Canadian-Sikh Minister Sought 100 Canadians Armed Forces Soldiers to Perform with Diljit Dosanjh

Toronto: A 100 Canadians Armed Forces (CAF) soldiers were requested by the Canadian Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan for a concert by Indian-Punjabi singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh in Vancouver, media outlets in Canada reported. However, the request was ultimately denied, according to media reports. 

The request was for Dosanjh's sold-out performance at BC Place, a stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, on April 27, as per media reports. 

A part of Dosanjh's Dil-Luminati tour, the concert was kicked off with a sold-out stadium show at BC Place to a crowd of 54,000 people, making it the largest Punjabi music concert outside of India. Diljit's tour  commenced on April 28 and ended on July 13 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

An Indo-Canadian minister Sajjan, received a letter on April 15 from Dosanjh's manager, Sonali Singh, requesting Canadian soldiers to participate in Dosanjh's sold-out performance at BC Place on April 27. Sajjan forwarded the letter to Defence Minister Bill Blair with his endorsement

According to CBC News, the request was then rejected by Canadian Armed Forces commanders due to the "tight timeline and personnel availability".

Sajjan's press secretary, Joanna Kanga, described that the minister saw the concert as an opportunity for the CAF to interact with a diverse community of young Canadians, similar to their outreach and recruiting events at professional sporting events.

"Diljit Dosanjh is the biggest Punjabi artist in the world and was on the verge of making history as the first Punjabi artist to sell out a concert at one of the largest stadiums in Vancouver," Kanga was quoted as saying by The Globe and Mail.

"Minister Sajjan agreed the concert would be a good opportunity for the Canadian Armed Forces to engage with and expand connections to a diverse community of young Canadians, along the lines of the CAF outreach and recruiting events at professional sporting events," she added.

The Department of National Defence emphasised that participation in such events must not impact domestic or international operations and that operational readiness must be sustained at all times.

"Additionally, it is crucial that participation in such events does not impact domestic and international operations, and our operational readiness must be sustained at all times" Lieutenant-Commander Linda Coleman, reported The Globe and Mail.
Harjit Sajjan attended the concert with his family, purchasing his own tickets and covering all expenses personally, according to CBC News.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also recognised Dosanjh's appeal among the Indo-Canadian community, meeting him before his July 15 concert in Toronto and posting pictures on social media.