Latest news with #NewWestminster
CBC
29-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Why this B.C. city is removing the U.S. flag from its hockey arena
New Westminster councillors voted unanimously to remove the American flag from Queen's Park Arena earlier this week. Coun. Daniel Fontaine said it was a very quiet, low-cost and effective way of sending a "truly Canadian message" amid tensions with the U.S.
CTV News
28-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
B.C. man who lured ‘vulnerable student' has community sentence upgraded to jail
The B.C. Supreme Court is seen in New Westminster, B.C., Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Richard Lam) A school support worker who sent sexually explicit messages to a 15-year-old student should serve his sentence behind bars, not in the community, a B.C. judge has ruled. Gulbag Singh Hothi pleaded guilty to child luring last year and was initially handed a conditional sentence, which was appealed by Crown prosecutors. In a decision published online this month, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Andrea Ormiston agreed that allowing Hothi to serve a community sentence was 'demonstrably unfit' given the circumstances of his crime. 'He had worked with vulnerable youth for years and would have recognized he was in a position of trust, responsibility, and power,' Ormiston said, in her April 25 reasons. 'He persisted in reprehensible efforts to orchestrate a contact-sexual-offence despite the victim rebuffing his advances and reminding him of her age.' 'Highly sexualized messages' The court heard the victim was a 'vulnerable student' attending an alternative school for youths at risk of dropping out when she met Hothi in early 2023. He was 27 years old at the time. Hothi was completing his practicum for the Child and Youth Care Program at Douglas College, and was acting in the role of the victim's support worker. The two started messaging on SnapChat during the final week of his practicum. 'Shortly after this communication began, the respondent started sending the victim highly sexualized messages ranging from comments about her appearance to crude indications that he wanted to engage in sexual conduct,' Ormiston said. Hothi also invited the victim for 'dinner and drinks' at his home, which she rejected by reminding him she was just 15. The messaging continued after Hothi's practicum ended, and he eventually sent the victim an image of female genitalia that he claimed had come from another teenager who wanted to have sex with him. The court heard the victim missed several days of school, fearing another encounter with Hothi, before eventually going to police. Errors in original judgment Prosecutors argued the trial judge made a number of errors while determining Hothi's sentence, and Ormiston agreed, finding the issues were 'palpable and overriding.' Those errors included the way Hothi's position of authority was assessed as an aggravating factor. While the trial judge accepted there was an 'aspect of breach of trust' in the case, the sentencing decision suggested it was diminished because Hothi was not the victim's teacher. 'I cannot discern a logical reason to find, from the perspective of the victim, that there would have been any difference between a teacher and an educational assistant when it comes to the exploitative nature of the crime and the increased accessibility the respondent had to her in a place where she should have felt safe,' Ormiston found. The Crown also took issue with the trial judge's finding that the impact of Hothi's crime on the victim did not 'appear' to be long-lasting. 'Sexual offences against children cause significant harm that may take many years to manifest,' Ormiston wrote. 'The basis on which the court appears to distinguish the impact on this victim is not developed or supported by the record.' A number of mitigating factors were considered as well, including that Hothi was a first-time offender, had pleaded guilty, and sought conselling following his arrest. Ormiston found the length of Hothi's sentence was appropriate and gave him credit for the 7.5 months already served in the community, but ordered that he spend the remainder of his time behind bars. Jail time is necessary to give 'substantive meaning to the court's recognition that this is harmful and wrongful offending,' Ormiston said.
CTV News
28-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
New Westminster to remove U.S. flag from Queen's Park Arena
The U.S. flag will soon be removed from Queen's Park Arena in New Westminster. The American flag has hung inside New Westminster's Queen's Park Arena for decades. It is a permanent fixture that sits alongside historic championship banners from glory days past, and a vintage scoreboard that, this week, New Westminster city council has voted to take it down. The decision came after a councillor was put off by a moment during the anthems at a recent youth hockey tournament. 'It just struck me as almost inappropriate that the kids were having to look up [during the anthem] when their country is being told it's a 51st state,' city councillor Daniel Fontaine told CTV News on Tuesday outside the arena. 'It isn't even a real country and the kids are singing O Canada, and they're singing it to an American flag, and I just thought, the timing has come for us to remove a very old tradition.' The flag will be replaced by a City of New Westminster flag. Fontaine notes American teams rarely come to the civic arena these days, and a U.S. flag could be used on a temporary basis when needed. 'For me, it was more about our arena, our community, our civic facility, than it was necessarily about what other facilities are doing,' Fontaine said. 'If they choose to keep an American flag up, I'm not here to judge them.' As for when the flag is coming down, no exact date has been set as of yet. Staff will remove it quietly in the coming weeks in what Fontaine describes as a 'Canadian way,' with little fanfare.
CTV News
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Fundraising efforts continue for Lapu Lapu festival victims one month after attack
Actor Larry Thomas serves soup during a fundraiser at Greens and Beans Deli, in New Westminster, B.C., on Sunday, May 25, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck VANCOUVER — Efforts to raise money to support the victims of the attack on Vancouver's Lapu Lapu Day festival are still underway one month after the vehicle ramming that killed 11 and injured dozens more. Multiple fundraisers were held this weekend to support the families of those killed in the attack and those who were hurt. In New Westminster, B.C., on Sunday, 'Soup Nazi' actor Larry Thomas, best known for his role as a strict soup seller on the sitcom 'Seinfeld,' served soup as part of a fundraiser at the Greens And Beans Deli. A three-kilometre run was held earlier that day at the Toronto Zoo to raise money for United Way's Kapwa Strong Fund, which offers grants to not-for-profit organizations supporting those affected by the attack. And a tribute concert took place on Saturday in Surrey, B.C., hosted by the local Philippine Independence Day Society, which issued a statement saying nine Surrey families were impacted by the tragedy. The annual festival had just finished on the evening of April 26 when an SUV rammed through the crowd, causing what has been called the 'darkest day' in the city's history. Adam Kai-Ji Lo faces eight counts of second-degree murder and further charges are anticipated. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2025
CTV News
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
‘No soup for you!': Seinfeld's Soup Nazi serves fans (and a cause) in New Westminster
Actor Larry Thomas, best known for his unforgettable 'No soup for you!' catchphrase, made a special appearance Sunday at Greens & Beans Deli in New Westminster. Three decades after his iconic line first aired on Seinfeld, the Soup Nazi is still serving up laughs – and soup – for a good cause. Actor Larry Thomas, best known for his unforgettable 'No soup for you!' catchphrase, made a special appearance Sunday at Greens & Beans Deli in New Westminster. Fans lined up for a bowl and a chance to meet the man behind one of the most quotable characters in sitcom history. 'I told him my mom passed away a few years ago, and watching Seinfeld was something we always did as a family,' said local resident Chris Keough. 'The Soup Nazi was her favourite character.' Proceeds from the event went to support victims of the Lapu Lapu Day tragedy. For Thomas, it was more than just reliving a role. 'We always have fun doing this,' he said. 'But just being able to raise money and help people – how could you not?' Thomas has made appearances at the deli before, including a 2017 event to support wildfire relief efforts. Deli owner Matthew Green says it's all about bringing people together. 'If you can put smiles on faces while also helping people in need – that's the ultimate recipe for success.' Even kids too young to have seen the original show were in on the fun. Ten-year-old Attila stole the spotlight with a full Soup Nazi performance, earning cheers – and approval – from Thomas himself. The fundraiser brought in over $10,000.
