ePaper Nov 5, 2015

4 CANADA – OPINION/EDITORIAL DESI EXPRESS www.desiexpressonline.com Thursday, November 5, 2015 DESI EXPRESS Volume 2, Issue 16 A Sunny Media Inc publication Project Advisors Raj Chadha Mahendra Gupta Editor Sunil Rao Production Sudhir Bagwe Photography Bashir Nasir Tel: 905-488-4797; Site: www.desiexpressonline.com Mailing address: 135 McMurchy Ave S, Brampton ON L6Y 1Z1 Editorial enquiries: editor@desiexpressonline.com, orTel: 905-488-4797 Advertising enquiries: rchadha@desiexpressonline.com All media enquiries: srao@desiexpressonline.com, orTel: 647-400-4321 Send Letters to the Editor and other editorial submissions to: editor@desiexpressonline.com. Desi Express is available throughout the GTA for free pick-up. Copies can also be mailed direct to your doorstep for $1; call 905-488-4797, or email srao@desiexpressonline.com. Desi Express carries in its columns content aimed at educating and informing. Content is carried in good faith. The articles, images and features are drawn from a number of sources and are meant for general information alone. Desi Express reserves the right to edit editorial content and/or refuse editorial and advertising content. Submissions may be emailed to editor@desiexpressonline.com. Any opinions expressed are those of the writers. Desi Express may not necessarily agree with the views and cannot be held responsible for any misunderstandings or misrepresentations inadvertently caused. Desi Express also does not endorse any product or service. Claims made in advertisements or elsewhere in our pages may not be independently verified. Desi Express cannot be held liable for such claims. THOUGHT FORTHEWEEK Holding on to anger is Like grasping a hot coal – With the intent of throwing it at someone else. You are the one Who gets burned! — Ancient Buddhist proverb A very‘happening’time This has been a very ‘happening’period for all of us Cana- dians sharing a common heritage. Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is just around the corner. It’s also Remembrance Day, Lest We Forget, on Nov 11. And to cap it all, we today have a turban-wearing Sikh minister for our Armed Forces — even as Punjabi has become the third most spoken common language of the Commons (after of course our two official languages, Eng- lish and French). Need we say more, about the strides we’re taking into the mainstream of Canadian consciousness? At the same time, the same challenges that face all Ca- nadians are our challenges too. The precariat continues to grow, and we with it. Seniors continue to face challenges, as do our seniors, along with the wider body of all Canadians. Good paying jobs continue to be in the minority, as temporary and part-time jobs — as also the ‘gig economy’ jobs — seem to be the norm. And our young face an uncertain future, in an uncertain environment, in common with all Canadians. Still, it’s Diwali, when Light shines through the Dark. Wish You All A Happy, Healthy, Prosperous New Year! FROMTHE EDITOR KEY UPCOMING FESTIVAL DATES Ontario Holiday Calendar Friday, Dec 25: Christmas Saturday, Dec 26: Boxing Day Friday, Jan 1: New Year’s Day Other Key Dates Wednesday, Nov 11: Remembrance Day Monday, Dec 7: First Day of Hanukkah Monday, Dec 14: Last Day of Hanukkah Tuesday, Dec 8: Bodhi Day (Buddhist holiday) Hindu Calendar Monday, Nov 9: Dhanteras Wednesday, Nov 11: Diwali Friday, Nov 13: Bhai Dooj Tuesday, Nov 17: Chhath Puja Sikh Calendar Wednesday, Nov 11: Diwali Tuesday, Nov 24: Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Wednesday, Nov 25: Guru Nanak Birthday Islamic Calendar Thursday, Dec 24: Milad un Nabi Christian Calendar Sunday, Nov 22: Christ the King Sunday, Nov 29: Advent – first Sunday Monday, Nov 30: St Andrew’s Day Trudeau lands one to the chin By Rajinder (Raj) Chadha On Oct 19, 2015, the Canadian Par- liamentary Blackboard was cleaned with a rag by a teacher. No more Con- servative or NDP writing on the wall. The Lawyers’ or Economists’ era is over, the Teacher’s era has begun (Justin Trudeau is a teach- er). The media called it the Voter’s Verdict. I call it De- mocracy’s Fruit. Voters wanted change, they got it. Whether it will be good or bad, or how the Indo-Canadian relationship will evolve, only time will tell. During 78 days of cam- paign, all three parties’ ratings went like a roller- coaster. But to get the roll- er-coaster in motion, lots of factors counted. Rats had already jumped the Conservative ship. The To- ries however thought their ship was too big to be af- fected by a Liberal or NDP wave. Ship captain Stephen Harper failed to guess the wind’s direction, especially the Canadian Media Guild campaigning against him. His other sailors (MPs) were too snobbish, or out of touch from citizens. During 2011-15, I can say only about Brampton ridings, their riding of- fices reminded me of Pun- jab Akali Dal party’s of- fice. Result? They’ve been kicked out, and are now licking their wounds. During the roller-coaster ride, NDP’s voters defected to Liberals — one can say Justin Trudeau was elected with the help of NDP’s de- fectors. On the percentage chart, he got only 39 per cent votes in his favour. In other words, he has been rejected by 61 per cent vot- ers who cast their vote — and still he became Prime Minister. This is Canadian Democracy in action. Had voters’ turnout gone up just a little bit from 68 per cent, it would have been a minority government, ow- ing to further vote-splitting. On a mathematical scale, 32 per cent of eligible vot- ers didn’t cast their vote — maybe didn’t like the can- didate, or the leader of any of the three parties, or were just too plain lazy to go to the polling station. But whatever the reason, in my opinion, the 32 per cent absenteeswerekeytomaking Trudeau prime minister. True, the Conservatives lost power — but inter- estingly, all over Canada, their total vote count was just 230,000 shy from the last election of 2011. Think about it, just 230,000 