BOSTON, May 6, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a recent meeting of Canada's House of Commons, Surjit Babra, Chairman of SkyLink Travel, a global travel company with offices in the US, Canada, the UK and India, observed the passing by Canada's House of Commons Bill C-10, The Safe Streets and Communities Act. This act provides legislation regarded as a milestone in Canada's fight against terrorism in that it contains legislation that includes the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act (JVTA) that was aggressively supported by the Canada India Foundation (CIF) of which Babra is a charter member.
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Babra is quick to point out that, while the JVTA gives power to all Canadians to enable them to lodge civil suits against facilitators and sponsors of acts of terrorism, he states that, "The Indian community has been greatly impacted as the target of terrorist activities. The passing of the JVTA is particularly appreciated by the Indian community and the CIF as concrete evidence of the understanding by the Canadian government of the necessity to provide avenues to justice for victims. Our presence here to witness the Canadian government's implantation of the JVTA is concrete evidence of the importance of people working together with our Prime Minister and government representatives to create response mechanisms for victims of terrorist acts."
At a reception following the passing of the legislation on March 12, 2012, members of CIF and the Canadian Coalition Against Terrorism, who were responsible for spearheading the legislation on JVTA, as well as families who were affected by terrorist acts, had the opportunity to meet Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and to personally express their appreciation to his government for the passage of the JVTA.
Babra notes that, "Those who recognize the needs of the community must assume the responsibility to bring these areas of need to the attention of the government so that valuable response mechanisms can be put in place. The CIF plays an important role in this process as it is a national, non-profit, non-partisan organization established in 2007 to foster support for stronger bi-lateral relations between Canada and India; to educate Canadians on the changing face of India and to increase the participation of Indo-Canadians in the public policy process in Canada. Clearly, the passage of JVTA is concrete evidence of CIF in action and at its best."
Babra points out that, while this historic legislation is a benchmarking event, the work of CIF continues to address, develop and implement programs in keeping with the organization's mission. For more information, visit: www.canadaindia.org
