Saturday, June 13, 2026
ADVT 
National

Canada Must Guard Against Terrorism: PM Harper

IANS, 24 Jun, 2015 12:56 PM
    Canada is not immune to the threat of terrorism and so "continued vigilance is essential", Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said.
     
    Harper made the remarks on Tuesday while laying a wreath in the Hall of Honour to mark the "National day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism" observed to honour those killed in the 1985 Air India bombing.
     
    An Air India flight flying from Toronto to London crashed off the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985, killing all 329 people on board. Most of the dead were Canadians of Indian origin. 
     
    Sikh extremists were blamed for the bombing.
     
    Harper said he cannot "help but cast his mind back to the Canadians who perished in Air India Flight 182 and in the World Trade Centre attacks... and to the many terrorist activities foiled by the vigilance of Canadian security agencies.
     
    "The recollections serve as a reminder that Canada is not immune to the threat of terrorism and that continued vigilance is essential."
     
    Addressing a gathering in parliament building here, he said it was a terror attack that killed the 329 passengers and crew members aboard Air India. 
     
    "On this sombre anniversary, we stand in solidarity with the friends and families who lost loved ones in that heinous attack and honour those lost.
     
    "We were deeply moved by this solemn tribute as well as by our meeting the kin of the victims," he added.
     
    Among the kin of the victims present was Susheel Gupta, whose mother Ramvati died in the bombing. Gupta said he regretted that his children would not be able to meet their grandmother.
     
    Meanwhile, a memorial service in Ireland was attended by India's Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan and Canadian Minister of Justice Peter MacKay.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Police Credit B.C. Conservation Officer For Saving Life Of Man Whose Pal Died

    Police Credit B.C. Conservation Officer For Saving Life Of Man Whose Pal Died
    POWELL RIVER, B.C. — Police say a conservation officer with extensive knowledge of the backcountry saved a man whose friend drowned in frigid lake waters near Powell River, B.C.

    Police Credit B.C. Conservation Officer For Saving Life Of Man Whose Pal Died

    City Bylaw Can Discriminate In Setting Property Tax Rates: B.C. Judge

    City Bylaw Can Discriminate In Setting Property Tax Rates: B.C. Judge
    VANCOUVER — A B.C. Supreme Court judge says a Vancouver Island city can discriminate when it sets two separate tax rates for forestry lands within its municipal boundaries.

    City Bylaw Can Discriminate In Setting Property Tax Rates: B.C. Judge

    Dean Del Mastro's lawyer seeks mistrial in election overspending case

    Dean Del Mastro's lawyer seeks mistrial in election overspending case
    PETERBOROUGH, Ont. — Former Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro is seeking to have a mistrial declared in his election overspending case.

    Dean Del Mastro's lawyer seeks mistrial in election overspending case

    Montreal cabbie pleads not guilty to aggravated assault and other charges

    Montreal cabbie pleads not guilty to aggravated assault and other charges
    MONTREAL — A Montreal cab driver accused of running over a man in an incident widely shared on YouTube has pleaded not guilty to several charges.

    Montreal cabbie pleads not guilty to aggravated assault and other charges

    Winter storm shuts down businesses, cancels flights as Maritimers hunker down

    Winter storm shuts down businesses, cancels flights as Maritimers hunker down
    HALIFAX — A blizzard warning cancelled flights and closed schools, government offices and universities throughout the Maritimes on Tuesday as people hunkered down during a powerful winter storm that unleashed stiff winds and dumped heavy snow on the region.

    Winter storm shuts down businesses, cancels flights as Maritimers hunker down

    Bogs into bush: Research suggests climate change threatens Alberta wetlands

    Bogs into bush: Research suggests climate change threatens Alberta wetlands
    EDMONTON — New research suggests that climate change is threatening to turn Alberta's huge northern wetlands into vast expanses of bush and shrub.

    Bogs into bush: Research suggests climate change threatens Alberta wetlands