Ottawa sets tougher rules on animal feed to fight mad cow disease

OTTAWA (CP) - The federal government is moving to strengthen its ban on the use of cattle tissue in animal feed in an effort to fight mad cow disease and reopen export markets to Canadian beef. Under new rules, to be phased in over the next year by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, risky cattle parts will be banned from all animal feed, not just feed destined for cows. The parts will also be banned from pet food and fertilizers to avoid the risk of inadvertent cross-contamination of feed on farms and ranches.

Dr. Brian Evans, the government's chief veterinary officer, predicted Monday that the new rules will "significantly accelerate" the campaign to eradicate mad cow disease, known scientifically as BSE or bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

It should also help to bolster trade opportunities by reassuring other countries that Canada is on top of the problem, said Evans.

The announcement came on the eve of a visit to Ottawa by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, whose country had been among those pressing Ottawa for a tougher feed ban as a condition of relaxing its import restrictions on Canadian beef.

Evans didn't mention Japan by name when pressed on which countries might look with favour on the new policy. But he noted that Cuba, Algeria, Lebanon and Russia have already opened their markets in response to past efforts to fight BSE in Canada.

"We believe we are very close with other countries," he said.

Still problematic is the key U.S. market, where American officials remain in the process of working out their own enhanced rules for animal feed.

Shipments of live cattle to the United States were shut down in 2003 after the first reported BSE case in Canada. Trade in young animals resumed last year, but there has been no word on when the border may be reopened to older animals.

Canada has had only five cases of cattle infected with BSE out of an estimated national herd of 17 million cows. But two of the cases involved animals that were infected after 1997, when a previous feed ban was implemented.

The 1997 policy barred the use of certain cattle parts, including the skull, brain and spinal cord, in feed destined for cattle or other ruminants such as sheep and goats.

The use of infected animal byproducts in feed is considered one of the main ways of propagating BSE, which has been linked to more than 150 human deaths worldwide.

There has been pressure for some time to widen the Canadian ban to include feed for other commercial animals, pet food and fertilizers.

It's taken years to act, however, as the food inspection agency examined the relevant scientific research and consulted the industry.

"We wanted to ensure that what we were doing was enforceable," said Evans.

He cautioned that the new rules, in themselves, won't immediately stamp out BSE in Canada.

Given the long incubation period for the disease, he said, it wouldn't be surprising to see "a small number" of further cases come to light in the next 18 months to three years.

It could take years beyond that to ensure that Canada is truly free of BSE, according to statistical modelling by academic researchers.

But Evans estimated that, under the new feed ban, BSE can be wiped out in Canada in "something less than 10 years."

That compares with estimates of 15 to 20 years under the less stringent 1997 ban.

It's difficult to be more precise, because trace amounts of infected material can remain for years in feed bins, bunkers and elsewhere in the system.

The food inspection agency will work with producers, slaughterhouses and packers to implement the new rules by July 2007 in most cases Some smaller operators will be given an extra six months beyond that to comply.

The government has already set aside more than $80 million to aid the industry in the transition process.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

Japan fights global warming by making all cars use ethanol by 2030

TOKYO (AP) - Japan plans to fight global warming and surging oil prices by requiring that all vehicles be able to run on an environment-friendly mix of ethanol and regular gasoline by 2030, an official said Thursday. The new policy, adopted by the Environment Ministry this month, will require all new cars to be able to run on a blend of 10 per cent ethanol, an alcohol fuel often made from corn or sugar, and 90 per cent gasoline, starting in 2010, said Takeshi Sekiya, an official at the ministry's global warming division. Costs and implementation are still being studied.

The switch to ethanol underlines the new urgency felt by industrialized countries trying to rein in the effects of greenhouse gases and reduce dependence on foreign oil. Ethanol blends are already widely used in Brazil, and on Wednesday, U.S. automakers announced plans to double production of vehicles using the so-called flexible-fuel technology by 2010.

"The main goal is to counter global warming," Sekiya said. "Adopting the new technology is not that difficult."

Japan currently allows ethanol mixtures of up to three per cent at the country's pumps, but in practice "almost no cars" run on the fuel, Sekiya said. To encourage the market, the ministry will ramp up production of ethanol fuel on the southern island of Miyako, where a plentiful supply of sugar cane will be converted into fuel for the island's estimated 20,000 cars in the next three years.

The goal is to have all cars on the country's roads capable of running on the new fuel by 2030.

By mixing in the plant-based fuel, scientists can reduce the harmful greenhouse gases churned out in vehicle exhaust - a top priority for Japan, which is the world's second-large economy and a top air pollution offender, despite being a key driver behind to the Kyoto Protocol - an international agreement to cut global output of carbon dioxide by 2012.

Japan also imports nearly all its oil and is keen to find alternative energy sources.

Yet many obstacles remain to a smooth switch over, starting with the fact that ethanol fuel is more expensive than gasoline and contains about two-thirds of the fuel value. Japan's goal of a 10-per cent ethanol blend also falls short of the standards being met by U.S. automakers, which are already producing cars that can run on 85-per cent ethanol blends.

General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group have produced 5 million flexible fuel vehicles that can run on 85 per cent ethanol. They are expected to produce an additional 1 million of the vehicles this year, and Wednesday's new commitment would lead to 2 million annually by 2010.

While only a handful of cars in Japan are actually running on ethanol blends, all vehicles produced by Toyota Motor Co., the world's No. 2 automaker, already meet the new 10-per cent standard, Sekiya said.

The trial run on Miyako will help bring down production costs so the technology can be spread nationwide, he added.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

U.S. automakers to double production of flexible-fuel vehicles by 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. automakers said Wednesday they will double production of flexible-fuel vehicles by 2010, adding vehicles capable of running on ethanol blends and other biofuels to reduce dependence upon foreign oil. Leaders of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group wrote members of the U.S. Congress about their plans, urging oil companies and legislators to promote the production of ethanol and biofuel and increase the number of fuelling stations offering the fuels.

"Our hope is that with this commitment, fuel providers will have even more incentive to produce ethanol and other biofuels and install pumps to distribute them," the automakers wrote.

The letter was signed by Rick Wagoner, GM's chairman and chief executive; Bill Ford, Ford's chairman and chief executive; and Tom LaSorda, Chrysler Group's president and chief executive.

The Big Three automakers have produced five million flexible fuel vehicles, capable of running on gasoline and fuel blends of up to 85 per cent ethanol, and are expected to produce an additional one million of the vehicles this year. Their commitment would lead to two million annually by 2010.

In meetings on Capitol Hill last month, Wagoner, Ford and LaSorda stressed their work on alternative fuels but highlighted the lack of service stations offering the fuels. Only about 700 of the 170,000 gasoline stations nationally offer E85 and most are concentrated in the Midwest.

The executives said if all the current flexible fuel vehicles were running on E85, "they would displace more than 3.5 billion gallons of gasoline a year, or a full year of gas consumption in a state such as Missouri or Tennessee."

But many obstacles remain. Bob Slaughter, president of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, said E85 blends are not practical in most parts of the country because the fuel is more expensive than gasoline and contains about two-thirds of the energy value.

"The idea that industry should just rush ahead, make investments on E85 just on the chance - not very likely - that it will gain widespread acceptance just doesn't make any sense," Slaughter said.

Environmentalists contend that few flexible fuel vehicles ever use ethanol blends and note that automakers receive a credit of 1.2 miles per gallon on federal fuel-economy requirements by producing the vehicles.

"The reality is that they're getting PR benefits by claiming to be green when they're actually taking advantage of a loophole that increases our oil consumption and pollution," said Dan Becker, director of the Sierra Club's global warming program.

GM and Ford said they could not immediately provide specifics of how they would increase production of the vehicles, which typically cost a few hundred dollars more to produce.

Chrysler said it would produce 500,000 of the vehicles by 2008; the automaker already builds a Jeep Liberty diesel model that is delivered with five per cent biodiesel blended fuel.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

Honda recalls 124,000 vehicles in Japan over brake light

TOKYO (AP) - Honda Motor Co. is recalling more than 124,300 vehicles in Japan with defective brake lights, the company said. Honda is recalling 84,554 Acty and 39,768 VAMOS Hobio minivans produced between Feb. 20, 2002 and June 6, 2006.

