News for Youse: Help for immigrants, debate talk, and Bill Clinton takes to Twitter

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      Services for immigrants  Vancouver City Council has approved a grant of $490,000 for the establishment of an assistance centre for immigrants and refugees. The “Welcome House Centre”, to be located on Victoria Drive, will consist of two buildings and offer housing, medical care, and language training.

      Provincial election debate?  B.C. Premier Christy Clark and opposition frontrunner Adrian Dix have traded words on a possible televised debate proposed by Global TV. Clark told media that she had agreed to a one-one-one with the leader of the B.C. NDP, but Dix quickly rebuked the idea, arguing that the forum should include representatives for the province’s Greens and Conservative parties.

      NDP promises tax credits for film  B.C. NDP leader Adrian Dix announced yesterday (April 9) that if elected, his government would increase tax credits for the province’s film industry from 33 and 35 percent (for foreign and domestic productions) to 40 percent. In recent months, supporters of movies made in B.C. have complained that incentives to film in the province have fallen behind those of Ontario.

      Fewer barriers to vote  Marginalized citizens in British Columbia will have an easier time voting in the upcoming provincial election. New regulations adopted by Elections B.C. allow citizens to use prescription pill bottles that include personal information as voter identification. A second piece of ID is still required.

      Porter to become national carrier  Porter Airlines has announced it plans on purchasing as many as 30 jets from Montreal-based Bombardier Inc. The deal, which could reach a value as high as $2.29 billion, will make Porter a national carrier and put it in direct competition with Air Canada and WestJet.

      No investigation into young girl’s death  The suicide of a 17-year-old Nova Scotia girl will not prompt the province’s Justice Department to review the RCMP’s investigation into the girl’s claims of sexual assault. Rehtaeh Parsons hung herself on Thursday (April 4), 18 months after she was allegedly raped and photographed by four young males and subsequently bullied at school and online. The RCMP did not lay charges against any of the accused.

      Canucks go for fourth win  The Vancouver Canucks will face the Calgary Flames tonight at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Vancouver last played the Flames on Saturday (April 6), when they defeated the conference rival 5-2. Tonight could be a fourth consecutive win for the Canucks.

      “PrezBillyJeff” is on Twitter  Former United States president Bill Clinton is now on Twitter (sort of). Comedian Stephen Colbert was interviewing the elder statesmen as part of the Clinton Global Initiative University Meeting at Washington University in St. Louis when he informed Clinton that the handles @presidentclinton and @williamjeffersonclinton were taken, and so they settled on @PrezBillyJeff, which now has more than 125,000 followers (though so far only one tweet).

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