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Global News
2 hours ago
- Global News
Surrey trucking company targeted twice in suspected extortion case
A Surrey business owner says his business was shot at early Thursday morning, about 24 hours after a previous incident. Raghbir Singh Nijjar, owner of Nijjar Trucking, which is in an industrial area in northwest Surrey, said someone shot at the building and the company cars parked in the lot. When Surrey Police Service officers arrived on the scene, they found bullet casings. No one was inured, even though staff were inside when the shooting happened, but the shooting happened just under 24 hours after vehicles were damaged at the same location. On Wednesday, June 18, at approximately 3:50 a.m., suspects used gasoline to damage vehicles but were scared off by on-site security. SPS officers arrived on scene and gathered evidence from this incident as well. Nijjar said that about a year ago, someone called his business and demanded money for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Story continues below advertisement India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) describes the group as a criminal gang headed by Lawrence Bishnoi, whose lawyer says contests more than 40 cases accusing him of crimes such as murder and extortion. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Nijjar said they have reported everything to RCMP and Surrey police while the people have kept calling and asking for money. He said he is scared of what is going on. 'We (are) working every day,' he added. 'We (are doing) hard work. We (have been here) since '91. That's why we came over here (for) safety and (a) better future.' 2:15 Maple Ridge shooting believed tied to extortion attempts Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton with the Surrey Police Service would not confirm on Thursday that these incidents are linked to extortion. Story continues below advertisement 'Well, we'll be looking at all of the motives and all potential links, whether it's to past investigations and this current investigation, as with any investigation, we have to let the evidence dictate the course of that investigation,' he said. 'It may turn out that it is related to previous investigations or previous incidents, but we have to let the investigation take its course.' This incident comes after a home in Maple Ridge was shot at twice in what is believed to be linked to an extortion attempt and last week, the brazen murder of an Abbotsford man with no known criminal ties reignited extortion fears in B.C.'s Lower Mainland. In this case, SPS's Frontline Investigative Support Team (FLIST) has assumed conduct of both investigations. Anyone with information about this incident should contact the SPS non-emergency line at 604-599-0502 and quote file number 25-50413 (SP) or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or
Global News
2 hours ago
- Business
- Global News
United Conservative Party releases CPP survey results 21 months late
It's taken nearly two years for the province to release results from a survey that asked Albertans if they wanted an Alberta Pension Plan (APP). The survey showed 63 per cent of respondents were opposed to an APP, while only 10 per cent were in support. More recent polling from Leger in February found 55 per cent of Albertan's opposed an Alberta Pension Plan. A May 2025 poll from Janet Brown found 55 per cent of Albertans were in support of the APP if there were more details. In May, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said, 'I am seeing the results you are, I am not seeing that there is an appetite to put it to the people at the moment.' Duane Bratt, a political science professor at Mount Royal University, says the Janet Brown poll, commissioned by the government of Alberta, has interesting results with the number of people waiting for more information. Story continues below advertisement He adds people wanted answers to questions. 'Like, what is the amount that Alberta Pension Plan would start with? What would be the contribution rates? What would be the benefit rates? What would be the mobility between provinces? All of those sorts of questions haven't been answered,' said Bratt. 1:56 Alberta finance minister says he has not 'flip-flopped' on proposed pension change Bratt says the survey was not fair because it asked questions that assumed the respondent wanted an Alberta Pension Plan. 'The question itself was, would you want to leave the CPP if you had the exact same program. In the absence of any details, how do you know that that's the exact same program,' said Bratt. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy He adds the survey results are no longer accurate but the delay of the release of the results shows a lack of transparency from the provincial government. 'The bigger story is how and why the government of Alberta refused to hand over public survey data that they encouraged Albertans to fill out. They went to extreme measures to block it, because they realized it was going to embarrass them. They believed that this was a neutral process to just explore the idea of leaving the Canadian pension plan, but it wasn't,' said Bratt. Story continues below advertisement The province says they will continue to talk with Albertans on this topic and says nothing will change unless Albertans approve a new pension plan in a referendum. Bratt says by itself, majority of Albertans are against the province pulling out of CPP and creating the APP. He adds that he expects to see several referendum questions about Alberta's independence. Those might include questions on the APP, an Alberta police force, and Alberta independence. 'I think what the government is hoping for is maybe people might not want to separate, but they still want to send a message to Ottawa,' said Bratt.
