ONTARIO POLITICS SPECIAL: Will another political star be born in Ontario? All eyes on Gurpreet Dhillon!

23 May 2014

Three provincial ridings have only South Asian candidates; former MP Gurbax Singh Malhi’s daughter is a Liberal candidate

BACK in October 2011, when the NDP candidate for Ontario’s Bramalea-Gore-Malton riding, Jagmeet Singh, a criminal defence lawyer, defeated Liberal incumbent Dr. Kuldip Kular, who was first elected in 2003, he was hailed as a political star.

He had inspired many South Asians, especially the younger generation, and the key to his victory was his enthusiastic young supporters.

In this provincial election that takes place on June 12, a local basketball star, GURPREET DHILLON, 34, the NDP candidate in Brampton-Springdale, is being hailed as the new political star.

As the Toronto Star noted: “NDP, emboldened by Jagmeet Singh’s 2011 breakthrough in neighbouring Bramalea-Gore-Malton, is determined to put another splash of orange on the map.

“Dhillon, an old friend of Singh, exhibits similar rock-star appeal.”

While serving on the Toronto Police South Asian Consultative, Dhillon founded and ran a series of basketball camps and training schools in an effort to keep youth off the streets and away from gangs.

As his official bio states: “Founding the MVP Basketball Academy and partnering with both the Toronto Police and the Toronto Raptors, he has led countless programs and initiatives designed to teach young people the values of leadership, hard work, and fair play on and off the court.”

Dhillon is married and has two kids.

His rivals are fellow South Asians Harinder Malhi, daughter of former Liberal MP Gurbax Singh Malhi (Bramalea-Gore-Malton from 1993 to 2011), and Pam Hundal of the Progressive Conservatives (PC), who in the 2011 election came a close second to Liberal Linda Jeffrey.

Linda Jeffrey, who was a minister, resigned as MPP for Brampton-Springdale to run for mayor of Brampton. (In Ontario, an MLA is called an MPP – Member of Provincial Parliament).

Jeffrey’s resignation has resulted in three provincial ridings having only South Asian candidates from the three major parties: Brampton-Springdale, Bramalea-Gore-Malton and Brampton West.

BRAMPTON-SPRINGDALE

The Liberals’ HARINDER MALHI is accompanied by her dad Gurbax Singh Malhi while door-knocking and one news report said he is warmly greeted by people.

Her official bio doesn’t say who her dad is. But it states that she “is an experienced trustee who has represented Brampton wards 9 and 10 for the Peel District School Board for the past 3½ years.”

It also says: “Harinder has been actively involved in many community organizations. She was an administrator for summer camps and volunteers with municipal, provincial and federal organizations.

“Harinder also supports non-profit organizations such as the Canadian-South Asians Supporting Independent Living (CSASIL) Association in Brampton, and collects donations for local shelters and food banks.”

It adds: “Harinder has lived and worked in the Brampton area for the past 18 years and is very proud to call Brampton her home.”

The PC’s PAM HUNDAL was born and raised in Brampton and has two kids. She has a “busy and successful law career.” She was raised in Brampton by her immigrant parents Sam and Narinder Hundal.

Her official bio states: “She started volunteering at the age of 15 and has continued volunteering in the community she lives in. Some of her volunteering positions have been: Citizen member of the City of Brampton’s Environmental Committee, board member for the Ad Hoc Advocacy Committee for the Children’s Aid Society. She is the past board chair for the North Peel and Dufferin Legal Clinic, advisor for Junior Achievement Brampton Chapter and co-chair for the Fundraising Gala Dinner for New Brampton Hospital and member of the Diversity Outreach committee for Wellspring Cancer Centre Brampton Location.”

BRAMALEA-GORE-MALTON

The star of the riding, of course, is the incumbent MPP JAGMEET SINGH. After completing his B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Western Ontario, he earned an LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School. He is fluent in three languages – English, French and Punjabi. Jagmeet offered free legal rights seminars across Ontario and provided pro bono legal counsel for people and community organizations in need.

