Some of Canada’s top security and intelligence officials are set to testify this morning about an alleged campaign to intimidate or kill Canadians — a scheme the head of the RCMP says can be traced back to the highest levels of the Indian government.
“We do have strong evidence — not intelligence, but evidence — that this goes all the way up to the highest level,” RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme told CBC’s Power & Politics host David Cochrane on Friday.
Later this morning, MPs on the public safety and national security committee will have two hours to question three top security officials — Duheme, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) director Daniel Rogers and the prime minister’s national security adviser Nathalie Drouin — about the RCMP’s shocking claim that agents of the Indian government were complicit in widespread crimes in Canada, including murder, extortion and intimidation.
That claim, first made by Duheme during a surprise news conference two weeks ago, has further undermined the already tense relationship between Canada and India.
The committee also will hear from Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs David Morrison and Deputy Minister of Public Safety Tricia Geddes.
Duheme has said police evidence shows Indian diplomats and consular staff collected information for the Indian government, which was used to issue instructions to criminal organizations to carry out acts of violence in Canada.
The Mounties have assembled evidence of credible and imminent threats to members of the South Asian community, specifically members of the pro-Khalistan movement seeking a separate homeland for Sikhs, he said.
On Thanksgiving Monday, the federal government announced it had expelled six Indian diplomats — including the high commissioner, India’s chief envoy to Canada. India has denied the accusations and swiftly retaliated by kicking Canadian diplomats out of its territory.
Commissioner Mike Duheme tells Power & Politics that RCMP allegations about acts of violence and extortion in Canada link to the upper echelons of India’s government, and provides an update on police progress against threats to public safety.
During his news conference, Duheme said police have warned 13 Canadians since September 2023 that they could be targets of harassment or threats by Indian agents. Police say some of those individuals have received multiple threats.
Duheme told CBC he believes those people are safer since the Indian diplomats were expelled.
India has denied working with criminal organizations to target Sikh separatists in Canada and has accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of having a “political agenda” behind the allegations.
