Top Officials Defend Sharing India Interference Info Exclusively With US Publication

Top Canadian security and foreign affairs officials appear before the House of Commons public safety committee on Oct. 29, 2024. (L–R) RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme, Public Safety Deputy Minister Tricia Geddes, National Security and Intelligence Advisor Nathalie Drouin, Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister David Morrison, and CSIS Director Daniel Rogers. House of Commons/Screenshot via The Epoch Times

Top security and foreign affairs officials have confirmed providing information on alleged Indian interference in Canada to a U.S. media outlet without sharing it with Canadians, but they denied sharing anything that was classified.

The confirmation came from the prime minister’s National Security and Intelligence Advisor Nathalie Drouin and Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister David Morrison, who appeared on Oct. 29 before the House of Commons public safety committee.

The committee is studying reports of interference by India after the RCMP said on Oct. 14 that Indian government agents were allegedly involved in homicides and extortion in Canada. Global Affairs Canada announced the same day that it was expelling six Indian diplomats in relation to the RCMP’s ongoing investigation.

Drouin said she and Morrison spoke to The Washington Post on Oct. 13 as part of a strategy to broadcast widely Ottawa’s message about alleged illegal activities linked to the Indian government after not receiving cooperation from New Delhi on the matter.

Drouin had met with the national security adviser to the Indian prime minister on Oct. 12 in Singapore, where she said evidence on the alleged illegal activities was presented, along with options for India to address the matter. She said India did not cooperate and the next day went public on the issue, promoting the “false narrative” that Canada had not provided any evidence.

Drouin also said India has been accusing Canada of pursuing a “politically motivated” investigation.

“We were prepared for this accusation to resurface,” she said. “Therefore, we made a strategic decision to engage a respected international news outlet that had already published on the subject to ensure the record was straight and that our side of the story would be widely heard.”

Drouin said the information they provided was “not classified” and “available elsewhere.” She added that it explained how Ottawa’s evidence showed links between New Delhi and illegal activities in Canada. Drouin also said the information provided is exactly the same as that which she provided in briefings to the leaders of political parties.

The resulting Oct. 14 Washington Post article did not identify Drouin and Morrison as the sources. The sharing of the information with the U.S. publication was later reported on in an Oct. 22 article by The Globe and Mail, which named the two officials.

The information that appeared in the Post article, including around India’s alleged involvement in a murder in Winnipeg and how India’s home secretary has allegedly authorized attacks against Sikh separatists in Canada, had not previously been shared publicly in Canada by federal authorities. The allegation in the Winnipeg case relates to the murder of a Sikh community member in 2023.

Drouin said she and Morrison did not provide information to the Post about India’s home secretary’s involvement, but when pressed by an MP, Morrison said he did confirm the information with the journalist.

“The journalist called me and asked me if it was that person. I confirmed it was that person,” Morrison said.

Morrison said The Washington Post was chosen in order to “[speak] directly with our friends in the United States” as well as with Canada’s allies in the UK and elsewhere, and “directly to Indians.”

Ottawa has been seeking international backing from allies since it came out publicly last year accusing the Indian government of having a role in the assassination on Canadian soil of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

The United States foiled a similar alleged plot on its soil and has charged a former Indian intelligence official. Washington and New Delhi have maintained cordial relations, unlike Ottawa and New Delhi. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the United States in late September.

‘Not Sensitive’

RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme, who also testified at the Oct. 29 committee meeting, was asked whether he decided not to share publicly the information that appeared in The Washington Post article because it could jeopardize the investigation.

Duheme said the information was “not sensitive to national security” but nevertheless was something that the force normally wouldn’t share while investigating.

The commissioner said he did not share those details publicly during his Oct. 14 press conference because he didn’t think it was relevant “at that point,” adding that he was not a part of the conversations with The Washington Post.

The RCMP has not responded to an inquiry by The Epoch Times about whether it was aware Drouin and Morrison would approach The Washington Post.

Drouin told the public safety committee that the strategy to engage that media outlet had been developed at the civil servant level without direction from the prime minister.

The Prime Minister’s Office and other ministers’ offices were aware of the strategy, said Drouin, but the “prime minister did not direct us to do it, nor [did] they approve what was going to be shared with The Washington Post.”

The Indian government has denied being involved in criminal activities on Canadian soil and has said that Canada has not shared any solid evidence.

“Any evidence which is shared has to be legally acceptable,” departing Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma told CTV News after being declared persona non grata by Ottawa. “Unfortunately, not a shred of evidence has been shared with us,” he said.

Verma also said he did not direct anyone to collect information on Sikh separatists in Canada that could then be used by criminal elements for targeting those individuals. He said, however, that it’s in his “national interest” to keep tabs on what Sikh separatists are doing in Canada. These activists seek to create an independent Sikh homeland carved out of northern India.