Vancouver, BC, Canada, 24 October 2014 - Before leaving Vancouver at the end of his four day visit to Canada, His Holiness the Dalai Lama met with 10 Canadian MPs from the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet.
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His Holiness the Dalai Lama meeting with members of the Canadian Parliamentary Friends of Tibet in Vancouver, Canada on October 24, 2014. Photo/Ryan Wagner
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Among them were Jason Kenney, Minister for Employment & Social Development and Multiculturalism, Kerry-Lynn Findlay, Minister for National Revenue and the new Chair of the PFT, Bernard Trottier. They briefed His Holiness on their recent activities, including developments in the process of resettling 1000 Tibetans from Arunachal Pradesh in Canada, of whom 220 have already arrived.
His Holiness thanked them all for their support, reminding them of the wider ramifications of the Tibet issue. A Chinese ecologist regarded Tibet as so significant from an environmental point of view that he referred to it as the Third Pole, on a par with the North and South Poles. As the source of several of Asia’s major rivers, the Tibetan plateau is of importance to about one billion people downstream. He also noted Tibet’s historical role as a buffer state between India and China, the world’s two most populous nations.
Flying directly from Vancouver to Birmingham, Alabama, His Holiness was met on arrival at the airport by the Mayor, William Bell, and representatives of the University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB). A small group of Tibetans was on hand to welcome him when he reached his hotel. Tomorrow morning he is to participate in a dialogue at UAB on Neuroplasticity and Healing.