Thursday, June 18, 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

    Ottawa posts $3.2B deficit for October, including impact of income splitting

    Ottawa posts $3.2B deficit for October, including impact of income splitting
    OTTAWA — The federal government said Monday it posted a deficit of $3.2 billion in October due in large part to its new income-splitting plan for families and the doubling of the children's fitness tax credit.

    Ottawa posts $3.2B deficit for October, including impact of income splitting

    Toronto Man Ordered To Pay $1.5 Million For Credit Card Fraud

    Toronto Man Ordered To Pay $1.5 Million For Credit Card Fraud
    FARGO, N.D.—Prosecutors described a Toronto man’s massive credit card fraud scheme as high-tech bank robbery — stealing the identities of 38,000 people in order to bilk dozens of banks.

    Toronto Man Ordered To Pay $1.5 Million For Credit Card Fraud

    Vancouver School Board Calls On Province To Restore Adult Student Funding

    Vancouver School Board Calls On Province To Restore Adult Student Funding
    VANCOUVER — The Vancouver School Board is calling on the B.C. government to reverse a decision that will abolish funding for some adult students.

    Vancouver School Board Calls On Province To Restore Adult Student Funding

    Bail Denied After Charges Re-activated In Alberta Missing Couple Case

    Bail Denied After Charges Re-activated In Alberta Missing Couple Case
    EDMONTON – Police say bail has been denied to Travis Vader after charges of first-degree murder he faced in the deaths of an Edmonton couple were re-activated.

    Bail Denied After Charges Re-activated In Alberta Missing Couple Case

    3-Year-Old Boy Struck In Face, Abandoned At Bus Stop In Surrey

    3-Year-Old Boy Struck In Face, Abandoned At Bus Stop In Surrey
    SURREY, B.C. — A three-year-old boy who police allege was slapped and abandoned by his father at a bus stop was "very distraught," says the woman who took care of him for hours in a nearby liquor store in Surrey, B.C.

    3-Year-Old Boy Struck In Face, Abandoned At Bus Stop In Surrey

    Russia vows to retaliate against Canadian sanctions

    Russia vows to retaliate against Canadian sanctions
    Russia vowed to take retaliatory measures against fresh US and Canadian sanctions, calling the moves an evidence that the West lacks interest in settling the Ukraine crisis....

    Russia vows to retaliate against Canadian sanctions