Canada is getting ready to establish April\nas Sri Lankan Heritage Month<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Sarath Chandrasekere <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Canada has been the home for\nabout 450,000 people of Sri Lankan origin. Nearly 75,000 of them speak Sinhala\nas their first language and the rest speak Tamil and English as their mother\ntongue. The first Sri Lankan family arrived in Canada in 1948, and during the\npast two decades, the population has steadily increased with a compelling\nreason to leave Sri Lanka due to the devastating impact of the internecine conflict.\nMost of the people of Sri Lankan origin live in Toronto. The second highest\nconcentration is found to be in the province of Alberta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to sociological\nresearch in Canada (2008), the four main ethnic stripes of Sri Lanka – the\nSinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and the Burghers have reconstructed their Canadian\nethnic identity in six different forms as the Sri Lankan-Canadians, Tamil\nCanadians, Tamil-Sri Lankans, Tamils, Sri Lankans and Canadians. It\nis a well-known fact\nthat immigrants in their host country are subjected to various socio-cultural\nforces and end up being something different from their original identities. The\nclassic example is the creation of Hispanics in the US. The Brazilians,\nColumbians, Chileans, Venezuelans, Mexicans and all others who migrated to the\nUS from Southern America have been given this new name-the Hispanics – by the\nUS Bureau of Statistics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Culturally speaking, Canada is\ngoverned by the policy of \u201cmulticulturalism\u201d which \u201crecognizes and promotes the\nunderstanding that multiculturalism reflects the cultural and racial diversity\nof Canadian society and acknowledges the freedom of all members of Canadian\nsociety to preserve, enhance and share their cultural heritage. It also accepts\nthe fundamental characteristic of the Canadian heritage and identity and that\nit provides an invaluable resource in the shaping of Canada\u2019s future; it\nfurther recognizes the existence of communities whose members share a common\norigin and their historic contribution to Canadian society and enhance their\ndevelopment. It preserves and enhances the use of languages other than English\nand French while strengthening the status and use of the official languages of\nCanada\u201d (Canadian Multiculturalism Act: 1985 4th supplement). <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In accordance with this policy,\nall ethnic groups (about 87) are eligible to apply for the parliamentary\napproval to establish a special Heritage Day or Month to celebrate their\nheritage. In the approval process, the Canadian parliamentarians look for the\ncontributions that a particular group has made towards making Canada a better\nplace to live. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Program on April the 27th in\nOttawa<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sri Lanka-Canada Association\nof Ottawa has taken the lead to establish a special Heritage Day or a month to\ncoincide with the Sinhala-Tamil New Year. They have invited all Sri Lankans to\nthe Canadian parliament on April the 27th to celebrate this special cause. The\nvery first of such events is planned as the Sinhalese Heritage Day in\nParliament. Subsequent events will be named as Sri Lankan Heritage Day\naccording to organizers and they encourage all Sri Lankan Canadian\nAssociations around Canada to follow suit to organize Sri Lankan Heritage\nevents in their own cities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The special event on the\nApril 27th<\/sup> will begin with the playing of the Sri Lankan and\nCanadian national anthems by students of Chamindra Rathnayake followed by the\nlighting of the traditional oil lamps by dignitaries. After four speeches by\ninvited guests, the audience will be blessed with the welcome dance based on\nthe Sri Lankan traditional admiration form of dances. The students of Rashanthi\nHettiaratchy who runs the Rangara Performing Arts in Toronto will perform this\nitem. The next item in the agenda is a presentation by Dr. Sarath Chandrasekere\non the forthcoming book titled A Compendium of Scholarly Articles by Canadians\nof Sri Lankan Origin. The next item is also a dance, popularly known as the\nPeacock dance performed by students of Renuka Subasinghe. Nilantha karunaratna\nand Dulansa Epasinghe will present a dance titled Maathra, a creative dance\nduet that unveils the fusion of two generations on