Video link: https://vimeo.com/647927119/7a6940c669
Bikram grew up in Cowichan Valley, where his father Jaswant Singh Berar connected South Asian lumber workers with the International Woodworkers of America Local 1-80 (Duncan). Berar Road in Lake Cowichan bears the family name.
Harinder Mahil (Part One)(Part Two)
Video link, Part One: https://vimeo.com/647929109/eb985d9169
Part Two: https://vimeo.com/647930201/11cc1be11b
Harinder Mahil came to Canada in 1970 and became very active in the International Woodworkers of America Local 1-357 (New Westminster). He became the editor of the union newspaper The Chipper. Mahil played a very important role in the formation of the Canadian Farmworkers Union and the BC Organization to Fight Racism. From 1992 to 2002 he held senior positions in the BC Council of Human Rights, the Human Rights Council, and in the BC Human Rights Commission and went on to work for the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada.
Video link: https://vimeo.com/647925942/55a2bb3e2b
Harji Sangra became involved in the Canadian Farmworkers Union in the 1980s when she was a university student. She was very involved in teaching English to women farmworkers. Sangra also worked as an organizer for the union and participated in writing and performing plays for the Farmworkers movement promoting the union and social justice issues.
Video link: https://vimeo.com/647916132/25ed731baf
Harry Bains came to Canada in 1971 and worked in sawmills in Vancouver. After experiencing a racist incident at work Bains became active in his union the International Woodworkers of America, Local 1-217. Over time he became a Vice President of the Local union. He was elected as an MLA in 2005 and in 2017 became Minister of Labour for the Province of BC.
Video link: https://vimeo.com/647913890/fd8e38e272
Jinny Sims arrived in Montreal in 1975 from England where she was educated as a teacher. Two years later she and her family moved to Nanaimo where she taught high school. She became active the local teachers’ union and was involved in the union’s first bargaining for maternity leave. In 2004 she was elected President of the BC Teachers’ Federation, the first South Asian woman to hold the highest position in a BC union.
Joginder Singh Sunner (Part One) (Part Two)
Video link, Part One: https://vimeo.com/647908398/ff57fd00da
Part Two: https://vimeo.com/647912766/dcaaaaba5a
Joginder Sunner came to Canada in 1983. He has worked at sawmills in the Vancouver area since the mid-1980s; first in non-union operations and then in unionized mills. He became active in the International Woodworkers of America, Local 1-217 as a committee member and then as a job steward. He is a member of the Executive Board of United Steelworkers Local 1-1937. He has previously served as General-Secretary on the Executive of the Khalsa Diwan Society.
Moe Sihota (Part One) (Part Two)
Video link, Part One: https://vimeo.com/647895788/7554b3e103
Part Two: https://vimeo.com/647907349/db571dc856
Munmohan Singh “Moe” Sihota was born in Duncan. His family instilled in him a deep respect for unions and politics. Sihota worked in sawmills during the summer while attending university. He is the first South Asian to be elected to public office in Canada and has held numerous cabinet positions in NDP governments in BC.
Video link: https://vimeo.com/647892765/396ea9efa4
Nina Dhillon came to Canada from England with her family when she was 14. After marriage she worked in several low-skilled jobs, eventually training as a cook. She began working at a long-term care home and became involved in union organizing activities. She currently is a full-time staff representative with the Hospital Employees’ Union.
Video link: https://vimeo.com/647891048/1d6bb7438e
Paul Binning accompanied his parents who worked in the Fraser Valley farms and became exposed to the organizing work of the Canadian Farmworkers Union. He and others became involved in cultural shows as a way to attract farmworkers to the union. The shows toured British Columbia, introducing bhangra to far-flung communities where South Asians settled.
Video link: https://vimeo.com/647886074/b1d321eea2
Paul Gill accompanied his mother from the age of eight when she worked picking berries on farms in the Fraser Valley. His father, Charan Gill, was one of the founders of the Canadian Farmworkers Union. Paul’s experience as a child during the CFU organizing years and anti-racism movements informed his life.
Video link: https://vimeo.com/647845189/cd079d62d4
Immigrating to Canada in 1973, Raj Chouhan has worked to improve the lives of everyday people. He was the founding president of the Canadian Farmworkers’ Union and served as the director of bargaining for the Hospital Employees Union for 18 years. Raj Chouhan is also a founding member of the BC Organization to Fight Racism. Elected MLA in 2005, Chouhan became BC’s first South Asian Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in 2020.
Video link: https://vimeo.com/647869244/218f7ef6ed
Sadhu Binning came to Canada in 1967. Initially taking employment as a farmworker and lumber worker, Binning began working at the Post Office. During the years of Farmworkers Union organizing, Binning became involved on the cultural and literary aspects of the movement and was a founder of the organization Vancouver Sath.
Video link: https://vimeo.com/647864515/77bddc099f
Sarwan Boal immigrated to Canada in 1970, and became Treasurer and organizer with the Canadian Farmworkers Union. He was present for all the major actions during that period, including strikes and protests. In one instance he was assaulted and injured. He continues to work to improve health and safety conditions for farmworkers.
Video link: https://vimeo.com/656375745/d43bf7c58f
Sewak Dhaliwal was born in Canada, though his father was one of the first 100 South Asians to immigrate to BC in 1906. The family lived for a time in Paldi, before relocating to the Fraser Valley where the family became involved in the aggregate hauling business. Dhaliwal became the first South Asian member of the Teamsters Union in 1960. An advocate for road safety for truckers, Dhaliwal also led the Teamsters to establish a rate scale for union owner/operators.
Video link: https://vimeo.com/647858257/22655aa6f9
Sucha Deepak arrived in Canada in 1970 and worked at sawmills in Quesnel and Fort St James. He was elected by union members as plant chairman and later elected as union Business Agent and Safety Director for IWA Local 1-424. He lives in Prince George.
