Vancouver Information and Newspaper

Archive for November, 2009

OTTAWA – The House of Commons has declared Aug. 23 as Black Ribbon Day to commemorate victims of totalitarian Nazi and Soviet Communist regimes.

MPs gave unanimous consent Monday to a motion proposed by Liberal Bob Rae, which would formalize a day of remembrance which has already been adopted by some ethnic groups.

The day chosen is the anniversary of the notorious Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939.

That was the agreement in which Adolf Hitler’s Nazis and Josef Stalin’s Soviet Communists divvied up Poland and much of eastern Europe.

Rae’s motion spoke of Canadians “superficial and inadequate” knowledge of the evils of the Nazi and Communist regimes.

Last summer, after a commemorative march in Toronto, the Central and Eastern European Council of Canada urged Parliament to formalize Black Ribbon Day.

“The people and government of Canada unequivocally condemn the crimes against humanity committed by totalitarian Nazi and Communist regimes and offer the victims of these crimes and their family members sympathy, understanding and recognition for their suffering,” Rae said in his resolution.

TORONTO – The OSPCA says its investigation of the Toronto Humane Society will keep the facility closed for at least another week.

While the humane society argues the search warrant for the investigation expires tonight at midnight a lawyer for the OSPCA says a justice of the peace supports their view that there is no time limit.

Lawyer Christopher Avery says there is no “sunset clause” on the warrant, adding: “We finish when we finish.”

He says the warrant is very broad in scope and the search of the facility could take at least another week, as there are hundreds of thousands of documents to sift through.

The OSPCA raided the humane society last Thursday and said it found animals in such poor health that seven had to be put down.

The raid resulted in animal cruelty charges against five employees, including the agency’s president.

On Friday, investigators said they found a mummified cat on the premises, which one OSPCA official described as a “house of horrors.”

CALGARY – Charges against a man accused of killing his two children and attempting to kill his wife in their Calgary home have been upgraded to first-degree murder.

James Bing Jun Louie, who was originally charged with second-degree murder, appeared briefly in court Monday via closed circuit television.

He didn’t speak as his lawyer, Noel O’Brien, had the matter put forward to Dec. 14 so he can receive more details about the case.

“We’re not going to try this case in the media,” O’Brien said outside court when asked to comment. “I’m going to wait until I get the facts from the Crown, and, once we get that, we’ll make our assessment in respect to his mental competence and things of that nature.”

The 43-year-old Louie, who is also charged with attempted murder, was remanded in custody.

A 13-year-old boy and his nine-year-old sister were found dead in the family home in northwest Calgary on Friday.

Police say their mother called 911 and was struggling with a suspect when officers arrived. She was taken to hospital, but is now recovering with family.

Officers responding to her call forced their way inside the home when no one answered their knocks or the doorbell. The first thing constables found was the body of the boy.

They continued searching and came upon a man and woman struggling. Police have said they believe the woman would have been killed as well if officers had not been there to intervene.

A subsequent search found the body of the girl.

FREDERICTON – New Brunswick’s Conservative Opposition Leader is asking Quebec Premier Jean Charest to hold off finalizing the proposed acquisition of NB Power.

In the letter, David Alward asks Charest not to finalize the deal until there’s a referendum in New Brunswick on the issue or the provincial election in September.

Alward has repeatedly asked Premier Shawn Graham to do the same, to no avail.

Alward says the deal is bad for New Brunswick and will do nothing to improve the province’s financial situation.

Under the proposed deal, Hydro-Quebec would assume all the major assets of NB Power, including transmission lines, for $4.75 billion dollars.

OTTAWA – The House of Commons has declared Aug. 23 as Black Ribbon Day to commemorate victims of totalitarian Nazi and Soviet Communist regimes.

MPs gave unanimous consent Monday to a motion proposed by Liberal Bob Rae, which would formalize a day of remembrance which has already been adopted by some ethnic groups.

The day chosen is the anniversary of the notorious Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939.

That was the agreement in which Adolf Hitler’s Nazis and Josef Stalin’s Soviet Communists divvied up Poland and much of eastern Europe.

Rae’s motion spoke of Canadians “superficial and inadequate” knowledge of the evils of the Nazi and Communist regimes.

Last summer, after a commemorative march in Toronto, the Central and Eastern European Council of Canada urged Parliament to formalize Black Ribbon Day.

“The people and government of Canada unequivocally condemn the crimes against humanity committed by totalitarian Nazi and Communist regimes and offer the victims of these crimes and their family members sympathy, understanding and recognition for their suffering,” Rae said in his resolution.

TORONTO – The OSPCA says its investigation of the Toronto Humane Society will keep the facility closed for at least another week.

While the humane society argues the search warrant for the investigation expires tonight at midnight a lawyer for the OSPCA says a justice of the peace supports their view that there is no time limit.

Lawyer Christopher Avery says there is no “sunset clause” on the warrant, adding: “We finish when we finish.”

He says the warrant is very broad in scope and the search of the facility could take at least another week, as there are hundreds of thousands of documents to sift through.

The OSPCA raided the humane society last Thursday and said it found animals in such poor health that seven had to be put down.

The raid resulted in animal cruelty charges against five employees, including the agency’s president.

On Friday, investigators said they found a mummified cat on the premises, which one OSPCA official described as a “house of horrors.”