‘There’s no protection’: Canadian Sikh leaders face threats, organization says
The World Sikh Organization says multiple Sikh leaders in Canada have received notice from the RCMP that their lives could be in imminent danger.
But WSO spokesperson Balpreet Singh told The West Block’s Mercedes Stephenson that the national police force shared few details about who was behind the threats — and little in terms of protection or assistance.
“What happens is that you’re approached by law enforcement and they give you a piece of paper that says that your life is in imminent risk of being targeted, that you could be killed,” Singh said in an interview.
“They take that paper back and then they ask you, ‘Well, where do you think this threat is coming from?’ And it’s really surreal to think that the police have approached you, and now they’re asking you, ‘Where do you think the threat is coming from?’ You’re not provided any real supports.”
Singh said some were told to change their routines and think about spending time away from their families and friends, but were otherwise “left to (their) own devices.”
“It’s really an odd situation where you just don’t know where to go. And, you know, people that have had to leave their homes, have to leave their families. And there’s no end to it,” Singh said.
“Someone approached the police six months after receiving one of these (warnings) and was told, well, there’s no foreseeable end because this is a decades-long conflict. So we don’t know when this threat will end.”
Global News reported earlier this month the RCMP put former NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh under tight security in late 2023 after the national police force assessed the then-NDP leader’s life was in imminent danger.
Singh and his family were protected by armed police, including at a hospital in December 2023 when Singh’s wife was giving birth. His senior staff were also forced to incorporate more stringent security plans for their leader’s public appearances.
The new revelations come as Prime Minister Mark Carney has attempted to patch up relations with India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an effort to diversify Canada’s trade partnerships amid tumult with the Trump administration.
Canada’s relationship with India – the world’s fifth largest economy – have been severely strained since former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly said there was “credible” intelligence linking the Indian government to the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a B.C. Sikh leader and Khalistan activist, who was killed on Canadian soil in 2023.
The NDP’s Singh received a top-secret briefing on the intelligence related to Nijjar’s murder, and told reporters there was “clear evidence” that the Indian government was involved — a claim Indian officials dismissed as “absurd.” In the months that followed, Singh was to find himself targeted.
Citing unnamed sources, Global reported on June 12 that information about Singh’s movements, family and travel schedule were being closely watched by an agent suspected of ties to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, a transnational crime syndicate linked to murders, extortion and drug crimes.
The Government of India has been accused of using Bishnoi gang members to commit violence in Canada. Sources said the agent in question has also allegedly been connected to activities directed by the Indian government.
India has long accused Canada of not addressing Khalistani activists, some of whom New Delhi considers “extremists,” living and working in Canada. The Khalistan movement agitates for an independent Sikh state in India’s Punjab region.
Responding to criticism over inviting Modi to the G7 Summit in Alberta last week, Carney noted that the Indian prime minister has been invited to every G7 since 2018 and called his bilateral meeting with Modi as a “necessary first step” to rebuilding the relationship between Ottawa and New Delhi.
“I think the meeting today was important, but I would describe it as foundational… An agreement to provide the necessary foundations to begin to rebuild the relationship, based on mutual respect, sovereignty and trust,” Carney told reporters last week.
Carney said he and Modi had a “frank, open exchange,” which included discussions of issues such as law enforcement and transnational repression. The recent federal inquiry into foreign interference named India as the second-most active player in that space, behind only the People’s Republic of China.
When asked how he would describe Carney’s invitation to Modi to join world leaders in Alberta last week, Balpreet Singh with the WSO said “the word that comes to mind is ‘betrayal.’”
“We’re not against dialogue, but it’s got to be principled,” Singh said.
“But here it was a complete display of appeasement … India has still not acknowledged any role in foreign interference or transnational oppression in Canada.”
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