The company said it decided to recall the vehicles because the improper instalment of bulbs could cause a fuse blowout and possible failure to light up brake lights or to activate an alarm horn.

Separately, Nissan Diesel Motor Co. said it is recalling 6,490 trucks in 13 models produced between Nov. 15, 2004, and Jan. 30 this year, because of defective fuel piping, the company said in a statement.

The defects could trigger a fuel leakage from a loose connection, the company said.

It was not immediately known if the recalls included any export models.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

Montreal man accused of being trained Sikh assassin closer to deportation

OTTAWA (CP) - An alleged Sikh terrorist accused of plotting to kill senior Indian officials is on the verge of being deported following rejection of his claim he'll be tortured if returned home. The Federal Court of Canada refused to put Bachan Singh Sogi's removal order on hold after he failed to persuade Justice Pierre Blais he would be treated inhumanely in India. Sogi's lawyer, Mai Nguyen, said her client now hopes Immigration Minister Monte Solberg will agree to let Sogi stay in Canada while the United Nations Committee Against Torture studies his file.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service says there are reasonable grounds to believe Sogi, 45, is actually Gurnam Singh, alias Piare Singh, a member of the Sikh extremist organization Babbar Khalsa International.

The late Talwinder Singh Parmar, a key suspect in the 1985 Air India bombing, was a prominent Babbar Khalsa leader in British Columbia.

The group aims to establish an independent Sikh state called Khalistan in the area that is presently the Indian state of Punjab.

CSIS says Singh arrived in Toronto on May 8, 2001, and claimed refugee status under the name Bachan Singh Sogi, later moving to Montreal.

The spy service contends Sogi is highly trained in the use of sophisticated weapons and explosive devices.

It alleges he intended to assassinate Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, his son Sukhbir Singh Badal, and former Punjab Chief of Police K.P.S. Gill.

Sogi, arrested in August 2002, denies the accusations.

The Immigration and Refugee Board relied on confidential information in concluding he should be removed from Canada.

Sogi, however, has fought to remain in the country.

A 2003 assessment by the Immigration Department concluded Sogi would be at risk of torture if sent home.

But Sogi's case continued to wind through the system.

In May, a delegate for the Immigration minister said that after considering all facets of the case, Sogi "constitutes a danger to the security of Canada" and does not face a risk of torture.

The assessment noted Babbar Khalsa militants had been arrested in the last year or so.

"I have seen nothing persuasive in the evidence that even those active militants who have been arrested have been subjected to harsh treatment," says the assessment, quoted in Blais' ruling.

"There is nothing convincing in the evidence that would lead me to conclude that Mr. Sogi would be subjected to torture or a risk to his life or cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if he were to be arrested because of his membership (in the Babbar Khalsa)."

Sogi asked the Federal Court to review the department's decision.

Blais rejected the application in a decision handed down last Friday.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

Poll indicates most Americans don't know Canada's their biggest oil supplier

WASHINGTON (CP) - It looks like Alberta's facing a huge uphill battle in a push this week to publicize its energy potential to the United States. A new poll released Tuesday suggests only a tiny minority of Americans - four per cent - know Canada is already their largest supplier of crude oil.

But the survey also suggests 88 per cent of Americans have a favourable view of Canada and 41 per cent would be willing to pay even higher gasoline prices to replace oil from unstable regions.

That's good news for Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, who's in Washington for a flurry of energy-related events leading to the province's participation at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival starting Friday.

But he admits the province faces a big learning curve south of the border.

"It's hard to convince people that 12 per cent of American gas comes from Alberta and about 18 per cent of oil," said Klein, who's scheduled to meet Wednesday with U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney.

"There still is a misconception in the United States about oil supply, gas supply and the message is that we offer a very safe and secure supply of oil that fits into the Americans' national energy policy."

Still, it's clear there's a growing automatic assumption among many U.S. legislators that increased oil production from Alberta's tar sands will be flowing south.

"I don't see any lull in the basic price of crude oil which is what motivates," said New Mexico's Pete Domenici, chairman of the Senate energy committee.

"Why would the production not increase and where would it go? It would obviously go to the United States of America," he said before heading to a reception with Klein.

"We will increase our purchase directly in relationship to how much is produced in Canada. There can be no doubt about it."

The Alberta-U.S. relationship "has nowhere to go but up," said Domenici.

The poll of 1,000 Americans was released by the Canadian American Business Council to coincide with Alberta's promotional events.

Saudi Arabia was named most often, 38 per cent of the time, when people were asked which country is the largest U.S. oil supplier.

Fifty-nine per cent of those surveyed said a reliable and affortable energy supply is "very important"' to national security, while 71 per cent favoured passing federal legislation to ease pipeline construction and increase the amount of available Canadian oil.

Fifty-one per cent opposed replacing oil from unstable countries, while about nine per cent were unsure.

Murray Smith, who's been Alberta's representative in Washington for 16 months, said the province has just scratched the surface of educating Americans about energy.

"We've started at the highest levels. Now we've got to go to the next step - the lecture circuit."

Being featured in the 10-day Smithsonian festival, which draws more than one million visitors each year, is a good start, said Smith.

"We've got lots of work to do in order to further enhance the understanding of what Canada and what Alberta's resources mean to the United States," agreed International Affairs Minister Gary Mar.

"That's part of our ongoing mission of why we're here in Washington, why we have an office (here)."

And Alberta's entreprenurial push in the United States, as it gains political and economic weight in Canada, shouldn't be ruffling any feathers back home, he said.

"A strong Alberta is an advantage and not a threat to the rest of the country," Mar told a forum on cross-border relations.

"We're committed to a stronger Canada."

Klein was quick to point out Alberta's government officials are political cousins of the U.S. administration and that opens doors at the White House.

He met President George W. Bush during the president's 2004 visit to Canada and was introduced by former U.S. ambassador Paul Cellucci as the leader of the only "red" or Republican province in Canada.

"The senator's a Republican too," Klein said as he stood beside Domenici.

"He's from the same conservative movement that I'm from. I think that's got something to do with it."

Mar also noted it doesn't hurt that Prime Minister Stephen Harper, though born in Ontario, has spent the last three decades in Alberta.

One in three Alberta jobs depends on exports to the United States and 85 per cent of those exports are petroleum and natural gas.

The poll was conducted between June 13 and 15. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 per cent.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

Canada Day tax cuts could get mixed reaction from Canadians

TORONTO (CP) - As the country marks its birthday on July 1, the federal government will be implementing a broad series of tax cuts introduced in the 2006 federal budget. Some economic agencies call it a stepping stone towards further cuts, while others say its little more than a headache for the average Canadian.

The main focus of this weekend's changes, besides the much-touted GST cut, is to reduce personal income taxes.

On Saturday, the federal government will start providing a new tax credit on employment income of up to $500, which will double to $1,000 in January.

The amount that Canadians can earn without paying federal tax will increase, and will continue to rise for the two tax years.

However, the lowest personal tax rate will climb to 15.5 per cent from 15 per cent. The government said its goal is to remove 655,000 low-income Canadians from tax rolls altogether.

"That's what they're trying to do, but whether all the cuts reach that goal remains to be seen," said Clay Gillespie, vice-president of Rogers Group Financial, a Vancouver-based financial planner.

The cuts seem designed to primarily benefit the middle class, he said.

Melynda Jarratt, a member of the Fredericton Anti-Poverty Organization, said the government's stated goals to help low-income Canadians are "laughable."

"They are not addressing the reality of life for the poor people in this country," she said, citing energy prices as one of the growing expenses.

"People are still struggling to survive, so whether they save a few hundred dollars a year, it isn't going to make a difference in their daily lives."

The tax credits, purportedly designed to help families, could also cause plenty of confusion, said Elizabeth Beale, president and CEO of the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council.

"We've ended up with such a myriad of small credits that it's going to be a challenge to implement, not just for government keeping track of them, but also for individuals," she said.

For instance, Canadians might not realize they're eligible for the credits, or could be forced to hire companies to complete their tax forms, Beale said.

