In a big relief for the Sikh community in Canada, the Quebec Soccer Federation (QSF) has been forced to withdraw its turban ban on Sikh footballers. The QSF has apologised for hurting Sikh sentiments. During a press conference on Sunday, it announced the reversal of its ban on players wearing turbans or related religious headwear on the pitch.
Legendary marathoner Fauja Singh, 102, recently sat down to chronicle his running tales with Dylan Sidoo, an upcoming Vancouver filmmaker. Sidoo filmed an exclusive 98-minute interview with the world's oldest marathon runner in Orange County, California at the Sikh Arts & Film Festival (SAFF) held at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) struck a blow against Quebec's turban ban, saying such headwear is perfectly acceptable on the pitch. FIFA said in a statement on Friday that wearing of male head covers is authorised at all levels of Canadian soccer.
After 125 years in Canada, it is about time the Punjabi culture is officially recognized, says a local Member of Parliament.
Three Indo-Canadian members of parliament have denounced the ban on Sikhs from wearing the turban while playing football in the Canadian province of Quebec. Nina Grewal, the Conservative MP for Fleetwood-Port Kellis, and Jinny Jogindera Sims and Jasbir Sandhu, the New Democratic Party (NDP) MPs for Newton-North Delta and Surrey North, respectively, have voiced their dismay at the Quebec Soccer Federation's (QSF) decision to maintain the ban on sikhs wearing the turban.
The Quebec Soccer Federation said on Wednesday it was maintaining its ban on turbans, patkas and keskis while hoping to hammer out a compromise on the controversial topic. Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) suspended the provincial body on Monday after it showed no sign of overturning its decision to prohibit Sikh religious headwear on the pitch.
The Canadian Soccer Association has suspended a provincial association over its refusal to let turban-wearing children play the game. The organisation on Monday announced that it had banned Quebec Soccer Federation for showing no sign of overturning its decision to restrict turban-wearing Sikhs from the pitch.
Hit-and-run victim Arshdeep Sidhu is still in serious condition in hospital but the five-year-old has improved since being struck by a car Friday afternoon in the Fleetwood area of Surrey and suffering serious head injuries.
It was a typical scene on a summer evening in Montreal,boys and young men kicking around a soccer ball in a pickup game. But for the group playing on a LaSalle soccer pitch wednesday night, it was not just a friendly, all-ages game. Because they were almost all wearing small turbans called patkas, the two dozen players are not allowed to play soccer in recreational or competitive league games in Quebec.
Sikh soccer players in the Canadian province of Quebec will have to sit out after the local soccer federation decided to keep the ban on turbans, angering the community members who are now considering taking legal action.
Saltspring Islanders have come to the aid of a local family who lost their three-year-old daughter following a tragic collision Tuesday.
“Growing up, I really rejected all my South Asian roots,” Hursh said from her latest gig in Chicago. “My mom, she always was playing old Bollywood music in the house. I grew up hearing a lot of it but as a teenager I really rejected it. I did not identify as being South Asian at all.”
An Indian-Canadian brother-sister duo on Monday appeared before a court in Canada to face extradition to India in an alleged honour killing case. Jaswinder ‘Jassi’ Sidhu was 24 when she was murdered in 2000 and her body dumped in a canal in Ludhiana district. Her mother, Malkit Kaur Sidhu, and uncle Surjit Singh Badesha are facing extradition to India for charges of conspiracy to commit murder. The two appeared before British Columbia Supreme Court justice Gregory Fitch.
Makers of Punjabi film Sadda Haq travelled all the way to Surrey to thank the community for their support in lifting a controversial ban on the movie in Punjab. The movie delivers an account of the Khalistan movement in India in the ‘90s. The plot follows a Canadian researcher who travels to the country to interview imprisoned Khalistan militants.
Drug and alcohol impairment have been ruled out as factors in a crash that killed five people in Surrey last month, according to the British Columbia (BC) Coroners Service. Daniel Mark Gore, 46, was driving a minivan that ran a red light and collided with a Toyota Corolla at the intersection of 32nd Avenue and 176th Street at around 11 am on April 28.