The government of Canada, in its official response to a Hinduphobia petition before the House of Commons, said it “rejects all forms of hate and discrimination and believes all Canadians must stand up against it where and whenever it is encountered.”
However, the petitioners were left disappointed by the response of the government, which was issued by its Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities Kamal Khera. The response was signed by Khera’s Parliamentary Secretary Sameer Zuberi.
Canadian government’s response is frustrating: petitioner
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Speaking about the response of the government, the person who moved the petition Brampton-based Vijay Jain said, “The response from the Government is very frustrating.”
He emphasised that the government’s response although met the request in the petition for recognising Hinduphobia as a term in the Human Rights Code’s glossary of terms describing anti-Hindu prejudice and discrimination for defining Hinduphobia as denial, prejudice, vilification or negation against Hindus, Hinduism, or Hinduness and for raising awareness and addressing systemic and institutional Hinduphobia.
He said that although Canada’s human rights code was “prescriptive” when it came to Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, similar steps have not been applied against increasing Hinduphobia. “This itself shows systemic discrimination against Hindus in Canada,” Jain said.
Jain said that he and other community groups had called for a meeting with Khera but did not get any appointment as of yet.
The government, in its response, thanked the petitioner “for expressing their concerns regarding the growing negative stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination of Hindus in Canada.”
The petition had collected 25,794 signatures as against the 500 required to elicit a formal response from the government. Conservative Party MP Melissa Lantsman, while presenting the petition in the House of Commons on November 3, said, “Canadian Hindus are facing growing negative stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, at work, in schools and in their communities while traditions and cultures are misrepresented and misunderstood.”
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The petition was backed by a total of 81 community organisations, which include major temples. The petition attracted attention after a video was released by secessionist group Sikhs for Justice or SFJ in September which targeted Canadian Hindus of Indian origin. SFJ’s legal counsel Gurpatwant Pannun, in the viral video, said, “Indo-Hindus leave Canada, go to India.”
“You not only support India but you are also supporting the suppression of speech and expression of pro-Khalistan Sikhs,” Pannun said, while adding that they were “also promoting violence by celebrating” Nijjar’s “assassination.” He was speaking about the plot to kill SFJ’s leader and terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Canada’s government, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has accused India of plotting against Nijjar.
(With inputs from agencies)
Source: Thanks WIONews.com