proposed class-action lawsuit was filed today in B.C. against the federal government for the alleged harassment and mistreatment of women RCMP officers. ( 3/29/2012 )
Vancouver lawyer David Klein said his law firm, which filed the lawsuit this morning in B.C. Supreme Court, has been contacted by more than 150 female officers across the country who feel they have suffered mistreatment during their years on the force.
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Housing affordability is improving in Canada as home prices soften, while low interest rates through this year should continue to keep costs at bay. ( 3/7/2012 )
A national measure shows housing became more affordable in the fourth quarter of last year, the second improvement in a row, Royal Bank of Canada’s quarterly release showed Wednesday. It found all housing categories became more affordable, led by the two-storey home category.
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British Columbia’s population grew seven per cent between 2006 and 2011, according to Statistics Canada. ( 2/8/2012 )
“More people in the jurisdiction means more spending,” said Jock Finlayson, executive vice-president of policy at the Business Council of B.C. More spending on goods and services, housing, more businesses being established, more retail space being built, more public services being consumed and demanded, more office buildings [and] more vehicles being purchased.”
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BC Teachers ask for 15 per cent wage increase over three years ( 1/18/2012 )
The proposal includes a three-per-cent wage boost each year in a three-year deal to cover cost-of-living increases, and a three-per-cent market adjustment in the second and third years to bring B.C. salaries more into line with those offered in Alberta and Ontario. The BCTF says the first-year cost would be $300 million, with an extra $130 million in each of the next two years.
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Appeals court has ordered a new trial for a Metro Vancouver man who was earlier acquitted on charges of producing and possessing marijuana for the purposes of trafficking ( 12/30/2011 )
In a written judgment, Justice David Frankel found police were justified in using a search warrant — obtained to investigate electricity theft — to examine computers and a cellphone for “documentation” to determine who was in control of the Langley home where a large marijuana growing operation was found in the basement.
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Vancouver on top ten list of best places to live worldwide -– Mercer survey ( 11/29/2011 )
Vienna has the best living standard in the world, according to the Mercer 2011 Quality of Living Survey. Zurich and Auckland follow in second and third position, respectively, and Munich is in fourth with Düsseldorf and Vancouver sharing fifth place. Frankfurt is in seventh, followed by Geneva in eighth, while Copenhagen and Bern share ninth place.
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Government of Canada to cut backlog and wait times for family reunification – Phase I of Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification ( 11/5/2011 )
Currently, more than 165,000 parents and grandparents who have applied to become permanent residents of Canada are still waiting for a final decision. Each year, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) receives applications for sponsorship of nearly 38,000 parents and grandparents, a number that will only continue to expand if no action is taken.
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The pulsing heart of the South Asian community in Metro Vancouver resides among this swath of brand-name outlets, large new homes, traffic-filled streets and tidy townhouses centred around west Newton, near the Surrey-Delta border. ( 10/14/2011 )
Census Canada data reveals that many neighbourhoods in this Surrey enclave — which features scores of Sikh, Hindu and Muslim temples, masala restaurants and immigration lawyers — are concentrated along South Asian ethnic lines. About two out of three residents of this region — which stretches roughly five kilometres in diameter — are visibly South Asian. In other words, the strong majority of residents were born either in India and Pakistan or descended from those who were. Most have roots in the Punjab region of northern India.
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The B.C. government is reopening negotiations with the province's pharmacies on the price of generic drugs, but it seems to be setting its sights awfully low. ( 9/30/2011 )
The complex agreement announced last year scaled back the selling price of generic drugs in B.C. from an average of about 65 per cent of the price of the brand-name equivalent to 35 per cent. This was expected to create gross savings of $170 million a year for Pharmacare, plus much more for private sector health plans. (The projected net to the province was much lower, just $110 million, because of offsetting increases in dispensing fees and an agreement that the province would buy more services from the province's 1,000-plus pharmacies.)
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Vancouver, Bc, Canada could add as many as 9,000 jobs over the next four years by wooing more international students from countries like China, India, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, Premier Christy Clark declared Tuesday. ( 9/21/2011 )
British Columbia could add as many as 9,000 jobs over the next four years by wooing more international students from countries like China, India, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, Premier Christy Clark declared Tuesday as she rolled out the second major portion of her provincial jobs plan. “Today, I’m announcing that the province is setting an aggressive target to grow our international student population in B.C. by 50 per cent in just the next four years,” Clark announced during a speech in Kamloops. “If we can meet those targets we can put 9,000 people to work and put another $500 million into our economy,” she added.
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