Gary Anandasangaree becomes cabinet minister in Canada

Gary Anandasangaree who was recently refused a visa to visit his native country-Sri Lanka, has been appointed as a cabinet minister in Canada-his adopted country.

It is a first for Canada where a Tamil speaking MP of Sri Lankan origin has become a minister.

He has taken over as minister of Crown-Indigenous relations where he earlier served as Parliamentary Secretary.

Representing the Scarborough-Rouge Park riding since 2015, he has been closely associated with the ministry which he now heads in its committee for many years as a member.

A lawyer by profession he specialized in International Human Rights law apart from business and real estate and is one of the popular faces among the global Tamil community calling for accountability for the alleged war crimes perpetrated by the Sri Lankan security forces and their political bosses including the ousted former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

“Minister Anandasangaree is an internationally recognized human rights lawyer and community activist who has advocated tirelessly for education and justice” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in his official web page.

As a passionate advocate for human rights, he regularly represented Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada at the United Nations-the PM further added.

Having arrived as a refugee in Canada forty years back in 1983 -the year of the deadly Black July violence happened in Sri Lanka, which marked the beginning of the exodus of the Tamil people fearing for their safety.

“His memories, personal history as well as that of his community inform and animate his engagement with human rights work locally, provincially, nationally and internationally. Gary is both a human rights activist and lawyer: for more than twenty years he has worked to safeguard justice for refugee and recent immigrant communities through public advocacy, education, mediation, direct intervention and legal frameworks” Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada noted on their blog.

On 12th July he wrote on his twitter about Sri Lanka refusing him Visa along with pics apparently showing ridiculing him and Justin Trudeau and attempting to burn their effigies.

“Burning effigy’s will not correct the failures of consecutive GOSL Regrettably, Sri Lanka has refused my visa out right. It’s reprisal for the work we do. We will not be silenced.”

Photo courtesy: Mackenzie Gray