I recently met an 85-year-old woman who made me think about Alberta’s past and present. Mrs. Sukhdev Kaur Hari, known as Gick Harry, is a descendant of Harnam Singh Hari, a Sikh pioneer who made Calgary his home around 1910.Today, a Calgary park bears his name, a reminder that people who arrived as outsiders can become part of the landscape they helped build.  

When Gick Harry told me about the discrimination her family experienced, I found myself asking: How much has changed? More than a century separates her family’s Alberta from Alberta in 2026. Yet, as our province prepares for a referendum that includes questions about immigration and Alberta’s relationship with Canada, some South Asians again feel they are being viewed as outsiders.

There is no question Alberta needs a conversation about immigration. Albertans have every right to debate immigration levels and whether the current system serves the province well.

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But there is a distinction between debating........

© Calgary Herald