Parliamentary Committee Notes: Indo-Canadian Community Violence and Engagement
Issue
On October 14, 2024, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police revealed links between the Government of India and homicides and violent acts in Canada, as well as the use of criminal networks. The South Asian community is being targeted by foreign interference and transnationalrepression efforts, and the Government of Canada has taken steps to engage the community in two-way dialogue.
Proposed Response
- All Canadians deserve to feel safe in their communities, and that is a top priority of our government.
- That of course includes members of Canada’s South Asian Communities, as well as other communities who are often disproportionately targeted by foreign interference and transnational repression efforts.
- These violent actions, that are alleged to have taken place on Canadian soil, are a grave violation of the sovereignty of our country and the safety of Canadian citizens.
- I want to note that the Government of Canada is working to support Canada’s South Asian and Sikh communities, and we thank leaders in these communities for working with law enforcement officials.
- The lines of communication between these communities and the federal government remain open should groups or individuals feel the need to reach out.
If pressed on community engagement following the announcement by the RCMP:
- Senior officials at Public Safety Canada reached out in the hours and days after the RCMP’s announcement to several South Asian community groups, to inform and reassure them that law enforcement and intelligence agencies are taking action to ensure the safety and security of all citizens.
- These same officials also reached out to Provincial and Territorial counterparts, as this issue cuts across multiple jurisdictions and affects all of Canada’s South Asian communities by undermining their rights and freedoms.
- In addition, the National Counter Foreign Interference Coordinator has engaged, and will continue to engage with the South Asian communities in Canada given the threats they face.
If pressed on recent investments in community engagement:
- We know that engagement with communities is critical to build societal resilience to foreign interference, and ensure communities feel comfortable in raising concerns with law enforcement.
- hat is why the Government announced $48.9 million in funding to the RCMP in 2023 to increase their investigative capacity and more proactively engage with communities at risk so they can better protect people in Canada from foreign interference. This also includes engagement efforts with police of jurisdiction who are often the first point of reporting by those who experience threats or intimidation.
- An additional $13.5 million over five years, and $3.1 million ongoing has been allocated to Public Safety Canada to establish the office of the National Counter-Foreign Interference Coordinator to enhance outreach efforts with stakeholders and affected communities.
- This builds on other longstanding efforts, including by CSIS, who has been at the front lines of engaging with Canadian civil society, Indigenous governments, research institutions, industry associations, community and advocacy associations, to advise on threat activity and national security concerns touching all Canadians and Canadian interests.
If pressed on actions to bolster counter-FI tools and authorities:
- The Government has taken significant steps to ensure Canada’s security and intelligence community has the tools and authorities it needs to detect, deter, and counter foreign interference and transnational repression.
- For example, in June 2024 the Countering Foreign Interference Act was passed into law. This Act enhances the government’s ability to detect and disrupt foreign interference, and to protect Canadian institutions and all people in Canada against this threat in its various forms.
- Notably, changes to the CSIS Act will allow CSIS to better respond to modern threats in a digital environment.
- The Act also introduced the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act to promote transparency and accountability from those who undertake influence activities at the direction, or in association with foreign governments.
- The South Asian communities provided valuable feedback in Public Safety’s public engagements on the development of the Bill, including on the design of the Foreign Influence Transparency Registry.
Background
Foreign Interference
Foreign interference (FI) includes activities undertaken by state or non-state actors that are harmful to Canada's interests and are clandestine or deceptive, or involve a threat to any person. Techniques used to conduct FI can include espionage, sabotage, illicit and corrupt financing, and other threat activities. Foreign states leverage these activities to advance their strategic interests including: domestic stability, seeking geopolitical influence, economic advancement, revision of the rules-based international order, and military advantage. These activities can be directed at Canadians, or residents of Canada, or against Canadian institutions to advance their strategic interests at the expense of our national interests and values.
FI poses one of the greatest strategic threats to Canada’s national security because it can undermine Canadian sovereignty and social cohesion, diminish Canadians' trust in our institutions, and degrade the rights and freedoms to which all Canadians are entitled. Two examples include:
- threats, harassment or intimidation by foreign states, or those acting on their behalf, against anyone in Canada, Canadian communities, or their loved ones abroad; and
- targeting officials in different Canadian jurisdictions to influence public policy and decision-making in a way that is covert, deceptive or threatening.
The Government of Canada takes the threat posed by FI seriously and has various tools and mechanisms in place to protect individuals and Canada’s interests. These include efforts to safeguard federal elections, mechanisms available to the public to report suspected incidents of FI, as well as criminal investigations into crimes such as intimidation or bribery and the coordination of responses and information sharing with like-minded partners and allies. FI is a complex threat that requires a multi-faceted response.
The RCMP, CSIS, Canadian Security Establishment (CSE) and Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) have telephone and online reporting mechanisms that are monitored for anyone who would like to report a threat to national security.
Killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar and ongoing RCMP investigations
On Sunday, June 18, 2023, prominent Sikh leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was shot and killed outside Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara. An investigation is being led by the Integrated Homicide team at RCMP. On September 18, 2023, the Prime Minister made an announcement in the House of Commons that “Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.”
On October 14th, the Government of Canada declared persona non grata to several of India’s diplomatic representatives in Canada. This was the result of investigative efforts led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which revealed links between the Government of India and homicides and violent acts in Canada; the use of organized crime by the Government of India to create a perception of an unsafe environment targeting the South Asian community in Canada; and, interference by the Government of India in democratic processes here in Canada.
Canada-Based Khalistani Extremism
Canadian-based Khalistani extremists use Canada as a base to support pro-Khalistani extremism as well as attack targeting in India. As such, the activities of CBKEs constitute a threat to the security of Canada. However, at present, it is assessed that CBKEs do not have the intent to conduct an attack here in Canada.
In Canada, two key Sikh organizations, Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and the International Sikh Youth Federation have been identified as being associated with terrorism and remain listed terrorist entities under the Criminal Code.
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