Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the residents of Surrey to present this petition signed by around 6,000 people. The petitioners draw attention to the sad story of Komagata Maru , a vessel carrying 376 passengers of Indian origin, mostly British subjects, that arrived in Vancouver Harbour on May 23, 1914. When the freighter anchored, Canadian immigration officials refused to allow the passengers to disembark. After two months of detainment the Canadian navy forced the ship out of Canadian waters under threat of violence and 19 of 352 passengers were massacred by the British government of India and others were arrested and imprisoned.
The petitioners contend that this incident was a result of a racist, discriminatory and exclusionist Canadian immigration policy. They ask that Parliament issue an apology to correct the wrong that remains a black scar on Canadian history, and hurts the community. Justice delayed or forgotten is justice denied.