An Indian family is among the eight people who drowned in the St. Lawrence River on the Quebec-New York border in eastern Canada on Wednesday night. Reports suggest that the individuals were attempting to illegally enter the United States when their boat capsized in the river, which straddles the border. Search parties recovered two bodies, of a woman and an infant, on Friday, bringing the total to eight. On Thursday, six bodies of five adults and a three-year-old, were pulled out from the river. Authorities believe that the deceased were from two families - one of Romanian descent and the other citizens of India. Local police are working with Canadian and American authorities to confirm their identities. Police are also searching for a local man, Casey Oakes, whose boat was found capsized near the bodies. Oakes, 30, of the local Akwesasne First Nation community, was seen leaving on his small boat on a stormy night on Wednesday and was later reported missing. It was while searching for Oakes that police found his boat and the bodies. Police have not confirmed if Oakes was attempting to facilitate the two families crossing the river and entering the US, but he remains a person of interest. This incident is the latest in a series of tragedies that have occurred along the US-Canadian border. In January 2022, a family from Gujarat froze to death while attempting to enter the US on foot during a blizzard in central Canada. In May, six men from Gujarat were rescued after their boat capsized while attempting to cross the St. Regis River and enter New York. These incidents have highlighted a sharp increase in illegal crossings across the Canada-US border in recent times. In the last year and a half, over 40,000 people crossed from the US into Canada, while 110,000 illegal immigrants traveled south. Of those 110,000 individuals entering the US, almost 41,000 were from India. Between October 2022 and January 2023, 57,000 migrants crossed into the US from Canada, with 13,000 of those being Indians. The governments on both sides are taking notice of this alarming trend. During his recent visit to Canada, President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a new border deal aimed at discouraging illegal crossings. In a press conference, Trudeau described the situation as heartbreaking, "particularly given that a young child was among the victims". "We need to understand properly what happened and do whatever we can to make sure we are minimizing the chances of it happening again," he said. New Democrats leader Jagmeet Singh tweeted, "While we wait for a full investigation, we do know that when people don't have legal paths to immigration, they are easily exploited with dangerous results." Punjabi man awarded $9000 in caste discrimination ruling In a rare ruling in Canada, a man of Punjabi origin has been awarded $9,000 by the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal for facing caste-based harassment. The victim, Manoj Bhangu, filed a complaint alleging that two colleagues used a caste-based slur against him during a company party in 2018. Although a framework to address caste-based oppression is not included in the B.C. Human Rights Code, the tribunal ruled that the caste-based slur fell within discrimination on the basis of ancestry, place of origin, religion, and race, all of which are prohibited. The adjudicator noted that Bhangu provided uncontested evidence of how the use of the slur impacted his psychological health, reminding him of his negative experiences growing up in Punjab. The ruling sets a precedent for similar cases of caste-based discrimination and harassment, particularly as Canada's South Asian community continues to grow. The decision has been welcomed by advocates and community leaders as a significant step towards acknowledging and addressing the issue of caste-based discrimination in Canada. Trailblazing Indo-Canadian fire officer passes away Ravjot Singh Chhatwal, Brampton’s first turbaned Fire and Emergency Services officer, passed away last week at the age of 43. The community mourned his loss, with flags at Brampton’s City Hall flying half-mast and tributes being paid in Canada’s parliament, where Shafqat Ali, MP from Brampton Centre, praised Chhatwal as a role model and community builder who championed equity, diversity, and inclusion. Chhatwal broke through systemic and cultural barriers to rise to the rank of divisional chief in a predominantly white force serving a predominantly brown city. He also worked to raise awareness about fire hazards among newcomers “Canadian homes are primarily made of wood, once there’s fire, it grows exponentially in every 30 seconds,” he once told this reporter. “Often, newcomers rush to get documents – passports, PR cards, work permits – when the fire alarm goes off. You don’t have that much time. Leave everything and run for safety. It’s Canada, you can get your documents again.”
