10/06/2026
The Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) organized an event titled “40 Years of Resilience & Compassion” on Saturday, October 3, 2026 to commemorate the 1986 rescue of 155 Tamil refugees off the coast of Newfoundland. Held in the Sam Ibrahim Building at University of Toronto Scarborough, this gathering marked a milestone retrospective of one of the most defining moments in the history of Canadian immigration policy and humanitarianism.
The refugees escaping the horrors of the escalating civil war and anti-Tamil violence in Sri Lanka endured a perilous journey across the Atlantic Ocean and were stranded in lifeboats without food or water for 3 days. Their rescue by local Canadian fishermen led by Capt. Gus Dalton, and the overwhelming welcome they received from the Newfoundland community and the Canadian government under the leadership of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, became an enduring symbol of hope, survival, and human kindness.
Several of the survivors attended the event and were recognized by the emcee Raveena Ravindran for their courage and resilience. Dushy Gananpragasam, Vice President of CTC, delivered a tribute to the two late heroes – Gus Dalton and Brian Mulroney. Prominent Canadian immigration and refugee lawyer Lorne Waldman, who has assisted over 1000 refugee applicants of Tamil origin - including those who arrived on the 1986, 2009, and 2010 boats – with their immigration applications was the featured speaker. He provided crucial legal and historical insights into the evolution of Canada’s response to refugees over the years. He stressed the need to hold the Sri Lankan state accountable for its actions that led to waves of Tamil refugees landing on Canadian shores. Acclaimed Canadian author Sharon Bala shared a pre-recorded video message emphasizing the vital importance of documenting ‘our stories’. She contrasted the harsh treatment the people who arrived on the MV Sun Sea received – which formed the basis for her novel ‘The Boat People’ – with that of the welcome the 1986 arrivals received from the people of Newfoundland.
Kirthana Sasitharan, journalist and producer with CBC News, moderated a retrospective with two of the rescued people – Nadarajah Baskaran and Mehanathan Sathasivam – and community activist Arul S Aruliah, who had travelled from Toronto to Newfoundland the very next day after the boat arrived to assist the newcomers. This segment, which was emotional at times and brought the audience to laughter at others, prompted audience participation, most notably from Sylvester Rajaratnam who recounted how he came to be the first Tamil person to be in contact with the people on the boat when he, a student at Memorial University at that time, was sought by the authorities to be a translator.
The event concluded with a special screening of the documentary film Oorana Oor – My Country. In introducing the film, its director and producer Lalita Krishna said that the 2009 antiwar protests by Tamil Canadians and the 2009 and 2010 arrival of the Tamil boats led her to explore the reasons for the arrivals and what became of those who arrived in 1986.
CTC would like to thank the speakers, participants, media and the University of Toronto Scarborough for ensuring the success of this event.
Photo courtesy: Padaiyal Media
