The head of the Canada Border Services Agency is speaking out after being targeted by the Indian government on murder and terrorism charges, which Canadian authorities say are not supported by any evidence.
Sandeep “Sunny” Singh Sidhu has returned to his post at the CBSA, but his lawyers say the Canadian government is in no position to protect him from foreign governments accused of launching a hostile disinformation campaign in the country. He argues that he should have defended himself more vigorously.
Sidhu has worked for the CBSA for 20 years. He told CBC News he does not wear a turban, is not particularly religious and has no ties to Sikh separatist politics.
Despite this, Sidhu found his name and image plastered across multiple Indian media outlets last month, citing Indian government sources. The Hindustan Times, which supports the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, explained Sidhu was arrested as a “member of the banned International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF), accused of promoting terrorist activities in Punjab”.
The paper also claimed that Sidhu was “allegedly associated with Pakistan-based Khalistan terrorist Lakhbir Singh Rode and others.” [Pakistani intelligence] He was reportedly involved in the assassination of Balwinder Singh Sandhu in 2020. ”
Many Indian media reports have cited the country’s National Investigation Agency as the source of the allegations against Sidhu.
“It’s almost a joke,” Sidhu said. “This is like an alphabet soup of criminal organizations. I have no ties to any of these organizations. I have never supported any of these organizations. I don’t know anyone who is a member of these organizations. .”
On October 1, 2023, a colleague told Sidhu that his name had appeared in a YouTube video posted by a former Indian Army major named Gaurav Arya.
Arya is a pro-Modi influencer and appears to be close to India’s intelligence agencies.
Three men have been arrested after a series of violent demonstrations outside a Hindu temple and a Sikh gurdwara in the Toronto area over the weekend. Similar clashes have occurred in Surrey, British Columbia, and come amid heightened tensions between Canada and India.
In a video purporting to list India’s enemies and fugitives living abroad, Arya identified Sidhu as a wanted terrorist involved in Sikh separatist militancy and published his home address. The video remained on YouTube for several months, but has since been removed.
“I reported these allegations to my employer,” Sidhu told CBC News.
The CBSA removed Sidhu from his front-line duties and launched an investigation. He said authorities invited the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to conduct a two-day polygraph test.
“I’ve been under a year-long investigation, and they’ve talked to my family, they’ve talked to my co-workers, they’ve looked at my financial statements, I’ve looked at my bank statements, I’ve looked at my phone records,” Sidhu said.
“Go and kill him.”
Last month, nearly a year after his first video, Sidhu became the focus of a news story. indian newspaper and tv set. He became the target of an avalanche of threats on social media.
X’s post featured a satellite image of Sidhu’s neighborhood with his home address and the caption: “Go and kill him.”
Sidhu had every reason to take the threat seriously. The allegations made against him online were similar to those made by Indian government officials about the late Hardeep Singh Nijjar before his murder.
Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh activist, was brazenly shot to death outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023. More than a year ago, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly accused the Modi government of involvement in Nijjar’s death.
Last month, the RCMP chief publicly accused Indian government agents of being involved in “widespread violence” in Canada, including murder.
Sukhdor Singh, an Indian man living in Winnipeg, was named in one of Arya’s videos and was shot dead the next day. Aria after that Posted in X About death.
Aria continues to have a keen interest in Canadian affairs. His video harshly criticizes Trudeau and promotes Conservative Party leader Pierre Poièvre as a good leader who can restore relations with India.
“Organized Campaign”
Sidhu said he had no idea who Arya was until he saw the video.
Sidhu, who was born and raised in Prince George, British Columbia, has not visited India since his wedding in 2018 and has no knowledge of the 2020 murders that Indian media reports have linked him to. He said no.
Mr. Sidhu’s lawyer, Jeffrey Croker, of Toronto’s Massey Law Firm, said his client had been thoroughly vetted by his employer.
“They spoke to his colleagues and family, examined his records, tracked his travel and banking transactions, and conducted polygraph tests,” he said.
“What I want you to know is that there is an organized campaign by foreign groups with sinister intentions. They are accusing him of things that are clearly not true.”
