National

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issues statement on the 108th anniversary of Komagata Maru

Darpan News Desk Twitter, 23 May, 2022 01:04 PM

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and BC Premier John Horgan both issued statments on the 108th anniversary of the Komagata Maru calling the incident racist and shameful.

We must never forget the pain and suffering caused by the shameful Komagata Maru incident. On the 108th anniversary, let us honour the victims by continuing to fight racism and discrimination in all its forms – and make sure the mistakes of our past never happen again.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 23, 2022

My full statement on the anniversary of the Komagata Maru incident: https://t.co/wXUOkqIGd3
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 23, 2022

In 1914, the Canadian government turned away most of the passengers of the Japanese steamship Komagata Maru, who were Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims and who'd hoped to start a new life in Canada.

The 376 passengers arrived off the coast of B.C. hoping to challenge the immigration laws at the time which refused entry to any Indians who had not arrived in Canada via a continuous journey from the home country — nearly impossible at the time.

Except for 20 passengers who had previously lived in Canada, officials refused to allow the Indians in, even though they were British subjects just like every other Canadian of the time.

The vessel sailed to India, where 19 of the passengers were killed in a skirmish with British authorities and dozens of others were imprisoned or forced into hiding.

BC Premier John Horgan also tweeted about the horrific act.

108 yrs ago, 376 Sikh, Muslim and Hindu passengers arrived on the Komagata Maru seeking a better life.

They were barred entry from BC.

It reminds us of the harms of systemic racism and the resiliency of people standing against injustice, working to build a more equitable BC.
— John Horgan (@jjhorgan) May 23, 2022

Parliamentary Secretary for anti-racist initiatives also shared her voice via a Twitter post.

🙏 https://t.co/qsY0r7bEsi
— Rachna Singh (@RachnaSinghNDP) May 23, 2022

Vancouver Police also shared a post honouring those who were denied entry.

Join us in honouring those who travelled on the Komagata Maru. https://t.co/oAKWuy4MEX
— Vancouver Police (@VancouverPD) May 23, 2022

The City of Vancouver also issued an apology in the past for this historic wrongdoing and shared a Twitter post to spread awareness regarding the incident.

What was the 1914 Komagata Maru incident?

Listen to passengers’ descendants and families tell the story of what happened this #KomagataMaruRemembranceDay.

Watch the full video: https://t.co/sq3WFfa2lW pic.twitter.com/TQREkaxW6u
— City of Vancouver (@CityofVancouver) May 23, 2022

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Budget 2022: Housing supply gets $10B boost

Freeland has committed to doubling the number of homes built each year over the next decade to about 400,000 to help meet the 3.5 million homes the government estimates are needed by 2031, but the plans rely heavily on co-operation with other levels of government and the private sector.

Budget 2022: Housing supply gets $10B boost

Budget 2022: Dental care costs $5.3B over 5 years

The scheme laid out in the budget is a major tenet of the Liberal’s confidence and supply agreement with the NDP to keep the government in power until 2025. The budget closely mirrors the opposition party’s costed platform proposal from the 2021 election, though details about how it will work are still sparse. 

Budget 2022: Dental care costs $5.3B over 5 years

Mass timber funding for B.C. university projects

Ravi Kahlon, minister of jobs, economic recovery and innovation, says the university is among those to get $1.2 million in funding that will be used to help build a 783-bed housing and dining facility set to open in September.

Mass timber funding for B.C. university projects

B.C. moves to weekly COVID-19 reporting

A Health Ministry bulletin says the weekly reports will focus on identifying meaningful changes in key COVID-19 measurements and trends over time. It also says that reporting on deaths is changing to count all deaths that occurred within 30 days of the person's positive lab result, regardless of whether the underlying cause of death was found to be linked to COVID-19.

B.C. moves to weekly COVID-19 reporting

Darpan 10 with Kevin Falcon, Leader of the BC Liberals

Kevin Falcon, the leader of the BC Liberals is back into the political arena after a decade long hiatus. Find out more on his perspective regarding affordability, housing, vision for his party and much more.

Darpan 10 with Kevin Falcon, Leader of the BC Liberals

Woman assaulted and held against her will in a moving vehicle

The passenger in the vehicle, who was the victim of this alleged assault, was actively trying to exit the vehicle, and get the attention of other motorists by using hand signals and calling out for help. The victim is described as having short dark hair and wearing a red sweatshirt, black jacket, and blue jeans at the time of the assault.