Pubdate: Tue, 10 May 2005
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 The Vancouver Sun
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Neal Hall
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

YOUTH EFFORT TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE, MP CLAIMS

Tory MP Gurmant Grewal Says Ottawa Should Have Acted 10 Years Ago

The federal government's announcement on the weekend that it plans to 
establish a 10-member community task force to address the problem of 
Indo-Canadian gang violence is an inadequate response that comes far too 
late, B.C. Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal said Monday.

"They should have been acting to curb youth violence 10 years ago," said 
Grewal, Conservative MP for Newton-North Delta.

Government inaction has allowed the death toll to rise, he added. About 80 
young Indo-Canadians have died violently in the past decade.

"If the government was pro-active, I'm sure more could have been done," 
Grewal said from Ottawa. "Not even a month goes by when you don't hear of a 
murder in the community."

He said the government needs to enact minimum sentences for drug-related 
crime to deter young people from being seduced by the huge profits to be 
made from trafficking.

"If caught, they pay a fine of $1,000 [for a first offence] but the revenue 
is $1 million, so people are laughing. It's making a mockery of the justice 
system."

He added that young Indo-Canadians are burdened by cultural expectations to 
be successful and become rich, causing some to be lured to the gangster 
lifestyle. But the vast majority are decent kids who are going to school 
and making a success of themselves, he said.

Grewal also said the Indo-Canadian community also needs to do its share by 
providing information to law enforcement officials so police can do a 
better job of solving violence and drug crimes,

Announcement of the community task force to address the issue is simply a 
"feel-good announcement" to draw attention away from the Gomery inquiry 
into the Quebec sponsorship scandal, and the Liberal government's crumbling 
public support, he added.

The task force was announced on the weekend by B.C. Liberal cabinet 
ministers Ujjal Dosanj and Raymond Chan.

"Good news is not good enough," Grewal said. "People want action and will 
look at the Liberal record of cutbacks to law-enforcement agencies, broken 
promises and the absence of law with teeth."

While Grewal admitted the community committee may help, he accused the 
federal Liberal government of moving at a snail's pace while the body count 
continues to rise.

A 23-year-old Surrey man was shot dead the same day the announcement was 
made. The latest victim was identified Monday as Inderjit Singh Rai, who 
was known to police, and the homicide is not believed to be a random act of 
violence, said Surrey RCMP Const. Marc Searle.

Police responded about 2:30 a.m. Saturday to a report of shots fired in the 
9800-block of 140th Street in Surrey. Rai, 23, later died in hospital.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the RCMP homicide team at (604) 
543-9217.

RECENT DEATHS:

There have been several more murders in recent months linked to 
Indo-Canadian organized crime (not just gangs) including:

May 7, 2005 - Inderjit Singh Bhoparai, 23, killed in Surrey over the weekend.

April 2, 2005 - Sukh Jawanda, killed on a rural road in Abbotsford.

Feb. 21, 2005 - Harpreet Singh Khurmee, 34, a trucker, was found shot to 
death in the cab of his vehicle on Annacis Island in Delta.

Jan. 13, 2005 - Sukhjinder Singh Sohal and Jatinder Singh (Jerry) Natt, 
killed in Surrey.

Nov. 14, 2004 - Aklesh Anuj Chaudary, 19, shot in Newton Athletic Park in 
Surrey.

Sept. 24, 2004 - Amandeep Singh Bath, killed in Surrey, (not really gang 
related, but youth-violence related as it was the family of his girlfriend 
who got him killed.)
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth