Canadaian PM apologises |
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fulfilled his election pledge by apologis ing in Parliament on May 19 , for a government decision in 1914 to turn away a ship carrying hundreds of South Asian immigrants.The Komagata Maru from Hong Kong which had arrived off Vancouver with 376 Sikh passengers from India, denied entry due to immigration laws at the time.The passengers were hoping to challenge Canadian immigration law, which refused entry to any Indians who had not arrived in Canada via a continuous journey from the Indian mainland . Officials refused to allow the Indians in, even though they were British subjects just like every other Canadian of the time.Trudeau said, Canada’s government was, without question, responsible for the laws that prevented these passengers from immigrating peacefully and securely.For that, and for every regrettable consequence that followed , they are sorry.Opposition leaders also apologized. New Democrat leader Thomas Mulcair called it “racism, plain and simple.
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