Both NDP And Liberals Condemn Harper For Again Failing To Do The Right Thing!
The flat out rejection of the apology shows that Conservatives, including their loud mouth immigration minister Jason Kenney – aka the Minister of Deportation – clearly think that Chinese-Canadian vote is more important as they have already apologized for the racist Head Tax policy and are treating Indo-Canadians-South Asians as second class citizens, continuing the discriminatory history of the Komagata Maru
By R. Paul Dhillon
OTTAWA – The Stephen Harper Conservatives have once again insulted the Indo-Canadian community by flat out refusing to give an official apology for the racist Komagata Maru incident, something they so willingly did for the Chinese-Canadian community over the racist Head Tax policy.
It shows that the Conservatives, including their loud mouth immigration minister Jason Kenney – aka the Minister of Deportation – clearly think that Chinese-Canadian vote is more important and are treating Indo-Canadians-South Asians as second class citizens, continuing the discriminatory history of the Komagata Maru
“I join the South Asian community and my entire caucus in expressing my disappointment over the Conservatives’ rejection of an official apology in the House of Commons for the 1914 tragedy of the Komagata Maru,” said NDP leader Thomas Mulcair.
The recent motion for an apology was introduced by New Democrat MP Jasbir Sandhu (Surrey North) on May 18, but was first put forward by the NDP in 2007 by then- Surrey North MP Penny Priddy.
“It is regrettable the Conservatives refused to agree to the South Asian community’s request for an apology in the House of Commons. New Democrats were hoping the Conservatives would stop playing political games with this issue and do the right thing, unfortunately that didn’t happen today.”
Liberal Multiculturalism critic Jim Karygiannis joined Mulcair in condemning the Conservative government’s refusal to officially apologize for the Komagata Maru incident:
“Last night we were deeply disappointed when the Conservative government voted against a motion before Parliament to issue an official apology for the Komagata Maru incident of 1914. At a time when this government is being heavily criticized for its anti-refugee bills C-4 and C-31, it is also refusing to acknowledge our past mistreatment of those who came to Canada seeking sanctuary, ” Karygiannis said.
In 2008, a Liberal Party motion calling on the government to apologize to the Indo-Canadian community for the Komagata Maru incident was passed unanimously by the House of Commons, yet the Harper Conservatives continue to ignore this, as well as the November 2011 motion introduced by Liberal Senator Mobina Jaffer asking much the same, Karygiannis said.
“Komagata Maru is a dark moment in our history and a harsh reminder of a time when prejudicial treatment was not just a part of our social fabric, but validated in our laws. Canada’s South Asian communities deserve closure. An official apology from the floor of the House of Commons, on behalf of the Government of Canada, is the only way we can address this historical wrong,” Karygiannis said.
“I strongly urge the government to reconsider their position and issue a formal apology in the House of Commons.”
Mulcair said he wants this dark chapter in Canadian history to be finally closed, and one of the ways for the South Asian community to heal and reconcile is for the Conservatives to recognize the tragedy and apologize on the floor of the House of Commons.
“The Prime Minister made an attempt at an informal apology in 2008 at an outdoor festival in Surrey, but it was immediately rejected by the community as insincere. Today’s vote was an opportunity for the Conservatives to reach out and make amends,” Mulcair said.
May 23 marked the 98th anniversary of the date the ship arrived from Hong Kong in Vancouver. Due to the discriminatory “continuous journey” regulation, passengers were prevented from disembarking while the ship remained in Burrard Inlet for two months. Passengers were denied basic necessities, including food and water. The ship carried 376 passengers from India. This was one of several incidents in the early 20th century involving Canada’s exclusion laws, designed to keep out immigrants of Asian origin and descent.
The NDP motion read:
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should officially apologize in the House of Commons to the South Asian community and to the individuals impacted in the 1914 Komagata Maru incident, in which passengers were prevented from landing in Canada.
