Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day took part in a ceremonial groundbreaking in Vancouver's Stanley Park Friday for a commemorative playground to honour the victims of the 1985 Air India bombings.

Day said it's important to remember the victims of the "most devastating attack ever on Canadians, in terms of a terrorist attack," especially in light of this week's allegations of a massive bomb plot in the United Kingdom.

"The families who lost members 21 years ago, they lived it. And what we saw the last couple of days was a prevention of that," said the minister.

A total of 331 people died in the two Air India bombings in 1985 — 329 aboard Air India Flight 182 off the coast of Ireland, and two baggage handlers in Japan in a related bombing the same day.

Perviz Madon's husband Sam was one of the passengers who died when Air India Flight 182 exploded over the Atlantic Ocean.

As she turned soil at the groundbreaking, the North Vancouver woman smiled and whispered "peace and happiness."

Her daughter Natasha, who was just four when her father was killed, remembers playing in the area with her father. 

"My dad is someone who loved life, and we came here as kids to this park. And so it's very touching to know that the memorial will be here."

The memorial involves the redevelopment of the old Ceperley playground in Stanley Park, including an area for reflection.

The federal government is paying the Vancouver Park Board $800,000 for the memorial, which will be completed by next summer.

There will also be Air India memorials built in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.