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Tributes paid to Dr Gurdev Gill, first doctor of South Asian descent in Canada
His advocacy for aspiring Indo-Canadian medical professionals and his efforts to improve healthcare access for immigrants set him apart.
Stock image. / Pexels
The Canadian House of Commons paid rich tributes to Dr Gurdev Singh Gill, the first Doctor of South Asian descent to practice medicine in Canada.
Dr Gill was also a pioneer of a movement in rural Punjab as he in cooperation with some other eminent members of the Indian Diaspora launched an ambitious Village Life Improvement Program, which later came to be known as the VIP program. He died this week.
Dr Gill started this programme from his native village, Kharoudi in the Doab region. A part of the initial experiment, the village was transformed into an ultramodern urban complex.
The village pond was cleaned. In its place, a water treatment plant was set up. All the streets were paved. Households got piped-water supply and sewer connections. An ultramodern computer lab was set up for school children. Kharoudi also became the first village to have solar street lights more than 20 years ago.
Impressed by the work undertaken by a group of Overseas Indians, the then President of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, visited Kharoudi and lauded the efforts of Dr Gurdev Gill and his overseas friends.
After retiring from medicine, Dr Gill made Chandigarh, his second home after Westminster-Burnaby. He also regularly visited his native village, Kharoudi, to monitor various development programmes launched there.
He and his team extended this program to several other villages in Punjab in general and the Doab region in particular.
Peter Julian, NDP MP from New Westminster-Burnaby, moved a condolence motion in the House of Commons. He said that his passing was a devastating loss. “I am rising to reflect on the remarkable life and work of Dr Gurdev Singh Gill. His passing was a devastating loss to the community. My thoughts are with his wife Jasinder, daughter Jasmine, son Sanjay and their families.,” he said.
Dr Gill immigrated to Canada in 1949 and soon after graduated from the UBC medical program. He became the first Canadian of South Asian origin to practise medicine and was awarded the Order of B.C. He has been described as a pioneer and a role model who showed both adults and children that with passion and determination, they could achieve anything, Peter Julian said.
His advocacy for aspiring Indo-Canadian medical professionals and his efforts to improve healthcare access for immigrants set him apart. Dr Gill also had a lasting impact in Punjab, India. He founded the Indo-Canadian Friendship Society of B.C., improving clean drinking water, sanitation and infrastructure for over 100,000 people in India. His legacy reminds us of the power we all have to improve the lives of those around us, he concluded.
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