Thousands flock to state memorial for Manmeet Bhullar

“You had a belief in God and I had a belief in you.”

Those words from Tarjinder Kaur Bhullar Sunday afternoon, as she delivered the eulogy for her brother Manmeet, the PC MLA who tragically lost his life on Monday.

She was joined by her brother Appy while she spoke to the nearly 2,400 people who were in attendance for the politician’s state memorial at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.

Thousands more passed through the auditorium during Bhullar’s public viewing throughout the morning, with the memorial streamed live online, with around 400 people watching in the SAIT gymnasium nearby.

Former Alberta premier Jim Prentice was the MC for the event and spoke glowingly of his former colleague.

“Look around you,” Prentice said. “To be so loved and so admired and yet so very young is remarkable.”

“Manmeet would’ve been surprised and humbled by the response to his death, he would’ve smiled that infectious smile that we have all seen, he would’ve summoned up a modest chuckle, smiled again and then returned to the important business of helping others.”

Prentice also delivered letters from Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

After the Canadian anthem and a Sikh hymn was the eulogy from Manmeet’s siblings, with Tarjinder offering a humourous look into how spoiled her brother was.

“He knew that no one could resist taking care of his every need and pampering him,” she said. “The kitchen counter was just always too far for him to go get the coffee, his socks were always too far away, so someone else could grab them for him and why would he need to do the dishes when someone else should learn the importance of doing these things?”

“I often joke that my parents definitely have a princess in the family and it sure was not their daughter,” she said with the crowd chuckling.

But she also spoke glowingly of Manmeet’s pursuit of public service and being a devoted family man.

“The one accomplishment of his that made us prouder than any other was him choosing Namrita as his wife,” she said, while also expressing how much she looked up to her brother.

“You would give anything for God; I would give anything for you.”

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said, while this shouldn’t have happened, it is time to celebrate an extraordinary life, discussing his friendship with the provincial politician and the long lunches they would have.

“I’m going to miss him so much, the whole community is going to miss him that much and I know that all of us in this room and all of us in this community, are reaching out to Mom and Dad, to Tarjinder and Appy, to Namrita and her family in telling you we will be there for you the way he was always there for us,” he said.

There was a video message from Minister of Defence Harjit Sajjan, as well as tributes from fellow politician Tim Uppal, friend Tony Dhaliwal and cousin Amardeep Lail.

Then his wife Namrita thanked those in attendance.

“I know that Meeta would be deeply humbled by you all being here today, so from the bottom of our hearts, I thank you,” she said, discussing the hand-written note her husband wrote to her for her last birthday.

“His life was short, but he did more than most and had the grey hairs in his beard to prove it, though if you asked Meeta, he would blame the grey hair on me.”

She said the strength many have admired from her the last few days are a direct result of Manmeet.

“That is Meeta’s love. He gives you strength when you need it the most and inspires you to be better,” she said. “Meeta would want me to tell each of you that he is great because of you and that he did all that he did because of you.”

The memorial concluded with a video tribute, including clips from Bhullar himself in the legislature, discussing his passion for public service, from helping new Canadians to instilling pride in young people.

“It is my hope and my pursuit to ensure that new Canadians fulfill their dreams for their families and for future generations to come, but it is also my hope and my pursuit that they engage in Alberta, they engage in Canada and they take an active leadership position in this country to help shape the future of this province and this country,” he said. “Instead of teaching our young people to judge others, they must learn to bring out the best in others. Instead of young people feeling that beauty is based on shapes and sizes and that love is conditional, they must see and they must feel that they are beautiful and they are loved.”

The video ended with him talking about his love of family.

“Nothing, nothing, nothing can replace a loving family member’s loving embrace.”

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