffy’s former full-time executive totalling nearly $500 with Duffy worth nearly assistant, finished up her testimony through Donohue’s $65,000. The RCMP have under cross-examination by Bayne. family-owned comsaid Donohue received She denied that Duffy ever gave her pany Ottawa ICF the money for “little or no instructions to falsify expense claims for phone-related apparent work.” Instead, or contracts, and instead described services. ​ Duffy has the Crown alleges, the in an Ottawa courtroom the contract pleaded not guilty to pool of money was used process that she says was poorly orga- 31 charges of fraud, by Duffy, through Dono- nized. breach of trust and hue, to pay for a series bribery related to expenses he claimed as a of expenses, some of which the Crown says senator and later repaid with money from would not have been covered by the Senate. the prime minister’s former chief of staff NiDuffy’s defence lawyer Donald Bayne has gel Wright. The trial, which began April 7 argued that while it was “administratively ir- in the Ontario court of justice in Ottawa, is regular” to not have these expenses paid out in its 29th day. Earlier, Mercer, Duffy’s forthrough Senate finance, the action was not mer full-time executive assistant, finished up criminal. Scharf worked for Duffy for six her testimony under cross-examination by months in 2011 while his full-time executive Bayne. She denied that Duffy ever gave her assistant Melanie Mercer was on maternity instructions to falsify expense claims or conleave. Scharf said she went to the Senate tele- tracts, and instead described in an Ottawa communications office to receive a phone, courtroom the contract process that she says but was told it would not pay for the fees, be- was poorly organized.

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CLASSIFIEDS

Saturday, June 13, 2015

C JOBS “Balwinder Singhmaar, resident of 15095 92 Ave, Surrey, BC V3R 5V8 has a vacancy for In-home Child caregiver for infant child and 9 years old son. Full Time, 40 hrs/week. Applicant must have high school with minimum of 1 year of related experience within last 3 years or 6 months of full time training in caregiving. Job Duties includes supervise and care for children, prepare formulas and change diaper of infant, feeding, bathing, dressing, prepare children for rest period, escort child to school, prepare and serve nutritious meal and snacks, accompany to and from activities & appointments, light housekeeping, laundry, maintain safe environment at home, keep record of day-to-day activities, health and progress of children. Optional accommodation is available at no charge but this is not a condition of employment. Please send resume at balwinderssinghmaar@gmail.com” ------------------------------Jun13_15 5 Long Haul Truck Drivers Reqd. Sal:$23.00/hr, 40hr/wk, +1yr exp. & Class A 0r 1 license reqd., FT/ PT Duties: Operate, drive straight or articulated trucks to transport goods & materials on local routes or over long distances.Plan trip logistics & obtain required documentation to transport goods. Perform pre-trip & post-trip in-

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JOBS spection of vehicle systems.Record cargo information, hours of service, distance travelled & fuel consumption.May perform emergency roadside repairs. Lang: English. Work at various location in Canada & USA. Contact: Balwinder from Metro Transport ltd.12772 82nd Ave, Surrey, V3W 3G1 E-mail your resume at metro_transport@yahoo.ca. ------------------------------Jun13_15

1 Optical Frame Fitter Reqd. Sal: $22.00/hr, 40hr/wk, +1yrs exp. or certification reqd., FT/ PT Duties: Obtain specifications for eyeglasses or contact lenses from a prescription. Assist clients in selecting eyeglasses. Grinding & polishing of lenses. Cut & edge lenses & fit lenses into frames. May supervise or manage activities of other opticians. Lang: English. Location: 12841 96 Avenue, Surrey, BC, V3V 6V9 Contact: Imran from Eye See 2020 Optical at opt_eyesee@yahoo.ca. ------------------------------Jun 06_15 Dosa Corner Restaurant Ltd in Vancouver Looking to hire an authentic south indian chef . This is a full time permanent position. $18.50/hr. 40hrs/week. Must have at least 3-5yrs experience in south indian cuisine & specialized knowledge in Dosas. Duties include Prepare & cook meals.kitchen

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management. Plan menus & quality. Orders food supplies. Mail your resume to selvamm164@ gmail.com or apply by person at DosaCorner Vancouver. 110-8248 Fraser Street. Vancouver. B.C.. V5X 3X6 Ph: 604-324-3672. -----------------------------------Seamstress required Seamstress (Tailor) needed Foam & Décor is looking for Full Time or Part Time Seamstress ( tailor) for drapery in Surrey. Salary will be provided @ 12 per hour. Please call 604-594-1882 Mayuri Indian foods inc is looking to hire an Ethnic Food Cook in Surrey BC. F/T & Perm.$17/hr. Must have at least 2-3 yrs experience in South Indian cuisine & specialized knowledge in Indian spicing. Duties: Prepare & Cook meals; Supervise Kitchen helpers; Plan menus; Ensure quality & determine food proportions; Monitor & order food supplies; Set up & oversee buffets; Manage kitchen operation. Mail resume or apply by person Mayuri indian cuisine , Unit 102A,12677 80th Ave., Surrey BC V3W 3A6 Fax: 604-572-3281 ------------------------------------English Classes for Adults Register for classes September 2-8 For more information,Visit: www. victoryesl.com Call: 604.755.7976 E-mail: victoryesl1@gmail.com ----------------------------

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Cook Require Curry junction Restaurant in White Rock need cook immediately, This is a full time permanent position for a experienced person, Depending on experience salary will be upto $21 per hr. with other benefits. Call:604-729-6741 or 604-385-1558 ---------------------------Transworld Security located at 2nd Floor, 5050, Kingsway, Burnaby BC V5H 4H2 is looking for a Static Guard, Static Guard Supervisor, Mobile Supervisor and Field Manager. These are permanent full-time positions. Static Guard pay rate is $13.00 per hour plus vacation pay. You would be required to patrol industrial and commercial premises to prevent and detect signs of intrusion and ensure security of doors, windows and gates. Answer alarms and investigate disturbances. Monitor and authorize entrance and departure of employees, visitors and guests. Call police or fire departments in cases of emergency. Circulate among visitors, patrons and employees to preserve order and protect property. Static Guard Supervisor pay rate is $14.00 per hour plus vacation pay. You would be required to oversee and supervise Static Guards. You will need to ensure the duties of the Static Guards you supervise are being completed and the client’s needs are be-

S Matrimonial Seeking a suitable match for Ravidasia Sikh Boy, 30 / 5’10”, Living in Canada, B.Tech. Please send your biodata and pics at aman.shine@gmail. com or contact +1 306 461 3131. ing met. Field Manager pay rate is $18.00 per hour plus vacation pay. You would be required to report to the Director of Operations and you are responsible for supporting, mentoring and supervising the security officers in the field. You will be required to manage the company’s field operations and resources after business hours. Mobile Supervisor pay rate is $18.00 per hour. You would be required to provide ongoing leadership, direction and training. You need to ensure all standing orders and scheduled daily activities are carried out for each shift. You will be required to discipline staff when necessary

To PLACE YOUR AD IN THE ASIAN STAR CLASSIFIEDS Section Please

Call: 604-591-5423

Hair Stylists Required 2 Hair Stylists reqd. Sal:$13.00/hr, 40hr/wk, +1yr exp. or certification reqd., FT/PT Duties: Suggest hair style compatible with client’s physical features. Determine style from client’s instructions. Cut, trim, taper, curl, wave, perm & style hair. Apply bleach, tints, dyes or rinses to color, frost or streak hair. Analyze hair & scalp condition to advise & provide basic or beauty care treatment. Clean & style wigs & hair pieces. Lang: English.

