Alberta Progressive Conservatives are chiding the Wildrose party over comments on the party’s Facebook page by people angry at Leader Danielle Smith for attending a Sikh parade, according to The Canadian Press.

Photos taken at the Calgary event earlier this month show Smith wearing a head scarf while she stands smiling with members of the Sikh community.

Two comments were, “I like you, but this photo is inappropriate. You represent Alberta, not India. When did Wildrose change?”, and “If you emulate the Muslim faith, I will NEVER vote for you.”

Service Alberta Minister Manmeet Bhullar said in a news release Wednesday that such racism and bigotry has no place in Alberta, adding that if the Wildrose had changed, it would have not left them up for nearly a week.

Bhullar said he was at the parade with Smith and it was “extremely disappointing” that she hadn’t commented on the postings.

Smith apologized, saying her party should have been more diligent in moderating their comment page over the long weekend, but as soon as they saw the postings, they removed them.

“I agree with Minister Bhullar, some of the comments were disgusting and out of line and bigoted and there is no place in our party for that kind of attitude.

“If people won’t vote for me because I celebrate our cultural diversity, then good riddance.

“We’re a party that embraces all people of all background and culture. The only way to confront bigotry is head-on, so I intend to continue going and celebrating our cultural events all over the province.”

Bhullar said Smith “needs to issue an immediate apology for the reprehensible behaviour of her party’s supporters.”

Smith said she has no idea if the posters are Wildrose members or supporters, adding it’s irrelevant because there’s no place for their comments.

“We get hundreds and hundreds of comments on my Facebook page and we do have staff that regularly delete inappropriate comments. We missed a few this weekend, I apologize for that. It in no way reflects my views or the views of my MLAs or our party.”

A newer model Porsche abandoned on the Spirit of Vancouver Island at Tsawwassen terminal Wednesday night delayed the vessel’s final sailing by more than an hour while B.C. Ferries staff and police scrambled to find the owner.

B.C. Ferries’ cameras captured images of the car as it and its lone male driver went through the ticket booth and onto the ferry at Swartz Bay. But when the ship docked at Tsawwassen at 8:50 p.m., the Porche was left behind as all other vehicles disembarked.

Delta police traced the licence plates and phoned the driver’s cellphone, said B.C. Ferries spokesman Darin Guenette.

If police are to believe the story, the fast car did not have a quick driver.

“He said he forgot, and got the bus,” Guenette said Wednesday night.

Police were dealing with the matter but when they tried to call the driver back, he wasn’t answering his phone.

Upon inspection, police discovered the vehicle was uninsured. The case has been handed over to the Vancouver Police Department.

At 10:15, the ferry left Tsawwassen for its final sailing back to Vancouver Island — 75 minutes late.

A second bear sighting in less than a month had several Surrey schools on alert Tuesday morning.

The bear was first spotted near Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Newton, near 72nd Avenue and 126th Street at around 7: 30 a.m.

“It was heading through somebody’s back yard,” said Bert Paquet of the Surrey RCMP, who said conservation officers attended.

According to Doug Strachan, spokesperson for the Surrey school district, notices were sent out to schools nearby, which included Princess Margaret Secondary and Cougar Creek Elementary.
“The officers were watching out for it, conservation was there,” Strachan said.

Strachan said this time around, the RCMP contacted the schools directly as well as alerting the district, ensuring the right information was getting to the right people, and making sure nobody was blowing anything out of proportion.

The sun’s out, spirits are high and everyone’s in the mood for some adventure. From July 4th-13th, the ultimate getaway experience will take place right here on the shores of Vancouver. For its third year, the Indian Summer Festival will provide locals with a beguiling glimpse of the Indian subcontinent. This 10-day event is a joyful celebration that uses music, literature, film, business, politics, and food to bridge the cultural gap.

Produced by the Indian Summer Arts Society (ISAS) in collaboration with Teamwork Productions, and presented by Simon Fraser University, the festival is a cultural cocktail that mixes luminary speakers with performance arts, hands-on activities, and sumptuous tasting events.

Over the past two festival editions, audiences were spellbound as politician and philosopher MJ Akbar explored the dichotomy of India and Pakistan, renowned violinist Dr L Subramaniam put on a virtuoso performance, and Bollywood star Tabu discussed Life of Pi with its author Yann Martel. Pair this heady cultural concoction with food tastings, well-being workshops and free public dance classes, and it becomes clear why this festival has quickly become a landmark on the Vancouver calendar.

“We’ve had an incredible response to the festival so far,” says Indian Summer co-founder Sirish Rao. “Our 2013 lineup takes things to the next level – from discussions on global politics, and what constitutes urban happiness, to free laughing yoga and dance classes, there is something for everyone. This is what cultural democracy is all about.”

