Justice John Major, head of the Air India Inquiry, listens to proceedings in Ottawa in this December 11, 2007 file photo.CHRIS WATTIE
Relatives of victims of the Air India terrorist bombing 25 years ago say they do not expect the federal inquiry into the investigation of the disaster to provide the words they have waited so long to hear.
The final report of the federal inquiry, to be released June 17, is expected to run more than 3,100 pages in five volumes, supplemented by four volumes of research papers stretching over an additional 1,300 pages.
But family members say they do not anticipate the report will give them any peace, because it is not expected to name those responsible for the bombings that killed 331 people, most of whom were Canadian.
"We have given up hope, [we believe]that no one is going to help us," said Rattan Singh Kalsi, whose 21-year old daughter Indira was on the ill-fated Air India flight that blew up over the Atlantic Ocean on June 23, 1985. "We did not get justice." Those who put the bombs on the planes are still free, he said.
Mr. Kalsi, who went to Ireland to mark the anniversary of the bombing every year for 20 years, said the victims' families had lobbied for a federal inquiry because they thought an inquiry would bring out the truth.
Jagat Paliwal's 15-year-old nephew Mukul was killed in the mid-air bomb explosion. He also lobbied for an inquiry for many years, but he lost interest after he saw what the inquiry was doing. Nevertheless, he said he has "a lot of faith" in John Major, the former Supreme Court of Canada judge who heads the inquiry.
"If this judge was assigned a long time ago, it would have been great," Mr. Paliwal said. But he feels too much time has now passed.
Promode Sabharwal's 12-year-old daughter Meghan was on the Air India flight. Mr. Sabharwal was critical of the government for spending several million dollars on the police investigation and the inquiry without catching the culprits. "It was a waste of money," he said, adding that some of the money spent on the inquiry could have been provided as compensation to the families.
Mr. Major was appointed in May of 2006 to look into the government's response to terrorism threats, terrorism financing, aviation security and how to protect witnesses against intimidation in a terrorism case. He was also to examine how government departments and agencies, including the RCMP and CSIS, share information and the use of security and police intelligence as evidence in a trial.
The Air India bombings remain the deadliest terrorist attack in Canadian history. Two bombs were placed on planes leaving Vancouver on June 22, 1985. Hours later, they exploded on opposite sides of the world - in Tokyo's Narita airport and off the coast of Ireland.
B.C. mechanic Inderjit Singh Reyat is the only person to be convicted for activities related to the bombings. Mr. Reyat, who admitted he collected components that were used in the two bombs, served 20 years in jail for manslaughter.