Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada fights to recover after fire flooding hits Mississauga gallery
The Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada in Mississauga is working through a serious crisis after a fire in a neighboring unit triggered sprinklers that flooded the gallery on February 26, destroying artifacts some of which dated to the 1800s. Separately, a video circulating on social media purporting to show a crossbow at a Sikh community event drew attention in May, though Peel Regional Police told reporters they had opened no investigation.
Museum Staff Race to Salvage Collection After Sprinkler Flood
The Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada, located on Drew Road near Airport Road and Derry Road East in Mississauga, tells the story of the Sikh community in Canada and was left facing severe water damage after a small fire broke out in a unit directly above its gallery on February 26. Firefighters responded and contained the fire, but the building sprinkler system activated and sent water cascading into the museum below. The flooding affected the space broadly: executive director Pardeep Singh Nagra confirmed to CBC News that books, artifacts, furniture, and other resources were all damaged in the incident. Some items could not be saved at all, including certain pieces dating back to the 1800s, making those losses especially hard to absorb given the museum purpose. Nagra was direct about the scale of the physical damage, saying the building itself must be completely gutted and rebuilt from the ground up before anything can return. Speaking on Tuesday, he did not minimize the blow: the museum itself has to be gutted, the total structure of it has to be rebuilt, and he called the situation very sad and very devastating. Even so, he kept the community attention on what remains, saying they are hurt but not broken. Staff moved as many of the rescued artifacts as they could to a nearby location to protect them from further harm while the longer work of restoration gets underway. [1]
🤝 Peel Police Say No Investigation Opened After Crossbow Video Goes Viral
A video spread widely across social media platforms claiming to show a Sikh man openly carrying a crossbow at a Sikh community event in Mississauga, Ontario, drawing significant attention online. The footage was allegedly recorded by Prabhjot Singh Johal, identified in the report as a Khalistani activist, truck driver, and social media user. A street sign for Brandon Gate Drive in Mississauga is visible in the background of the video, providing a recognizable local reference point within the footage. Despite the video circulating broadly, Peel Regional Police told Juno News when contacted on Monday that no investigation had been opened into the matter. Officers said they were unable to confirm the authenticity of the video and stated that no such incident was reported in connection with the Khalsa Day parade held in the city on May 3. The police response placed the onus on the video authenticity, even as the presence of a local street sign in the footage had drawn questions from those following the story online. Juno News, a subscriber-supported Canadian outlet, published the report on May 12, 2026, after writer Clayton DeMaine sought an official comment directly from Peel Regional Police. No further law enforcement action was announced at the time of publication. [3]