Possibly the most controversial of the tax credits is the introduction of the Universal Child Care Benefit program, which is expected to give families $1,200 in pre-tax funds for every child under six starting next week.

The plan came under fire from opposition MPs when the Liberal's national child-care program, which worked alongside the provinces, was cancelled.

The Conservative plan will also increase the annual benefit for children with disabilities and boost the maximum refundable medical expense supplement to $1,000 from $767.

Of all of the budget promises, the one that received the most attention was the single per cent reduction in GST to six per cent from seven.

While many consumers seem skeptical about the small decrease, the Retail Council of Canada hopes it will boost sales.

"When consumers have an extra bit of money in their pockets it's only positive as far as they are concerned, and it's certainly a positive for retailers," said Lanny McInnes, director of the council's member services in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.


Earlier this week, McInnes announced the council's goal to reduce Saskatchewan's provincial sales tax by another one per cent. He said with the GST decreasing, now is the right time to chop the increase that was introduced in 2004 because of a weak local economy.

"While one per cent may immediately not seem like a huge amount, except for on big ticket items, it certainly adds up over the year," he said.

If the talk around Bay Street is any sign, one per cent might not be such a big deal to consumers.

Janet Shelly, an employee relations worker at CIBC, recently bought an air conditioner because she decided a cool home was worth more than the money saved.

"You get a little here and they take a little there," she said, adding that while she might save one percentage point of tax once the GST cut kicks in, she expects her income tax will eclipse the cut very soon.

The government "would've got more bang for their buck with a three per cent reduction," she said. "That might've stimulated the economy."

The Conservative government still plans to follow through with an additional one percentage point GST reduction, part of the two point cut promised during the election campaign, said Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's spokesman Dan Miles.

A date for the second cut hasn't been set.

"From our perspective, tax relief for Canadians is important and we believe that this is a tax reduction that will benefit all Canadians regardless of age and regardless of income," Miles said.

Despite the public's sometimes sour response to the cuts, Beale said it's easy to criticize the Canadian tax system when comparing it only with the U.S.

"It's important to keep in perspective how this compares with the overall burden, on the personal side, in a number of European countries," she said.

"There we would stack up quite favourably."

© The Canadian Press, 2006

Inspired by Buffet, Gates, action star Chan leaving half his money to charity

HONG KONG (AP) - Jackie Chan announced Wednesday he has bequeathed half of his fortune to charity, saying he looks up to philanthropists like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. Chan disclosed the terms of his will when asked about tycoon Warren Buffett's recent $37-billion US donation at a news conference on a tiger conservation campaign.

Buffett said he'd give away the bulk of his stock holdings in the company he runs, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., with five-sixths of the shares earmarked for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the fund set up by the Microsoft chairman and his wife.

"I admire the efforts by Buffett and Gates to help those in need a lot," Chan said. "Like Buffett and Gates, I want to help people, but I don't have as much money as they do."

The 52-year-old action star said the portion of his fortune reserved for charity would go to his own Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation, which was launched in 1988 to help needy Hong Kong youngsters but has since branched out into disaster relief, medical donations and supporting the performing arts.

The exact amount that the fund would receive remains unknown, because Chan refused to disclose his net worth.

Comparable stars make millions each year, according to estimates. Will Smith earned $25 million US in the period from June 2005 to June 2006, and Jennifer Aniston made $18 million, Forbes magazine has reported.

Chan's earnings may be lower because he primarily works out of Asia, where pay levels are generally lower in the entertainment industry.

A significant source of Chan's income comes from his Hollywood films like the Rush Hour series. The actor has said he can fund entire movies made in Hong Kong with his Hollywood paycheques.

His last Hollywood film was Around the World in 80 Days, released in 2004, but Chan is due to start filming Rush Hour 3 late this summer.

Earlier this year, Forbes named Chan one of the world's 10 most generous celebrities.

As for the remaining 50 per cent of his wealth, Chan said his wife may get 25 per cent but the amount wasn't fixed. Chan also has a son, actor-singer Jaycee.

Wednesday's press conference aimed to raise awareness of the endangered South China tiger, which now numbers fewer than 100. Chan has filmed a video for the cause in which his face is painted in yellow and black stripes. "Tigers are the king of animals and are very beautiful, Chan said Wednesday.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

2006 explorART Children's Creative Painting Awards & Exhibition

The explorART Children's Creative Painting Awards & Exhibition sponsored by the Global Chinese Culture Association, Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society, Chinese Cultural Centre, and Global Chinese Press is inviting children and youth between the ages of 5 to 16 to participate and submit original paintings. Winners for each age group will receive special awards and all participants will receive souvenirs.

explorART Objectives:
> Nurturing children's creativity through painting.
> Inspiring the youth generation to explore cultural diversity in the arts.
> Developing children's visual thinking and communication through art.
> Encouraging children's appreciation for the visual arts.

Qualification:
> Children living in Canada (aged from) 5 to 16 years of age.
> The competition will be divided into three age groupings: 5-8 (birth date: June 1, 1997 – May 31, 2001), 9-12 (birth date: June 1, 1993 – May 31, 1997), and 13-16 (birth date: June 1, 1989 – May 31, 1993).

Timeline:
> Entry Deadline: August18, 2006 – noon PST.

Theme of the Competition:
>“My Beautiful Dream"

Artwork Size:
> 12 inches X 16 inches or 22inches X 30 inches.

Awards:

> One 1st prize, one 2nd prize, two 3rd prizes and 10 outstanding awards for each group.

> Certificates for 1st prize, 2nd prize, 3rd prize and outstanding award: In addition, cash awards for: 1st –$200, 2nd –$100, 3rd –$50.

> The award winning paintings will be recommended for submission to international painting competitions and exhibitions.

> Some selected paintings will be published in Global Chinese Press. Those selected will receive a “Certificate of Acceptance”.

> All registrants will receive a souvenir for their participation.

Registration

> Complete and sign the registration form:
http://www.gcpnews.com/activity/explorArt_application_form_2006_E.pdf

> Send the artwork with the registration form and $10 registration fee to explorART (make cheque payable to “GCCA”).

> explorART address: #310-3490 Gardner Court, Burnaby BC, V5G 3K4.

Inquiries: Tel 604-321-5586 email: explorart@gcpnews.com

Info: http://www.gcpnews.com/activity/explorART.html

Cadbury recalls products from salmonella-tainted batch of chocolate

OTTAWA (CP) - Canadian chocolate lovers have been advised to avoid some Cadbury products made in Britain after the confectioner announced some of them may have been tainted with salmonella bacteria. A warning Monday from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency came in response to a decision by Cadbury Schweppes PLC to recall one million chocolate bars that may have been contaminated with the illness-causing bug. The affected candy, all of it made in Britain, may have been distributed in Canada by various importers.

The food agency said it is working to remove the tainted products from the marketplace.

There have been no reported illnesses connected with the products.

Food contaminated with salmonella may not look or smell spoiled but eating it could cause serious illness - especially in children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.

Salmonellosis, the illness caused by the bacteria, can be deadly in some cases. In healthy people, an infection may cause a high fever, severe headache, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.

Cadbury learned of the contamination incident in January, but did not report it to British authorities until last week. It announced the recall in Britain and Ireland on Friday.

Cadbury said a batch of chocolate - used in varieties of the popular Dairy Milk bar - was contaminated with waste water from a leaking pipe at its factory in Marlbrook, Western England.

Cadbury managing director Simon Baldry said tests found only "minute traces" of bacteria.

"Our products were perfectly safe. We'd gone through our rigorous testing process," Baldry told BBC-TV.

The company said it had rectified the problem and was withdrawing the products "purely as a precautionary measure."

Britain's Food Standards Agency said Cadbury waited too long to tell authorities about the mishap.

The Cadbury products affected by the recall are:
-250g Cadbury Dairy Milk Turkish
-250g Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel
-250g Cadbury Dairy Milk Mint
-Cadbury Dairy Milk 8 Chunk
-1kg Cadbury Dairy Milk
-105g Cadbury Dairy Milk Button Easter Egg
-Cadbury Freddo 10p

© The Canadian Press, 2006

Quebec petition urges Ottawa to act on Kyoto

(CBC) - Sovereigntist politicians went underground in the Montreal area on Tuesday morning, heading into subway stations to gather signatures on a petition that asks the federal government to honour the Kyoto Protocol.

