Restorative justice offers path to personal reclamation for victims, says advocate
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CTV News
2 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘Standing hand-in-hand': South Asian community uniting amidst targeted crimes
Buttar Gusharan, the general manager and journalist at My Radio 580, speaks to CTV News Edmonton on July 27, 2025. (CTV News Edmonton/Connor Hogg) Ahead of a town hall Monday that will address a spike in crimes against Edmonton's South Asian community, Buttar Gusharan said people standing together in solidarity. 'We are standing hand-in-hand and we are willing to face any challenge,' Gusharan told CTV News Edmonton Sunday. Gursharan is the general manager and a journalist at My Radio 580. He said while his community is staying strong, many are trying to stay under the radar to avoid getting targeted. 'We have lost 14 accounts on the radio directly,' said Gusharan, adding that South Asian businesses are afraid of having their name, telephone number and locations public. 'I know many people who are afraid.' Many in the community are looking to move out of the country because they do not feel safe, Gusharan said. The goal of the town hall is to strengthen the relationship between police and the community and ensure members feel comfortable reporting crimes to police. While he hopes the town hall will fortify that relationship, Gusharan says more needs to be done. 'The government needs to come up with some solution very soon,' he said. 'In a peaceful country like Canada, there is lawlessness, and that scares me.' Edmonton police announced the town hall earlier this month after a surge in crimes against the city's South Asian community. Police say the incidents are believed to be tangentially related to Project Gaslight, a series of 40 arson, extortion and shootings targeting South Asian homebuilders in 2023 and 2024. Investigators believe the current scheme is being run in a similar way to Project Gaslight, with higher ranking gang members ordering younger members to commit the crimes. It is believed that one of the players could be the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The India Counter Terrorism law enforcement agency said that gang's leader, Bishnoi, operates his syndicate from jails in different states, in India and through an associate in Canada. Gusharan said the threats will often start with extortion over the phone where the victim is asked to provide a large amount of money. The perpetrators will go so far as to contact employers, colleagues, friends and family in order to get money from the victim. B.C. Premier David Eby has called on the federal government to designate the gang as a terrorist organization in Canada. When the Edmonton police held a town hall last year, Gusharan said it was a 'game changer.' 'Lots of people came out to support, the police gave us all the information and there was trust built,' he said. The town hall will be held Monday at 7 p.m. at the Southwood Community League. Capacity is limited and anyone who wishes to attend is encouraged to register online. With files from CTV News Edmonton's Connor Hogg and Karyn Mulcahy
CBC
3 minutes ago
- CBC
2 dead, 1 in critical condition after vehicle hits pedestrians on Siksika Nation: RCMP
RCMP in southern Alberta said two people are dead and a third is in critical condition after a vehicle hit a group of pedestrians and then left the scene. Mounties said five people were walking on the Siksika Nation on Saturday night when they were struck. Two men, aged 27 and 45, who are both residents of the Siksika Nation, died. The injured woman is 45 and also a resident of Siksika, while police said the two remaining people weren't hurt. RCMP said their Major Crimes Unit has taken over the investigation. Police said they're looking for anyone who may have video of the 54 Map 3 Subdivision area from between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Saturday.
CBC
33 minutes ago
- CBC
Over 200 candidates sign up for Poilievre's byelection — doubling previous record
Social Sharing More than 200 candidates, mostly associated with a group of electoral reform advocates, have signed up to run in an upcoming federal byelection next month. The number more than doubles the previous record on a single ballot. Former Alberta MP Damien Kurek vacated his seat in Battle River-Crowfoot to give Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre a chance to rejoin the House of Commons. Poilievre lost his longtime Carleton riding in April's general election. A group known as the Longest Ballot Committee has been organizing candidates to run in byelections in recent years in an effort to push for electoral reform. The committee's organizers want to put a citizens' assembly in charge of electoral reform and say political parties are too reluctant to make government more representative of the electorate. As of Sunday evening, 209 candidates had registered to run in Battle River-Crowfoot, exceeding than committee's goal of 200. That's more than double the previous record of 91 which has occurred twice in the past year: during a byelection in LaSalle-Emard-Verdun last September and Carleton during the last general election. That number of candidates resulted in a ballot roughly a metre long. The massive ballots have resulted in delays in vote counting and have confounded some voters. Elections Canada told CBC News on Wednesday that it will finalize ways to minimize disruptions from the long ballots. "We are looking at ways to [simplify] things based on recent experiences with elections involving a higher-than-usual number of candidates. We will finalize our plans after the deadline for candidate nominations," spokesperson Matthew McKenna said in an email. Elections Canada has already had to make changes to accommodate the mammoth-sized ballots — mostly through early counting and bringing in extra workers. Although the Longest Ballot Committee has organized in two elections where Poilievre is running, the group has also targeted Liberal strongholds such as Toronto-St. Paul's and LaSalle-Émard-Verdun in 2024. But the advocates' efforts to push the limits of a ballot have sparked calls for changes, most recently from Poilievre himself which he refers to as a "scam." The Conservative leader wrote a letter to government House leader Steven MacKinnon on Tuesday, calling for legislation to change Canada's election rules in an effort to curb the long ballot protests. A spokesperson for MacKinnon's office said the Liberals share those concerns and are open to changes. MPs were debating legislation last Parliamentary session that could have implemented some of Poilievre's proposed changes — specifically to limit electors to only signing one nomination form. The advocates have voters sign multiple forms. Elections Canada head Stéphane Perrault himself made the suggestion in front of a committee of MPs that was studying a bill to amend the Canada Elections Act before Parliament was prorogued. Perrault argued that "certain penalties" should be imposed on individuals who sign — or encourage others to sign — multiple nomination papers in an effort to get as many candidates on a ballot as possible, though he didn't say what those penalties should be. The deadline to register as a candidate in Battle River-Crowfoot is Monday. Voters head to the polls on Aug. 18.
