Beware of Rental Scams in Vancouver

Rental Scam In Vancouver

Fake landlord takes cash from international students

Convict David Messina sublets condos while not paying rent to owners

Last Updated: Tuesday, January 6, 2009 | 6:08 AM PT Comments133Recommend128

By Kathy Tomlinson, CBC News

David Messina admits he isn't paying rent on the condo he sublets to foreign students in downtown Vancouver. (CBC)

A B.C. condo owner is fighting to get her downtown Vancouver property out of the hands of a convicted criminal who posed as a tenant and leased her suite, then turned around and rented it out to several students from Japan and Korea — while not paying rent to her.

"He rents it to like five people at a time," owner Elisabeth Fox said. "He puts two people in the den, two people in the bedroom and one person in the living room. And he's not living there."

"It's a terrible situation," she added. "I don't get paid. I have to pay a mortgage out of my pocket, and these young students ... live like rabbits in this place. He keeps on showing it to other people, and he keeps on stuffing people in there."

'Tenant' ordered out in November

David Messina, 37, was ordered to vacate Fox's suite by B.C.'s Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) in November, but he appealed that decision.

RTB records show that earlier last year he was evicted from two other downtown condo units for not paying rent — where he had also been subletting to several people. The two other condos are owned by Su Hua Lee, who lives in China.

'Why would I pay her? She's tried to kick me out. I never started this.'

— David Messina

Under B.C. housing rules, landlords aren't supposed to forcibly remove tenants without a final court order.

Messina has a criminal record of fraud and other convictions. He boasted to CBC News that his sublet "operation" is lucrative, netting as much as $1.2 million a year, and that he treats the foreign students well.

"I supply the services," he said. "I give people what they want. The students, they get everything that they want."

Condo owner Elisabeth Fox, left, tells CBC's Kathy Tomlinson that she has been trying to evict Messina since September. (CBC)

However, surveillance video from the lobby of Fox's building on Dec. 14 shows Messina arguing with a young East Asian woman. Another tenant called police, and Messina was charged on allegations he threatened and assaulted the woman, who was trying to get money back from him. Messina was to appear in court Tuesday.

"The police were called four times already," Fox said. "Everybody's really scared of him."

Messina said he doesn't pay rent on suites when landlords like Fox hassle him.

"I've been doing this for years," Messina said. "The landlords, they are getting a little bit too aggressive," he added. "Do you understand? They are getting too aggressive."

When asked why he hasn't paid the $1,500 rent to Fox for several months, he answered, "Why would I pay her? She's tried to kick me out. I never started this. She brought this all upon herself … by renting to me."

'It will come down to proving that a fraud occurred, proving that there was intent there to defraud.'

— Vancouver police Const. Jana McGuinness

Messina advertises on the internet classified ad site Craigslist. In late December, he posted ads for spaces in three downtown Vancouver condos, including Fox's but not Lee's, with rents ranging from $400 to $900 a month.

"Great for international students," one of Messina's ads read.

He allowed a CBC News camera into the suite owned by Fox. There were mattresses in the living room and one in the small den. Four tenants were living in the 570-square-foot, one-bedroom unit, including student Hyojin Jang, who said he came to Canada from Korea in October.

'We don't know about our rights': student

"We are international students and we are not good at English," Jang said. "We are not strong in this city.... We don't know about our rights in this city, and so this is a little bit hard."

Jang said he worries that if he has to leave, Messina won't give his deposit back. He said has no other money and nowhere else to go.

Several ESL students have rented space in the 570-square-foot condo sublet by Messina. (CBC)

"I have no choice, because I already paid him," Jang said.

Twenty-one-year-old Kazuki Tsukahara of Japan also rented a room in Fox's condo from Messina in November, along with three other ESL students. He said Messina kicked them out before the end of that month and kept the $560 they each paid for rent, plus their $350-per-person deposits.