stage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The next item is a special song\nby a versatile singer Sri Lal Fonseka about the famous CN Tower in Toronto, and\nhow it brings back memories of Sri Lanka. This song is written by Anuruddha\nWeligamage of Toronto. Janaka Bamunukula has organized a demonstration of\nAngampora as a special item. Angampora is a traditional martial art form from\nin Sri Lanka. It has a history of about 5000 years and King Ravana is known as\nan Angampora warrior. This will be followed by another dance choregraphed by\nDhanuja Senaweera. This is titled Kuveni Asna related to the classical Kohomba\nKankariya. The Sri Lanka United National Association (SLUNA) will be making a\nspecial presentation on the Sinhalese History in Sri Lanka. Ishani Kodituwakku\nof Canadia Sri Lanka Association of Toronto will introduce Sinhala\/Tamil New\nYear Traditions. Suwini Sulochana Wijewickrema and her students will introduce\na game popular during the New Year season in Sri Lanka. It is titled Eluwan\nKema. The next item in the agenda is a creative dance titled Lankanaada\nchoreographed by Deepa Hettige.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next item will be an\nintroduction to Indigenous Medicine in Sri Lanka by Dr. Jayasinghe Arachchige.\nThis will be followed by a drumming performance by Dr. Nimal de Silva and his\nteam from Ottawa. Sarath Kumarasinghe will play and introduce the musical\ninstrument, Esraj. The next item is a calypso dance in a Sri Lankan style\npresented by the Canada-Sri Lanka Association of Toronto. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The final item of the program is\na swan dance (Hansa wannama) performed by the students of the Rangara Dance\nAcademy and choregraphed by Rashanthi Hettiarchchi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There will be several heritage\nstations set up in exhibition style for attendees to see various items\/topics\nof Sinhalese heritage. The items include Theravada Buddhism, Sri Lankan\nIndigenous Medicine, Ancient Agricultural Techniques, Sri Lankan masks, Sri\nLanka Tourism and Immigration\/Emigration Effects on Sinhalese Culture. The\nceremony will end with a treat of traditional Sri Lankan food and sweets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Hosts for this ceremony are\nDr. Charmini Wimalasena of Kitchener (French\/English\/Sinhala)\u2019 Dr. Mohan Pancharatnam of Ottawa\n(Tamil\/English) and Dr. Wimal Rankaduwa of Halifax (English\/Sinhalese). <\/p>\n\n\n\n All Canadian parliamentarians\nhave been invited to witness this celebration. They will participate in this\nceremony and eventually support the move to pass an act to establish the Sri\nLankan Heritage Day\/Month in Canada. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The ceremony will demonstrate\nmostly the items of the Sinhalese culture. During the final stage of this legal\nprocess, cultures of other Sri Lankan ethnic groups will also be\nincluded. Anura Ferdinand, the President of\nthe Ottawa Sri Lanka-Canada Association and his executive team have been inspired\nby these developments and decided to hold this event within the Parliament\npremises between 2.00 pm and 5.00 pm on April the 27th. Over 750 people are\nexpected to attend this function, from Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Halifax,\nMontreal among others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Why a Heritage Day\/Month for\nSri Lankans?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One may wonder why the\nSri Lankans need a special Heritage Day in Canada? A careful examination\nof the socio-cultural dynamics of the Sri Lankan community in Canada, and\nespecially, their contributions to the Canadian society, has provided\na rationale for this move. Let\u2019s examine some of those reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sri Lankas are one of the few\nethnic groups in Canada who have shown a very low unemployment rate (1%) in\nCanada. Almost all Sri Lankans are employed compared to the average Canadian\nunemployment rate of 5.8%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a considerable number of\ninternational level scholars and scientists of Sri Lankan origin working in\nCanadians Universities. Their research activities range from Bio-Medical\nSciences to Sociology. Just to name a few: The very first woman President of\nthe University of Alberta was Dr. Indira Samarasekera. By profession, she is a\nmetallurgist. Dr. Janaka Ruwanpura, the VP International Development of the\nUniversity of Calgary, is an Engineer by profession. Professor Randy Boyagoda\nis the Principal of the St. Michaels College of the University of Toronto. He\nis a well-known novelist, author and a critic. Dr. Chandre Dharmawardene,\nformer Vice Chancellor of Jayawardenapura University is a resident of Ottawa\nand helps Sri Lankans to rethink their approaches to development issues in Sri\nLanka. