Dr. Neville Hewage yesterday said that the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada had determined that alleged Tamil genocide hadn’t taken place in Sri Lanka.

The academic, who successfully moved the Canadian courts, said that, therefore, the much-touted Tamil Genocide Education Week Act (TGEWA), in terms of the ruling given by the Ontario Court of Appeal and confirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada, is not within provincial Jurisdiction Education under Canada’s Constitution. Dr. Hewage said so in response to The Island query.

Declaring that the Canadian ruling was a huge victory for Sri Lanka, constantly harassed by various interested parties over unsubstantiated war crimes allegations, Dr. Hewage emphasised that alleged Tamil genocide couldn’t be in the school curriculum.

The Canadian parliament in May 2022 declared May 18 as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, thereby recognising the massacre of Tamils during the last phase of the war.

Responding to another query, Dr. Hewage valued the legal action at approximately $350,000 while denying any backing from the Sri Lankan government. “I haven’t received any funding from the government,” Dr. Hewage said, appreciating the backing provided by the Canadian legal team.

Adjunct Professor of the Law and Justice Department Laurentian University. Sudbury, Ontario, Canada Hewage said: “I did my own legal work which cost me only time and the expenses for filing.”

Dr. Hewage dismissed attempts made by the pro-LTTE lobby to propagate the lie that the Supreme Court of Canada had dismissed the challenge to Bill 104 aka TGEWA, thereby allowing education and commemorative events/efforts.

Asked to explain, Dr. Hewage pointed out that although the Ontario Superior Court of justice, the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada had determined that Tamil genocide did not take place in Sri Lanka, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice had ruled that TGEWA is valid under the Constitution Act, 1867, s 93 Education. Recalling that the first application had been filed against the Attorney General of Ontario on June 06, 2021, Dr. Hewage said that he had moved the Ontario Court of Appeal on July 22, 2022 and that court ruled that the TGEWA was not in line with the relevant Act.

The Appeal Court had concluded that TGEWA was not within the provincial jurisdiction as outlined in the Constitution Act, 1867, s. 93 Education, Dr. Hewage said.

The bottom line was that Tamil genocide couldn’t be included in their school curriculum, Dr. Hewage said. The Canadian verdict couldn’t have come at a better time for Sri Lanka, troubled by UK sanctions on Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda, retired Generals, Shavendra Silva and Jagath Jayasuriya as well as one-time LTTE Ampara-Batticaloa commander Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna over war crimes allegations.

Dr. Hewage said that he had appealed to the Supreme Court on Nov 11, 2024 as he feared that the Ontario Court of Appeal could be reversed in case some other pro-LTTE party moved court and may declare plausible Tamil genocide. The academic stressed that throughout their campaign, the Sri Lankan government had not extended any help.

At the time, Dr. Hewage initiated the legal process Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the President. By the time Dr. Hewage appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, the National People’s Power (NPP) had gained power.

The development with regard to TGEWA has taken place in the wake of Jaffna-born Gary Anandasangaree receiving appointment as Justice Minister and Attorney-General of Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Minister. He has been campaigning against alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka.

Dr. Hewage said that some media and other interested parties had been working overtime to deceive the people by misinterpreting the Canadian Supreme Court decision.

The Supreme Court had confirmed the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision, and no further inquiries were required, Dr. Hewage said, adding that the pro-LTTE lobby was quite upset as both the Superior Court of Justice and the Appeal Court of Ontario had determined that Tamil genocide did not take place in Sri Lanka. “Therefore, the Supreme Court of Canada will not further inquire into the Tamil genocide claim and as such the Appeal court decision will stand,” Dr. Hewage said.

by Shamindra Ferdinando