New B.C. law banning smoking in a vehicle with a child to take effect next month

Anyone caught in B.C. smoking in a vehicle with a child will have to pay a $109 fine, the government said today.
Last spring, the government passed legislation to ban smoking in vehicles when a child under the age of 16 is present.
The new regulations are set to take effect April 7.
"Any level of second-hand smoke has harmful effects on a child's health, so it's important that we protect vulnerable children who are confined in a vehicle," Healthy Living and Sport Minister Mary Polak said in a statement.
"By making vehicles smoke-free for children under 16, we can help them get the best and healthiest start in life."
If people who are fined refuse to pay, they will not be able to renew their driver's licence and insurance.
Similar rules are currently in place in Nova Scotia, Ontario and the Yukon.
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

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This is definitely a good move. Smokers should not have the right to subject childrens' lives to the dangerous effects of second-hand smoke.

Obama ends stem cell funding ban

Obama ends stem cell funding ban
Obama reverses stem cell ban
US President Barack Obama has lifted restrictions on federal funding for research on new stem cell lines.
Mr Obama signed an executive order in a major reversal of US policy, pledging to "vigorously support" new research.
Ex-President George W Bush blocked the use of any government money to fund research on human embryonic stem cell lines created after 9 August 2001.
Scientists say stem cell research will lead to medical breakthroughs, but many religious groups oppose the research.
Announcing the new policy, Mr Obama said he was authorising a change "so many scientists and researchers and doctors and innovators, patients and loved ones have hoped for and fought for these past eight years".
Opinion polls suggest most Americans support stem cell research, reports the BBC's Richard Lister, in Washington, but the National Right to Life Committee described the move as a "slippery slope". It has also been condemned by the Vatican.

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Thank you, President Obama.

B.C. restricts trans fats in restaurants

VICTORIA - Food outlets such as restaurants and cafeterias could face fines if they don't comply with the province's plan to restrict artery-clogging trans fats by this fall.

Mary Polak, Minister of Healthy Living Sport, announced yesterday that B.C. will be the first province to restrict trans fat in the country. Under the new rules, oils and products used to prepare food must not contain more than five per cent trans fats, while margarines must contain less than two per cent trans fats.

Food inspectors will ensure compliance by checking trans-fat levels in food ingredients.

All establishments that require a permit to operate a food service in B.C. must comply with the new regulation by Sept. 30.

Polak said fines will be levied in cases where restaurants or food services "thumb their noses completely," at the new regulations, although she couldn't put a number on the dollar value.

"But our inspectors will work with everyone to help them comply — the fines won't be excessive — it will not have an impact on licensing."

The new rules affect restaurants, delis, cafeterias, educational institutions, health-care institutions, schools, special events and bakeries. Packaged foods sold directly to the consumer with a federally approved Nutrition Facts Table on the package are exempt.

Many local restaurants have already made the switch to trans-fat free oils, said Michael Van Dyke, executive chef at the Bard and Banker. The Government Street pub, along with its sister establishments — Irish Times pub and the Penny Farthing Public House — ditched trans fats two and a half years ago.

"We saw it happening in other parts of the world and we just thought that was the best

way to go," Van Dyke said.

The non-hydrogenated, trans-fat free canola oil used is a bit more expensive, but widely available to restaurants, he said.

Mark Engels, owner of Bubby Rose¹s Bakery on Cook Street, said the government initiative is a good way to force food outlets still using trans fats to adopt a healthier way of cooking.

"Until the government comes along, they probably won¹t do anything about this," he said.

Mary Schmidt, owner of Haultain Fish and Chips, which has been around for about 85 years, said she still cooks her fare in beef fat, as she always has. She said there should be more information for restaurants on how to make the switch in a way that is affordable.

"It doesn¹t sound like it's going to be an easy go," she said.

Polak said the main concern of establishments in abiding by the trans-fat rules has been finding sources of new, acceptable oil products from suppliers and the desire to have one set of national guidelines. Polak said her ministry has been working with the Canadian Restaurant and Food Services to help with the transition.