Location: #11- 8430 128th Street Surrey, BC V3W 4G3. Contact: Sandeep from Basra Hair & Beauty Salon at basra_ salon@yahoo.ca or fax at (604)365-8861

COMMUNITY Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey invites South Asian Adults/ Senior members and non members to come and play Bingo for the sake of fun and make some new friends, on June 14th 2015 from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at Shanti Niketan hall 8321 - 140th street Surrey B.C. Please bring only two dollars with you to play 2 games, do not worry if you do not know how to play, members will explain you the game just for the sake of fun. Tea & light snacks will be served after the game is over. Please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator at 604 - 507 - 9945 for further details. ----------------------------------------Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey invites South Asian Adults/ Senior members and non members also to attend a Presentation on Alzheimer Disease Symptoms, Causes and Treatment by Dr. Nimesh Patel MBBS, on June 7th 2015 from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at Shanti Niketan hall of Lakshmi Narayan Hindu

Temple 8321 - 140th street Surrey BC. You can ask questions related to Alzheimer Disease, Dr. Patel will answer your questions after the presentation. Tea and light snacks will be served in the end. Please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator Tel. 604 - 507 - 9945 for further information. ---------------------------------------------Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey invites South Asian adults and senior members and non members to attend a workshop - Be Your Own Doctor - Control your Anxiety, Stress and Sleeplessness ( Insomnia ) by Expert Avtar Singh Woodwall, Diploma in Acupressure USA, MD Acupressure INDIA, Diploma Sujog Therapy ( Korean ) & Diploma Magnetic Therapy on May 31st 2015 from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at Shanti Niketan hall of Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple 8321 - 140th street Surrey BC. There will be questions and answers session also, tea

Double Your Fun at South Surrey Park Reopening Celebration The City of Surrey invites families to enjoy the free activities taking place Saturday, June 20 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the grand reopening celebration of the newly redesigned Fun Fun Park in South Surrey. Taking place in conjunction with Ocean Park Day festivities, the event will feature face painting, bike and cycling gear raffles, live music, a bouncy castle and tents hosted by Surrey Off Road Cycling Enthusiasts Society (SORCE), Peninsula Cycles and Dirtwest. In addition to a new kid’s bike track, Fun

Fun Park enhancements include a new playground with a designated tot’s area, a small plaza, trail and path upgrades, vehicle barriers and improvements to the grass field and picnic area. Fun Fun Park is located at 1472 – 128 Street in South Surrey. For more information, visit www.surrey.ca or call 604-5015100. Event Details: Date:.........Saturday, June 20, 2015 Time:.........11am–2pm (ribbon cutting at 11am) Location:............Fun Fun Park, 1472 – 128 Street, South Surrey

Saturday, June 13, 2015

and light snacks will be served in the end. Please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator Tel. 604 - 507 9945 for further details. --------------------------------------------South Asian Seniors - Group Birthday of 32 Seniors born in March, April & May Celebrations on May 30th 2015 Saturday ] from 11..00 am to 2.30 pm. Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey invites South Asian Senior members to celebrate group birthday of 32 Senior members born in March, April & May, to be held on May 30th 2015 ( Saturday ) from 11.00 am to 2.30 pm at Shanti Niketan hall of Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple 8321 - 140th street Surrey( B.C). Hon’ Jinny Sims MP for Newton- North Delta will be our guest of Honour. It will start with serving snacks, tea, pop, and there will be live entertainment, introducing local talented artist & singer Jogi Dhillon with his new release song NRI, hilarious jokes and Hindi songs sung by our talented members. Cake cutting ceremony will take place and slice of cake will be served to all the participants and specially prepared pure vegetarian lunch & dessert will be served. Registration required for non members. Please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator Tel. 604 507 -9945604 - 507 -9945 for registration.

-----------------------------------------------Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey invites South Asian Adults/ Senior members as well as non members to attend the Presentation - Stigma of Mental

Walk for ALS!

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Health Among Asian Men in Canada by Jatinder Dhanju and Nimesh Patel from Simon Fraser University Harbour Centre Vancouver, on May 24th 2015 ( Sunday ) from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at Shanti Niketan hall of Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple 8321 - 140th street Surrey BC. There will be questions and answers session after the presentation, and there will be registration also for the research program. Tea and light snacks will be served in the end. Please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator Tel. 604 - 507 - 9945 for further details. --------------------------------------------Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey invites South Asian Adults/ Senior members and non members to come and play Bingo for the sake of fun and make some new friends, on May 17th 2015 from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at Shanti Niketan hall 8321 - 140th street Surrey B.C. Please bring only two dollars with you to play 2 games, do not worry if you do not know how to play, members will explain you the game just for the sake of fun. Tea & light snacks will be served after the game is over. Please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator at 604 507 - 9945 for further details. -----------------------------------------------Free Community Workshops & Activities May 18–31 English & Multilingual ¹ May 25 & 26, 1–4pm MOSAIC Burnaby Centre for Immigrants, 5902 Kingsway 604 254 9626 ext 120 Canadian Citizenship Preparation ¹ May 25 & 26, 5:30–8:30pm Tommy Douglas Burnaby Public

Newcomers, no credit history required at Canada’s largest bank .

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This fun filled community event will be kicking off at 10:00 AM at Mill Lake Park, in Abbotsford, BC; with the 5km Walk Starting at 11:00 AM. Everyone is welcome and invited to this family friendly event! Proceeds from the Peoples Drug Mart Walk for ALS go to the ALS Society of BC to fund research and to provide support for those living with ALS. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neuromuscular disease that affects the person’s motor neurons which carry messages to the muscles. When these muscles fail to receive messages, they lose strength, atrophy and die, leaving the person immobilized. Throughout the event you will be able to enjoy a host of wonderful activities, with a local flare, organized by our amazing team of local volunteers. You will also be joining together with other families, volunteers, sponsors and teams to make a significant impact on the lives of many local families struggling daily with ALS. Thanks to your support and to the extensive network of committed ALS volunteers working in communities across B.C. and the Yukon, we are making unprecedented inroads. Right now, the ALS community has an extraordinary chance to step forward with renewed confidence and vigor. Promising new discoveries of inquiry offer so many reasons for us to see a brighter future for the ALS mission. Register to Walk for ALS, and together, we can provide more hope. Walk with us to stop ALS in its tracks. Register Today : www.walkforals.ca

