The prime minister’s top security adviser says the Canadian government is not aware of evidence linking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to criminal activity in Canada.
A recent
report by the Globe and Mail, citing an anonymous source identified as a “senior national security official,” said Canadian security agencies believe Modi knew about the assassination of a pro-Khalistan activist in B.C. last year, along with other violent plots.
National Security and Intelligence Advisor (NSIA) Nathalie Drouin issued a rare
statement on Nov. 21, apparently in response to the Globe’s report.
“The Government of Canada has not stated, nor is it aware of evidence, linking Prime Minister Modi, Minister Jaishankar, or NSA Doval to the serious criminal activity within Canada,” she said. “Any suggestion to the contrary is both speculative and inaccurate.”
Canadian officials took the “extraordinary step” in October of publicly linking agents of the Indian government to “serious criminal activity” in Canada due to “significant and ongoing” threats to public safety, Drouin added.
Canada expelled six Indian diplomats, including its high commissioner, in relation to the accusations and India responded in kind.
The Globe’s report said Canadian and U.S. intelligence had tied the assassination operations to Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah, and that External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and national security adviser Ajit Doval were also aware of the matter.
The leak of India-related national security information to the Globe this week follows another similar leak in October to the Washington Post. Drouin and Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison confirmed they spoke to the Post when appearing before the House of Commons public safety committee on Oct. 29. The Post reported Shah was allegedly involved in authorizing attacks against pro-Khalistan activists in Canada and that India may have had a hand in the murder of a Sikh leader in Winnipeg.
Such information had not been provided by Canadian authorities when they made public accusations in mid-October linking Indian government agents to homicides and extortion and Canada.
The Privy Council Office, which houses the NSIA, said that Drouin and Morrison had not provided classified information to the Washington Post. Morrison told the committee that the Post’s journalist had called him and asked if Shah was involved. “I confirmed it was that person,” Morrison said.
Drouin told the committee speaking to the Post was part of a strategy to widely broadcast Ottawa’s message about India’s alleged illegal activities in Canada.
Conservative MP and public safety shadow minister Raquel Dancho criticized Drouin for leaking information to a U.S. outlet. Dancho said she should have learned the information from Canadian authorities rather than from an American newspaper.
“I’m trying to understand why it is the Washington Post received information when the ... [RCMP] commissioner, the prime minister, the public safety minister, and the minister of Foreign affairs, did not provide that information to Canada,” she said.
Drouin said it was to ensure Canada’s side of the story would be “clearly” and “widely spread, especially at the international level.” Drouin said Ottawa had to go public because New Delhi had refused to cooperate on the issue of criminality in Canada.
New Delhi has denied any involvement in criminal activity in Canada. It says Ottawa’s accusations are politically motivated and that it has not shared proper evidence about the matter.
India’s expelled High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma
told CTV News after being summoned to leave Canada in mid-October that “not a shred of evidence has been shared with us” regarding the accusations.
‘Criminal’ Leaks
When asked about the latest India leak at a Nov. 22 press conference in Brampton, Ont., Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “We have seen, unfortunately, that ... criminals leaking top secret information to the media, has consistently gotten those stories wrong.”
“Everything we have done over the past years in multiple difficult situations is to put the emphasis on keeping Canadians safe here at home, across the country, and making sure we’re standing up for the rule of law,” he added.
While Drouin said Ottawa has no evidence linking Modi to serious criminal activity in Canada, Trudeau identified the Indian government as being implicated on Oct. 14.
“I think it is obvious that the government of India made a fundamental error in thinking that they could engage in supporting criminal activity against Canadians here on Canadian soil,” he
said during a press conference in Ottawa.
Trudeau’s comments came a little over a year after the relationship between Ottawa and New Delhi took a nosedive after
Trudeau outlined allegations against India. Speaking in the House of Commons in September 2023, Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” of a link between Indian government agents and the assassination on Canadian soil of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh advocating for an independent Khalistani state carved out of India.Trudeau was seen in the company of Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden during the latest G20 summit in Brazil, but he refrained from commenting when reporters asked him about it on Nov. 22.
“I had an excellent one-on-one sit down with President Biden, where we talked about a range of issues, including a number of challenging international issues,” he said.