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Vasantha Rupasinghe of the\nDalhousie University is working on blueberries and apple peelings to develop\nmedication to fight diabetes. Dr. Theva Vasanthan attached to the University of\nAlberta is an expert on food science and bio-research. Dr. Nihal Wijesundera\nhas worked committedly on Renewable Energy Conversion. Dr. Dilantha Fernando,\nthe Dean of Studies at the St. Paul\u2019s College, University of Manitoba works on\ncrop health, and has over 130 publications to his credit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Laksman Galagedera is an\nAgricultural Engineer attached to the Memorial University. Dr. Arunika\nGunawardena of the Dalhousie University runs her own lab in cell biology and\nplant studies. She has won several awards to her credit. Dr. Charu\nChandrasekera was the founding Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for\nAlternative Medical Research at the University of Windsor. This is the first of\nits kind in Canada. They challenge the traditional medical model of research\nand replace it with methods that will not require killing animals for medical\nresearch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Naresh Thevathasan attached\nto the University of Guelph in Ontario has worked on several interesting\nprojects in the school of environmental sciences. He is a known soil scientist,\nand agronomy and agroforestry are his areas of passion. Dr. Sashi Perera of\nMcMaster University is a Stroke-Neurologist with a medical background. She is\nan adjudicator on international multicentre stroke and cardiovascular trials.\nProfessor Wimal Rankaduwa who is with the University of Prince Edward Island is\na macro-economist. He has been the president of the Atlantic Sri Lanka-Canada\nAssociation. Dr. Kanishka Gunawardene attached to the Urban Planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Department of the University of\nToronto has adopted the Marxian approach to examine urban issues. Dr. Darshaini\nKumaragamage attached to the University of Winnipeg is a known scientist in the\nfield of environmental studies. Dr. Dilan Dissanayake (MD. Ph.D) is currently\nan expert pediatrician attached to the Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. He is one\nof the youngest specialists in Canada. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We also have several scientists\nlike Dr. Chaminda Basnayake, the Principal Scientist of the Locata Corporation\nworking with the private sector. Dr. Basnayake has seven patents to his credit\nand has specialized in GPS systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sri Lankan origin talents are\nnot just confined to the Bio-Medical and Physical Scientific Fields. Michael\nOndatjee who won several international book awards wrote the famous novel\n\u201cEnglish Patient\u201d which came out as an Oscar award-winning movie. Late Dr.\nChelva Kanakanayakam of the University of Toronto translated several Tamil\nliterary books into English. He was attached to the English Department of the\nTrinity College. Dr. Swarna Kanthi Chandrasekera, a known author, has written\nand published the first-ever curriculum and handbook to teach Buddhism to\nCanadian-born children. Mr. Nimal Dissanayake, a Solicitor, and Barrister is a\nfrequently sought- after arbitrator to handle union issues by both the public\nand the private sector. Tissa Boyagoda who was a judge in Sri Lanka is a lawyer\nknown to many in Toronto. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are about 15 other lawyers\nwho meet the legal needs of Canadians in Toronto. The number of practicing\nphysicians in Ontario is about 20. Among others are ice-carving experts like\nMeegoda Nandasiri, artistic designers like Bandula Kuruwita Arachchi, and\nVenerable Bhante Saranapala who is on a journey of spreading Buddhism (Charath\nBhikkawe Charikan) and especially, mindfulness training, across Canadian\ncommunities and abroad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two monthly Sinhala\nnewspapers -Yathra edited by Chandraratne Bandara, a known writer,\nand Dasatha edited by Chamari Abeysinghe. The Sri Lankan Reporter, an\naward-winning monthly English newspaper, is edited by Srimal Abeywardene. The\nSri Lankan Anchorman is edited by Dirk Tissera, and the Ceylon Express is\nedited by Nishantha Donsiyambalapitiyage. There are about 27 newspapers\npublished in the Tamil language. The \u201cKala Kavaya\u201d and \u201cRupane\u201d are\nweekly TV programs which bring news and artistic activities to the general\npublic. Sawana is a popular internet-based radio program presented daily by\nveteran broadcaster, Vasantha Lankathilleke. For the Tamil language speakers,\nthere are over 10 radio programs and a few TV programs currently running in\nToronto. The Sri Lankan owned media agencies in Canada keep the Sri Lankans\ninformed of socio-cultural and political developments in Sri Lanka as well as\nin Canada. