Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the decision to publicize allegations that Indian government agents were involved in “widespread violence” in Canada was made to thwart such activity.
“The RCMP’s decision to go ahead with its announcement is rooted entirely in public safety and its desire to disrupt a series of operations that have led to drive-by shootings, home invasions, violent extortion and even murder in Canada and across Canada. It was goal-based,” Trudeau said Wednesday at the Foreign Interference Inquiry.
The RCMP announced Monday that it had obtained evidence linking Indian government agents to murders and other acts of violence, including coercion and extortion, in Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the RCMP had raised suspicions about the public inquiry into foreign interference, citing “threat to public safety and the need to pre-emptively cause disruption even before a case is fully adjudicated.” He said he chose to make it public. The RCMP claimed Monday that Indian government agents are involved in “widespread violence” in Canada.
The National Police also obtained evidence that Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada used their official positions to engage in covert activities, including intelligence gathering for the Indian government, either directly or through agents. He said that
Prime Minister Trudeau told the committee that the information collected was then passed to the “highest levels of the Indian government” and sent to “criminal organizations.”
Following the RCMP complaint, the federal government announced it would expel six Indian diplomats. India denied the allegations and quickly retaliated by ordering six Canadian diplomats to leave the country.
Prime Minister Trudeau told the Foreign Interference Committee that he wanted the diplomats to be questioned, but the diplomats refused to waive their diplomatic immunity.
“It’s not surprising…Canada also won’t waive diplomatic immunity in many cases, but that’s why we had to ask them to leave the country,” he said.
Prime Minister Trudeau said the Mounties likely wanted to keep the accusations out of the public eye, as the case is currently in court. He said the threat to public safety was so great that suspicion had to be raised.
“If we had leadership in the RCMP, none of this would have come to light,” the prime minister told the committee. I just did it.”
“However, even before the court’s decision was fully rendered, there was a threat to public safety and a need for preemptive disruption. [informed] The RCMP’s decision to make this public. ”
RCMP say they have obtained evidence linking Indian government officials in Canada to violent crimes including blackmail, extortion and the murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The revelations are expected to further deteriorate relations between India and Canada following mutual expulsions of diplomats.
Despite the expulsions by diplomats, officials told CBC News that the support network for India’s covert operations remains largely in Canada, but that some members of that network are willing to risk arrest. He also said that he believed there was a high possibility that he would withdraw voluntarily and quietly.
The RCMP’s claims add to tensions in bilateral relations, where Prime Minister Trudeau accused Indian agents of killing Canadian Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year. The situation worsened when Canada announced it had evidence linking it. New Delhi denied the allegations.
In his testimony Wednesday, Prime Minister Trudeau provided more insight into his decision to go public with allegations related to Nijjar’s death.
The prime minister said the government decided not to make the allegations public before India hosted the G20 in September last year.
“Advancing these claims in advance could have resulted in a very uncomfortable summit for India. We chose not to do so and continue to work behind the scenes to get India to cooperate. I made a choice,” he said. Prime Minister Trudeau said.
“They asked us, ‘How much do you know? What evidence do you have about this?’ Our response was, ‘Well, this is an internal investigation into the security services. We should find out how much they know.’
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the death of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Trudeau said the exchange culminated during a conversation he had with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the summit.
“I sat down and shared what I knew they were involved with and expressed serious concerns about it. [Modi] “The usual response was that there are people in Canada who are outspoken opponents of the Indian government and they want to see them arrested.”
Prime Minister Trudeau announced the allegations in the House of Commons after returning from last year’s G20 summit.
The Foreign Interference Commission is currently investigating the agency’s ability to detect and fend off attempts by hostile states to interfere in Canada’s affairs.
This is the second time Prime Minister Trudeau has testified before an inquiry. He previously appeared in April during the early stages of an investigation into allegations of foreign interference in the past two general elections.
The research team is planning a five-day policy consultation session starting next Monday to help formulate recommendations, and plans to submit a final report by the end of the year.
