Business licence rescinded after Surrey RCMP search uncovers firearm and stolen property on premises

28 February 2019

THE City of Surrey has rescinded the business licence of Total Rapid Oil located at 7227 128th Street following a recent investigation by Surrey RCMP that resulted in the seizure of a sawed-off rifle, credit cards, passports and personal authentication information. Two men – Steven Werner, 57, and Movin Nur, 37, both of Surrey – have been arrested and are now facing several criminal charges.

“The decision to rescind the business licence is not only the right action to take but makes it clear that the City of Surrey will immediately take action when criminal activity is alleged to have taken place at a business,” said Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum. “The police are doing their job with their investigations and arrests, and the City will do what is within our purview to shut down businesses associated with criminal activity.”

This investigation was initiated by the Surrey RCMP Community Response Unit (CRU) as a follow-up on suspicious activity reported in association to the location of a local oil change business. On February 13, the Surrey RCMP CRU executed a search warrant in the 7200-block of 128th Street.

During the investigation police located a seized a number of items including a large amount of personal identification, credit cards and passports believed to be stolen as well as a sawed-off rifle. Two men are now facing a number of criminal charges.

Werner has been charged with:

Four counts of possession of identity documents
Possession of a firearm while prohibited to do so
Unauthorized possession of a firearm
Unsafe storage of a firearm
Possession of a stolen or forged credit card
Possession of property obtained by crime

Nur has been charged with:

Three counts of possession of a stolen or forged credit card
Two counts of possession, trafficking in, or use of credit card data and personal authentication information
Unauthorized use of a credit card
Possession of identity documents
Fail to comply with a condition of an undertaking or recognizance

“This investigation is an excellent example of the Community Response Unit’s ability to effectively target commercial operations that are being used to victimize our community,” said Staff-Sgt. Winston Shorey, South CRU Commander. “We encourage the public to continue to provide us with tips and information which assists us in our efforts to combat crime in Surrey.”

The Surrey RCMP Community Response Units provide targeted enforcement of problematic areas and individuals identified through intelligence, neighborhood complaints, and crime analysis / trends. They provide uniformed deployment to address crime, nuisance activity, and neighborhood safety through pro-active policing strategies.

Surrey: Moving Forward with the Task Force on Truck Parking

28 February 2019

NEWS CIVIC Surrey Mandeep Nagra2 — Mandeep Nagra

THE Task Force on Trucking Parking was formed last December with a one-year mandate to develop creative options and implement equitable and sustainable solutions for authorized commercial truck parking within Surrey. With Councillor Mandeep Nagra as Chair, work to understand and address the issues is underway.

“If there is an industry many of us generally take for granted, it is trucking,” said Nagra. “Yet, every citizen and business relies on trucks to bring us inputs for our businesses or our final products. The movement of goods, and our hard-working truckers, are vital to driving our economy forward.”

He noted that truck parking has been a long-standing dilemma in Surrey, as in other Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley communities.

“Where semi-trailer trucks and other heavy-goods vehicles park, involves multiple issues including land use, environmental and public concerns, and potential bylaw infractions,” said Nagra. “Shaping possible solutions is work that requires the efforts of many to address.”

To generate practical and effective options by fall 2019, getting the input of a wide range of local truckers and stakeholders from the start is key. Understanding their concerns, priorities and ideas for possible solutions is the focus of the first phase of work by the Task Force.

City staff are hosting an Open House on Saturday, March 9 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Surrey City Hall’s Atrium.

Learn more at www.surrey.ca/truckparking.

No protocol for captive’s return, Kargil only precedent: Ex-diplomat

28 February 2019

INDIAN PILOT — Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman

New Delhi (IANS): While Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday announced that Wing Commander Varthaman Abhinandan will be released from captivity on Friday, the protocol for such return is confined to the sole incidence of Flight Lieutenant K. Nachiketa (now Group Captain), an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer who was released by Pakistan in 1999 during the Kargil War.

