The Indo-Canadian community in British Columbia’s Surrey city is upset over a new housing bylaw that seeks to limit the size of homes claiming it as a racial move.

The Surrey council wants to limit the size of homes in St. Helen’s Park, one of the Lower Mainland city’s oldest neighbourhoods, after residents protested that the bigger homes being built by Indo-Canadian families there was changing the traditional landscape of ranch-style homes.

Local residents have also raised objection to a new Sikh school coming up in the area, saying it would lead to more Indo-Canadian families moving into the area, according to CBC News.

However, the local Indo-Canadian community reacted by saying that the new bylaw has clear racial overtones.

‘It is known that only the East Indian community likes bigger homes,’ said radio talk show host Paul Brar. ‘They believe in a joint family, especially with the school coming into the community, they want to live with three generations of the family - the parents, the grandparents and the kids,’ he added.

The Indo-Canadian owners of most of the new homes say they moved into the area to be close to the new school.

‘It’s unfair to limit the size in just one area of the city, there’s a ‘hidden agenda’ behind the council decision,’ said Gurpreet Singh Sahota.

‘The only thing they want to stop is Indo-Canadians from living in this area,’ he said.

But Surrey mayor Diane Watts denies that there is any racism involved and defended the neighbourhood as a ‘heritage community’, which residents were ‘very passionate’ about.

‘It’s a gem of a neighbourhood. I don’t want to see a change. I don’t want to see big homes go in,’ one local resident said.

Source: India eNews - www.indiaenews.com

Thursday, December 07, 2006