Close X
Saturday, November 16, 2024
ADVT 
National

Canada Must Guard Against Terrorism: PM Harper

IANS, 24 Jun, 2015 12:56 PM
    Canada is not immune to the threat of terrorism and so "continued vigilance is essential", Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said.
     
    Harper made the remarks on Tuesday while laying a wreath in the Hall of Honour to mark the "National day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism" observed to honour those killed in the 1985 Air India bombing.
     
    An Air India flight flying from Toronto to London crashed off the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985, killing all 329 people on board. Most of the dead were Canadians of Indian origin. 
     
    Sikh extremists were blamed for the bombing.
     
    Harper said he cannot "help but cast his mind back to the Canadians who perished in Air India Flight 182 and in the World Trade Centre attacks... and to the many terrorist activities foiled by the vigilance of Canadian security agencies.
     
    "The recollections serve as a reminder that Canada is not immune to the threat of terrorism and that continued vigilance is essential."
     
    Addressing a gathering in parliament building here, he said it was a terror attack that killed the 329 passengers and crew members aboard Air India. 
     
    "On this sombre anniversary, we stand in solidarity with the friends and families who lost loved ones in that heinous attack and honour those lost.
     
    "We were deeply moved by this solemn tribute as well as by our meeting the kin of the victims," he added.
     
    Among the kin of the victims present was Susheel Gupta, whose mother Ramvati died in the bombing. Gupta said he regretted that his children would not be able to meet their grandmother.
     
    Meanwhile, a memorial service in Ireland was attended by India's Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan and Canadian Minister of Justice Peter MacKay.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    B.C. Seniors' Advocate Says Psychotic Drugs Being Prescribed Without Diagnosis

    B.C. Seniors' Advocate Says Psychotic Drugs Being Prescribed Without Diagnosis
    VICTORIA — The advocate for seniors in British Columbia says too many people in government care are prescribed antipsychotic drugs without being properly diagnosed.

    B.C. Seniors' Advocate Says Psychotic Drugs Being Prescribed Without Diagnosis

    57-Year-Old Man Found In Vancouver Parking Lot With Head Injury Dies In Hospital

    57-Year-Old Man Found In Vancouver Parking Lot With Head Injury Dies In Hospital
    VANCOUVER — A man found unconscious in an east Vancouver parking lot with a serious head injury has died. Police say the 57-year-old man was found lying on the ground (on the 1200 block of Kingsway Avenue) 

    57-Year-Old Man Found In Vancouver Parking Lot With Head Injury Dies In Hospital

    BC Woman Set On Fire In Supposed Pagan Ritual Was Social Worker On Schoenborn File

    BC Woman Set On Fire In Supposed Pagan Ritual Was Social Worker On Schoenborn File
    KAMLOOPS, B.C. — A B.C. woman who suffered a fiery death in a supposed pagan ritual "gone horrifically wrong" was a former social worker who handled the case of three murdered children.

    BC Woman Set On Fire In Supposed Pagan Ritual Was Social Worker On Schoenborn File

    Prime Minister Announces Student Loans Available For Courses Lasting Minimum Of 34 Weeks

    Prime Minister Announces Student Loans Available For Courses Lasting Minimum Of 34 Weeks
    VANCOUVER — Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced a change to the student loan program, allowing people to apply for financial assistance for courses lasting a minimum of 34 weeks.

    Prime Minister Announces Student Loans Available For Courses Lasting Minimum Of 34 Weeks

    Indian Student Rajwinder Singh Wrongly Accused Of Sexual Abuse In New Zealand Seeks Justice

    Indian Student Rajwinder Singh Wrongly Accused Of Sexual Abuse In New Zealand Seeks Justice
    A photo of Rajwinder Singh riding a bus in the city of Christchurch in New Zealand went viral after it was uploaded on the popular social media site Facebook in January with an accompanying message accusing him of molestation

    Indian Student Rajwinder Singh Wrongly Accused Of Sexual Abuse In New Zealand Seeks Justice

    Unsuccessful B.C. NDP Candidate Matt Toner Seeks Green Nomination In Vancouver Riding

    Unsuccessful B.C. NDP Candidate Matt Toner Seeks Green Nomination In Vancouver Riding
    Matt Toner ran for the NDP in the 2013 provincial election in the riding of Vancouver-False Creek but lost to Liberal Sam Sullivan.

    Unsuccessful B.C. NDP Candidate Matt Toner Seeks Green Nomination In Vancouver Riding