His bio states: “He was listed as one of the Toronto Star’s Top 12 people to watch for 2012, named in the Queen’s Park Briefing in 2013 as one Ontario’s 75 most powerful people, and featured in Toronto Life’s “50 Most Influential People,” as one of the five youngest rising stars.

“Recently described as one of the more dashing public figures, Jagmeet was covered in Toronto Life’s Stylebook 2013 as one of Toronto’s most stylish people and was one of the 10 style icons presented in Yorkdale Mall’s 50th-anniversary style-makers campaign.”

The Liberals’ candidate is DR. KULDIP S. KULAR – the man Jagmeet Singh unseated in the last election.

Kular was first elected MPP for the riding of Bramalea-Gore-Malton-Springdale in 2003, and was appointed Parliamentary Assistant to various ministers and served on a raft of committees. In 2007, he was re-elected. With the boundary changes, the riding became Bramalea-Gore-Malton.

Kular immigrated to Canada from the Province of Punjab, India, in 1974. He obtained his medical degree from Guru Nanak Dev University in Punjab and did two years of residency training in pediatrics at the IWK Hospital for Sick Children (Dalhousie University) in Halifax. He worked in the Canadian Armed Forces Hospital in Halifax before moving to Campbellton, New Brunswick, where he spent eight years in family practice until his final move to Brampton in 1986. He and his wife, Jessie, have raised their four children in the community while operating a successful family and sports medicine clinic in Bramalea.

The PC candidate is HARJIT JASWAL, a resident of Bramalea-Gore-Malton for 11 years.

His bio states: “He came to Canada seeking opportunity and a better life for his kids. His daughter, Gurpreet, is a doctor of medicine, and his son Karan is a computer engineer. … Harjit holds a Bachelor of Science, a Bachelor of Education, and an Associate of Science Degree in Medical Lab Technology. He is a real estate broker and works for Sutton. Over the years, his hard work and dedication to serve others has led him to receive numerous awards, and seats on the Government Relations Advisory Council as well as the Professional Standards Committee for the Brampton Real Estate Board.”

BRAMPTON WEST

The incumbent MPP is the Liberals’ VIC DHILLON, who was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 2003. Prior to joining government, Vic established a family-owned business. He successfully led many non-profit fundraising campaigns for the local food bank, the Korean War Memorial, and a leading local group that helps regions after natural disasters (such as the ice storm in eastern Ontario, the earthquake in Pakistan and the tsunami in Asia). Vic has also been credited by some local residents as being instrumental in saving the Knight’s Table, a non-profit diner that provides meals for Brampton’s poor and homeless.

Vic has lived in Brampton for most of his life. He has three kids.

The PC candidate is RANDEEP SANDHU.

His bio states: “Born in the Punjab region of India, Randeep attended one of India’s premier educational institutions, the Sri Dasmesh Academy before graduating from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) and immigrating to Ontario in 1996.”

He built his own successful logistics company, Load Solutions Inc, based in Puslinch creating more than 100 jobs in the community and has been a resident of Brampton West for more 13 years.
He is on the rate payers committee in his ward, volunteers in Peel Multicultural Council and is an active member of Guelph Chamber of Commerce. Randeep has one kid.

The NDP’s candidate is GUGNI GILL PANAICH, who was born in India, raised in Ethiopia, and holds a B.A from Delhi University and a diploma in computer science / secretarial practices from the Polytechnic for Women in Chandigarh, India.

She is the Director on the Advisory Board for the Punjabi International Film Festival, and is the North American Brand Ambassador for Imran Khan Cancer Foundation. Dedicated to the issues of domestic violence, poverty and women’s equality, Gugni has organized multiple events and fundraisers in Brampton. She has two kids.

OTHER SOUTH ASIAN CANDIDATES

There are a large number of South Asian candidates in all the three major parties and they reflect the diversity of the South Asian population.