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FIRST CREDIT CARD

FIRST CAR

FIRST HOME

NO ANNUAL FEE AVAILABLE 1

NEW OR USED CARS

$500 HOUSEWARMING GIFT 2

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Visit an RBC® Branch or rbc.com/credittoday or call us at 1-866-756-1103

* No credit history required for a credit card, car loan or home mortgage. Provided you meet all of Royal Bank of Canada’s eligibility and credit criteria, and provided you are a permanent resident who has arrived in Canada within the last 12 months, you may be eligible for an unsecured or secured RBC Royal Bank credit card even if you have no Canadian credit history. An RBC Royal Bank automotive car loan and residential mortgage or mortgage within an RBC Homeline Plan® are available to permanent residents and foreign workers even if you have no Canadian credit history provided you meet all of Royal Bank of Canada’s eligibility and credit criteria. † Based on market capitalization. 1 See www.rbc.com/newcomerterms for select credit cards. 2 Offer only available to First-Time Home Buyers on a 4, 5 or 7-year fixed interest rate closed residential mortgage or 5-year variable rate closed residential mortgage or on one RBC Homeline Plan mortgage segment. To qualify, you must have or open a mortgage payment account with RBC Royal Bank. The $500 will be deposited to this account. The mortgage or mortgage segment must be for a minimum principal amount of $100,000. This offer is only available for new builder single advance mortgages that close within 120 days from commitment start date. All other construction draw/builder mortgages (including purchase plus improvement), amendments to an existing mortgage, port/assumption transactions, an advance of additional funds or a renewal are excluded. Offer may be withdrawn or amended without notice at any time. The offer cannot be combined or used in conjunction with any other special offers, with the exception of RBC Royal Bank rate specials. 3 $14.95 monthly fee will be waived for first 6 months upon account opening. Applies to RBC Signature No Limit Banking® account only. Available only to newcomers who have arrived in Canada within the last year and who show proof of permanent resident status or who have arrived between 1 – 3 years ago when they switch their account from another financial institution using CustomSwitch®. Other restrictions and conditions apply to all offers. Each of these offers may be withdrawn or amended at any time and each is subject to change without notice. For complete Terms and Conditions visit any RBC Royal Bank branch or visit www.rbc.com/newcomerterms. Personal lending products and residential mortgages are offered by Royal Bank of Canada and are subject to its standard lending criteria. ® / ™ Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. RBC and Royal Bank are registered trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada. RBC CREATIVE & Creative Production PRINT PRODUCTION Management

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Saturday, June 13, 2015

Business / Finance

Provincial, territorial ministers agree to knock down trade barriers

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inisters responsible for internal trade from every province and territory across Canada have agreed to move quickly to remove internal trade barriers in Canada, but there are major hurdles ahead, including creating a trade dispute mechanism that applies to the provinces, they said after a meeting in Toronto today. Federal industry minister James Moore called the commitment to create a new internal trade regime by March 2016 “a great moment for Canada.” And he hinted that all 10 provinces and three territories were willing to look at creating some kind of mutual recognition for each other’s standards – including trucking regulations and provincial licensing of trades and

professions. “We have determined the best way to tackle some of these barriers is to be more open. That is the path we are choosing,” Moore said at a press conference in Toronto. “There should be as much free trade within Canada as there is between Canada and the U.S. or the EU,” he said. Hodge-podge of standards He said one of the things that was being negotiated was a way to “recognize standards across Canada regardless of jurisdiction.” On Monday, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business highlighted the differing provincial standards and licensing for engineers, millwrights and other trades as a key barrier to internal trade. Among the other issues raised as barriers at the ministers meeting were:

Bidding war gets Vancouver homeowners more than $1 million over their asking price

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West Vancouver home that was listed at $2.98 million received nine offers and is now in contract to sell at $4.1 million. That’s 37 per cent over asking. Lived in by the same family for 30 years, this 60-year-old bungalow isn’t extraordinary, really, with its four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The buyer is said to be considering razing it and building his own house, though he may resell it. Listing agent Viv Harvey says “he isn’t sure.” “Currently there is a charming and very livable four-bedroom home on this magnificent piece of land, however, this is definitely a builders dream come true!” says her listing for the 1,832-square-foot home. The great room has a cathedral ceiling, a mid-century fireplace and windows on three sides, from which the new owner can look out over the pool and on to the pass-

ing ships heading in and out of Vancouver Harbour. The kitchen has updated stainless steel appliances, but the cabinets date from the early 1980s. Harvey said the house “was sharply priced. We weren’t overpriced and I was thinking possibly [it would go to] $3.5 million. We didn’t really think it would be $4.1.” What brought such interest to the property outside the city’s real estate hot spots of British Properties and West Vancouver’s Ambleside and Dundarave areas was likely its views. Were Mark Twain around today, he might update his saying “Buy land, they’re not making any more” to “Buy land with a view, they’re not making either any more.” With development increasingly encroaching on views, even in the hilly lower mainland, this Bayside home has sightlines “from Stanley Park to Point Grey to the Straits to the Gulf and San Juan islands,” says Harvey, of Royal LePage Sussex. “You can’t

Economy better able to withstand oil shock, Bank of Canada says

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he Bank of Canada says the still-uncertain fallout from the steep drop in oil prices has left the country’s financial system more vulnerable to any significant economic shocks to employment and incomes. In its latest financial system review, the central bank says the oil slump on its own is unlikely to set off considerable systemic stress and the probability of a severe recession remains low. But it warns a weak spot made worse by cheaper crude has put the system more at risk to any event that would lead to widespread job losses and falling incomes. System more ‘resilient’ The bank says in its semi-annual review that the consequences would reduce the ability of Canadians to service their rising debt loads and could set off a widespread housing-price correction. The central bank lists the country’s climbing level of household debt and its persistently overvalued real estate market as key vulnerabilities in the financial system. The risk of a widespread

correction in house prices has “increased marginally” since the last report in December, the bank said, while stressing that the possibility of that remains remote. The bank cites housing as an “elevated” risk which means it would have a potentially severe impact, but low probability. Bank of Montreal economist Benjamin Reitzes noted that the central bank broke down household vulnerability by region, which suggests that Alberta, B.C. and Ontario (in that order) have the most vulnerable households due to higher debtto-income ratios and a larger share of highly-indebted households. “There’s more debt to income, relatively, than we’ve ever seen before,” Stephen Poloz said, referring to a few pockets of the country. The central bank, however, also says financial reforms underway in Canada and abroad have put the Canadian system on better footing to absorb economic shocks.

Business / Finance

Telus expanding free Wi-Fi hot spots

Telus is expanding its Wi-Fi hotspot network across B.C. and Alberta, offering free Wi-Fi through businesses and public spaces, not just to Telus customers but to all Internet users.

