VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - The Canadian Tamil Congress says it's "deeply concerned" over what the federal government is saying about the arrival of almost 500 migrants in B.C.
The Congress is accusing Ottawa of jumping to false conclusions. Manjula Selvarajah with the Tamil Congress says Public Safety Minister Vic Toews should exercise some caution and avoid publicly speculating about the possibility that Canadian Tamils are supporting illegal smuggling.
She says they don't want this escalating to a point where there is something more than a backlash of words, adding that could include a violent reaction against the Tamil community.
She adds their organization has received dozens of calls from Tamils concerned with comments made by the public on talk-radio shows and posted online. So far, detention reviews have been held for almost 200 of the Sri Lankan migrants.
Meanwhile, an Angus Reid survey has found 63 per cent of Canadians think the migrant ship shouldn't have been allowed to enter Canadian waters and 83 per cent believe the migrants are jumping the immigration queue.