Bhupinder Singh Mahal

Bhupinder Singh Mahal, was born on April 16, 1933, in Kampala, Uganda; grew up mainly in Nairobi, Kenya. His father, Amar Singh, who hailed from their ancestral village of Mahal Gaila, district Jullundur, migrated to Kenya in 1927 and became a career civil servant. Mahal is first generation born abroad.

He has lived and worked on five continents (Africa 16 years; India 5 years; UK 7 years; South America 5 years; Canada since 1967). His international manifold experience has provided him with a platform to promote ethnic identity and the imperative of integrating into host societies. From 1990 to 1994 he served on the Canadian Multiculturalism Advisory Committee, a body responsible for policy development in the elimination of barriers to achieve social, cultural and economic equality for all Canadians.

Since 1997 he has been playing a very proactive role in the health care arena: serving four years as Vice Chair of a leading health provider organization and by serving on the Council of the College of Physiotherapists, both Order-in-Council appointments by the Ontario government.

In March 2009 Mr. Mahal was appointed Chairperson, Employment Insurance Board of Referees (a Governor-in-Council appointment). The legislatively prescribed Board is a first-level, independent, administrative tribunal mandated to provide fair and impartial quasi-judicial hearings of appeals of Employment Insurance decisions.

In 2003 he was awarded the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal, created to mark the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth ll to the throne, for contribution to Canada, to the community and to fellow Canadians. In 2007 he was awarded Council Award by the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario in recognition of significant contributions ensuring the physiotherapists provide high quality, competent and ethical services that protect the public interest.

He is known for his enduring interest in Sikh ethos in general, evolving situations and challenges facing Sikh diaspora in particular, and a keen interest in Indian history and political sociology, which he has explored and explained in his books and articles and essays published in Sikh journals, newspapers and magazines in Canada, USA, UK and India.