Andrew Wilkinson and Ellis Ross. Photos: John Lehmann
SHOWING support for Rio Tinto workers and their families, BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson and local Skeena MLA Ellis Ross visited the plant in Kitimat on Monday, following the imposition of U.S. tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel last week.
“Rio Tinto produced 433,000 tonnes of aluminum last year, supporting locals and contributing $244 million to British Columbia’s economy. Those jobs and livelihoods, as well as the economic contributions, are now under threat from illegal tariffs imposed by [US] President [Donald] Trump,” pointed out Wilkinson.
In April, Trump ordered the Department of Commerce to investigate steel and aluminum imports under a little known part of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 that allows the president to place import restrictions for reasons of ‘national security’.
“Following one of the largest private sector investments by Rio Tinto in B.C. history, the Kitimat smelter produces aluminum with one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world,” said Wilkinson. “How anyone in the United States could consider that a threat to national security is beyond reason.”
“Canada — and this plant in particular — has demonstrated that we are a reliable and secure supplier of aluminum to the United States, and have been for more than 60 years,” said Ross. “Our product is used to manufacture everything in the U.S. from car parts to advanced military applications.”
Wilkinson added, “It’s vital that Canada demonstrate a united front and that’s why I am here to show my support for the thousand workers located in both Kitimat and Terrace.”
SAN FRANCISCO: Karim Baratov, aka Kay, aka Karim Taloverov, aka Karim Akehmet Tokbergenov, 23, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and ordered to pay a $250,000 fine, which encompasses all of his remaining assets on Tuesday.
The sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Alex G. Tse for the Northern District of California, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, and Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett of the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office. The sentence was handed down by Vince Chhabria, U.S. District Judge.
“The sentence imposed reflects the seriousness of hacking for hire,” Tse. “Hackers such as Baratov ply their trade without regard for the criminal objectives of the people who hire and pay them. These hackers are not minor players; they are a critical tool used by criminals to obtain and exploit personal information illegally. In sentencing Baratov to five years in prison, the Court sent a clear message to hackers that participating in cyber attacks sponsored by nation states will result in significant consequences.”
“Criminal hackers and the countries that sponsor them make a grave mistake when they target American companies and citizens. We will identify them wherever they are and bring them to justice,” said Demers. “I would like to thank Canadian law enforcement authorities for their tremendous assistance in bringing Baratov to justice. We will continue to work with our foreign partners to find and prosecute those who would violate our laws.”
“It’s difficult to overstate the unprecedented nature of this conspiracy, in which members of a foreign intelligence service directed and empowered criminal hackers to conduct a massive cyber-attack against 500 million victim user accounts,” said Bennett. “Today’s sentencing demonstrates the FBI’s unwavering commitment to disrupt and prosecute malicious cyber actors despite their attempts to conceal their identities and hide from justice.”
Baratov, a Canadian national and resident, and three other defendants, including two officers of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), Russia’s domestic law enforcement and intelligence service, were charged with a number of offenses relating to the hacking of webmail accounts at Yahoo and other service providers. In particular, the defendants were charged in a computer hacking conspiracy in which the two Russian FSB officers hired criminal hackers to collect information through computer intrusions in the United States and abroad, which resulted in the unauthorized access of Yahoo’s network and the spear phishing of webmail accounts at other service providers between January 2014 and December 2016.
Baratov’s role in the charged conspiracy was to hack webmail accounts of individuals of interest to his coconspirator who was working for the FSB and send those accounts’ passwords to Dokuchaev in exchange for money. The indictment and additional documents setting out the allegations are available at www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/us-v-dmitry-dokuchaev-et-al.
Baratov has been detained since his arrest in Canada in March 2017. Baratov waived extradition to the United States and was transferred to the Northern District of California in August 2017. In November 2017, Baratov pleaded guilty to Count 1 and Counts 40 through 47 of the indictment.
Count 1 charged Baratov, Dokuchaev, Sushchin, and Belan with conspiring to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by stealing information from protected computers and causing damage to protected computers.
Counts 40 through 47 charged Baratov and Dokuchaev with aggravated identity theft.
