The awardees: Siddhant Malik, Ishmeet Singh, Shishir Gopinath, Purujeet Monga and Nikhil Prakash.THE India Club honored five top Grade 12 graduates on Sunday, March 30 at Burnaby’s Royal Palace Banquet Hall. The special guest speaker was Ravi Shankar Aisola, Consul General of India. Other guests included Indian Consul and Head of Chancery R. Chandramouli, former MP Ujjal Dosanjh, Raj Chauhan, MLA for Burnaby-Edmonds, and Sav Dhaliwal, Burnaby Councillor.
Baljinder Kaur Narang, Chair of Burnaby Board of Education, was the keynote speaker who gave a very inspiring speech on youth and their aspirations.
The Grade 12 Academic Achievement Awards (AAA) winners for this year were: Nikhil Prakash, Purujeet Monga, Shishir Gopinath, Ishmeet Singh and Siddhant Malik.
These outstanding students were selected for their academic excellence in the 2013 Provincial Examinations. They received a cash award and a plaque honoring their achievement.
This is the 27th year of India Club’s Academic Achievement Awards (AAA).Group photo of organizers, guests and awardees. Photos by Chandra Bodalia
Following tradition, two past presidents of India Club were also honored: Dr. D.P. Goel and Dinesh Khare. They received the Golden Award, instituted in 2005, for their distinguished and sustained service to India Club over an extended period of time.
India Club is a non-profit community organization. It sponsors student scholarships at UBC, SFU, Vancouver Community College, and Killarney Secondary and John Oliver High School in Vancouver. It also gives a Gandhi Peace Essay Award at SFU and donates money to local and international causes such as Operation Eyesight Universal.
For more information and if you wish to become member of India Club, contact Dr. Satya Varshney at 604-767-2015 or email: [email protected].
Perth, Australia (IANS): The search operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 ended Friday without any headway even as the underwater search for jet’s black box began “Today (Friday) there have been some sightings of objects reported by ships in the search area but none were associated with MH370,” Australia’s Joint Agency Cordination Centre (JACC) said in its latest update.
“The Royal Australian Navy, using the Towed Pinger Locator from the United States Navy on Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield, and the Royal Navy, with a similar capability on HMS Echo, today began the underwater search for emissions from the black-box pinger from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370,” it added.
A total of 14 aircraft and 11 ships were involved in Friday’s search activities.
“The Australian Maritime Safety Authority determined a search area of about 217,000 sq km, 1700 km northwest of Perth,” the JACC said.
“Weather in the search area was good, with visibility greater than 10 kilometres.”
In an earlier update Friday, the JACC said the two ships, Ocean Shield and HMS Echo, will search a single 240-km track, converging on each other.
The Commander of Joint Task Force 658, Commodore Peter Leavy, said the two ships and their towed-pinger equipment would be operating at significantly reduced speed to search at depths of three thousand metres or more, the update.
“There has not been any change in the search,” Commodore Leavy said.
He said that since no hard evidence has been found to date a decision has been taken “to search a sub-surface area on which the analysis has predicted MH370 is likely to have flown”.
“While the preference for search operations is to use physical evidence and then drift modelling to determine a smaller sub-surface search area, the search track is considered to be the best estimate possible for an area likely to contain the crashed aircraft,” he said adding that the equipment on the two ships “can only operate effectively at reduced speed, around three knots”.
“The search using sub-surface equipment needs to be methodical and carefully executed in order to effectively detect the faint signal of the pinger,” he added.
Functionality tests were carried out on the Towed Pinger Locator, Autonomous Underwater Vehicle and transducer pole to prove its effectiveness during transit to the search area, according to the JACC.
“All the acoustic sensors, GPS positioning, tracking and frequency systems and positioning of the equipment completed a functionality test,” it said.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished mysteriously about an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur shortly after midnight March 8.
The Boeing 777-200ER was scheduled to land in Beijing the same day. The 227 passengers on board included five Indians, 154 Chinese and 38 Malaysians.
(Among the passengers are two Indo-Canadians: Muktesh Mukherjee, 47, and his wife Xiaomao Bai, 37. Mukherjee is vice-president of operations in China for the Pennsylvania-based XCoal Energy and Resources. He is the grandson of the late Indian minister Mohan Kumaramangalam.)
