Close X
Monday, November 4, 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

    Accused In Chemicals Case Had Enough Materials To Make Homemade Explosives: RCMP

    Accused In Chemicals Case Had Enough Materials To Make Homemade Explosives: RCMP
    HALIFAX — An RCMP forensic scientist says the Halifax man at the centre of a high-profile chemical scare that led to evacuations in two cities had enough chemicals to make 11 different types of explosives.

    Accused In Chemicals Case Had Enough Materials To Make Homemade Explosives: RCMP

    B.C. Grand Chief Says Federal Government Officials Destroyed Legal Emails

    B.C. Grand Chief Says Federal Government Officials Destroyed Legal Emails
    VICTORIA — A federal government bureaucrat ordered the destruction of legal opinions over the potential of First Nations in British Columbia to reach land-claim agreements, the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs claims.

    B.C. Grand Chief Says Federal Government Officials Destroyed Legal Emails

    Pentagon Says Possible Live Anthrax Sent To Labs In Canada

    Pentagon Says Possible Live Anthrax Sent To Labs In Canada
    The U.S. Department of Defence says it has determined that possibly live anthrax was mistakenly sent to labs in Canada and Washington state, in addition to the numerous labs in the United States and abroad that were announced last week.

    Pentagon Says Possible Live Anthrax Sent To Labs In Canada

    Buzz In: Fairmont Chain Welcomes Pollinators To Bee Hotels Across Canada

    Buzz In: Fairmont Chain Welcomes Pollinators To Bee Hotels Across Canada
    TORONTO — One of Canada's largest hotel companies is buzzing with efforts to provide more homes for bees.

    Buzz In: Fairmont Chain Welcomes Pollinators To Bee Hotels Across Canada

    Candidates Suggest Federal Liberals Favouring Big-name Hopeful In Montreal Riding

    Candidates Suggest Federal Liberals Favouring Big-name Hopeful In Montreal Riding
    People vying for the federal Liberal nomination in one of the few remaining open ridings in Montreal are not-so-subtly suggesting the party is delaying the vote to favour a perceived star candidate who is a friend of Leader Justin Trudeau.

    Candidates Suggest Federal Liberals Favouring Big-name Hopeful In Montreal Riding

    Ex-Quebec Premier Jacques Parizeau, Who Nearly Split Quebec From Canada, Dead At 84

    Ex-Quebec Premier Jacques Parizeau, Who Nearly Split Quebec From Canada, Dead At 84
    MONTREAL — Jacques Parizeau, the blunt-talking sovereigntist premier whose strategic cunning came close to ripping Quebec out of Canada, has died. He was 84.

    Ex-Quebec Premier Jacques Parizeau, Who Nearly Split Quebec From Canada, Dead At 84