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Canada gets second NRI attorney general
Wally Oppal has been named Canada's attorney general, the second Indo-Canadian to bag the post.
Wally Oppal has been named Canada's attorney general, the second Indo-Canadian to bag the post.
The 65-year-old attorney, who was the first Canadia-born Indian to become a Supreme Court judge, has also been appointed the minister for multiculturalism.
The first attorney general was Ujjal Dosanjh, the current health minister and former premier of British Columbia, served as attorney general from August 1995 to February 2000.
"Oppal has dedicated his entire working life improving social justice and community safety," an official statement said.
Oppal was born in 1940 in the Vancouver-Fraserview neighbourhood from where he was elected in provincial general election in May as a Liberal Party representative.
Upon winning the seat, he said in an open letter to the community members: "I have studied and practiced in the Canadian legal system for many years and am confident that together we will create a safer community for our children."
His appointment as attorney general brings to focus the gang violence that has rocked the Indo-Canadian community, which has lost nearly 100 youths.
