BRAMPTON – The City of Brampton successfully hosted its 3rd Annual Sikh Heritage Month reception at Brampton City Hall on Tuesday, April 25th. This year, five outstanding citizens were honoured for their contributions to the community.
The reception, which had over 400 attendees, included faith leaders, community groups, dignitaries, and most notably keynote speaker Honourable Minister Amarjeet Sohi.
Minister Sohi, who serves as the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, commended the work of the honourees, as well as the great contributions of the Brampton-Sikh community.
“To have the Minister attend the reception was a great honour for us”, said Councillor Gurpreet Dhillon. “The City of Brampton is committed to celebrating its diversity, and today was an excellent example of that.”
Councillor Dhillon, who played an integral role in having Sikh Heritage Month recognized on the City’s official calendar in 2015, noted the many different cultures and faiths represented at the event.
“Today’s event was attended by people of all backgrounds. When our residents come together to celebrate our diversity, we increase the bonds of our community.”
Dignitaries in attendance were Mayor Linda Jeffrey, Councillor Gurpreet Dhillon, Councillor John Sprovieri, Councillor Martin Medeiros, Councillor Gael Miles, Councillor Pat Fortini, Councillor Jeff Bowman, MP Raj Grewal, MP Kamal Khera, MP Deepak Obhrai, MP Ruby Sahota, MP Ramesh Sangha, MP Sonia Sidhu, Minister Amarjeet Sohi, MPP Jagmeet Singh, Bradford Councillor Raj Sandhu, School Trustee Avtar Minhas, and Peel Police Board Chair Amrik Ahluwalia.
The following individuals were recognized for their achievements:
• Avtar Kaur Aujla: The first South Asian City Councillor in Brampton.
• Bikramjit Singh Gill: Professional basketball player in Japan.
• Harvinder Kaur Bajwa: A disability rights advocate.
• Manvinder Singh Sahota: Competed in NCAA Division 1 basketball.
• Rupan Singh Bal: A Canadian–Punjabi actor and comedian.
