Senior Tory politicians have denied that a Tamil Tigers' remnant group has worked its way into the federal and Ontario parties, but refused to address details of a Globe and Mail investigation linking the group to party political activities.
In Ottawa, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney declined to confirm receipt of a letter claiming associates of the outlawed World Tamil Movement had infiltrated the Conservative party - which banned the movement as the Tigers' Canadian front in 2008 - but said all such complaints are investigated.
"From time to time, we get what are called poison pen letters from - about people from all different backgrounds," Mr. Kenney said. "We always assure ourselves that the people we're working with are patriotic Canadians respecting our laws and Canadian values."
The federal party is considering a Tamil broadcaster, Ragavan Paranchothy, as a candidate in Scarborough-Southwest riding. The programs Mr. Paranchothy has hosted on Canadian Multicultural Radio and Tamil Vision International are known for uncritical coverage of the Tigers, and for their promotion of the National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT), a new group guided into being by Nehru Gunaratnam, a former World Tamil Movement spokesman and prominent speaker at events honouring dead Tiger insurgents.
Meanwhile, Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak dismissed as "not true" the Globe's report linking the NCCT and a Tory candidate, Shan Thayaparan, a former Liberal who tried to run for the New Democratic Party before he surfaced as the party's choice in Markham-Unionville.
After agreeing to a Globe interview last week, Mr. Thayaparan abruptly cancelled, then failed to answer a list of written questions or answer followup e-mails.
"I'm not going to comment on rumours and innuendo," Mr. Hudak said. "If there are some facts that are based in evidence or truth, please bring them forward; we want to make sure if there's something we missed in the screening process, please bring them forward and we'll address that."
The Tory Leader referred questions about the screening process to the party. Alan Sakach, a spokesman, said the process includes a detailed interview and criminal and credit checks, "and any information people bring forward, yes, we do ask the candidate about to make sure there's nothing out there."
In Mr. Thayaparan's case, Mr. Sakach said, the party knew he had been a "returning officer" for the NCCT's elections last year and asked him about his link to the group, but was unconcerned.
"We did inquiries and there is nothing out there that suggests that there is a problem with the National Council of Canadian Tamils," Mr. Sakach said. "They're a separatist group - they're a peaceful separatist group - and we have no reason to object to that."
While The Globe published details of NCCT members who had displayed Tamil Tiger symbols on campaign materials and Facebook pages - including one elected member who had been photographed with the rebels' former leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran - Mr. Sakach said "I don't know anything about that," and called this material "a lot of allegations and a lot of innuendo."
Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Canada, Chitranganee Wagiswara, said her office has repeatedly cautioned the Conservative government that while the Tigers were destroyed as a fighting force in the Asian island country in 2009, their international support network remains in place. Based in Canada, home to the largest Sri Lankan Tamil community outside Asia, the World Tamil Movement was a key hub in that network, according to the RCMP.
"I'm sure they take the information that they have, and that they are given, very seriously," Ms. Wagiswara said of the government. "If they know the true facts then they will not work with these people or encourage these people."
Steven Chase