Just in the Brampton-Mississauga area there are seven other South Asian candidates, including incumbent Liberal MPPs Harinder Takhar (Mississauga-Erindale) and Amrit Mangat (Mississauga-Brampton South).

HARINDER TAKHAR, former transportation and government services minister, was first elected as MPP in 2003 and has served in several senior ministerial roles. At first he was not going to run as both his parents passed away last year and he was in hospital with chest pains. But then he changed his mind. Before his election, he was President and CEO of Chalmers Group, where he increased sales eighteen-fold in ten years. Chalmers was judged a finalist among the 50 best-managed private companies in Canada in 1995. He has two kids.

AMRIT MANGAT was first elected in 2007 and is the first woman of South Asian heritage to serve as an MPP. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, a Masters in Economics, a Bachelor of Education, and a Masters in Education. She is a member in good standing of the Ontario College of Teachers. Prior to being elected, Amrit worked as an educator, a law firm administrator, and owned and managed several small businesses.

The other five candidates in the Brampton-Mississauga area are NDP’s Anju Sikka (Mississauga-Streetsville) and Fayaz Karim (Mississauga East-Cooksville), who was born in Trinidad and Tobago; the Liberals’ Dipkika Damerla (Mississauga East-Cooksville); and the PC’s Amarjit Gill (Mississauga-Brampton South) and Nina Tangri (Mississauga-Streetsville).

(For more photos of candidates, please go to our E-PAPER)

BY RATTAN MALL

RATTAN’S RUMBLE: Dealing with South Asian gangsters: the good, the bad and the ugly over the years

23 May 2014

IT was rewarding to some extent, frustrating at times – and even ugly for former solicitor general Kash Heed while dealing with South Asian gangsters during his time with the Vancouver Police.

This week, I had a conversation with Heed, after The VOICE’s special columnist Indira Prahst told me how former gang member Moe Bhatha was all praise for Heed for helping him to quit his former lifestyle at a gang event in Vancouver on Monday.

Heed declined to talk about individual cases, saying that they could speak for themselves. But he added: “I probably saved a few of our community’s boys’ lives by getting directly involved in it.”

Heed and I have been interacting for some 14 years or so. I had first challenged him to do something about the formation of a gang task force to deal with South Asian gangs as the problem was out of control and he along with Wally Oppal, who was a judge at the time, took action on that front. Of course, later everyone started taking credit for it, but readers of The VOICE know the truth as they can recall all my fiery write-ups attacking the Liberal government headed by then premier Gordon Campbell and even accusing it of being racist. In fact, I was the first to report that a gang task force had been formed in secret. It’s all there in black and white.

IF you refer to the past issues of this newspaper, you can see for yourself that in March 2002 I wrote an article titled, “No joint task force for Indo-Canadian gang killings and violence,” in which I bluntly pointed out:

“What the VOICE has figured out is that the 50 missing women’s case (the number of missing women has now gone up) that is being jointly handled by the Vancouver Police Department and the RCMP and that is spending more and more resources on this massive investigation is the reason why they are unable to form the joint task force.”

Several times after that, The VOICE repeated its demand for a joint task force to deal with Indo-Canadian gangsters killing one another and warning that innocent people will sooner or later get killed in the process and accusing the Liberal government of racism.

The government finally acted but kept the whole task force plan a top secret – until The VOICE exposed it in November, 2002, in an article titled, “Joint task force to deal with Indo-Canadian gang violence.” It took mainstream media a long time to catch up with The VOICE because the police kept denying its existence!

However, by 2004, the task force had been quietly disbanded!

That’s when The VOICE started fighting for one again, urging Indo-Canadian leaders to pressure the government for it and urging community leaders to apply pressure.
The task force was then revived as the B.C. Integrated Gang Task Force in 2005.

Of course, after that everyone started claiming credit for its formation – and that’s fine. However, besides The VOICE, Heed and Oppal were the main people.

