November 19, 2009
The golden chance to win over Sikhs
by San Grewal
The Toronto Star
When Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited the Golden Temple in Punjab on Wednesday, the long arm of political influence that extends from Sikhdom's holiest shrine was surely on his mind.
It was from the very precincts of the temple almost five years ago that the Conservative party was handed a golden opportunity to win over Canada's influential Sikh voting bloc. Traditionally, the community has delivered money and delegates to key members of the Liberal party.
That's now changing.
Early in 2005, while prime minister Paul Martin was pushing for legislation in support of same-sex marriages, an edict against such unions was handed down from the temple's precincts. It was issued just before six Sikh MPs, three from the GTA and three from B.C.'s Lower Mainland, visited the sacred place, on the eve of Martin's visit to nearby New Delhi.
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