MP Sukh Dhaliwal’s bill to designate April as Sikh heritage month moves to second reading
Surrey: MP Sukh Dhaliwal opened second reading of Bill C-376, his bill to designate the Month of April as Sikh Heritage Month to ensure that the contributions and history of Sikh Canadians are recognized annually across Canada. In opening debate, Sukh Dhaliwal said that “the rich history and contributions of Sikh’s in this country must be remembered so that every generation knows of the hard work, struggles, and ultimately the progress of this nation. Because this is not just the story of Sikhs, this is the story of Canada.”
With the passage of this bill, April will become Sikh Heritage Month across this country and resources will be provided by the Ministry of Canadian Heritage to mark this month. April was chosen for its importance to the Sikh faith this is when Vaisakhi and Khalsa Day are celebrated, which marks the birth of Khalsa and its teachings of equality, selfless service and social justice, that are values shared by all Canadians. By designating April as Sikh Heritage Month we will be able to bring more attention to where our country comes from, the contributions of all those who contributed to its development, and why the values of equality, fairness, and justice are so important to our identity.
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said when he visited the Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada – “the story of the Sikh community in Canada is, in fact, just the story of Canada.”
Sukh Dhaliwal added that “this is a story of early settlers and pioneers working in the fields, lumber mills, and railroads of Canada, the first Sikh Gurdwara opening in 1908, and racist laws being used to reject fellow British subjects on the Komagata Maru. But It is also a story of becoming Canadians in 1947, entrenching human rights in the laws of this land, and It’s a story of office holders, Ministers, Premier’s, federal opposition leader, and a senator. This is a story that must be shared and told and with this bill we will do that”.