U.K. calls for India co-operation in probe, analyst warns allies might limit response

OTTAWA — The British government says India should co-operate with Canada’s investigation into accusations that New Delhi has been involved in an escalating number of violent crimes in Canada, as an analyst warns that strategic interests might limit how allies respond to the bombshell claims.

Meanwhile, members of Parliament are likely to look into how Ottawa can best respond to the allegations, with the four major political parties requesting an emergency meeting.

The federal government expelled six Indian diplomats on Monday after the RCMP said it had credible evidence that Indian agents played a role in extortion, coercion and murder of Canadian citizens on Canadian soil.

India declined to waive diplomatic immunity for the six diplomats to answer RCMP questions related to the investigation.

Canada’s next steps will be based on keeping Canadians safe at home and abroad, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a federal commission of inquiry on foreign interference Wednesday.

“That will always be the lens with which we look at any possible future decisions,” Trudeau said.

The answer was in response to a question from Prabjot Singh, a lawyer representing the World Sikh Organization of Canada at the commission, who asked the prime minister if the government will impose sanctions against the six Indian diplomats as well as members of India’s intelligence service as a deterrent to further violence.

Trudeau said he’s not trying to provoke a fight with India.

“The Indian government made a horrific mistake in thinking that they could interfere as aggressively as they did in the safety and sovereignty of Canada, and we need to respond in order to ensure Canadians’ safety,” he said.

In response to Trudeau’s testimony at the inquiry, India’s foreign ministry again rejected claims of involvement in criminality in a statement. The ministry blamed Trudeau for “the damage that this cavalier behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations.”

The commission is examining Canada’s capacity to detect, deter and counter any form of foreign interference directly or indirectly targeting its democratic processes.

It is unclear to what extent the inquiry will explore criminal allegations against Indian agents, but in a statement the commission said it has explicitly been directed not to jeopardize any ongoing criminal investigation or proceeding.

Canadian authorities say the Indian officials had gathered information that led to criminal organizations targeting Khalistan separatists, who advocate for a Sikh homeland to be carved out of India.

Sushant Singh, a Yale University lecturer specializing in India’s foreign policy, said the issue of Khalistan separation is particularly sensitive for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, though the movement largely reached a peak in the 1980s.

Modi has expressed anger that groups in Canada have organized referendums for separation, and that Trudeau raised concerns about 2020 protests by farmers in India that included many Sikhs.

“There’s no threat, really,” Singh said of actions by Canadian citizens and officials regarding the Khalistan issue. “We have scarcely seen any impact in India.”

He said it was notable that Canadian officials said they had tried to raise their concerns about escalating violence linked to India at the highest levels, with little success.

“The Indian side did not care enough to really respond to whatever evidence was presented to them,” he said. “If we go by what the Canadian version is, then very clearly there is little choice left for them but to raise the stakes.”

Singh said he isn’t sure how much other countries will back Canada because many of Ottawa’s allies see New Delhi as their best hope of having influence in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly as they grow increasingly at odds with China.

The U.K. foreign ministry said Wednesday that it’s in contact with Ottawa about Monday’s “serious developments” and it argues that India’s co-operation with Canada’s legal process “is the right next step.”

On Tuesday, a U.S. State Department spokesman told a news conference that the U.S. had long been asking India to co-operate with Canadian authorities, but he stopped short of commenting on the substance of the new claims.

New Zealand has only said that the allegations are concerning and that it will await the judicial process, in a statement that did not mention India.

Singh said U.S. President Joe Biden has taken a strategic approach to handling an unsealed New York indictment, which alleges an Indian government employee had directed an attempted assassination in the United States. Washington has welcomed an inquiry committee from India this week to discuss the case.

“Many people believe that the current U.S. administration, the Biden administration, in trying to look at the larger strategic picture, which is vis-a-vis China and the Indo-Pacific, has overlooked important transactional aspects and red lines which should not be crossed,” he said.

“I think its response with respect to Canada should be seen in light of that.”

Singh pointed out that the New York case echoes Canada’s claims in saying Indian agents relied on criminal gangs to commit the alleged acts.

Trudeau announced in September 2023 that Canadian intelligence services were investigating credible information about a potential link between India’s government and the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh activist, in Surrey, B.C.

Trudeau told the federal inquiry Wednesday that Canada’s official position has always been to respect India’s territorial sovereignty.

In his testimony, Trudeau said Modi expressed concerns about pro-Khalistan sentiments in Canada after he confronted the Indian prime minister about Nijjar’s killing.

Trudeau offered to work with India in cases of terrorism but said Canadians also have the right to freedom of expression.

“My position and Canada’s position is to defend the territorial integrity of India,” Trudeau told the commission.

“One India is official Canadian policy, and the fact that there are a number of people in Canada who advocate otherwise does not make it Canadian policy, but also does not make it something that is illegal in Canada.”

MPs signed a joint letter Tuesday calling for the House public safety committee to have at least one meeting to discuss “steps that could be taken by the government to protect Canadians.”

The MPs cite a parliamentary rule that would require a meeting be held within five days of the clerk receiving the letter. The committee must issue a notice two days before the meeting. The House of Commons is not sitting this week, but MPs can attend committee meetings virtually and call for witnesses.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

— With files from Laura Osman and Jim Bronskill

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press