Compensation to kin of 'Kanishka' victims:

Canada tenders apology

The government of Canada promised on Thursday to make an apology and provide compensation to the families of victims of the 1985 Air India bombing, as a scathing report into the tragedy was finally released.

Air India inquiry headed by John Major called for both compensation and an apology in his 3,000-page report, which was an attack on the way successive governments have treated the families of the victims.

The bombing of Air India Flight 182 from Canada off the coast of Ireland killed everyone on board. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in Canadian history and killed 331 people.

In the House of Commons, Canada Prime Minister Stephen Harper thanked Mr. Major for his report and for the "incredible devotion" he showed in "getting to the bottom and to the truth of this matter."

"There was a lot of resistance to this inquiry," Mr. Harper said. "The government will take those recommendations into consideration and make sure we drive forward with real change." Mr. Harper said the inquiry's findings are "a reminder that we should never take security lightly in this country."

Mr. Major recommended the government reopen compensation for victims families who were unfairly treated for years. "We propose the creation of an independent body to recommend an appropriate . . . payment by the government and to oversee its distribution to the victims," he added.

Mr. Harper made the commitment in a meeting with victims' families, who had gathered in Ottawa for the report's release. He made the following remarks when meeting with members of the Air India Victims Families Association:

"I have here with me today representatives of the families of the victims of Flight 182, which we now know was the worst act of terrorism in Canada's history, in which over 300 of our citizens lost their lives. This report has been a long time coming. It's now been almost 25 years since that tragedy, and I hope that we now finally have an analysis of those events and recommendations for a way to prevent such acts in the future. But first of all, our objective today is that today is a day of remembrance, remembering the losses, remembering the deaths of our loved ones who lost their lives, and thinking about and expressing our condolences to the families who have lived with this tragedy to this day.

"So just once again, we have Justice Major's report. I'm sure it's a bittersweet day for all of the family members who are with me today and the wider community that they represent.

"This worst act of Canadian terrorism in our history occurred almost 25 years ago. 300 of our citizens lost their lives. Their families have been living with that ever since and living without answers. Due to the work of Justice Major - I think it's as thorough and complete a work as could have been done - we do now have an analysis of that, and we also have important recommendations about the way forward to avoid this sort of thing ever happening again. I'm not going to get into today addressing all of the recommendations. Obviously some of them are very sweeping and will require some analysis.

"Today is first and foremost a day of remembrance, to remember the victims who lost their lives and to express our condolences to the families who have lived with this ever since.

"I do want to say this, though, in terms of the recommendations. We take Justice Major's report very seriously. It is a damning indictment of many things that occurred before and after the tragedy, that, as I say, we're determined to avoid in the future. Issues are raised about apology, official apology and compensation to victims. Let me be clear unequivocally that the government will respond positively to those recommendations. Obviously other recommendations will require additional study, but the government is determined to act in a way that we avoid this kind of event ever occurring again on Canadian soil and never being perpetrated against Canadian citizens.

"I just want to end by expressing my condolences to all of you for your losses, but also to the wider community you represent for being so forceful over the years in insisting that we get to the bottom of this, insisting that this work be undertaken, and I think you've taken that tragedy and done a real public service. "I know we're all very appreciative of Justice Major for his work, and are all determined to follow up on it. So thank you for , being here and thank you for what you've done for your country in insisting that we get to the bottom of this."

Families of the Air India victims who gathered in Ottawa on Thursday smiled, cried and thanked the Justice John Major for his report into the devastating 1985 terrorist attack that forever changed their lives

Courtesy: Asian Tribune