The CBSA reinstated Sidhu last month, telling employees it had found nothing to support the allegations.
“The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) does not have any evidence to support the allegations made in the article against our employee Mr. Sidhu,” CBSA spokesperson Luke Reimer told CBC News. .
“False allegations” spread through internal emails
“The government needs to respond to the allegations and they need to take these things seriously,” Croker said. “But…when the allegations are completely unfounded and come out of thin air, we need to do everything in our power to exonerate that person and ensure that their reputation is upheld.”
Asked whether the government had taken any such steps, Mr Croker said: “The government still has a lot of work to do.”
Sidhu’s lawyers say one of the frustrating aspects of the CBSA investigation is that the CBSA’s media monitoring service automatically picks up news articles from Indian media that classify Sidhu as a terrorist and shares them with colleagues via automated email. He said that’s what he did.
“The false claims were further amplified within the department,” Croker said.
India on Saturday formally protested the Canadian government’s claims that the country’s powerful interior minister, Amit Shah, had ordered targeting of Sikh activists in Canada, calling them “absurd and baseless.” Details: cbc.ca/1.7371969.
“The daily summaries of media coverage prepared for the CBSA are based on pre-determined keywords,” Reimer told CBC News.
“The distribution of these summaries and unedited articles does not imply an endorsement of the content of these articles, regardless of tone or accuracy,” he added.
Croker said he believes the charges against his client fit into the Indian government’s claims that Canada is a safe haven for extremists and that the Trudeau government is a co-conspirator.
In the wake of the recent expulsion of Indian diplomats, the Modi government and pro-Modi Indian media have doubled down on portraying Canada as a lawless land where Khalistani terrorism and Punjabi gangs enjoy free rein.
“Canary in the Coal Mine”
times now india TV news reported “It’s no secret, of course, that Canada has become a safe haven under the unpopular and beleaguered Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,” he said last month.
“Khalistani not only have free movement and a platform, but they are employed by the Canadian government! Can you believe it? It has been done!”
Croker said Sidhu is a “canary in the coal mine” for a new type of foreign interference that is “pervasive and only getting worse.”
“And what we’re going to start to see more and more of is governments around the world trying to undermine the trust of loyal public servants,” he said.
Croker said Canada needs to act more quickly to protect public servants from such attacks. Mr Sidhu said he had no doubt that he was targeted because of his work.
“If I were Sonny the blueberry farmer, we wouldn’t be sitting here,” he said.
Mr Sidhu said his family had faced considerable hardship as a result of Arya’s accusations and had received no protection despite credible threats.
Although he now has permission from the CBSA, he said he believes he is still at risk.
“Sometimes I go to my car and turn it on and I’m like, ‘Oh my god,'” he said.
Sidhu said she was asked not to pick up her daughter from school for safety reasons.
“I had to move my family to another home,” he said, adding that the ordeal had cost him tens of thousands of dollars.
“I’m proud to be a public servant. I love going to work every day. It’s a big part of my identity. I’ve been doing it for 20 years.
“I want to continue to protect my country. What I want from my country is for it to protect me at this very moment.”
Former CSIS Director Dick Fadden told CBC News that any agency involved in national security must investigate serious allegations against employees from foreign governments.
“In this case, I think not only did they have a right, but they had an obligation to undergo an administrative investigation,” he said.
“It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it. You have to make judgments in every case. How serious is it? How detailed are you going to ask? Are you going to put the person on administrative leave? , or will you not let me rest?”
Fadden said India has a long history of making claims without providing evidence.
“In principle, he is a servant of the king. I think he is exposed to all this mainly because he is a servant of the king,” he said. “Therefore, there is a duty of care and consideration.
“And I see no reason why the vast resources of the Canadian government couldn’t be used to put him in a better position than it appears.”
CSIS Director Fadden, who is the first to speak publicly about foreign interference in Canadian politics, told CBC News that “the scope of activity subject to foreign interference continues to expand,” adding that there are concerns that could invite suspicion and discord. He said it could include false claims aimed at.
“And if this turns out to be the case, I think the Canadian government has an affirmative duty to protect its employees, just as anyone in the private sector would do,” he said. Ta.