The Bloc Québécois and Parti Québécois members - who were to include provincial legislators Daniel Turp and Lousie Harel from the PQ and Bloc MPs Bernard Bigras and Réal Ménard - were among those going to different metro stations.

They were armed with a petition that asks Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservatives to backtrack on their decision to abandon some of the objectives outlined the 1998 protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions around the world.

The petition is to be submitted to the House of Commons.

Since winning the January parliamentary election, the Tories have distanced themselves from Kyoto, which was signed on Canada's behalf by a former Liberal government over the objections of the Conservative opposition.

Federal Environment Minister Rona Ambrose recently said she doesn't think Canada can meet its commitments under the international agreement without hurting its economy.

The accord, adopted in 1997 after being agreed to by 146 countries, requires Canada to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012.

Meanwhile, reports say Quebec wants to band together with Ontario and Manitoba to press Ottawa for money for the provinces to try to meet Kyoto Protocol objectives on their own.

On June 15, Quebec's Liberal government announced it will charge a royalty on petroleum products in an effort to combat greenhouse gas emissions.

The $200-million-a-year generated by the tax will go into a green fund to fight climate change.

It is one of 24 measures announced by the province as part of a plan called Quebec and Climate Change - A Challenge for the Future.

Premier Jean Charest and his government say the plan will cut Quebec's greenhouse gas emissions to levels just short of the targets in the Kyoto Protocol.

The plan is ambitious: reduce greenhouse gases in Quebec by 10 million tonnes a year by 2012.

© the CBC, 2006

Indian conglomerate eyes Canadian call centres

(CBC) - An Indian company that owns two New Brunswick paper mills has begun work to buy a group of call centres that employ thousands of people in that province, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan.

Transworks, which is based in the Indian city of Mumbai, is in talks with the Toronto-based company Minacs, which has operations in four other Ontario communities - Chatham, Oshawa, Peterborough and Pickering - as well as Riverview, N.B., Halifax and Saskatoon.

Transworks is a huge company with interests in everything from woods operations to call centres. It is part of the global conglomerate Aditya Birla that already owns mills in the New Brunswick communities of Nackawic and Atholville.

- Jobs not at risk, Minacs says -

Minacs communications office in Toronto said there was no risk to jobs with the company, which employs about 5,000 people, including 600 in Riverview.

However, Norman Betts, a former New Brunswick finance minister who chairs the board at Minacs, would not say whether those jobs would be preserved under new ownership.

"It is a global business," Betts said.

"So it is not a matter of one replacing the other, it's a matter of one complementing the other to make a much more competitive business that has the opportunity to grow."

- Business group raises questions -

But Ryan Donaghy, a spokesman for Business New Brunswick, said workers should be asking their bosses questions about the deal.

"Hopefully, they're getting answers. And we are going to be asking questions as well."

Minacs' board of directors has been encouraging shareholders to approve the deal.

If accepted, the sale should be finalized by the end of August.

© the CBC, 2006

McGuinty visits Japan on trade mission

(CBC) - Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty arrived in Japan on Tuesday to kick off a trade mission aimed at attracting investment in his province.

McGuinty and his trade minister, Joe Cordiano, are scheduled to meet with government and business officials over the next few days.

Ontario wants to attract high-quality jobs by letting the Japanese know the province is building a highly skilled workforce, McGuinty said in a statement Monday.

The province has already attracted significant Japanese investment in its auto sector over the past year.

Toyota confirmed plans last June to build a new factory in Woodstock in the southwestern part of the province, and last month Honda unveiled plans for an engine plant in Alliston, northwest of Toronto.

- Trade presence abroad -

As part of the visit, the premier is also scheduled to officially open the province's International Marketing Centre in Tokyo.

When the McGuinty Liberals took office, they began re-establishing the province's overseas trade offices that had been shutdown to save money in 1994 under the NDP government led by Bob Rae.

So far, Ontario has opened seven trade centres around the world.

In February, the province began renting a small office in the Canadian Embassy, located in the heart of the city's central, upscale Aoyama district.

Two other provinces hold offices in Tokyo - Alberta, with a stand-alone office, and Quebec, with a 13-person delegation.

In the past, provincial trade offices have been the target of criticism from opposition parties and some media for being a waste of the taxpayer's money. Ontario's Trade Minister Joe Cordiano defended the province's decision to open the office.

"It's not just having cocktail parties and the like," he said. "It's actually approaching companies, explaining what we have to offer in Ontario and hooking up the opportunities and advantages that we have in Ontario with those companies."

McGuinty is also expected to discuss education and innovation with Japanese officials during his visit.

© the CBC, 2006

Mandatory retirement means immigrants, women lose: conference

VANCOUVER (CP) - The working poor, recent immigrants and women are taking the hardest financial hit because of mandatory retirement policies in most provinces, a conference on seniors' issues heard Tuesday. Terry Gillin, a sociology professor at Ryerson University in Toronto, said forcing people to retire from their jobs when they turn 65 amounts to age discrimination.

"There's lots of talk going on in Canada, that there is a trend to be concerned with this issue," Gillin said.

"But in fact it is only two provinces - Quebec, since 1982, and Manitoba since 1983 - that have effectively implemented a ban on mandatory retirement under all circumstances."

Ontario's legislation against the practice has not yet come into effect.

Most provinces, and the federal government, have restricted mandatory retirement to some degree or have acted to protect workers who are 65 and older but haven't eliminated the policy altogether, Gillin told delegates at Premier Gordon Campbell's council on aging and seniors' issues.

"As a society, we have constructed a cliche: 65 is old," Gillin said.

"As people live longer, healthier lives it is a cliche that is empirically wrong. It is also a cliche that hurts some people more than others."

Gillin called on British Columbia to do away with mandatory retirement by changing the province's Human Rights Code, which prohibits age-related discrimination for those 19 or older and less than 65.

"The code, as written, not only permits mandatory retirement it also permits differential treatment of workers over age 65," he said.

"So I recommend that the government legislate an end and do it as soon as possible.

"A substantial part of the motivation for eliminating forced retirement in Ontario was the concern of Ontario's Human Rights Commission that the legal but discriminatory, differential treatment of employees over age 65 was irrational."

Gillin was speaking a day after the union representing B.C.'s university professors launched a campaign to eliminate mandatory retirement.

Patricia Baird, who is heading the council on aging and seniors' issues, said its purpose is to provide recommendations on how the elderly can be supported when it comes to their independence and health.

The council, which must submit a report by Nov. 30, is also looking at how seniors can continue to be contributing members of society as they age.

Baird said some companies are taking advantage of older workers, many in their 70s, because they like working part time and don't mind coming in on weekends when that's more difficult for people raising young families.

The result is less absenteeism, high production and a happier workforce, she said.

Community Services Minister Ida Chong, who is also responsible for seniors' issues, said eliminating mandatory retirement would impact pensions, for example.

Chong said not everyone agrees on how mandatory retirement should be implemented, adding unions that legislated the policy through their collective agreements would be affected.

About half of all Canadian workers are in jobs with mandatory retirement at a fixed age, typically 65.

People who continue to work past that age aren't legally entitled to the same salary and benefits as younger employees and have no recourse to lay a complaint based on age discrimination under the Human Rights Code, Gillin said.

Those who argue for mandatory retirement say the practice may allow an organization to create j obs and allow people to be promoted while older, experienced employees are replaced with low-cost younger workers.

But Gillin said the matter is a human rights issue that involves age discrimination when other barriers such as race, nationality, gender and disability have been challenged.

"It is now time to address the adverse effects of ageism."

© The Canadian Press, 2006

Japanese prime minister visits Niagara Falls, calls sights 'magnificent'

NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. (CP) - The roar of water over Niagara Falls appears to have captured the heart of a prominent tourist - the prime minister of Japan. Junichiro Koizumi made his first visit to the falls on Tuesday, declaring the Canadian landmark "magnificent" and "beautiful." The prime minister, who was on a private trip to Niagara Falls, grinned widely as he peered over the metal railing and into the abyss, questioning why the water was green.