Despite extensive scouring of remote southern Indian Ocean by planes and ships off the coast of Perth, where the plane is believed to have crashed, no trace has been found.
Australia, meanwhile, has accepted Malaysia’s invitation to join the investigation into the disappearance of the jet as a fully accredited member, according to Xinhua.
“Australia has agreed both to lead the search and as an accredited representative to provide support for the Malaysian investigations,” Angus Houston, chief of the JACC, told a press conference in Perth.
Houston had briefed Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on the Australia-led retrieval effort during the latter’s tour to Perth Thursday. The US, Britain and China are also accredited members.
Australia and Malaysia are currently drawing up a comprehensive agreement regarding Australia’s role in search and investigation, such as critical decision points, the handling of accident victims, custody of aircraft wreckage and the downloading of intonation from flight recorders that might be recovered, Houston said.
According to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, Malaysia, the country of the flight carrier, is responsible for the investigation.
An Australian team made up of four senior investigators is in Kuala Lumpur for the lost aircraft-related investigation and for ensuring that relevant investigation information is considered while mapping out search strategies, he added.
SEATTLE: A former Seattle-area man who fled to Canada during his 2009 drug trial has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Hardeep Singh, 23, formerly of Kent, was convicted in absentia of conspiracy to distribute ecstasy after he fled following the first day of his trial. Singh was arrested last year in Canada and extradited to the U.S. to face sentencing.
His co-conspirator Kaushal Kainth, 25, formerly of Renton, also fled and remains at large.
According to testimony at trial and records filed in the case, in May 2009, Kainth and Singh agreed to pay a man to deliver large amounts of ecstasy and another drug, BZP, to co-conspirators at the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila and to a location in San Jose, California. The delivery man, who was working with HSI, recorded both defendants on audio and video. In all, Kainth and Singh gave the delivery man nearly 285,000 pills worth more than $2.8 million, which were seized by HSI.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington prosecuted the case.
ON April 5, the Delta Police Department are holding their 4th annual 3-on-3 Boys Basketball Tournament. This year the organizers are expecting upwards of 100 grade 8-12 students representing 25 teams.
“We started this tournament as a way for us to connect positively with the youth in Delta and it just took off from there. Now our teams come from schools all over the Lower Mainland to play in the two divisions,” said A/Sgt. Sukh Sidhu, one of the tournament’s organizers.
Last year’s winners, a grade 11 team from Tamanawis High School, will be back to defend their title and a chance to win bragging rights, trophies, and a $50 Future Shop Gift Certificate for each winning team member. There are also many other prizes that will be given out during the day within the two divisions, Senior (Grade 11 and12) and Junior (Grade 8-10).
An event of this size takes a considerable amount of planning and there are over 20 volunteers who will be making sure the event runs smoothly for all of the players. The event is sponsored by the Delta Police Department, North Delta Secondary School, The Delta School District, Delta Parks and Recreation, and Virsa.
Ruptures in Arrival: Art in the Wake of the Komagata Maru: April 12 to June 15 Opening reception: April 12, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Artist’s Talk with Ali Kazimi: April 12, 6:30 p.m.
Raghavendra Rao’s Visions of the living past. Image courtesy of the artist.MARKING the 100th anniversary of the Komagata Maru episode, Surrey Art Gallery’s group exhibition Ruptures in Arrival: Art in the Wake of the Komagata Maru brings together for the first time a cross-section of visual art related to this history, and presents these works alongside art that addresses more recent histories of mass migration from Asia to Canada’s West Coast. Ten artists from Canada and India contribute works – in a wide range of media including painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, 3D film, and installation art – that explore history’s relationship to memory, mass media’s affects on personal experience, the creative use of fact and fiction, and the visual narratives of transpacific mass migration. Over the course of the exhibition, events such as artist’s talks, film screenings, tours, Family Day, and a symposium make for a deeper connection to the artworks and the ideas behind them. Ruptures in Arrival: Art in the Wake of the Komagata Maru is on exhibit at the Surrey Art Gallery from April 12 to June 15. Admission to this exhibition is by donation.
