THE “EELAM WAR” IS CIVIL WAR PT 1Cb
Posted on February 25th, 2026
KAMALIKA PIERIS
Tamil Separatist Movement has successfully embedded the notion of Tamil Genocide in Canada, starting with the Legislative assembly of Ontario. Tamil diaspora has a presence in this Assembly and a private member’s bill (Bill 104) by Vijay Thanigasalam [1] In May 2021, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario unanimously passed Bill 104 and created the Tamil Genocide Education Week Act (TGEWA).
The stated purpose of the Bill is to, a) designate the week following May 18 each year as ‘Tamil Genocide Education Week’ and b) educate Ontarians about ‘Tamil Genocide and other genocides that have occurred in world history.’
The Legislative Assembly designated the week of May 18 each year as Tamil Genocide Education Week in Ontario,[2] where Ontarians are encouraged to educate themselves about Tamil genocide and other genocides that have occurred in world history.”[3] In 2022 five Ontario school boards introduced Tamil Genocide Education Week .[4]
Sri Lankan Canadian Action Coalition took the matter to court, led by Dr Neville Hewage. They said that the main purpose of the Act was to declare a genocide”. They pointed out that it was impossible to educate about a genocide that has not yet been declared, [5] that no Tamil genocide has been recognized in Sri Lanka under international law and that the Provincial government of Ontario did not have the authority to adopt the term genocide” .[6] For a full account of this case see Reports of Cases Determined in Ontario Courtshttps://digital.ontarioreports.ca/ontarioreports/20241206/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=2027067#articleId2027067
Justice Akbarali who heard the case said she was not going to decide whether it was wise for the Ontario Legislature to pass the TGEWA. That responsibility lies with the Legislature. The court heard evidence from dueling witnesses whether or not there was Genocide of the Tamils in the Sri Lankan civil war. She decided that TGEWA is to educate the public about Tamil genocide, caused by the government of Sri Lanka. This is similar to legislation on the Holocaust, and it fits with the Canadian provincial education policy on international aspects of world wars or any other international conflict.[7]( see below)
The Sinhala groups failed to get provincial and federal courts to strike down the legislation. But there was one gain at the Ontario Appeal Court. The Appeal Court of Ontario found that Bill 104 has no educational purposes.it said that Bill 104 cannot be used for the purpose of education in Ontario. It can be used for self-awareness and commemorative purposes only.[8]
The Sri Lanka Canada Association of Brampton finally went to Supreme Court asking that the Tamil Genocide Education Week Act be repealed. The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal. Tamil Separatist Movement was triumphant. The Supreme Court’s decision marks the final legal obstacle in Canada against Bill 104, said the Tamil Separatist Movement .This legal victory comes at a time when Tamils globally are intensifying calls for international accountability and justice for war crimes and genocide committed by the Sri Lankan state, said Tamil Guardian.[9]
The Tamil Separatist Movement did not find it easy to win the appeal , despite the fact that there were 237,890 Tamil immigrants against a mere 30,000 Sinhalese living in Canada. They admitted that they had to work hard to win the case.
Tamil Separatist Movement said that the Tamil Canadian community, backed by over 60 organizations, and the tireless efforts of Tamil youth helped them to win. Over $100,000 was raised for the purpose. Ontario’s legal community, including prominent Tamil lawyers, played a key role .[10]The law firm Goldblattparners were the interveners on behalf of National Council of Canadian Tamils. .[11]
The main Tamil organizations active in the matter were the National Council of Canadian Tamils, the Canadian Tamil Academy, the Canadian Tamil Youth Alliance and the Tamil Rights Group..[12] it was noted later that National Council of Canadian Tamils was listed as terrorist organization under United Nations Security Council resolutions 1373. [13]
Sri Lankan government objected, soon after the law was enacted. Sri Lanka’s foreign minister met with the High Commissioner of Canada to Sri Lanka to convey Sri Lanka’s opposition to the Act. Canadian embassy in Sri Lanka stated that under Canada’s federal system, provincial and municipal governments can pass their own laws but their decisions do not represent government policy.. Canada’s Official position as stated in 2021 is that the Government of Canada has not found evidence of Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka.[14]
Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development of Canada in a Diplomatic Note dated 7 th April 2021 responding to a clarification had stated that the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development clarify Canada’s official position with regard to allegations of genocide in Sri Lanka, the department can officially confirm that the Government of Canada has not made a finding that there was genocide in Sri Lanka. [15]
On February 5, 2022, the Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa issued a press release saying there is absolutely no evidence to suggest any act and/or intent of the spurious allegations of genocide” during the military engagement with the LTTE. Neither was there a pattern of events even to suggest genocide”. [16]
Tamil Separatist Movement wanted a national declaration of Genocide. The Ontario Assembly was a provincial body, it did not carry the same weight as a national body.On 18 May 2022, the Canadian House of Commons adopted, without opposition ,a motion introduced by Gary Anandasangaree,[17] MP for Scarborough-Rouge Park, Ontario . The motion was introduced on the 13th anniversary of the ‘Mullavaikkal genocide’[18]
