Speech

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

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PRIME MINISTER UNVEILS MEMORIAL DEDICATED TO THE VICTIMS OF AIR INDIA FLIGHT 182

June 23, 2007
TORONTO

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Thank you Diana for your kind introduction.

Premier McGuinty.

Mayor Miller.

Justice Major.

Secretary of State Kenney.

Members of the Parliament of Canada, of the provincial Parliament of Ontario, and of Toronto City Council.

Mesdames et messieurs.

Ladies and gentlemen, I would first of all like to start this morning by thanking the members of the Air India Victim Families Association for their presence here today. In particular I would like to recognize head of the Air India's Family Memorial Committee for her work in making today's ceremony a reality.

I would also like to thank the Chair of the Air India Victim Families Association, Mr. Bal Gupta, for his perseverance and hard work over these many difficult years. Your efforts, Bal, along with the efforts of your colleagues, have ensured that the search for truth and justice has continued over the past two decades. So please accept my thanks to you and to all members of your association.

Ladies and gentlemen, our country has long served as a model of a prosperous, peaceful, pluralistic society. But as everyone here today knows all too well we are not immune to extremism and its evil twin, terrorism.

Twenty two years ago today Air India Flight 182 exploded in the air off of the coast of Ireland. The bombing followed an explosion earlier that day at Narita airport in Japan. All together, 331 lives had been lost. Our country was stunned and the families of the 280 Canadian men, women and children who died aboard flight 182 were pitched into an unimaginable abyss of grief.

Then we learned it wasn't a tragic accident but rather a deliberate act of mass murder. It was the worst act of terrorism in Canadian history.

Planned and executed in the name of a cause that had nothing to do with Canada – nothing to do with the people who were killed. On that dark day we got a shocking glimpse of the malevolence that lurks at the core of some of our fellow human beings.

We truly understood that no political ideology is so important, no religious dogma so righteous, no ethnic grievance so just, that it can ever be used to just such barbarism.

Flight 182 may have flown that fateful day under the flag of India, but the murder of its passengers was singularly a Canadian crime and tragedy. And worst of all, most Canadians didn't realize this until much, much later. Like bystanders at a public assault, many initially looked the other way and thought it was none of their business.

This was a terrible, hurtful mistake. One that Canada will always regret. But thanks to the efforts of the Air India Victim's Families Association and many other brave and tenacious Canadians, light is finally being cast where previously there were only shadows.

That is why we are gathered here today on this third annual National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism – to commemorate these men, women and children, these Canadians, who were murdered aboard flight 182, by unveiling a memorial that bears all of their names.

It is fashioned after the sundial in Ahakisia, Ireland that overlooked flight 182's final resting place – a place which I had the solemn experience of visiting during the 20th Anniversary Memorial in 2005.

Like other plaques or existing memorials in Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal, this peaceful setting would be a place where the victim's families and descendants – and all Canadians – can come to pay their respects and to remember these victims. Canadians will never live such adversity.

Ladies and gentlemen, remembrance is crucial, but it isn't enough. We must act to ensure that such an outrage is never again visited upon our fellow citizens. That is why our government established the commission of inquiry into the investigation of the bombing of Air India flight 182.

Under the wise leadership of Justice Major, the commission is finally revealing how and why our security systems failed us. The commission's eventual final report will guide us to the creation of new and better systems to protect us against terrorist threats in the future.

But our best defence lies in convincing all Canadians no matter what their background, to set aside the political religious and ethnic conflicts that have darkened the lands and times from which they came and to embrace our future together.

There is no doubt all of us, no matter where we came from, are among the most fortunate people in the world. We share country that is strong and united.

A nation of freedom and democracy, a land of prosperity and hope.

It is little wonder that millions of people from around the world have been attracted to our shores. With each wave helping to further enrich diverse and unique society. And while our country has been an unparalleled success to date we can't take anything for granted.

Indeed Canada's future is only as strong as our commitment to each other. Therefore as Canadians we must put aside the differences that darken our past and work together to build the stronger, safer, better country. That will serve as our legacy for the generations to come.

I want to thank the victim's families for inviting me today. And God bless our great country.

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The Prime Minister's Office - Communications
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