This Link says that

" ... In May, 1993, the Government of Canada issued an apology to the Sikhs for the Korwgata Maru incident ... "

http://www.educ.sfu.ca/cels/past_lesson9.html

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Mumbai Maazi Ladki ...

"The Canadian government has yet to apologize for this great travesty(Komagata Maru) and with the crowning of a new liberal leader-Paul Martin- this week end-it's about time the government finally did the right thing with an official apology to the Indo-Canadian community"

R. Paul Dhillon, The Link, Vol.31 No.46 (November 15)

I think I'm going to trust the word of Mr. Dhillon and the Surrey community over this page. It's a great resource but I think it may be using "apology" when it should be using "regret"

I could very well be wrong. I will apologize if I am. I can't know everything, but I do know that if they have administered an official apology they have kept many in the dark. What's the big secret?

Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Jess

Nadia,

Thank you for your energy and your compliment! I agree with you. All Indo-Canadian politicians owe these passengers a great debt. But they do not have the freedom to act as say a lawyer or doctor or engineer. A lawyer or doctor or engineer can act by withholding donations, by writing letters, or even by sending the Prime Minister a musical telegram. But politicians really don’t have this freedom. Politicians play a very difficult and most unforgiving game of walking on eggshells. Politicians can only make a move with the people behind them. They act for us, and will not act unless they know we support them 100%. So respecting the rules of the game we must give our politicians our full support and refrain from pointing an accusing finger. Their inaction is actually our own. As soon as everyone is writing letters and e-mails to those politicians who represent us in parliament, they will act. You will see. They will act because you did, and their votes and donations depend on YOU!

Each of us has enormous say in our country. Those who came before us fought to make sure we had a voice. One question: Why aren’t we using it? Imagine I give you a sweater for your birthday. You smile, you say thank you, and then you never wear it. You’ve just insulted me without having done anything. It is precisely your inaction that insulted me. I wanted you to show me you appreciated my gift by using it. Those who came before us returned a gift the “Father” of modern day liberalism took away from us. Let us not smile, say thank you, and insult their efforts by doing nothing with that gift. Use your gift.

I know life is ridiculously harried these days. It’s perhaps the greatest paradox of our time: we have all the devices in the world to “Save” time and yet we never have the time to do anything. Here is a suggestion of activism for those who will argue they do not have the time: Compose a letter to the Prime Minister, save it as DRAFT, then every morning, while sipping on your morning coffee (or tea) just go into your draft box, type in the Prime Ministers e-mail address, CC a few other MPs and vola! Action microwave style! 100 000 people doing this for the next century will get us the formal apology the community deserves. The real question is: Can we be as persistent and perseverant as those who opened the doors for us?

Thank you Maharaj for sending Hon. Grewal speech. Hon. Grewal is a strong and positive community member in a place where we need a lot more positive role models—Surrey. For those of you who don’t know, Surrey is suffering from gang violence. (But you should know as mainstream media seems to think the only thing to report about Surrey is violence.) Hon. Grewal, R.Paul Dhilon, Dr. Shinder Purewal (among many others) are leaders in that community and they are working hard to serve and direct our misguided and most misunderstood youth toward more positive life choices. I think we are all very lucky to have them, and I think we are very lucky to have Hon. Grewal represent us. Judging by his speech, I think we’re on the same page. All he needs is the encouragement of the people. So please encourage him:


In his speech I noticed two arguments that the liberal government (trying to protect the actions of their Father) will try to use against the Indo-Canadian community:

Quote:
"There is no way in which we can relive the history of that period. In that sense, we cannot redress what was done. We can express regret collectively, as we have done.