"He was most impressed by the volume of water and the beauty," said Niagara Falls Mayor Ted Salci, who escorted the prime minister.

"He said that they don't have falls like that in Japan."

Koizumi gestured excitedly toward the falls and also to the city's 158-metre-high Skylon Tower.

A trip below the rim of the great gorge followed as Koizumi travelled into tunnels behind the cascade, which allow visitors to walk out into the mist swirling around the bottom of the falls.

"We were soaked," said Salci. "We had raincoats, but with no sleeves, we got wet."

But Salci said Koizumi was "thoroughly impressed" and, in fact, one glimpse of Niagara Falls was not enough.

After emerging from the tunnels, Koizumi didn't simply head to a waiting car, but veered back to the edge and lingered for a second look.

Koizumi is in Canada for summit talks in Ottawa on Wednesday with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

While Koizumi has eschewed the traditional, moribund image of a Japanese politician, he is also regarded as a conservative on several fronts.

For example, he joined the United States in the so-called war on terror, not only in Afghanistan but also in Iraq, despite his country's espousal of pacifism.

Also sure to be on the agenda is Canada's participation in the Kyoto Accord on climate change. Although Koizumi's government is having problems just like Canada in cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions, it remains one of the most vocal proponents of the deal.

"We would like very much to see Canada actively involved in the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and if it is possible we would like Canada to remain within the Kyoto framework," Numata said.

Koizumi is also scheduled to visit the U.S., where he and President George W. Bush are expected to visit Graceland, the former home of Elvis Presley.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

Liberals slammed for poor showing for head-tax apology

(CBC) - A Richmond, B.C., man says he feels slighted that many Liberal MPs left the House of Commons last week before the prime minister formally apologized for the Chinese head tax.

Howe Chan, whose father paid $500 to come to Canada, says he had taken his seat in the visitors' gallery, looking forward to hearing Stephen Harper's historic speech.

But Chan told CBC News his "eyes filled with tears" when he saw the empty Liberal seats as Harper made his speech.

The Liberals admit attendence wasn't 100 per cent, but party whip Karen Redman says there was no mass exodus of MPs.

Redman says many Liberal members were not on house duty that day, and were already back in their ridings.

Even so, she says, those there found it emotional.

"There was an older gentleman donning his air force jacket. I could see the wings on it. He proudly saluted. It was obviously a very emotional time for him. And I think it brought tears to most of our eyes."

Chan says the ceremony itself was meaningful, but he remains embarrased by the lack of Liberals, especially since he's a member of the party.

© the CBC, 2006

Malaysia to prevent couples from turning to science to choose baby's sex

Provided by: Canadian Press
Jun. 26, 2006

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Malaysia will restrict a fertilization test that lets potential parents select their baby's sex, for fear that couples will prefer to have boys, the health minister said Monday.

New laws will be announced by the end of the year to limit the use of a prenatal technique that is meant to screen for genetic diseases but can help determine an unborn child's gender, Health Minister Chua Soi Lek was quoted as saying by the national news agency, Bernama.

"We are not against infertile couples seeking medical treatment to have babies, but they should not choose the sex," Chua said, urging doctors to stop offering any procedures to create so-called "designer babies."

Under guidelines being drafted, sex selection "for social reasons" will not be permitted, Chua said.

It would be allowed, however, if "a particular sex predisposes a serious genetic condition like hemophilia and Down syndrome," he said.

The rules will likely focus on a screening test known as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD, which can identify specific mutations in genes.

The procedure is available in privately run fertility centres in Malaysia, but not in government-operated hospitals. Malaysia's first PGD baby was reportedly born in December 2004.

Doctors typically use the test during in vitro fertilization, which involves removing a woman's eggs, fertilizing them in a laboratory and transferring them back into the uterus.

The technique enables cells from an embryo to be checked for genetic conditions, such as Down syndrome, sickle-cell anemia and cystic fibrosis. If the embryo has such a cell mutation, it is typically discarded so that only healthy embryos are selected for transfer into the uterus.

Doctors say the method helps parents avoid the possibility of lifetime of medical expenses for sick children. Critics argue that the technique lets parents make decisions about the traits they want a baby to have.

Chua warned that widespread use of the procedure could have negative effects on society in the long-run, including an imbalance of men and women.

Many people in Malaysia, especially those of ethnic Chinese minority, place a high value on male children.

History of Haney Nokai Book Launch

Japanese Canadian National Museum Speakers Series

Tuesday, June 27, 2006
7:00 PM
Free Admission

National Nikkei Museum & Heritage Centre
6688 Southoaks Cres. (Kingsway & Sperling), Burnaby

In the years before the Second World War, a strong Japanese Canadian
farming community established itself in the Fraser Valley. The farmers
and their families worked together, forming co-operatives and similar
organizations to better promote and distribute their produce.

One such organization was the Haney Nokai – the Haney Japanese Canadian
farmers’ association. In a meeting just prior to the outbreak of the war
in the Pacific, the Haney Nokai executive committed to writing a history
of the Haney Nokai. Twenty years later, after surviving the hardships of
internment and re-establishing their lives and livelihoods, the Haney
Nokai executive fulfilled their promise and published the Japanese
language Haney Nokai Shi (History of Haney Nokai) in 1963.

Join us to launch the English language version of the History of Haney
Nokai, translated into English by William T. Hashizume. Mr. Hashizume
will speak about the development of the publication, the English
translation project, and the history of the Haney Nokai.

Admission is free. Light refreshments will be served.

Japanese Canadian National Museum
E: rtagami@nikkeiplace.org
T: 604.777.7000 ext. 111

Plants, Creatures and Other Animals

June 19, 2006 to September 1, 2006

Featuring New and Past Works by Taiga Chiba and Miuh Yang

Summer is a time which promises warmth and sunshine, moments of play and lazy days. Trees and flowers are in full bloom and the world in which we live is bursting with life and activity. Featured works by artists, Taiga Chiba and Miuh Yang could not be more fitting for the summer season, and Art Beatus (Vancouver) Consultancy Ltd. is delighted to be presenting their art in the upcoming exhibition, “Plants, Creatures and Other Animals” starting Monday, June 19, 2006. A reception will be held on Friday, June 23, 2006 from 3pm to 6pm. Both artists will be in attendance and the public is encouraged to attend.

Originally focusing on fashion design and the commercial art business when living in Korea, new artist Miuh Yang moved to Vancouver and was quickly taken by the city’s flowers, trees, and greenery. The influence of Vancouver’s natural surroundings inspired Miuh to take her love of fabric, texture and nature and create art. Miuh’s delicately designed pieces combine fabric, paint, beading, and ribbon. The abundant layers of resplendent flowers, leaves, miscellaneous cut-out shapes, and threaded lines resembling grass are worked together to make her delightful pieces. Similar to that of extraordinarily ornate patchwork quilting, the lustrous plant life, soft breezes, and quietude presented in Miuh’s works are warm and inviting.

Currently living and working in Vancouver, BC, Taiga Chiba, created his "Ancestors and Ancient Life" series using the traditional Japanese Sumi-e painting technique (painting with black ink on rice paper). Playful, spontaneous, and fluid, the artist’s subjects are quirky and eccentric, reminiscent of single-celled organisms being observed through a microscope or fossils of pre-historic creatures who inhabited our world many lifetimes ago. Taiga’s new series of work, “My Return to the Cambrian Sea”, which was produced in the fall of 2005 during an artist residency in Bhopal, India, was inspired by his surroundings.

“The monsoons lasted for three weeks in September. I had a flood in my flat. It was very humid. My clothes would never dry. I noticed the layers of betel nut chewing tobacco which had been spat on the white building walls. This gave me the idea to use a syringe to eject liquid colours onto the plate as if spitting it on the wall. One day, an artist brought me fabric dyes from the market. I played with the dyes and water on the plexiglass plates. The results were the Cambrian period scenes of the water as the origin of plants and animals”. In viewing the artist’s works, one cannot help but question the origins of life and our existence in the daily world. A printmaker for over 30 years, Taiga Chiba has a master of fine arts from Concordia University in Montreal and received his early arts training in Japan.

