Mr. Speaker, it is with an extremely heavy heart that I rise and pay tribute to the life of Mr. Vijay Bhatia, a taxi driver who was tragically murdered on the weekend in London, Ontario. Mr. Bhatia was the victim of a horrendous and senseless crime when he was pulled from his cab and beaten to death by one of his customers.
Vijay was described as a calm and generous individual, someone who embodied integrity and lived his life with dignity until the very end. He always made time for his wife Neelam, his four children Atul, Arun, Nikki, and Keshave, as well as his three grandchildren. Today, Vijay will be laid to rest, and this evening hundreds of members of the London taxi community and the general public will be coming together for a candlelight vigil and to pay tribute to Vijay's life and the incredible person he was.
My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends during this incredibly difficult time. I know the same sentiment is true for my fellow Londoners, for this House, and, indeed, for all Canadians.