{{Short description|Canadian non-profit organization}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Infobox organization |image=Canadian Tamil Congress Logo.jpg |image_alt=<!-- alt text; see WP:ALT --> |caption= |map=<!-- optional --> |formation=October 2000 |extinction=<!-- date of extinction, optional --> |type=Non-profit organization |status=<!-- ad hoc, treaty, foundation, etc --> |purpose=Cultural |headquarters=10 Milner Business Court, Suite 513, Toronto, Ontario, M1B3C6 |coordinates=<!-- Coordinates of location using a coordinates template --> |language=English, French, Tamil |leader_title=President |leader_name= |main_organ=Board of Directors |parent_organization=<!-- if one --> |affiliations=<!-- if any --> |budget= |remarks= |name=Canadian Tamil Congress |image_border= |image_size=<!-- default 200 --> |map_size=<!-- map size, optional, default 200px --> |map_alt=<!-- map alt text --> |map_caption=<!-- optional --> |abbreviation= |location= |region_served= |membership= |num_staff= |num_volunteers= |website=http://www.canadiantamilcongress.ca/ }} [[File:Canadian Tamil Congress's Award for Uthayan.JPG|thumb|E. Saravanapavan, managing director of the Uthayan newspapers receives, the "Service Excellence Award" for journalism to "Uthayan" by the Canadian Tamil Congress. The award is bestowed annually for the achievers on various fields.]] The '''Canadian Tamil Congress''' ('''CTC'''; {{langx|fr|Congrès Tamoul Canadien}}) is a Canadian non-profit organization that serves Tamil Canadians 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 community. Thousands of Tamils arrived in Canada during the 1980s and 1990s, particularly as a result of Black July ethnic riots which ravaged Sri Lanka.<ref name="lkwbblk">{{cite web | url=http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2010/04/27/the-black-july-1983-that-created-a-collective-trauma/ | title=The Black July 1983 that Created a Collective Trauma | publisher=LankaWeb | work=Jayatunge, Ruwan M. | year=2010 | accessdate=8 April 2012}}</ref>
==Controversies== The Canadian Tamil Congress has been accused by the government of Sri Lanka as a front organization for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).<ref name="obs2">{{cite news | url=http://colombogazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/1854_41-E.pdf | title=THE UNITED NATIONS ACT, No 45 OF 1968 | publisher=Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka | date=21 March 2014 | accessdate=9 May 2014 | archive-date=17 May 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517121528/http://colombogazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/1854_41-E.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://southasia.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/04/21/why_sri_lanka_is_severing_ties_between_tamils_at_home_and_abroad |title=Why Sri Lanka is Severing Ties Between Tamils at Home and Abroad |access-date=3 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701074805/http://southasia.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/04/21/why_sri_lanka_is_severing_ties_between_tamils_at_home_and_abroad |archive-date=1 July 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
===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 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.<ref>{{cite news|title=CTC Awarded $53,000 in Successful Defamation Lawsuit Against Rohan Gunaratna|url=https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/ctc-awarded-53000-in-successful-defamation-lawsuit-against-rohan-gunaratna/comment-page-2/|newspaper=Colombo Telegraph|date=19 February 2014}}</ref> The CTC sued Gunaratna and on 21 January 2014 the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled against Gunaratna, ordering him to pay the CTC damages of $37,000 and costs of $16,000.<ref>{{cite news|last=Westhead|first=Rick|title=Canadian Tamil Congress wins $53,000 libel judgment|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/02/20/canadian_tamil_congress_wins_53000_libel_judgment.html|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=20 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Video: Canadian court orders Prof.Gunaratna to pay damages|url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/43362-canadian-court-orders-profgunaratna-to-pay-damages.html|newspaper=The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)|date=19 February 2014|agency=Indo-Asian News Service|access-date=5 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329183409/http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/43362-canadian-court-orders-profgunaratna-to-pay-damages.html|archive-date=29 March 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> In his ruling judge Stephen E. Firestone stated that Gunaratna's claims were unequivocally and incontrovertibly "false and untrue".<ref>{{cite news|last=Vijayan|first=K. C.|title=Singapore terror expert must pay $60,000 for defamation|url=http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/singapore-terror-expert-must-pay-60000-defamation-20140227|newspaper=The Straits Times|date=27 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=CTC win defamation case against Sri Lankan 'terrorism expert'|url=http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=10006|newspaper=Tamil Guardian|date=19 February 2014}}</ref>
===Walk-A-Thon 2011=== The Sri Lankan government strongly criticised Amnesty International 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, Scarborough.<ref name="obs">{{cite news | url=https://archives.sundayobserver.lk/2012/03/04/fea05.asp | title=LTTE front funds Amnesty International | publisher=Sunday Observer | date=4 March 2012 | access-date=8 April 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415011317/http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2012/03/04/fea05.asp | archive-date=15 April 2012 | url-status=live }}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web|title=Amnesty International and the Tamil community in Canada|url=http://www.amnesty.ca/media2010.php?DocID=1309|publisher=Amnesty International Canada|accessdate=8 August 2012|date=16 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603050644/http://www.amnesty.ca/media2010.php?DocID=1309|archive-date=3 June 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==See also== * Tamil diaspora
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.canadiantamilcongress.ca/ Canadian Tamil Congress official website]
{{Sri Lankan Tamil people}}
Category:Indo-Canadian organizations Category:Tamil-Canadian culture