Senators’ Statements: Remembering Air India Flight 182

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Honourable senators, I rise to remind us and remember a very sad, sombre and horrific day in our history.

Thirty-three years ago, on June 23, 1985, a bomb ripped apart Air India flight 182 over the coast of Northern Ireland. All 329  passengers on board were murdered, including 82 children, 6 babies and 29 entire families. Two children not on board lost both parents, making them orphans in a few minutes. This was and is still the worst terrorist attack in Canadian history.

In the first few months and years following, there was confusion and even denial that this was an attack against Canadians because most, not all, but most, — on board were Indo-Canadians and the flight was operated by Air India. Twenty years later we acknowledge that this was indeed a Canadian tragedy of historic proportions.

Governor General Adrienne Clarkson declared June 23 a national day of mourning for victims of terrorism. Prime Minister Paul Martin said:

Make no mistake: The flight may have been Air India’s, it may have taken place off the coast of Ireland, but this is a Canadian tragedy.

I remember this tragedy vividly. The Indo-Canadian community was much smaller in 1985. We still remember the calls we got that morning, alerting us to reach out to those who had lost sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, wives and husbands.

The subsequent investigation and prosecution lasted almost 20 years. Former Supreme Court Justice John C. Major led an inquiry into the terrorist attack and concluded that a “cascading series of errors,” a turf war, among the Government of Canada, the RCMP and CSIS failed to prevent an attack that was indeed preventable, and so there continues to be a lingering sense after all these years that justice was not done.

Honourable senators, there are moments that define our history. This is one of them. We must never forget this incident, the lives lost, the victims and their families. After all these years, lives have been eventually remade, however tenuously, but the loss has not been forgotten. Neither has the sense that there is a huge emotional distance between the scale of the tragedy, on the one hand, and its place in our collective memory on the other.

For this reason, I will be attending the memorial this Saturday, June 23, because I want to make sure that the telling and retelling of this terrible terrorist attack is not lost. As we tell Canada’s story, let’s make sure this is not just another footnote but very much part of our Canadian family album.

Thank you.