Pink Shirt Day in Delta: 2018 Battle of the Badges

27 February 2018

THIS Pink Shirt Day — February 28 —over 1,600 grade 5-7 students will fill Sungod Arena for the third annual Battle of the Badges, a collegial hockey game between the Delta Fire Department and Delta Police Department built around celebrating diversity and unity in that diversity.

Delta Police Chief Neil Dubord explains: “Battle of The Badges is a fun way for Delta Police and Fire to showcase the values of camaraderie and teamwork for students in the community. Delta Police and Delta Fire may look different, and perform different roles, but together we are committed to keeping our community safe. We each fulfill a unique purpose, together making a difference in our community.”

“The Battle of the Badges has become a wonderful annual tradition that unites our diverse community through sportsmanship,” says Delta Mayor Lois E. Jackson. “As an awareness campaign, it has done a fantastic job of showing our community leaders working together to demonstrate compassion and teamwork as a way to combat bullying.”

This event is a collaboration of Delta Fire and Police Departments, Delta School District, City of Delta, and the Delta Police Foundation. It is the collective belief of the partners involved that there is no room for bullying in our classrooms, our workplaces or our community and this is a creative approach that will have significant impact on promoting the themes of inclusion, equity, and empathy.

Delta Fire Chief Dan Copeland says: “To get good at something takes practice. If you want to be good at the guitar – you practice. If you want to be good at hockey – you practice. The same goes for kindness and caring – practice being kind to those around you every day and get good at it. Every act of kindness is a strength that will make help make the world around you a better place.”

Fifteen Delta schools will have the unique opportunity to cheer on the local police and fire departments, all in the spirit of inclusion and anti-bullying. Joining in the fun will be local mascots Del from the Delta Ice Hawks, Sparky the DFD firedog, DPD Safety Bear, Jack the Vancouver Giant, and Bob the Vancouver Canadians Brown Bear. Also making an appearance will be Delta’s favourite DPD Canine —Caber!

Pink Shirt Day (www.pinkshirtday.ca) has chosen cyber-bullying as this year’s focus, and the hashtag #NiceNeedsNoFilter will be used to help share the message of anti-bullying online.

“Pink Shirt Day is an opportunity for our learners to come together in celebration of diversity. This event is a great reminder to our students of inclusion and respect of their peers, not just for today, but each and every day of the year,” says Doug Sheppard, Superintendent of Schools, Delta School District.

The puck drops at Sungod Arena on February 28 at 10:30 a.m.

Abbotsford Police introduces “Buy and Sell Exchange Zone”

27 February 2018

LOOKING for a safer place to complete your online purchase or sale transactions?

The Abbotsford Police Department invites you to use their designated “Buy and Sell Exchange Zone” to facilitate safe online property buy / sell transactions.

The use of online classifieds websites or social media platforms such as Craigslist, Kijiji, or Facebook to buy and sell goods is very popular, but meeting an unknown buyer or seller face-to-face has risks. The new Buy and Sell Exchange Zone offers video surveillance, a safe location and the presence of law enforcement to enhance public safety and to reduce crime.

The Buy and Sell Exchange Zone is located in front of the Abbotsford Police Department headquarters building at 2838 Justice Way. Two designated parking spots are identifiable with signage. This area is monitored by 24/7 video surveillance. It is recommended that those wishing to use this area do so during daylight hours.

Note that police officers are unable to assist in civil transactions.

The Buy and Sell Exchange Zone surveillance cameras are in place to increase the public’s safety. Questions about the information collected may be directed to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Coordinator at 604-859-5225.

Purchasers are encouraged to use the Canadian Police Information Centre’s online database (www.cpic-cipc.ca) to search the serial number of any item they intend to purchase as one method of ensuring the item has not been reported stolen.