As part of his plea agreement, Baratov not only admitted to agreeing and attempting to hack at least 80 webmail accounts on behalf of one of his FSB co-conspirators, but also to hacking more than 11,000 webmail accounts in total from in or around 2010 until his March 2017 arrest by Canadian authorities. In addition to any prison sentence, Baratov agreed to pay restitution to his victims, and to pay a fine up to $2,250,000, at $250,000 per count, with any assets he has remaining after satisfying a restitution award.
THE South Asian community has been in a state of shock and bewilderment since the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team announced on Tuesday that the victims of a double homicide in Surrey were 16-year-old Jaskarn Singh Jhutty (Jason) and 17-year-old Jaskaran Singh Bhangal (Jesse), both residents of Surrey.
IHIT said they were revealing the names to further the ongoing investigation and to determine their activities leading up to the homicides.
The two, who were students of Frank Hurt Secondary School, were not known to police. So at this stage it would be inappropriate to link their deaths to drug dealing as some have. We should wait for the police to announce any further development. However, there have been unconfirmed rumours in the community that the two victims were forced into a vehicle and driven away.
Jaskaran Singh Bhangal Photos: IHIT
Surrey Schools’ Communication Services Manager Doug Strachan told The VOICE on Thursday that the two teens had attended a few other schools, but the impact on staff and student was mainly felt at Frank Hurt. However, “everybody in the (school district) community was shocked at what had occurred,” he said.
He added: “Even when I heard the news it was shocking and I felt affected by it because it’s such young kids and dying that way is tragic in so many ways and horrifying.”
He said the school had an arrangement at the library “for students and staff to go to and just talk with each other and comfort each other as well as talk to a counsellor if they want to and it’s been full for the last two days [Tuesday and Wednesday] of students primarily.”
The bodies of the victims found on the roadside. Courtesy of CTV (screengrab)
ON Monday (June 4) just after 10:30 p.m., the Surrey RCMP received a report of two bodies found in the area of 192nd Street and 40th Avenue. When officers arrived, they found two unresponsive males lying on the roadside with gunshot wounds. The victims were declared dead at the scene and IHIT took conduct of the investigation.
Earlier on Monday, at 9:46 p.m., the Surrey RCMP was alerted to a burning vehicle in the area of 184th Street and 29A Avenue.
IHIT said they would like to speak with anyone that has information about this vehicle.
At 11 p.m., the Surrey RCMP received a call of a second burning vehicle in the area of 177th Street and 93rd Avenue. Investigators have determined that this burnt vehicle was a Honda Accord and would like to speak with anyone that has information about it.
It is early in the investigation but investigators believe this was a targeted incident.
“We believe there are people who have information about what happened to Jaskarn and Jaskaran last night,” said IHIT Cpl. Frank Jang. “Please reach out and speak with IHIT so that we can hold those responsible to account.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the IHIT information line at 1-877-551- IHIT (4448), or by email at ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
Should you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
The scam has had a major impact in Jamaica, where the amount of money generated by lottery fraud has resulted in gang wars between rival fraud groups, leading to a dramatic spike in violence.
A new report by Better Business Bureau says sweepstakes, lottery and prize schemes are devastating victims financially and emotionally with ever-evolving methods.
These frauds concentrate on seniors, targeting them by direct mail, cold calling, social media, even text messages and smartphone pop-ups.
BBB warns consumers to be on guard against these serious and pervasive frauds and their perpetrators.
The report – “Sweepstakes, Lottery and Prize Scams: A Better Business Bureau Study of How ‘Winners’ Lose Millions Through an Evolving Fraud” – notes these scams bilked $117 million out of half a million Americans and Canadians in 2017 alone, with actual victims and losses likely numbering much higher.
BBB received 2,820 sweepstakes and lottery scam reports in Scam Tracker in 2017, with a median loss of $500. Seniors are the most frequent target and suffer the largest losses by far in these scams, which the report found commonly originate in Jamaica, Costa Rica and Nigeria.
