Ruby Dhalla
| Ruby Dhalla | |
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| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Brampton—Springdale |
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In office 2004–2011 |
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| Preceded by | Sarkis Assadourian |
| Succeeded by | Parm Gill |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
February 18, 1974 Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Residence | Mississauga, Ontario |
| Profession | Chiropractor |
| Religion | Sikhism |
Ruby Dhalla (born February 18, 1974) is a Canadian politician. She represented the riding of Brampton—Springdale in the Canadian House of Commons from 2004 to 2011 as a member of the Liberal Party. Dhalla and British Columbia Conservative MP Nina Grewal were the first Sikh women to serve in the Canadian House of Commons.
She was defeated by Conservative Parm Gill in the 2011 federal election.
Dhalla was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba to an immigrant family from Punjab, India. She first attracted international attention in 1984, when she was ten years old and living in Winnipeg's north end. When Indian soldiers took part in military actions at Punjab's Golden Temple, Dhalla wrote a letter to Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, advocating for peace and justice.
"Dear Prime Minister I am writing you after watching the violence on TV and seeing so many Sikhs get killed. Please have the government solve this peacefully so Sikhs are not killed and the Golden Temple doesn't get attacked. Instead of violence and killings maybe sit around the table and talk with each other for a solution. You can settle all of these things, I hope as soon as possible, If I can help in any way please let me know.”.
Gandhi personally replied to Dhalla's letter and referred to it at a press conference held in the months before his assassination. Inviting Dhalla to visit India however Gandhi was assassinated before Dhalla arrived. Dhalla was an honors student and academically gifted. She attended Mc Master University for her 1st year of University on a full scholarship. Dhalla then resumed her remaining studies at the University of Winnipeg and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry with a minor in Political Science from the University of Winnipeg in 1995 and was also short listed as a Rhodes Scholarship Nominee from Manitoba. She instead moved to Toronto in the same year, and graduated with a Doctor of Chiropractic from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in 1999. Upon graduating she started a chain of multidisciplinary health care clinics in the Greater Toronto Area. Dhalla has also pursued a career in acting, working in India for six months and playing a leading role in Kyon? Kis Liye? (translated as Why? and for Whom?), a Bollywood-inspired Hindi-language film shot in Hamilton, Ontario. She finished second in the Miss India Canada pageant in 1993.
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