Tips for a safer online buy-sell experience:

Meet in a public place with many people around.
Refrain from using remote locations or your home for any exchange.
If possible, bring a friend or a family member.
When buying or selling, meet in-person to thoroughly inspect the product before exchanging funds.
Keep things local and in cash. Don’t use cheques or money wiring services.
Only bring enough cash with you to pay for the item purchased.
Do not give out personal or banking information (e.g., social insurance number, bank account number or address) over the Internet.

Trudeau still very much on top despite India visit controversies: Poll

27 February 2018

Trudeau and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on February 23.

PRIME Minister Justin Trudeau remains the preferred PM for 40.4 per cent of Canadians.

That is what the latest Nanos federal tracking poll for the week ending Friday, February 23 shows.

This is in spite of anti-Trudeau politicians and media running distorted stories on former Khalistani terrorist Jaspal Atwal, who has reformed himself and is now actually anti-Khalistani and who has supported and hobnobbed with Conservative and NDP members as well. There was also criticism that Trudeau went a bit too far with his Indian wardrobe.

And how are the other party leaders faring?

* Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer has the support of merely 22.1 per cent of Canadians.

* Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has the support of only 9.5 per cent of Canadians.

* Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is four points behind Singh at 5.6 per cent.

And what about “Qualities of a Good Political Leader”?

Six in ten Canadians (62.3%) believe Trudeau has the qualities of a good political leader.

What about the other party leaders?

* Only 35.3 per cent believe Scheer has the qualities of a good political leader.

* Jagmeet Singh is ahead of Scheer as 38.2 per cent of Canadians say he has the qualities of a good political leader.

* And even May – with 36.6 per cent saying she has the qualities of a good political leader – is ahead of Scheer.

Support for the parties: Liberals – 37.7 per cent; Conservatives – 31.5 per cent; NDP – 19.2 per cent; Green Party – 6.9 per cent. (Bloc Quebecois – 3.8 per cent)

Asked whether they would consider voting for each of the federal parties, 53.1 per cent of Canadians say they would consider voting Liberal while 46.2 per cent would consider voting Conservative. Close to four in ten (38.5%) would consider voting NDP while 29.8 per cent and 30.2 per cent of Canadians would consider voting for the BQ (only Quebec) and Green parties, respectively.

Junior Boys Basketball: Now its down to two for Tuesday night final

26 February 2018

MONDAY night saw the final four teams in action at the Junior Boys Basketball Provincial Invitational Tournament at the Langley Event Center.

The first game featured #1 Vancouver College taking on #5 St. George’s Saints.
Vancouver Fighting Irish led for most of the game but the leads were never more than 5-7 points. St. George’s took over the game and never looked back, beating their arch rivals 71-63 for the chance to go into Tuesday’s 6 p.m. B.C. junior boys championship final against Surrey’s #3 seeded Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers. St. George’s last won the B.C. Junior title back in 2005; let’s see if knocking off top ranked teams continues Tuesday night.

The second game was Surrey’s #3 seeded Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers vs. the underdog Belmont Bulldogs (#23) from the Island. The Bulldogs were the Cinderella team, having beaten many of the top team to make it to the final four.

Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers came into this game with the thought that they did not want to be another one the teams that the Bulldogs were going to upset. And in the end, the Fraser Valley champions won the game with a convincing 69-37 victory.

Panthers now have their eye #5 seed St. George’s Saints on Tuesday in the 6 p.m. game. This will be the Panthers first-ever BC Junior Boys championship game.

Parents asked to talk to kids about replica guns after Delta student detained

26 February 2018

POLICE DELTA CRIS LEYKAUF — Cris Leykauf

DELTA police were contacted at noon on Monday (February 26) by a concerned member of the public about a suspicious male with what looked like a gun near Delview Secondary School in North Delta.

Both Delview Secondary and Gibson Elementary, situated nearby, were placed into a Code Yellow as a precaution. The Code Yellow procedure allows the school to continue with a normal school day, but cancels outside activity. Unauthorized personnel are not permitted to enter the building.

Police located the male, confirming that he was in possession of a pellet gun. The male is a student at Delview Secondary.

