SUNDRE — A motorcycle club’s ride into town this past Saturday afternoon sought to mend rifts and foster greater understanding while building cultural bridges.
Nearly 100 riders from a non-profit Punjab motorcycle organization called 5AB Riders out of Calgary rode in on Sept. 10 alongside a delegation from the Dashmesh Culture Centre. They were met by municipal officials at the town administrative building’s spacious parking lot area.
Organizers of the inaugural Sikh Motorcycle Ride for Unity and Love for Humanity this year decided to visit Sundre in the spirit of good will following the appearance of a controversial political float featuring a racialized caricature of federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh during this June’s return of the Sundre Pro Rodeo’s community parade.
When members of the motorcycle club approached the culture centre about the possibility of working together on an event to promote harmony, Amanpreet Singh Gill, president of the Dashmesh Culture Centre, said his organization suggested Sundre as the first beneficiary.
Acknowledging the parade entry was the catalyst behind the decision, Gill said the intent of the ride was to move forward and bring an apolitical and positive message of love in the hopes of building cultural and culinary bridges.
“We’re not here as Liberal or Conservative or NPD,” he told the Albertan. “The main message was community and love for humanity.”
Gill added the ride will become an annual event that ventures to places throughout the province in support of other non-profit groups serving their respective communities.
“The ride will benefit charities throughout Alberta,” said Gill. “It gives opportunities for the Sikh community to get out in communities to help great organizations and have conversations with Albertans about who Sikhs are and in turn, about other cultures and religions and ways of life in Alberta.”
The Plus 1 Emergency Food Hamper program run out of the McDougal Chapel west of town and the Greenwood Neighbourhood Place Society were the beneficiaries of the ride’s donations, each receiving $11,000.
Parade float controversy
The parade entry that started it all involved one man riding a green tractor and wearing a mask said to depict Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with a manure spreader in tow labelled "The Liberal" that was ridden by another man wearing a mock turban and fake beard in a racialized portrayal of Singh.
Considered by many to be an inappropriate statement to make in a family-friendly event such as a community parade, those who organized the float and their supporters remain adamant the message was never intended to specifically target Sikh culture generally speaking, but rather the policies of political parties they oppose.
But those who found the float offensive felt any such nuance about political commentary would not be properly understood by young children who might instead interpret and normalize the denigration of a man donning a mock turban and fake beard. Some also said such crude depictions of sacred religious icons are hurtful to the Sikh community.
A group of about two dozen people decided to gather at the vacant lot on the south side of Highway 27 across the road from the Shell gas station ahead of the motorcycle motorcade’s arrival. The organizers behind that demonstration, who brought out on display the manure spreader, were calling for an apology over what they believe to be an unfair portrayal of their political message before there could be meaningful reconciliation.
Kulbir Singh Chawla was among the group, which included former Yellow Vest activists who during the pandemic demonstrated against COVID restrictions.
“It’s just a narrative clash I think,” Chawla told the Albertan shortly after the convoy drove past on its way to the town’s office.
“All the Sikhs who are here today, they are generally by and large thinking that it was an attack on the Sikh religion so to speak, which it wasn’t,” he said. “It was just a political satire.”
Chawla, who in a publicly posted video on social media dated Sept. 5 said he about two months ago moved to Sundre, described the town as a “welcoming, accommodating and so friendly a place.”
He also went on to decry “leftist” political parties, accused the members of the Dashmesh Culture Centre of playing victims, and denounced the ride’s good faith gesture.
“The reconciliation and the goodwill that they are showing […] should be rejected until they offer a public apology because it’s a public domain matter,” Chawla said.
Asked why the group gathered at the vacant lot instead of meeting up to participate in conversations as per the spirit of the ride at the town office, rally organizer Brenda Day told the Albertan they not only hadn’t been invited but were specifically told not to attend. When pressed, she could not say who had allegedly directed them to stay away.
Neither municipal officials nor the RCMP said any such directives were issued.
