(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Adults in Canada say two entities should be held responsible for the country’s deadliest terrorist attack, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies. 34 per cent of respondents think both the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and airport security personnel deserve a great deal of the blame for the 1985 Air India bombing.

In addition, 27 per cent of respondents believe the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is largely to blame, while 18 per cent mention Transport Canada.

On Jun. 23, 1985, a mid-air explosion killed 329 people on board Air India Flight 182. Two Japanese baggage-handlers died in a related incident at Tokyo’s Narita Airport. 48 per cent of respondents regard the Air India bombing as a Canadian tragedy, while 22 per cent of Canadians think of the terrorist attack as a mostly Indian affair.

Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri were arrested in October 2000, in connection with the bombing of Air India Flight 182. The investigation and legal proceedings cost an estimated $107 million U.S. Crown prosecutors argued that Malik and Bagri were members of a Sikh militant group who sought revenge for the Indian Army’s 1984 raid of Amritsar’s Golden Temple?Sikhism’s holiest shrine. During the trial, several witnesses claimed the two men were involved in the bombings.

In March 2005, British Columbia Supreme Court judge Ian Josephson acquitted Malik and Bagri of all charges, citing lack of substantial evidence.

A public judicial inquiry, headed by former Supreme Court justice John Major, is currently examining the bombing. During the course of the proceedings, some of the victims’ families have claimed that race played a factor in how the initial investigation into the attack was handled. 36 per cent of respondents agree with the victims’ families, while 37 disagree.

Earlier this month, Ontario lieutenant governor James Bartleman?who served as director-general of security and intelligence in the Department of External Affairs in 1985?testified to the inquiry that he saw intelligence related to a "specific threat" against the Air India flight, but his warning was dismissed. 32 per cent of respondents think Canada is now more vulnerable to a terrorist attack similar to the 1985 Air India bombing.

Polling Data

How much of the blame, if any, do you think each of the following deserves for the Air India bombing?

Do you regard the 1985 Air India bombing as a Canadian tragedy or an Indian affair?

A public judicial inquiry, headed by former Supreme Court justice John Major, is currently examining the 1985 Air India bombing. Some of the victims’ families believe that race played a factor in how the initial investigation into the attack was handled. Do you agree or disagree with this view?

Would you say Canada is now more vulnerable or less vulnerable to a terrorist attack similar to the 1985 Air India bombing?

Complete Poll (PDF)

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