
Foreign interference commissioner “sounds the alarm” on transnational repression by foreign governments, including India
Sikh community says the report’s scope “doesn’t encompass the threats, the violence & targeting we've been enduring”
The foreign interference commission released its final report Tuesday, finding that although there are no “traitors” in parliament and no definitive evidence to suggest that Canadian institutions have been seriously compromised by foreign interference, the threat remains “real.”
“I have learned that the foreign interference threat is real. There are a number of foreign states who are actively working to secretly, and often illegally, meddle in our democratic institutions. They use a wide range of strategies and tactics, some of which are incredibly sophisticated,” the report states.
One major finding of the report is that transnational repression is a “scourge” that went beyond the scope of the commission’s mandate – something that diaspora communities in Canada have been sounding the alarm about for years.
The report concludes that India, which the inquiry found to be the “second most active country engaging in electoral foreign interference in Canada,” has targeted “all levels of government.”
In the report’s final findings, the assassination of Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, BC in 2023 was cited as a specific example of transnational repression in Canada.
Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue explained that transnational repression is a kind of foreign interference that went beyond the scope of the commission’s terms of reference.
“I did not examine this phenomenon in depth since this form of foreign interference goes well beyond the democratic processes and institutions my mandate tasked me with examining,” Commissioner Hogue said in the report.
“But what I have learned about it is sufficient for me to sound the alarm that the government must take this seriously and consider ways to address it.”
Prabjot Singh, counsel for Sikh Federation who participated in the commission, said that although Commissioner’ Hogue’s terms of reference did not include India’s transnational repression as a key focus, the report’s findings are an important “first step” and substantiates concerns about India amplifying disinformation and targeting diaspora communities.
“It confirms that India has a massive capacity to amplify disinformation and that they’re likely going to continue to do this and even reinforce those efforts, and there’s a very clear recognition that India has been targeting the entire Sikh community as a whole with different forms of transnational repression,” Singh told PressProgress.
In the report, Commissioner Hogue confirms that disinformation is a major threat to Canada’s democracy.
“Disinformation is also used as a retaliatory tactic, to punish decisions that run contrary to a state’s interests. This may have been the case with a disinformation campaign that followed the Prime Minister’s announcement regarding suspected Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar (though again no definitive link to a foreign state could be proven).”
While Singh notes that the report’s findings are important, many questions remain among the Sikh community, who remain disappointed and frustrated.
In the report, Commissioner Hogue confirms that countries “target Canadian diaspora communities and attempt to influence voting, silence dissent, amplify preferred state narratives, control public opinion and sow discord.”
“Canada and India have worked together for decades, but there are challenges in the relationship. Many of these are long standing and inform India’s foreign interference activities. India perceives Canada as not taking India’s national security concerns about Khalistani separatism (the goal of an independent Sikh homeland in northern India called “Khalistan”) sufficiently seriously.”
Singh adds that the Sikh diaspora, despite being made aware of the vulnerabilities of this community and the ongoing targeting by India through various means, believes there is a clear lack of prioritization by the government on the safety of this community.
“When you have a commission that is specifically and narrowly focused on the past two federal elections only, you’re pretty much only looking at the small sliver of all of India’s foreign interference and transnational repression activity,” Singh noted.
“I don’t fault the commission or the commissioner, the results are almost by design in the sense that the terms of reference were created, drafted with Russia and China in mind to specifically look at electoral interference. And for the community, that’s where the frustration is, because that doesn’t fully encompass the threats, the violence, and the targeting we’ve been enduring for the past four decades.”
According to the report, “India’s activities primarily target the approximately 800,000 members of the Sikh diaspora in Canada and aim to promote a pro-India and anti-Khalistan narrative.”
“The RCMP’s statement in October 2024, on violent criminal activity in Canada, including homicides and extortion, with connections to agents of the Government of India, is consistent with the classified evidence. Further, the national security and intelligence community assesses India as an emerging cyber threat actor.”
Singh says that he hopes the report confirms to Canadians the severity of the threat India continues to pose.
“I hope that it continues to contribute to the growing awareness about the volatility and the intolerance of India when it comes to political dissidents and particularly minority communities. This facade of India as a liberal democracy, the world’s largest democracy and a pluralistic kind of society is not actually true,” Singh said.
“When you look at the violence that India’s enacting outside of its borders across the world and we’ve seen the UN Human Rights Council report as early as last week that talks about India’s violent activities in the US, Canada, and other countries as well around the world—you can only imagine what the conditions actually are on the ground within India itself.”
The inquiry’s report states that further action is needed to examine transnational repression in Canada and that “attention to the unique experiences of Canadians from diaspora communities” is needed to better understand foreign interference.
“Any responses to foreign interference need to be informed by the distinct ways that Canadians from different backgrounds are impacted by foreign interference.”
Singh says he is grateful for the commission’s work, but hopes it doesn’t stop here – as the threat to Canada’s Sikh community remains.
Singh believes a full public investigation into transnational repression is thoroughly needed.
“From the community’s perspective, this is something that we’ve been calling for for some time now,” Singh said.
“Canada needs to set up a fresh inquiry particularly into the assassination of Bhai Hardeep Singh, the lead up to that and the other violent activity that have been committed by India, to get a fuller transparent picture not only of India’s activities, but where were the failures and the vulnerabilities within Canada’s own infrastructure that allowed this to happen despite having prior knowledge and even actually communicating warnings to members of the community in July 2022.”
Our journalism is powered by readers like you.
We’re an award-winning non-profit news organization that covers topics like social and economic inequality, big business and labour, and right-wing extremism.
Help us build so we can bring to light stories that don’t get the attention they deserve from Canada’s big corporate media outlets.
Become a member