My answer:
No. You can apologize for your Father’s stand against East Indians. They were British subjects like other Canadians. You took away their inalienable rights. It is not collective regret it is Liberal regret. And “regret” just doesn’t fry the samosa! If my father steals your father’s car and then passes it down to me. You have the right to ask for that car back. Okay. And if I am a decent human being I will give you that car back and I will offer my most sincere apology so that you know that I will not repeat the mistakes of my father. Or: Ohh…I regret what my father did to you, excuse me while I go for my Sunday drive. That’s regret. Don’t ever insult me by offering your “collective” regret. I am not part of your collective. I am a strong and very proud Canadian. There is no loss of humility in apology. I do not want to be associated with you if you do not have the courage or vision to apologize. Your regret steals from my pride as a Canadian.


Quote:
“I do not see how I can apologize for some historic event to which we or these people in this House were not a party. We can regret that it happened. But why mount to great heights of rhetoric in order to say that an apology is much better than an expression of regret? This I cannot too well understand.”


Answer:
Your “Sunday drive” will not allow you to understand. Yes, indeed, I wouldn’t want to take your Sunday drive away from you. Let’s not mount to great heights of rhetoric on whether the Father of liberalism was directly responsible for the oppression of Asians. I understand a lot of families benefited at their expense. Perhaps…people in the House??? And stop using “I” your just the Prime Minister. We put you there. We put you there because we thought you cared. We want an admission of fault by the government not your regret. Okay, so do your job and make us proud to be Canadians. And Canadians are not afraid to apologize for past mistakes. Canadians are decent human beings who see no loss in humility in apology and who always take accountability for mistakes through apology. Don’t rob me of my definition of a Canadian.


Quote:
Why does Mulroney not apologize for what happened during the Second World War to mothers and fathers of people sitting in this House who went to concentration camps? I know some of them, Mr. Speaker. They were not Japanese Canadians. They were Canadians of Italian or German origin, or some old French Canadians who went to jail, who went to concentration camps during the Second World War. Why do we not apologize to them?
I do not think it is the purpose of a government to right the past. It cannot re-write history. It is our purpose to be just in our time, and that is what we have done by bringing in the Charter of Rights."
Oh, how wrong you are. It is not the purpose but the duty of responsible government to right the past. And it is the duty of all citizens to force them to right the past, or, because no precedent was set, they will feel free to repeat those mistakes without fear of redress or compensation. The Charter of Rights is a great piece of democratic legislation but it means nothing with the War Measures Act in place. See, the War Measures Act is our government’s nifty piece of legislation that takes away all our rights when we probably need them the most. Abolish the War Measures Act and then you’ll have a better chance at arguing it is “not the purpose of a government to right the past.” What’s more, as an Indo-Canadian with many immigrant friends, the War Measures Act scares the hell out of me. I would not want what happened to the Japanese to happen to Sikhs or Hindus or Muslims. And already it seems as though were looked upon as terrorists! That is why, Canadians, the apology is a must. There must be the precedent to counter the War Measures Act. Or else if anything happens in the future they will abuse our rights with impunity and without fear of having to give an apology. Again, if not for us, for our kids. Though I wish it weren’t so, war is an inevitable part of life, and for Canadians, so is the War Measures Act. Let these guys sitting in the House know that if they were ever to take away our bank accounts, our homes, our property…down the line their kids will have to pay back our kids and “collective regret” should very well insult them. Maybe then they will think twice about stealing and oppressing with free license. (Am I making any sense? I realize I’m running off on a rant…feedback on your opinion of the War Measures Act would be nice.)


Finally:
"Seeking to heal the wounds caused by the actions of previous governments, six ethno cultural communities have requested redress and compensation totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. The government understands the strong feelings underlying these requests. We share the desire to heal those wounds.
The issue is whether the best way to do this is to attempt to address the past or to invest in the future. We believe our only choice lies in using limited government resources to create a more equitable society now and a better future for generations to come.
Therefore the government will not grant financial compensation for the requests made. We believe our obligation lies in acting to prevent these wrongs from recurring."