Art Beatus, with a location in Vancouver, Canada and two locations in Hong Kong, showcases international art with a focus on contemporary Chinese art.
Art Beatus (Vancouver) is located in the Nelson Square Office Tower at 108 – 808 Nelson Street. For more information, please contact Media Relations, Tamla Mah or Akemi Kojihata by email to info@artbeatus.com or by telephone at 604.688.2633.

Save transit passes to collect tax credit: Canada Revenue Agency

OTTAWA (CP) - It's time to get in the habit of saving your transit passes and receipts - at least if you plan to claim a new tax credit. The Canada Revenue Agency issued a notice this week telling transit users to keep monthly passes and receipts if they want to make a claim for using public transit when filing 2006 tax returns.

The credit was announced as part of the federal budget in May, and allows transit users to claim the cost of passes for commuting on buses, streetcars, subways, commuter trains and ferries.

It takes effect July 1, said agency spokeswoman Jacqueline Couture.

There are certain criteria for submitting just a pass, without a receipt. It must indicate it's a monthly (or longer duration) pass; carry the date for which it's valid; name the transit authority and amount paid; and carry the identity of the rider, or some sort of unique identifier.

Without all that information, a dated receipt is also required - or cancelled cheques or credit card statements to support the claim, the agency says.

The credit will be available for the portion of passes used on or after July 1, even if the pass was purchased before that date, the revenue agency says.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

Moscow surpasses Tokyo as world's priciest city

NEW YORK (AP) - Moscow has eclipsed Tokyo as the world's most expensive city, a new survey says. The Russian capital moved up three spots from a year ago thanks to a recent property boom, according to a survey released Monday, while the Japanese capital slipped to third place due to the weaker yen. South Korea's Seoul ranked second on the list, up from fifth last year. Only one Canadian city was among the top 50 most expensive communities on the list, as Toronto ranked 47th.

The survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting ranked 144 cities around the world, measuring the comparative cost of more than 200 items such as housing, transportation and food. The survey is aimed at helping multinational employers determine compensation for their expatriate workers.

With cities around the world getting increasingly expensive for expatriates - notably cities in developing countries - employers may need to re-examine the way they provide compensation and benefits for their workers, said Rebecca Powers, a senior consultant at Mercer.

"As we see more and more movement into these emerging markets, a lot of those programs need to be looked at," Powers said.

Overall, foreign exchange rate fluctuations were behind the majority of the changes in ranking, but in Moscow's case, costs were buoyed by the surging price for large living accommodations. Prices for big houses rose some 50 per cent over the last year, driven in large part by soaring demand from expats, Powers said.

"It reflects a much bigger demand for palatable housing for someone coming into Russia trying to replicate the housing they had at home," she said.

After Moscow, Europe's priciest cities were London, ranked No. 5 overall, and Geneva, ranked No. 7. European cities tended to fall in the rankings this year because of a weakening euro.

New York - ranked No. 10, up three spots from last year - remains North America's costliest city, followed by Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Chinese cities - including Hong Kong at No. 4, Beijing at No. 14, and Shanghai at No. 20 - climbed the list due mostly to the yuan's strength after being de-pegged from the U.S. dollar.

With the Brazilian real rising about 20 per cent versus the U.S. dollar over the past year, Brazilian cities Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro surged to No. 34 and No. 40 from No. 119 and No. 124, respectively.

"What's so interesting now is that we do see, year to year, more fluctuation in these rankings than we used to," Powers said. "The investment and flow of capital and businesses into developing countries has made them a bit more expensive."

Companies will likely have to pay expatriate employees more to retain them, and may want to consider working harder to hire staff locally in the long-term to help alleviate relocation costs, Powers said.

The least-expensive city surveyed was Asuncion in Paraguay.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

U.S. military to deploy PAC-3 interceptor missiles in southern Japan

TOKYO (AP) - Japan and the United States have agreed to deploy advanced Patriot interceptor missiles on U.S. bases in Japan for the first time, officials said Monday, amid concerns North Korea may test-fire a long-range ballistic missile.
The two sides reached the accord earlier this month and intend to install the weapons as early as possible, a Defence Agency spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity, citing agency rules. The plan will put Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles - designed to intercept ballistic missiles, cruise missiles or enemy aircraft - on U.S. bases in Japan for the first time.

The Defence Agency spokeswoman said sites and timing for the deployment have not yet been decided.

But a local newspaper reported the U.S. military would deploy three or four of the surface-to-air missile batteries on the southern island of Okinawa by the end of the year and send an additional 500 to 600 U.S. troops there. Up to 16 missiles can fit in a single PAC-3 battery, according to the system's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin Corp.

The plan was proposed by U.S. officials during a June 17 meeting in Hawaii, Japan's largest newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported, quoting unidentified government officials.

The two countries signed an agreement in 2005 allowing Japan to produce PAC-3 missiles for deployment during fiscal 2006 at Japanese bases, but the plan to deploy them on U.S. bases is apparently separate.

Recent intelligence reports have said North Korea may be fuelling a Taepodong-2, one of its most advanced missiles believed capable of reaching parts of the United States, at a launch site on the country's northeastern coast, sparking concerns Pyongyang may soon test-fire one.

The North had maintained a self-imposed moratorium on such launches since 1999. The United States, Japan and other countries have urged North Korea to halt any plans to test the missile, while Pyongyang has insisted it has the right to do so if it chooses.

Diplomacy aimed at defusing the standoff gathered pace. South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon was travelling Monday evening to Beijing on a two-day visit to seek China's co-operation in halting any North Korean launch.

"There is a growing need to intensify discussions between South Korea and China on North Korea's recent missile issue and the nuclear issue," the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

Workshop and Lectures on Japanese Traditional Art

Date and Time: Thu. July 13, 2006, 9:00-5 p.m.
Place: Asian Centre Auditorium, University of British Columbia

Have you ever made a fan with your own painting or watched carving of a stature of a Buddhist deity immerging from an ordinary piece of wood? This workshop, given by distinguished Japanese professional artists and fine arts professors, would give you a rare opportunity to experience these kinds of things. Bring your family and friends along to Asian Centre surrounded by beautiful Japanese gardens!

Program Schedule
9:00 Registration
9:15-12:00
Mr. Hiroshi Sugimoto
Special Advisor for Cultural Exchange, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan
Fan making using gold leaf
Limited to 15 participants. Cost: $30.00
9:15-12:00
Mr. Atsushi Inoue, Woodblock Print Artist
Workshop on printing “ukiyoe,” Japanese woodblock print
Limited to 20 participants. Cost: $15.00
1:20-1:30
Welcoming Speech by Eleanor Yuen, Head of Asian Library, UBC
1:30-2:30
Mr. Hiroshi Noguchi, Metal Artist, Professor at Tama Art University
PowerPoint presentation on Japanese traditional metal work.
2:45-3:45
Mr. Keietsu Totoki, Lacquer Artist, Professor at Musashino Art University
PowerPoint presentation on Japanese traditional lacquer art.
4:00-5:00
Mr. Mitsujiro Ito, Buddhist Sculptor, Sculptor
Carving demonstration of a Buddhist deity.
Afternoon Programs: Entrance by Donation

If you would like to participate in a morning program, please register with Tomoko Goto whose phone no. and email address are listed below. Please pay at the registration on July 13.

Sponsor: Asian Library, UBC
Co-sponsor: Kosumosu
Resource Person: Emeritus Professor Moritaka Matsumoto
Contact:
Tomoko Goto: Phone (604) 822-0960, E-mail tomoko.goto@ubc.ca
Kaori Lytton: Phone (604) 264-8104, E-mail: kaori.l@shaw.ca

VETERANS AGAINST NUCLEAR WAR DOCUMENTARY PREMIERS AT WORLD PEACE FORUM JUNE 26

World War II veterans witnessed first hand the destruction of cities and civilian populations caused by conventional weapons. During the Cold War with the Soviet Union, a group of Canadian veterans decided they had to speak out against nuclear weapons which could bring an end to all human civilization.

