Canada Consulate commemorates India's 73rd Independence Day in Mississauga

Speaking at the event at the Pearson Convention Centre in Mississauga,  Acting Consul General Saifullah Khan, informed the audience that his office would be celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, on Oct 2.

He told them about the Panorama India Independence Day parade to be held at the downtown, Toronto on Sunday, which with the support of his office is expected to exceed 75,000 turnout.

Several dignitaries, including Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, Patrick Brown, the Mayor of Brampton, Kathleen Wynne, Member of Provincial Parliament for Don Valley West, were present among the gathering of nearly 200 people for the reception dinner organised by the Consulate.

Doug Ford started his speech by paying homage to the fallen soldiers who laid down their lives to bring freedom to India.

Ford acknowledged the support of the several politicians from Ontario, including NDP leaders, members of the Liberal party and other members of parliament from the provincial government present there on the auspicious occasion of the celebration of the 73rd India’s Independence Day.

He  also acknowledged the presence of former premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne, who with many years of dedicated service to Ontario had made it a much better place to live.

Ford said that Ontario shares a strong bond with Indians and is open for business with them. Last year Ontario was able to achieve a target of 3.2 billion Canadian dollars worth of trade with India.

"We have a strong Indo-Canadian community of more than 23,000 students who in future can build our economy and overcome the present labour shortage. We have a strong connection with Indo-Canadian communities and share their cultural values and their belief in hard work. We share their rich cultural heritage, Indo-Canadian food, Bollywood and their deep sense of commitment," he said.

Patrick Brown, the mayor of Brampton also started his speech by paying tribute, on behalf of the people of Brampton, to the sacrifices and struggles of those who had laid down their lives to make India independent.

He said he was amazed to see such a large gathering for this event with a packed auditorium that he could not easily find a seat for himself. Canada and Brampton share a very deep friendship and unity.

"When The GT20 cricket fans from India come to Canada, they always feel as if they are in their own land," said he.

He had visited India 19 times and still feels that he has not seen or experienced enough, be it the hospitality rendered by Indians, their culinary talents, the culture of Punjab, their ice hockey in Ladakh.

He added that even 100 visits to India would not enable us to cover all that Indian scenic beauty has to offer, whether in Kerala, South India, North India, Rajasthan and other places.

A minute of silence was observed in the memory of Sushma Swaraj, the former Indian External Affairs Minister and an icon of Twitter diplomacy, who passed away earlier this month, leaving a void in the ruling BJP party in India and a nation of mourners as she had endeared one and all with her round-the-clock assistance to people in distress who would just send her a tweet and humanitarian approach to foreign policy.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj and Suman Das)