Mano Ganesan Meets Canadian High Commissioner

03-Apr-2026

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Leader of the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) and Member of Parliament Mano Ganesan has told the Canadian High Commissioner that it is incorrect to reduce all issues faced by the Upcountry Tamil community into merely “labour-related problems”.

A TPA delegation met Canadian High Commissioner Isabella Martin at the Canada House and held discussions. Political Committee members Paranitharan and Bharath Arulsamy also participated in the meeting.

Speaking about the discussion, TPA Leader Mano Ganesan said the Canada House in Colombo was the place that once offered him refuge during the final phase of the war, when he was actively campaigning against the notorious white van abductions that took place on the streets of Colombo.

He said the delegation highlighted the current struggles of the vulnerable Upcountry Tamil community. He stressed that plantation wage workers form only a small section of Upcountry Tamils, and therefore it is wrong to treat all their problems solely as labour issues.

He pointed out that the number of wage workers is only around 100,000, while the Upcountry Tamil community has now grown into a minority national community of around 1.5 million people with a distinct ethnic identity.

He further said that the community continues to live in plantation regions under serious concerns such as incomplete citizenship rights and signs of modern-day slavery.

According to him, the High Commissioner clearly understood the concerns raised.

He also stressed that Canadian and international assistance programmes, human rights monitoring mechanisms, and humanitarian support must reach the vulnerable Upcountry Tamil people, and urged Canada to ensure this.