Politics

Hundreds of thousands attend Surrey Vaisakhi parade, including Christy Clark and John Horgan

by Charlie Smith on April 22nd, 2017 at 6:25 PM
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      As expected, the Surrey Vaisakhi parade attracted hundreds of thousands today.

      The event is held to coincide with the spring harvest in Punjab and also celebrates the birth of a Sikh military order in 1699 known as the Khalsa.

      Founded by Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, the Khalsa protected Sikhs and members of other faiths in Punjab from being forcibly converted to Islam by the ruling Moguls.

      With a provincial election less than three weeks away, the two main contenders for the premier's office weren't about to miss an opportunity to hobnob with the massive crowds.

      Surrey has eight provincial constituences and along with the one next door, North Delta, they account for more than 10 percent of all seats in the B.C. legislature.

      Several of those are in play and could determine the outcome of the provincial election.

      Below, you can tweets from B.C. Liberal Leader Christy Clark and B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan.

      A few years ago, some high-profile B.C. politicians, including then premier Gordon Campbell, snubbed the Surrey Vaisakhi parade.

      That's because of a belief that leaders of the Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar, which hosted the event, viewed the reputed mastermind of the 1985 Air India bombings as a martyr.

      It didn't help that in 2010, one of the organizers said that he couldn't guarantee the safety of two politicians, Ujjal Dosanjh and Dave Hayer, if they showed up.

      Dosanjh and Hayer were both outspoken critics of an independent Khalistan being carved out of Punjab, which the temple management strongly supported.

      That year, only one federal politician, Sukh Dhaliwal, appeared on-stage with the organizers.

      But this year, those old battles appear to have been forgotten as politicians of all stripes were in attendance.

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