Justin Trudeau to apologize for Komagata Maru incident today

Justin Trudeau is set to apologize for Vancouver’s Komagata Maru incident in the House of Commons Wednesday afternoon.

The Komagata Maru was a Japanese ship that brought hundreds of Indian immigrants to the shores of Vancouver in 1914. All of them were British subjects, and many of them were Sikh.

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Because of discriminatory laws at the time, none of the passengers were allowed to set foot onto Canadian soil, forcing them to spend two months battling the legal system and living on the ship. The ship was eventually made to turn around.

“As a nation, we should never forget the prejudice suffered by the Sikh community at the hands of the Canadian government of the day. We should not – and we will not,” said Trudeau in April.

“An apology made in the House of Commons will not erase the pain and suffering of those who lived through that shameful experience,” he stated. “But an apology is not only the appropriate action to take, it’s the right action to take, and the House is the appropriate place for it to happen.”