Canada says it “rejects hate, discrimination” in response to a plea against Hinduphobia

The Government of Canada has said that it “rejects all forms of hate and discrimination and believes all Canadians must stand up against it where and whenever it is encountered” in an official response to a petition alleging Hinduphobia that was presented to the Commons.

The petitioners, however, are dissatisfied with the government’s answer, which was signed by Sameer Zuberi, her Parliamentary Secretary, and sent by Kamal Khera, Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities.

The petitioner, Vijay Jain of Brampton, who filed e-4507, responded to the government’s answer by saying, “The response from the Government is very frustrating.” He noted that the response does, in fact, address the requests made in the petition to define Hinduphobia as denial, negation, prejudice, or vilification against Hindus, Hinduism, or Hinduness, to define Hinduphobia as anti-Hindu prejudice and discrimination, and to raise awareness of and address institutional and systemic Hinduphobia.

He said that while Canada’s human rights act was “prescriptive” in regards to Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, comparable steps were not being taken against the rising incidence of Hinduphobia. He said that “this alone demonstrates systemic discrimination against Hindus in Canada.” Jain said that he had not yet received an appointment from Khera, despite requesting a meeting with him and other community organizations.

The Government expressed gratitude to the petitioner for voicing concerns about the increasing negative stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination against Hindus in Canada in its answer.

25,794 signatures were collected on the petition, compared to the 500 required for an official government response. “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,” Conservative Party MP Melissa Lantsman stated while introducing it in the House of Commons on November 3.

The petition got the support of 81 community organizations, including significant temples.

After the separatist organization Sikhs for Justice, or SFJ, published a video in September criticizing Canadian Hindus of Indian descent, the petition gained traction. “Indo-Hindus leave Canada and go to India,” said SFJ’s legal counsel Gurpatwant Pannun in a video that quickly went viral.

He remarked, “You are not only supporting India, but you are also supporting the suppression of speech and expression of pro-Khalistan Sikhs.” He went on to say that by celebrating Nijjar’s “assassination,” they were “also promoting violence.” He was alluding to the June 18 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the main figure in SFJ. Following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s September 18 remarks in the House of Commons indicating that there were “credible allegations” of a possible connection between the crime and Indian operatives, the murder has severely damaged ties between India and Canada.

Apart from the SFJ film, since last summer, at least a dozen temples have been vandalized, either with pro-Khalistan graffiti or with banners criticizing India’s top diplomats in Canada.

As a result of their actions, Hinduphobia has become more prominent in Canada, and Canadian authorities have acknowledged the problem. The head of the Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, said to Prime Asia in April of this year that “Hinduphobia, hate speech, and acts of vandalism and other violence directed towards Hindu Canadians must end.” This is really intolerable.