Khushwant Singh writes from Toronto

ONE year back, the Toronto-area realtors had good reason to celebrate. It record sales the housing bubble looked bigger and bigger. It was all over Canada. Home buyers formed long queues. At the end of 2007 prices rose by 7 per cent and sales by 12 per cent over the previous year.

But in September, as the global credit crunch started to exact a toll, the market finally registered a 3 per cent price decline, the first such drop in ten years. By November end, the average home was some $25,000 cheaper than it was during the same time last year.

The GTA economy was heading towards some dampening, but over the last few months it has gathered all the problems at once. We all know that the credit crunch on Wall Street has spread to markets globally, yet we do not know as to how much further Canadian households will be affected in 2009? The worry is whether prices will fall further and, if so, by how much. Bank of Canada has warned that many Canadians were in danger of losing their homes if the economic crisis gets worse. This is ominous.

Earlier it was being repeated endlessly that Canada was largely isolated from the suffering in the United States and the global economy. Canadians blissfully watched for nearly two years now at the collapse of the housing sector in the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries that experienced overvalued housing prices. They thought it was others’ problem and they were on sound footing.

The buyers and sellers along with the builders and the government became aware only when there was a fall in the western provinces. Canadian housing market was in bad shape and continues so. Analysts forecast that, after a decade-long run, the Greater Toronto Area's real estate market would be in for a "soft landing.

Is it true that the Canadian economy is still fundamentally sound? Is it also true that export earnings, job growth and corporate balance sheets are better than other nations? Will Canada will lead the G7 nations in economic recovery in 2010.

Much would depend on what happens to America and the rest of the world. There can not be islands of prosperity. A prolonged recession would mean that fewer Americans will be buying cars from Ontario or lumber from British Columbia. During the last bubble, average prices of existing home in Toronto hit $280,000 in 1989 and took seven years to sink downward, hitting bottom in 1996 at $196,000 before taking off again in 1997.

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All party meeting held in BC

Gurpeet Singh writes from Vancouver

Setting aside all ideological differences, the representatives and the supporters of the major political parties of India have resolved to send a message of peace and unity back home in the wake of Vienna shootout and its fallout in Punjab.

A shootout at a Sikh temple on May 24 in Vienna left Sant Ramanand dead. Since he was the cleric of the Dera Sach Khand sect, which has a massive following among the low caste groups or dalits of Punjab, this has resulted in a large scale violence in Punjab and its neighbouring Haryana in India. His murder is believed to be an outcome of the sectarian conflict between the fundamentalist Sikhs and the followers of Dera Sach Khand.

An all-party meeting for peace was hosted by the Radio India in Vancouver where the supporters and the members of all the main political parties of India unanimously condemned the murder of Sant Ramanand. They demanded a thorough investigation of the incident and strong legal action against the people involved in the crime and conspiracy. Besides, the participants demanded a larger investigation to expose the motive behind the murder.

The participants also condemned the subsequent violence in Punjab. Speaker after speaker suggested that cutting across the party lines they should join hands to weaken the separatist and fundamentalist forces which are bent upon dividing India and disturb peace in Punjab, which has already suffered a lot during terrorism.

They also resolved to issue a joint declaration against systematic discrimination against the dalits in India and elsewhere, which is the ``root cause’’ of this crisis. Several speakers categorically described the dehumanizing of the dalits by the ``upper caste’’ groups, including the Jats in Punjab as one of the reasons, which has alienated them from the Sikh mainstream and turned them into the followers of the parallel sects.

The Overseas Congress spokesman, Lucky Takhar said that the dialogue and not the gun is a solution to all the problems arising out of the ideological differences.

The BJP NRI Cell’s leader, Vikram Bajwa said that even the atheists have a right to live and practice their faith. ``Nobody has a right to take anyone’s life’’. The supporter of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Surinder Singh Sandhu demanded a deep investigation into the murder of Sant Ramanand.

`The real culprits behind this dastardly act should be exposed. I believe the true Sikhs cannot do this’’. He pointed out that the Khalistan Zindabad Force, a Sikh separatist group has denied their involvement in the murder while other separatist groups have also condemned it.

He listed the achievements of Sant Rama Nand and his center in Punjab. He also urged that the media should remain impartial in its approach towards the caste conflict and should not take sides. Khushi Ram, another BSP supporter urged that the Punjabi music that glorifies Jats and violence should be stopped.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader, Harbans Singh Aujla demanded that those who incited violence in Punjab following the Vienna incident should also be exposed. He added that the Congress party had tried to take political mileage out of this tragedy by seeking dismissal of the SAD-BJP government in the state.

The prominent supporter of the Communist Party of India, Bibi Veeran blamed the marginalization of the dalits in Punjab by the landowning class for this crisis. Her communist husband, Karam Singh emphasized that all the Indian immigrants should unite and take a lesson from the history of the secular Gadar movement to fight against sectarianism and caste based discrimination.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) supporter, Surinder Sangha felt the same. He mentioned that the Ghadar leaders had guided Indians to leave aside their caste and religious affiliations for the larger interest of the country, whereas the present day politicians are dividing people on communal lines. ``Apparently, they have learnt nothing from the political events of 1984 and earlier that fuelled terrorism and violence’’. He demanded that the caste-based discrimination should stop.

Lok Bhalai Party leader, Chamkaur Sekhon said that the killing of Sant Rama Nand was against the tenets of Sikhism that teach us humanity. The Radio India Managing Director, Maninder Singh Gill warned that Vienna episode can have repercussions in BC if the community leaders did not stop the blame game and the caste based politics. Others present on the occasion were the Congress leader, Mohan Singh Bharia, the SAD leader, Manjit Lalli, the CPI (M) supporter, Kulwant Dehesi, the Lok Bhalai Party member, Rupinder Kaur and Darshan Singh.

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