I came to Vancouver in 1991 and started working as a journalist once again in 1993. The following year I started covering Indo-Canadian / South Asian gangs, starting with the murders of brothers Jimmy and Ron Dosanjh that came as a terrible shock to me. I just couldn’t believe that there were so many young South Asian gangsters here.

Covering the notorious Bindy Johal and his gang members was a challenge as I openly wrote in The VOICE that they were NOT the type of guys our youth should regard as role models. Bindy even mentioned my write-ups to a staff member (“I am Bindy – the guy your editor writes about all the time,” he introduced himself), but he never threatened me directly or indirectly.

A bullet hole in a window of Loft Six nightclub in Vancouver’s Gastown in August 2003. *Photo by Rattan Mall*

ANYWAY, back to my conversation with Heed this week.

Heed recounted how he had over the years tried to get people like Moe out of gangs. He said: “A lot of them have confided in me and a lot of them have said it is too late for them, for example, when we talked about Sandip [Duhre] and others like him that are now dead.”

He added: “Fortunately, we have examples like Moe where they listened and they have managed to remove themselves from that gang lifestyle; they are still alive to talk about it. And Moe is one of several individuals that I worked with to try and get them out of that lifestyle and they are still alive to this very day.”

I asked Heed if he used any special tactics and he replied: “There is no magical formula to it. You’ve just got to connect with these people and develop the relationship in order for them to trust you. For example, Moe; it was me being continually on his case about what he was doing and what was going on and what his life was going to turn out to be.

“As I have said before, there are three things that happen to these gang members – they end up dead or they end up in jail or they end up being drug addicts.
“Now we have a fourth option and that is to get out of that lifestyle and stay alive.”

Of course, Heed met Bindy Johal. He recalled: “Bindy Johal … as much bravado as he had, he never got in my face and respected me for what I did. I would run into him quite a bit during my time in policing and at the gym that I worked out in. He showed respect. … I never did converse with him or anything of that nature, but he stayed out of my way and I did what I had to do as a police officer.”

Heed also noted: “When you go back to the early 90s when this [the problem of South Asian gangs] started to take off, talking to these guys, unless it was police related, didn’t help. One of the few that I talked to that was really entrenched in this lifestyle was Ranj [Ranjit] Cheema and up until just before he died, he would always come and talk to me and he respected me.
“He was one of the few that carried on living for a few more years from that era of Bindy Johal and Ron and Jimmy Dosanjh.”

THAT reminded me of what Heed told me back in May of 2012 when Cheema was gunned down as he was getting into an SUV just outside his southeast Vancouver residence.

At the time, Heed told me: “I met him years ago when I was an officer in the gang crime unit and then when I moved up my various positions in the organization I would run into him a fair amount. He went to some of the same gyms that I went to. When I was involved – it was because of you that I became heavily involved in trying to deal with some of the deaths of our young ones in the Indo-Canadian community [I had at the time, as I mentioned earlier in this write-up, bluntly asked Heed what he was doing to help the community] – I would often run into him and talk to him.”

Heed also noted back then: “He was part of that original group back then when Bindy Johal was around and he hung around with Bobby Kandola and the Los Diablos gang many, many years ago. But he kind of branched out and had his own little group of people going on. When you are involved in that you often will be involved with various people based on what type of deal you are going to get – drug trafficking or something like that. They are in it to make money.”

This week, when I asked Heed about another well-known former gang member, Peter Gill, he said: “Yes, I knew him when he was out there in his heyday as a gang member associated with these people. I run him into occasionally now and he just shows me some respect. I never ever talked to him about the lifestyle or anything like that, but he would always take it upon himself to say ‘you know this is what you have to do with the kids nowadays.’ He was always there to offer his opinion on what needs to be done – not necessarily the opinion that I believed in, but certainly he was there to express his opinion to me.”

HEED also told me once again about the nasty encounter he had with gang member Paul Dosanjh when he was having dinner with his wife at a restaurant. He recalled: “One of the individuals was giving me the signs and mouthing off and gesturing across the room at the Cactus Club and the next week he ended up dead and that was Paul Dosanjh.”

