Ottawa [Canada]: Following the spread of a hateful speech video by, designated terrorist in India Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Hindu Forum Canada’s Lawyers asked the Canadian Immigration Minister to ban Pannun's entry into Canadian territory.
Hindu Forum Canada’s Lawyer wrote to the Minister of Immigration of Canada Mark Miller stating that Pannu's recent comments have caused distress and trauma not only within the Hindu community but also among Canadian citizens at large.
Hindu Forum Canada is a Not-for-Profit humanitarian organization based in Ontario that advocates for policies that enhance the wellbeing of minority groups in Canada.
Hindu Forum Canada took to their social media 'X' and shared the letter written to the Canadian Immigration Minister.
"Hindu Forum Canada’s Lawyer writes to Minister Immigration of Canada Mr. @MarcMillerVM
to make Gurpatwant Singh Pannu inadmissible to Canada due to his hateful threats to Canadian Hindus @JustinTrudeau @DLeBlancNB," the post said.
HFC Lawyer Peter Thorning of Brauti Thorning LLP explained in his letter that Pannun circulated a video online, calling for all Hindus to leave Canada and "go back to India". He further accused Hindus of "working against the same country” that they economically benefit from.
"The distribution of hateful videos through various social media platforms has further exacerbated these concerns. This situation is deeply troubling. Canada must not tolerate the incitement of violence directed at a specific group within its borders," the letter stated.
He further noted that it is imperative that Canada does not condone overlooking such hateful speech, as it has a detrimental impact not only on adults but also on our children attending schools, colleges, and universities.
"The potential for these discussions to create tensions and divisions within the populace cannot be ignored," the letter said.
The letter further said that if Pannu were in Canada at the time when he made the statements, he could have been properly investigated and "perhaps charged with public incitement of hatred or the willful promotion of hatred."
Thorning further urged the Immigration Ministry to investigate if Pannu can be banned from entering Canada.
"Based on all the above, we respectfully request that the Government of Canada, through the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) conduct an investigation to determine whether Mr Pannu is inadmissible into Canada for security reasons" the lawyer stated.
Further noting India-Canada relations, Thorning said that "India and Canada have longstanding bilateral relations built upon shared tradition of democracy, pluralism and strong interpersonal connections. Canada is home to one of the largest communities of Indian origin, with approximately 4% of Canadians being of Indian heritage (1.3 million people)."
The deep cultural and political ties between Canada and India are strengthened by a growing
network of official dialogues, agreements, memoranda of understanding and working groups, the letter stated.
Extending the request on behalf of HFC, Thorning wrote, "Considering the aforementioned legal framework and concerns, we respectfully request that Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) conduct the necessary investigation and take the appropriate steps to deem Mr. Pannu inadmissible to Canada due to his potential involvement in hate speech and related activities."
Earlier, the Indian World Forum (IWF) on Wednesday strongly condemned the actions of unlawful organisations, including Sikhs for Justice, for their disturbing activities targeting the Indian diaspora in Canada and urged the Canadian government to act seriously on designated terrorists including Arshdeep Singh Dhalla and Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Indian World Forum (IWF), an organisation working for the Indian diaspora in various countries has firmly denounced the illegal organisations for harassing and spreading violence against the Indian diaspora in Canada.
The organisation “strongly condemns the disgruntled activities by unlawful organizations including Sikhs for Justice for stalking and purporting violence on the Indian diaspora in Canada," the press statement read.
—ANI