Harper in Abbotsford for Sikh temple milestone
Posted August 28, 2011 1:40 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
ABBOTSFORD (NEWS1130) – The prime minister is paying tribute to the Fraser Valley’s Sikh community. Stephen Harper was on hand in Abbotsford earlier today to mark the 100th anniversary of the Gur Sikh Temple.
He was wearing a traditional headcover as he congratulated hundreds of Sikhs at the national historic site. Harper says reaching the milestone shows how welcoming Canada is to immigrants, but it hasn’t always been that way.
“Even as hardworking Sikhs, like the volunteer loggers who built this temple, were making their mark in forestry, mining, construction this community was singled out for discriminatory immigration, labour and citizenship treatment.”
He urged members of the community to remember the hardships previous generations had to endure in order to be recognized as equal members of society.
To mark the anniversary the temple, which is the longest standing of its kind in North America, is getting a new museum, mural and monument.