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elus is expanding its network of WiFi hot spots, which offer free Internet access to all users. It is a move that represents a challenge to Shaw Communications, which decided a few years ago to stay out of the cellular business but instead offer Wi-Fi hot spots solely to its customers. It staked its claim with more than 60,000 hot spots across B.C. and Alberta. While Shaw had a head start, Telus has 8,000 hot spots so far, with 1,800 in downtown Vancouver and about 3,700 across Metro Vancouver. The company hopes to grow that number with their service that gives Telus business customers free installation of Wi-Fi hot spots on their premises. “We have been adding Wi-Fi sites over the past year-and-a-half,” said Telus spokesman Ryan Bazeley. “You don’t have to be a Telus customer to use the hot spots. “For a business, it’s important to them to offer free Wi-Fi to all of their customers, not just a subset of their customers,” said Bazeley. For businesses that are Telus customers, the Wi-Fi hot spots are maintained at no additional charge, creating a network with its own dedicated connection and no usage limits. “Comparing us to the Shaw network is not

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CPPIB buys Antares lending unit of GE Capital for $12B

anada Pension Plan Investment Board has a $12-billion deal to acquire Antares Capital, a Chicago-based lender that caters to a broad range of mid-sized businesses throughout the United States. CPP Investment Board executives say Antares Capital — part of the General Electric financial services arm GE Capital — has 20 per cent share of a stable U.S. lending sector worth an estimated $96 billion US a year. “So when Antares came up for sale, we realized that this was a very interesting time for use to access a very attractive part of the credit market,” said Mark Jenkins, global head of private investments for CPPIB. “It’s across multiple industries, multiple regions across the United States.” U.S. middle market investment Over the past five years, Antares has provided more than $120 billion US in financing to pensions, endowment funds and other private equity managers that invest in U.S. “middle market” companies with up to $100 million of annual earnings. CPPIB has been attracted to the U.S.

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really an apples-to-apples comparison,” said Bazeley. “What we’re building is a complement to our LTE network.” Shaw offers Go WiFi, a hot spot network that is available to Shaw Internet subscribers. For Telus, which competes with Shaw on Internet service and for television subscribers with its Optik TV service and is also Canada’s second-largest wireless provider in terms of market share, the Wi-Fi hot spots will help reduce the demand on its cellular wireless data. Slobodan Spasojevic, known as Bobo and owner of Bobo’s Philosophy Hair Studio, said having a Telus Wi-Fi hot spot is a convenience for his clients. “It is free for our customers, which my customers appreciate,” he said. “It is so easy to log in. You don’t have to have a Telus account, as some other companies are offering,” said Spasojevic. Telus Mobility users will automatically be linked with a secure connection to a Telus hot spot when they are in range. Other users can connect to the #Telusdirect network and they will be prompted through their website browser to fill in their email address to get on the network. The company recently released a mobile app, Telus Wi-Fi, to help users find free hot spots.

middle market — which would be served by commercial banks in most countries, including Canada — by the structure of the loans, the lower loss rates and a stable customer base, Jenkins said. Part of the reason the business has been very resilient through the ups and downs of the economic cycle is the relatively short duration of the loan agreements. “These loans, on average, will mature after four years or be refinanced. So you’re constantly replenishing that loan book at different times through the cycle and you can adjust pricing.” The Toronto-based fund manager will spend $3.85 billion to buy 100 per cent ownership of Antares Capital from GE Capital. The rest of the $12-billion transaction is in the form of new debt from a syndicate of global banks that will be used to run the business, Jenkins said. Jenkins wouldn’t reveal what rate of return CPPIB expects from the Antares investment but said it’s in line with the overall investment portfolio on a risk-adjusted basis.

Judge strikes down Hamilton’s bylaw to regulate Canada Post super-mailboxes

n a decision released Thursday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Alan Whitten declared the city of Hamilton’s bylaw regulating the placement of community mailboxes “inapplicable and inoperative.” The judge said the bylaw was an effort by the city to “thwart” an unpopular move by Canada Post to end door-to-door delivery, and said the program was well within Canada Post’s mandate to deliver the mail. Canada Post is entitled, the judge wrote, to make such decisions for the benefit of its survival, and to do so “untrammelled as it were by interference from those who do not share their power nor jurisdiction in such specific areas of competence.” The case has been watched around the

country as cities grapple with the end of door-to-door delivery and with who has jurisdiction when a federal corporation wants to make such a dramatic change. Lost on every point But the judge emphasized in court the case would not decide the propriety of door-to-door delivery. The case was focused on a much narrower slice of jurisdiction: Who has the right to control where mailboxes for carrying out federally mandated postal delivery should go? Municipal law expert John Mascarin, an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, said Hamilton lost on every point of its argument because they all fell under the main finding: Canada Post has the right to decide how it delivers the mail.

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Saturday, June 13, 2015

Afghanistan’s Sikh community feel alienated, pressured to leave

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fghanistan’s once-thriving Sikh community is dwindling fast as many choose to leave the country of their birth to escape what they say is growing intolerance and discrimination. Once boasting as many as 1,00,000 members in the 1990s, Afghanistan’s Sikh population, according to community leaders, has fallen to an estimated 2,500. The reason for the exodus: endemic societal discrimination in the majority Muslim country and an inability to reclaim Sikh homes, businesses and houses of worship that were illegally seized years ago. “I’m worried that if things don’t change and we are no longer able to stay, then the only people left will be those who cannot afford to leave,” said 23-year-old pharmacist Charn Singh. His family traces its roots back more than 400 years to Gardez, the capital of Paktya province bordering Pakistan, where his ancestors were wealthy traders and landowners and his grandfather was an oral historian and keeper of Sikh legends. These days, the family has little of its former wealth, having lost much of its land to what Afghan Hindu lawmaker Anarklai Kaur Honaryar called a series of illegal land grabs. Hindus in Afghanistan have faced similar persecution. Sikhism and Hinduism are distinct religions, but many Afghans view both communities as non-Muslim foreigners. “In all provinces they (Sikh and Hindus) owned lands, but unfortunately their lands were taken over by powerful individuals during the fighting,” said Honaryar, who is also a human rights activist. The persecution of Afghan Sikhs has remained a constant through decades of upheaval in this war-torn country. After the Russians ended their occupation in February 1989 and Afghanistan