Global News
3 hours ago
- Global News
Family grieving father killed in Whitemud Drive crash: ‘He lived for us'
Engaged Edmonton couple Miranda Sharp and Ashton Wilson had big dreams. 'We weren't perfect, we were real, but there was never a day we didn't reach for each other through joy, through struggle, through growth,' Sharp said on Thursday at their home in east Edmonton. 'He deserved this life and he was so intentional in how he loved, how he parented, how he planned our future.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "He deserved this life and he was so intentional in how he loved, how he parented, how he planned our future." Sharp's family is in mourning after a crash claimed Wilson's life. He was driving with their daughter when the collision happened this week on the south side. Life at Miranda Sharp's home is carrying on as normal as can be, as she plays with her dog and took her daughter to her pre-kindergarten graduation on Thursday morning. But just two days ago, their world was upended when her fiancé was killed. Story continues below advertisement 'I was hysterically crying and not being able to accept that this was reality, it didn't feel like the world was real anymore,' said Sharp. View image in full screen Ashton Wilson, his fiancée Miranda Sharp and their daughter Charlize. Submitted Wilson was out of the house on Tuesday with their four-year-old daughter, Charlize, and before he left, he called Sharp. 'I knew he was coming straight home. I just said 'Goodbye', and he said, 'I'll see you soon', and that was that,' Sharp said. That was the last time Sharp spoke to her partner, whom she had become engaged to this past spring during a family vacation to Disney World, after they had been together for the past five years. 'It was magic, something we had dreamed of. We were planning to get married next summer and had even started the process of growing our family with a (sperm) donor.' Story continues below advertisement View image in full screen Miranda Sharp and her fiancé, Ashton Wilson, getting engaged at Disney World in the spring of 2025 while their daughter poses. Supplied The couple's relationship started when their daughter was just four months old, and he quickly became Charlize's 'papa.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'From that moment on, she was the absolute centre of this universe. He lived for her, he lived for us and for our family,' Sharp said through tears. 'He was gentle and playful and protective and completely devoted. 'Watching him be a father was like watching someone fulfil the purpose they were born for.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Watching him be a father was like watching someone fulfil the purpose they were born for." View image in full screen Supplied An undated photo of Ashton Wilson and their daughter as a baby. Story continues below advertisement Sharp said Wilson was also a natural born leader and teacher. 'Through DIY Training Centre, he had just secured a contract to teach at the School for the Deaf, something that meant the world to him, not only because he could use his signing skills, but because inclusion and accessibility were values he lived by and carried into our family,' she said, explaining their daughter is on the Autism spectrum and it meant a lot to be able to help other people who face learning challenges. 'Doors were just starting to open and he was ready to walk through them all with joy, with love and with us. 'He had so much more to give.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "He had so much more to give." When Wilson was driving home on Whitemud Drive Tuesday afternoon, he pulled over to check something on the vehicle near the 111th street overpass. When he was standing outside of the van, he was struck by an oncoming semi truck also headed east. View image in full screen A man who got out of his vehicle on Whitemud Drive was struck by a semi and killed, and his van containing a child was also hit on the south Edmonton freeway on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. Global News Sharp felt like something was wrong when they hadn't returned home, so she went for a drive. Story continues below advertisement 'I was saying my prayers and just thinking of Charlize. You don't think the adult, the adult to me, was supposed to be the one that was automatically going to be safe,' Sharp said. Then she arrived at the crash scene and went straight to the ambulance. 'It was an instant relief, like my baby's ok. But almost as soon as that relief came, I was like 'There's one ambulance here, where's Ashton?'' EMS and the Edmonton Police Service responded to the collision, but Wilson was declared dead on scene. Police said the four-year-old was taken to the Stollery Children's Hospital as a precaution. 1:37 Edmonton mother pleads for hit-and-run suspect to turn themselves in 1 year after son's death The past 48 hours have been a whirlwind. Sharp is trying to honour Wilson by staying strong. Story continues below advertisement 'Gotta be there for my daughter, our daughter was our world, and he wouldn't want me to slow down,' she said. Wilson is being remembered as a bright light in his community, and his fiancée is honouring the person he was. 'Ashton didn't just love me, he healed me. He held space for the pain I came with and helped me become someone I didn't think I could be. With him I was safe, I was whole, I was seen. I used to tell him that he felt like a reward for all the hurt I'd survived before him. 'Even now I carry what he gave me, the way I move through this grief, the way show up for our daughter. It's all shaped by the strength and love he poured into our family.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Even now I carry what he gave me, the way I move through this grief, the way show up for our daughter. It's all shaped by the strength and love he poured into our family." View image in full screen Miranda Sharp, her fiancé Ashton Wilson and their daughter Charlize. Submitted Wilson built the house the family lives in, and Sharp said this is one way she'll be able to remember her fiancé every day. Story continues below advertisement He was well-known around their neighbourhood for being helpful and supporting others in need. Although it was difficult for her to share her story, it was important for Sharp to spread her fiancé's message. 'In honouring his true identity and his courage for living as a transgender man in this world,' said Sharp. 'Ashton will always be my person. I will love him in this life and whatever comes after.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Ashton will always be my person. I will love him in this life and whatever comes after."
