The 2024 Thanksgiving weekend will be recorded in history as the occasion of accusations, shocking revelations and disturbing diplomatic spat between India and Canada. According to experts Canada and India’s relations are at historic low — worst than the time of Air India Bombing.
It all started after Canadian police held a press conference on October 14 and alleged that Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada were linked to serious criminal activity in this country, including homicides and extortions.
The Involvement of the agents of Government of India in the homicide of Surrey Gurdwara president Hardeep Singh Nijjar had already been pointed last year by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Sikh leader and Khalistan supporter Nijjar was killed on June 18, 2023, in British Columbia.
But this time the accusations are much serious and disturbing as RCMP claimed Indian diplomats were involved in more serious crimes in Canada like extortions, use of organized crime and interference into democratic processes.
Questions were raised as to why RCMP picked a holiday weekend to make such important announcements. While attempts have been made by the RCMP and national security officials to work with India and their law enforcement counterparts on this matter, they have been repeatedly refused, said Prime Minister Trudeau. “This is why, this weekend, Canadian officials took an extraordinary step. They met with Indian officials to share RCMP evidence which concluded, six agents of the Government of India are persons of interest in criminal activities,” he alleged.
RCMP allegations
Mike Duheme, RCMP Commissioner, said, “An extraordinary situation is compelling us to speak about what we have discovered in our multiple ongoing investigations into the involvement of agents of the Government of India in serious criminal activity in Canada. It is not our normal process to publicly disclose information about ongoing investigations, in an effort to preserve their integrity. However, we feel it is necessary to do so at this time due to the significant threat to public safety in our country.”
He said that over the past few years, and more recently, law enforcement agencies in Canada, including the RCMP, have successfully investigated and charged a significant number of individuals for their direct involvement in homicides, extortions and other criminal acts of violence.
In addition, there has been well over a dozen credible and imminent threats to life which have led to the conduct of Duty to Warn by law enforcement with members of the South Asian community, and specifically members of the pro-Khalistan movement. As a result, in February 2024, the RCMP created a multidisciplinary team to investigate and coordinate efforts to combat this threat. The team has learned a significant amount of information about the breadth and depth of criminal activity orchestrated by agents of the Government of India, and consequential threats to the safety and security of Canadians and individuals living in Canada.
“Despite law enforcement action, the harm has continued, posing a serious threat to our public safety. We reached a point where we felt it was imperative to confront the Government of India and inform the public about some very serious findings that have been uncovered through our investigations,” he said.
He informed that there is a violent extremism threat in Canada that Canada and India have been working on over the years. However, these threats are impacting Canada and India’s ability to collaborate.
Earlier this week, the Deputy Commissioner of Federal Policing, Mark Flynn, made attempts to meet with his Indian law enforcement counterparts to discuss violent extremism occurring in Canada and India, and present evidence pertaining to agents of the Government of India’s involvement in serious criminal activity in Canada. These attempts were unsuccessful, therefore Deputy Commissioner Flynn met with officials of the Government of India, along with the National Security and Intelligence Advisor (NSIA), Nathalie Drouin, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs David Morrison over the weekend.
He informed that through national taskforce and other investigative efforts, the RCMP has obtained evidence that demonstrates four very serious issues: violent extremism, Links tying agents of the Government of India (GOI) to homicides and violent acts; the use of organized crime to create a perception of an unsafe environment targeting the South Asian Community in Canada; and interference into democratic processes.
Investigations have revealed that Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada leveraged their official positions to engage in clandestine activities, such as collecting information for the Government of India, either directly or through their proxies; and other individuals who acted voluntarily or through coercion.
According to RCMP commissioner, “Evidence also shows that a wide variety of entities in Canada and abroad have been used by agents of the Government of India to collect information. Some of these individuals and businesses were coerced and threatened into working for the Government of India. The information collected for the Government of India is then used to target members of the South Asian community.”
This evidence was presented directly to Government of India officials, urging their cooperation in stemming the violence and requesting our law enforcement agencies work together to address these issues.
The RCMP is hoping to address these threats through our relationship with the Government of India and the National Investigation Agency with the end goal of strengthening the safety and security of the Canadian public and South Asian community.
The safety and security of our citizens, regardless of their background or beliefs, remains a top priority for the RCMP and we will not tolerate any form of intimidation, harassment, or harmful targeting of communities or individuals in Canada.
“We are seeking the public’s assistance in reporting incidents of foreign interference by the Government of India. Anyone who feels threatened online or in person, should report the incident to their local police. If someone is in immediate danger, call 9-1-1. Individuals can also report to the RCMP National Security Information Network by phone at 1-800-420-5805 or online at rcmp.ca/report-it. We recognize the concern and fear people might be feeling when seeing this news and we recognize that South Asians are victims of the activities we’re investigating. We want to assure all Canadians that their safety and security is at the forefront of everything we do and we urge the public and South Asian communities to remain calm and give law enforcement and Canadian officials time to continue discussions,” he said.
The diplomatic spat
Following this, Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs announced expulsion of six Indian diplomats and consular officials. Although RCMP’s accused Indian government of many crimes, Joly in her statement only mentioned decision to expel diplomats was due to Nijjar case. “Keeping Canadians safe is the fundamental job of the Canadian government. The decision to expel these individuals was made with great consideration and only after the RCMP gathered ample, clear and concrete evidence which identified six individuals as persons of interest in the Nijjar case. We continue to ask that the Indian government support the ongoing investigation in the Nijjar case, as it remains in both our countries’ interest to get to the bottom of this.”
In response, India’s Ministry of external affairs announced that it is withdrawing its envoy, High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma, along with “other targeted diplomats and officials” from Canada.
India also announced it is expelling six Canadian diplomats, including acting high commissioner Stewart Wheeler, and hinted that it could take further action.
What Trudeau said<
br>Prime Minister Justin Trudeau convened press conference and said the Indian government has made a “fundamental error” as he accused it of supporting a campaign of violence against Canadians on Canadian soil.
“From the beginning, as of last summer, we’ve worked closely with our Five Eyes partners, particularly with the United States, where they have gone through a similar pattern of behaviour from India in regards to an attempted extrajudicial killing,” Trudeau told reporters at a news conference in Ottawa.
The situation is extremely undesirable, Trudeau said during the press conference.
“Not only do we not want Canadians to be subjected to violence in their communities, in their homes, but we also do not want to have these tensions in relations with India,” he said.
“That is why last week, we approached the Government of India through our security agencies, diplomats and police agencies, to look for a way to resolve this deep difference…. to protect Canadians… but not to come and destroy the good relations or the relations between India and Canada,” Trudeau said.
Unfortunately, India has “not chosen to work with us. They have chosen to deny, repel and to make personal attacks against this government and question the integrity of our agencies and our institutions, and we have had to respond to protect Canadians”, he said.
“I believe that India has made a monumental mistake by choosing to use their diplomats and organised crime to attack Canadians, to make them feel unsafe here at (their) home, and even more, to create acts of violence and even murder. It’s unacceptable,” Trudeau alleged.
In New Delhi, after being summoned by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Canadian Deputy High Commissioner Stewart Wheeler told Indian media that Canada had provided “credible, irrefutable evidence of ties between agents of the government of India and the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil.”
Collapse of India-Canada relations: RCMP links Indian diplomats to spreading violence in country