"I didn't have any money and I couldn't find a new apartment," said Tsukahara, whose mother sends him money from Japan. He said he had to move in with a friend.

"I didn't go to the police because they can't do anything," he added.

"I just couldn't believe that somebody would be so mean to other people," said Fox, who lives in Lions Bay, northwest of Vancouver.

"You know what? I would almost like to bring [the international students] up to my house. If I lived in Vancouver, I would actually have them in my house."

Surveillance video from the building lobby on Dec. 14 shows Messina arguing with a young East Asian woman. The incident led to an assault charge against Messina. (CBC)

Fox said she tried to get the Vancouver police to investigate Messina's operation, but said they told her it is a civil matter, and that she must go through the RTB to evict him. That process has taken four months so far, and he's still not out — and still renting the rooms.

"You get a letter and then you are being served or you are being phoned or you have to call in for a conference call," she said. "It is all time which allows him to make money. He knows he is going to be evicted."

Messina "is an artist at working the system," she added.

"It took us six months to get rid of him and cost the owner $30,000," said Brian Lee, who represented Chinese landlord Su Hua Lee, who rented her two suites to Messina last year.

"The problem lies mainly with our justice system," Lee said. "Terrible. There should be a faster method to deal with people like this. It left a really bad taste."

Cases like this 'complicated,' police say

Vancouver police media liaison Const. Jana McGuinness confirmed police generally don't take on cases like this, because proving intent is difficult.

"It will come down to proving that a fraud occurred, proving that there was intent there to defraud," McGuinness said. "It's fairly complicated. These can be lengthy investigations."

When asked by CBC News whether he feared the police would look into what he is doing, Messina answered, "Why would the police get involved? It's a civil matter."

"They say every block has a dope operation," he added. "I think that sounds like it's a little bit worse than what I'm doing."

Messina later said his biggest concern about publicity is that others will learn how his business operates, and he'll get unwanted competition from copycats.

Food for thought

Please feel free to comment on these issues dealing with immigrants and immigration. Through dialogue we all get a greater understanding of some of the issues.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/stone-immigration/?pagewanted=print

Skilled Worker Program Report

Summary Report: The Federal Skilled Worker Program: Stakeholder and Public Consultations

Background

The Federal Skilled Worker Program

The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) is one of the Government of Canada’s main avenues to permanent immigration. The program uses a selection system established in 2002 that looks at the worker’s overall capacity to adapt to Canada’s labour market. It measures each applicant’s score on a grid of up to 100 points, taking into consideration factors such as education, work experience, knowledge of English or French and other criteria that have been shown to help them become economically established in Canada.

Consulting Stakeholders and the Public

In February and March 2011, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) held consultations with stakeholders and the public to seek input on a number of proposed changes to the FSWP. Based on an evaluation of the program, academic research and best practices in other immigrant-receiving countries, the proposed changes aim to help Canada select immigrants who have the best chance of integrating and making a better contribution to the Canadian economy.
CIC consulted on the proposals to:

• require federal skilled workers to have a minimum level of language proficiency;
• make the program more accessible to skilled tradespeople and technicians;
• place greater emphasis on younger immigrants who will adapt more easily and be active members of the work force for a longer time;
• redirect points from work experience to other factors that better contribute to success in the Canadian labour market; and
• reduce the potential for fraudulent job offers.

Stakeholders and the general public were invited to provide feedback through an online questionnaire. In-person consultations were also held with key stakeholders in five cities across the country. The input received through these consultations will be taken into account in the development of new regulations.