Heed added: “But through all my career most of the gang members from our community were respectful of me. I knew what they were doing and they certainly knew that I had a role to play.
But the ones that I did have a discussion with, it was all related to what we had to do to make sure our youth don’t carry on down the gang path.”

And talking of Paul Dosanjh, here is some VOICE history for you again: I was the first to report that there was an Indo-Canadian gang member involved in the deadly August 16, 2003 Loft Six nightclub in Gastown in downtown Vancouver. Three males died and five others were wounded (two others were grazed by bullets).

In the front page story in the August 23 issue of The VOICE, I had written: “Last Saturday’s deadly shooting at Gastown’s Loft Six nightclub in Vancouver involved an Indo-Canadian male who police sources told The VOICE was known to several police officers.

“Because of legal and technical reasons we cannot reveal more about him at this stage. But police sources said that this was a fight between different gang members, not the usual Indo-Canadian on Indo-Canadian violence.

“Police spokesperson Constable Sarah Bloor put it as diplomatically as possible to the media when she said that Loft Six was known to be frequented by gang members “including outlaw motorcycle gangs, Indo-Canadian gang members and Asian gang members” and that “some of these individuals were in the club at the time of the shooting.””

Well, six months later, in March 2004, Paul Dosanjh was history. He was killed inside the Gourmet Castle Restaurant at 2828 East Hastings.

Interestingly, one of those who died in that shooting was Mahmoud Alkhalil (whose family came from Saudi Arabia in 1990 and stayed on in Canada after making a refugee claim). His brother, Rabih “Robby” Alkhalil, is being extradited from Greece to to face murder charges in the January 2012 killing of Sandip Duhre at the Bar One restaurant in downtown Vancouver Sheraton Wall Centre in the 1000-block of Burrard Street.

RATTAN’S RUMBLE: Congress must appoint Priyanka Gandhi Vadra the party president or risk fading away forever

23 May 2014

BACK in January of 2013 I suggested in a write-up that the Congress should make Priyanka Gandhi Vadra the prime minister-in-waiting by getting her into the Rajya Sabha (India’s House of Lords) while Rahul could take over his mom’s Sonia Gandhi’s position as president of the Congress Party. Sonia could remain the real boss behind the scenes.

I noted back then that Rahul had proved to be an utter failure and what the Congress Party desperately needed was a charismatic figure like Priyanka who bears quite a resemblance to her grandmother Indira Gandhi.

I also noted that I could understand Sonia’s predicament in projecting her daughter as the next prime minister, but that Rahul should realize the reality of the situation himself and urge his mother to do so.

Well now it’s even more obvious that the Congress MUST dump Rahul who proved to be a terribly weak personality while Priyanka won admiration for the way she hit back at BJP leader Narendra Modi during the election campaign, mocking him and providing a sliver of hope to the beleaguered Congress Party.

I see the same defiance in her that I saw while covering Indira Gandhi shortly after she had suffered a humiliating defeat in 1977 just after the hated Emergency Rule. I accompanied her to a resettlement colony (see photo) in an open jeep in the rain and I was blown away at the reception she received from the masses. They even addressed her as the prime minister!

When I wrote about it, many fellow journalists in New Delhi contacted me to verify if what I had written was really true since I had just started out in journalism. I was actually sent to accompany her because no senior reporter wanted to be with her as they took it for granted that her political career was over for good!

Indeed, nobody wanted to face the reality and even my own report was heavily edited by the National Herald (that was controlled by the Nehru-Gandhi family) where I was working at the time.
I still remember how stunned even she herself appeared. I even suggested to her that she should organize more such visits and she agreed.

That was the start of a spectacular comeback that she mounted and unnerved the then coalition government that made the blunder of arresting her. That only led to her being portrayed as a martyr. She won a huge majority in the 1980 election and I covered that election as a reporter with the Times of India.