Both schools were in a Code Yellow for approximately 50 minutes.

“Pellet guns can easily be confused or mistaken for a real weapon,” says Cris Leykauf, spokesperson for Delta Police. “This one in particular looked very similar to a real weapon.”

“This is the second time in less than two weeks that police in Delta have received a call of this nature. It is not acceptable for anyone to bring a replica gun or pellet gun anywhere near a school,” says Leykauf. “While not illegal to own, we recommend parents have a discussion with their children about safety and the appropriate use of pellet guns and replica guns.”

Four arrested by Mission RCMP in fraudulent gifting circle

26 February 2018

MISSION RCMP have arrested four individuals and executed four search warrants in relation to a fraudulent gifting circle. This is an illegal pyramid scheme that is active across the Lower Mainland, police said on Monday.

Mission RCMP launched a criminal investigation following a September 25, 2017 complaint to the Coquitlam RCMP alleging there were District of Mission employees, contractors and volunteers working within the RCMP detachment that were running a large-scale gifting circle.

On February 20, Mission RCMP, with assistance from the Federal Serious and Organized Crime Unit (FSOC), executed four search warrants at four locations throughout the District of Mission. Four people were arrested and have since been released without process, while the investigation progresses.

While police focussed on the Mission-based gifting circle, investigators now believe that thousands of people may be involved, or are being actively recruited across the Lower Mainland. More than 100 gifting circles or clouds as they are also known, have been identified by police in the Lower Mainland. Similar incidents have occurred across Canada.

New participants are asked to attend meetings and to recruit two people. Once the lowest group of eight people has been filled, each of them are asked to contribute a $5,000 gift to the person at the top of the pyramid, also known as the birthday spot. Participants are advised to use false names and to keep the gifted money in cash form, to avoid drawing suspicion from financial institutions.

“There are virtually no winners in this type of pyramid scheme,” warns Inspector Annette Fellner, Officer-in-Charge of the Mission RCMP Detachment. “People who are involved in this kind of fraud are imaginative. They sound convincing and say the right thing to make you believe it’s perfectly legal when it isn’t.”

Up to 11 incidents involving gifting circles have been reported to police in the Lower Mainland in the past two years.
The scheme is generally directed toward law-abiding women who are asked to gift $5,000 to gain entry into the cloud or circle.
The primary means of communication for the people in this scheme is an app called Telegram Messenger.
Participants attempt to legitimize the payment of $5,000 by calling it a gift and falsely claiming it is not taxable.
This scheme, like all pyramid schemes, is illegal.
People should understand that not only could they suffer a personal financial loss for their involvement in gifting circle or similar pyramid schemes, but they could face tax implications through the Canada Revenue Agency, and / or criminal charges.
Information about pyramid schemes and how to avoid them, can be found at Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, toll free at 1-888-495-8501 or the federal Competition Bureau toll free at 1-800-348-5358.

B.C. shines as Team Canada earns record medal count

26 February 2018

THIRTEEN athletes are coming home to British Columbia with medals from the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games.

“Congratulations to all the athletes, and especially our B.C. members of Team Canada,” said Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Lisa Beare. “Like British Columbians all over the province, I’ve been excited to watch our athletes give their all to achieve Olympic dreams. I’m thrilled to see how well Team Canada has done!”

These medals are part of Team Canada’s overall success at the Games. Canada earned its best-ever Olympic medal count with 29 medals, placing third overall.

Among Team Canada’s 225 competitors were 63 athletes with a B.C. connection. These included athletes who call B.C. home, as well as those from outside of B.C. who train in the province with the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific or viaSport Regional Alliance partners.

Team Canada’s total medal count was 11 gold, eight silver and 10 bronze.

Of those, provincially affiliated athletes earned 38% of the Canadian Olympic Team’s total medal count: six gold, three silver, two bronze.

