DHARAMSHALA, November 29: The first group of 17 Tibetan settlers under the Tibetan Resettlement Project in Canada left for Toronto and Ottawa Thursday. The 17 Tibetans belonged to the Miao Choephel Ling settlement in Arunachal Pradesh, India. They will be received by private sponsors and Tibet supporters in Canada.
The Tibetan Prime Minister Dr Lobsang Sangay met with the Tibetans at Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi on Wednesday. The PM advised the Tibetans to preserve the Tibetan culture including the ancient Tibetan moral values while living in Canada. He appreciated the support from the government of Canada saying that the Tibetans must never forget the generosity of government of Canada and its people.
The Tibetan Resettlement Project was initiated after an appeal by the Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama during his meeting with the then Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2007. The project aims to immigrate 1000 Tibetans from the Tibetan settlements of Miao, Tezu, Tuting, Tenzin Gang, Bomdila and Tawang.
The second batch of Tibetans will leave by December 14, 2013 followed by third batch in April 2014. The entire resettlement project is expected to be completed by May 2016.
In 1972, Canada established the Tibetan Refugee Program and resettled approximately 230 Tibetans in Canada who had been living in Northern India.
Canada has a long-standing tradition of facilitating immigration for various groups around the world by matching prospective immigrants to community sponsors in Canada through private sponsorships.
Visit www.projecttibetsociety.ca for more information on the Tibetan resettlement project in Canada.