Khan said captured IAF pilot Varthaman will be freed as a “goodwill gesture” after New Delhi sought his unconditional, immediate and unharmed release. The 35-year-old Wing Commander was captured by Pakistan on Wednesday after his MiG fell in the Pakistani territory during an aerial dogfight.

Before Varthaman, the last Indian officer to be released by Pakistan from its custody was Nachiketa, a MiG pilot, who fell into Pakistan’s captivity during the 1999 Kargil War when he ejected himself from his “flamed out” aircraft.

Nachiketa was later handed over to then Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan G. Parthasarathy who narrated the procedure that was followed in the pilot’s return.

“He was handed over to the Indian Embassy by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). I then sent him to the Wagah border with an Air Commodore and a Navy Commodore. There is no protocol as such for transfers like these. The only time it happened was after the Kargil War,” Parthasarthy told IANS.

While receiving Nachiketa, the diplomat said he refused to have any media presence to prevent the transfer from becoming a high voltage “dog and pony show”.

“I did it out of my own accord because I knew Pakistan will make a big hoo-haa right in the middle of the Kargil War, showing how generous they were. I had to take the decision immediately. I couldn’t say I will check with Delhi. An Indian Air Force officer treated like that would be too much for me to see, so I said no,” he said.

Nachiketa was released after eight days in captivity. In an interview in 2016, Nachiketa recounted the details of his days in captivity during which he suffered at the hands of his captors torture that was just short of third degree.

Although it is reasonable to believe that Varthaman didn’t have to go through any torture, the former diplomat emphasised he should be treated like a Prisoner of War (PoW) as described under the Geneva Convention on treatment of PoW.

Air Canada flights to Delhi resume Thursday night from both Vancouver and Toronto

28 February 2019

AN Air Canada spokesperson told The VOICE on Thursday that flights to Delhi will resume tonight from both Toronto (AC 42 February 28) and Vancouver (AC 44 March 1 – the flight leaves just after midnight).

However, there are no flights to Mumbai scheduled for February 28, Air Canada’s Angela Mah added.

Flights to Delhi had been cancelled for Wednesday night from both Toronto (AC 42 February 27) and Vancouver (AC44 February 28) as there were no suitable alternate routings.

Because of the closure of Pakistani airspace by its government, one Air Canada flight en route to Delhi on Tuesday night (February 26) turned back over the Atlantic Ocean and returned to Toronto on Wednesday, while a second flight from Vancouver to Delhi that was to depart on Tuesday night was cancelled.

Car-bus collision on Surrey’s City Parkway

28 February 2019

ON February 27, at approximately 5:20 p.m., Surrey RCMP received several 911 calls reporting a head-on collision between a Grey Ford Mustang and a B.C. Transit bus, in the 10200-block of City Parkway. The Mustang had crossed into the oncoming lane and collided with the bus. No one on the bus was injured. The male driver of the Mustang, a 34-year-old resident of Surrey, was suffering from a medical issue prior to the collision and was transported to the hospital for treatment of this issue.

A dog in the back of the Mustang got out and was running around when police officers arrived on the scene. The dog was taken to an animal shelter to be cared for. It was not injured in the collision. City Parkway was closed for a time.

Scheer calls on RCMP to investigate Trudeau and SNC-Lavalin Affair

28 February 2019

scheer trudeau — Andrew Scheer and Justin Trudeau.

CONSERVATIVE Leader Andrew Scheer on Thursday sent a letter to RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki calling for an investigation into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s actions in relation to the SNC-Lavalin Affair.

Scheer wrote: “It is contrary to the Criminal Code to engage in any conduct with the intent to provoke fear in the Attorney General. It is further contrary to the Criminal Code to attempt to obstruct or defeat the course of justice.

“According to the facts as have been revealed in media reports, Parliamentary testimony from Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick, and most significantly the recent comments of the former Attorney General, Canadians rightly ought to be concerned that criminal law has been violated.”

Scheer said a criminal investigation is necessary for Canadians to understand the full scale of Justin Trudeau’s actions.

