In the past few weeks, there has been much confusion about what will transpire at the upcoming Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan (parade) in Surrey next week. Ambivalent sentiments surfaced in various ways according to some of the comments people made to me. And so I decided to look in depth at the controversy swirling around the parade.

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VANCOUVER SUN FINALLY REPORTS TRUTH THAT "VOICE" REVEALED ABOUT SURREY'S VAISAKHI PARADE
The Vancouver Sun this week wittingly or unwittingly exposed its own one-sided reporting by Kim Bolan on the Indo-Canadian, more specifically, the Sikh, community when in its lead editorial on Wednesday - "RCMP's bid to screen Vaisakhi parade smacks of totalitarianism" - it admitted: [Full Story]

SURREY IS MAIN SOUTH ASIAN CITY IN B.C. - VANCOUVER A DISTANT SECOND
The prime reason why Surrey's Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan has grown from strength to strength - in spite of all the hostile propaganda against it by the lily-white Vancouver Sun newspaper and some South Asians intent on playing petty, self-destructive politics - as compared to Vancouver's Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan is that well over 100,000 South Asians reside in the City of Surrey. On the other hand, only about 28,000 South Asians live in the City of Vancouver, as per the 2006 Census figures released by Statistics Canada on Wednesday. [Full Story]

THE RIGHT OF SIKHS TO WEAR TURBANS MUST ALWAYS BE RESPECTED
The recent case of turbaned Sikhs Kalwant Singh Sahota and Mander Singh Sohal - who have been unable to return to their jobs at the International Forest Products' sawmill in Delta because of what I regard as a RACIST new hard-hat policy on the pretext of safety concerns - is yet another SHAMEFUL episode in Canadian history that needs to be highlighted internationally. (Our website at www.voiceonline,.com is read by Indians and others all over the world.) [Full Story]

'UNITED SIKHS' ORGANIZATION ASSISTS BADESHA IN APPEAL IN MOTORCYCLE HELMET DISPUTE
On March 6, Ontario Court Judge James Blacklock issued an opinion denying Baljinder Singh Badesha the right to wear his turban unhindered while riding a motorcycle. Badesha, a devout Sikh whose practice does not allow his turban to be covered, began combating the traffic citation he received for not wearing a helmet three years ago. United Sikhs has been instructed by Badesha to assist in his appeal, filed earlier this month. [Full Story]

SOUTH ASIAN PROFESSIONALS FEED 1,000 HOMELESS ON HOTDOG DAY
The Association of South Asian Professionals of British Columbia (ASAP), working with Friendship Providers in Action, had a Hotdog Day for the Homeless on Sunday, March 30 at Oppenheimer Park in east Vancouver. [Full Story]

EXCLUSIVE RED CARPET INDUSTRY NIGHT HONOURS DJ REMINISCE
The South Asian community's entertainment industry elite were all to be seen on Saturday, March 29 at Vancouver's newest lounge Mysala Bistro in honour of our very own DJ Reminisce. This invitation-only event hosted by Virsar Media was in celebration of the 20th Anniversary Career of DJ Reminisce also known as Amen Panesar who has been in the industry since 1987 mixing, Mcing and producing while performing all over North America with the likes of B21, Bally Sagoo, and PMC. [Full Story]

VOICE MIRROR

SAME OLD HYPOCRISY ABOUT "HYPHENATED" CANADIANS FROM LILY-WHITE VANCOUVER SUN!
Just as I had expected from them as I looked at the 2006 census figures on visible minorities on Wednesday, they came out with yet another DISTORTED editorial on multiculturalism - essentially repeating what they had written back in 2002. I wonder if it was the same writer. [Full Story]

SOUTH ASIANS NOW THE LARGEST VISIBLE MINORITY GROUP IN CANADA
Most South Asian visible minorities reported ancestral backgrounds from the Indian subcontinent: East Indian origin, alone or with other origins, 69.0%, Pakistani (9.3%), Sri Lankan (7.8%), Punjabi (4.1%), Tamil (2.7%) and Bangladeshi (1.8%). [Full Story]

VISIBLE MINORITIES SURPASS THE ONE MILLION MARK IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
The 2006 Census data reveal that the visible minority population in BC has surpassed the one million mark for the first time. With a population of 1,008,900, visible minorities represented 24.8% of the population in BC in 2006, the highest proportion of all provinces and territories. [Full Story]

IN DEFENCE OF NATURAL REMEDIES
Thank you, Indo-Canadian VOICE for having the guts to expose the impact the new Health Canada regulations will have on not only Indo-Canadians but many Canadian Health products. In essence the new regulations will quietly eliminate the majority of the present products on the markets as well as companies that are manufacturing and selling them. [Full Story]

OILERS BARREL OVER CANUCKS' PLAYOFF HOPES
The Vancouver Canucks had the post season right in their hands, and they just let it slip away. After winning three straight in mid-March, the Canucks were looking pretty, sitting in 7th place while others wanted what the Canucks had. Well, what the Nashville Predators wanted that's what they got from the Canucks, gift wrapped with a card saying: "Good luck in the playoffs, you earned it ". After losing six of their last seven games, the Canucks knocked them selves right out of the playoffs and sucked out the only excitement the City of Vancouver feels on a yearly basis. [Full Story]

ECONOMY BOOMING, JOBS ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE
There has never been a better time to live and work in British Columbia. If you glance at the "help wanted" or "career" sections of this newspaper you'll see unmistakable signs of our strong job market. Our economic strength is creating exciting new opportunities in which all British Columbians can share. [Full Story]