Veterans Against Nuclear War is their plea to the world to abolish nuclear weapons before their use inflicts unimaginable suffering and the deaths of millions. Directed by Anton Wagner, the feature-length documentary will have its world premiere at the Royal Bank Cinema, UBC Chan Centre, as part of the World Peace Forum on Monday, June 26, at 2:30 pm. Admission is free and open to the public.

Veterans Against Nuclear War asks us to imagine the actual consequences of the use of nuclear weapons through the first hand testimony of Hiroshima survivor Setsuko Thurlow, Nagasaki POW Jack Ford from St. John's, and historic film and photographs of the two atomic bombings. Peace activist Phyllis Creighton (Science for Peace and the Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons), novelist Joy Kogawa (writing a novel about the atomic bombing of Nagasaki), and the Mayor of Hiroshima, Tadatoshi Akiba (Mayors for Peace), add their voices to the call for the total abolition of nuclear weapons. The World War II veterans in the film, now in their 80s and 90s, express their hope that a new generation of peace activists will speak out and join forces with anti-nuclear movements.

The documentary premiere screening at the UBC Chan Centre will be followed by a
discussion with filmmaker Anton Wagner, Setsuko Thurlow, Phyllis Creighton, Joy
Kogawa, and Ed Livingston, acting president of Veterans Against Nuclear Arms.

VANA was founded in Halifax in 1982 by Giff Gifford, a navigator in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Gifford had participated in the firebombing of Dresden in
February of 1943 in which 35,000 civilians were burned to death, foreshadowing the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Local VANA chapters across Canada actively lobbied the federal government, spoke to the media and participated in demonstrations against war and nuclear weapons. With advancing age, only a few hundred VANA members are still alive. Veterans Against Nuclear War is part of their legacy.

For further information:
Anton Wagner, Anton Wagner Productions, 416-863 1209; fax: 416-863 9973
awagner@yorku.ca

Spin! The Rebirth of Diabolo

Juggling Between an Old Game and New Art Form
A Modern Diabolo Performance by Taiwanese Youths with Classical Music

Saturday July 15th, 2006
&
Sunday July 16th, 2006
Massey Theatre in New Westminster

Most Canadians know what a yo-yo is, and they may even know a few tricks. But how can a yo-yo be removed from a string and be lively manipulated as a form of breathtaking artistic entertainment that visually represents the beauty of classical music?

The Diabolo Dance Theatre from Taiwan will present Spin! The Rebirth of Diabolo on July 15th and 16th at the Massey Theatre in New Westminster, BC. Spin! The Rebirth of Diabolo is an artistic performance that harmonizes classical music with the diabolo, a juggling prop that evolved from a Chinese yo-yo created four thousand years ago. With professional and enthusiastic young performers as young as six, The Diabolo Dance Theatre combines traditional diabolo with thrilling tricks, contemporary acrobatics and outstanding theatrical effects that visually expresses classical music such as Beethoven and Schubert.

The Diabolo Dance Theatre has achieved international acclaim through its twenty years of performance. Directed and produced by Le-Chun Liu, it is the first artistic performing group to combine traditional diabolo with contemporary dance and theatrics. The group is highly praised by the Council for Cultural Affairs, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan for their important role introducing the diabolo-dancing as a cultural art to the world.

Spin! The Rebirth of Diabolo is at the Massey Theatre in New Westminster. It is on July 15th at 7:30pm, and also on July 16th at 2:30pm. Admission ranges from $25 to $55. Tickets can be purchased online at Tickets Tonight (http://ticketstonight.ca) or by phone at Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Society (Tel: 604-267-0901; Address: 8853 Selkirk Street, Vancouver – between 72nd Ave. and 73rd Ave.). For more information on the event, visit www.spin2006.com

A-Bomb exhibition

Until June 28th in Vancouver, the World Peace Forum and the Peace Walker Society present the A-Bomb exhibition. View photos and artifacts from the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, learn about life as an hibakusha (a-bomb survivor), understand the devastating effects of nuclear warfare, and learn how to make origami peace cranes. Admission is free to this show at Storyeum in Vancouver, 142 Water Street. For more information call the Peace Walker Society at 604-431-8945.

ANOUSHKA SHANKAR - The Rise Tour

August 10, 8pm / The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC

Presented in collaboration with Festival Vancouver www.festivalvancouver.ca
With Special Guests Dharmakasa

Anoushka Shankar's launches a new band and fourth album for Angel Records, Rise, marking a defining moment in the career of the Grammy-nominated sitarist. Having performed and previously recorded strictly in the classical Indian tradition of her father, the legendary Ravi Shankar, Anoushka truly emerges here as a potent creative force, not only performing on sitar, but also exhibiting her own unique voice as a composer, arranger & producer, as she collaborates with a select crew of 7 virtuoso Eastern & Western musicians wielding a variety of both acoustic & electronic instruments including traditional indian tabla, flute, voice, piano & synthesizer, electric bass, and live programming.

Opening for Anoushka is Dharmakasa , an innovative trio of world musicians who paint evocative and provocative spiritual soundscapes using a rich palette of traditional and invented instruments, including the Japanese flute, the Australian didgeridoo, Eastern hand percussion, and the original cello-kalimba. Members of Dharmakasa are Andrew Kim, Alcvin Ramos and Tarun Nayar.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! $34 - $59 at www.ticketmaster.ca (604-280-3311) or at Banyen Books (order by phone at 604-737-8858, or visit Banyen at 3608 West 4th Ave.) at Highlife Records (1317 Commercial Drive) and Kamal's Video in Surrey, or in person at the Chan Centre Box Office.

"Anoushka Shankar has made her sitar an instrument not just of a silky melody but of a cultural revival... injecting freshness and energy into [traditional Indian music], and broadening its appeal for a younger generation."
-TIME Asia

Indian film fan hurt in leap from cinema balcony after watching hero's stunts

NEW DELHI (AP) - An Indian film fan suffered multiple fractures when he leapt from a cinema balcony, trying to emulate hero Hrithik Roshan's stunts in the new movie Krrish, a news report said Saturday. The film, released Friday, is an action thriller in which Roshan's character is an average village boy who develops super powers.

Vishnu, a hotel worker who uses one name, was hospitalized with multiple fractures after trying to imitate the actor, the Press Trust of India news agency quoted police superintendent D. C. Sagar as saying.

The fan walked up to the Abhishek theatre's balcony and jumped into the lower stands Friday, panicking the audience, the report said.

It said Vishnu told police he was a big Roshan fan, and made the leap after watching a stunt sequence in the movie. Police have registered a case of attempted suicide against him, the report quoted Vishnu as saying.

Roshan trained in Hong Kong for months with action choreographer Tony Ching Siu-tung to prepare for the action and stunt sequences in Krrish.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

U.S. cautious about beef-trade deal with Japan after mad-cow interruption

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. beef shipments to Japan could resume within weeks under a new agreement, but the Bush administration cautioned Wednesday that the deal to restore trade interrupted by Japanese mad-cow disease concerns could still fall through.
"I don't want this to be regarded as something bigger than it is," U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns told reporters in his office. "It's a step along the way, certainly a helpful step, but we still don't have beef there."

Hours earlier, Japan announced it would end a ban on importing U.S. beef pending inspections of American meat processing plants. Audit teams will arrive this weekend and complete their work by July 21, Johanns said.

Japan suspended shipments in January after inspectors found a veal shipment containing backbone, which Asian countries consider at risk for mad cow disease. The cuts are considered safe in the United States and elsewhere, but Japan has stricter rules.

U.S. legislators, impatient for trade to resume, have threatened sanctions unless Japan's market reopens by Aug. 31. A bipartisan group of senators held a news conference Wednesday to push forward with tariffs.

"Until there is a specific date for actual trade to resume, and product is at port in Japan, it's not a done deal," said Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.).

Legislators' misgivings reflect a guarded response from the beef industry. Terry Stokes, CEO of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, said the dispute with Japan has endured "years of empty promises and continued delays."