Answer:

Invest in the future by apologizing for the past. Our children’s self-concept, self-image, self-esteem is riding on it. I hear a Canadian with high self esteem brings Canada awards and accolades, but that one with low self-esteem becomes an expense, a statistic. I hear that a Canadian with high self-esteem has the chance to one day sit in the House, but that a Canadian with low self-esteem has the chance to die a gangster’s death. Our self-concept begins with history.
“People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.” James A. Baldwin
Invest in the future by apologizing for the past. Give our community a boost in self-esteem. We’re worth it. And I’m so happy to read that this government cares so much about the future. That makes me proud as a Canadian. So I will offer a suggestion. I believe, and so does Witney Houston, that the children are our future. Invest in them as compensation. Since the Surrey community is suffering from what may just be a case of low self-concept, self-image (perpetuated by mainstream media), I would like to suggest: A beautiful community center for all visible minorities called the Nanak Jahaz Centre (the name the passengers gave the Komagata Maru) One paid for by the government. One with a memorial with all the passengers names on it. One with a formal apology etched in its walls. It is just a suggestion. I’m sure our politicians will have others. It’s just to show this government that they WILL invest in the future by apologizing for the past.

Regards,
Jess

Please keep informed on whether in 1993 it was a formal apology an expression of regret.

I'm enjoying reading this thread. However, a footnote: my office is in Surrey and it is just like any other city in terms of violence but it's NOT like any other city when it comes to multiculturalism. The City is proud to call itself the 'fastest growing city in Canada'. Like Jesse said, the media only reports the so-called 'gangland violence'.

Don't let me distract you guys. Please carry on.

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Massood Joomratty, LLB(Hons), LLM

http://www.passportcanada.com" target="_blank">Your Canadian Immigration Lawyer

http://www.joomratty.com" rel="nofollow">LINK
+1-604-590-0607

Great thread and good work Jesse. Very thought provoking.

One of the reasons i am drawn to this site is that it discusses all aspects of life and not just immigration.

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I once made a mistake, but I was wrong about it.

You are absolutely right Mr. Joomratty.

I actually loved Surrey and even told my cousin that when I was ready to open a Tae Kwon Do school it would be in Surrey. I got good vibes from Surrey, and I made a lot of really great friends. What’s more, Surrey is in BC! Now I love my province very much, but BC just takes your breath away. The trees, the gardens, the air, the scenery, the cafes, the library, the free sky train (I’m kidding, I paid for my ticket)...BC is truly therapeutic to the soul. It’s no wonder that when Koreans talk about Canada all they talk about is BC. (My understanding is that Koreans are tree and mountain loving people)

Surrey is like any other city in Canada in terms of violence, and like every other city in Canada we could use a lot more community centers to help us reach out to and inspire those standing on the threshold of greatness and self-destruction. In Montreal, we hear a lot about drug abuse and gang violence in the West and we never hear about the good things members in our community do. I would like to list them right here and now, and yet I am at loss for what to say. Not because they don’t happen. There is a cornucopia of really good and positive things to report. Yet for some reason or another they always find the negative. They are bloodhounds for what will please their elitist advertisers. They report that that there is a drug problem in ethnic communities and yet they do not report that the greatest abusers of drugs are white Canadians. But that is what happens when our media is treated as a business and not as a service to the people. That’s what happens when editors think like CEOS and value profit over people and communities. Since the media treats our news as a business, perhaps we should start treating the news as fiction. It’s something to think about. Here is something else to think about:

“The writer of this remembers a remark made to him by Mr. Jefferson concerning the English Newspapers which at the time, 1787, while Mr. Jefferson was Minister at Paris, were most vulgarly abusive…The remark was that “the licentiousness of the press produces the same effect as the restraint of the press was intended to do. The restraint, said he, was to prevent things being told, and the licentiousness of the press prevents things being believed when they are told.” Thomas Paine 1806

Jess

***Mr. Rashmi Patel this is a great site and great resource for all Canadians and soon-to-be Canadians. Thank you for your efforts.