[1] Bird fought actively against the threat of his clients' eventual deportation, and he made great effort to challenge Canada's highly restrictive immigration laws.
[3] Born on July 16, 1868, and raised in Barrie, Ontario, on Lake Simcoe, Bird's lineage is Canadian dating back many generations, with a distant Irish past.
[4] After eight years in Toronto, Bird moved to Kenora, Ontario (then known as Rat Portage), where he helped open an Edgar & Malone branch office.
On May 23, 1914, the ship arrived at its destination in Vancouver, but was forced to be anchored in the Burrard Inlet because of the extremely rigid immigration laws of the day.
The ship carried 376 Indians: 12 Hindus, 24 Muslims and 340 Sikhs, all British subjects (including 2 women and 4 children) who had come to make a new life in Canada.
The anti-Asian mood that prevailed in British Columbia was a significant obstacle in the way of Bird's chance at winning, and the tone was not lost on the media.
Newspapers picked up the story calling the incident "The second Oriental invasion of Canada", with the Vancouver Sun writing: "Hindu (Sikh) invaders are now in the city harbour on the Komagata Maru.
"[5] Bird intended to prove that the Komagata Maru's passengers should be allowed to land in Canada as British subjects, but this was a significant challenge.
The premier of British Columbia, Sir Richard McBride openly opposed allowing the passengers onto Canadian soil, as did the mayor of Vancouver, Truman Smith Baxter, and several other members of the provincial legislature.
"[5] Bird fought for equality, and attempted to challenge Canada's highly restrictive immigration laws surrounding race-based exclusion.
He aimed to examine a misuse of the term "race" in order to expose the absurdity of Canadian immigration laws, and put agents of the state on the defensive.