"U.S. beef producers remain skeptical of Japan's dependability as a trading partner," Stokes said.

Japan once was the top export market for U.S. beef, worth $1.4 billion US annually. But Japan banned American beef in response to the first U.S. case of mad cow disease in 2003. The ban had only recently been lifted when Japan closed its ports again in January.

American producers want Japan to drop its insistence on imports of beef from very young cattle, those less than 20 months of age. Japan wants the age cutoff because infection levels from mad cow disease are believed to rise with age, although international standards call for restrictions at 30 months of age.

Japan appears to have conceded on another issue important to the industry. If another violation is found, Japan has agreed to target individual shipments rather than halt all trade, Johanns said.

"There has to be a better way of trading than to close the whole border if there is a problem," Johanns said. "We don't do that for cars. We don't do that for tires."

Also part of the agreement, according to a statement distributed by Japanese officials, are surprise inspections of plants authorized to send beef to Japan. U.S. authorities will do the inspections and Japanese inspectors will accompany them, according to the statement.

Mad cow disease is the common term for a brain-wasting disease in cattle called bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE. In people, eating meat contaminated with BSE is linked to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, a rare and deadly nerve disease.

In all, the United States has found three cases of mad cow disease, while Japan has found 27 cases, according to the World Organization for Animal Health.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

Families overcome with emotion at groundbreaking for Air India memorial

TORONTO (CP) - Mothers, fathers, children and grandparents who lost loved ones in the 1985 Air India bombing wept openly and embraced one another Friday as ground was broken along the shores of Lake Ontario for a memorial to be completed next year.
Twenty-one years to the day after the bombing, the ceremony marked the beginning of construction on a memorial for the 329 victims, including 280 Canadians, who died when Flight 182 was downed by a terrorist bomb on June 23, 1985 near the Irish coast.

Jayashree Thampi, who represents the victims' families, said she hopes the memorial, along with others planned in Montreal and Vancouver, will allow "all Canadians . . .to visit and reflect and remember all the innocent people who lost life in this terrible tragedy."

Shanta Persaud, a friend of Thampi and other victims' family members, said she has been inspired by her friend's unfailing courage to continue to raise awareness about the tragedy.

"It made me realize that you can't give up . . .you need to go forward," she said in a trembling voice after the ceremony.

The west Toronto memorial, near the shores of Lake Ontario, is the first of its kind in Canada for the Air India bombing victims, although there are commemorative plaques in Ottawa and at the Ontario legislature in Toronto.

The memorial - a sundial at the foot of a wall bearing the names of the victims - is based on a similar structure in Ahakista, Ireland, and is expected to take a year to complete.

All levels of government were involved, and their support made working on the project "extremely satisfying and comforting," said Thampi, who lost her husband and daughter in the attack.

Although it took more than two decades for someone to decide to build a memorial, Thampi said the governments worked quickly on the project once it was underway.

In March of last year, Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri - accused of plotting to blow up the airliner - were acquitted in the deaths of all 329 passengers aboard, a tragedy widely acknowledged as Canada's worst mass murder.

The acquittals brought sympathy and support from a country which didn't identify the Air India crash as a terrorist attack at the time, said Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto,

At the time of the bombing, then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney "was relating (to the victims) as if they weren't Canadian," Wiseman said - another possible reason why it was only in recent years that family members began speaking out about their losses.

Peter Van Loan, parliamentary secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Mackay, was at Friday's ceremony on behalf of the federal government. He said the initial focus was on getting justice for the victims.

"Now we're into a different kind of process of the families remembering . . .and trying to if not bring people to justice, at least come up with better answers for what happened," Van Loan said.

The ceremony comes on the heels of the formal start of a judicial inquiry into the bombing, which began Wednesday, and is expected to take a year to complete.

Wiseman said the inquiry couldn't happen until the criminal trials, which ended last year, were over - as well, the inquiry would have dealt "with the fumbling and stumbling of the RCMP and CSIS," he said.

"It's happening now... simply because (Prime Minister Stephen Harper) promised it during an election as a way to get votes."

Friday was also marked by Prime Minister Stephen Harper as a national day to remember the victims of terrorism.

"On this day, we pause to remember those whose lives were cruelly and needlessly lost to acts of terror, both here in Canada and around the world," Harper said in a statement.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

Petition calls for end to sham marriages

(CBC) - More than 20,000 members of B.C.'s Indo-Canadian community have signed a petition calling on the federal government to change the Immigration Act, to stop marriage fraud.

The Vancouver-based Canadian Marriage Fraud Victim Society wants Ottawa to stop the practice of foreign spouses using Canadians, usually woman, as a way to gain permanent residency in this country.

The women are then quickly divorced, leaving them financially liable for their ex-husbands under the province's sponsorship default recovery program.

Society spokesman Kishan Bector says the immigration system isn't working to control the problem of sham marriages. He wants a three-year mandatory probationary period as a condition for obtaining permanent residency by sponsored spouses.

"The people know the moment we land here we become permanent residents of the country. Then it is very very hard to deport a person."

New Democrat MLA Raj Chouhan, who has been spearheading a campaign to raise awareness of marriage fraud, says a probationary period is not the solution.

"What we need is to raise public awareness about this issue. We need a dialogue and we need to talk to the government to have policy which deals with these issues on an individual basis rather than having a blanket policy."

Chouhan says immigrants have fought hard for the rights they have,adding that genuine applicants deserve to have the security of permanent residency.

© the CBC, 2006

Compensation demanded for head tax descendants too

(CBC) - Edmonton descendants of Chinese immigrants who paid a head tax to Canada between 1885 and 1923 want to be added to the list of those receiving compensation.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered a formal apology in the House of Commons on Thursday, saying "the government of Canada recognizes the stigma and exclusion" the tax represented.

He also promised "symbolic payments" to immigrants who paid the head tax and their widows. The payments are expected to be $20,000.

Only about 30 immigrants who paid and several hundred widows of payers are still alive. In Edmonton, approximately 100 families are related to the men who paid that head tax.

Phil Kwan, whose father paid the head tax, said descendants like him should also receive payments.

Affording the head tax was difficult for his family, he recalled.

"We only got enough food for nine months. The other three months we had to suffer in hunger. So when we were young, we went to sleep with half empty stomachs," he said.

John Yee, whose father also paid the head tax, said the fight for redress has lasted too long.

"How many tax payers and spouses have passed away since? So how much money has the government saved in that last 20 years, in reality?"

Calgary resident Lyn Chow, whose father also paid the head tax, applauded Harper, arguing that hearing the government's apology was more important than the promise of money.

However, he said the money should be spent collectively.

"That's a lot of money," he said. "If you put it in a trust fund you could do some big things with it. You could build a Chinese museum, a Chinese school, or fund Chinese cultural activity."

An estimated 80,000 Chinese immigrants paid the tax, which was intended to deter Chinese immigration after Chinese workers helped build the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885.

The tax started at $50 per person in 1885 and rose to $500 per person in 1903, equal to as much as two years' salary.

After it was withdrawn in 1923, the head tax was replaced by the Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese immigrants from the country altogether until 1947.

In a journey dubbed the "Redress Express," about 100 people, including some who paid the head tax and their families, boarded a train in Vancouver last week to travel to Ottawa to hear the apology.

In 1988, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney apologized to Japanese-Canadians for their internment during the Second World War.

© the CBC, 2006

6.2-magnitude earthquake strikes central Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - A powerful earthquake struck Indonesia's Sulawesi island early Sunday, panicking residents but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, the Hong Kong Observatory said. The 6.2-magnitude quake, which hit just before dawn, was centred under the sea 290 kilometres southwest of the city Manado on the central island Sulawesi, the observatory said in a statement.

"I was so shocked because my furniture and my roof started creaking," one witnesses in Gorantolo city told Indonesia's state news agency Antara.

"When the shaking started, I immediately thought of my wife and child who were still asleep."

The agency said many people in the city fled their houses when the quake struck.

There were no reports of damage or injuries.

Indonesia is prone to seismic activity because of its location in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

On May 27, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake devastated a large swath of Java Island, killing more than 5,800 people.

© The Canadian Press, 2006