“That’s the first I’ve heard of that,” said Linda Nelson, the town’s chief administrative officer. “The spirit of this is, everybody’s welcome. Everybody has their points of view. We’re just here to make friends and communicate.”
Sundre’s top Mountie also said no one was told to stay away.
“Nobody from the RCMP told them they couldn’t come here,” said Sgt. Trent Sperlie. “In fact, I had brief conversations with one of them and I said this is an opportunity to break bread.”
Common ground
Over at the town’s administrative building, where flags were lowered at half mast in mourning following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, people shook hands and shared conversations prior to and following official addresses from dignitaries.
Sundre’s mayor said the municipality was receptive to working with the motorcycle club and culture centre when those organizations approached the town.
“They wanted to come out and promote their groups here in Sundre because of the history,” said Richard Warnock, referring to the float.
The mayor said he was asked by a national news outlet in the days leading up to the event whether he felt the ride was a good idea.
“What I say is, I don’t see negativity in this. Acts of friendship – no matter who the group or culture is – that’s what Sundre’s about,” he said. “Come on out, be friends, let’s talk. We’d welcome any group of riders or culture that wish to come here and visit.”
Devinder Toor, UCP MLA for the Calgary-Falconridge riding, also attended the event, which he called “a good opportunity for the Sikh community and the town of Sundre to come together.”
Chawla also made his way over to the gathering at the town’s office, where he among others spoke with Harjit Singh Saroya, Dashmesh Culture Centre chairman, who rejected being branded as “left wing.”
Saroya said that although he is a member of the UCP and always supports conservatives, the day’s intent was apolitical.
“We have Liberals, we have NDPs,” he said, adding Sikhs are all over the political spectrum and that they cannot be associated with one single party.
“We are Albertan.”
Beyond satire
Responding to Chawla’s point of view about the nature of the float, Saroya said it went beyond political satire.
“We shouldn’t do anything like that in the future,” he said, expressing the belief turbans shouldn’t be used in such ways. “We don’t want anyone to involve those religious symbols to use as a political stunt or anything.”
George Chahal, Liberal MP for the Calgary Skyview riding who also came out, seemed to agree with Saroya.
“I don’t think anybody should be thinking that those type of images and that approach of what they took, is political satire,” Chahal told the Albertan.
People in a free and open democracy should of course have opportunities to engage in constructive discourse and respectfully disagree, he said.
However, misappropriating culturally sensitive symbols is not the way to engage in good faith conversation, he said, adding a family-friendly event like a community parade is “definitely not the time and the place” to air political grievances.
“I hope the folks who participated in that manner learn from that and are better for it in the future, and find ways to promote their political satire in more appropriate ways,” he said.
Resist appeals to anger
Despite the history that led to Saturday’s ride, Chahal said he had “great first impressions” about Sundre, which he’d never before visited and described as a lovely town.
The hospitality from the municipality and the residents he’d met that day was “wonderful,” he added.
“I had made a commitment after the incident happened, that I would come out and visit and meet with town council and share our experiences and learn about each other,” he said.
During his address, Chahal hailed Canada’s multi-cultural history. Regardless of ethnocultural background, gender identity, religious beliefs or professional aspirations, people from all over the world seek to settle in Canada, he said.
“New Canadians from countries like India, the Philippines, China, Nigeria, Somalia and Pakistan, are arriving in small Alberta towns finding work and opening businesses,” he said. “They are following in the footsteps of Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, and German immigrants who settled in western Canada generations ago.”
Albertans have more in common than sets them apart, he said, adding the province is populated by people who just want the best for their families and communities.
He also expressed a belief in “responsible disagreement and robust debate” as well as “civil, thoughtful discourse” and cautioned against manufacturers of reactionary outrage who prey on people’s fears and attempt to pit “neighbours against neighbours in the pursuit of power at the expense of good government.”
“We must resist the appeal to anger. The best antidote to fear, misunderstanding and hatred, is unity and love for humanity,” he said.
