Surrey, British Columbia - The 26 minute short documentary film, My Name Was January, has been selected at six film festivals in its first two weeks of release. When a trans sister, January Marie Lapuz, is brutally murdered in her own home in New Westminster, BC, a community reacts and her friends and other trans women of colour come to share and voice their issues, concerns, and challenges. January was seen as a bright light in the lives of many. This is the story of January, a friend, a daughter, a person. This film will not only bring justice to January, but to all the women who have lost their lives. January had a beautiful soul, and now part of her soul rests in each and every one of us. The film is directed by two former Kwantlen Polytechnic University Journalism students Elina Gress and Lenee Son. The film is produced...

I have always wondered how to create inclusive and nurturing neighbourhoods. How can we be better citizens? How can we become more empathetic and feel what other people are feeling? How can we turn conflict into creativity and solutions and have a better understanding of each other? Most importantly, how can we teach people valuable life skills and help and support each other? I came across the Harvard Study of Adult Development which tracked subjects for over 80 years. The study found that happy and healthy people are associated with close relationships with family, friends, and community. In other words, feeling connected and in nurturing relationships are very important for our overall health and wellness. The policymakers and politicians need to address not only economic poverty but also “social poverty.” I propose the provincial government fund an “Inclusive and Nurturing Neighbourhoods (INN)” pilot project in partnership with a municipality or city...

It’s hard to imagine, comfortable as we are, that people are starving to death in many parts of the world. It’s even harder to imagine when you think about how many North Americans and Europeans die of diabetes, cholesterol, and obesity each year. Western countries are consuming too much food at the expense of the rest of the planet. Just to satisfy our appetite for meat requires vast swaths of agricultural land to fatten livestock animals. If we are what we eat, we are fast becoming fat cows and pigs. Too many children suffer every day from hunger and malnutrition and die from a long list of preventable diseases. Children are still abused: They are used as slaves, as cheap labour, even as soldiers. The end result is potential lifelong trauma and damage to the development of our next generation. Humanity is destroying humanity. Food isn’t the only thing that’s unevenly...

Life experience has taught me that being gay is a part of nature and God’s plan. It is not an illness that needs to be treated or changed. I am writing this because I feel it is time for the major faiths of the world to embrace and accept gays and lesbians and this includes welcoming them into their place of worship. My reasons for coming to this conclusion are detailed below. Homosexuality exists in hundreds of species in nature. The human species is a part of nature and we are all a part of God’s creation. Why would God create gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people if he did not like them and wanted them to suffer and make their life miserable? A heterosexist society can make life challenging for many gay and lesbian people, especially for youth who are at high risk of suicide and bullying by their...

Below is what I believe to be a common sense 15-point plan to fight crime. 1) Hire new Surrey RCMP police officers to keep pace with population growth and the needs of the city. 2) The Surrey RCMP force needs to be diverse and representative of the community it serves to build trust and integrity with the population. 3) Surrey needs to compare the number of police officers per capita with other comparable cities in Canada and around the world. An analysis of cities that have low crime rates needs to be completed and similar strategies can be applied in Surrey. 4) Create a 2500-person strong community police force to patrol the streets. This would be a volunteer reserve force. Surrey RCMP police officers and city bylaw officers could be recruited from this reserve force as a priority. These volunteers would also gain valuable experience to work in corrections, border...

“Mr. Alex Sangha was in attendance and presented Council with his proposal for the future of Surrey as a modified ward/riding system. Mr. Sangha commented on the rapid growth of Surrey and outlined the need for a ward/riding system. He added that he has provided Public Affairs with a copy of a document he has prepared supporting this system. Mr. Sangha advised that he has recently returned from Kent, England, where he has researched the Ward system in operation. He went on to discuss the benefits of a ward/riding system, and pointed out that without such a system, it will become more difficult for the next generation to become involved in local politics. He pointed out that most major cities in Canada have ward systems and expressed the opinion that local politics in Surrey should operate on the same basis. In conclusion, Mr. Sangha requested that the suggestion of changing...

