Honourable senators, as I stand before you for the first time to make a statement in the Senate, I wish to thank colleagues on both sides of the chamber as well as the Senate staff for the incredible welcome and hospitality that they have shown me. It has made a difficult transition much easier.

This week the Prime Minister of Canada will offer an apology on behalf of all Canadians for the decision by Canada in 1914 to deny entry to 376 Punjabi migrants who sailed on a boat from Hong Kong called the Komagata Maru and arrived off the shores of Vancouver looking for safety, security and prosperity like many other immigrants who came to Canada before and who continued to come after them. However, they were denied entry at that point because Canada had a White only immigration policy. They were turned back and some of them actually did not survive their arrival back in India.

This incident has long been a source of great hurt that lives in the minds and the hearts of the Sikh community, in particular, and members of this community have sought for many years an official apology.

I am not a Sikh, although I was born in Amritsar, the holy city of the Sikhs, and I am proud to have many Sikh friends and colleagues as my neighbours. Today the Sikh community is deeply embedded in the immigrant narrative of our country. They have gone through the cycle of arrival, struggle, renewal and finally redemption. Sikhs have migrated to British Columbia and Ontario in large numbers and, in fact, their farming roots have made them a mainstay of the cranberry industry in British Columbia. The largest cranberry farm is run and managed by members of the Sikh community.

Likewise, one cannot ride a taxi from the airport in Toronto without coming face to face with a Sikh taxi driver, but they are also dominant and predominant in legal, medical, financial and real estate development in Canada and they are born entrepreneurs.

My favourite story is about Ms. Manjit Minhas, female president and CEO of a craft beer brewery that operates out of Calgary. Every year, tens of thousands of Sikhs march in Toronto to Nathan Philips Square to celebrate Khalsa Day, and their love of basketball is signified by Nav Bhatia. Furthermore, their love of hockey, from someone who has to be the world's greatest sport fan, from Calgary, is a wonderful story about how a young Sikh journalist translates and broadcasts Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi every time Hockey Night in Canada is on the air.

Honourable senators, there is another part of the story that I would like to share with you. They are also known for their valour. Thousands of Sikh soldiers fought alongside Canadians in both World Wars to serve in the armies of the British Empire, despite —

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Honourable senator, your time for your statement has expired. Perhaps you could continue at another time. Thank you very much.

Senator Omidvar: Thank you. My apologies, Your Honour, for going too long.