Jagat “Jack” Singh Uppal came to B.C. as an infant in 1926 and his activism on behalf of the South Asian community has been recognized with several awards, including an honorary doctorate from Simon Fraser University and the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal.
VANCOUVER – Indo-Canadian pioneer Jack Uppal has made history posthumously by becoming the first South Asian in history to get a Vancouver city street named after him.
Jack Uppal Street is located in south Vancouver’s River District, the section of the city running along the north side of the Fraser River.
Mayor Gregor Robertson made the announcement Wednesday, saying it honours Jagat “Jack” Singh Uppal’s legacy in the local South Asian community and his contributions to public life.
Robertson says Uppal was dedicated to supporting equal rights and opportunities and worked for a more equal Vancouver, free from racism and discrimination, reported Canadian Press.
Uppal founded Goldwood Industries on Mitchell Island, one of the oldest sawmills in B.C., located on land now known as the River District.
He came to B.C. as an infant in 1926 and his activism on behalf of the South Asian community has been recognized with several awards, including an honorary doctorate from Simon Fraser University and the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal.
Uppal`s daughter, Cindy Bains, is now the president of his company.
“Nobody, unconditionally, could do what he did, and he did it from his heart,” she told CBC`s Early Edition.
“He preached to us that love is everything and that you have to love your fellow man.”
“We’re just lucky that we had a father like Jack Uppal.”
Jack Uppal came to B.C. as an infant in 1926 and was forced to leave school at the age of 13 to help make ends meet for his family.
Bains says her father helped South Asian immigrants find meaningful work in the lumber industry at a time when widespread discrimination kept them out of many professions.
“They couldn’t be lawyers or doctors. They had to work hard and it’s because of that industry that we’ve been able to be successful in Canada,” Bains said.
In 2012, Uppal received an honorary degree from Simon Fraser University, which was the only degree to his name.
Uppal also earned a B.C. Community Achievement Award, the University of British Columbia’s Nehru Humanitarian Award, and the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal.
Uppal died in 2014, at the age of 89.
