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Documents released by the foreign interference survey on Thursday describe widespread threats and harassment of Canadian Sikhs by the government of Indiamuch of it coordinated by diplomatic missions.
Witnesses told the Hogue Commission behind closed doors that India had threatened their families, spied on temples and interfered in Canada’s elections, according to the newly unsealed documents.
India “intervened in Canada because there is no reason not to,” one witness told the committee, adding that “the Canadian government has been largely powerless in the face of interference.”
“There have been 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 statements of Sikh Canadians are particularly noteworthy, providing a community-level view of the alleged tactics of the Indian government.
Indian foreign interference has seen “an acceleration” since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, with senior officials promising that “dissidents in other countries will be eliminated,” one witness said.
Canada has named India as the second most serious foreign interference threat to the country, behind only China. India’s campaign focuses largely on the Khalistan movement, which advocates independence for the Sikh-majority Punjab region.
In the documents, a witness said that after he attended a protest outside India’s high commission in Ottawa, police in India visited his family and threatened his mother and brother, who were forced to flee to Dubai.
Other witnesses described attempts to sway elections, claiming India “exercises influence in the Canadian political party nomination process,” and exerts pressure on “red light” candidates critical of the Republic of India, or ROI.
“Certain attendees discussed the consequences of political candidates speaking out publicly against the ROI’s human rights record or advocating on behalf of the Sikh community,” the committee wrote.
A candidate running for city council in an unnamed Canadian city claimed they were targeted in the campaign by “online bots and agents” of the Indian government.
“Certain attendees described their experiences as targets of coordinated disinformation and misinformation campaigns conducted on social media platforms and through online news environments, along with related online harassment,” the commission said.
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Sikh temple elections were another alleged target of India’s consulates, according to the submissions, which also alleged that consulate officials routinely denied visa services to lawyers for Sikhs trying to travel to India.
It is “common for members of the Canadian Sikh community to discuss whether elected officials in Canada are agents of the ROI or manipulated by the ROI,” said another participant.
“One person suggested that the background checks conducted on potential political party nomination candidates should be strengthened and that candidates should be specifically screened for affiliations with the Government of the Republic of India,” the committee wrote.
Indian diplomatic missions should be banned from carrying out influence operations in temples “such as recruiting sources to gather intelligence on members of the community,” said another witness.
“Influence activities originating from or coordinated by Indian diplomatic missions across Canada needed to be curbed,” according to the commission’s summary of the testimony.
Another witness accused India of operating “police stations in Canada by appointing high-ranking law enforcement officials under the garb of diplomats. … these police stations are exerting pressure on Indian Canadians and threatening family members of Canadian activists in the ROI.
The witnesses called for more transparency from Canadian intelligence agencies and decision-makers, and better ways to report incidents of Indian foreign interference and transnational oppression.
A permanent task force is needed to investigate and counter foreign interference and “coordinate between relevant agencies” in reporting its findings to the public, another witness suggested.
Those warned by the police that their lives are in danger “must also be offered some kind of protection.” One community member said that “without this protection, people could remain silent for fear of being killed on Canadian soil.”
On June 18, 2023, Sikh temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was gunned down in Surrey, BC, in an assassination that Canada has blamed on the Indian government.
While New Delhi denies involvement, the US has indicted an Indian intelligence official for allegedly plotting to kill one of Nijjar’s closest associates, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
The RCMP claimed in October that Indian officials were behind not only Nijjar’s murder, but also a wave of violence across Canada that included shootings, arson and extortion.
The attacks were allegedly approved by Modi’s right-hand man, Amit Shah, and 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 scheme last fall. They were posted at the missions of India in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver.
India denies involvement.
The allegations come in the wake of a Global News investigation that revealed how Indian officials are manipulating their travel visa system to exploit Canadians of Indian origin.
The Indian government responded to Global News’ December 10 exposé by claiming that the Canadian press was engaged in “disinformation” and “foreign interference” against India.
But the investigative documents also highlight the scheme, with one witness claiming that when he sought a visa he was told to sign a prescribed letter in what he called “a form of harassment in what they believe was an operation of interference. “
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
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