After Canada and India conducted tit-for-that expulsions of diplomats, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of making a “fundamental error” of using its officials in Canada to engage in criminal activity.
“India made a fundamental error in thinking that they could engage in supporting criminal activity against Canadians here on Canadian soil, whether it be murders or extortion or other violent acts,” Trudeau said in a press conference in Ottawa on Oct. 14.
Trudeau said this explains why his government is taking “significant measures” and why the RCMP chose to disrupt the activity by speaking about it publicly.
The prime minister said there has been a pattern of Indian diplomats collecting information, through “questionable and illegal means,” which is then passed to criminal organizations to target Canadians for extortion or murder.
“No country, particularly not a democracy, that upholds the rule of law, can accept this fundamental violation of its sovereignty,” he said.
Global Affairs Canada announced the expulsion of six Indian diplomats on Oct. 14 in relation to the matter.
Pro-Khalistan independence activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which India accused of being a terrorist, was gunned down in the parking lot of a Sikh place of worship in June 2023 in Surrey, B.C. Suspects in his assassination were arrested by police earlier this year.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs announced on Oct. 14 it was expelling six Canadian diplomats, including the acting high commissioner.
“The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau Government that is centered around vote bank politics,” said the Ministry of External Affairs.
A similar diplomatic crisis occurred a little over a year ago when Trudeau accused India, on the first sitting day of the House of Commons, of having a role in the killing of Nijjar. Diplomatic moves followed on each side, with expulsions and India stopping at one point to process visas for Canadians.
Trudeau said efforts made to obtain India’s cooperation on these matters have not borne fruit. He said Canadian officials took the “extraordinary step” over the weekend to meet with Indian officials to share the RCMP’s evidence indicating that six government of India agents were persons of interest in criminal activities.
“Despite repeated requests to the government of India, it has decided not to cooperate,” Trudeau said.
The RCMP held a press conference on Oct. 14 to discuss the general outlines of its investigation into Indian government activity.
RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme said the police force has uncovered information along four main axes, including how violent extremism is impacting Canada and India, links between Indian government agents and homicides and violent acts, the use of organized crime to create the perception of an unsafe environment, and interference in the democratic processes.
Duheme said that several Indian diplomats have been involved in “serious criminal activity.”
Assistant Commissioner Brigitte Gauvin said approximately eight individuals have been arrested and charged in relation to homicides, whereas at least 22 have been arrested and charged for extortion.
“Some of these have connections to the government of India,” Gauvin said.
The RCMP also said at least 13 individuals in the South Asian community have been warned of threats to their lives, “specifically members of the pro-Khalistan movement.”
India has long accused Canada of harbouring pro-Khalistan extremists, who seek to create an independent state in India’s Punjab.