I live in a beautiful relatively new glass tower adjacent to King George Skytrain. It’s a Concord Pacific development. My building has a concierge, games room, movie theatre, bowling alley, fully-equipped gym, steam room, among other amenities. Holland Park, SFU Surrey, and Central City Mall are all across the street. I have a secure underground parking spot in the heart of the new Surrey City Centre. I basically have been living in my own protected bubble for the last couple of years. I decided to step out of my comfort zone recently to discover the neighbourhood and get into shape. I started walking down King George Boulevard and explored the new City Centre Library, City Hall, North Surrey Recreation Centre, and Surrey Civic Plaza. Everything was impressive. Then I ended up on 135A street or the Whalley Strip. My God! I basically walked into Surrey’s own mini-Downtown Eastside! There were...

Many people argue that the best way to help someone and improve their quality of life is to give them a job. This may be true, however, I would also argue that one of the best ways to help someone is to teach them and give them the skills and resources to become their own boss. Most people would agree that we need to have a healthy private sector to support government programs and services. So, how can we nurture and develop our private sector? We can tap into the skill, talent, creativity, and innovation of our youth to kick-start new business development ideas and start-ups. The BC Ministry of Education can develop a new Business Development and Start-Up program for high school students in Grades 10 to 12. This can be a three year program with course credits and college and university transfer options. Students can be provided with...

Why do people come into our lives?  Is it random? Or was it meant to be?  For some reason I have always believed that people cross paths for a reason.  The interaction could be positive or negative or seem meaningless. I believe in fate to a certain degree.  Maybe I was meant to learn something or be inspired or maybe the encounter was designed to plant a seed in my mind of some idea of sorts.  I realize this sounds ridiculous to some, however, there is plenty written in philosophy books about there being a grand plan or design to all of creation and existence. Some people argue that human beings are just playing out a story that is already written and yet we are not even aware of this. It would truly be amazing if the story was revealed one day and we all discovered that everything we thought,...

  Dear Editor, I was thinking about what are my top ten wishes for 2016.  This got me reflecting about my world, my country, and my life.  What would I choose to do if I had the power to do anything?  What if I could change the world for the better? What am I concerned about and care about?  After careful review of my beliefs and values here are my top ten wishes for 2016.  Enjoy. Top Ten Wishes for 2016 AFTERLIFE – I would like to visit the afterlife and meet with Guru Nanak, the Buddha, and Jesus and have a tour of the heavens and return to Earth in my physical form to write a descriptive and illustrative document based on my spiritual journey and experiences. RELIGION - I would like the world’s major religions and faiths to put their rituals, customs, traditions, and differences aside and focus...

Sher Vancouver is pleased to present the official trailer for “January – We Matter.” This documentary film is inspired by Sher Vancouver’s late social coordinator, January Marie Lapuz.  January was transgender, a woman of colour, an immigrant, she was adopted, and she was living in poverty. Sher Vancouver is a social, cultural, and support group for LGBTQ South Asians and their friends and is based in Surrey, B.C. January was murdered in September 2012 in New Westminster, B.C.   A grassroots, community driven, “Justice for January” march followed shortly afterwards. January was born in Santiago, Philippines on April 9, 1986, and later immigrated to Vancouver, Canada with her adoptive mother.  She was an advocate for trans rights and was known as the “bright light” among Vancouver’s LGBTQ community. January’s glowing heart has inspired and touched many across the community and through sharing her story, we hope to emit her light, legacy, and advocacy. This documentary...

Image Source Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has an amazing opportunity to leave his mark on Canada just like his father who ushered in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Perhaps our new Prime Minister can introduce a new national “Social Inclusion and Social Mobility Charter” to ensure that everyone in Canada whether rich or poor has the services and supports they need to reach their potential. Who knows how many Nobel Prize winners could never reach their potential in Canada because they were hungry or homeless? This is a huge waste of our human resources. We need to tap into the greatness of all our citizens and watch the country flourish. So how can the government increase social inclusion and social mobility? This got me thinking about the great American psychologist, Abraham Maslow, who developed the concept of the “hierarchy of needs.” This theory stated that humans need to...