OTTAWA — The national security committee of parliamentarians says guest lists for foreign events involving the prime minister get no systematic vetting.
The committee's newly released examination of Justin Trudeau's trip to India last February found security organizations took adequate measures overall to ensure Justin Trudeau's safety, but it also uncovered a number of gaps.
Trudeau was embarrassed during the trip when it was revealed that Jaspal Atwal, a B.C. Sikh convicted of trying to assassinate an Indian minister in 1986, had been invited to two events with the prime minister.
Atwal was photographed with Trudeau's wife and at least one cabinet minister during an event in Mumbai, and an invitation to a second event was rescinded after news broke of Atwal’s presence.
Trudeau's national security adviser, Daniel Jean, suggested during a background briefing that factions in the Indian government had sabotaged Trudeau's trip.
Jean advanced the theory that rogue factions in the Indian government arranged for Atwal’s presence in a bid to prevent Prime Minister Narendra Modi from becoming too cosy with a foreign government — Canada's — they believe is sympathetic to extremist Sikh separatists.