Above: With his wife, Kiran Kaur Bhinder.
People
Tim Singh Uppal: Canada's New Minister of State (Democratic Reform)
NEWS REPORT
Sardar Tim Singh Uppal was sworn in this morning (Wednesday, May 18, 2011) as Canada's Minister of State (Democratic Reform) by Prime Minister Stephen Harper as part of his first majority government in Ottawa.
He was re-elected to Canada's Parliament in the May 2, 2011 federal election.
Tim and his wife, Kiran Kaur Bhinder, a Department of Justice lawyer, live in Sherwood Park. Tim was born in New Westminster, British Columbia, in 1974 and has spent most of his life in Edmonton. He and his family have strong ties to Sherwood Park, having run a family business in Sherwood Park Mall.
From 1992 to 1997, Tim was executive producer and host of a radio show on CKER in Edmonton, Alberta. In 2004, he became a residential mortgage manager at TD Canada Trust. He is the founder and president of the South Edmonton Youth Group and has been a member of the Capital Health Community Health Council since 2001. For several years, Tim was an active member of the Sherwood Park Chamber of Commerce and the Sherwood Park Rotary Club. He was also a founding member of the Edmonton Police Community Advisory Council.
Tim ran for the Canadian Alliance in the 2000 federal election in Edmonton Southeast, where he lost to David Kilgour by less than 5,000 votes. In a re-match in the 2004 federal election in Edmonton-Beaumont, Kilgour again defeated Tim Uppal, who was now running for Canadian Alliance's successor, the new Conservative Party of Canada, by just 134 votes.
Tim Uppal was finally elected to Canada's Parliament in 2008.
In December 2008, Uppal was appointed to two standing committees, Health and Heritage.
The first private member's bill to be introduced by Uppal was passed in December 2010 - an unusual success, since private members bills do not usually become law. The bill created a National Holocaust Memorial, to be paid for by donations by citizens. Speaking in the House of Commons, Tim noted that Canada was the only allied nation without a National Holocaust Memorial. The bill was supported by MPs from all parties.
When the newly minted Canadian Museum for Human Rights caused some controversy in the riding, due to the large number of people of Ukrainian heritage - the Ukrainian Canadian Congress had been advocating for a separate exhibit for the Holodomar, the famine that Stalin imposed on Ukrainians in 1932 and 1933 - Tim Uppal supported the UCC, stating that "the Holodomor genocide should have a unique, autonomous and prominent place in the CMHR."]
In February 2010, Uppal was promoted to acting Chair of the Health Committee, which oversees and studies various health agencies, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB), Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission (HMIRC), Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and the Assisted Human Reproduction Agency of Canada (AHRAC).
May 18, 2011
Conversation about this article
1: Jagjit Singh (Delhi, India), May 19, 2011, 12:57 AM.
Heartiest felicitations to Sardar Tim Singh Uppal on his elevation to Minister in the Canadian government. As he is showing his Sardari in his appearance, I hope he shall do the same in his daily conduct and routine as well.
2: Gurteg Singh (U.S.A.), May 19, 2011, 10:31 AM.
Congratulations to Sardar Tim Singh Uppal for this achievement. He now represents the high profile public face of Sikhs in Canada and will be under the spot light and intense public scrutiny. I am sure he will conduct himself impartially and with the highest ethical standards expected of a GurSikh.
3: Harbhajan Singh Anand (Mumbai, India), May 19, 2011, 1:13 PM.
Heartiest congratulations to Sardar Tim Singh Uppal for his appointment as a Minister in the Canadian government. He represents the Khalsa. His gursikhi saroop will definitely motivate others. May God bless him with many more achievements.
4: Panjab Singh (Yuba City, California, U.S.A.), May 19, 2011, 9:56 PM.
Dear Sardar Tim Singh ji: You seem like an excellent blend of Sikh and Canadian values!
5: Gurinder Singh (Stockton, California, U.S.A.), May 20, 2011, 7:47 AM.
Heartiest congratulations to Sardar Tim Singh Uppal. He looks great in Khalsa roop. We are very proud of you.
6: Manraj Singh (Ottawa, Canada), May 20, 2011, 8:29 AM.
Awesome! Good job, Tim ji.
7: Palwinder Singh Grewal (Leszno, Poland), May 20, 2011, 5:13 PM.
Congratulations, Tim. We are very proud of you.
8: Ari Singh (Sofia, Bulgaria), May 21, 2011, 12:16 PM.
Congratulations, Tim Singh Uppal. I was glad to read that you have supported the Ukrainian Canadian Congress with reference to Holdomar. The Ukrainian are, in a sense, the Sikhs of Eastern Europe. May God bless you.
9: Mohan Singh (Faridabad, India), May 21, 2011, 1:53 PM.
May Waheguru bless you with chardi kalaa, S. Tim Singh Uppal. Serve the people and country where you live. Let all of us learn a lesson from you: join the main-stream politics /social service/ administration whereever we live, in any country /corner of this world, and serve the people.
10: Sonu Singh (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), May 22, 2011, 8:15 PM.
Congratulations, Tim Singh Uppal, on your win again. Thanks for you support of the Ukrainians. Yet you stood speechless when a petition was presented in Parliament to declare the 1984 attack on Harmandar Sahib a holocaust!
11: Baljit Singh Rihal, JP (London, United Kingdom), May 23, 2011, 6:01 AM.
Heartiest congratulations, Sardar Tim Singh ji!