Canadian Tamil Congress
Encyclopedia
The Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) is a non-profit agency which strives to represent the interests of the 300,000 Tamil Canadian
s in Canada. The CTC has actively served Canada's Tamil community 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. Successive decades of entrenched discrimination, particularly in the employment and educational sectors, and riots targeting the lives, homes and businesses of Tamils in Sri Lanka forced thousands to flee for their lives. Violence peaked in July 1983 (known as "Black July") during which time Sinhala mobs (soon after the Tamils had ambushed and killed Sri Lankan soldiers), armed with voters' lists, retaliated and attacked and burned the businesses and homes of Tamils and killed and injured thousands more.
Tamil Canadian
Tamil Canadian or Canadian Tamils are Canadians of Tamil ethnic origins mostly from India and Sri Lanka. It is estimated that the Tamil diaspora in Canada is around 200,000. From a population of fewer than 150 Tamils in 1983, it has become one of the largest visible minority population groups...
s in Canada. The CTC has actively served Canada's Tamil community 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. Successive decades of entrenched discrimination, particularly in the employment and educational sectors, and riots targeting the lives, homes and businesses of Tamils in Sri Lanka forced thousands to flee for their lives. Violence peaked in July 1983 (known as "Black July") during which time Sinhala mobs (soon after the Tamils had ambushed and killed Sri Lankan soldiers), armed with voters' lists, retaliated and attacked and burned the businesses and homes of Tamils and killed and injured thousands more.