Ottawa (February 27, 2019):  In what has become an annual event since 2013, Sikhs across Canada, in partnership with the World Sikh Organization of Canada, took part in the One Billion Rising movement by providing care packages, treats and baked goods to approximately 1500 women and children in shelters in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.  Handmade Valentine’s cards prepared by Sikh children accompanied the packages. 

One Billion Rising began as a call to action based on the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than one billion women and girls.  

Ottawa (January 22, 2019):  Representatives of the Sikh community and Canadian Gurdwaras met with Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale yesterday with respect to the inclusion, for the first time, of  “Sikh (Khalistani) Extremism” in Public Safety Canada’s 2018 Public Report on the Terrorism Threat to Canada.

Surrey (January 15, 2019):  The World Sikh Organization of Canada is proud to announce the launch of the Sikh Mentorship Program (SMP).

The SMP is designed to connect Sikh professionals with Sikh students (16+) who are seeking guidance and direction academically or professionally. Alongside mentor-mentee matching, the Sikh Mentorship Program will also include workshops, panels, and networking events.

The program is sponsored in part by the Government of Canada and TakingITGlobal.

Ottawa (December 17, 2018):  The World Sikh Organization of Canada welcomes the conviction of veteran Congress Party leader Sajjan Kumar by the Delhi High Court today.  Kumar was sentenced to life in prison for crimes committed during the 1984 Sikh Genocide, specifically the killing of five Sikhs and the arson of a Delhi gurdwara.  Ironically, Monday also saw the swearing-in of Kamal Nath as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.  Nath is also accused of leading a mob that attacked a gurdwara and burnt several Sikhs alive in Delhi during the 1984 Sikh Genocide. 

In its judgment released today, the Delhi High Court found that “the mass killings of Sikhs in Delhi and elsewhere in November 1984 were in fact ‘crimes against humanity’. They will continue to shock the collective conscience of society for a long time to come.”

Ottawa (December 13, 2018):  The World Sikh Organization of Canada is outraged by the selection of Kamal Nath as the next Chief Minister of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.  Nath is accused of leading a mob that burned several Sikhs alive in Delhi during the 1984 Sikh Genocide.  The appointment of Nath follows the victory of the Congress party in the recent Madhya Pradesh election.

Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi announced today that Kamal Nath would be the next Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. The Congress Party announced from its Twitter handle that "an era of change is upon MP with him [Kamal Nath] at the helm." 

WSO has today sent the below letter to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale on the maligning of the Sikh community in the recently released 2018 Public Report on the Terrorism Threat to Canada.

Ottawa (December 11, 2018):  The World Sikh Organization of Canada is deeply disappointed by the addition of “Sikh (Khalistani) Extremism” to the Public Safety Canada’s 2018 Public Report on the Terrorism Threat to Canada that was released today.  The 2018 report on Canada’s terrorist threat environment included the “Sikh extremism” component for the first time this year.  The move appears correlated to repeated unsubstantiated Indian accusations of rising extremism in the Sikh community that reached a crescendo during the visit of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to India earlier this year.

While the 2018 Public Safety report does not make any reference to current extremist activities in the Sikh community, it does state, “some individuals in Canada continue to support Sikh (Khalistani) extremist ideologies and movements.”

(French follows below)

Ottawa (December 5, 2018): A motion for reconsideration has been filed with the Supreme Court of Canada with respect to the court’s decision to deny leave for appeal in the Singh, et al. v. Attorney General of Québec.  The appellants, Balpreet Singh and Harminder Kaur argue in their motion that two unusual and interrelated circumstances have given rise to the “exceedingly rare circumstances” which warrant the court’s reconsideration.  Specifically, the Supreme Court’s decision in Chagnon v. Syndicat de la fonction publique et parapublique du Québec and secondly, the election of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), which has championed discriminatory policies that will disproportionately affect religious minorities.

Ottawa (December 4, 2018):  The release of a special security report by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s trip to India earlier this year raises many troubling questions about foreign interference, particularly with respect to the reputation of the Sikh community in Canada and unfounded allegations of Sikh extremism.  The heavily-redacted 40-page report was released on Monday after the Prime Minister’s Office removed portions "deemed injurious to national security and international relations.”

The report examined three issues: allegations of foreign interference related to the Prime Minister’s visit; security issues around Canadian events in India; and a briefing to journalists given by the government’s national security adviser.

Most of the section on foreign interference is redacted, including all six of the Committee’s findings. 

Despite the heavy redaction, it is clear the Committee found that with “strategically released” media articles and repeated allegations of “Sikh extremism” in Canada, there was sufficient evidence to suggest an “orchestrated attempt” to “embarrass the Canadian government.”

Ottawa (November 29, 2018) – The World Sikh Organization of Canada welcomes the World Karate Federation (WKF) accommodation of religiously mandated headwear for male competitors. Prior to the change, only female athletes were permitted to wear head coverings. The rule change, coming into effect on January 1, 2019,  will allow all Sikh competitors across the world  to wear religious head-coverings while competing.

The WKF has announced that it has approved a new version of its rules which allows all athletes to wear plain black head coverings during competition for religious reasons.  The WSO had worked with Karate Canada to advocate for the rule change at the international level.