2009 Honourees

The Honourable Frank Iacobucci, C.C., Q.C., LL.D.

Frank Iacobucci has had a distinguished career in private practice, academia, government and the judiciary. After practising as a corporate and securities lawyer in New York for several years, he joined the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, as a professor of law. He later served as dean of the Faculty of Law and then vice-president and provost of the university. In 1985, Mr. Iacobucci was appointed Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General for Canada; in 1988, Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Canada; and in 1991, a Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

In June 2005, Mr. Iacobucci was appointed by the government of Canada as its representative to lead discussions toward a fair and lasting resolution of the legacy of Indian residential schools. He currently serves as chairman of the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario and is a director of a number of prestigious organizations.

Mr. Iacobucci is also an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and of St. John's College, Cambridge, and holds honorary degrees from universities across Canada, as well as the Università della Calabria in Cosenza, Italy. In July 2007, he was appointed a Companion in the Order of Canada.

After retiring from the Supreme Court, Mr. Iacobucci joined Toronto law firm Torys LLP as Counsel in September 2004. He currently advises government and business on important legal and policy matters.

Few individuals in this country can match The Honurable Frank Iacobucci's record and life long commitment to the principles of social justice and equality which embody and guide the Sikh way of life.

Kiran Ahluwalia

The UK’s Folk Roots magazine says she has "a voice destined to enchant more than one generation" and Sing Out magazine in the US says, Kiran possesses "a deep spirituality and tranquility that borders on the mystic".  Juno Award winner, Kiran Ahluwalia explores the language of the heart through ghazal and Punjabi folk songs.  

Born in India, raised in Canada, and now living in New York City, she has long been one of this country`s most prominent and inventive musical artists.  Kiran was the 2005 recipient of Canada’s highest musical honour – the Juno Award for “Best World Music Album” (two of her other albums have also been nominated for Junos).

She also won the Canadian Arts Presenters “Touring Artist of the Year” Award that same year and has twice made "Top 10 Albums of Year" in the prestigious Songlines Magazine.
 
Kiran is one of the few people in the Western hemisphere composing new music for ghazals.  She released her first album, 'Kashish –Attraction' in 2001.  It gained immediate critical acclaim in Canada and quickly established her as a young artist to watch. Her latest album – 2007`s ‘Wanderlust’ – expands her musical horizons to new heights - drawing on Portuguese fado, Sub Saharan blues, improvisational jazz, and more.  It`s the latest chapter in Kiran`s continual journey to create music in a modern and global context.  She has toured around the world and her legion of fans continues to grow with every captivating performance. Kiran Ahluwalia is truly “a rising international star” (Village Voice).  

Visit Kiran's Website

View Kiran's Performance online

Parminder (Par) Singh

Parminder (Par) Singh is the Managing Director of the Microsoft Canada Development Centre (MCDC), located in Richmond, British Columbia. In his role since September, 2007, Par is responsible for the overall management of the MCDC, as well as establishing the strategic direction for the Centre. The Centre is expected to be one of the premier development locations as part of Microsoft’s Global Distributed Development Strategy.

Prior to his current role, Parminder spent four years serving as the Director of Business Development for Xbox and the General Manager for the Retail Division in Japan, where he provided strategic direction, developed go-to-market and pricing strategies, and led negotiations with major manufacturing, retailers and content partners.

Par has more than 22 years of professional experience in building, operating, and managing international businesses for private companies, government clients, and multi-national corporations around the world.

Before joining Microsoft, Par held executive positions at companies in Canada and US including: Evenio Media, Telesat Canada, Motorola, Teledesic, FreeInternet Networks, and 5th Link Software. Additionally, he has consulted for numerous companies including: Boeing, Acer, ATT, Flextronics, Wistron, Hughes Aircraft Company, Space Systems/Loral, Nortel, and Bell Northern Research. With extensive international business and management experience, Par often speaks at industry conferences and at University forums.

Par holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Nova Scotia.

Par is married with two children, two dogs, and an occasional goldfish. He enjoys woodworking, badminton and basketball.

Jasmeet Kaur Sidhu

Jasmeet Kaur Sidhu is a Canadian journalist, social and international activist. Her research and social initiatives include HIV/AIDS, violence against women, youth empowerment and climate change.

At 16 Jasmeet founded the Peel Environmental Youth Alliance, an umbrella organization working to implement environmental programs and train environmental leadership in all 220 Peel Region schools. The organization has now been running for five years and has won numerous national awards and grants for its programs. Studying Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Toronto as a prestigious National Scholar, University of Toronto's highest honour, she served as a member of Toronto Star's community editorial board writing several editorials on issues such as gendered-violence in the Sikh community, politics and cultural issues. She currently blogs for the Star on national environmental issues, and reported for the paper from Poznan, Poland on the United Nations Climate Change Conference. In addition she spent four months in Namibia working extensively and researching the issue of HIV/AIDS and its social impacts on women, and is highly engaged in expanding ARV drug availability and seeking improvement on the lives of HIV positive women in the sub-Saharan Africa region.

She is a past recipient of the Top 20 Under 20 award, and in 2008 was named by the Globe and Mail and the Women's Executive Network one of Canada's 100 Most Powerful Women.

The Sikh Centennial Foundation is proud to honour all of the above distinguished members of our society at the Annual Gala 2009