The motion states “this House acknowledges the Genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka, and recognizes May 18th of each year as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day”.[19]Canada was the first national Parliament in the world to recognize May 18th of each year as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, noted critics. MPs who spoke in support, acknowledged that they had to please their Tamil constituents. Ontario has one of the largest concentrations of Tamils, mainly in Toronto, and the Tamil youth were very insistent on this motion, they said.[20]
There was another petition,( e5058) initiated by Nirujan Gnanagunalan.. The petition requested that Canada should refer Sri Lanka to the International Court of Justice to investigate the alleged Tamil genocide. Ontario Centre for Policy Research informed Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs that the petition had no legal basis and no action should be taken.[21]Canada’s House of Commons turned it down.
Sri Lanka protested.[22] Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Ottawa issued a statement ‘Refuting the allegation of ‘Tamil Genocide’ in the final phase of the conflict in Sri Lanka .[23] In Colombo the government was told that MP Gary Anandasangaree’s private member’s motion regarding the Tamil genocide is non-binding, non-legislative,and does not reflect Canada’s Official foreign policy.[24]
The fact that ‘Tamil genocide’ in Sri Lanka has been recognized by the Canadian national legislature carries international implications. recognition by the national legislature of a foreign county that genocide is taking place in Sri Lanka has very serious consequences to this country, said Darshan Weerasekera.
The House of Commons, Canada, represents the entire people of Canada, not different interest groups. So, such a body has now placed on record that conditions exist in Sri Lanka for the Tamils to arguably invoke a right to self-determination under international law. It sets a precedent for other countries to also adopt motions or even resolutions unilaterally alleging Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka with scant regard for the truth.
The Canadian legislature has failed to submit their allegations to any international forum whatsoever and give Sri Lanka a chance to respond. .The national legislature of a country should not get a free pass to flout international law at will. If the national legislatures of other countries also start adopting motions alleging ‘Tamil genocide’ with scant regard to the facts, it would pose a danger not just to Sri Lanka but to all countries facing the threat of separatism. It is in the interest of Sri Lankans as well as all friends of international law to vigorously challenge this Act and prevent it from setting a precedent , concluded Darshan.[25]
Following on the House of Commons decision, Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau issued statements on May 18th 2023, and May 18th 2024, recognizing Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day. In 2025 Prime Minister Mark Carney did the same.[26]
Colombo objected to all three statements .Colombo condemned the unfounded allegations by Prime Minister Trudeau and his outrageous claim of genocide” pertaining to the past conflict in Sri Lanka.it was politically motivated and purely for domestic political consumption in Canada..[27] For the statement objecting to the speech in 2023 see https://www.lankamission.org/index.php/archives/8-news/79-other-statements/3423-sri-lanka-rejects-the-reference-to-tamil-genocide-remembrance-day-by-the-canadian-prime-minister.html
The media reported that in Canada an application was brought against Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for judicial review, challenging his message on Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, issued on May 18, 2023. The primary intention of this Application is to obtain a legal position regarding the alleged Tamil genocide, whether the Prime Minister declared or recognized it. Federal Court, said that there was no such declaration or recognition of Tamil genocide. Trudeau’s statement and MP Anandasangaree’s motion arenon-binding and, therefore, have no legal impact on Canada’s official position . which is, no Genocide in Sri Lanka. Federal Court rejected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement, and said there was no Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka.[28]
In 2025 Brampton City Council declared November 21 2025 as Tamil Eelam National Flag Day”, with Mayor Patrick Brown issuing a proclamation. The proclamation reads: On this day, the Tamil Eelam National Flag is ceremonially hoisted, and a series of events and workshops are held to honour the resistance against genocide, while fostering a dialogue on Tamil history, culture and identity.”[29]
In May 2025, City of Toronto approved a motion to build a Tamil genocide monument. The motion has requested the city to identify a site in the City of Toronto Park in Scarborough to house the monument under the provisions of the City’s Public Art and Monument Donations Policy. Toronto had a vibrant and thriving Tamil community, located primarily in Scarborough. the motion seeks to follow in the footsteps of other levels of government and jurisdictions by recognising the Tamil Genocide.” [30]
A Tamil Genocide Monument, dedicated to the victims and survivors of the final phase of the Eelam war IV, was inaugurated in Chinguacousy Park , Brampton, Canada on May 10 2025. The monument is a 4.8-metre tall stainless steel structure featuring an outline of the historic homeland of Tamil people in Sri Lanka. The design is a book shaped structure symbolizing educating the history of the Tamil genocide with a map of Tamil Eelam that signifies the ancestral Tamil homeland. The nine panels, which symbolise the nine districts of the North-East, details the acts of genocide perpetrated by Sri Lanka since 1948.[31] The National Council of Canadian Tamils will have ownership of the monument and will be responsible for maintaining it. [32]
This monument, in my view ,is not a monument to genocide, it is a monument to Eelam. It is intended to influence those visiting Brampton’s Chinguacousy Park to believe in an Eelam in far away Sri Lanka .