The Komagata Maru was a Japanese steamship that sailed to Vancouver in 1914, carrying 376 passengers from Punjab, India. Only 23 passengers were allowed to land, and following two months of detention in Vancouver’s harbour the ship was forced to return to India. The Komagata Maru episode has come to reflect a troubling moment in Canadian history when the federal government’s discriminatory immigration policies coincided with widespread racism among mainstream Canadian society. The episode had tragic consequences for many individuals. It has become an important locus for conversations on Canadian history, identity, and citizenship. The Ruptures in Arrival: Art in the Wake of the Komagata Maru exhibition reveals the frequently overlooked contribution to these conversations from contemporary Canadian visual artists.
Ruptures in Arrival: Art in the Wake of the Komagata Maru features a diverse set of imagery in a variety of media by artists Roy Arden, Avantika Bawa, Ali Kazimi, Evan Lee, Ken Lum, Mass Arrival (Farrah Miranda, Graciela Flores, Tings Chak, Vino Shanmuganathan, Nadia Saad), Raghavendra Rao, Haris Sheikh, Jarnail Singh, and Paul Wong. Portland-based artist Avantika Bawa uses large-scale drawing and sculptural installation to reinterpret the original route of the Komagata Maru and its passengers’ journey from Asia to Canada and back again.
Toronto filmmaker and new media artist Ali Kazimi has created a new immersive 3D film installation that presents a series of vignettes about everyday life for South Asian Canadians on shore during the time of the Komagata Maru’s detention in Vancouver’s harbour. Surrey-based artist Jarnail Singh will present the newest and largest in a series of paintings he has been working on about the Komagata Maru episode. Evan Lee, a Vancouver-based artist, has created a new set of inkjet prints using 3D digital modelling based on press photography from the arrival of two boats to Canada’s West Coast: the MV Ocean Lady from Sri Lanka in 2009, and the MV Sun Sea from China’s Fujian province in 1999.
Ruptures in Arrival: Art in the Wake of the Komagata Maru is presented in partnership with Komagata Maru 1914 – 2014, a collaboration between eight organizations across Metro Vancouver that are presenting events and exhibitions related to the living legacies of the Komagata Maru episode. www.komagatamaru100.com
Also on exhibit is BogScape, a sound art installation inspired by Burns Bog by Surrey-based media artist Matt Smith. BogScape is part of Open Sound 2014: Sonorous Kingdom, an exhibition about sound and vegetation. Exhibition launch with artist’s talk and opening reception:
Ruptures in Arrival: Art in the Wake of the Komagata Maru launches on April 12 with an artist’s talk at 6:30 p.m., followed by an opening reception from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. (formal remarks at 7:45 p.m.). Toronto-based artist Ali Kazimi will give an illustrated talk about his art practice, major works, and the context for his work on display in the exhibition. There is another event taking place on this evening, so visitors are encouraged to arrive early in order to find parking. Admission to the opening reception and artist’s talk is free (donations are gratefully received).
Exhibition tours:
Thursday, April 24, 7-8:30 p.m.
Be part of an informal tour of the exhibition led by Jordan Strom, curator, Surrey Art Gallery, and hear interesting stories about the artworks and artists. After the tour, stay for refreshments and conversation.
By donation; Surrey Art Gallery Association members free.
Location: Surrey Art Gallery
To find out more, visit: vancouverfoundation.ca or follow on social media: Facebook.com/vancouverfdn
or @VancouverFdn.
Surrey Art Gallery is located at 13750 – 88 Avenue, Surrey. Phone: 604-501-5566. www.surrey.ca/artgallery
Closed Mondays and holidays. Surrey Art Gallery will be closed April 18 through 21.
IS it a good idea for high school students to have a job?
I believe that it is definitely a good idea for high school students to have a part-time job. This is because it teaches them responsibility, organization and time management in their lives. These three assets can become well polished with a part-time job throughout high school.
A part-time job is a great way to be responsible in your life. Most adults nowadays fall into the stereotype thinking that all teenagers do is get into trouble with drugs and sex. However, that is just something that the media portrays about how a teenager lives their life through reality TV, radio and video games. But the average teen that has a part-time job is a lot more responsible in their life by not taking part in substance abuse. Being able to have a part-time job is also a great way to always have money to buy anything you want as a teenager.
At the same time the teenagers that do take part in bad activities is because of the common disease known as boredom. This can easily be cured if high school students devote their time to a job, volunteering, religious activities or sports because it teaches them to be responsible and to make the right decisions in life. In the end, it helps students realize that they have saved up money for further education, a car or even for personal use.
