Sri Lankan born Gary Anandasangaree appointed Canadian Minister

Canada’s Scarborough-Rouge Park MP Gary Anandasangaree, son of Sri Lankan politician V. Anandasangaree, was apponted Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister following a cabinet reshuffle.Anandasangaree is one of seven new ministers sworn in Wednesday as part of a major reset to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet.He represents Scarborough-Rogue Park in the Greater Toronto Area and was first elected in 2015.

Born in Sri Lanka, he arrived in Canada with his mother in 1983. Anandasangaree holds degrees from Carleton University in Ottawa and Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto.

He managed a law firm in Scarborough that focused on business, real estate and international human rights law, and has represented the organization Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada at the United Nations. He’s also been involved with Tamil community organizations.

The human-rights lawyer previously served as the parliamentary secretary for a previous Crown-Indigenous relations minister, and he sat on the House Indigenous and northern affairs committee for six years.

Anandasangaree had previously served as the parliamentary secretary to the Crown-Indigenous relations minister, as well as to the justice and heritage ministers.In March, Anandasangaree made the news for comments he made on Sri Lanka, calling it “a failed and bankrupt state.”