PRIYANKA, I believe, has that same personality and defiance to revive the demoralized Congress Party once again.

Sonia Gandhi would really be one stupid woman (to put it very bluntly) if she does not replace Rahul with Priyanka as soon as possible!

South Asian businessman sentenced to three years in prison in Air India bribery case

23 May 2014

FORMER high-tech Ottawa executive Nazir Karigar, an Indian-born Canadian citizen who was found guilty last year for his role in a plan to bribe Indian officials to nail a contract for security technology for Air India, has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Karigar is the first person to be convicted under Canada’s Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act. So far three companies have been convicted under the act.
Karigar approached CryptoMetrics in 2005 to help them obtain the contract for Air India and was made executive director of the company’s Indian subsidiary.

BACK in 2012, India’s then minister of heavy industries and a former aviation minister Praful Patel had urged Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene with Canada after the Globe and Mail newspaper reported that Canadian authorities had alleged that Karigar had described to others how he funnelled a $250,000 bribe to Patel through a political ally in 2007.
He became the first individual to be charged under Canada’s Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act.
The Globe and Mail report said Karigar had also been accused of bribing two Air India managers and conspiring with former Air India director of security Hasan Gafoor, to ensure that his employer – a multinational hi-tech security company called CryptoMetrics – was shortlisted for a $100-million contract for a facial-recognition security system.
Manmohan Singh cleared Patel of the allegations, the NDTV reported. It said Singh also wrote to Patel that the Canadian government would be told that the charges against him had been investigated and found to be untrue.

Komagata Maru Heritage Foundation unveils Canada Post’s commemorative stamp in Vancouver

23 May 2014

Canada Post Komagata Maru — Greg Kabatoff, Director of Retail Business from Canada Post joined Harbhajan Gill, President of the Komagata Maru Heritage Foundation, NDP MP Jinny Sims and descendants of those who had travelled on the ship to unveil the commemorative stamp in Vancouver to mark the 100th anniversary of the Komagata Maru incident. *Photo by Chandra Bodalia*

KOMAGATA Maru Heritage Foundation on Thursday unveiled Canada Post’s commemorative stamp in Vancouver to mark the 100th anniversary of the Komagata Maru incident.

One hundred years ago, on May 23, 1914, the Komagata Maru, a Japanese steamship, arrived in Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet with 376 passengers, all British subjects, mostly Sikhs from Punjab, India. Under the era’s exclusionary immigration policies, the passengers were denied entry, and the ship was forced to return to India.

Greg Kabatoff, Director of Retail Business from Canada Post joined Harbhajan Gill, President of the Komagata Maru Heritage Foundation, NDP MP Jinny Sims and descendants of those who had travelled on the ship to unveil the commemorative stamp.

This was followed by a cruise of the harbour with 376 passengers on board, just as there were 376 passengers on Komagata Maru 100 years ago.

Surveillance cameras must be installed to deter people from defacing Komagata Maru monument in Coal Harbour

23 May 2014

THE Komagata Maru at Harbour Green Park in Coal Harbour in Vancouver was recently defaced with graffiti that was removed last week.

The Globe and Mail reported on Thursday that the removal of the graffiti that included the message “Owen is gay” has led to damage to the rust patina, causing a whitewash effect.

The connected panels were to be cleaned according to the specifications of the landscape architect and the steel is expected to rust over time as it did before.

This shows that the only way to deter people from defacing the Komagata Maru monument is by installing surveillance cameras and putting up a highly visible notice nearby saying something like “Smile, you’re on camera!”

Back in the first week of December, I was the first to report that a white man, who Vancouver Police later said had mental issues, had openly urinated on the monument in the presence of two South Asians. I posted the story on the website of the newspaper I was working for at the time and emailed it to mainstream media so that it would get the maximum possible coverage and force the authorities to take action.

I was again the first to report that Vancouver Police, that handled the matter very shabbily, had decided not to lay charges without explaining exactly why. Again, I emailed the link on my website to mainstream media.