The report recommends stronger law enforcement efforts on three fronts — in Jamaica, which has seen an upswing in violence related to lottery fraud profits; in the U.S., where law enforcement is urged to step up extraditions and prosecutions of overseas fraudsters operating in the U.S.; and globally, as law enforcement agencies worldwide are encouraged to take steps toward holding deceptive mailing organizations accountable and stopping fraudulent mail. It also urges Facebook and other social media platforms to take steps to weed out fake, fraudulent profiles and make fraud reporting easier.
“The law requires you to purchase a ticket to play the lottery, but a legitimate lottery or sweepstakes will never ask its winners to wire money to claim the prize,” says Evan Kelly, senior communications advisor for BBB serving Mainland BC. “It’s heartbreaking that these fraudsters are continually finding new ways to prey on older people who are dreaming of a big win or a financial windfall in their final years.”
Among the report’s key findings:
* The majority of lottery or sweepstakes scam victims are between 65 and 74 years old. Among that age group, people who recently experienced a serious negative life event, and who expect their income in the near future to remain steady or decline, are even more likely to be victimized.
* Sweepstakes / lottery fraud can strike through many channels – phone calls, text messages, pop-ups on a smartphone’s Internet browser, social media and mailings.
* In 2017, 2,820 individuals reported sweepstakes and lottery scams to BBB Scam Tracker. These reports show a median loss of $500, with wire transfer as the most frequent method of payment.
* Jamaica is a major source of “cold calls” to victims who are told they have won money. Although similar calls come from Costa Rica, the scam has had a major impact in Jamaica, where the amount of money generated by lottery fraud has resulted in gang wars between rival fraud groups, leading to a dramatic spike in violence. More than 95 percent of reported fraud in Jamaica involves lottery or sweepstakes scams.
BBB offers the following tips for consumers to avoid being caught in lottery or sweepstakes fraud:
* True lotteries or sweepstakes don’t ask for money. If they want money for taxes, themselves, or a third party, they are most likely crooks.
* Ask yourself – did you enter the lottery in the first place? Call the lottery or sweepstakes company directly to see if you actually won.
* Do an internet search of the company, name, or phone number of the person who contacted you.
* Law enforcement does not call and award prizes.
* Talk to a trusted family member or your bank. They may be able to help you stay in control of your money in the face of fraudster pressure.
THE Ministry of Health is adding 50 new clinical pharmacists as part of primary-care network teams around the province.
These positions are being added as part of government’s new primary health-care strategy to deliver team-based care to all British Columbians.
“Fully utilizing the expertise of health professions and creating these new clinical pharmacist positions is another crucial step in establishing patient-centred, team-based care that addresses under-met needs, and gaps in care for patients dealing with complex conditions,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health.
The team-based clinical pharmacists will focus on working directly with patients with complex conditions, to reduce and manage medication-related problems, such as drug interactions, adverse medication side effects, duplicate medications, and help eliminate unneeded medications. The ministry is supporting this new developmental program, with $23 million over three years, and is working with University of British Columbia’s faculty of pharmaceutical sciences to manage the program.
“Embedding a clinical pharmacist in a patient’s primary-care team reduces the risk of adverse drug reactions, which rises with the complexity of the condition, a patient’s frailty, age and the number of medications prescribed. According to recent figures, over 600,000 British Columbians have a chronic medical condition of medium or high complexity, and 20% of those over 70 take at least five or more medications a day,” added Dix.
Through one-on-one patient care, these pharmacists will use their specialized knowledge to optimize their patients’ drug treatments through education and drug regimen adjustments with prescribers, so patients can realize better health outcomes and higher quality of life. These clinical pharmacists will also be able to promote safer and more appropriate prescribing by reviewing current evidence about different drug options with physicians and nurse practitioners in their team.
“Pharmacists play an important role in managing patients’ care and ensuring their medications are used to best effect. This innovative model, which integrates pharmacists into the primary health-care team, is fantastic news for British Columbians,” said Michael Coughtrie, dean of UBC’s faculty of pharmaceutical sciences. “Patients will benefit from the advanced skills and expertise that pharmacists bring. We are delighted to be working with the Ministry of Health on this important initiative.”
