Audio

Audio interview with Bant Brar conducted by SB. Bant Singh Brar came to Canada in 1972. His first job was at Mission Shake and Shingle in Mission. Brar also discusses his immigration status, owning a sawmill, and the challenges he faced such as hatred from members of the European White settler community. He also discusses the length of shifts and the diversity of his co-workers at the sawmills. He also discusses the food he ate and his good memories.

Audio interview with Bachittar Singh Gill conducted by SB. Bachittar Singh Bains is a Canadian citizen who came to Canada in 1950. His first job was at British Columbia Forest Products in Youbou, B.C. He also discusses his immigration status, work history in India, personal experience working in Canadian sawmills and his wages. Gill also discusses living in bunkhouses and the food served in the cook houses. He also discusses his experience of buying a house and how he did not face racism in Canada.

Audio interview with Ang Singh Sidhu conducted by SB. Ang Singh Sidhu is a Canadian citizen who came to Canada in 1955. His first job was at Mohinder Sawmill in Duncan. He also discusses his immigration status, the various sawmills he was employed at, and the diversity of employees at the sawmills. Sidhu also discusses the food he ate at the cookhouses and working in the boom as a logger in the sawmills. He further discusses his marriage to wife, his children and personal education history.

Audio interview with Amarjit Singh Heer conducted by SB. Amarjit Singh Heer is a Canadian citizen who came to Canada in 1972. He began his first job at a mill near Williams lake. He also discusses his immigration to Canada, his immigration status, his personal history, and his experience working in various positions at sawmills such as Nanoose Forest Products, Nanaimo Forest Products and Western Forest Products. He also discusses how he was paid low wages and how it was difficult to gain seniority at the sawmills. Heer's encounters with racism and discrimination is also discussed.

Interview with Ishar Kaur and Rattan Singh Mahairu. Ishar Kaur is the granddaughter of Thakur Singh Banga. Ishar Kaur speaks about her family's deep history of immigration to Canada as well as her experiences moving back to India as a child and later returning after her wedding. She also speaks about the Gur Sikh Temple in Abbotsford, BC and its importance to her personally and the Sikh community overall.

Interview with Swaran Kaur Kooner. Swaran Kaur moved to Canada with her husband Mohinder Singh Kooner in 1960. They were sponsored by Swaran Kaur's sister, Nasib Kaur Sall. She speaks about her and her family's experience adjusting to a new life in Canada, including financial struggles and facing racism from neighbours. She also talks about her experience working various jobs and raising her children. She further speaks about how society has changed and the importance of remembering the past.

Interview with Kerpaul Kaur and Sucha Singh Hayer. The couple talks about the immigration histories of each of their families. Kerpaul (Polly) speaks about her experiences growing up in British Columbia and working. Such Singh speaks about his experiences work in a sawmill and later becoming an auto mechanic. They both further speak about how the Sikh community has grown and changed over the years.

Interview with Sarvan Singh Gill. Sarvan Singh Gill was born in 1933 in Village CHak 91, Tehsil Toba Teak Singh, District Lyallpur, West Punjab, Pakistan. After the Partition of India in 1947, his family moved to East Punjab, near Ludhiana. Sarvan Singh first came to Canada in 1981 and was later sponsored by his son in 1984. He worked as a security guard and speaks about learning English in Canada. He lived in both Vancouver and Toronto, and upon retiring, moved to Abbotsford. He also talks about a racist encounter he had with a group of young White kids in Toronto. Sarvan Singh speaks about meeting new people and making friends in Canada and mentions that he was known in the community because he was the sarpanch (head) of his village.

Interview with Sadhu Singh Gill. Sadhu Singh Gill was born in 1927 in Baduaal village, Zira, district Ferozpur and worked as a farmer on his own land in India. In 1970, Sadhu Singh's son, Amarjeet Singh Gill moved to Canada and then began sponsoring his family members. Sadhu Singh joined his son in Calgary in 1979. In 1989, Sadhu Singh's wife passed away making him a widower. Sadhu Singh speaks about his experiences of moving and adjusting to life in Canada.

Interview with Rajinder Singh Gill. Rajinder Singh speaks about his family's immigration history and their expereinces living in Canada.