For the past few days I've been tearing out what little hair I have left... listening to our local newsrooms reporting on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's current visit to Canada and claiming that this is the first Canadian visit by an Indian Prime Minster since Indira Gandhi was here 42 years ago in 1973.
No, folks... It is *not* the first visit in 42 years. The last time that an Indian Prime Minister visited Canada was, in fact, 28 years ago in 1987.
The last Canadian visit of an Indian Prime Minister was the first time that our fair city would experience major international security measures being taken, when then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi (Indira Gandhi's son) was in attendance at the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference -- along with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II -- right here in Vancouver at Canada Place during the third week of October in 1987. Aside from the heavy security and a couple of noisy demonstrations, Ragiv Gandhi's visit was relatively uneventful. Three and half years later, however, he was killed by a suicide bomber while campaigning in India in May of 1991.
So... Is it our newsrooms who have the short memories... or the people in Ottawa who send out the press releases that those same newsrooms rarely, if ever, question?