“Canadians cannot have a Prime Minister who is willing to commit a crime to protect his political interests,” Scheer said. “We need the police to investigate these serious allegations and Justin Trudeau should immediately resign and allow this investigation to take place.”

You can view the full letter by clicking here.

Championship bracket set at BC Junior Girls Provincial Invitational Basketball Tournament

28 February 2019

FOUR of the top eight teams have been eliminated from championship contention at the Junior Girls Basketball Provincial Invitational Tournament.

Twenty-four teams tipped off on Wednesday, the opening day of the four-day championships at Langley Events Centre.

The teams are now tiered into three eight-team brackets: Championship Bracket (one to eight), Showcase Bracket (nine to 16) and Rivalry Bracket (17 to 24).

The Championship Bracket features No. 3 Riverside Rapids (Port Coquitlam) vs. No. 11 Okanagan Mission Huskies (Kelowna), the No. 2 Kelowna Owls vs. the No. 10 Fleetwood Park Dragons (Surrey), the No. 12 Yale Lions (Abbotsford) vs. the No. 11 M.E.I. Eagles (Abbotsford) and the No. 1 Terry Fox Ravens (Port Coquitlam) against the No. 9 Claremont Spartans. The quarter-finals begin Thursday at 11:30 a.m.

For full results for all 24 teams from day one, click here.

Seven of eight top seeds advance at Senior Girls AA Provincials

28 February 2019

Vernon9 — Photos of Vernon Panthers AA senior girls team courtesy of Gary Ahuja - Langley Events Centre

Photos of Vernon Panthers AA senior girls team courtesy of Gary Ahuja – Langley Events Centre

SEVEN of the top eight seeds have moved on to the quarter-final round.

The 16-team field tipped off at the B.C. Secondary School Girls AA Basketball Championships on Wednesday at Langley Events Centre with the lone upset of the day belonging to the tenth-seeded St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights (Burnaby) who knocked off the seventh-seed Duchess Park Condors (Prince George).

Thursday’s quarter-final round will feature the No. 1 South Kamloops Titans against the No. 8 Seycove Seyhawks (North Vancouver) and the No. 4 Britannia Bruins (Vancouver) vs. the No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas Fighting Saints. The bottom half of the draw has the No. 2 Langley Christian Lightning facing the No. 10 Knights and the No. 3 G.W. Graham Grizzlies (Chilliwack) vs. the No. 6 Vernon Panthers.

Tip-off is at 3 p.m. for the first of the four games.

For full results for all 16 teams from the first day, click here.

A quick look at day one:

No. 1 South Kamloops Titans 90 No. 16 David Thompson Lakers 26

The defending champions opened the tournament with a convincing win over the David Thompson Lakers, 90-26. Olivia Morgan-Cherchas scored 26 while Maddy Gobeil had 21 in the victory. The Lakers’ Maddy Wells led her team with six points.

No. 8 Seycove Seyhawks 67 No. 9 Lambrick Park Lions 39

Twenty-one points from Chelsea Bradshaw and 15 apiece from Emma Bradshaw and Jill Bowering (who also had 13 rebounds) helped the Seycove Seyhawks (North Vancouver) tame the Lambrick Lions (Victoria) 67-39.

Destiny Hanson’s 12 points paced the Lion attack.

No. 4 Britannia Bruins 86 No. 13 G.P Vanier Towhees 60

The Britannia Bruins (Vancouver) put up 50 first-half points in a thorough 86-60 win over the G.P. Vanier Towhees (Courtenay).

The Bruins had four players in double figures with Surprise Munie’s 31 points and seven rebounds leading the team. Shemaiah Abatavo had 23. Emily Calder led the Towhees with 13 points.

No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas Fighting Saints 82 Smithers Gryphons 23

St. Thomas Aquinas (North Vancouver) used a stifling defence which kept the Smithers Gryphons to single digits in all four quarters in a dominating 82-23 victory.

Offensively, Gemma Cutler had 16 points while Jessica Clarke had 11 points to go along with 15 rebounds. Smithers was led by nine points from Angela Jennings.

