Toronto, June 2, 2016 – Ontario Liberal Government today voted against a motion to recognize India’s November 1984 attacks on Sikhs as Sikh genocide.
NDP Deputy Leader, Jagmeet Singh, introduced a Private Members’ Motion reading, “That, in the opinion of this House, the Government of Ontario should recognize the November 1984 state organized violence against the Sikhs throughout India as a genocide.”
Despite receiving support from both the NDP and Progressive Conservative caucuses, Ontario’s Liberal Government defeated the motion 40 to 22.
Four Sikh MPPs including Vic Dhillon, Harinder Takhar and Amrit Mangat voted No to defeat the motion.
“Today, the liberals turned their back on human rights, social justice, reconciliation and healing. They turned their back not only on Sikhs but every Hindu and Muslim family that risked their lives to shelter their Sikh neighbours,” the MPP from Bramalea-Gore-Malton said following today’s devastating vote.
President of WSO Mukhbir Singh said “we are deeply disappointed by the defeat of the motion recognizing the events of November 1984 as a genocide. The ongoing use of the term ‘1984 anti-Sikh riots’ to describe the events of November 1984 is a distortion and wrongly implies unorganized communal violence. The motion introduced by Jagmeet Singh was an important opportunity to hold those who planned and organized orchestrated the massacres responsible and an opportunity for reconciliation and justice.”