Documents released by the Foreign Interference Inquiry on Thursday describe widespread threats and harassment of Canadian Sikhs by the Indian government, much of which was coordinated by diplomatic missions.
Witnesses told the Hoag Commission behind closed doors that India threatened their families, spied on temples and interfered in Canadian elections, according to newly unsealed documents.
One witness told the committee that India “is intervening in Canada because there is no reason not to,” adding that “the Canadian government has been largely helpless in the face of the intervention.”
“There were no consequences.”
the Documents Summarize hundreds of written submissions received from Canadians during public consultations and meetings with more than 100 members of diaspora communities.
They included Chinese, Iranian and Ukrainian participants, but the Canadian Sikh statements are particularly noteworthy, as they provide a community-level perspective on the Indian government’s alleged tactics.
One witness said Indian foreign interference had “accelerated” since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, with senior officials vowing to “eliminate dissidents in other countries”.
Canada has ranked India as the second most dangerous threat to foreign interference in the country, after China. The Indian campaign is largely focused on the Khalistan movement, which calls for independence for the Sikh-majority Punjab region.
In the documents, a witness said that after he attended a protest outside the Indian High Commission in Ottawa, Indian police visited his family and threatened his mother and brother, who were forced to flee to Dubai.
Other witnesses described attempts to influence the election, and alleged that India was “exerting influence in the Canadian political party nomination process” and exerting pressure on “red light” candidates critical of the Republic of India, or ROI.
“Some attendees discussed the consequences faced by political candidates who speak out against the ROI’s human rights record or advocate on behalf of the Sikh community,” the committee wrote.
A candidate running for city council in an unnamed Canadian city has claimed that he was targeted during the campaign by the Indian government’s “bots and cyber agents”.
“Some attendees described their experiences as the targets of coordinated misinformation and disinformation campaigns conducted on social media platforms and across online news environments, along with related online harassment,” the panel said.
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Sikh temple elections were another alleged target of the Indian consulates, according to the filings, which also alleged that consular officials routinely denied visa services to Sikh advocates trying to travel to India.
“It is common for members of the Canadian Sikh community to debate whether elected officials in Canada are agents of the ROI or are being manipulated by the ROI,” another participant said.
“One person suggested that background checks on potential candidates for political party nominations be strengthened, and candidates should be specifically screened for their affiliations with the Government of the Republic of India,” the committee wrote.
Another witness said Indian diplomatic missions should be banned from carrying out influence operations in temples “such as recruiting sources to gather intelligence on community members.”
“Influence activities emanating from or coordinated by Indian diplomatic missions across Canada should be curtailed,” the committee’s summary of the testimony said.
Another witness accused India of running “police stations in Canada by appointing high-ranking law enforcement officials posing as diplomats.” …These police stations are putting pressure on Indian Canadians and threatening family members of Canadian activists in the ROI.
The witnesses called for greater transparency on the part of Canadian intelligence agencies and policymakers, and better ways to report incidents of Indian foreign interference and transnational repression.
Another witness suggested that a permanent task force was needed to investigate and counter foreign interference and “coordinate among relevant agencies” while informing the public of its findings.
Those who have been warned by police that their lives are in danger “should also receive some kind of protection.” “Without this protection, people may remain silent for fear of being killed on Canadian soil,” a community member said.
On June 18, 2023, Sikh temple leader Hardeep Singh Nigar was shot and killed in Surrey, British Columbia, in a killing that Canada blamed on the Indian government.
While New Delhi denies its involvement, the United States has charged an Indian intelligence official for allegedly conspiring to kill one of Nagar’s close aides, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
The RCMP claimed in October that Indian officials were behind not only Najjar’s killing, but also a wave of violence across Canada that included shootings, arson and extortion.
The attacks were allegedly approved by Amit Shah, Modi’s right-hand man, and were orchestrated by Indian intelligence officials in collaboration with organized crime groups such as the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
Canada expelled six diplomats over their role in the plot last fall. They have been posted at the India Missions in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver.
India denies its involvement.
The allegations come in the wake of an investigation by Global News that revealed how Indian officials are manipulating the visa system to exploit Canadians of Indian descent.
The Indian government responded to the Global News report on December 10 by claiming that the Canadian press was engaged in “disinformation” and “foreign interference” against India.
But investigation documents also shed light on the scheme, with one witness claiming that when he applied for a visa, he was asked to sign a pre-written letter in what he described as “a form of harassment in what they believed to be an interference process.”
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
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