p42 s1 bill 104 b104ra e.pdf

Ontario — Bills

1ST SESSION, 42ND LEGISLATURE, ONTARIO ELIZABETH II, 2021 Bill 104 (Chapter of the Statutes of Ontario, 2021)

An Act to proclaim Tamil Genocide Education Week Mr. V. Thanigasalam 1st Reading April 30, 2019 2nd Reading May 16, 2019 3rd Reading May 6, 2021 Royal Assent May 12, 2021 EXPLANATORY NOTE This Explanatory Note was written as a reader’s aid to Bill and does not form part of the law. Bill has been enacted as

Chapter of the Statutes of Ontario, 2021. The Bill proclaims the seven-day period in each year ending on May as Tamil Genocide Education Week. Bill

An Act to proclaim Tamil Genocide Education Week

Preamble The Tamil community in Ontario is one of the largest concentrations of Tamils outside southeast Asia . It stretches across the province but the highest concentration is in the Greater Toronto Area. Tamil-Ontarians play an important role in the social, economic and political fabric of the province. Tamil-Ontarians have families still suffering in their homeland in the north and east of the island of Sri Lanka.

They have lost their loved ones and have been physically or mentally traumatized by the genocide that the S ri Lankan state perpetrated against the Tamils during the civil war which lasted from to 2009, and especially so in May of 2009. Genocide is the deliberate and organized killing of a group or groups of people, with the intention of destroying their identity as an ethnic, c ultural or religious group. Acts of genocide against the Tamils started in after Sri Lanka gained its independence and were perpetrated through Sinhala-Buddhist centric government policies, pogroms, land grabs and ethnic cleansing.

The United Nations Organization estimates that in May alone about 40,000 to 75,000 Tamil civilians were killed . Other estimates place the death toll at 146,679 civilians. These figures only reflect the death toll in leading up to May 18 , the day on which the civil war ended . The loss of Tamil civilian lives during the genocide, which continued for decades in Sri Lanka, is much higher. In addition, the Sri Lankan state has systematically disenfranchised the Tamil population of their right to vote and to maintain their language, religion and culture.

For example, the Sinhala Only Act of made Sinhalese the official language of Sri Lanka ignoring the 29 per cent of the population whose primary language was Tamil , thereby putting them at a serious disadvantage for participating in the public service of Sri Lanka. It is important for many reasons to acknowledge publicly that the killings and all aspects of the genocide constitute a heinous act. Not only does t his acknowledgement honour the lives that were lost, but it gives a sense of hope to those who have suffered since it represents the first step to healing and reconciliation .

Most importantly, by recognizing the Tamil genocide, we affirm our collective desire to maintain awareness of th is genocide and other genocides th at have occurred in world history in order to prevent such crimes against humanity from happening again. Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows: Tamil Genocide Education Week 1

(1) The seven-day period in each year ending on May is proclaimed as Tamil Genocide Education Week. Same

(2) During that period, all Ontarians are encouraged to educate themselves about , and to maintain their awareness of, the Tamil genocide and other genocides that have occurred in world history. Commencement This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short title The

short title of this Act is the Tamil Genocide Education Week Act, 2021.

Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	p42 s1 bill 104 b104ra e.pdf
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p42 s1 bill 104 b104ra e.pdf
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	9e38af3923be213cbdd26667f098f3746baae2ec

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