Executive Summary and Conclusion

Feedback received through the consultation process, both online and through in-person roundtable meetings, indicated general support for all of the proposed changes to the FSW program. For the most part, views expressed by the general public and those expressed by stakeholders were comparable in many areas, with some distinct viewpoints brought forward by stakeholders in some areas. The consultations yielded the following key findings:

• Language: Stakeholders and the public were broadly supportive of minimum language thresholds by occupational classification and increased weighting for language. There was general agreement that language skills are important for success both in and out of the workplace.
• Age: The choice of 35 as the peak age to earn age points was met with mixed reaction. Those in support of changes noted that younger applicants would bring a greater economic benefit to Canada over the long term, and would have a higher potential to adapt, learn language and integrate. Others (particularly stakeholders) expressed that the proposed age cutoff of 35 is too low, noting that applicants up to age 40, or as high as 50, would generally have more work experience, and therefore could be more likely to succeed in finding work.
• Education: A reduction in the number of years of education required to claim points for a trade credential was met with strong support, particularly among stakeholders. Comments received noted the benefits for applicants and the labour market, indicating that the proposed changes were a positive step toward attracting talented applicants with a different set of qualifications than the existing points model rewards.
• Work experience: Support for changes to work experience was closely tied. There was a general acknowledgement among stakeholders and the public that foreign work experience is discounted by Canadian employers and agreement with the direction to reduce the value of work experience in order to shift more weight to other factors such as language and age.  However, comments received also highlighted that experience—foreign or domestic—is an integral factor for the screening of skilled workers and that there are varying degrees of transferability depending upon the occupation and, in certain sectors, foreign work experience is very highly valued.
• Arranged Employment (AE): Stakeholders and the general public were supportive of establishing clearer criteria for assessing the genuineness of a job offer.  Members of the general public (Canadians and non-Canadians alike), noted a need to reduce cases of individuals taking advantage of Canada’s immigration system through fraudulent job offers. Stakeholders welcomed the proposed direction to improve the integrity and genuineness provisions, with some reservations expressed as to whether this would impose overly burdensome requirements on genuine employers and increase processing times.

The information gathered as part of these consultations is deemed to give a good indication of views on issues related to priorities for improving the FSW program. The findings will inform policy development on modernization of the program, which will include updating the selection system by rebalancing the selection criteria, as well as making the program more accessible to the skilled trades.
Based on the feedback from the consultations, key changes under current consideration by the Department for the modernization of the FSW program include:

• introducing minimum official language thresholds and increasing points for language;
• making changes to the assessment of education points to reflect a foreign educational credential’s value in Canada;
• redistributing points for age to benefit younger immigrants who will be active members of the workforce for a longer timeframe;
• reducing points for foreign work experience and increasing points for Canadian work experience;
• increasing the integrity of and simplifying the process for the Arranged Employment factor; and
• facilitating the immigration of skilled tradespersons through criteria that are more specific to those in the skilled trades.

What we heard – detailed summaries

The following are summaries of the outcomes of the consultations.

• Online Consultation with Stakeholders and the Public
• Round Table Meetings with Stakeholders

Some Leaders in India want to ban love

According to some village leaders in India women's freedom to love is creating havoc for families and want love marriages be banned and save the shamed faces of parents.
I'm scratching my head...... How can one ban love?

http://www.chatelaine.com/en/blog/post/39954--why-marry-one-man-says-it-certainly-shouldn-t-be-for-love

Do you Know a Hyatt near You

Nationwide Boycott of Hyatt Hotels Launched; LGBT and Feminist Organizations Join Unions to Fight for Workers

By s.e. smith, AlterNet
Posted on July 23, 2012/

Hyatt's horrible working conditions for housekeepers have long made headlines, but now workers are taking the next step and calling for a national boycott.

http://www.alternet.org/story/156430?akid=9109.35630.alBnXf&rd=1&t=2

        N.E.E.D.S. Inc.__ (NEEDS Centre)

JOB OPPORTUNITY

N.E.E.D.S. Inc. is pleased to invite applications for the following position:

Position:  Receptionist / Office Clerk

Department: Administration

Full-time Term Position September 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013 (Maternity leave) 35h/week 

Mondays - Wednesdays 8:00 to 3:00 pm, Thursdays 2:00 to 9:00 pm

Fridays 11:00 to 6:00 pm and sometimes Saturdays 11:00 to 6:00 pm

Salary: annually $21,840 -$25,298 (based on experience)

Position summary:

Reporting to, and in consultation with the Administrative Assistant, the Receptionist/Office Clerk will be responsible for providing personal and telephone reception to the public, clients and volunteers and often serves as the first contact for the Agency. The Receptionist/Office Clerk is also responsible for creating a comfortable and welcoming environment. The Receptionist/Office Clerk will assist Administrative Assistant with data entry and will perform clerical duties of a general nature in accordance with established procedures, guidelines and schedules and will work closely and cooperatively with staff and management.       

