Friday, June 26, 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

    Eaton Centre shooting trial hears from girlfriend of accused

    Eaton Centre shooting trial hears from girlfriend of accused
    TORONTO — The girlfriend of a man who killed two people when he opened fire at Toronto's Eaton Centre says he told her he got himself into "some trouble" and was "going away for a really long time."

    Eaton Centre shooting trial hears from girlfriend of accused

    New book offers insider insights into some of Canada's most notorious crimes

    New book offers insider insights into some of Canada's most notorious crimes
    TORONTO — From the notorious rape and murder of two Ontario school girls to the notorious wrongful conviction of Thomas Sophonow in Manitoba, from the grisly to the tragic to the weird, Canada has thrown up its share of riveting, horrific and even bizarre criminal cases.

    New book offers insider insights into some of Canada's most notorious crimes

    TPP deal getting closer as logjam's are broken, Obama, Harper, other leaders say

    TPP deal getting closer as logjam's are broken, Obama, Harper, other leaders say
    BEIJING — Prime Minister Stephen Harper and 11 other world leaders said Monday they're inching ever closer to an agreement on the proposed Asia-Pacific trade deal as a crucial year-end deadline approaches.

    TPP deal getting closer as logjam's are broken, Obama, Harper, other leaders say

    Daycare least affordable in Brampton, Ont., most affordable in Gatineau, Que.: study

    Daycare least affordable in Brampton, Ont., most affordable in Gatineau, Que.: study
    A city west of Toronto has been named the least affordable place in Canada for regulated daycare.

    Daycare least affordable in Brampton, Ont., most affordable in Gatineau, Que.: study

    Pipeline issues are scabs on people's lives: Rocker Neil Young in Vancouver

    Pipeline issues are scabs on people's lives: Rocker Neil Young in Vancouver
    VANCOUVER — Music icon Neil Young says Canadians need to stand up for clean air, land and water by taking on big oil companies in particular.

    Pipeline issues are scabs on people's lives: Rocker Neil Young in Vancouver

    Blood spilled on National War Memorial sharpens Remembrance Day focus

    Blood spilled on National War Memorial sharpens Remembrance Day focus
    OTTAWA — Government workers have cleared the National War Memorial of the deep drifts of flowers, flags, stuffed animals — even a couple of cans of beer — in preparation for Tuesday's nationally televised Remembrance Day ceremony.

    Blood spilled on National War Memorial sharpens Remembrance Day focus