The Canadian Tamil Parliamentary Friendship Group (CTPFG) held its inaugural meeting on Monday 22 November.
The cross-party parliamentary group was established with the aim of building a strong relationship between Canada and the worldwide Tamil diaspora, whilst continuing to “focus on issues important to Tamil-Canadians, including advocacy on human rights, and accountability for violations against Tamils”
Speaking at the inauguration, the Chair of the CTPFG, Liberal MP Mark Holland, said,
“I am honoured to Chair the Canadian-Tamil Parliamentary Friendship Group and I look forward to working with my colleagues from all parties to maintain a focus on the issues that are important to Tamil-Canadians and to build closer ties to the worldwide Tamil community.”
The Vice Chair of the CTPFG, New Democratic Party MP Murray Rankin said,
““I look forward to working with my MP colleagues and the active Tamil-Canadian community to continue to foster good relations with one of Canada’s fastest growing ethnic groups, and to keep working for better protection of human rights in their home countries”
The Conservative Party Vice Chair of the CTPFG, MP Alex Nuttall, said,
“I am very proud to have been named Vice Chair of the Canadian-Tamil Parliamentary Friendship Group. I look forward to working together with my Parliamentary colleagues and the Canadian-Tamil community to advocate for peace, democracy and human rights for Tamils worldwide.”
Other positions in the parliamentary group were allocated as follows:
Secretary-Treasurer
Gary Anandasangaree, MP, Scarborough—Rouge Park (Liberal)
Directors
Salma Zahid, MP, Scarborough Centre (Liberal)
Sven Spengemann, MP, Mississauga—Lakeshore (Liberal)
Garnett Genuis, MP, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan (Conservative)
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