“Working together with local pharmacists has meant improved care for my patients,” said Dr. Eric Cadesky, President of Doctors of BC. “As physicians, we believe that pharmacists are important members of the health-care team in supporting chronic disease management and ensuring patient safety. When we all work to our scope of practice, we help each other provide the best quality of care for patients.”
By providing clinical pharmacist services directly in primary-care networks, patients will benefit, as their doctors, nurse practitioners and pharmacists work more closely together in team-based practices to share records and concentrate services around a patients’ specific health-care needs. In order to ensure the optimal care of patients, these new clinical pharmacists will also be working closely with other pharmacy service providers from both health authorities and community pharmacies.
UBC will recruit, train and coordinate the clinical pharmacists and evaluate the impact of this developmental program over the next three years. This will inform how primary care pharmacists can be best integrated and expanded into B.C.’s health-care system over the long term.
“Working with a pharmacist has been nothing but a positive experience for me,” said Linda Roseborough, a patient of the UBC Pharmacists Clinic. “The ability to have access to a clinician pharmacist who is able to take the time to understand my health and needs, and ensure I am receiving the right medications, tolerating them and adjusting them as necessary has made me confident with my care. Every patient should have a pharmacist as part of their primary care team, and I am thrilled that the great care I have received from my primary-care pharmacist will be available to many more patients throughout the province.”
At the heart of the Province’s new primary health-care strategy is a focus on team-based care that will see government fund these new pharmacist positions, in addition to recruiting 200 family doctors, and 200 nurse practitioners, to provide all British Columbians with faster and improved access to health care. Along with the creation of urgent primary-care centres, the strategy will put in place primary-care networks that link these centres, health-care providers, and community-based services and programs together to make it easier for comprehensive, co-ordinated care to be delivered.
Quick Facts:
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information:
* In 2017, it is estimated that drug expenditures accounted for 16.4% of total health spending in Canada.
* Preventable medication-related illness and death in adults costs the Canadian health-care system an estimated $11 billion each year.
* Emergency department visits and hospital admissions, as a result of adverse medication-related events in Canadian seniors, is estimated to cost $35.7 million each year.
* Patients not taking their medications, as directed, are estimated to cost the Canadian health-care system $7 billion to $9 billion each year. Thirteen per cent of B.C. residents have chronic medical conditions of medium or high complexity, and represent 24% of health services.
* Currently, approximately 20% of B.C. residents over 70 years of age are taking at least five medications per day, and 16% are taking 10 or more.
FOR decades, marketers have used envy to sell, attempting to cash in on consumers’ desire to want what others have. But does it actually work?
According to a new study from the UBC Sauder School of Business, employing envy can boost brands but it can also completely backfire — and it depends on a consumer’s self-esteem. The study is the first to demonstrate the relationship between envy, self-esteem and consumer behaviour.
“Marketers often try to take advantage of consumers’ tendency to compare themselves to others. Does their neighbour’s lawn look healthier than theirs? Is their co-worker’s car more luxurious?” said study co-author Darren Dahl, professor of marketing and behavioural science at UBC Sauder. “While this strategy can sometimes work, our findings suggest that when marketers use envy to sell products, they could also end up with a bunch of sour grapes instead of sales, and potentially damage brand relationships.”
Looking at brands such as Lululemon, the NHL and the Star Alliance airline network, the researchers conducted a series of experiments in which one participant had something the others desired. They then looked at how the situation affected the participants’ perceptions of the brands.
Researchers found that people who reported a high sense of self-worth tended to want the envied brand and stayed motivated to attain it. But for people who reported lower self-esteem, seeing another person with a desired brand made them feel worse about themselves and unworthy of the brand. That feeling threatened their ego, so in order to make themselves feel better, they rejected the brand.
Dahl said stirring envy could still be an effective marketing tool, especially for companies targeting consumers with higher self-esteem. But brands that want to expand their reach and broaden their appeal would be wise to carefully consider the self-worth of the individuals they’re targeting, or risk alienating them.
