Bill on Sikh Genocide Awareness Week passes second reading in Ontario Assembly

A private member’s bill in Ontario Assembly to proclaim first seven days of November in each year as Sikh Genocide Awareness Week passed second reading on Thursday in the assembly and it has been referred to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy. It will come up for third reading before the Assembly.

Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Gurratan Singh, who is brother of NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, presented the bill and in second reading it got support from MPPs of ruling Progressive Conservation Party even as some Indian groups, especially Canada India Foundation have been opposing the bill as their main opposition is to call the massacre of Sikhs in November 1984 as “Genocide”.

United Front of Sikhs Canada and SAD (Amritsar) leader Sukhminder Singh Hansra said that four MPPS from ruling PC Party also spoke in favour of the bill/ “Several Sikhs from different organizations and gurdwaras attended the house and applauded the outcome,” he said. It is learnt that after coming to know about attempts by a couple of Indian groups to lobby against the Bill, Sikhs of Ontario had also intensified their lobbying with MPPs across parties.

A few Canada based Sikh netizens pointed out that when even top BJP leaders including then union home minister Rajnath Singh had called it a Genocide.

Expand

In April 2017 Ontario Assembly had passed a resolution that described the massacre of Sikhs in November 1984 as “genocide”. Following this Indian Ministry of External Affairs had called it a misguided motion based on limited understanding of India. That motion was moved in the Ontario assembly by MPP Harinder Malhi.

After the Bill passed second reading, Gurratan Singh tweeted “We need to continue pushing the government to make sure this bill passes third reading & become law in Ontario.”

Apart from the background of the massacre, the preamble of the Bill also reads, “Acknowledging this genocide is a significant first step in community healing. By recognizing these international crimes, we demonstrate our collective commitment to pursuing a world characterized by our shared and universal values of truth, justice and respect for human rights in order to prevent such genocides, crimes against humanity and other atrocity crimes from recurring.”