Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada “do everything we can to protect” Tamil Canadians, as he testified in a public inquiry on foreign interference in the affairs of diaspora communities.
Trudeau made the remarks as he responded to a question regarding the Sri Lankan government’s ongoing interference in the lives of Tamil Canadians by Katpana Nagendra of Tamil Rights Group (TRG).
“As long as [Sri Lanka] continues to operate with impunity, feeling shielded from repercussions for their war crimes and human rights violations, they will persist in using intimidation tactics against Tamil activists in Canada,” said Nagendra.
Trudeau said that he needed more context on the specific issue but responded, “I certainly agree that the like many diaspora communities, Tamil Canadians, are exposed to actions by the government of Sri Lanka that we need to do everything we can to protect them from.”
The concerns come after it was recently revealed that Sri Lanka’s Consul General in Toronto, Thushara Rodrigo, has formally written to the Mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown, in an attempt to halt the construction of a memorial dedicated to the victims of the Tamil genocide. The letter, sent in May 2024 and exclusively released by the Tamil Guardian, claims that the monument would “severely disrupt communal harmony” in Canada and conveys what the Consul General described as a “deeply distorted and false message of violence.”
A Sri Lankan protestor attempts to obstruct a Tamil genocide memorial event in Canada in August.
The move by the Sri Lankan government has sparked further outrage, as it continues to deny responsibility for the atrocities committed against Tamils during Mullivaikkal genocide in 2009. Despite overwhelming evidence—including the mass killings of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians, the targeting of hospitals, widespread sexual violence, and the execution of surrendering Tamils on camera—Sri Lanka refuses to acknowledge or account for the atrocities.