few- er votes, out of more than 15,000,000 eligible voters. Which also prompts me to think that if voting had been mandatory, or the sys- tem had switched to ranked polling, or had seen even a small reform in the election system (such as no polling allowed until the nomina- tion of all candidates is complete and final, unlike the law today), the result would have been different. During the campaign pe- riod, every candidate and his leader was watched and monitored under a magnify- ing lens. Even a small word with no value was pushed down voters’ throats. Cor- ruption, niqab, refugee, Is- lamophobia, even how the candidate pees, and where — all magnified in the glare of relentless public scrutiny. Even some five- six year old controversial issues were hounding were hounding the candidates in this election. The South Asian factor In Brampton, Malton, Mis- sissauga, 90 per cent can- didates were Sikh. Conser- vative candidate Jagdish Singh Grewal fell victim to his past writing on gay and same sex marriage. To my mind, this issue isn’t going away anytime soon, and warrants a closer look. The Sikh religion, as well as Islam (and Chris- tianity) strictly prohibits gay relations and same-sex marriage (and even smok- ing marijuana). Grewal was not the only candidate to come out against gays (al- though he later tried to spin his way out of his own ear- lier words); NDP candidate Harbaljit Singh Kahlon from Brampton East also had the same views. But he recanted. As I said earlier, all three parties had fielded 90 per cent or more candidates from the Sikh faith and were fol- lowers of the Sikh religion, with the vast majority (if not all) supported, even en- dorsed, by Sikh temples/gur- dwaras. We all know where the Sikh faith stands on the issue of gays and same-sex marriage, as well as smok- ing. But during the election campaign, one could see the height of hypocrisy in these candidates, who endorsed, even promoted, gay relations and same-sex marriage. Queried by the media, Kahlon said he had changed his views. To me, it looks like licking your own spittle — or he’s no more a true Sikh. Interestingly, Kahlon was supported and endorsed by NDP’s Ontario Deputy Leader Jagmeet Singh and his family. As it happened, Kahlon lost the elections and came third in his riding. Maybe voters thought he and his supporters are the biggest hypocrites, trying to fool voters with their dress and look. These religious places are simply storefronts for these fork-tongued politi- cians, and are misusing Canada’s generosity under the Charitable Law. All the three parties’ Sikh or Mus- lim candidates, male and fe- male, have sold out their re- ligion and their conscience, to gain political power. In my view, all Sikh candidates, elected or non- elected, have cynically used the Sikh religion to gain a political career — calling on Sikh constitu- ents to vote for them, while rejecting key tenets of the faith. Jagdish Singh Grewal was 100 per cent right as a parent of young kids, and as a journalist. But not as a politician. As a layman, I ask all Sikh/Muslim MPs: if your son or daughter happens to be in a gay lifestyle, will you encourage him or her to stay in that lifestyle? Or will you help him/her to follow your religion’s footsteps? Further, if he or she wants to marry in a gurd- wara, will a gurdwara per- form a same-sex marriage? Will gurdwaras authen- ticate these marriages, per- formed in makeshift gurd- waras? Being a father/mother or MP in the riding, will you participate in his/her wed- ding? How about the Mehndi function? Or will you have a reception party for the couple? How will you welcome your guest, and introduce the happy couple as: “Meet Ms Sahota and Ms Kahlon,” as husband and wife? Or will the invitation card will say: “Mr Sangha weds Mr Sidhu. Please bless them for their happy married life.” As per my information, no Sikh Guru has recom- mended this lifestyle. But all MPs are puppets in the hands of the puppet- master, who is the party leader. And Justin Trudeau has openly said, “Any pup- pet that does not dance as per my finger’s signals will have its strings cut off.” Abortion is another big issue in the Sikh commu- nity. Brampton and Surrey B.C. are capitals for abort- ing female foetuses. Sikh families are pushing their daughters-in-law to have a male child, as a must. How do Sikh female MPs stand on this problem? Will you allow your kid to smoke cannabis? These continue to re- main live issues — even if politicians are reluctant to address them, and happily bury their heads in the sand as if they don’t even exist. I’m not against gay rights (and nor is this an attack on any specific party). Rather, I’m seeking clarifications from these politicians. Why not come out and say their party is wrong? Or come out and say their religion is wrong? Sikh religions’ caretak- ers Gurdwaras have to stop this hypocrisy and come out in the open about what their Guru preached in the Granth Sahib. Conservatives mean- while are having leadership changes and facing new challenges. They’re not only out of power, but also out of ideas. The issues could be old, but they need fresh thinking —issueslikesame-sexmar- riage, abortion on demand, smoking grass, ‘Muslims as terrorists’, etc. These are not political issues, rather social and moral, irrespec- tive of any religion. Why not start fresh thinking with a fresh leader? — rchadha@desiexpressonline.com POINT OFVIEW PRIME MINISTERS ALL... Rare file photo from 1967, whenPierreTrudeau(aboveleft),JohnTurner(second from left) and John Chretien (right) joined Lester Pearson’s cabinet. They all went on to become prime ministers. And now Justin Trudeau has made history, beating the beefier Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau... nice hair, and nice smile notwithstanding. That was a portent of things to come. But while the Tories are down, they are not out, argues Raj Chadha.

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