Historic RCMP raid file ties Liberal public safety minister to terror group
Liberal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree’s phone number was found in a document seized during an RCMP investigation into a suspected Tamil Tigers fundraising network in Canada.
Liberal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree’s phone number was found in a document seized during an RCMP investigation into a suspected Tamil Tigers fundraising network in Canada, linking him once more to the designated terrorist organization.
Records filed in Federal Court, and uncovered by Global News reporters Stewart Bell and Mercedes Stephenson, show the public safety minister ’s phone number appeared in a document seized nearly two decades ago during an RCMP investigation into a suspected Tamil Tigers fundraising network in Canada.
The number was discovered in 2006 when national security officers searched the Toronto offices of the World Tamil Movement, which the federal government later added to its list of terrorist entities as an alleged front for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
At the time, the Tamil Tigers were fighting a civil war in Sri Lanka and had been linked to numerous terrorist activities, including political assassinations and bombings.
The search was part of Project Osaluki, a counter-terrorism investigation that alleged the World Tamil Movement collected millions of dollars in Canada for the banned group.
The RCMP seized financial records, propaganda, and contact lists, including a page with “Gary A.” and a phone number. Court filings state the document was found in a room used for fundraising.
Global News, which reviewed the records, matched the number to one Anandasangaree used before entering politics. The minister’s office said he had no knowledge of the list, was never contacted by police about it and did not raise money for the group.
Anandasangaree was a law student in 2004 when the document was dated. He had been active in community campaigns to send aid to Sri Lanka after the Indian Ocean tsunami.
His office said he took part in lobbying efforts, including a roundtable with then-prime minister Paul Martin, to push for Canadian humanitarian assistance.
The minister became a Liberal MP in 2015 and entered cabinet under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He was appointed public safety minister in May by incoming Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Less than a month later, he announced he would recuse himself from decisions involving the Tamil Tigers or the World Tamil Movement, citing the need to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.
As previously reported by True North, Anandasangaree also stands accused of petitioning Canada‘s border services agency, twice as an MP, in support of a Sri Lankan national identified by immigration authorities as a member of Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers terrorist organization.
“The minister denounces terrorism in all its forms and takes his responsibilities, as well as Canadians’ expectations regarding integrity and transparency, extremely seriously,” his office said in a statement.
Court records show the RCMP alleged the World Tamil Movement used bake sales, cultural festivals and door-to-door canvassing to raise money, while also employing “pressure tactics” and “implied threats” to secure donations.
Officers seized items including propaganda materials, donation receipts and a manual advising foreign branches of the Tamil Tigers to cultivate contacts with parliamentarians.
The government added the World Tamil Movement to Canada’s list of terrorist organizations in 2008. By then, the RCMP had already moved to seize the group’s assets and property.
The Tamil Tigers were militarily defeated by Sri Lanka’s government in 2009, in a conflict that ended with allegations of atrocities by both sides, including widespread civilian casualties.
Anandasangaree, who later served as justice minister and minister of Crown–Indigenous relations, is now tasked with overseeing Canada’s national security and border agencies as public safety minister.