Proud Sons Follow Father’s Groundbreaking Footsteps
Chief Fantino notes diversity in cadets’ graduating class
By Nicholas Keung, The Toronto Star
Through Sergeant Rajinder Singh Sidhu’s 30-year career with the Toronto Police Service, the veteran officer has personally met with world political leaders and celebrities, from former U.S. president Ronald Reagan to Queen Elizabeth to the late Princess Diana.
But the 53-year-old intelligence officer has never been more proud of anything than watching his two sons, Vijay, 25, and Ajay, 20, join the police force.
Yesterday was a special day for the Markham family, when the Sikh father and his two boys, all clad in black dress police uniforms, attended Ajay’s graduation ceremony at the C.O. Bick Police College in Scarborough.
“I am just very proud of my boys,” said Sidhu. “There are hundreds of people (who) apply to be police constables, but only very few people can pass the tests and they both made it. I’m just very happy for them.”
Ajay was among 36 students - 11 women and 25 men - graduating from the Toronto police college yesterday. He was also among the 55 per cent of visual minorities represented in the graduating class. “It is a true reflection of the community that we serve,” said a delighted Police Chief Julian Fantino, noting that the group was one of the most diverse classes to date.
City Councillor Pam McConnell, the newly appointed vice-chair of the Toronto Police Services Board, reminded the new recruits to embrace the city’s motto: “Diversity is our strength.”
“We need people like you who celebrate and honour the diversity of our city,” she said. “It is not a job. It is a calling for you and it is a calling from our city.”
Born and raised in Punjab, India, Sidhu moved to England and finished his high school education at 16, before coming to Canada in 1972 to study accounting at Humber College.
Following the footsteps of his father, Dhiraj, who served in the British army, Sidhu joined the Toronto police force in 1974 and became one of the first Sikh police officers in Toronto. He spent six years as a uniformed officer at 12 Division, followed by a decade with the community program at police headquarters before joining the intelligence unit, where one of his duties was escorting visiting world leaders around the city.
Both Vijay and Ajay said they admire their father for being a pioneer in a career that was not well-received by new immigrants at the time. As children, they heard about Sidhu’s work at dinner and looked up to him for risking his own life to “serve and protect” the public.
“I’m proud of my father for making that choice,” said Ajay, who has completed his first year of study in political science at York University, but is taking the year off school to work as a policeman. Although his future plans aren’t concrete, he would like to eventually join the police SWAT team.
For the family’s matriarch, Harpal Kaur, there is just one complaint now that she has three policemen under one roof. “There are too many uniforms in our house. We have three sets of everything,” she laughed.