Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Honourable senators, I first want to thank Senator Boisvenu for his relentless advocacy on behalf of victims of sexual crimes. I wish I could rise after that with somewhat more elevating words, but I can’t because tomorrow is June 23. It is a day that is seared in our national memory by a profoundly solemn and horrifying day from our past.

Thirty-eight years ago, on June 23, Air India Flight 182 was brutally torn apart by a bomb explosion over the coast of Northern Ireland. All 329 passengers on board, including 82 children, 6 babies and 29 entire families, lost their lives in this heinous act. This devastating event remains the most atrocious act of terrorism in the history of Canada.

The families of the victims remember this tragic day every year. Most Indo-Canadians — and I look around to my Desi colleagues, who are nodding their heads — remember exactly what we were doing at that moment when we received the news. We recall the phone calls that we made to sons and daughters, mothers and sisters, fathers and brothers, and wives and husbands, as we wrapped our arms around them.

Just last night, I was with a friend whose uncle was the pilot on that ill-fated flight.

Subsequently, inquiries and criminal investigations were launched. Miscommunication and competition between Canada’s security agencies were disclosed, but justice was not done. The Indian-Canadian community of victims organized and agreed to memorialize June 23 as the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism. I commend them for being inclusive of other victims of terrorism.

But this inclusion has come at a cost to them. Angus Reid Institute released a poll today that said that 9 out of 10 Canadians know little or nothing about the largest successful terrorist attack against Canadians — and those who were lost are likely to be forgotten.

In 2018, I wrote to Canada Post, requesting them to memorialize the Air India victims, in particular, through a stamp. I received a note back from the Director of Stamp Services saying they would bring it to the attention of the Stamp Advisory Committee. It has been radio silence since then.

I have undertaken to rise as many times as I can to mark this day. In this chamber, at least, colleagues, let’s remember, let’s honour and let’s keep their memory alive.

[Translation]

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Honourable senators, I rise to remember a sombre day in our history, June 23. On this day in 1985, a bomb downed Air India Flight 182 over the coast of Ireland. All 329 passengers on board were murdered, including 82 children, 6 babies and 29 entire families. This was and remains the single largest terrorist attack on Canadians. In a sense, it was our own 9/11.

In the 37 years since, much has changed in Canada. We have progressed as a nation that is more inclusive. We have learned some lessons from the past, and we have taken action. Our policies, protocols and legislation have evolved, but most importantly, I believe, it is our hearts and minds that have changed. We now mark June 23 every year as the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism. But lest we forget, I take this opportunity to once again bring Air India into our national memory.

I am heartened by the progress we’ve made, embracing immigrants as our people and not just as people with half-ties to Canada. When Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 from Tehran crashed in 2020, it took the lives of 138 individuals destined for Canada. This time around, we did not repeat the mistakes of the past. We didn’t brush off the victims as lesser Canadians and, therefore, less valuable to us. We demonstrated, this time around, that “hyphenated Canadians” are not lesser Canadians.

None of this, of course, provides much comfort to the families who were robbed of a future, whose lives were changed forever, who will not live to see their children grow up, whose parents will not show up for their graduations, birthdays, weddings or the birth of a child or grandchild. They won’t celebrate Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or Family Day. For them, I wish and hope that the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism counts.

Let’s continue to fight as a nation against terrorism, hate and intolerance. Thank you.