Mr. Speaker, in May, 1914, the Komagata Maru, a former coal ship, anchored outside Vancouver with British subjects of Indian heritage on board, including 12 Hindus, 24 Muslims and 340 Sikhs, all of whom had come to start a new life in Canada. Due to the exclusion laws of the time, these men, women and children were forced to wait 60 days in horrendous conditions before returning to India.
One hundred years later, this incident is a stark reminder of the heavy costs of intolerance.
In 2008, the Liberal Party called on the government to apologize for this dark incident in our history, a motion that the House passed unanimously. Six years have since passed without the Prime Minister making a formal apology in the House. His token apology in 2008 was unacceptable to those who were victimized by this tragedy.
We again call on the Prime Minister to apologize in the House for this dark point in Canadian history.