Athletes connected to British Columbia who earned medals at the Games include:

Gold in freestyle skiing – men’s moguls: Mikael Kingsbury
Gold in bobsleigh – two-man: Justin Kripp
Gold in freestyle skiing – halfpipe: Cassie Sharpe
Gold in ski cross: Brady Leman
Gold in ski cross: Kelsey Serwa
Gold in snowboard – big air: Sebastien Toutant
Silver in snowboard – men’s slopestyle: Max Parrot
Silver in snowboard – women’s slopestyle: Laurie Blouin
Silver in ski cross: Britt Phelan
Bronze in snowboard – men’s slopestyle: Mark McMorris
Bronze in ice hockey – men’s: Gilbert Brule, Andrew Ebbett, Stefan Elliot

The British Columbia government invests more than $50 million annually in sport. This includes funding for provincial sport organizations that develop athletes and coaches to progress from provincial to national teams and competitions. The number of B.C. athletes heading to PyeongChang with Team Canada is a direct reflection of the support and commitment of the provincial sport system.

The 2018 Paralympic Winter Games will take place from March 9 to 18 in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Quick Facts:

Sixty-three 2018 Olympic athletes have a B.C. hometown or birthplace and / or train in B.C. with Canadian Sport Institute Pacific.
B.C.-connected Olympians have direct connections to 16 communities.
Eighteen coaches have direct connections to eight communities.
Five sport scientists and one communications professional from Canadian Sport Institute Pacific attended PyeongChang in a work capacity.
Team Canada’s chief medical officer, chief doctor and two other medical practitioners are registered with SportMedBC.
Nineteen athletes are BC Games or Team BC alumni (16 are BC Games alumni, 15 are Team BC alumni and 12 have competed at both).
The 11 sports and 17 disciplines that B.C.-connected athletes participated in include alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, luge, skating, skeleton, skiing, snowboard and speed skating.
From the Sochi 2014 Winter Games, B.C. athletes brought home two gold, five silver and one bronze, with B.C. athletes representing 19% of the total number of participants from Team Canada.

Junior Boys Basketball Provincial Invitational Tournament: Day 2

25 February 2018

DAY 2 of action at the 49th annual Junior Boys Basketball Provincial Invitational Tournament at the Langley Event Center: see how the teams made out. Visit the official site for all the scores and schedules at http://www.bchighschoolbasketballchampionships.com/sp-datastore/media-files/2018JRBoysDraw_ForPrint_AfterDay25.pdf

Day 3 (Monday, February 26) of the competition @langleyevents at 9 a.m.

The “Final 4” games sees #1 rated Vancouver College taking on #5 St Georges at 3pm. At 4:30 pm catch #3 Lord Tweedsmuir of Surrey take on #23 Belmont. Winners from these 2 games will play for the the champions trophy.

If you can’t make it to the @LangleyEvents, then catch every minute of the action live on tfsetv.ca.

For up-to-the-minute scores follow @BCJrBoysBBall on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/BCJrBoysBBall/status/967812010082697216

Canada eyes 7 % growth in tourist arrivals from India in 2018

25 February 2018

Mumbai (PTI): Canada, which witnessed a record number of visitors from India last year, is eyeing 7 per cent growth in tourist arrivals from the sub-continent.

“We saw a record number of 250,000 Indians visiting Canada in 2017, which was 17.37 per cent increase from 2016. However, this we would like to be cautious while projecting growth and expect 7 per cent rise in footfalls from India in 2018 compared to last year,” Destination Canada Regional Managing Director, Europe, Australia and India, Rupert Peters, told PTI here.

In 2016, a total number of 213,000 Indians travelled to Canada, according to Destination Canada data.

The increase in the number of direct weekly flights and also a focus on promoting Canada as an aspiring destination helped in the increase in number of Indians visiting Canada, Peters added.

There are 15 flights every week that connect Delhi and Mumbai directly with Canada.

He said Canada is a multi-generation tourists destination and can be visited all around the year.

“We are promoting Canada as a four season destination, with lots going on for visitors to enjoy and make memories,” he added.

