Canada is introducing the Rainbow Refugee Assistance Partnership, which will support more Canadians in privately sponsoring LGBTQ2 refugees who are fleeing violence and persecution. Starting in 2020, the new initiative builds on the success of the Rainbow Refugee Assistance Pilot, by increasing the number of privately sponsored refugees from 15 to 50 per year. This unique partnership is in addition …

THE family of SFU soccer player Brandon Bassi, 19, who passed away on May 23 as a result of injuries sustained in a single-vehicle accident in Surrey on May 18, has set up a GoFundMe to create The Brandon Bassi Legacy Scholarship which will be awarded to a student “who demonstrates leadership in and outside of the classroom.” “Each year, one student, …

B.C.’S general hourly minimum wage will increase to $13.85 from $12.65, and the minimum wage rates for liquor servers, resident caretakers and live-in camp leaders will all also increase, effective June 1, 2019. Regular increases to minimum wages are one way government is helping to make life more affordable for people, while providing the predictability and certainty that businesses need. Effective …

New Delhi, May 30 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi pressed the refresh button and inducted 20 new faces in his council of ministers rewarding giant killers in the Lok Sabha election and dropping some of the most visible faces of his team — finance minister Arun Jaitley, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and commerce minister Suresh Prabhu. While Jaitley’s omission had …

U.S. based Dash Radio, the world’s largest all-original digital broadcaster, launched North America’s first mainstream South Asian radio station called Rukus Avenue Radio. Since its launch in April 2019, Vancouver, B.C. based South Asian talent, DJ EMENES (pronounced as “M-N-S”) from the MIB Roadshow has secured two one-hour commercial-free shows on this global digital platform producing and hosting alongside partner …

THE Special Committee to Appoint a Human Rights Commissioner has unanimously recommended to the legislative assembly that Kasari Govender be appointed as British Columbia’s first independent human rights commissioner. The committee’s recommendation is included in a report that was released on Wednesday, May 29. “Committee members were impressed by Ms. Govender’s extensive practice defending human rights coupled with her reputation as …

New Delhi (IANS): In a major surprise, Sushma Swaraj, one of the senior-most leaders of the BJP, was among seven ministers of the previous Council of Ministers to be dropped as Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed his government for the second term. The 67-year-old Swaraj who has held key positions in the party and its governments since decades was conspicuous by …

Amritsar: Actor Govinda, his wife Sunita Ahuja and children Tina Ahuja and Yashvardhan Ahuja pay obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, on May 29, 2019. (Photo: IANS)

Surrey, BC – Over 280 students from AJ McLellan Elementary School participated in the seventh annual Butterfly Release Celebration on Monday, at the Surrey Centre Cemetery. The annual event is part of the grade one lifecycle curriculum at AJ McLellan, educating students on the cycle of life.  For weeks, 11 classrooms raised butterflies from egg, to chrysalis, to adult butterfly …