A parliamentary committee will meet on Friday to consider a request to examine new allegations of Indian foreign interference in Canada that led to the expulsion of diplomats from both countries in a tit-for-tat move.
The Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security has approved a request from members to hold an emergency meeting regarding recent developments related to new revelations from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police regarding Indian government agents.
The RCMP said Monday it has a significant amount of information about criminal activity allegedly orchestrated by Indian government agents.
Evidence points to “violent extremism” in both countries, linking Indian government agents to murders and acts of violence, the use of organized crime targeting Canada’s South Asian community, and interference in democratic processes. According to the RCMP.
NDP MP Alistair MacGregor made a motion for the committee to launch an investigation, which would involve at least six meetings.
“For the RCMP, in fact, for any police force that is actively investigating to come up with such interesting discoveries, I think it underscores how serious this is,” he said Friday.
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The motion calls for inviting senior officials such as Foreign Minister Mélanie Jolie, Public Safety Minister Dominique LeBlanc, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duhem and National Security and Intelligence Advisor Nathalie Drouin.
The committee also suggests hearing from experts from Canada’s South Asian community, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, any previous 2022 Conservative leadership candidates, and national security subject matter experts..
Relations between India and Canada have been strained since 2023 when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadian intelligence agencies had credible evidence linking Indian government agents to the assassination of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nigar in Surrey, British Columbia.
India has long denied any involvement in Najjar’s killing and on Monday accused Trudeau of pursuing a “political agenda.”
Agents working at the Indian High Commission in Ottawa and consulates in Vancouver and Toronto were behind dozens of violent crimes across Canada targeting opponents of the Narendra Modi government, Global News has learned.
According to high-level sources familiar with the matter, supporters of the Khalistan movement, which seeks independence for India’s Sikh-majority Punjab region, were targeted, as well as rivals to Modi’s government.
– With files from Global News and Reuters
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