Qualifications and Skills:

·                  background and experience in delivering  and maintaining administrative procedures

·                  strong organizational and administrative skills

·                  experience in supervising administrative support staff, ability to work as part of a team

·                  ability to work independently with limited or no supervision

·                  ability to prioritize tasks and work under pressure

·                  strong oral and written communication skills

·                  proficient in the use of computers

Position requirement:

Minimum High School Diploma

Ability to work in a cross-cultural setting

Excellent computer skills

Must undergo Criminal Record check as well as Child Abuse Registry check

Additional language as an asset

APPLICATION DEADLINE:  Friday,  August 10, 2012 at 4:00 p.m.

Please submit your resume and a cover letter explaining your interest and related experience, including additional language ability, to:

HR Department 

251 A Notre Dame Ave

Winnipeg, MB R3B 1N8

fax:  204.940.1272

needsinc@mymts.net   

Regretfully, we will only reply to those who are called for an interview

India not a good place for Women

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/07/15/indian-anger-over-media-footage-of-girl-being-sexually-assaulted/

Indians have reacted with anger and disgust over video footage of a young woman being sexually assaulted by a laughing mob of more than a dozen men in a busy street outside a bar in north-east India.
Not only did no one intervene for up to 45 minutes during the attack, but an off-duty TV journalist filmed the incident on his phone and called a cameraman to join him. The footage was then broadcast on news channels, prompting a debate on women’s safety in India and whether journalists have a duty to help in such situations.
In an interview with Indian media, the victim asked why the journalists did not help her. “They were only taking pictures. Why could they not help me?”

Local police have been condemned over their initial indifference towards the attack, which took place last Monday night just a few minutes from the nearest police station in Guwahati, Assam.
Frustrated at police inaction in the days following the assault, local residents put up “Wanted” posters of the men caught on camera and circulated the images on social networking sites.
The attack has highlighted the dangers of being a woman in the world’s biggest democracy. Writing in the Mail Today on Sunday, the novelist Palash Krishna Mehrotra said: “This ghastly episode has brought back in focus an old issue: our primitive attitudes towards women.”
A global poll last month voted India the worst G20 country for women, behind even Saudi Arabia.
Seven men have been arrested since Assam’s chief minister, Tarun Gogoi, on Saturday ordered detectives to arrest the culprits within 48 hours. A police official had also been suspended, according to Apurba Jabon Barua, a senior superintendent at Guwahati police force.
Over the weekend a delegation from the National Commission for Women arrived in the city to support the victim. The NCW’s Alka Lamba told reporters the teenager had suffered “animal-like treatment” and claimed that there were cigarette burns all over her body.

 

The victim told local media that the attack went on for “about 45 minutes” and that she would have been raped had the police not eventually come to her aid.
NewsLive channel, whose journalists filmed the attack, defended its staff for not intervening. “Some [media] questioned me as to why my reporter and camera person shot the incident and didn’t prevent the mob from molesting the girl,” tweeted its editor-in-chief, Atanu Bhuyan. “But I’m backing my team since the mob would have attacked them, prevented them from shooting, that would have only destroyed all evidence.”
Girija Vyas, an MP and a former president of the NCW, said: “No amount of criticism is enough for this incident … Is this the 21st century when we talk about equality? We can have a woman sitting at the post of the President of the country but the average woman on the street is not safe.”
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media 2012