ottawa –
Canada has not ruled out expelling additional diplomats from India following bombshell statements that Indian diplomats in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver are involved in state-sponsored violence targeting Canadian citizens. suggested Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly on Friday.
Canada expelled India’s high commissioner and five other diplomats on Monday, but when asked at a press conference in Montreal on Friday whether more expulsions would follow, Joly wouldn’t say no. Ta.
“They’re clearly paying attention,” she said.
The minister said Canada will not tolerate any diplomats putting the lives of Canadians at risk.
A year ago, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada had clear evidence that Indian agents were involved in the June 2023 murder of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. He said that The allegations suggest that India is trying to suppress the Sikh movement for an independent state. In India it is known as Khalistan.
On October 14, RCMP Chief Mike Duhem said the National Police launched a special investigation unit last February to investigate incidents of violence involving extortion, coercion and murder involving Indian government officials, adding It further destabilized the relationship.
In more than a dozen incidents, Canadians have been warned of threats to their personal safety, and Mr. Duhame has spoken out to disrupt what national police consider to be a serious threat to public safety. said.
The six expelled diplomats were key figures in the case, a crime in which the diplomats used their positions to gather information about Canadians participating in pro-Khalistan movements and then used that information to directly target individuals. He claims to have provided it to the organization.
India denied the allegations and instead expelled six Canadian diplomats from New Delhi.
Jolly said Friday that the allegations are unusual in Canada.
“That level of cross-border repression cannot happen on Canadian soil,” she said. “Similar things are happening in other parts of Europe, Russia is doing similar things in Germany and the UK, but we needed to take a firm stand on this issue.”
The allegations will be further investigated by the House National Security Committee after the committee votes on Friday. Mr. Joly and Mr. Duhame will be asked to attend, as will Public Security Minister Dominique Leblanc.
NDP MP Alistair McGregor, who introduced the motion to open the investigation, said the fact that the RCMP made such an “explosive revelation” highlights how serious the situation is.
“The RCMP has determined that some individuals in Canada are at direct risk to their lives and that the threat is at a level where they feel compelled to publicize charges in defiance of traditional avenues of judicial process. “He claimed that he was committing this act because he had reached a certain point.”
Following Canada’s allegations, the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday announced charges against Indian government officials accused of a failed plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader in New York City.
US authorities claim that Vikash Yadav directed the New York plot from India. He is charged with murder for commission in what prosecutors previously said was a premeditated killing that preceded a series of other politically motivated killings in the United States and Canada. .
The Indian government did not immediately comment on the US charges.
A House of Commons committee on Friday also voted to call Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown to testify, along with other candidates in the 2022 Conservative leadership race. A report released in June by the National Security and Intelligence Parliamentary Committee (NSICOP) includes redacted text detailing alleged Indian interference in the Conservative Party leadership election. No specific year was mentioned.
The Conservatives said they had been given no information about any such interference.
The committee is currently working on a second NDP motion calling on all party leaders to apply for top secret security clearance within 30 days and asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to release the names of MPs named in the top secret document. We are considering a Conservative Party amendment requesting this. involved in or at risk of foreign interference;
At this week’s Foreign Interference Inquiry, Prime Minister Trudeau said Conservative Leader Pierre Poièvre refused permission to access the Conservative Party’s names from these documents, while Poièvre said Trudeau He accused them of lying and demanded that all names be made public.
Prime Minister Trudeau acknowledged that the document contained the names of members of other parties, including the Liberals, but there would be no repercussions if Poièvre did not receive the necessary permissions to find out who was at risk. It stated that no measures could be taken to prevent or limit the
Manitoba Conservative MP Raquel Dancho told the committee that Poièvre’s press conference would be a “gag order” against criticizing the government for foreign interference.
Mr Dancho said: “We can put this issue to rest. As a result of the Prime Minister’s actions, it is rapidly becoming a McCarthy witch hunt. By coming forward today, we can help resolve this issue.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2024.
