I don't know. I can't speculate. I know that one group of people believes it is about winning votes in ridings where there may be a significant Tamil population. And others say, no, this is a principled position that arose out of a genuine concern for the human rights situation in Sri Lanka. I really am not privy to that.
The one thing I would say is that I do not believe it's fair to suggest that the bulk of any diaspora community in Canada—new arrival or old arrival—would ever vote on a foreign policy issue. In any diaspora community, there's an element of the policy towards the mother country being a key factor to their vote. But I think the Tamil diaspora, like any diaspora in Canada, has many other electoral concerns. The Prime Minister may gain a lot of rhetorical support, but when it comes to voting day, is this what the Tamils of Scarborough will vote for? Is it because they're concerned about issues of employment or transportation, or Rob Ford? I don't know. I can't speculate. I'm hesitant to simply suggest a whole community en masse will vote on a foreign policy issue. I just don't see any evidence of that. I don't know what motivated the Prime Minister.