Wife of terror group ‘member' backed by public safety minister does not live in his riding: documents
In defending letters he wrote before he joined cabinet that urged border security officials to approve the immigration application of a suspected member of the Tamil Tigers, Anandasangaree has said he assisted the man's Canadian wife as an MP.
'That a constituent, a Canadian citizen, with a Canadian child, would want to reunite her family in Canada is not unusual,' Anandasangaree said in a July 14 statement explaining the letters he penned in 2016 and 2023.
'MPs from all parties provide letters of support for constituents as a routine matter,' he said. Last week, he added that he was only 'executing my duties as a Member of Parliament, one that I believe constituents expect me to do.'
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But court records and interviews indicate the woman is not Anandasangaree's constituent. Rather, she is a longtime resident of Markham, Ont. — which is outside his Scarborough-Guildwood-Rouge Park riding.
Her immigration records, tax returns and commercial receipts each list a Markham home address, and two additional letters of support she gave immigration officers were from a city councillor and MPP — both in Markham.
Reached by phone, she declined to answer questions and referred a reporter to her lawyer, who confirmed the woman had resided in Markham since at least 2016 and could not recall ever living in Anandasangaree's riding.
The revelations have raised new questions for Anandasangaree, who became Minister of Public Safety in May, and promptly recused himself from making national security decisions related to the Tamil Tigers.
When Global News first reported on Anandasangaree's support letters, Prime Minister Mark Carney said his appointee to oversee Canada's national security agencies had been 'transparent about the details of that situation and he has my confidence.'
The Prime Minister's Office declined to comment on the evidence suggesting the man's wife was not actually Anandasangaree's constituent. The minister's office released a statement on Monday that portrayed his earlier statement as lacking clarity.
'It is not uncommon for MPs to assist Canadian citizens that are out of their riding, especially if the local MP is unable to assist due to their role in cabinet, as was the case in this situation,' the statement said.
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'It is also important to note that this particular applicant's family was introduced by a known constituent of Scarborough-Rouge Park. This should have been made clearer in the minister's statement of July 14, 2025.'
3:13
Letters reveal public safety minister's support of suspected terror group 'member'
Support letters for terror group 'member'
Earlier this month, Global News reported that before joining cabinet, Anandasangaree wrote two letters asking the Canada Border Services Agency to grant permanent residence to Senthuran Selvakumaran.
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The Sri Lanka man married a Toronto-area woman in the United Kingdom in 2005 after British immigration officials rejected his asylum claim. She then applied to bring her husband to Canada, but border officials have repeatedly rejected him on the grounds he was a self-admitted paid member of the Tamil Tigers.
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Also known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, the group committed scores of assassinations and bombings during Sri Lanka's civil war, and raised millions in Toronto, partly through extortion, before landing on Canada's list of terrorist organizations in 2006.
'In truth, I have helped the LTTE not only because I wanted to help them, I also got payment for it,' Selvakumaran wrote in an asylum claim.
After telling immigration officers in Britain, and then Canada, that he had worked for the Tigers for seven years, Selvakumaran changed his story and insisted he had lied about his involvement because of bad legal advice. But the CBSA still had doubts and rejected him.
Writing on his House of Commons letterhead, Anandasangaree then asked the CBSA to reverse that decision, adding that 'as a Member of Parliament' he had met and counselled Selvakumaran's wife Nilushie Senthuran.
'Providing guidance, advocacy, or support letters in support of Canadians is a standard responsibility of Members of Parliament across all parties. It is part of an MP's duty to assist, in accordance with federal rules, Canadian citizens seeking to reunite with their families,' the minister's latest statement said.
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Anandasangaree's last letter to immigration officials on the matter was dated July 18, 2023. He was Parliamentary Secretary of Justice at the time and joined cabinet on July 26, 2023.
The Office of the Ethics Commissioner said parliamentary secretaries were permitted to work as MPs 'for their constituents,' but declined to comment further. 'At this time, we're choosing not to make further statements.'
Last year, the CBSA president recommended that, regardless of Anandasangaree's request, Selvakumaran should not get permanent residence because he was a terrorist group member.
Selvakumaran appealed that decision to the court and used Anandasangaree's endorsement as evidence against the government. In a court document, Selvakumaran's lawyer, Lorne Waldman, described Anandasangaree as the wife's MP — a claim that was repeated in the judge's ruling on the case.
But the lawyer acknowledged last week that was a mistake.
'While it is correct that we, as Mrs. Senthuran's legal counsel, mistakenly stated that Mrs. Senthuran was a constituent of MP Anandasangaree, that was an error on our part,' Waldman said.
He noted that neither of Anandasangaree's letters said she was a constituent.
'A referral between MP Anandasangaree and Mrs. Senthuran was made through a constituent,' Waldman said. 'After MP Anandasangaree and his staff met with Mrs. Senthuran and reviewed her extensive documentation, he agreed to support her husband's application.'
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He said it was a regular practice for Members of Parliament to write letters of support, and there was 'nothing improper or irregular' about Anandasangaree writing such a letter after meeting her.
But in his response to questions from Global News asking why he wrote letters asking the CBSA to give permanent residence to a foreign national who had been deemed a terrorist group member, Anandasangaree called her a 'constituent.'
2:10
Cabinet minister under scrutiny over letters supporting terror group 'member'
The Markham councillor and the MPP
None of residential addresses in the wife's applications to sponsor her husband to immigrate are not part of Anandasagaree's Toronto riding, according to the Elections Canada website.
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'Nilushie has been a resident of Markham since the time she came to Canada in September 2002,' Juanita Nathan, then a Markham city councillor, wrote in a July 10, 2023 letter supporting Selvakumaran's bid to immigrate.
Now the Liberal MP for the Pickering-Brooklin riding east of Toronto, Nathan told Global News her letter was incorrect and the woman had only actually lived in Markham since 2007.
She wrote the letter as part of her previous municipal duties, 'which is a common practice among elected officials when assisting residents navigating immigration processes,' she added.
'The letter was based on humanitarian grounds and was not an endorsement of any individual's past affiliations. My commitment has always been to support families in our community within the bounds of Canadian law and procedures.'
The Ontario provincial Conservative MPP for Markham-Thornhill, Logan Kanapathi, also wrote a support letter dated July 10, 2023. It identified the woman's address in Markham. The home has been owned by her sister since 2007, according to property records.
Kanapathi did not respond to emails requesting comment.
2:12
Carney says he still has confidence in public safety minister
Court sides with CBSA
The letters Anandasangaree wrote when he was a backbencher and parliamentary secretary in Justin Trudeau's government resurfaced in court two months after Carney named him public safety minister on May 13.
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The appointment has put the former lawyer and Canadian Tamil Congress activist in charge of Canada's counter-terrorism and border security institutions, including the RCMP and CBSA.
In the public safety portfolio, he has been tasked with seeing through legislation to strengthen Canada's borders and appease U.S. President Donald Trump amid a chaotic White House trade war.
Last month, Anandasangaree recused himself from decisions related to the Tamil Tigers and its Canadian front, the World Tamil Movement, which are both listed terrorist groups.
He also said that when he joined the federal cabinet, he instructed his staff to no longer provide letters of support, and as a minister he would not make decisions 'on any matter wherein I advocated for a constituent.'
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
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