No. 6 Vernon Panthers 64 No. 11 Whistler Storm

The Vernon Panthers weathered an early Whistler storm, rallying from seven points down in the first quarter to take the lead at the half before winning 64-54.

A big difference in the game was foul shooting as the Panthers went to the line 36 times, hitting 21 while the Storm sank seven of 14 attempts.

Kelsey Falk was unstoppable for Vernon with 36 points and 20 rebounds.

Ayden Kristmanson had 21 points and 15 rebounds for Whistler.

No. 3 G.W. Graham Grizzlies 92 No. 14 Little Flower Academy Angels 56

The sister act of Julia (30 points, 16 rebounds) and Deanna Tuchscherer (26 points, 12 rebounds) combined for 56 points and 28 rebounds in a 92-56 win over the Little Flower Academy Angels (Vancouver). Kayla Canama led the Angels with 17 points.

No. 10 St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights No. 7 Duchess Park Condors 39

In the lone upset of the day among AA squads, the St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights (Burnaby) built an early advantage and led wire-to-wire, defeating the Duchess Park Condors (Prince George) 72-39.

Brooklyn Monks scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Knights. Jasmin Schlick led the Condors with eight points and 17 rebounds.

No. 2 Langley Christian Lightning 95 No. 15 Westsyde Whundas 35

The Langley Christian Lightning shot 42.4 per cent from the field as they opened their tournament with a 95-35 win over the Westsyde Whundas (Kamloops).

Makenna Gardner scored 33 points, connecting on eight of her 19 three-point attempts, to lead the Lightning attack. Lainey Shelvey finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, eight steals and a pair of assists. Kenya Reid scored 21 for Westsyde.

Top 8 seeds advance at BC Senior Girls AAA Tournament

28 February 2019

A15U4160 — Photos of Kelowna Owls senior girls AAA team courtesy of Mary Kessenich - Vancouver Sports Pictures

Photos of Kelowna Owls senior girls AAA team courtesy of Mary Kessenich – Vancouver Sports Pictures

A pair of Kelowna teams as well as six Fraser Valley squads remain in the hunt for the AAA senior girls championship title.

Day one of the B.C. Secondary School Girls AAA Basketball Championships on Wednesday at Langley Events Centre is in the books with all eight top seeds advancing.

Thursday’s quarter-final round will see No. 4 Yale vs. No. 5 Kelowna (the defending champion) and No. 1 seed Semiahmoo against No. 8 Okanagan Mission. The bottom half of the draw features No. 3 Riverside and No. 6 Brookswood and No. 2 Walnut Grove face No. 7 Robert Bateman. The first game goes at 11:45 a.m.

For full results for all 16 teams, click here.

A quick look at the action from day one:

No. 3 Riverside Rapids 108 No. 14 Royal Bay Ravens 49

A barrage of three-pointers – 21 to be exact – helped the Riverside Rapids (Port Coquitlam) overwhelm the Royal Bay Ravens (Victoria) at the senior girls provincial championships.

Jessica Parker led the barrage with 29 points while Sammy Shields had 25 as Riverside had four players reach double figures.

For Royal Bay, Emilie Daitl scored 13 points to lead the Ravens.

No. 6 Brookswood Bobcats 70 No. 11 R.A. McMath Wildcats 68

The closest game of the day saw the Brookswood Bobcats (Langley) hold off the R.A. McMath Wildcats (Richmond) after the Wildcats missed a chance to force overtime with a pair of failed free throw attempts.

The Bobcats were up 11 at the half but the Wildcats cut the deficit to two points after three quarters and led by six in the fourth before Brookswood rallied to outscore McMath 18-10 down the stretch.

Jenna Dick (24 points) and Jenessa Knapp (20 points) were the one-two offensive punch for Brookswood with Knapp also pulling down a dozen rebounds. Jayna Wilson led McMath with 28 points and eight rebounds.

No. 7 Robert Bateman Timberwolves 87 No. 10 Argyle Pipers 48

Playing their first game ever at the provincial championships, the Robert Bateman Timberwolves (Abbotsford) were wire-to-wire winners over the Argyle Pipers (North Vancouver).