After a three-year delay, the Tamil Genocide Memorial, meant to honor lives lost in the Sri Lankan civil war, was unveiled in Brampton Saturday night to the sound of applause, cheers and cannons of confetti, reported the media.[33]
The opening ceremony was attended by Tamil activists and politicians, including Mayor of Brampton Patrick Brown. The National Council of Canadian Tamils thanked Brampton Council for their unanimous support” in building the monument.
The inspiration for the memorial came after the Mullivaikkal memorial at Jaffna University, which was erected in 2019 to honour the Tamil lives lost in the genocide, was bulldozed by Sri Lanka’s authorities. This act of destruction led to widespread outrage within the Tamil homeland and globally. Backed by city leaders, two local organisations, the Brampton Tamil Association and Brampton Tamil Seniors Association, joined hands to spearhead the project.
Vijay Thanigasalam, MPP for Scarborough-Rouge Park, said that the monument serves as a “powerful symbol that ensures that our history will never be erased. “We remember May 2009, we remember the No Fire Zones being shelled, we remember the devastation of the bombardment of cluster bombs and chemical bombs being used against Tamil people,” “We remember the 169,796 people who are unaccounted for to this day. We will never forget that.”[34]
it later transpired that Rudrakumaran ( TGTE) and W. Wigneswaran, former Chief Minister of Northern Province had written to the Brampton Mayor offering business support in return for setting up a Tamil Genocide Monument [35]
Sri Lanka had repeatedly complained to the Canadian High Commission in Colombo regarding this monument. Sri Lanka urged the Federal Government of Canada to intervene and prevent this regrettable initiative by the Brampton City Council[36]
Thushara Rodrigo, Sri Lanka Consular General in Toronto, sent a letter to the Mayor, objecting to the monument, outlining the negative impacts on the Sri Lankan community in installing a Tamil Genocide Monument..[37] Those supporting the project declared this to be foreign interference.” [38]
Legal proceedings were started against the monument. Applicants alleged that the City of Brampton violated their Charter Rights and Freedoms, the Constitution Act of 1867, and the Ontario Municipal Act, 2001.[39]
Opposition to the monument is continuing. General Secretary of the Sinhaladeepa National Front (Canada), Jayantha Liyanage, said in February 2026, that a request had been made to the Mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown, seeking the removal of the Tamil Genocide Monument constructed in the city of Brampton, Canada.[40] ( continued)
[1] https://colombogazette.com/2022/06/29/ontario-court-upholds-tamil-genocide-education-week/
[2] https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/case-dismissed-canadas-supreme-court-rejects-challenge-tamil-genocide-education-week-act
[3] https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/ontario-court-upholds-tamil-genocide-education-week-sinhalese-challenge-fails
[4] https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/canadas-parliament-recognises-tamil-genocide-landmark-motion
[5] https://digital.ontarioreports.ca/ontarioreports/20241206/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=2027067#articleId2027067
[6] https://colombogazette.com/2022/06/29/ontario-court-upholds-tamil-genocide-education-week/
[7] Justice Akbarali said the recognition of a Tamil genocide is in service of(i) educating the public about the Tamil genocide, and about other genocides, including the need to prevent such atrocities from occurring in the future;(ii) allowing non-Tamil Ontarians the opportunity to better understand their Tamil neighbors, and Tamil youth to better understand their families, community and history; and(iii) through education, helping to create the conditions for Tamil Ontarians to share their stories and begin to heal from the trauma and inter-generational trauma https://colombogazette.com/2022/06/29/ontario-court-upholds-tamil-genocide-education-week/
