Trudeau grilled by Sikh rep, says “public servants” hid details of India’s interference

Canada’s Prime Minister was questioned yesterday by a Sikh community representative as part of the country’s international foreign interference inquiry.

Lead of the Liberal Party, PM Justin Trudeau cited the assassination of Shaheed (martyr) Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar to say “we have stood-up for Canadians” when questioned about redactions which hid details of India’s interference in Canada, which Trudeau said were made by “public servants…not the political wing”.

Over the last two weeks Prabjot Singh, on behalf of a Sikh coalition of the World Sikh Organisation, British Columbia Gurdwaras Council and Ontario Gurdwaras Committee, has cross-examined Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (10.04.2024), the former New Democratic Party (NDP) National Director Anne McGrath (03.04.2024) and other government reps on foreign interference in Canada relating to the Sikh community. This is part of an ongoing Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions which began on the 7th September 2023, also looking into China, Russia, and Iran alongside India.

During the cross-examination of Trudeau, Prabjot Singh pulled up the 2019 annual report of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians which contained information on interference. However, a large amount of it was redacted, thus hiding details of interference from India. It was suggested by Prabjot Singh that “the redacted sections of this report outline details of Indian electoral interference and coercive activities against the Sikh community, as well as outlining governmental failures in combatting this specific threat”. Trudeau was unable to confirm this because of national security reasons.

Trudeau instead suggested a “cozy” relationship between the former in-power party of the Conservatives, led by former PM Stephen Harper was to blame for Indian influence in Canada.

Another intelligence report titled “Government of India Foreign Interference Activities in the 2021 general election” was also tabled. It states that “the Government of India (GoI) had intent to interfere and likely conducted clandestine activities” in Canada, which includes India’s use of “proxy agents” and the provision of “illicit financial support” to political candidates.

India’s response to this has been that the allegations of Foreign Interference in Canada’s 2019 and 2021 elections are “baseless”. In a statement to CBC, India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal shockingly turned
to point the finger at Canada, stating “It is Canada which has been interfering in our internal affairs. We have been raising this issue regularly with them. We continue to call on Canada to take effective measures to address our core concerns”. The statement seems to guarantee an ongoing geopolitical rift between Canada and India which is the fallout of the assassination of Nijjar.

McGrath, former New Democratic Party (NDP) National Director, was questioned about the Indian disinformation campaigns targeting NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and the current threats faced by Sikhs from India in Canada, especially in the face of increased transnational repression.

Prabjot Singh asked her about the disinformation that has been propagated towards Jagmeet Singh since he was appointed leader of the NDP in 2017, including during the 2019 and 2021 election campaigns, to which McGrath acknowledged that these have come “primarily through the Indian media network”.

One of the targeted messages in Indian media is that Jagmeet Singh is an extremist or has sympathies for extremists. McGrath confirmed that “he has not been involved in any of the things that have been alleged through those sources”. McGrath did confirm though that Jagmeet Singh’s awareness work on India’s State perpetrated Sikh genocide was a “plausible reason” as to why he is targeted and also the reason Jagmeet Singh was refused a visa to visit India.

McGrath said that as a result of all of this, Sikhs feel wary of supporting the NDP because of fear of reprisal from India. It was also recognised that some Sikhs who work with the NDP feel an elevated risk from India because of their connection to the party. New members of staff who are from the Sikh community are warned upon their arrival of the
possibility of them being denied a visa from India amongst other repercussions from the Indian government.

McGrath’s answers shows the effect that current Indian anti-Sikh transnational repression is having on Canadians in their day-to-day lives. Prabjot Singh asked about the way in which the Canadian electoral process and democratic institutions have been affected “when a racialised community, many of whom have fled religious and political persecution from another country, feel that same intimidation and persecution for their engagement in Canadian politics and supporting a Canadian political party?”. McGrath agreed, saying “I believe that for several diaspora groups there are concerns about the ramifications of involvement in political activity in Canada.”

Further documentation from security experts presented in the inquiry also confirmed that Indian Officials “continue to conduct FI (foreign interference) activities in Canada, both directly and through their Canadian proxies, primarily against Canadian politicians, Canadian democratic processes, and against the Indo-Canadian diaspora community”.

Prabjot Singh also cross-examined figures government including Marta Morgan (Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs), David Morrison (former national security adviser) and Bo Basler (CSIS counter foreign interference coordinator), who admitted India’s interference is “corrosive to Canadian democratic processes” and to “regional community cohesion”. Despite this being on video, Indian nationalist propagandists cut some clips of the interrogation to pretend the inquiry found “No Indian interference”. The ridiculous false-claim was allowed to pick up traction on X, before being debunked by Sikh news outlet Baaz.

Further updates from the inquiry which relate to India’s anti-Sikh transnational repression campaign will be published as they come in.