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House Hansard - 61

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 29, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 61 - Apr/29/22
Mr. Parm Bains (Steveston—Richmond East, Lib.)
  • Apr/29/22 11:05:15 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, as Sikh Heritage Month celebrations come to a close on this 125th year since Sikhs first set foot on Canada’s west coast, a tragic part of the Sikh story in Canada is the Komagata Maru, but today I wish to tell members about another ship that sailed in 1914, the SS Akbar. Aboard the SS Akbar were Punjabi soldiers rallied to war to reinforce the allied forces on the western front. These troops and fellow British subjects received a hero’s welcome and were no different than the passengers of the Komagata Maru. On April 26, 1915, when the call came to reinforce the Canadians in their baptism by fire in Flanders, Punjabi brothers-in-arms did not turn their backs, despite the discrimination their community had faced in Vancouver. As we confront the realities of systemic racism, I believe all Canadians should come to know of this shared heritage of selfless sacrifice for this nation, which unfortunately has been erased from our history books on account of a people’s colour.
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