In 2006, Health Canada and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada found in a joint study that 22 per cent of the average person's trans fat intake was provided by foods consumed away from home, usually in fast-food restaurants.

In June 2007, the federal government gave the food industry two years to cut trans fats from prepared foods, warning the government would regulate if the industry didn¹t meet limits recommended by a federal task force — the same as those set by the province. But a recent Health Canada survey found packaged cookies with six times the recommended limit of trans fats, and

instant noodles with 10 times the limit.

The B.C. regulation is part of the province's new Public Health Act and follows the recommendations of Health Canada¹s Trans Fat Task Force. Other initiatives the province has introduced are mandatory exercise for students, eliminating junk food sales in all elementary and middle schools and banning smoking in public and work places.

—with files from Canwest News Service

spetrescu@tc.canwest.com

kderosa@tc.canwest.com

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

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Good, it's about time! Here is a link to Wikipedia if you'd like to know a bit more about trans fats. Some argue that the government does not have the right to restrict what we eat. I agree to a certain extent. However, heart disease is the #1 killer of Canadians and Americans, and since the consumption of trans fats is directly correlated to heart disease, it only makes sense to restrict it. Now, unlike the Prohibition of the 1920's, nobody is going to be smuggling in trans fats, and there will be no crime families dealing in the trans fat trade. People are acting as if The Man is taking away our hamburgers and pizzas! No, they are simply making them healthier without altering taste! As well, guess who is paying for the medical bills of an obese man needing a triple-bypass heart surgery because he ate too many chicken wings and hasn't left his couch since 1973? That's right, the Canadian taxpayer. Foods high in trans fats are a burden on our healthcare system, it's about time they got rid of them. So does this mean the government should now ban ice cream and birthday cake? No. It means that the BC government recognized that there is a serious health issue that has existed for quite some time, and decided to deal with the situation properly.

BBC: NY 'mafia cops' get life in jail

Two men have been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of eight murders as well as other crimes while they were New York policemen.

Stephen Carapacca, 67, and Louis Eppolito, 61, had 44 years' police experience between them.

But they were also secretly on the payroll of Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, the second-in-command of New York's Lucchese mafia family, a court found.

They were convicted in 2006, but legal twists and turns delayed sentencing.

Eppolito was given life in jail plus 100 years and a $4.7m fine (£3.3m), while Carapacca got a life term plus 80 years, with a $4.2m fine.

They have no possibility of early release, Judge Jack Weinstein told a federal court in Brooklyn.

Police credentials

The two men were convicted in 2006 of eight murders, attempted murder, blackmail, drug trafficking, money laundering, and passing information to the Lucchese family, one of New York's most notorious mafia families.

One tactic they employed was to use their police credentials to flag down cars so that they could then kill the driver.

But their convictions were initially thrown out in 2006, after a judge ruled that the statute of limitations had expired on the murders.

Last year, an appeals court reversed that decision, reinstating the convictions and paving the way for the sentencing.

"The sentences imposed today bring some measure of closure for the families of the victims of these defendants' unspeakable crimes and for the citizens of the city, whose trust these men betrayed," US Attorney Benton Campbell said after sentencing.

"We are gratified that the defendants will spend the rest of their lives behind bars."

Both men continue to deny involvement in any crime. Mr Eppolito - who had a small role in the 1990 gangland film Goodfellas - told Judge Weinstein:

"I was a hard-working cop. I never hurt anybody. I never kidnapped anybody... I never did any of this."

Street racer faces deportation after Supreme Court rejects plea

OTTAWA — A British Columbia man who was convicted of criminal negligence causing death in a deadly street race faces deportation after the Supreme Court of Canada on Friday rejected his plea to stay in the country on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

The 7-1 ruling in the case of Sukhvir Singh Khosa overturns a decision in the Federal Court of Appeal and restores a ruling of the Immigration Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board.