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A few noteworthy Sri Lankans have\nretired from their service. They include Dr. Sange de Silva who retired as the\nDirector General, Institutional and Social Statistics Branch of Statistics\nCanada. He has been awarded the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal in\nrecognition of his exceptional service to Canada and Canadians. His position\nwas equivalent to the second in command of Statistics Canada. Dr. Nimal\nRatnayake who is a retired Research Scientist with Health Canada (The Federal\nHealth Department). He has completed several useful medical research projects\nbefore his retirement. He has received many awards including the Parliamentary\nrecognition as an outstanding research scientist. Dr. K P Abeytunge is an\nEngineer who was the Vice President and Director-General of the Canadian Centre\nfor Occupational Health and safety. Asoka Weerasinghe is a geologist\/paleontologist\/museologist\nwho was one time the curator of the Ottawa museum. He has published poetry in several\ncountries including the UK and Canada and has received many awards for his\nliterary and community work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The above-stated scientists (and\nmany more) and scholars have several publications to their credit. Some have\npatents their scientific discoveries. Sri Lankans in Canada have not stopped\ntheir Canadian contributory journey at this point. Almost 10 years ago, they\nrevived the Cricket Association of the Prince Edward Island (PEI) and built a\ncricket ground and a pavilion on a scenic location in Stratford. Although PEI\nhad a 200-year history of playing cricket from the 1920s, its interest had\nbegun to fade away with the introduction of other new sports. The Sri Lankans\nwith enormous support from cricketers of other cricket playing nations and\nCricket Canada revived the tradition in 2009. They obtained funding from\nfederal, provincial and municipal agencies. The first multicultural board of\ndirectors was chaired by Sarath Chandrasekere, and the other members included\nan Englishman, French lady, Jamaican, Sri Lankan, Indian, Bangladeshi,\nPakistani, Australian and an Islander. This is accepted as the best cricket\nground beyond the grounds in Montreal. The PEI cricket program continues with\namazing glory today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a matter of paramount\nimportance that these Sri Lankans are spread all over Canada. As a relatively\nnew ethnic group, Sri Lankans have a very high rate of Ph.Ds. It is also\nnoteworthy that over 72% of Sri Lankan families have at least one child who has\ncompleted or is in the process of completing university degrees in Canada. This\nappears to be a remarkable accomplishment of the second generation of Sri\nLankans compared to many other ethnic groups. Sri Lankans in\nCanada have done very well in the business sector too. We have\nover 35 real-estate agents in Ontario alone. About 15 groceries owned and run\nby the Tamil Sri Lankans in Toronto. There are about 10 musical bands who are\nin very big demand. The latest addition to this sector is the Cinnamon Grande\nBanquets Hall highly patronized by other Canadians for special functions. The\nSri Lankans living in Ontario and Alberta have the privilege of watching\naward-winning Sri Lankan Sinhala and Tamil movies and musical concerts\non regular basis. It is noteworthy that a movie is currently being\nproduced between Canada and Sri Lanka based on Chandraratne Bandara\u2019s novel\nWalakulu Bamma (Wall of Clouds). This film is directed by a famous Toronto-based\ndirector Priyankara Witanachchi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Given the 70-year old history in\nCanada as an ethnic group, the people of Sri Lankan origin have created history\nhere in Canada in a variety of ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another important feature of the\nSri Lankans is their long-cherished values, manners, and countenance. They are\nperceived as smiling, kind