The study also found that when consumers with low self-worth were given a self-esteem boost before evaluating the brand, they were far more likely to see it favourably.
According to Dahl, the research is valuable for businesses as well as consumers, who can better understand how marketers are manipulating their emotions to get them to buy products.
“Consumers should be aware of their emotions, and how companies are using envy to elicit those emotions. When they have high self-esteem, they’re going to be excited about the product, and when they have low self-esteem, it can turn them off,” he said. “Either way, it’s empowering to know.”
Dahl co-authored the study with Kirk Kristofferson of Western University and Cait Lamberton of the University of Pittsburgh. The study, “Can Brands Squeeze Wine from Sour Grapes? The Importance of Self-Esteem in Understanding Envy’s Effects,” was recently published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research. The study was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
THE latest Nanos federal ballot tracking (June 1) has the Liberals at 34.1 per cent and the Conservatives at 34 per cent support.
The week before (May 25) the Conservatives were at 36 per cent support and the Liberals at 33 per cent.
The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
The NDP is at 21.2 percent support, followed by the Bloc Quebecois at 4.4 per cent and the Greens at 5.4 per cent.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s popularity keeps going down. He was the preferred choice as Prime Minister at 34.3 per cent of Canadians (the week prior to this, he was at 36 per cent – which was down 3 points from the week before that).
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer was at 25.6 per cent of Canadians as the preferred choice as Prime Minister (basically the same as the week before), followed by NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh (10%) and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May (5.7%). Twenty-three per cent of Canadians were unsure whom they preferred.
Half of Canadians (51.1%) believe Trudeau has the qualities of a good political leader (the week prior to this it was 53.2%), while 40.8 per cent (basically the same as the week before) believe Scheer has the qualities of a good political leader.
One in three (35.8%) say Jagmeet Singh has the qualities of a good political leader, while 35.1 per cent believe the same about May. One in seven (15.7%) said Martine Ouellet has the qualities of a good political leader (Quebec only).
Asked whether they would consider voting for each of the federal parties, 46.3 per cent of Canadians say they would consider voting Conservative while 44.6 per cent would consider voting Liberal.
Four in 10 (40.5%) would consider voting NDP while 27.1 per cent and 29.2 per cent of Canadians would consider voting for the BQ and Green parties, respectively.
ADULT Basic Education, tuition-free since September 2017, will become even more affordable with more open textbooks for students who want to complete high school, gain new skills or access post-secondary education.
Commercial textbooks can cost students hundreds of dollars but with open textbooks, students can download and keep open textbooks as digital versions for free, or print them for a fraction of traditional textbook costs.
“We’re continuing to make education and training as accessible as possible for people,” said Melanie Mark, Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training on Tuesday. “Adult Basic Education opens the door for people to advance their opportunities, improve their chances of success and participate in the workforce. Investing in more open textbooks for Adult Basic Education programs builds on our previous step of making Adult Basic Education programs tuition free.”
With the elimination of tuition for Adult Basic Education, and government’s investment in Adult Basic Education open textbooks, B.C.’s adult graduation diploma will become the first credential in Canada to be both tuition-free and have free course materials available for instructors to use.
“This is an exciting project,” said Mary Burgess, BCcampus Executive Director. “B.C. is a world leader in open education, and these new resources are not only going to reduce costs and improve access, they are going to transform the student experience in Adult Basic Education. Our work with B.C. post-secondary institutions, so far, has exceeded our initial goals, and we can’t wait to get going on this next phase.”
The Province is providing BCcampus, which produces open education online content, with $250,000 to create or adapt textbooks for all courses in all levels of the British Columbia adult graduation diploma (or adult dogwood diploma). Courses covered include math, English, science, social science, computer studies, and education and career planning.
Instructors who choose to use the new resources will eliminate a major education cost, further reducing barriers and improving access for students.
“Our students benefit from open textbooks in several ways,” said Andrew Candela, Vancouver Community College basic education instructor. “They are nearly cost-free, easily adaptable for students with different learning needs and often include valuable supplementary materials. They make our courses better.”
