Today, Teamsters Canada Legislative Director, Phil Benson and
I met with Member of Parliament Sukh Dhaliwal. Mr. Dhaliwal has
been very interested and concerned about the arrest and treatment
of our members while on a legal picket line in Coquitlam, BC,
and is demanding answers.
After becoming aware of the issue following the media coverage,
Mr. Dhaliwal spoke with a number of the members who had been arrested,
including Joginder Singh Gill and picket captain/ photographer
Gurpreet Saran. Then on June 8th, Mr. Dhaliwal sent the attached
letter to Labour Minister Blackburn issuing his concern over the
treatment of these TCRC MWED members at the hands of the CP Rail
Police and calling for the Federal Government to get involved.
Mr. Dhaliwal requested today's meeting with us to fully acquaint
himself with the situation as it stands currently and has indicated
that he will continue to take the present government to task on
this matter until his questions are answered and corrective action,
if warranted, is in place.
We had an excellent two hour meeting with Mr. Dhaliwal and his
staff and I found Mr. Dhaliwal to have a deep concern not only
for his constituents but also for the rights and welfare of all
Canadians.
This was keenly evidenced by his strong beliefs in the defence
of everyone's Charter Rights and also by his recent appointment
to the Liberal task force which will be dealing with the protection
of Canadians from hate crimes within 'at-risk' communities.
He has also expressed a desire to meet with all of the six members
who were arrested and to talk with other picketers and TCRC MWED
members when he is at home this summer in British Columbia. I
wish to express my thanks to Mr. Dhaliwal on behalf of the TCRC
MWED and all working men and women, for his involvement and his
commitment to addressing this very serious matter.
Anyone wishing to more about Mr. Dhaliwal or to contact him, can
access his website at www.sukhdhaliwal.ca.
