Trudeau inducts record 4 Indian-origin Canadians in Cabinet
Daily Excelsior
10:00 PM Nov 05, 2015 IST
OTTAWA, Nov 5: In a red-letter day for Indo-Canadians, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has inducted a record four members from the community in his diverse Cabinet that for the first time in the country's history is equally balanced between women and men.����������� Three Indian-origin men and one woman are part of the new cabinet that has 15 women and 15 men ministers. The team marks both a generational change and reflect Canada's diversity.����������� A record 19 Indian-Canadians were elected to parliament in elections last month.����������� Herb Dhaliwal, the first Indian-Canadian minister in the country�s history when Jean Chretien appointed him revenue minister in 1997, praised the diverse cabinet that includes a record four Indo-Canadian ministers.����������� "I am very happy...The cabinet is more reflective of Canadian society and I think it's remarkable the people we have and the strong representation we have," Dhaliwal was quoted as saying by the Vancouver Sun.����������� Harjit Sajjan, a decorated Sikh Lt Colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces who was elected as a MP for Vancouver South, has been named Canada's new Defence Minister.����������� Sajjan, who is in his mid-forties, served in Bosnia and had three deployments to Afghanistan, has received numerous military honours, including the Meritorious Service Medal in 2013, for reducing Taliban's influence in Kandahar Province.����������� Bardish Chagger, whose parents immigrated to Waterloo in Canada from India in the 1970s, is the new Minister of Small Business and Tourism.����������� "I'm really looking forward to this new mission that I'm on," said 35-year-old Chagger, who was born and raised in Waterloo.����������� "We're going to be able to work toward a better Canada. And I'm really excited to be working for Waterloo Region, as well, and I believe we'll have a strong voice moving forward."����������� 51-year-old Amarjeet Sohi, who was born in India and immigrated to Edmonton in 1981, is the new Minister of Infrastructure and Communities.����������� Sohi, who had also worked as a bus driver, was arrested in India under accusations of terrorism in 1988. He was freed in 1990 and returned to Canada.����������� "I feel really humbled and honoured," said Sohi, who defeated former Conservative cabinet minister Tim Uppal in Edmonton-Mill Woods by just 95 votes. (AGENCIES)
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