THE Canadian Tamil Collective on Saturday condemned what it said was “the racialized, stereotypical, and deeply harmful narrative advanced in recent reporting by Global News, as well as journalists Stewart Bell and Mercedes Stephenson.”
The organization said in a statement: “While no misconduct has been identified, the article casts suspicion on Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree – relying not on evidence, but on innuendo, his identity, and past legal advocacy. It is the latest chapter in a long-standing pattern: Tamil Canadians being framed not by what they have done, but by who they are.”
(Global News reported on Friday that Anandasangaree in a statement to them on Thursday said he has stepped back from national security decisions related to the “Tamil community.” The statement said the minister and his family were Tamil Canadians, and he had been a lifelong advocate for that community. He added: “In an abundance of caution, and to ensure that there is no perception of any conflict, I have asked Public Safety officials to implement a screen on any national security issues relating to the Tamil community.” Prime Minister Mark Carney told Global News: ““We have a rigorous vetting process and he’s taken the right decision, in his judgment and my judgment, to make these arrangements. We will be well covered with respect to all public security decisions.”)
The Canadian Tamil Collective said: “Minister Anandasangaree was appointed by Prime Minister Mark Carney with full confidence following a rigorous vetting process. The only objection raised in this reporting is the Minister’s ethnicity, his identity, and his previous human rights work – none of which should ever require him to implement a conflict screen. These are not liabilities. They are qualifications. The Prime Minister and the Liberal Party of Canada must stand with this Minister and the Tamil community.
“The pressure placed on Minister Anandasangaree to implement a conflict screen is not a triumph of ethics. It is the result of a manufactured crisis – one in which identity itself is treated as the conflict.
“Tamil Canadians will not legitimize a narrative that weaponizes our identity and questions our right to serve. We are not here to apologize for who we are.
“The article’s reference to Minister Anandasangaree’s partner is especially disturbing. Inserting a partner into a national security story – without cause – is a gross departure from Canadian journalistic norms. This is not scrutiny. It is a deliberate attempt to reinforce that Tamil identity itself is inherently suspect.
“Let us be absolutely clear: the attacks on Gary Anandasangaree and Harini Sivalingam are not isolated incidents. They are attacks on the entire Tamil Canadian community.
“Tamil Canadians have lived this before. Peaceful protests are met with surveillance. Symbols of our struggle are labeled as threats. Political beliefs are criminalized. And now, political representation is targeted and discredited.
“The comment by former CBSA officer Kelly Sundberg and present Mount Royal University Professor – claiming Anandasangaree is “the wrong guy” to lead on border enforcement – is a striking example of entrenched institutional bias. His objection is not grounded in fact or academia. The Minister’s legal background and advocacy are not liabilities – they are precisely the qualities public leadership requires. Suggesting otherwise sets a dangerous precedent: that those who hold institutions accountable cannot be trusted to lead them.
“CBSA has a long and well-documented history of failing Tamil asylum seekers and other racialized communities. What is needed now is reflection – not resentment. Yet instead of addressing that history, the focus shifts again to Tamil Canadians as the perceived threat. This is not a good-faith concern about national security. It is a continuation of the racist double standard Tamil Canadians have faced for decades – where advocacy for justice is rebranded as disloyalty, and Tamil identity is treated as a liability.
“Harini Sivalingam – a lawyer and academic completing her PhD in socio-legal studies – is facing the same treatment. Her credentials are beyond dispute. Yet her credibility is questioned, not because of anything she has done, but because of who she is. This is not journalistic rigor. It is racialized discrediting disguised as inquiry.
“This is not simply an attack on two individuals. It is a broader message to every Tamil Canadian serving in public life: that your contributions will be scrutinized, your background weaponized, and your identity treated as a threat. Tamil Canadians in government, academia, law, and civil society are being told – once again – that their service comes at a cost.
“The implication that Tamil Canadians cannot hold positions of public trust without being viewed through a national security lens is a continuation of decades of institutional discrimination. For too long, we have seen this play out– through narratives that retraumatize survivors, silence professionals, and discourage future generations from public service.
“We reject these narratives. We reject the notion that our identities are threats, that our work invites attacks on our families, or that our backgrounds disqualify us from serving our country.
“We call on Global News, Stewart Bell, and Mercedes Stephenson to issue a public apology to Minister Gary Anandasangaree, Harini Sivalingam, and the Tamil Canadian community.”
