Thursday Jul 29, 2010
A fire investigator works at the scene of a suspicious fire at a Buddhist temple in Scarborough, May 16, 2009.

After the second fire bombing in six months, resident monks at a Scarborough Buddhist temple scrambled to get a security fence. But they needed money — $55,000 to be exact.

Mohinder Sallan, a member of the Buddhist community, offered an interest-free loan to cover the cost of a fence, electronic gate and 24-hour video surveillance.

On Tuesday, the federal government granted more than $60,000 to three Toronto-area institutions as part of its Security Infrastructure Pilot Program, including $43,620 to the Toronto Maha Vihara Buddhist centre. The money is given out to protect institutions against hate crimes.

“Now we don’t have any problems because we have a security fence and the cameras,” said Ben Seneviratne, vice-president of the Toronto Maha Vihara Society. “I don’t think those people will come again.”

The monks began raising money after the first fire, which caused $200,000 in damages on May 16, 2009. While that was covered by insurance, the monks had to pay to protect their temple.

“The unfortunate reality is that Canada is not immune from violent acts that target individuals or groups based on their race, culture, religion or identity,” Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said Tuesday in making the funding announcement.

The attacks on the temple coincided with significant events between the Tamil Tigers and the military in Sri Lanka. Toronto police deemed both incidents arson hate crimes, which remain unsolved, said Staff Sgt. Jim Farrell.

Gurmandir, a Hindu and Sindhi temple in Rexdale, received nearly $9,000 from the federal program, which they’ve used to add a surveillance system and are in the process of building a fence. About a year ago, someone dumped a load of garbage on the temple’s property, said Sher Motwani, chair of the temple’s board.

“It’s great, it’s gonna be a big help, no question about that,” Motwani said of the cash infusion.

The Brampton Buddhist Mission Centre received about $8,000, which is being used for external lighting, a security fence and video surveillance, said Wijayasiripura Pangnasara, the centre’s chief monk.

Ahangama Rathanasiri, chief monk of the Toronto Maha Vihara temple, said they’ve already repaid about $30,000 to Sallan. As for the remaining $25,000, Sallan hasn’t sought repayment — he’s letting them use the money to renovate the monks’ sleeping quarters.

“We feel very secure and everybody’s happy and content and the monks can sleep well at night,” Seneviratne said. They should sleep even better when the renovations are complete.

Source: The Star