Hamid Karzai collapsed into civil in 2002 largely war, various muput an end to jahedeen splinter the illegal land groups fought each seizures. But other for territogetting the ry and power. In land back has the ensuing chaos, proven diffimany Sikh houses cult. of worship, known Some have as gurdwaras, were tried to redestroyed — along claim their with many Hindu lost properties temples. A United Afghan Sikhs eat in a langar, in AfghaniNations report in at a Gurdwara in Kabul. stan’s work2005 said that most i n - pro g re s s of Kabul’s eight Sikh and four Hindu temjudicial system. But many other Sikhs and ples had been destroyed in the fighting. In Hindus have chosen not to pursue what can the chaos of the civil war, Afghans’ tolerance be a laborious, expensive and ultimately futoward ethnic and religious minorities hardtile attempt to legally regain their lost and ened. That intolerance became official policy when the Islamic extremist Taliban took often still-occupied properties. over in 1996. Under the Taliban, Sikhs and Abdul Qadir Arzu, a spokesman for the Hindus were pressured to convert to Islam Kabul municipality, said these kinds of landand forced to pay a special tax and publicly grabs were a common problem in Afghaniidentify themselves with yellow patches on stan and that the government is working to their clothing. Muslims were encouraged to address the concerns of the Sikh community. avoid doing business with them. During this “It’s a huge problematic issue for many Afperiod, many Sikhs and Hindus were forced ghans, including Afghan Sikhs,” Arzu said. to sell their land or had it openly seized by “Sikhs have been vulnerable to war and conwarlords. Those who fled the country often found that their properties had been seized flict, like other Afghans.” Sikh community figures and analysts beand false ownership papers drawn up to lelieve that intolerance for non-Muslims has gitimize the theft. grown as constant violence and upheaval has The overthrow of the Taliban by the 2001 made Afghans wary of those they perceive as US-led invasion didn’t improve conditions outsiders — and both Sikhs and Hindus are as much as some community members exwidely regarded as foreigners, more readipected. Many who had fled the country ly identified as Indians and Pakistanis. An found that religious intolerance had become attempt in 2013 by Karzai to reserve parliaingrained in their war-weary homeland and mentary seats for Sikhs and Hindus was rethat they were still second-class citizens. jected by lawmakers because, political analyst The ascension of post-Taliban President

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Congress blames govt, gives Rs 21 lakh to kin

65-year-old debt-ridden farmer allegedly committed suicide by consuming a poisonous substance this morning. The victim has been identified as Surjeet Singh, a resident of Dadu Majra village. He had apprised Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi of problems being faced by the state farmers during the leader’s visit to the Sirhind Grain Market on April 27. Surjeet was reportedly depressed as he was unable to repay his loan of Rs9 lakh taken from a bank and private money lenders. Deceased’s son Kulwinder Singh said they owned 6 acres of land and his father had taken another 15-20 acres for cultivation. He said his father had suffered heavy losses during the 2014 paddy season due to hailstorm. He said they suffered more losses due to unseasonal rain in March this year that destroyed their wheat crop. He

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Surjeet Singh (centre) had reportedly broken down while narrating his problems to Rahul Gandhi during his visit to Sangrur on April 27

said his father had borrowed Rs20,000 from someone and had gone to pay the same to a money lender. “On his return, he consumed some poisonous substance. We rushed him to a private clinic where he was declared brought dead,” he said.

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Ahmad Saeedi said, “other minorities might make demands for similar privileges.” The US commission on international religious freedom noted in a 2009 report that while there is no longer any official discrimination against Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan, “They are effectively barred from most government jobs and face societal hostility and harassment.” At times these tensions have boiled over into violent attacks — especially at funerals, as the Sikh and Hindu tradition of cremation is frowned upon by Muslims in Afghanistan. Even today funeral processions are regularly jeered and stoned. Despite constitutional protections for religious and ethnic minorities, neither the government nor judicial authorities have done much to address the situation, Honaryar said. “Social discrimination and second-class status within Afghan society is the only reason for leaving Afghanistan,” she said, adding that complaints to police about abusive treatment were largely ignored. For Afghan Sikhs, the constant discrimination is particularly bitter because many proclaim themselves to be proud Afghans. Some, like Arindar Singh, risked their lives to fight the Soviets in the 1980s. “Our Muslim brothers know our history, they can see our Afghan passports and national ID cards and our records in governmental offices. But when we go to them, they still tell us, ‘You are not Afghan, you are an Indian, go back to your country,”’ he said. A religious scholar born in Gardez, Singh teaches religious studies and Punjabi to Sikh children in Kabul. “I want to say that Afghanistan is our country and this is the place of my birth,” he said. “For the past three decades of war, I never left Afghanistan. I was born here and will die here.”

munication regarding the shifting ofwith Devinder Pal- Singh Bhullar to this coupon Amritsar jail, the authorities have started expires Dec. 31 making arrangements to receive the convict. Bhullar, a convict in the 1993 Delhi bomb blast case, is lodged in Tihar jail and formalities are being furnished by the state Home Department to shift him to Amritsar. Rajpal Meena, Additional Director General of Police, Punjab (Prisons), said: “No tentative time frame could be quoted about his transfer as the process in Delhi is underway.” Nevertheless, the Amritsar jail authorities have geared up to put on schedule the paramount arrangements as per the Punjab Jail Manual.

RK Sharma, Jail Superintendent, said due to space constraints, no separate barrack could be spared for Bhullar who would be accommodated with other inmates. A four-member team of guards would be deployed to guard him. “There is no verbal or written communication about Bhullar’s shifting so far, but we have sufficient infrastructure to accommodate him. We will follow the Jail Manual and give him the best possible attention,” he said. Keeping in view Bhullar’s ill health, the jail authorities have chalked out a schedule so that medical officers are available any time of the day. Sources said Bhullar had been undergoing treatment at Delhi and if his health deteriorated in the jail, it could cause a law and order problem here.

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Delhi ‘s Law minister Jitender Singh Tomar resigns after arrest over fake degrees

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inister in the Delhi government in Delhi has resigned after being arrested amid allegations that his law degree was fake. Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar, who is from the Aam Admi Party (AAP), is accused of forgery and cheating. Tomar has dismissed the claims as “baseless”. On Tuesday, he was remanded in custody for four days. The AAP, which was elected in Delhi on a pledge to fight corruption, says the arrest is politically-motivated. Tomar, who held a number of portfolios in the Delhi government including justice, sent his resignation letter late on Tuesday night, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

“Mr Tomar put in his papers a while back. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has accepted the resignation,” the agency quoted Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia as saying. “We shall forward it to Lt-Governor Najeeb Jung ,” he added. In his resignation letter, Mr Tomar said he did not want the image of the party or the government to be tarnished, PTI reported. The AAP won a landslide 67 out of 70 seats in Delhi’s assembly in February’s election. It was seen as a major blow to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nationally governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party. Mr Tomar had submitted documents showing that he held a law degree

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Pakistan worried after Indian commandos chase terrorists into Myanmar and kill them

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to go into details of the operation, ttributing the Myanmar the Minister said: “Those who fear operation to “change in India’s new posture have started mindset”, Defence Minreacting”. He also declined to take ister Manohar Parrikar today took questions from the media on the a dig at Pakistan, saying those who military action. Pakistan’s Interior “fear India’s new posture” have Minister Nisar Ali Khan said: “Paalready started reacting. “If the kistan is not like Myanmar” and thinking pattern changes, lot of things change. You have seen for the Manohar Parrikar warned India that his country cannot be cowed down by the threats last two-three days. A simple action against insurgents has changed the mindset from across the border. Khan’s statement of the full security scenario in the country,” came in response to Minister of State for Inhe said addressing a seminar here. He was formation and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan speaking on the need for simplication of de- Singh Rathore’s remarks that military action fence procurement procedures, which, he in Myanmar to hit back at rebels who killed said, required a change in mindset. Refusing 18 soldiers in Manipur was a message to oth-