Organization is the second asset that I believe can be attained when juggling school and a part-time job. I can personally say that I have friends that need to commit five hours a day after school for up to three days a week because that’s what their job requires. These people are the ones that have never heard about the word procrastination because of how well they are able to organize themselves. A student from high school that has a part-time job is not only organized in their job, but they are also organized in their school-related activities.
It’s important that academics should come first in life for a high school student. However, at the same time being able to stay organized and stay on task is an asset that will make you a star in a crowd. I don’t personally have a part-time job but I do volunteer from time to time which takes up time as well. So being able to juggle volunteering and school is what I would call organization as well.
Last but not least, time management that goes hand-in-hand with organization is a major asset. Managing time is being able to finish homework, studying for a test, doing a project, going to work and having fun in high school, too. Some parents would argue that you can get a job later and just focus on school for now. However, the feeling of earning your own money is next to nothing in this world. Also, volunteering for someone and seeing the expression of gratitude on their face makes my day.
In conclusion, I consider that a part-time job during high school is an amazing idea and I have the utmost respect for youth that are able to stay responsible, be organized and manage their time.
BY HARNOOR GILL
Grade 10 student
Christ The King Catholic Secondary
Georgetown, Ontario
THE current measles outbreak has been largely contained to the eastern regions of the Fraser Valley and members of that community, thanks to the leadership of chief medical health officer, Dr. Paul Van Buynder, the team of dedicated health-care providers at Fraser Health Authority and the increased uptake of vaccination, the province announced on Monday.
“Dr. Van Buynder and Fraser Health have shown excellent guidance and management of this difficult situation,” said Health Minister Terry Lake. “I applaud the professionalism and tireless efforts of the dedicated staff who have engaged in an open and respectful manner with the leaders, families and individuals in these affected communities. They inspire confidence in our public health system and demonstrate that by working together, we can all reduce the spread of these diseases.”
Since the outbreak was declared on March 8, Fraser Health has worked with schools, community groups, church groups, public health nurses and medical officers to investigate the outbreak and implement control measures such as setting up dedicated immunization clinics in public health and physician offices and urging people to get vaccinated.
This current measles outbreak in regions of the Fraser Valley (Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack, Agassiz, Harrison Hot Springs and Hope) is now entering its fourth week and while there are now cumulatively an estimated 320 cases, the spread of the virus into other communities has been limited. The level of risk to British Columbians outside of these communities is currently considered to be low.
“The devoted team at Fraser Health have co-ordinated an effective approach to the challenges of this outbreak and their efforts and expertise have resulted in it being largely contained to these communities,” said Provincial Health Officer Dr. Perry Kendall. “This situation is a reminder that an outbreak like this one is avoidable with proper immunization. I encourage all British Columbians to get vaccinated as the best way to protect yourself against diseases like the measles.”
The measles outbreak is expected to continue for another two weeks as the second and third wave of the disease makes its way through the communities. Anyone who has symptoms or suspects they have contracted measles is encouraged to stay home until the symptoms are over.
Fraser Health will continue to update the public on the progress of the disease and B.C.’s provincial health officer, Dr. Perry Kendall, will provide additional updates as the need arises or as additional information becomes available.
ABOUT 33,700 people from 199 countries became Canadian citizens at citizenship ceremonies held across Canada in March 2014. This is almost twice as many compared to March 2013 when 17,089 people were granted citizenship across Canada.
Canada’s new citizens were welcomed at 312 citizenship ceremonies held across the country, from college campuses to Citizenship and Immigration Canada offices, to special ceremonies at railway stations and designated heritage sites.
These high numbers demonstrate that changes and improvements in effect over the past year have already made the system more efficient and resulted in a decreased backlog, helping more people realize their dream of becoming Canadian sooner. The government’s proposed changes in Bill C-24, the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, will further reduce wait times by streamlining the decision-making process for citizenship. It is expected that these changes will bring the average processing time for citizenship applications down to under one year and that the current backlog will be reduced by more than 80 percent by 2015-2016.
* So far in 2014, Canada has welcomed more than 75,900 new citizens at 759 ceremonies across Canada. Comparatively, in the first three months of 2013, Canada welcomed 35,320 new Canadians.
* In 2013, 128,936 people were granted Canadian citizenship ¾an average of 10,745 each month.