Justice Ian Binnie, writing for the majority, concluded that there was “no basis” for the appeal court to interfere with the board’s deportation order unless it was unreasonable.

“Reviewing courts ought not to reweigh the evidence or substitute their own appreciation of the appropriate solution, but must rather determine if the outcome falls within a range of reasonable outcomes,” wrote Binnie.

“In this case, the question whether K (Khosa) had established “sufficient humanitarian and compassionate considerations” to warrant relief from his removal order was a decision which Parliament confided to the IAD (Immigration Appeal Division), not to the courts.”

Khosa, who immigrated from India with his family as a teenager, was convicted in the death of 51-year-old Irene Thorpe, who was out for an evening walk in Vancouver in 2000 when she was hit by Khosa’s speeding Chevrolet Camaro.

Also convicted was Bahadur Singh Bhalru, who was deported to India in 2005.

The two men were driving about 120 kilometres per hour in a 50-kilometre zone, court testimony revealed.

In 2003, they received sentences of two years less a day for their crimes, which they were permitted to spend under house arrest rather than in jail.

The punishment sparked a ferocious outcry — including complaints from B.C.’s attorney general —and led for calls from Conservative MPs in Ottawa to ban house arrest for deadly crimes. Following their convictions, the two permanent residents were ordered deported.

Under federal immigration law, a non-citizen can be removed if convicted of “serious criminality,” which is defined as committing a crime that carries a maximum punishment of more than 10 years imprisonment.

Khosa’s case has divided British Columbians.

Some argue that the killer should be kicked out of the country regardless, while others contend that he has served his sentence, does not pose a risk to the public, and deporting him would be severe punishment for a mistake he made as a young man.

He is now married with two Canadian-born children.

The Immigration and Refugee Board, in ordering Khosa’s deportation, said it was “troublesome” that he continued to deny he was street racing when he hit Thorpe, but maintains he was driving fast and lost control of his car when his tired popped.

The Federal Court of Appeal overturned the board in a ruling that chastised members for having “some kind of fixation”about Khosa’s street racing.

They disagreed with the sentence he received, thereby deciding to deport him to “redress” the situation, the appeal court concluded. “Needless to say, it is not the role of the board to second-guess decisions of the criminal courts,” said the appeal court.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

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I never thought this day would come: for the first time in my life, I think that a Canadian ruling is too harsh! I am completely against street racing and drunk driving etc., and often young drivers get off too easy when convicted, but there are other more practical ways to go about this situation. Why not ban him from ever driving a car again? Khosa has two Canadian-born children!! Deporting him poses serious consequences for not just him, but for his immediate family as well.

In this type of situation, deportation and prison don't solve the problem. To my understanding, Khosa has no previous criminal record and poses no immediate threat to society. Yes, kick him off the roads, but not out of the country...

There are some pretty heated debates going on if you want to check them out at the Vancouver Sun website.

The Vancouver Sun: Virtual House Arrest for Bacon brother, associate: Police

METRO VANCOUVER — The eldest Bacon brother and his close Red Scorpion associate were released on bail late Thursday after a new round of charges of fraud, forgery and possession of stolen property.

But Jonathan Bacon and Dennis Karbovanec, both 27, face stringent conditions including a 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew, a ban on contacting each other and a weekly visit to the Port Moody police who must also be told of any address changes in advance. Cpl. Peter Thiessen said outside that while the public might have preferred the pair be kept behid bars, the conditions amount to virtual house arrest.

Both will continue to be followed 24/7 by police to protect public safety after death threats from gang rivals have led to attempts on each's life.

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Bail? Bail?! Lock these guys up! If gangs want to fight each other and wipe themselves out, by all means, go ahead. But not at the expense of the public! The Bacon brothers have been targets of numerous assassination attempts in B.C., many of which have taken place in public areas in broad daylight. For their own safety, and for the safety of the general public, they need to be behind bars. House arrest simply does not cut it. We all know these guys are criminals, lets not pretend like they're not.