Close X
Sunday, November 17, 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

    Safety Board Investigators Sifting Through Plane Wreckage, Interviews Passengers

    Safety Board Investigators Sifting Through Plane Wreckage, Interviews Passengers
    HALIFAX — The Transportation Safety Board says investigators will spend the today documenting the site and sorting through the debris after an Air Canada flight crashed Sunday at Halifax's airport.

    Safety Board Investigators Sifting Through Plane Wreckage, Interviews Passengers

    Vote Expected Late Monday On Military Mission Against ISIL In Iraq, Syria

    Vote Expected Late Monday On Military Mission Against ISIL In Iraq, Syria
    OTTAWA — The House of Commons is expected to vote tonight on the Conservative government's proposal to extend its military campaign in Iraq for up to one year and authorize airstrikes in Syria.

    Vote Expected Late Monday On Military Mission Against ISIL In Iraq, Syria

    First Nation Occupies Fisheries Office In B.C. As Herring Fight Escalates

    First Nation Occupies Fisheries Office In B.C. As Herring Fight Escalates
    BELLA BELLA, B.C. — Members of a First Nation in B.C. are occupying a federal fisheries office in their latest action against a contentious herring fishery on the province's central coast.

    First Nation Occupies Fisheries Office In B.C. As Herring Fight Escalates

    Woman On Mobility Scooter Struck And Killed By Van In Surrey

    Woman On Mobility Scooter Struck And Killed By Van In Surrey
    SURREY, B.C. — Mounties say a woman riding a mobility scooter has been killed in a crash in Surrey, B.C. Emergency crews responded to the collision between a four-wheeled scooter and van at about 8 p.m. Sunday.

    Woman On Mobility Scooter Struck And Killed By Van In Surrey

    Canadians From Coast To Coast Mark Annual Earth Hour By Turning Out Lights

    Canadians From Coast To Coast Mark Annual Earth Hour By Turning Out Lights
    VANCOUVER — Canadians joined millions around the world Saturday night in turning off their lights to mark Earth Hour, celebrating the ninth year of the annual event.

    Canadians From Coast To Coast Mark Annual Earth Hour By Turning Out Lights

    It Was Safe To Land Plane That Crashed In Halifax During Snowstorm: Air Canada

    It Was Safe To Land Plane That Crashed In Halifax During Snowstorm: Air Canada
    The two pilots flying AC624 circled above Halifax Stanfield International Airport before concluding the conditions were suitable for landing, said chief operating officer Klaus Goersch.

    It Was Safe To Land Plane That Crashed In Halifax During Snowstorm: Air Canada