Letters to the editor for the week of December 13th

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Page 7 of 13

The second proof of my research led me to Pal Singh Dhaliwa, now is his 90s and living in Abbotsford. According to him in 1932 he left Victoria, his port of landing, and took a small boat to come to Vancouver then got a ride to Abbotsford where he joined his uncle for a month. He came to know that an owner of the Mission sawmill was looking for workers for his new mill, which was set up around Green Lake near what today is Whistler. He worked in this mill for a long time along with other Sikh workers. He went back to Punjab in 1947 to get married.

Former mayor Greg Gardner in his article on Sikh pioneers in Sea to Sky region in the Squamish Chief newspaper on June 5, 2009, stated that a number of Sikh families were settled in Squamish region in the '60s, which included the Lallis, the Bilns and the Mehngers. Apart from logging and sawmills, they started working in mining and on the CN railways as well. After this, a Sikh Gurdwara (place of worship) was established in Squamish, which represents the Sikh community's long contribution in the development and growth of this region. As everyone knows Sikhs believe in one God, human equality, welfare for all and helping every needy person without any distinction — these are fundamental principles of Sikhism.

In the 2011 census, the Sikh community became Squamish's second largest community and the Punjabi language spoken by them is also the second most prominent language in Sea to Sky region.

So currently it's not wrong to say that Sikhs are playing a role as a backbone in every field or profession for the growth and development of this region.

For example, Rajinder Singh Kahlon and Paul Lalli served this region as elected representatives for the municipality for two terms.

Every year in month of June, there is a parade held by Sikhs in the memory of first martyr of Sikhism, the fifth master Guru Arjan Dev Ji in which Sikhs demonstrate the long contribution to this region.

In the end I pray that from The Almighty that all of us together make an effort for prosperity and development of our beloved Squamish and Whistler.

Amrinder Singh Ghangas

Garibaldi Highlands

Corridor upgrade to cell service not good enough

I have a house on Anderson Lake, north of D'arcy that I've been planning to retire to for some years.

Last week I was happily lighting my trusty wood stove with a copy of the Pique, reading missed articles as I usually do while crumpling paper, when I came across your article about Telus/Bell's upgrade to the corridor wireless service (Pique, Oct.4, 2012).

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