Global News
3 hours ago
- General
- Global News
Conservationists demand end to gravel extracton on B.C. creek
A coalition of conservation groups is calling on the federal and provincial governments to stop gravel extraction from a creek near Mission, B.C., saying it's destroying salmon habitats. The groups say gravel mining has lowered the level of Norrish Creek and its tributaries. Retired biologist John Werring said it was the sight of dead salmon dried up in teh creekbed last December that spurred him and others to try and figure out what was going on. Werring said he noticed the water level had been intentionally lowered by gravel extraction, work completed by the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railroad to protect a bridge there. 1:56 Anger and frustration in Fraser Valley over railway dredging of creek He suspects that caused the neighboring creek to dry out and damage the Fish Habitat….and over the past six months he's been pushing government to reveal what they know about the situation. Story continues below advertisement He said he's recieved 'absolutely nothing' in the way of ansers since then. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Normally Firsheries and Oceans Canada and the provincial govenrment would be involved in any activity that could affect fish habitat and involved mining of a public resource. After months of frustration Werring and his colleagues have turned to the lawyers at Ecojustice for help. This week they sent demand letters to Victoria and Ottawa, alleging that the digging is being done without a provincial permit and goes beyond the scope of work authorized by the federal government. 2:08 Gravel removal blamed for salmon habitat damage near Mission They say that's destroying the spawning habitat of tens of thousands of salmon, and drastically altering water levels that are vital to the survival of wild chum and coho. They accuse the company of expanding its operations without provincial approval and beyond the scope of its federal permission. Story continues below advertisement 'Massive amounts of gravel have been extracted, hundreds of meters upstream and hundreds of meters downstream of the bridges that are supposed to be protected,' Werring said. Fisheries and Oceans Canada wasn't able to respond in time for this report. The provincial Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship said it had not given any permits for gravel removal on Norrish Creek, and that they have forwarded complaints to the federal agency. Werring said given that his group involves professional biologists, getting anwsers will be a daunting task for anyone else. ' If we're facing that, one has to wonder like, what about the public if they want to get involved in something like this?' he asked.
Global News
3 hours ago
- Global News
Convicted North Vancouver groper back in custody on new charges
See more sharing options Send this page to someone via email Share this item on Twitter Share this item via WhatsApp Share this item on Facebook Jairus-Paul Covacha Sacramento is back in custody. His extensive criminal past includes receiving a six-month conditional sentence with house arrest in 2022 after being found guilty of groping a woman on a North Vancouver trail. Then, in 2024, there was an incident in Burnaby, on Royal Oak Avenue near Deer Lake Parkway, where he was arrested at gunpoint. Sacramento later pleaded guilty to one count each of dangerous driving and flight from police. 2:02 North Shore trail groper sentenced Now he has been arrested on two assault charges, two criminal harassment charges and five counts of breaching conditions. Story continues below advertisement 'We spent several weeks attempting to locate him, investigating his whereabouts and ultimately tracking him down,' Vancouver police Sgt. Steve Addison said. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'When it came time to arrest him, the individual did attempt to flee. We did deploy a canine unit to track him and ultimately make that arrest.' Sacramento is due to make his next court appearance on June 23. He remains in custody, for now.
