IN DEPTH: AIR INDIA
Timeline: After the trial
CBC News Online | May 1, 2006
May 1, 2006:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announces the launch of an inquiry, led by retired Supreme Court Justice John Major, into the investigation of the Air India bombing. Harper says the inquiry will seek to find "answers to several key questions about the worst mass murder in Canadian history." See: Air India inquiry timeline
March 7, 2006:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announces that he has asked retired Supreme Court Justice John Major to consult with the families of people who died in the Air India bombing. Harper says Major's consultation is designed to make sure the families are comfortable with any inquiry's terms of reference before it is called.
March 3, 2006:
Canada's National Parole Board rules Inderjit Singh Reyat must stay in jail. He was eligible for statutory release from his five-year sentence in June 2006. But parole board members take less than 15 minutes to turn him down. Retay had pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2003 for his role in acquiring materials to build the bomb that blew up the Air India flight. His prison sentence expires in 2008.
Nov. 23, 2005:
Bob Rae recommends further inquiry into the Air India bombing. The former Ontario premier calls for a "focused, policy-based inquiry" that looks at four areas:
- Whether the assessment of Sikh terrorism was adequate in light of available information.
- Whether the RCMP and CSIS co-operated adequately in the investigation.
- The relationship between intelligence gathered and evidence presented at trial.
- Any breaches of airport security and if those issues have been addressed.
The federal government accepts Rae’s recommendation and asks him to head the "focused inquiry."
June 7, 2005:
Families of the victims of the Air India bombing meet with Prime Minister Paul Martin in Toronto, the first time any prime minister has met with the families. Martin promises to join them at a ceremony in Cork, Ireland, on the 20th anniversary of the disaster, June 23. Flags across Canada will also be lowered to half-mast on that day.
May 3, 2005:
The B.C. Ministry of the Attorney General sends an e-mail to the families of those who died in the Air India bombings telling them the Crown will not appeal the acquittals of Ajaib Singh Bagri and Ripudaman Singh Malik. The e-mail says the ministry made "the difficult decision that there are no grounds on which the Crown could launch an appeal."
April 30, 2005:
Bob Rae and Public Security Minister Anne McLellan meet with the families of the victims of the Air India bombings for the first time since Rae was named to investigate the possibility of a public inquiry.
April 26, 2005:
Ottawa appoints former Ontario premier Bob Rae to advise the federal government on whether to call a public inquiry into the Air India investigation and prosecution.
April 12, 2005:
Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan meets with about 20 relatives of the victims of the bombing, but an association representing about 70 families boycotts the meeting.
March 16, 2005:
People who lost relatives in the crash renew their call for a public inquiry after the acquittal of Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri. Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan responds by saying she’s not sure whether there would be any benefit to the public. She says she won’t rush into making a decision.
April 7, 2005:
The government announces it will appoint an independent adviser to recommend whether there should be a public inquiry into the Air India disaster. McLellan makes the announcement as the House of Commons begins debate on an Opposition motion calling for a public probe.
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