Congress demands action against two federal Ministers over fake degress

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Saturday, June 13, 2015

Ingredients • 250g boneless chicken • 2tbsp rapeseed oil • 1 medium red onion • 3 large tomatoes • ½ cup cashew nuts • 100g tomato puree • 1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves • 100ml low fat cream • 1tsp garam masala • 1tsp red chilli powder • 1tbsp ginger- garlic paste • 2tbsp thick low fat yoghurt • salt to taste

erming Delhi Law Minister Jitender Tomar’s arrest in a fake degree case as a “healthy precedent”, the Congress today sought similar action against HRD Minister Smriti Irani, who submitted two varied affidavits on her educational qualifications to the Election Commission, and her junior in the ministry Ram Shankar Katheria, charged with forging his marks. “The way the police have acted against Tomar, they should act against Smriti Irani and Ram Shankar Katheria also,” Congress’ senior spokesperson and Delhi Congress unit head Ajay Makan said today. The Congress was the first to officially demand action against Irani last year when it surfaced that she had, in two election years, submitted different affidavits mentioning different qualifications. Her case is before the Delhi High Court. Makan further demanded the resignation Procedure: of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, questioning him for ignoring Marinate the chicken the“Arvid gingerKejriwal garlic paste forgery allegations againstwith Tomar. not and onlythe gaveyoghurt Tomar for a 20 min. soak the cashew in warm water for 15 minutes.chop the onions and tomatoes. Heat 1 tbsp oil to a pan. sear the chicken pieces in the hot oil for 1 minute on each ticket in Delhi polls he also made him a minister knowing well what he side to a golden colour. remove the chicken pieces. in the same pan, add 1tbsp oil and the chopped a translucent Addconvener the tomatoes, red chili garam masala powder and cook on medium flame till the tomatoes are tender (approx. 4-5 hadonions. done,” saute Makantillsaid, slamming pink. the AAP for doing littlepowder, to minutes). remove from flame and run in a blender with the soaked cashews to make a smooth paste. return to the pan and add the tomato puree. Bring to a boil and add promote transparency and accountability in the government despite getthe chicken pieces. simmer for 4-5 minutes till the chicken is cooked. Add the low fat cream and simmer for 2 minutes. Broil the fenugreek leaves on a pan. crush the ting a huge mandate from the people of Delhi. “Kejriwal has cheated the fenugreek leaves over the curry and remove from fire. serve hot. people,” Makan said citing as “ironical” the fact that Kejriwal had quit his first innings as Delhi CM on the issue of the Jan Lokpal Bill.

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Modi praises Bangladeshi PM’s courage ‘despite being a woman’

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SOUTH ASIA

Saturday, June 13, 2015

ndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inadvertently coined a Twitter hashtag Sunday when he praised the courage of Bangladesh’s prime minister to take on terrorism “despite being a woman.” The hashtag #DespiteBeingAWoman was one of Twitter’s top trending topics Monday as Indians reacted to Modi’s speech at Dhaka University during a two-day visit to the neighbouring country. In the speech, Modi praised Sheikh Hasina for her commitment to tackling terrorism in both countries. “I am happy that the prime minister of Bangladesh, despite being a woman, is openly saying that she has zero tolerance for terrorism. I would like to congratulate Sheikh Hasina for her courage to deal with terrorism with zero tolerance,” he added. Modi’s critics seized on those words on Twitter.

Landslide hits 6 villages in Nepal, 15 feared dead

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landslide triggered by heavy rainfall has buried six villages in Nepal’s mountainous northeast and at least 15 people are believed to have been killed. Government administrator Surendra Bhattarai says the landslide hit the villages in Taplejung district at night when people were at home sleeping. He says another 12 people are believed to be missing but details are sketchy because of the remoteness of the area. It takes several hours on mountain trails to reach the villages. Landslides are common in mountainous Nepal during the rainy monsoon season, which began in June and ends in September. The Himalayan nation is still recovering from earthquakes in April and May that killed more than 8,700 people and caused massive damage.

Political agreement paves the way for new Nepal Constitution

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epal’s main political parties have reached agreements on several disputed issues that could lead to the drafting of a much-delayed Constitution in the Himalayan nation. The agreement was signed by leaders of the four main political parties after hours of negotiations at Prime Minister Sushil Koirala’s residence. The agreement says Nepal would have eight federal states. A special commission will be formed to decide on the exact borders of the states, while their names will be decided by the state assemblies when they are elected. Partisan political fighting has delayed an agreement on the constitution, which was initially supposed to have been drafted by 2010. The parties were unable to agree on the number of states, their formation and their names. Some of the political

Photojournalist arrested over blogger’s murder in Bangladesh

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Bangladeshi photojournalist has been arrested over his alleged role in the murder of an “atheist” blogger who was hacked to death last month by masked machete-wielding assailants, police said. “A team of CID (criminal investigation department) arrested him as a suspect,” M Rokonuddin, additional police commissioner of northeastern Sylhet, where Ananta Bijoy Das was hacked to death, said. He said photographer Idris Ali, who works for a national and a Sylhet daily, was remanded into police custody for seven days for interrogation on orders of a court there. Later, he was brought to the CID headquarters here under security. CID’s senior superintendent Abdullah Hell Baki said here that Ali was under surveillance ahead of his arrest, but refused to elaborate, saying: “I can’t tell you much about his

NRI America’s NRI Surgeon General awarded Pride of Community Award Indian-origin US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has been presented with the Pride of the Community Award by a prominent Hindu advocacy group. Receiving the award by the Hindu American Foundation at its 12th Annual Day reception at Capitol Hill, Murthy said that he draws inspiration from the life of Swami Vivekananda. The reception was attended by two Senators and 10 members of the US House of Representatives. “It’s a proud moment to see the continued progress that the Hindu American Foundation has made over a short period of time, and the great poise that this organisation and its constituents have,” said Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, the only Hindu serving in the Congress. HAF also awarded Anantanand Rambachan, Professor of Religion at St. Olaf College, Dharma Seva award; Harpreet Singh Mokha of the Department of Justice, the Mahatma Gandhi Award for the

NRI jailed for plotting sham marriage in UK LONDON: An NRI who attempted to arrange a sham marriage with a Scottish girl in a bid to stay in the UK has been jailed for six months and on the completion of the sentence he will be deported to India. Gurwinder Wairach, 25, was stopped at the altar as he was in the process of marrying Scottish teenager Sheryl Kyle. The marriage didn’t go ahead when 19-year-old Kyle’s mother turned up at the registry office in the Scottish town of Ayr and alerted the concerned authorities. UK immigration officers quizzed the pair and found that Wairach knew nothing about his bride-to-be and couldn’t tell them even basic details about her such like her parents’ names, or her

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Fiji ranked 134 of 198 countries in internet use

IJI has been placed 134th out of 198 countries covered in a live statistic review on the number of internet users conducted by the Internet Live Stat website. The Internet Live Stat website recorded a total of 325,717 internet users in Fiji last year, adding that this was an eight per cent increase compared with 2013. According to the website the eight per cent was equivalent to 25,238 new internet users in Fiji last year. Yet on this same website, it states that Fiji’s internet usage is rated at 0.01 per cent among three billion internet users in the

