Retail sales climbed 1.5% totalling over $70 billion in June; StatsCan

British Columbia’s second-largest city has created a $250,000 fund to dole out rewards to people with evidence that helps stop the continuing extortion of South Asian businesspeople. Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke and the city’s police chief announced the fund Monday as they detailed the latest effort to stop the extortions, which she characterized as “frightening and unacceptable.”The Surrey Police Service said it is investigating 44 extortion cases, including 27 that involved shootings of businesses, homes and vehicles. The agency didn’t specify the time period for these crimes, but noted...