[8] https://ceylontoday.lk/2025/09/16/canada-rejects-tamil-genocide-a-landmark-ruling-for-sri-lanka/
[9] https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/case-dismissed-canadas-supreme-court-rejects-challenge-tamil-genocide-education-week-act
[10] https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/case-dismissed-canadas-supreme-court-rejects-challenge-tamil-genocide-education-week-act
[11] https://colombogazette.com/2022/06/29/ontario-court-upholds-tamil-genocide-education-week/
[12] https://digital.ontarioreports.ca/ontarioreports/20241206/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=2027067#articleId2027067
[13] https://policy-research.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/5-Letter-to-Joly-from-OCPR.pdf
[14] . https://ceylontoday.lk/2025/09/16/canada-rejects-tamil-genocide-a-landmark-ruling-for-sri-lanka/
[15] island 7.2.22 p 1
[16] https://mfa.gov.lk/en/tamil-genocide-sl/
[17] https://island.lk/international-law-implications-of-canadian-parliaments-motion-on-tamil-genocide/ 25.11.22
[18] https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/canadas-parliament-recognises-tamil-genocide-landmark-motion
[19] https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/ontario-court-upholds-tamil-genocide-education-week-sinhalese-challenge-fails
[20] https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/canadas-parliament-recognises-tamil-genocide-landmark-motion
[21] https://ceylontoday.lk/2025/09/16/canada-rejects-tamil-genocide-a-landmark-ruling-for-sri-lanka/
[22] https://mfa.gov.lk/en/slrejects
[23] island 7.2.22 p 1 .
[24] https://ceylontoday.lk/2025/09/16/canada-rejects-tamil-genocide-a-landmark-ruling-for-sri-lanka/
[25] darshan Weerasekera https://island.lk/international-law-implications-of-canadian-parliaments-motion-on-tamil-genocide/ 25.11.22
[26] For 2023 statement see https://www.om.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2023/05/18/statement-prime-minister-first-tamil-genocide-remembrance-day.[26]
For 2024 see https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2024/05/18/statement-prime-minister-trudeau-on-tamil-genocide-remembrance-day
[27] https://www.sundaytimes.lk/230521/news/sl-slams-trudeau-for-outrageous-claim-520724.html
[28] https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2025/03/31/the-supreme-court-does-not-further-inquire-about-tamil-genocide-in-sri-lanka-and-the-bill-104-tamil-genocide-education-week-act-tgewa-is-not-within-provincial-jurisdiction-education-under-canada/
[29] https://www.sundaytimes.lk/251123/columns/northern-governor-slams-officials-ngos-for-failure-to-uplift-people-622128.html
[30] https://island.lk/canada-to-build-second-tamil-genocide-monument/
[31] https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/tamil-genocide-monument-inaugurated-brampton
[32] https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/tamil-genocide-memorial-unveiled-in-brampton-after-years-long-wait/ar-AA1EzwXP
[33] https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/tamil-genocide-memorial-unveiled-in-brampton-after-years-long-wait/ar-AA1EzwXP
[34] https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/tamil-genocide-monument-inaugurated-brampton
[35] https://ceylontoday.lk/2025/09/16/canada-rejects-tamil-genocide-a-landmark-ruling-for-sri-lanka/
[36] https://island.lk/foreign-minister-summons-canadian-hc-over-genocide-monument/
[37] https://ceylontoday.lk/2025/09/16/canada-rejects-tamil-genocide-a-landmark-ruling-for-sri-lanka/
[38] https://ceylontoday.lk/2025/09/16/canada-rejects-tamil-genocide-a-landmark-ruling-for-sri-lanka/
[39] https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2025/03/31/the-supreme-court-does-not-further-inquire-about-tamil-genocide-in-sri-lanka-and-the-bill-104-tamil-genocide-education-week-act-tgewa-is-not-within-provincial-jurisdiction-education-under-canada/
[40] https://asianmirror.lk/news/12431/request-made-to-canada-to-remove-tamil-genocide-monument-in-brampton/