The World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) completed its 27^th year of service in 2011 and once again this year we’ve been able to accomplish so much with your support. 

Below is a brief overview of WSO’s activities in 2011 in our three main areas of operation:  media, legal and advocacy & education:

Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney recently announced that henceforth, Muslim women will be prohibited from covering their faces with the niqab during citizenship ceremonies.  The move was met with general support and the federal opposition parties have also largely avoided commenting on the issue. 

By Binayak & Ilina Sen

Former bank employee Jaswant Singh Khalra was last seen washing his car outside his home in 1995 before he joined the ranks of the disappeared. He was involved in tracing the people who had disappeared in the wake of the anti-Sikh pogrom in Punjab after Indira Gandhi's assassination. 

By Balpreet Singh

On this International Human Rights Day, I would like to reflect on the courageous role of human rights defenders. 

By Lieutenant Manjeet Singh Vinning, The British Columbia Regiment (DCO)

Canadians will gather across the nation to remember the soldiers who paid the ultimate price for their country. We are reminded of the sacrifice of the men and women who fought bravely for peace and justice. We pay tribute to those who have served and who are currently serving on operations today.

Guru Nanak was the founder of the Sikh faith and today as Sikhs across the world, including here in Canada, celebrate his Gurpurab (birth anniversary) it is a great opportunity to reflect on what a revolutionary and activist Guru Nanak was. 

On Tuesday night, WSO legal counsel, Balpreet Singh spoke on a panel about 1984 after a screening of the documentary film “Widow Colony” on Parliament Hill.  The showing was sponsored by NDP MPs Jinny Sims and Jasbir Sandhu. 

As we come upon the anniversary of the November 1984 genocide of Sikhs across India, it is no secret that 1984 still matters and Sikhs still remember.

On October 24^th and 25^th, WSO representatives were on Parliament Hill for two days of meetings with MPs of all three major Canadian parties.

We remember S. Jaswant Singh Khalra on the anniversary of his disapperance.  We reflect here on his work, his death his legacy and how the uproar over his abduction caused ripples in Canada.