The City of Vancouver has named Canada Place as the secondary name Komagata Maru Place in memory of the ship’s passengers. The motion brought forward to the City by Raj Singh Toor, Vice President and spokesperson for the non-profit Descendants of the Komagata Maru Society, was approved unanimously by Vancouver City Council. 

By PD Raj – Senior Writer DESIBUZZCanada

VANCOUVER – The City of Vancouver has named Canada Place as the secondary name Komagata Maru Place in memory of the ship’s passengers.

The motion brought forward to the City by Raj Singh Toor, Vice President and spokesperson for the non-profit Descendants of the Komagata Maru Society, was approved unanimously by Vancouver City Council. 

Arvinder (Ari) Kaur Bhullar, a social planner, anti-racism and cultural redress who wrote the motion on behalf of Descendants of the Komagata Maru Society, also spoke at the motion’s passing at City Hall last week.

“Being a planner who is a female South Asian would have been unheard of if we simply remained where we once were,” said Bhullar. “If it wasn't for those that came before me including my ancestors, the passengers on the Komagata Maru who fought against injustice and for a life in Canada, I would likely not have the honour of doing this work today. We are committed to continuing doing this work to address historical discrimination against people of South Asian descent from 1900-present. This is an important piece of work that will take time to do well and carefully without compounding harms to community members. This is for all residents of Vancouver and is brought in the spirit of affirming human rights and building community. We know the communities are not a monolith and we will work hard to reach out. We welcome all South Asians to participate, guide and come along with us during this cultural redress process.”

Toor said he and his group were very happy that Canada Place Secondary name will be Komagata Maru.

“I have been advocating since March 16, 2018, when I wrote an email on behalf of the ‘Descendants of the Komagata Maru Society’ to the City of Vancouver and requested for a street, building, park, or place to be named in memory of the Komagata Maru passengers . The Vancouver City Council considered the request and sent the matter to the Civic Assets Naming Committee. On June 25, 2018, the Civic Assets Naming Committee unanimously approved my request and put the name on the Civic Asset Name Reserve List,” Toor said.

 On March 13, 2019, Vancouver City Council unanimously put forward and approved a motion behalf my and the Descendants of the Komagata Maru Society request to find a civic asset to re-name after the Komagata Maru.  

The City of Vancouver staff also brought a report on behalf of the Descendants of the Komagata Maru Society request written by Arvinder Bhullar.

Recommendations:

  1. THAT Council acknowledges the discriminatory decisions made by the City of Vancouver when responding to the arrival of the Komagata Maru and its passengers in 1914.
  2. THAT Council approve the recommendation that the primary street Canada Place be provided a secondary honourary name “Komagata Maru Place” as an act of cultural redress for the City’s role in the Komagata Maru incident.
  3. THAT Council recognize the importance of the 2nd Avenue Gurdwara (1866 West 2nd Avenue) to the South Asian community and direct staff to explore options for how to recognize the specific role it played during the Komagata Maru incident and its larger historical and cultural significance

“This report and its recommendations are greatly appreciated by the Descendants of the Komagata Maru Families and the South Asian Community.  Actions such as these and the larger work to address South Asian racism that the City is doing goes a long way in being accountable for the City's actions and helping to heal scars of racism that are felt through the generations and through the centuries,” Toor said.

“Furthermore, this naming process and being able to share South Asian communities history is a great reminder for Vancouver residents about our rich ethnic heritage and how we learn from the past to create a better British Columbia. Vancouver played a large role in this tragedy and by following the recommendations of this report, it will live up to its role of acknowledging past harms and being a forward-thinking, special and inclusive City that is moving British Columbians towards a more peaceful and tolerant tomorrow.”