By Mata Press Service

A grassroots organization which formed Canada's first Sikh cadet regiment in Surrey will have its day in court to challenge its ouster by the Army Cadet League of Canada.

The BC Supreme Court denied an application by the League to dismiss the case last week and ordered the plaintiff - Friends of the Sikh Cadets Society – which was representing itself to seek counsel.

An amended notice of claim will be filed this week, said Harbinder Singh Sewak, one of the founders of the Friends of the Sikh Cadet Society.

“The judge has given us our day in court and we intend to use that to regain our reputation which has been tarnished by our unlawful ouster, unfounded reasons and sinister motives,” he said.

Sewak led a group of Sikh donors to form the 3300 BCR British Columbia Regiment (Bhai Kanhaiya) in 2012 with the intention of honouring the Sikh heritage connection with the Canadian Forces and advance the pluralism of Canada’s military family.

According to the B.C. Supreme Court notice of civil claim, the Friends of the Sikh Cadets Society said its agreement to fund the regiment was unilaterally terminated by the Army Cadet League of Canada.

The lawsuit claimed the ouster was orchestrated by factions aligned with Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan.

"The conspiracy was fuelled by rival Sikh factions aligned with Minister Sajjan which led to undue interference of the operations by the society and its ultimate ouster," the claim states.

"As a result of the conspiracy, the operations of the 3300 BCR British Columbia Regiment (Bhai Kanhaiya) are in disarray, leaving stranded dozens of teenagers and their parents in one of Canada's fastest growing cadet program(s)."

After the lawsuit was filed last year, a statement from Jordan Owens, a spokesperson for Sajjan, that did not directly respond to the suit’s allegations, noted the minister has “proudly worked to promote diversity throughout the Canadian Armed Forces.”

 "Having served in the military, Minister Sajjan has great respect for the Chain of Command, and trusts them to make the decisions that have been delegated to them," Owens said.

The Army Cadet League of Canada in its failed application to dismiss the case said The Friends of the Sikh Cadets Society was dissolved in May 2015 for failing to file its annual reports with the Registrar of Companies.

“As a result of the dissolution and failure to uphold financial commitments the sponsorship agreement (between the society and the League) was terminated in June 2016.”

On the issue of factions aligned with Sajjan allegedly behind the motive for the ouster, the League contends that the claim is difficult to understand and is without substance.

Sewak and the Friends of the Sikh Cadets Society said in an affidavit that the dissolution by the Registrar was a technical oversight and that the society has been restored with an order that it is deemed to have continued in existence as if it had never been struck off.

“I have conducted a search and there are many societies that are supportive of the cadet program that have technical faults including not being registered and they have not been dealt with the same manner as us,” said Sewak in his affidavit.

Sewak in his affidavit contends “our financial duties were not neglected in any manner and the termination was politically motivated.”

“The sponsor committee is a group of volunteers dedicated to the operations and growth of the Sikh Cadets. The Army Cadet League, instead of helping and guiding us, has for some unknown reason decided it is best to get rid of us,” said Sewak in a statement.

Sewak said the lawsuit will be suspended if an open inquiry is called by the Department of National Defence and/or The Army Cadet League in how this matter was handled.