Canadian Tamil Congress's Award for Uthayan

The Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC; french: Congrès Tamoul Canadien) is a Canadian non-profit organization that serves

Tamil Canadians Tamil Canadians, or Canadian Tamils, are Canadians of Tamil ethno-linguistic origin. Much of Canada's Tamil diaspora from India and Sri Lanka then majority consist of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who sought to flee the ethnic tensions during the Sr ...

since October 2000 and has 11 chapters. The objectives of the Canadian Tamil Congress are: to promote the participation of Tamil Canadians in activities of local, regional, provincial and national importance; to uphold the Canadian values of human rights, multiculturalism, religious and cultural diversity, pluralism, and volunteerism; to champion for equal rights and in particular, gender equality; to support the cultural and political aspirations of Tamils. The organization also promotes the study and knowledge of Tamil language, culture and history within the Canadian context. The CTC also works on adjustment/settlement issues. Canada is home to a large

Tamil Canadian Tamil Canadians, or Canadian Tamils, are Canadians of Tamil ethno-linguistic origin. Much of Canada's Tamil diaspora from India and Sri Lanka then majority consist of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who sought to flee the ethnic tensions during the S ...

community. Thousands of Tamils arrived in Canada during the 1980s and 1990s, particularly as a result of

Black July Black July ( ta, கறுப்பு யூலை, translit=Kaṟuppu Yūlai; si, කළු ජූලිය, Kalu Juliya) was an anti-Tamil pogrom that occurred in Sri Lanka during July 1983. The pogrom was premeditated,T. Sabaratnam, Pirapa ...

ethnic riots which ravaged

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Controversies

The Canadian Tamil Congress has been accused by the government of

as a

front organization A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy ...

for the

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

(LTTE).

Ontario Superior Court of Justice's verdict against Gunaratna

In a February 2011 article in '' Lakbima News'' Rohan Gunaratna claimed that the Canadian Tamil Congress was a front for the

. The CTC sued Gunaratna and on 21 January 2014 the

Ontario Superior Court of Justice The Superior Court of Justice (French: ''Cour supérieure de justice'') is a superior court in Ontario. The Court sits in 52 locations across the province, including 17 Family Court locations, and consists of over 300 federally appointed judges. ...

ruled against Gunaratna, ordering him to pay the CTC

damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

of $37,000 and costs of $16,000. In his ruling judge Stephen E. Firestone stated that Gunaratna's claims were unequivocally and incontrovertibly "false and untrue".

Walk-A-Thon 2011

The Sri Lankan government strongly criticised

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...

Canada for accepting a grant of Canadian $50,000 by CTC, which it raised at the 2011 Canadian Tamil Walk-A-Thon at

Thomson Memorial Park Thomson Memorial Park is a midsize park at 1005 Brimley Road in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the site of the Scarborough Historical Museum and includes historical houses from the 1790s that once belonged to the f ...

, Scarborough. Amnesty International Canada responded that "These donations in no way impair the independence of Amnesty International – which is nonpartisan and works on human rights issues around the globe. The contributions were offered with no conditions or qualifications."

References

External links

Canadian Tamil Congress official website
{{Sri Lankan Tamil people Indo-Canadian organizations Tamil-Canadian culture

Controversies

Ontario Superior Court of Justice's verdict against Gunaratna

Walk-A-Thon 2011

See also

References

External links