Jayden Gill (19 points, 15 rebounds) and Amira Jensen (16 points) led a balanced T-Wolves attack which saw four players score in double figures. Hope Pearman (13 points) and Camie Ward (12 points) led the Pipers.

No. 2 Walnut Grove Gators 102 No. 15 Lord Byng Grey Ghosts 54

A three-headed attack of Tavia Rowell (27 points, five rebounds, five assists), Jessica Wisotzki (26 points, 13 rebounds) and Sophia Wisotzki (21 points, four steals, three rebounds and two assists) powered the Walnut Grove Gators (Langley) to a 102-54 thrashing of the Lord Byng Grey Ghosts.

Maggie MacKay had 18 points and Juliette Kladko and Sierra Jaggs had 14 apiece for Lord Byng.

No. 5 Kelowna Owls 94 No. 12 Mount Baker Wild 46

The defending champion Kelowna Owls put this one to bed early with a 26-3 first quarter on their way to the convincing 94-46 win over the Mount Baker Wild (Cranbrook).

Jaeli Ibbetson had 28 points, eight rebounds and four steals and Kennedy Dickie had 23 points and 11 boards for the Owls. Kiara Ker led the Wild with 25 points and 11 rebounds.

No. 4 Yale Lions 107 No. 13 Nanaimo District Islanders 44

Thirty-four points and 14 rebounds from Tana Pankratz helped the Yale Lions crush the Nanaimo District Islanders 107-44. Yale shot more than 40 per cent from the field and scored 20+ points in each of the quarters.

Five Yale players reached double digits in the game.

Sessaly Buck’s 14 points led the Islanders.

No. 8 Okanagan Mission Huskies 91 No. 9 Abbotsford Panthers 77

The Okanagan Mission Huskies (Kelowna) hit 13 three-pointers to advance to round two thanks to a 91-77 win over the Abbotsford Panthers.

The Huskies used a balanced attack with Melaina Corrado and Jordan Robb scoring 19 points apiece and Jenna Robison (17 points) and Makenna Jacklin (15 points) also reaching double figures.

Marin Lenz had a monster game for the Panthers with 41 points, six rebounds, eight steals and four assists.

No. 1 Semiahmoo Totems 90 No. 16 North Peace Grizzlies 29

A 25-point, 11-rebound, six-steal and five-assist game from Tara Wallack led the top seeded Semiahmoo Totems past the North Peace Grizzlies (Fort St. John).

Izzy Forsyth (21 points, 10 rebounds) and Faith Dut (17 points, 17 rebounds) also has big games as the Totems dominated from start to finish.

Celine Quigley scored 11 points to lead North Peace.

Sikh community’s One Billion Rising seva initiative continues to grow

27 February 2019

IN what has become an annual event since 2013, Sikhs across Canada, in partnership with the World Sikh Organization of Canada, took part in the One Billion Rising movement by providing care packages, treats and baked goods to approximately 1,500 women and children in shelters in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. Handmade Valentine’s cards prepared by Sikh children accompanied the packages.

One Billion Rising began as a call to action based on the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during their lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than one billion women and girls.

This initiative was launched by the WSO in 2013 in Vancouver and has subsequently spread across Canada. For the first time this year, the Sikh community in Regina also joined the One Billion Rising initiative.

Volunteers gathered in each city to prepare packages which included a variety of items, including, gift cards, personal care products and plush toys for children.

Once again this year, WSO was joined by community partners in each city.

WSO President Mukhbir Singh said, “The Sikh community’s One Billion Rising keeps growing every year and is a great way to show those going through a difficult time that they are loved and not alone. Sikhs in cities across Canada are now participating in this campaign and helping to raise awareness about violence against women and promoting WSO’s Sikh Family Helpline as an active resource for women and families facing violence. We are proud to have had Regina’s Sikh community participate for the first time this year. We thank our community partners and organizations across Canada without whom this event would not be the success it is today.”

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