Thursday, July 9, 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

    University Professor In Kamloops, B.C., Pleads Guilty To Assaulting Wife

    University Professor In Kamloops, B.C., Pleads Guilty To Assaulting Wife
    KAMLOOPS, B.C. - A university professor who also serves as president of the Kamloops Child Development Society has pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife.

    University Professor In Kamloops, B.C., Pleads Guilty To Assaulting Wife

    Paws Get New Posting: Slain RCMP Officer's Police Dog To Return To Work Soon

    Paws Get New Posting: Slain RCMP Officer's Police Dog To Return To Work Soon
    INNISFAIL, Alta. - A police dog who tugged at heartstrings across the country when he rose on his hind legs at his slain partner's funeral to sniff his Stetson is going back to work.

    Paws Get New Posting: Slain RCMP Officer's Police Dog To Return To Work Soon

    Craft Distilleries In Vancouver Area Serve Up Cocktails, Offer Tours

    Craft Distilleries In Vancouver Area Serve Up Cocktails, Offer Tours
    VANCOUVER - There's a thriving craft distillery scene in and around Vancouver, which is being helped by recent changes to B.C. liquor regulations.

    Craft Distilleries In Vancouver Area Serve Up Cocktails, Offer Tours

    CP Rail halts demolition of Vancouver community gardens for talks with city

    CP Rail halts demolition of Vancouver community gardens for talks with city
    Canadian Pacific Railway has paused its bulldozers from demolishing community gardens in a Vancouver neighbourhood to meet with city officials about the land's use.

    CP Rail halts demolition of Vancouver community gardens for talks with city

    Premiers, native leaders call for forum on missing and murdered aboriginal women

    Premiers, native leaders call for forum on missing and murdered aboriginal women
    Canada's premiers and aboriginal leaders are calling on the federal government to participate in a roundtable to address the high number of native women who are missing and murdered.

    Premiers, native leaders call for forum on missing and murdered aboriginal women

    B.C. man says accomplices killed three women, teen killed herself

    B.C. man says accomplices killed three women, teen killed herself
    A young British Columbia man accused of killing three women and a 15-year-old girl says he was present when each of the victims died, but he told his trial that other people murdered the women and the girl killed herself.

    B.C. man says accomplices killed three women, teen killed herself