Australia is the most expensive country

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ustralia still tops the chart as the world’s most expensive country, even as a sliding Australian dollar reduces local prices in US dollar terms.Deutsche Bank’s annual world consumer price index for 2014 shows that Australia is still more than 12 per cent more expensive than the US, although that is down from 63 per cent when the Aussie dollar was around parity in 2012. Sydney and Melbourne have both cracked the list of top 10 most expensive major cities to live in at fifth and eight respectively, while Sydney had actually been in the cheapest 10 only 14 years earlier. Only Singapore, Paris, Oslo and Zurich come in ahead of Australia’s most populous city in terms of cost of living. New Zealand now comes in a close second to Australia, as its appreciating currency makes the country relatively more expensive compared to other nations. The cheapest country of 19 listed is Russia, with a slumping rouble making it

world. It also states that 36.72 per cent of population in Fiji are with internet. The website keeps a live automated count on the number of internet users worldwide that is updated every second. China topped the number of internet users with six million users followed by the US and India at two million each. The owners of this website are made up of a team of international developers, researchers and analysts with the goal of making statistics available to a wide audience around the world.

$120 million bottling facility opened

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fter five years of preparations, the groundwork for a multimillion-dollar mineral water-bottling factory in the interior of Ra will begin soon. Bob Bishop, the director of 480 Holdings Company Ltd, said the project commenced in 2010 and the company had been working with Government ministries to move it forward. Co-founded by Tavua businessman Rajendra Patel, the company aims to open up a mineral water-bottling company in the Yaqara valley near Nananu Village.

Inmates kept in the dark

Inmates serving time for murder or manslaughter are kept in darkened cells and sleep on beds without proper blankets and pillows at the Lautoka Corrections Centre. This was revealed by members of the Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission who visited the prison facility last Friday. Commission chairman Justice Mohammed Ajmeer said while they were guilty for their crimes, their human rights should not be violated in the process.

50 deported from Fiji

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ifty illegal immigrants have been deported to their country after they breached their terms and conditions of travel in the past two weeks. Ministry of Immigration deputy director Edward Brown said immigrants continued to be a major and challenging issue for the ministry every year. “The number varies. Those who have breached the terms and conditions of their travel, they are declared as illegal immigrants,” Mr Brown said. He said even those found disobeying the law were dealt with accordingly and sent back to their coun-

tries as soon as possible.

Fiji sugar hits South Korea

Fiji sugar is becoming a hit in the South Korean market, says the Chairman of Paradise Bio Sugar (PBS), Lee Hon Gyu. PBS is exporting Fiji’s raw sugar to South Korea under a special arrangement with the Fiji Sugar Corporation. The company hopes to finalise in the near future a permanent arrangement for bulk sugar export. “Whilst we are still undertaking marketing and securing further deals with retailers and major food processing and cosmetic companies in Korea and China, our consumer base and sales are growing exponentially every month” Mr Lee said.

Saturday, June 13, 2015 i 31

“This project will be about $120million to $140m and represents close to 17,000 square metres,” he said.

Good News!

Good News!

more attractive to foreign visitors at only 35 per cent of the price levels seen in the US. The bank’s report looks at international measures of purchasing power parity (PPP), which compares how much it costs to buy a standard basket of goods in a variety of nations. Australia dominates the list, at or near the top of a wide range of categories of goods and services in terms of cost. Five-star hotel rooms in Sydney are 232 per cent of the cost of their counterparts in New York, although Melbourne is only 72 per cent of the price. Two litres of Coca-Cola in Sydney costs one-and-a-half times the typical price in New York, while Melbourne is only 18 per cent more expensive. On the other hand, beer is slightly cheaper in Sydney and Melbourne than the Big Apple, and about the same as San Francisco, London and

Zurich, although almost twice the price as in Germany.

Good News!

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32 i Saturday, June 13, 2015

Senior police official gunned down

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senior police official was today gunned down by unidentified assailants in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Majeed Abbasi was shot dead by assailants while he was travelling in a police mobile van in Karachi’s Shah Latif Town area. “He was posted as SP of Site town and going for duty when the assailants attacked him and he died later in a hospital,” IG police Ghulam Qadir Thebo told the media. Thebo said four assailants had gunned down Abbasi. Last month, unidentified target killers gunned down two DSPs in different incidents in Orangi town and Shah Faisal colony. Police officials have been frequent targets since last year in Karachi as militants and criminals have reacted to the ongoing clean-up operation in the city. Prime minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned Abbasi’s murder and sought a report. The premier also expressed his concern over the number of police officials targeted in Karachi in the last few months.

Christopher Lee who played ‘Jinnah’ passes away at 93

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egendary British actor Christopher Lee has died at the age of 93 after being hospitalised for respiratory problems and heart failure, according to The Guardian. Although the actor passed away at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London on Sunday morning, the news was withheld from the press due to his wife’s desire to inform family members first. The veteran actor, who is perhaps best known to local audiences for playing the titular role in Jamil Dehlavi’s biopic of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, enjoyed a diverse career in films ranging from Dracula to The Wicker Tree to the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies.

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Despite India’s objections, Pakistan holds polls in Gilgit-Baltistan

akistan on Monday went ahead with the holding of legislative assembly elections in Gilgit-Baltistan despite India’s objections to the polls. It is the second time Pakistan is holding polls to elect a regional legislature after devolution of powers in 2009 which changed the region’s name from Northern Areas to Gilgit-Baltistan and provided it with a local assembly. Reacting strongly to the elections in Gilgit-Baltistan, India last week had said it is an attempt by Pakistan to “camouflage its forcible and illegal occupation” of the regions which are

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integral part of the country. Official spokesperson in the external affairs ministry Vikas Swarup in New Delhi had expressed concern at the “continued efforts” by Pakistan to deny the people of the region their political rights and to absorb these territories. But Pakistan had rejected India’s stand and said India should avoid “interference” in its internal affairs. The polling for the 24 seats of the legislative assembly started at 8am on Monday. The number of registered voters is 618,364 as per the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Pakistan executes Christian man who was 15 when convicted

akistan executed a man who was 15 when he was sentenced to death for murder and whose lawyers say was tortured into confessing, in a case that has prompted concern among rights groups and the UN. Aftab Bahadur (pictured) was sentenced to death for killing three people in 1992 and human rights group Reprieve said two witnesses who implicated Bahadur had since recanted, saying they were tortured. At the time, the death penalty could be passed on a 15 year old, but the minimum age was raised to 18 in 2000. Testimony obtained by torture is also inadmissible. “Aftab Bahadur was hanged at District Jail Lahore on Wednesday at 4.30 am,” a jail official in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore said, declining to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media on the issue. “Before the hanging, he was crying and saying he was innocent.” The date of birth on Bahadur’s birth certificate and national identity card, June 30, 1977, is not disputed by authorities. “Pakistan proceeded with Mr Bahadur’s execution despite his having been sentenced to

death when he was a child - in violation of both international and Pakistani law,” Reprieve said. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted the moratorium on the death penalty last year, a day after gunmen attacked a school and killed 134 pupils and 19 adults. The killings put pressure on the government to do more to tackle the Islamist insurgency. In an essay written from jail and published a day before his hanging, Bahadur, a Christian, repeated his assertion that he was innocent. “But I do not know whether that will make any difference,” he wrote. “I have not given up hope, though the night is very dark ... It would perhaps have been better not to have to think of what the police did to try to get me to confess falsely to this crime.” On Tuesday, another man, Shafqat Hussain, whose lawyers say was a child when charged with murder and only confessed after being tortured, was handed a reprieve just hours before he was to be ex-

ecuted, the fourth time his death penalty has been stayed.

