Tara Singh Hayer

Tara Singh Hayer
Born(1936-11-15)November 15, 1936
Paddi Jagir, Punjab, British India
DiedNovember 18, 1998(1998-11-18) (aged 62)
Cause of deathAssassination by shooting
NationalityCanadian
OccupationNewspaper publisher
Known forFounding the Indo-Canadian Times; and being the first journalist in Canada killed for their work
SpouseBaldev Kaur
Children4, including Dave
Awards

Tara Singh Hayer OBC (November 15, 1936 – November 18, 1998) was an Indian-Canadian newspaper publisher and editor who was murdered after his outspoken criticism of fundamentalist violence and terrorism. In particular, he was a key witness in the trial of the Air India Flight 182 bombing.

Hayer was the founder of the Indo-Canadian Times, the largest and oldest Punjabi-language weekly newspaper in Canada and the leading Punjabi-language newspaper in North America. The paper—distributed in Canada, the United States, and England—was regularly used by Hayer to speak out against violent extremist groups.

He is the first, and one of the few journalists in Canada, to have been killed specifically for their work.