By Asian Pacific Post
Somewhere in the political maze that is Ottawa, there is a door with a sign that says, Community Historical Recognition Program.
It leads to a small office where politicians decide to whom and how to say, sorry.
They have $30 million of your tax dollars for the job.
The official version is that these generous grants will be used to commemorate various shameful incidents in Canadian history.
Some call this program an apology factory.
Others say it is an office designed to secure ethnic votes.
The demands made on this office are hard to deny.
They are rooted in historical wrongs which Canada has acknowledged, and it seems now is the season of apology — and payment — for past misdeeds.
The incidents for which we are to pay include:
The Komagata Maru — This happened in 1914 when the Japanese steamship carrying 376 passengers, mostly Sikh, was not allowed to disembark in Vancouver. At that time the local politicians and populace feared a "brown invasion" would take over jobs in factories, mills and lumber yards. Amid shouts of "Bole So Nihal," or "Blessed is the One," the British Columbia legislative assembly formally apologized for this dark day last week. The Federal government is expected to follow suit and fork out $2.5 million for a Komagata Maru memorial.
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