Hindu temple in Canada cancels consular camp after cops flag 'security concerns'
The Vaishno Devi Mandir in the town of Oakville was to host the consular camp, held by India’s Consulate in Toronto, on November 23.
A Hindu temple in the province of Ontario, Canada has announced the cancellation of a consular camp it was to host on Sunday after local law enforcement warned of “reliable intelligence regarding security concerns.”
The Vaishno Devi Mandir in the town of Oakville was to host the consular camp, held by India’s Consulate in Toronto, on November 23. The camp was meant to provide life certificates to pensioners.
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However, on Thursday, the executive committee of the temple issued a statement announcing the cancellation. It said the camp was cancelled “following official communication from Acting Chief Roger Wilkie of the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS). Based on reliable intelligence regarding security concerns, HRPS has deemed it necessary to cancel the event to ensure the safety of all participants, including Consulate staff, community members, and the general public.”
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The statement said alternate venues was explored including the HRPS headquarters. However, it said “the current security assessment” by HRPS led to the “conclusion that the event cannot proceed in a manner that reasonably addresses the associated risks to the Consulate Staff as well as attending public.”
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“We are profoundly saddened that our senior citizens and community members cannot safely access these essential services at places of worship or public institutions. The safety and security of our congregation, particularly our elderly members, remain our paramount concern,” the statement added.
The secessionist group Sikhs for Justice or SFJ had said on Wednesday that it would stage a demonstration at the Oakville temple on Sunday, and at the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Toronto on November 30, to protest the presence of Indian officials at the consular camps.
Management of the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Toronto’s Scarborough locality has yet to decide on whether the consular camp at its premises will proceed on November 30, a person familiar with the matter said.
“SFJ emphasizes that the protests target the actions of Indian diplomats—not worshippers or the places of worship themselves, including those of Hindu or other faiths,” its general counsel Gurpatwant Pannun said.
Meanwhile, India’s Consulate in Vancouver announced on Thursday that a camp that was to be held at the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey, British Columbia, on November 24, has been “postponed” to December 1 and moved to a convention centre in the town.
Tensions have been prevalent over holding the camps since pro-Khalistan elements violently attacked the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton on November 3.
In the aftermath, there was a protest staged outside a gurdwara in Malton. There was also a rally outside the Hindu Sabha temple on November 4 to demonstrate community solidarity. However, incidents of violence were reported from these events and, till date, several persons have been arrested or charged in connection with them, including the Canadian organizer of the so-called Khalistan Referendum, Inderjeet Gosal.
India’s Consulate in Vancouver successfully organized two consular camps at at the Khalsa Diwan Society Gurdwara in Abbotsford and the Khalsa Diwan Society’s Ross Street Gurdwara in Vancouver on November 16 and November 17, respectively. A total of 709 life certificates were provided to pensioners who visited the two camps, according to India’s Consulate in Vancouver.
On November 10, similar camps were held in Edmonton, capital of the province of Alberta, and in Saskatoon and Regina in the province of Saskatchewan.
On November 11, two temples in the Greater Toronto Area or GTA, the Toronto Kali Bari and the Brampton Triveni Mandir, announced they were cancelling the camps they were to host on November 16 and November 17, respectively.