Once again, I was the first to report on my website that Vancouver police had decided to re-investigate the incident after pressure mounted on them, sending the link to mainstream media.

Following the outcry in the South Asian community, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and Vancouver Police Chief Constable Jim Chu were forced to address the issue to an enraged South Asian community in January.

Chu said at the time: “We located the suspect and he agreed to apologize for his actions.

“I will read his signed apology: “I am sorry for what I did that day at the monument. I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”

“When dealing with the suspect, it appeared even more the case that this person was afflicted with a serious mental disorder. He is an illicit drug user and would fit into the category studied recently in the Downtown Eastside of a severely addicted mentally ill person. This suspect needs the health system, not the justice system.

“We believe that it is not in anyone’s interest to serve this suspect a bylaw ticket. We explained this to several South Asian community leaders last night and they supported this decision.”

BY RATTAN MALL

A century later, still waiting for an official apology

23 May 2014

MAY 23, 1914, was a shameful day in Canadian history. May 23, 1914, was the day that the Komagata Maru, a ship carrying 376 people of South Asian descent, sailed from Japan to the shores of British Columbia. Unfortunately, after spending over a month at sea, the 12 Hindus, 24 Muslims and 340 Sikhs, all of whom were eager to start a new life, were denied entry into Canada.

For two long months 376 passengers were forced to stay on board a ship. Not only was it made clear that their presence in our country was unwelcome by the pleasure crafts that passed by to ridicule the “Hindoo invaders”, Canadian officials also denied passengers very basic necessities such as food and water. For 63 days all of those on board the Komagatu Maru lived in extremely confined spaces fighting hunger and dehydration.

They waited patiently hoping that they would be granted entrance into Canada, a country which they believed would provide them with opportunity and a new beginning. Unfortunately, after spending over two months on Canadian waters, the Komagata Maru, and almost all of those on board were forced to return to Asia.

The Komagata Maru incident occurred during a time in Canadian history where there was a deep-seated prejudice against minorities and immigrants, particularly those who were of South Asian descent. Unfortunately, these prejudices were supported by law for during this time there existed a Continuous Passage Act, which stated that South Asians were only allowed to enter into Canada if they had made a continuous voyage without any stopovers.

This particular clause was implemented in an attempt to stop South Asian immigrants from entering Canada for at this time it was not possible for a ship to travel continuously from India to Canada. Although those on board did abide by this law by departing directly from Japan to Canada without stopping over, the fact that they were still denied entry is a reflection of the racist and discriminatory attitudes that were prevalent at this time.

On August 3, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized to the South Asian community about the Komagata Maru incident. However the fact that this apology was not delivered in the House of Commons is unacceptable.

On June 21, 2011, I introduced a motion in the Senate of Canada to ask the government of Canada to formally apologize for the Komagata Maru incident. Sadly, the government voted down the motion; but I have not been deterred by this setback. Minority communities have always had to fight long and hard to gain formal recognition on matters like the Komagata Maru. It is not an easy task, but I gain strength from communities who have had to face similar fights and have eventually gained successes.

Historically, the government has extended official apologies in Parliament to acknowledge injustice and wrongdoing. For example, in June of 2010, Prime Minister Harper delivered an official apology to those Aboriginal people who were victims of the Canadian residential school system. Similarly, in 2006, Prime Minister Harper delivered an official apology to those Chinese-Canadian’s who were unfairly taxed when immigrating to Canada.

The 376 passengers on board the Komagata Maru as well as all of those people who were negatively affected by the racist and discriminatory immigration policies that existed at this time also deserve an official apology.

The Canada I know is a country that embraces multiculturalism and welcomes people from all walks of life. The Canada I know prides itself on treating people of all races, religions and creeds with fairness, respect and dignity. Although the Komagata Maru incident happened a century ago, it represents a very sad time in our country’s history.