In India, Destination Canada is targeting millennials as well as people over 45 years of age.

“The millennial fit into Canada with so much adventure, experience and wildlife and the mid-aged (over 45 years) can also enjoy the country as a leisure destination offering beauty, culture, food, shopping and much more,” he added.

He said, Canada has been positioned as an affordable long haul destination in India, catering to a wide range of audience.

“We want to build Canada as an aspirational destination. We want our country to be in the bucket list of every Indian who wants to travel abroad,” he added.

Destination Canada is also eyeing the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Events (MICE) segment in India.

“We see huge potential in the growing MICE market in India. With increase in connectivity, we expect this segment to grow,” he added.

India is the ninth largest source market for Canada.

“With the growing number of Indians visiting Canada, we expect the sub-continent to be at the number fifth or sixth spot going forward,” he said without give a time frame.

The US, UK, China, France and Germany are the top five source markets of Canada.

LA Galaxy 1 – Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2

25 February 2018

Kamara, Davies lead ‘Caps to victory in preseason finale

Carson, California: Clinical finishes by Kei Kamara and Alphonso Davies made the difference against LA Galaxy on Saturday night, as Vancouver Whitecaps FC held out for a 2-1 win in their preseason finale at the StubHub Center.

Whitecaps FC struck first after Kamara converted from the penalty spot 20 minutes in. The new ‘Caps striker sent Galaxy keeper David Bingham the wrong way, placing his shot down the centre of the goal to score his team-leading fourth goal of the preseason. The ‘Caps were awarded the penalty kick after Cristian Techera was brought down by Galaxy midfielder Joao Pedro.

The home side came close to evening the score in the 30th minute, after a pass from Romain Alessandrini put Galaxy striker Ola Kamara one-on-one with ‘Caps keeper Stefan Marinovic. But the Kiwi international stood tall and saved the chipped attempt.

Davies doubled the lead for the ‘Caps in the 52nd minute. The ball fell perfectly to the feet of the youngster after Yordy Reyna was dispossessed at the top of the box and he smashed the ball high to the near post, converting his second goal of the preseason.

The Galaxy replied with a goal of their own in the 66th minute, courtesy of a Giovani dos Santos penalty kick after the referee judged ‘Caps left back Marcel de Jong to have blocked Alessandrini’s bicycle kick attempt with his arm.

But Whitecaps FC held on for the 2-1 victory, concluding the preseason with a 5W-1L-1D record. The ‘Caps kick off the 2018 MLS regular season on Sunday, March 4 against Montreal Impact at BC Place. Single match tickets are on sale now.

MATCH DETAILS
Referee: David Gantar

Scoring Summary
20′ – VAN – Kei Kamara (penalty kick)
52′ – VAN – Alphonso Davies
66′ – LA – Giovani dos Santos (penalty kick)

Cautions
7′ – VAN – Efrain Juárez
12′ – LA – Jorgen Skjelvik
49′ – LA – Romain Alessandrini
90′ – VAN – Stefan Marinovic

LA Galaxy
1.David Bingham; 25.Rolf Feltscher, 28.Michael Ciani, 16.Jorgen Skjelvik, 3.Ashley Cole; 7.Romain Alessandrini, 2.Perry Kitchen; 88.João Pedro (14.Servando Carrasco 38′, 19.Chris Pontius 86′), 24.Emmanuel Boateng (17.Sebastian Lletget 68′); 10.Giovani dos Santos, 11.Ola Kamara

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Stefan Marinovic; 28.Jake Nerwinski (15.Sean Franklin 76′), 4.Kendall Waston ©, 22.Aaron Maund, 17.Marcel de Jong; 6.Efrain Juárez (16.Tony Tchani 62′), 31.Russell Teibert, 29.Yordy Reyna (11.Nicolas Mezquida 61′); 13.Cristian Techera (7.Bernie Ibini 76′), 23.Kei Kamara (9.Anthony Blondell 62′), 67.Alphonso Davies (20.Brek Shea 61′

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