'We need justice': Wife of Sikh man slain in Canada New Year day shooting
Darpan News Desk IANS, 17 Jan, 2023 10:46 AM
Toronto, Jan 17 (IANS) The wife of a 51-year-old Sikh man, who was shot dead when intruders broke into his Mill Woods house in Canada on New Year, has said that she needs swift justice for her husband.
Barinder Singh, who hails from Punjab and had moved to Edmonton in 2019 along with family, was asleep when intruders broke into his house at Mill Woods Road and started firing, the Global News reported.
Police responded to a disturbance around 2.45 a.m., and arrived at the complex in the Pollard Meadows neighbourhood to find an injured 51-year-old man lying in a pool of blood.
"It's all like a nightmare for us," a shattered Jasjeet Kaur, wife of Singh, told Global News.
Singh was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The autopsy revealed that he died from gunshot wounds and the medical examiner said that the manner of death was a homicide.
"We need justice. I just want to know who did this. I need to know. Whya Why my family was the target? And it was not just him -- it was the whole family," Jasjeet Kaur told the Canadian news channel. "I want the culprits. I want to know the reason why it happened."
A GoFundMe page set up for Singh described him as an "honest, family man who worked hard to provide for his family".
"(He was) a devoted son, a good brother and a caring father -- he kept us going through good times and tough times. Through his work, he supported my grandparents in Punjab, while providing for us in Delhi, India," the page quoted his two daughters as saying.
Police said it is still working to establish a motive for this violent crime. So far, the homicide unit has found a burnt-out white Dodge Ram truck in the nearby Laurel neighbourhood, which they think is connected to the crime.
They are looking for home security and dashcam footage in the area where the burned-out truck was located.
MPs today are debating the government's legislation to create an annual $650 dental benefit for low- and middle-income families for every child under the age of 12. The bill also gives low-income renters a one-time payment of $500.
The seven-week fall sitting started Monday with the swearing-in of Liberal Elenore Sturko, who was elected last month in the Surrey South byelection. Legislature clerk Kate Ryan-Lloyd told those gathered for the swearing-in ceremony that Sturko is the first elected official in Canada to pledge allegiance to King Charles since the recent death of the queen.
Jagjit Singh's smile fades when he's asked about the cost of living in Canada since moving from India last year. Singh and his classmates say the growing financial stresses on international students cast a shadow over the new school year's possibilities and opportunities.
People entering the country are no longer subject to random mandatory tests for the virus, and those who are unvaccinated will not need to isolate upon arrival. Anyone who entered Canada in the last two weeks and was subject to quarantine or testing is off the hook as of today.
Hot and dry conditions persist, something the superintendent of the BC Wildfire Service's predictive services said is "quite problematic," and creates conditions for potential ignitions across B.C. Temperatures are about five to eight degrees above normal for this time of year, and there's been little to no rain in several parts of B.C. in weeks.
Similar to last year, B.C. has advised public sector employers, including those in public schools, that the day should be observed as a statutory holiday by those who are normally entitled to federal and provincial stats.