Two brothers jailed for 35 years for plot to bomb New York

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federal judge imposed the maximum possible prison sentences Thursday on two Pakistani-born brothers who admitted trying to pull off a terrorist bomb attack against New York City landmarks and later assaulted two deputy U.S. marshals while in custody. U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom compared the plot, which never got past the planning stages, to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings in which the two attackers used commonplace pressure cookers. In the Florida case, evidence shows the younger brother, 22-year-old Raees Alam Qazi, researched how to make bombs on the Internet using readily available items such as Christmas tree lights and chemicals. “You are a terrorist. Evil in nature and evil in your deeds,” Bloom said to Raees Qazi. “You chose to engage in conduct that can only be described as evil and reprehensible.” The judge sentenced Raees Qazi to 35 years in prison while his brother, 32-year-old Sheheryar Alam Qazi, was sentenced to 20 years behind bars. Both sentences were three years above those recommended by prosecutors and defence attorneys in a March plea deal. Sheheryar Qazi got a lesser sentence because his main role was to back his brother financially as he sought to actively plan an attack, according to court documents. Bloom said evidence shows Sheheryar Qazi was fully aware of and supported the plot. “Your assistance allowed your brother to continue with his evil plan,” the judge said, adding that the FBI investigation and arrests “prevented what could have been a tragic loss of many lives.”

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Mazda expands Takata airbag recall to 66,000 vehicles in Canada

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azda’s recall of cars in Canada with Takata airbags now totals 66,000, it announced Friday. (Associated Press) Mazda is recalling 66,000 vehicles in Canada to fix Takata airbags that can explode and injure passengers and drivers. On Friday, it issued a formal recall for nearly 503,000 cars and another 35,000 pickup trucks in the U.S. and Canada. Some of the vehicles were previously subject to a voluntary safety improvement campaign announced on Dec. 11, 2014, and are now covered by a formal recall, Mazda said in an online statement.The affected cars are: 2003-2008 Mazda 6. 2006-2007 MazdaSpeed 6.2004-2008 RX-8. 2004-2006 B-Series pickup. About 1.5 million vehicles in Canada have been recalled because of Takata airbags, which have inflators that

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can deteriorate and deploy with too much force, injuring people in the vehicle. The federal government has proposed legislation that would give the transport minister new powers to order auto manufacturers to recall vehicles. The General Motors ignition switch defect and the Takata airbag fault, which covered millions of vehicles, have focused attention on how little power Transport Canada has. It is unable to order recalls and must wait for automakers to act. Meanwhile the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a series of reports recommending it rely less on industry information. Administrator Mark Rosekind says the GM case changed the culture at NHTSA, where staff did not have the technology skills to determine there was an underlying problem with GM vehicles. He says actions now being put in place will hold automakers accountable for safety issues.

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Saturday, June 13, 2015 i 33

Ray Tanguay named government ‘car czar’ in Toronto

ket share in the auto sector, and I epresentatives from the look forward to their important federal and provincial work contributing to a more prosgovernments name Toyota perous, innovative Ontario econCanada’s recently retired chair Ray omy,” Duguid said in a statement. Tanguay to be their special adviser The recently retired chairman to help them oversee and guide the of Toyota’s Canadian arm rose auto industry in Canada. Ontario through the ranks at the Japanese Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid and Federal Industry The federal and automaker to become one of the Minister James Moore tapped Tan- provincial gov’ts highest-ranking non-Japanese exguay to be their “car czar” — a spe- name Ray Tanguay, ecutives at the company. He was cial adviser tasked with helping the former CEO of also instrumental in convincing industry expand and thrive. Toyota Canada, as the company to expand its assembly line operations in Canada to Tanguay was named chair of a first auto czar the point that the company has subcommittee of the Canadian Automotive Partnership Council, an indus- now made more than five million cars here. The auto sector contributed $16 billion to try-led organization formed in September 2002 to address the key competitive issues Ontario’s GDP last year, and the province’s asfacing the Canadian automotive industry. sembly plants built 16 per cent of all of North The new organization Tanguay heads up is America’s auto output over the past five years. But after being a major player for several tasked with advising both governments and years, Canada has seen its influence wane business. “I am confident that this new partas most new investment has migrated to nership, with Ray Tanguay’s strategic advice lower-cost jurisdictions such as Mexico and and leadership, will allow Ontario to increase Southeast Asia. our competitiveness, productivity, and mar-

Acura SUVs being recalled over emergency brake system glitch

cura has recalled two models of SUVs because the automatic emergency braking systems can malfunction and put the vehicles at risk of a collision. The recall involves just under 48,000 MDX and RLX SUVs worldwide from the 2014 and 2015 model years and shows how even sophisticated safety technology can be prone to real-world glitches. Acura’s “Collision Mitigation Braking System” uses radar to scan conditions in front of the vehicles. If it determines the SUVs might hit an object, it automatically applies the brakes, slowing the SUVs to

lessen damage and injuries. In the recalled SUVs, the system can become confused and step on the brakes when it detects another vehicle accelerating in front while simultaneously driving along an iron fence or metal guardrail, according to Honda, the maker of Acura. The problem first surfaced in Japan in November of 2013 when an SUV braked for no reason and caused a rear-end collision. While Honda investigated, a second incident happened in June of last year. No injury reports, Honda claims Honda later duplicated the problem, figured out the cause and told safety regulators of the recall

in May. The company says it has no reports of warranty claims, incidents or injuries in the U.S. because of the problem. Dealers will update the system software at no cost to owners. Later versions of the system actually stop the vehicles before a crash, but those versions aren’t affected by the recall. Like any new technology, autonomous braking will develop problems in real-world driving that can’t be found in testing by automakers, said Michelle Krebs, senior analyst for Autotrader. When air bags were first introduced, for example, automakers found out that they inflated with too much pressure and injured

smaller people, so they had to make adjustments, Krebs said. “Unfortunately some of these will only be discovered in real-world settings with real people behind the wheel,” she said. Despite the problems, air bags have saved thousands of lives, and autonomous braking likely will do the same, she said. The Honda recall isn’t the only problem to surface with autonomous braking systems. Last week the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating complaints that the systems on 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokees can brake for no reason.

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36 i Saturday, June 13, 2015