President

Grab every opportunity by its horns

Although Dadwas working in the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board, I started giving tuitions to children to support my familyat government schools. After some time, I joined Philips as Inspector Quality Control where my shift started at 6am. Cycling 20km, I would reach my workplace by 5:30 and work for 10–12 hours straight. All the while, I searched for ways to get my family a good life and secure my future. Desperate to uplift the lifestyle of my family and immature to realise that going to a country at war can be dangerous, I landed in Iraq in 1987, which at the time was at war with Iran. I somehow survived and was later sent to Basra where I used to slog for 14–17 hours a day, when I had a chance meet the then President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. In 1990, I came back to India and joined byToshniwal in Chandigarh as Resident Sales Engineer. For the first time in my life, I felt I could find some solid ground for my family and myself. That same year, on 30 September, I got married to Gurmeet.

I had joined Toshniwal as an Engineer but over the years I became Regional Sales Manager. I was looking after process control and medical instruments for Northern India including Jammu and Kashmir. I had started making a decent living and managed to build a small house in Zirakpur in the tough times that I had seen my family battling in made me crave for better than the best for my family. I wanted to have better life. It was in the year 2007 that I, along with the family, immigrated to Canada, though life wasn’t all too fair there. But my parents’ support was a big encouragement. Trying to establish myself and looking after the family in a foreign land were difficult. Appearing for many job interviews and looking for ways to start my own business went in vain until I met Clarence D’cruz, whose conviction gave me the courage start realising my dreams.

I established a small company, Just Instruments Inc, in 2009 from the basement of my home. Clarence D’cruz was the first one to lay his trust in me and became my first customer. For two years, I worked like a Trojan, without a single day off. Gurmeet, with her patience and calm, became my biggest support, helping me and the family sail through the tide. I could see consumers trusting me and my dedication to become my customers. By the second year my profits had doubled.

In 2009, I became a member of Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC). Once my company was well-recognised, I was invited to become the chair for the energy committee in ICCC. In these eight years, I accomplished what many people take several years to. Eventually over the years after taking up many roles in board of directors, in the year 2017, I became the first Sikh President of the organisation. It was all because my mother’s blessings.

Later I gave a presentation in the Parliament house, Ottawa, and joined a delegation to India along with the Prime Minister of Canada. I am also a leading advisory for the advanced budget sessions in Canada. After stepping down from ICCC as the President, I joined Brampton Board of Trade as director; within a month, they promoted me as the Vice Chair. All this while, my agenda was to ensure that the locals could export their goods to Canada and Indians products can be imported to Canada. It gives me peace to realise that my efforts have enabled the two countries have better intercountry business.

It was my proudest moment when I was awarded in front of thousands of people as inaugural Chairs award of Brampton board of trade. I ended up crying on the stage! My endeavour was also awarded and recognised by some of the leading Indian leaders, like Capt Amrinder Singh, the Chief Minister of Punjab, Manohar Lal Khattar, the Chief Minister of Haryana, Vijay Rupani, the Chief Minister of Gujarat and the Rana KP Singh, speaker of Punjab.