The Canadian Parvasi - Issue 25

The International News Weekly December 15, 2017 | Toronto
03
Last Christmas on Aga Khan
island still haunts Trudeau
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA: When Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau
planned his holiday trip
a year ago, he would have
had no reason to fear that
the Ghost of Christmas Past
would still be haunting him
a year later.
Trudeau, his family and
some friends, including MP
Seamus O'Regan, now the
minister of veterans affairs,
spent their 2016 Christmas
vacation on a private island
in the Bahamas owned
by the Aga Khan, the
billionaire spiritual leader
of the Ismaili Muslims.
The Prime Minister's
Office initially tried to play
down the trip, refusing to
say where Trudeau would
spend the holiday. When
it came out early in the
new year that he spent the
vacation in a Caribbean
hideaway owned by the
wealthy philanthropist, the
opposition pounced.
They asked why
Trudeau accepted a free
vacation from a rich
man whose charitable
organizations, in some
cases, relied on Canadian
government help. The
prime minister tried to
brush things off, saying the
Aga Khan is an old friend
of his family — indeed,
Trudeau wished him a
happy birthday Wednesday
— as well as a leader and a
partner in the fight against
world poverty.
He also pointed out that
the Aga Khan is an honorary
Canadian citizen and an
honorary Companion of the
Order of Canada, but none
of that carried any weight
with his political foes.
The saga has lingered
to this day — when the
government announced a
new ethics commissioner
earlier this week, it
rekindled memories of the
controversy, since Trudeau
and his officials had to
recuse themselves from
the selection process, since
he was the subject of an
inquiry.
Wednesday's statement
surely didn't help, either.
"I am proud to call His
Highness both a friend and
a mentor," Trudeau said
in his birthday wishes.
"Canada and the world are
stronger and richer because
of his commitment to
diversity and inclusion, and
to finding common ground.
"Today, Sophie and I
thank the Aga Khan for
all that he has done to help
those in need, and wish
him continued health and
happiness for years to
come."
Trudeau had flown most
of the way to the Bahamas
on a government aircraft,
but did the last leg on a
private helicopter owned by
his host — a no-no according
to government rules that
prohibit ministers of the
Crown from using private
aircraft except when no
other options exist.
Trudeau insisted that
the helicopter was the only
way to reach the hideaway,
but then it emerged that
some of his technical staff
reached Bell Island on
another aircraft.
The costs climbed in
fits and starts as various
expense accounts were
reported.
The opposition kept
the issue going, dragging
its ghostly chains through
question period for weeks.
U.S.-bound flights delayed
after customs breach
Agencies
TORONTO: One of Canada's busiest airports says
there were delays for passengers departing to the
United States after a customs breach.
Toronto Pearson International Airport said
Wednesday afternoon that U.S.-bound passengers
departing from Terminal 3 had to be reprocessed after
a customs breach was identified.
The airport says the issue has been resolved
and staff members are working to resume normal
operations. Passengers are advised to check their flight
status before heading to the airport. The airport did not
provide specifics on what caused the customs breach.
3,000 international
students get tuition refund
Agencies
TORONTO: About 3,000 international students attending
Ontario's colleges asked for a tuition refund after a faculty
strike, according to new figures released by the provincial
government.
The number represents roughly five per cent
of the approximately 58,000 full time international
students enrolled in the system. In comparison, of the
approximately 192,000 full time domestic college students,
just over 22,600 — nearly 12 per cent — asked for and
received the tuition refund. Advanced Education Minister
Deb Matthews said the international student figures,
which are still preliminary and could change, make sense
given the substantial costs incurred by international
students to attend Canadian post-secondary institutes.
The government says that overall, 10.3 per cent of full time
students — 25,700 students — sought the refunds.
BC, Punjab assemblies
to sign partnership
Agencies
CHANDIGARH: Raj
Chouhan, Deputy Speaker
of Canada's British
Columbia Legislative Assembly,
called upon Punjab
Speaker Rana K.P.
Singh here and discussed
the possibility of establishing
a partnership
agreement between the
two assemblies.
He also conveyed congratulations
to Chief Minister
Amarinder Singh on
behalf of British Columbia
Premier John Horgan
for winning the elections
early this year.
During the half an
hour interaction, Chouhan,
legislator from Burnaby-Edmonds
in Vancouver,
handed over a draft
partnership agreement to
his counterparts besides
discussing various issues
being faced by both houses,
a Punjab government
statement said.
He also conveyed that
the Speaker and the Clerk
of Legislative assembly of
British Columbia would
like to visit Chandigarh
to meet Rana K.P. Singh
to finalise the agreement.
Chouhan said Horgan is
interested in strengthening
the bilateral ties,
trade relations and cultural
relations between
the two states.
Welcoming Chouhan,
the Punjab Speaker said
it was a matter of pride
that Punjabis like him attained
height in various
fields at Canada.
He said the initiative
taken by the British Columbia
Speaker would be
a learning experience for
both states as legislatures
of the both states can
learn many things from
each other.