* Since 2006, Canada has enjoyed the highest sustained levels of immigration in Canadian history at an average of 257,000 newcomers each year. Accordingly, the demand for citizenship has increased by 30 percent.
* Canada has the highest rate of naturalization in the world¾85 per cent of eligible permanent residents become citizens. Citizenship and Immigration Canada received 333,860 citizenship applications in 2013, the highest volume ever.
Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said: “By improving the efficiency of the citizenship program and launching the Blueprint for Citizenship Improvements, our government is working to ensure the timely processing of citizenship applications so that deserving applicants can become Canadians more quickly. The high number of new citizens who joined the Canadian family so far this year shows that our changes are working. Our government would like to welcome our newest citizens to the Canadian family.”
JOHN Horgan gained the support on Friday of three Tri-Cities heavyweights and another former B.C. NDP leader in his bid to lead the B.C. NDP.
Coquitlam-Maillardville MLA Selina Robinson, former Port Moody-Coquitlam MLA Joe Trasolini, former interim B.C. NDP leader Dawn Black and New Westminster-Coquitlam and Port Moody MP Fin Donnelly endorsed Horgan at an economy and affordability roundtable with Tri-Cities community leaders.
“We have to win in the interior and we have to win in the suburbs if we are going to form government,” said Horgan. “Selina, Joe, Dawn and Fin will be key to that effort and I’m so excited to have them join my team.”
Robinson, elected in 2013, is Opposition Critic for Local Government and Sports.
“John understands families want safe, affordable communities, with good services,” said Robinson. “He knows that B.C. Liberal rate hikes and service cuts are hurting communities like ours and he is the leader who can beat the B.C. Liberals in 2017.”
Trasolini is a former NDP MLA and four-term mayor of Port Moody. He will also lead an economic advisory committee for the Horgan campaign.
“John is committed to spurring an economy that works for everyone,” said Trasolini. “He gets that small business, industry, tourism and the arts all play key rolls, and he will ensure they have the support they need to provide good jobs throughout B.C.”
Dawn Black is the retired MLA for New Westminster and a former MP. She served as the B.C. NDP’s interim leader in 2011.
“The B.C. NDP must renew itself with a focus on economic growth and reducing inequality,” said Black. “I’m proud to support John because he will lead that renewal.”
Fin Donnelly, elected in 2009, is federal Deputy Critic for Fisheries and Oceans and for Infrastructure.
“I’m impressed by John’s emphasis on teamwork,” said Donnelly. ”He’s reaching out and bringing people together to tackle the challenges British Columbians face.”
strong>ONCE again, the B.C. Liberals are making life even less affordable for British Columbians – continuing with their ongoing litany of fee and fare hikes, hidden taxes and cancelled discounts.
Starting April 1, the following costs will increase:
* Hydro rates will begin their 28 per-cent climb starting with a nine-per-cent jump April 1. Over the next three years, this government’s hydro hikes will make life less affordable for B.C. families and hurt business to the tune of $2 billion. More than half of that will go into this government’s pocket to pad their budget.
* Ferry fares will increase again by four per cent. This fare hike is on top of another 3.5-per-cent increase ferry users faced in January. Fares have gone up by more than 100 per cent on some routes since the Liberals formed government in 2001. In the meantime, service is getting cut on ferry routes up and down the coast, meaning B.C. families will pay more and get less.
Also on April 1, the following discounts will be cancelled or cut:
* Ferry discounts for seniors will be cut in half. The callous decision by the B.C. Liberals shows the lengths they will go to in order to make British Columbians pay more and get less.
* The LiveSmart program for businesses ends on April 1, eliminating an incentive for businesses to make energy-wise choices, and removing any opportunity for relief from the fee hike on the same day the program ends.
Plus, the B.C. Liberals are hitting families in the pocketbook this year with these increases:
* Medical Service Premiums were increased on Jan. 1 for the fifth year in a row. And they will go up by another four per cent in Jan. 2015. At that point a B.C. family will pay $1,728 per year for the medical services tax. That’s double what they paid in 2001 when the Liberals formed government.
* ICBC basic coverage is expected to increase by between 3.4 and 6.4 per cent by the end of the year.
* Tuition will increase by two per cent, pushing post-secondary education even further out of reach for many families. Tuition has doubled since the B.C. Liberals formed government in 2001.