hearted and caring people. These are the\nlegacies of their original upbringing in the country of origin. The Sri Lankans\nhave already built trust among the other Canadians with whom they work on a\nday-to-day basis. They are committed to their goals, blessed with Buddhist,\nHindu, Islamic and Christian values and brave in taking risks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sri Lanka, as another multicultural\nnation, has many iconic structures\/contributions which are recognized as part\nof the world heritage. Thripitaka will be the latest addition to this UNESCO\nlist. Seventy-one years of democracy, free education, higher literacy rates, universal\nhealth care and higher participation of women in labour force, are some of\nthe remarkable accomplishments of the country as a nation. Although the past\ntwo decades have witnessed rapid deterioration of some of these standards and\nethical principles due to immature political decision making, there is every\npossibility to bring back the good old qualities of the nation. Sri Lanka needs\nto recognize multiculturalism as a guiding principle blended with higher moral\nbehaviors, freedom of speech and justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is undoubtedly true that the\nSri Lankans in Canada, especially the first generation, miss their country in a\nbig way. They also feel that they have the capacity to preserve the Sinhalese\nand the Tamil cultures in Canada. Owing to the above reasons, the people of Sri\nLankan origin are considered a peaceful group to Canadian society. This alone\nwill be sufficient ground for the Canadian Parliament to consider granting a\nSri Lankan Heritage Day\/month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sinhalese Heritage Day\nplanned for the April the 27th is an act of cooperation of many Sri Lankans\nliving in different parts of Canada. Bandula Kuruwita Arachchi who designed and\ndecorated the Parliamentary Hall and Tissaarchchige and Patrick Silva who took\npart actively in decorations deserve very\nspecial thanks. Arranging of Sri Lankan food and sweets for the occasion are a\nvoluntary effort on the part of the Seniors Group and community\nvolunteers in Ottawa. They too deserve thanks from the organizers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hon. Chandra Arya, a Member of\nthe Parliament of Canada (MP) was instrumental in getting us the Donald A\nMcDonald Hall to hold this special event. If not for his support and interest,\nour event would not be successful. Hon. Arya deserves a special word of\ngratitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A commemorative souvenir will be\ncreated by Samith Welihinda to raise much-needed funds for this\nevent. A live feed of the event will be made available via the website www.slcaottawa.com and the facebook page will be\nopen for the benefit of all those around the world to provide feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n END Canada is getting ready to establish April as Sri Lankan Heritage Month By Sarath Chandrasekere Canada has been the home for about 450,000 people of Sri Lankan origin. Nearly 75,000 of them speak Sinhala as their first language and the rest speak Tamil and English as their mother tongue. The first Sri Lankan family arrived Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"parent":1726,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/slcaottawa.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2097"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/slcaottawa.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/slcaottawa.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slcaottawa.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slcaottawa.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2097"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/slcaottawa.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2128,"href":"https:\/\/slcaottawa.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2097\/revisions\/2128"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slcaottawa.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/slcaottawa.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe Canadian parliament has already granted legal status to Tamils (2016) to\nhave the month of January as their heritage month. There is Hindu Heritage Month\nin Ontario (2016), and the Italians and the Filipinos use June as their\nHeritage Month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n[ Sarath Chandrasekere (Ph.D) teaches sociology at McMaster\nUniversity and the University of Toronto]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"