Controversial
misadventures at
Miss World Canada
kapusong pinoy
At this year’s crowning gala,
some delegates walked out and
refused to return to the stage.
A spectacular show wowed
the Filipino-Canadian crowd on
Friday’s Kapusong Pinoy concert
held at Orpheum Theater in
Vancouver.
> Entertainment Page 16
>entertainment PAge 21
June 2015 Vol. 1 No. 3
METROVAN INDEPENDENT MEDIA
www.metrovanindependent.com
Senate expected to act next
Canada’s economy
week on controversial Bill C-51 posted a decline
The worse in almost six years:
By Yul Baritugo
Demonstrators gather in Downtown Vancouver on May 30 as a protest to Bill C-51. The convergence is part
of a National Day of Action with events happening across Canada.
By Yul Baritugo
A final vote by the Senate expected next
week again resulted in Canada-wide mass
protest against repressive Bill C-51, which
literally takes away Canadian civil rights,
using jihadist as bogeymen and as a pretext
of protecting Canadians.
The law will empower police and
Canada’s intelligence services to take
action against suspects and detained them
without court hearing for two weeks. The
detention is based on mere suspicion that
at some future time a suspect may execute
a terrorist act. The government can likewise
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demand a secret hearing where the suspect
and his counsel are not allowed to attend.
At the same time, comments in media
about terrorist groups outside of Canada
can be basis for filing a court action as any
violent activity can be lumped as terrorist
action under the bill.
If a media columnist makes a comment
to start a public discussion, public interest
as a viable defense is not recognized under
Bill C-51. Editors and production staff can
be tagged as accessories to the criminal
offense.
Several hundred people gathered
together at the Vancouver Art Gallery to say
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Photo by Simply the Best - The Luisa Marshall Show
“No” to Bill C-51, a controversial security
legislation they say threatens the rights of
all Canadians
“Freedom of speech is absolutely
essential to Canadian democracy and this
bill, in more ways than one, will criminalize
freedom of expression” says one man. “I
don’t support C-51 and it’s being forced
through and rammed down our throats on
the pretence of fighting terrorism.”
“I’m just against Bill C-51, I believe it’s
against our human rights,” a woman tells
News1130.
> NEWS page 3
Unde r the Conse r vative Harpe r
government, the Canadian economy posted
a decline driven partly by the slump in oil
prices and described as the worse in almost
six years, Statistics Canada (StatsCan)
reported.
The report dragged the Canadian
dollar lower to about C$ 79.26 against the
greenback.
Even Central Bank Gov. Stephen
Poloz described the economy’s negative
performance as “atrocious.” The drop was
significantly slower than the fourth quarter's
downward-revised 2.2% growth, and was
the worst performance since the second
quarter of 2009, when the economy was in
the grips of the global credit crisis.
It was also the first time Canada's
economy has failed to expand since the
second quarter of 2011, which saw zero
growth.
Analyst said this development could
have a long term effect on employment.
The service sector in Canada is vast
and multifaceted, employing about three
quarters of Canadians and accounting
for 78% of Gross Domestic Product,
an economic measure of all goods and
services produced in Canada.
Six months before a federal election,
changes implemented by the Harper
government literally destroyed the Live-in
Caregiver Program, affecting thousands of
Filipinos hoping to gain entry as permanent
residents. But political observers noted
Canada’s aging population, traditionally a
Conservative bulwark, stands to lose more.
> NEWS page 3