Posted by admin on Nov 16th, 2009
By Tiffany Crawford, Canwest News Service. November 16, 2009
OTTAWA — The Canadian government is showing no signs of an apology to the families of thousands of poor children who were shipped to Canada and Australia from Britain — children who were often abused and forced into labour. Between 1869 and 1948, more than 100,000 children — known in this country as the “home children” — were sent to Canada, while thousands more were sent to Australia and other former colonies of the British Empire, as part of the Child Migrants Program. On Monday, the Australian government issued a formal apology. The children, often taken without the knowledge of their parents under a government-sanctioned program, were promised a better life but many were abused or forced into labour against their wishes. Some children were told their parents were dead.
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Posted by admin on Oct 24th, 2009
Peter Showler, Citizen Special. October 24, 2009
There is something about boats and refugees that sets off strange and histrionic reactions in the minds of Canadians including journalists, politicians and the general public. It probably has something to do with our unconscious comfort in knowing there are thousands of kilometres of Atlantic and Pacific waters that separate us from the human rights abuses and ghastly wars suffered in distant parts of the world.
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Posted by admin on Nov 10th, 2008
100 years of Reflection, Resistance, Celebration: A Surrey Community Program Marking our History since Komagatamaru
Saturday, November 22, 2008. Doors open at 1:30 p.m, Program begins at 2:00 p.m. sharp. Conference Rooms G 1205A and G 1205B. Kwantlen Polytechnic University, 12666 72nd Ave., Surrey [ From Scott Road Skytrain station a short bus ride on #319. ] Snacks provided!
NOII is happy to support this event and we are arranging rides from Vancouver. If you have an extra vehicle or would like a ride from Vancouver at 1:00 pm from Safeway Parking Lot (Broadway and Commercial), please be in touch at maripayet@hotmail.com or call 778 862 8895.
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Posted by admin on Aug 5th, 2008
Canadian Press. August 4
SURREY, B.C. — An apology from Prime Minister Stephen Harper Sunday for the 1914 Komagata Maru incident in which hundreds of Indians seeking a better life in Canada were turned away has failed to win over Sikh community members. Harper was speaking to a crowd of about 8,000 people in Surrey, B.C., which has a large east Indian community. The prime minister said the event was one “which ended in terrible tragedy” for many on the vessel. He said the apology came after the government passed a motion in the House of Commons to apologize for the incident. “On behalf of the government of Canada, I am officially conveying as prime minister that apology,” Harper said. But as soon as he left the stage, members of the Sikh community rushed to the podium immediately denouncing the apology. They said they wanted it delivered on the floor of the House of Commons.
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Posted by admin on Jun 11th, 2008
Quebec Native Women recognizes the Prime Minister’s official apology concerning the genocidal experience of Aboriginal people in the history of the Residential School system. While the apology to Aboriginal peoples is long overdue it is contradicted by the oppressive policies of the Indian Act. The heinous crimes committed against Aboriginal children who were victims and survivors of the Residential School experience must be dealt with beyond mere apologies and monetary compensation.
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