SIKH VIRSA ARTICLE ( MAY 2019)

was inflaming the Sikh community by making
references to Sikhs as “semi-literate farm
workers”. In addition, he stated that Indian
secret service agents (RAW) were active in
the Canadian Sikh community. They made
payments of $10,000 to Indian newspapers
published in Canada, in order to influence
their editorial content. Mr. McLean stated
that he noticed the shift in newspaper coverage
following these “payments” by the
The president of the
Philippines says if Canada
doesn’t take back tonnes of
trash within the next week he
will “declare war” and ship the
containers back himself.
Filipino media outlets report
that Rodrigo Duterte made
threats Tuesday about dozens
of shipping containers filled
with Canadian household and
electronic garbage that has
been rotting in a port near
Manila for nearly six years.
‘I want a boat
prepared,’ Duterte said. ‘I’ll
give a warning to Canada maybe
next week that they better pull
that thing out or I will set sail.’
Duterte, who is known for
his combativeness, threatened
to declare war on Canada if the
issue isn’t resolved.
‘I will advise Canada that
your garbage is on the way,’ he
said. ‘Prepare a grand
reception. Eat it if you want to.’
In 2013 and 2014, a total of
103 shipping containers from
Canada labelled as plastics
arrived in the Philippines for
recycling, but Filipino
customs inspectors
determined the containers
were actually filled with debris
from Canadian trash bins.
Canada has been trying for
nearly six years to convince
the Philippines to dispose of
the garbage there even
though a Filipino court
ordered the trash returned to
Canada in 2016.
Buy/Sell/Lease, Any kind of Real Estate : 403-681-8689
Indian agents. WSO President Mukhbir
Singh said, “with the upcoming Canadian
federal elections, and the active involvement
of the Sikh community in Canada’s electoral
process, we are even more concerned by
the potential of Indian interference. There
is a history of Indian interference and intimidation
in Canada and we hope that all
steps will be taken to ensure that Canadian
Sikhs are not intimidated or pressured by
Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau was asked about the
matter on trips to the
Philippines in both 2015 and
2017. On the first visit he said
Canada had no legal means to
force the company that shipped
the waste to take the trash
back. In 2017 Trudeau said
Canada was working very hard
on a solution and that it was
“theoretically” possible for
Canada to take back the trash.
A year after that Canada and
the Philippines formed a
working group of officials to
solve the issue, but nearly six
months after that nothing has
been resolved.
The Canadian government
didn’t appear to be changing
its tune following Duterte’s
comments. A spokeswoman for
Environment Minister
Catherine McKenna sent a
written statement that is
identical to the statement
issued by a different
spokeswoman last week,
mentioning the working group
and promising to work with the
Philippines ‘to ensure the
material is processed in an
environ-mentally responsible
way.’
‘Canada is strongly
committed to collaborating
with the Philippines
government to resolve this
issue and is aware of the court
decision ordering the importer
to ship the material back to
Indian interests. It is of the utmost importance
that Canada remains free from foreign
interference.” The World Sikh Organization
of Canada (WSO) is a non-profit organization
with a mandate to promote and protect
the interests of Canadian Sikhs, as well as
to promote and advocate for the protection
of human rights for all individuals, irrespective
of race, religion, gender, ethnicity, and
social and economic status. (The End)
Philippines president gives Canada a week to take back
tonnes of trash, or he will ‘declare war’ & send it back himself
Canada,’ wrote Sabrina Kim.
She also mentioned a change
to regulations in 2016 meant to
prevent such a thing from
happening again. The change
means Canadian firms will need
to get approval to ship waste
if the destination country says
it is hazardous, even if
Canadian officials don’t deem
it to be so.
Last week, a legal opinion
prepared by the Victoria-based
Pacific Centre for
Environmental Law and
Litigation said Canada’s
actions with the shipments
violate multiple parts of the
Basel Convention, a 30-yearold
treaty that prevents
countries from shipping
hazardous waste to the
developing world without the
receiving country’s consent.
The violations include
inaccurately describing the
contents of the containers,
failing to take them back within
30 days of being notified of the
hazard, and attempting to get
the Philippines to take on the
obligation for disposing of the
waste. Kathleen Ruff, founder
of rightoncanada.ca, has been
trying to get Canada to take
back its trash and is incensed.
‘It’s incredible to me that
the Canadian government just
dismisses the fact that it is
breaking the law,’ she said. ‘I
guess some people believe they
are above the law and count on
getting away with it.’ (The End)
Sikh Virsa, Calgary 60. May, 2019