Hon. Gurbax Singh Malhi
hosts fifteenth annual
Vaisakhi ceremony in Ottawa

Ottawa - The Honourable Gurbax Singh Malhi, Member of Parliament for Bramalea-Gore-Malton, today held a ceremony in his Parliament Hill office to celebrate the Sikh holiday of Vaisakhi. It was the fifteenth consecutive ceremony held in Ottawa by Mr. Malhi since his election to the House of Commons in 1993.

"This is the fifteenth year in which I have had the honour to host a Vaisakhi ceremony on Parliament Hill," said Mr. Malhi in remarks delivered to attendees. "Sikhs worldwide know about this ceremony, and know that the Parliament of Canada honours their faith."

Ceremony attendees included:

• Hon. Stéphane Dion (Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada)
• Hon. Peter Milliken (Speaker of the House of Commons)
• Hon. Ralph Goodale (Liberal House Leader)
• Hon. Karen Redman (Liberal Whip)
• Anthony Rota (Liberal National Caucus Chair)
• John Maloney (Liberal Ontario Caucus Chair)
• Hon. Ujjal Dosanjh (MP for Vancouver South and former B.C. Premier)
• Hon. Larry Bagnell (MP for Yukon)
• Sukh Dhaliwal (MP for Newton—North Delta)

Also present were a large number of Sikhs from Ottawa, Brampton, Mississauga, Toronto, Montreal and elsewhere in Canada.

Past ceremonies have been attended by Prime Ministers Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, and were broadcast around the world by South Asian media outlets.

Vaisakhi marks the Sikh New Year and the establishment of the Khalsa, the fellowship of baptized Sikhs. It is one of the most important dates on the Sikh calendar.