Ontario [Canada], June 30 : Ritesh Malik, Chairperson of Canada India Foundation and chief organiser of National Security Conference, said that the conference was against extremism in Canada.
Malik, while talking to ANI, said that the conference aimed to call the policymakers of Canada to assist them in the cause.
He said, "We are doing this conference united against extremism today here in Canada, which we as Canadians feel is very important and timely for all of us. As a community, we are going through a lot of threats in terms of extremism, and this is not against any community, any individual, or any organisation. This conference is for Canada, to preserve Canada in its pristine state, and to ensure that we address the current challenges we face as Canadians in Canada, particularly in dealing with extremism and the suffering of communities daily. We need to call this out and make sure government policymakers and everybody who cares for Canada listens to us and make sure they do their best to help Canada."
Former Canadian Minister Ujjal Dosanjh said that the question of extremism in Canada is not paid much attention to by the lawmakers either.
He said, "Today's meeting is important. I think it's probably one of the first public meetings in a long time that would highlight the question of extremism in Canada, particularly in the Indo-Canadian community, and how the politicians in this country haven't paid much attention to it, and how extremism, drugs, smuggling and even the immigration rackets all sometimes come together coalesce to create problems for our society."
Sanjay Lazar, an aviation expert and author who lost his entire family in the 1985 Air India bombing, said that he hoped to establish a learning centre to bring about awareness about the cause.
"This is also the 40th anniversary of the Air India Kanishka bombing, where I lost my entire family. I'm here to speak to everyone in the hope that we will be able to establish a memorial learning centre in Canada and in India, and also bring this subject into effect in the education system right across Ontario, BC and Canada," he told ANI.
Wyatt Claypool, a Canadian journalist, said that the conference helped in taking Canadian foreign policy seriously.
He said, "It's a great conference as we're talking about national security and foreign policy seriously. Canada has become a country that often backstabs its allies. Whether it's India or Israel, we take the wrong side. We talk like second-year foreign policy students obsessed with de-escalation. We forget that sometimes there is a right and a wrong."
Danial Bordman, another Canadian journalist, said that radical elements are infiltrating Canada, including schools now, which is the focus of the event.
He said, "The focus of today's event is to counter the various types of extremism rising through Canada. We have Islamist groups, the Muslim Brotherhood, IRGC-connected, Pakistani ISI-funded, Khalistanis, and radical far-left elements infiltrating our schools. So all the worst people in the country are very mad that this is happening. But I'd say all the best people in the country are in this building right now. So I'm excited to be here."
The Canada India Foundation (CIF), in collaboration with Tafsik Organisation, convened a powerful one-day National Security Conference on Sunday under the theme "United Against Extremism".
Held at the Paramount EventSpace in Woodbridge, Ontario, the conference brought together prominent voices from across Canada to deliberate on the growing threats posed by extremist ideologies, foreign interference, and their impact on Canada's domestic security.