“The cost of textbooks has become a real barrier to students’ success in the classroom,” said Aran Armutlu, Chairperson of the British Columbia Federation of Students. “Free Adult Basic Education was a resounding victory for B.C. students, and this funding into open education resources further reduces the barriers students face when accessing basic education.”
Approximately 86,000 students in B.C. have saved as much as $9 million since the open textbook project was launched.
WORK has started at five locations west of Chetwynd to build robust, modern bridges that will allow people to travel safely and efficiently along Highway 97, especially in the event of heavy rain and flooding.
The ministry is investing $26.8 million on this flood mitigation strategy for the area. These projects are in addition to recovery work that has been ongoing since June 2016, when severe flooding caused extensive damage throughout the Peace District.
“The 2016 floods caused a lot of hardship for people in the Peace District, and we want to make sure our infrastructure can withstand future flooding events,” said Claire Trevena, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. “These are significant infrastructure projects which will boost safety and reliability for people travelling on Highway 97, particularly during heavy rain.”
Existing culverts at the five locations below are being replaced with modern two-lane bridges capable of withstanding a 200-year flood level. New highway approaches are being constructed on both sides of each bridge, and works will be done to stabilize the creek banks.
Bowlder Creek
Location: Highway 97, approximately 23 kilometres west of Chetwynd
Contractor: Formula Contractors Ltd. from Prince George
Total project cost: $7.1 million
Commotion Creek
Location: Highway 97, approximately 20 kilometres west of Chetwynd
Contractor: Cewe Infrastructure Ltd. from North Vancouver
Total project cost: $7.3 million
Stone Creek
Location: Highway 97, approximately 16 kilometres southwest of Chetwynd
Contractor: Surespan Construction Ltd. from North Vancouver
Total project cost: $4.6 million
Tippy Corner Creek
Location: Highway 97, approximately 45 kilometres west of Chetwynd
Contractor: Surespan Construction Ltd. from North Vancouver
Total project cost: $3.8 million
Willow Flats
Location: Highway 97, approximately 42 kilometres southwest of Chetwynd
Contractor: Surespan Construction Ltd. from North Vancouver
Total project cost: $4 million
Construction on these five projects has started, and is expected to be substantially complete by fall 2018.
Motorists are advised to watch for construction workers, traffic controllers, signs and detours when driving through any of the construction zones.
In total, more than $76 million is being invested in highway, side road and bridge rehabilitation in northern B.C. in 2018. The B.C. government will continue to invest in transportation infrastructure for the safe, reliable and efficient movement of people and goods.
WINNIPEG will be in Vancouver this Friday, June 8 with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at BC Place for its final pre-season game with the BC Lions. For both teams this will be the final game to help with the evaluation process before having to declare their rosters on June 9. The Bombers are coming to BC Place with a pre-season win under their belts, knocking off an Edmonton Eskimos squad last Friday with a 33-13 win. Edmonton brought only five starters for their preseason finale.
The Lions had a 36-23 victory over Calgary Stampeders to kickoff the pre-season last week. The Lions were behind on the scoreboard until the third quarter, when 25-year-old QB from Minnesota State Ricky Lloyd connected with Kevin Elliott, Trevon Van and Ricky Collins Jr. for three touchdown passes. Ricky Lloyd has been exposed to the CFL for less than two weeks, but Lloyd made an impact in his first game.
The 2018 BC Lions season will be the 61st season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 65th overall. The Lions will attempt to improve upon their 7–11 record from 2017, return to the playoffs after missing them for the first time since 1996, and win their 7th Grey Cup championship.
BC Lions season memberships for 2018 are available now. New and renewing season members save as much as 29% on single game tickets while also receiving numerous membership benefits.
The Lions will opening the regular season at home under the dome at BC Place on Saturday, June 16 at 7 p.m. against the Montreal Alouettes.
“Following one of the largest private sector investments by Rio Tinto in B.C. history, the Kitimat smelter produces aluminum with one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world,” said Wilkinson. “How anyone in the United States could consider that a threat to national security is beyond reason.”