I have heard from over 10,000 fellow British Columbians, who have all expressed to me that they would like to be given the same respect that has been extended to other groups and receive an apology in Parliament. It is my sincere hope that we will continue debating this important issue both in the Senate and in the House of Commons, and urge our Government to do the right thing and deliver an apology to the South Asian community and to all of those affected by the 1914 Komagata Maru incident.

BY SENATOR MOBINA JAFFER

B.C. Human Rights Tribunal orders Khaira Enterprises Ltd. to pay 55 African tree planters more than $60,000

23 May 2014

B.C. Human Rights Tribunal member Norman Trerise in a ruling released on Friday came to the conclusion that Khaira Enterprises Ltd. run by Khalid Mahmood Bajwa and Hardilpreet Singh Sidhu discriminated against African workers, stating, “There are open racial taunts and clear distinctions in the areas of payment of wages drawn along racial lines.”

Trerise ordered the company to pay each worker “$10,000 for injury to dignity and self-respect plus $1,000 per 30-day period worked or portion thereof between March 17, 2010 and June 17, 2010; and post-judgment interest.” You can read the full decision at:

http://www.bchrt.bc.ca/decisions/2014/may.htm

OR

http://www.bchrt.bc.ca/decisions/2014/pdf/may/107_Balikama_obo_others_v_Khaira_Enterprises_and_others_2014_BCHRT_107.pdf

Tanraj Sohal wins Canadian Chess Championship in Winnipeg, sets new records

23 May 2014

TANRAJ Sohal, a Grade 12 student from Surrey, won the 2014 Canadian Chess Championship held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on May 18-19 in his grade level.

Tanraj had earlier won the Fraser Valley Regional Chess Championship in Surrey in February and BC Provincial Chess Championship held in Richmond in March.

Tanraj started playing chess when he was in Grade 1. Overall, he has won both the Fraser Valley Regional Chess Championships and BC Provincial Chess Championships in his grade level from Grades 1 to 12, a record 12 consecutive years. He has represented BC at the Canadian Chess Challenge held across Canada from 2003 to 2014, a record 12 years in a row. He has won the Canadian Chess Challenge (National Championship) nine times, setting a new record for the highest number of national championships won by any player in the history of this tournament.

Canadian Chess Challenge is the annual event where each province is represented by their 12 provincial champions (one player each from Grades 1 to 12). Canadian Chess Challenge is organized and sponsored by the Chess’n Math Association, Canada’s National Scholastic Chess Organization. Each player plays nine round robin matches over two days in their respective grades against each of the provincial champions.

Tanraj was recognized by the Chess’n Math Association with a special plaque presentation as the only player in the history of the tournament to represent his province at the Canadian Chess Challenge for 12 consecutive years. Tanraj was also honoured to carry the Canadian flag during the opening ceremony of the Canadian Chess Challenge.

Tanraj is the current BC Chess Champion (best chess player in BC regardless of age).

Vancouver Police Constable Ismail Bhabha’s assault trial put off until September

23 May 2014

THE trial of Vancouver Police Constable Ismail Bhabha, who was charged with a single count of assault in a March 25, 2013 incident downtown in which he was caught on video as he seemed to punch cyclist Andisheh Akhavan Kharazi while trying to arrest him for riding his bicycle through a red light and not wearing a helmet, has been put off until September because the Crown’s use of force expert fell ill.

Bhabha pleaded not guilty in court on Wednesday.

Kharazi testified that he couldn’t recall running any lights on his bike and that he normally stops for lights. He said he never resisted arrest or raised his voice. He said he moved his arms involuntarily when his arms were twisted behind his back by the officer who was trying to handcuff him.

Kharazi claimed that the punch chipped his tooth and cut hid lip.

His friend, Mike Schwarz, testified that he was not resisting arrest.

Bhabha, who was born in London, joined Vancouver Police in 2008. That year he received an award of excellence from the British Transport Police Federation for coming to the rescue of a woman and her daughter who were being harassed by a mentally ill man. He was bitten on the cheek in the incident and had to undergo surgery.