Madam Speaker, it saddens me that the member, who is also a member of the South Asian community, speaks along the same lines of the current Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. He said, ”This was a single incident that affected about 350 non-Canadians of some 90 years ago”. He said that we should forget about it and move on.
That is very hurtful. I would like to quote the editor of the Asian Journal who said:
No matter how much money any government spends on monuments and other projects, it is all MEANINGLESS if the government fails to apologize in Parliament for the Komagata Maru incident.
This is what the South Asian community wants, not this new creation of a two-tier apology system for official wrongdoings by a government. Because this was an official wrongdoing by the Canadian government, it t needs an official apology, and that can only be done if it is officially done by the House, which is recognized as a place for official apologies in this country.