Highlights this year include the Opening Gala, which launches with a tasting event curated by culinary guru Vikram Vij. Sample South Asia’s frying, simmering, sizzling diversity as you chomp your way through the regions. Musical group Rajasthan Josh will lend their distinct blend of rumbling percussions punctuated by soulful strings to the festivities. Additionally, activists like actor Shabana Azmi and director Deepa Mehta will weigh in on issues impacting the global community.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced today that Surrey resident, Mark Andrew Rosie, was sentenced on May 22, 2013, in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, for eleven counts of falsely claiming and obtaining income tax refunds and credits, three counts of income tax evasion and two counts of possession of stolen property. Rosie received a total of three and one half years in prison and a fine of $142,049. Rosie was convicted on December 12, 2012.

A CRA investigation determined that each of the frauds was well planned, sophisticated and multifaceted. It was found that Rosie obtained personal information from taxpayer victims, manipulated CRA’s records for taxpayer addresses so the cheques would be diverted to Rosie, prepared false returns and setup and used bank accounts in other people’s names. The fraudulent refunds and credit claims obtained were ultimately diverted to Rosie’s bank accounts or those he controlled.

Rosie did not limit the fraud to friends and acquaintances. He also targeted vulnerable people with drug habits or addictions, using a third party to obtain their personal information from them in exchange for drugs.

Vancouver remains the least affordable city to buy a house in Canada while home ownership in Toronto is becoming more difficult, Royal Bank of Canada Economics Research said.

The costs of owning a detached bungalow in Vancouver take up 82.3 percent of a typical household’s income, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous quarter. In Toronto, the largest city in Canada, that figure is 53.8 percent, up 0.8 points, according to a housing affordability report for the first quarter produced by Canada’s largest lender.

“The Canadian housing market cooled significantly in the past year,” Craig Wright, chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada, said in a statement. “There is mounting evidence that activity is no longer weakening.”

A “significant nationwide price correction” isn’t imminent as long as affordability stays within the current range, Wright said.

Exceptionally low mortgage rates have been the chief factor in keeping homeownership costs relatively affordable, RBC said.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tightened mortgage rules four times in the last five years amid concern that overbuilding in some markets could lead to a sharp drop in prices. The Bank of Canada forecasts housing investment will be a drag on economic growth this year and next.

“While affordability levels are manageable at this point, we’d be humming a very different tune if interest rates were to suddenly rise substantially,” Wright said. “Fortunately, the likelihood of a surge in rates is slim at this stage.”

Across Canada, the costs of owning a standard two-story home take up 48 percent of a typical household’s monthly pretax income, while condominiums eat up 28.1 percent, according to the index. Both figures are unchanged from the previous quarter.

The RBC housing affordability index, compiled since 1985, measures how much of pretax household income is needed to own a home, including mortgage payments, utilities and property taxes.

Harper returns to Canada, will face scandal questions

Prime Minister Stephen Harper returned from his trip to South America Friday, and there is one heck of a mess waiting for him on Parliament Hill.

Maclean’s Magazine Ottawa Bureau Chief John Geddes says the Conservatives are at one of the party’s lowest points since they formed government in 2006.

As the RCMP was looking into whether to open a criminal investigation into the senator spending scandal yesterday, Senator Mike Duffy was calling for a full and open inquiry into the $90,000 cheque he received from Harper’s former Chief of Staff Nigel Wright.

Harper still hasn’t answered questions on the scandal and Geddes says the prime minister will probably take the weekend to figure out what his next move will be.

“There are two possibilities here. One is to tackle the issues head on and try to address them more explicitly, be more apologetic but also be more definitive in explaining exactly what happened in his own office,” explains Geddes.

“The other would be to try to fill the vacuum or give people something else to think about, which is to try to show a vigorous, activist agenda and hope that he can cruise through to the end of the Parliamentary session in June.”
He tells us Harper will likely try to re-group over the summer and then try to gain some momentum with a new policy speech.

Geddes also expects Harper will shuffle his cabinet and come out with a throne speech in an attempt to shift the conversation away from the senate.

In the meantime, new Liberal leader Justin Trudeau is getting a nice bump in the polls and the NDP continues to hammer away at the Tories with its campaign to abolish the senate.

Geddes says Harper’s problems don’t end there. “They’ve had this backbench revolt that was really over the freedom of Conservative backbenchers to say what they like in the House.”

“It was prompted by the desire of some MPs to talk on abortion related issues and all of that really injected a sense of independence in backbench MPs who typically towed the line. Now we’re starting to hearing grumblings from the backbenches and I think the two things are related. I think those MPs started to think, ‘Hey, we’re tired of being told what to say and when.’ Now that this fiasco is unfolding, I think some of them would like to speak their minds a little bit, so Harper has a caucus management problem on his hands.”

Geddes says while things don’t look good for Harper right now, this crisis probably isn’t as big as the one he faced in 2008 when the Liberals, New Democrats, and Bloc Quebecois threatened to form a coalition government.