Canada-India relations have taken another blow after an article appeared in The Washington Post which mentioned that Canadian officials have “identified” India’s home minister Amit Shah behind a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh separatists in Canada.
In a parliamentary committee, two officials who offered the information to The Washington Post were present. They were Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison Nathalie Drouin, national security and intelligence advisor (NSIA) to the prime minister.
Drouin and Morrison were called as witnesses at the committee alongside RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme, CSIS director Daniel Rogers and associate deputy public safety minister Tricia Geddes.
Testifying before the committee, Drouin said that the decision to leak information to The Washington Post was part of a strategy she and Morrison devised to ensure a major US outlet reported on Canada’s stance in its escalating foreign-interference dispute with India.
She said that after multiple failed attempts to talk to Indian officials about information and evidence sharing, Canada decided to go public blaming Indian and high-ranked officials about the violence against some Sikhs on Canadian soil. On one hand, Federal RCMP organized a press conference and Canadian officials talked to The Washington Post journalists.
Drouin said Canada RCMP issued a public statement, “we also decided to roll out our media engagement strategy to seek a broader audience and maximize impact Deputy Minister Morrison and I spoke to the Washington Post on background late Sunday afternoon October we provided non-classified information on the action we had taken to cooperate with India and explain how the evidence showed links to the government of India conducting illegal activities against Canadians including threats to their lives.”
Conservative public safety critic Raquel Dancho asked why information was shared with The Washington Post before being made available to the Canadian public. “You can confirm then that the information about, for example, the Indian home affairs minister and his alleged involvement in these crimes in Canada, that was not released in Canada, however [to the media]? That was only released in the Washington Post …?” she asked.
Morrison said, “The journalist called me and asked if it (Shah) was that person. I confirmed it was that person.”
Canada in mid-October expelled Indian diplomats, linking them to the 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. India also ordered the expulsion of Canadian diplomats.
Washington has also charged a former Indian intelligence officer, Vikash Yadav, for allegedly directing a foiled plot to murder Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen, in New York City.
Canadian officials allege Amit Shah behind plot to target Sikh separatists
