Close X
    Friday, November 15, 2024
    ADVT 
    National

    Sikh groups calls for Indian consulates to be shut down in Vancouver, Toronto

    Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 15 Oct, 2024 04:52 PM
    • Sikh groups calls for Indian consulates to be shut down in Vancouver, Toronto

    Representatives of a British Columbia Sikh temple whose president was shot dead last year, as well as the Sikh independence group he was involved in, say their communities won't feel safe until India's consulates in Vancouver and Toronto are shut down.

    That's after the Canadian government expelled six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner, and the RCMP announced on Monday it had evidence of their alleged involvement in crimes including homicide and extortion targeting the so-called Khalistan independence movement.

    The Canadian government has previously said credible intelligence links India's government to the killing in June last year of activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, leader of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, B.C., where community members have held a news conference.

    Gurkeerat Singh, a spokesman for the gurdwara, says "the safety and the security of Sikhs will still be in question" unless India's consulates are shut down.

    India has denied the police allegations that its diplomats coercively collected information on South Asian Canadians, then passed that information on to criminals who took violent action.

    Jatinder Singh Grewal, a member of the advocacy group Sikhs for Justice, says Canada previously expelled an Indian diplomat in September last year and since then the RCMP has indicated the threat to Sikhs in Canada has increased.

    "We have a strong belief that the threat will still not subside. It will increase, because India is taking the right to self-determination of Punjab very seriously and wishes to quell it," he told Tuesday's press conference, which he joined via video link.

    "These houses of terror, they need to be shut down," he said of the consulates.

    Grewal referred to the expulsion last year of Pavan Kumar Rai, a diplomatic agent who headed an Indian intelligence agency based in Ottawa.

    On Monday, the government announced it was expelling six more diplomats, including Sanjay Kumar Verma, because of the criminal accusations. The RCMP said Monday there were six Indian diplomats they sought to question about the violent activities in Canada, and those six are the ones Canada expelled.

    India responded by expelling six Canadian diplomats.

    In September 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canadian intelligence services were investigating a potential link between India's government and Nijjar's killing. Four Indian nationals have since been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy.

    Grewal said the people who allegedly pulled the trigger are "merely tools," and the real issue was who collected information on Sikhs in Canada and allegedly shared that information with criminals to threaten and harm Sikh community members.

    "The RCMP laid it out quite clearly, that Indian diplomats in Canada are actively monitoring, looking at the behaviour, patterns and activities of pro-Khalistani Sikhs, and then sharing that information with individuals back in India," he said.

    RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme said Monday that investigations revealed that Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada had allegedly leveraged their official positions to engage in clandestine activities, including collecting information for the government of India, either directly or through proxies.

    The RCMP told The Canadian Press it was investigating three homicides across the country over the last two years with possible links to India, but the Mounties would not clarify whether those include Nijjar's killing.

    Grewal said shutting down India's consulates in Toronto and Vancouver would remove the shield afforded by diplomatic positions.

    "We can't allow this to continue because it endangers Canadian safety and Canadian sovereignty," he said.

    Prev Next

    MORE National ARTICLES

    New paid sick leave rules coming into effect

    New paid sick leave rules coming into effect
    As of Dec. 31, workers who have been continuously employed for at least 30 days will have access to three paid sick days. Workers will then get a fourth sick day as of Feb. 1, and will accumulate one additional day at the start of every month up to a maximum of 10 days per year.

    New paid sick leave rules coming into effect

    Applications open for dental care benefits

    Applications open for dental care benefits
    The benefit, to be used toward dental services, is available for children under 12 in families that earn less than $90,000 a year and ranges from $260 to $650 per child depending on net income.

    Applications open for dental care benefits

    Canada gains on U.S. in permanent resident race

    Canada gains on U.S. in permanent resident race
    It's a record that will likely be beaten more than once in the coming years, as a Canadian federal immigration plan released earlier this month aims to admit 465,000 new permanent residents in 2023 and 500,000 a year by 2025, with a particular focus on bringing in people with needed skills and experience.

    Canada gains on U.S. in permanent resident race

    How $10-a-day child care is rolling out in Canada

    How $10-a-day child care is rolling out in Canada
    British Columbia was the first to sign on, inking a $3.2-billion deal in July 2021 with plans to create 30,000 new child-care spaces within five years and 40,000 within seven years. B.C. started a $10-a-day program at select facilities in 2018 and plans to double those spaces to 12,500 this month. 

    How $10-a-day child care is rolling out in Canada

    B.C. public school teachers ratify new contract

    B.C. public school teachers ratify new contract
    It boosts annual salaries for new teachers as much as $8,500 by the end of the third year while B.C.'s highest-paid educators will earn up to $13,500 more over the same period, which Johnston says pushes them above the $100,000-per-year threshold for the first time.

    B.C. public school teachers ratify new contract

    Arctic cold descends on parts of B.C.

    Arctic cold descends on parts of B.C.
    Arctic outflow warnings have been posted for B.C.’s central and northern coasts, with the wind chill predicted at minus 20. Special weather statements are also up for most of Vancouver Island and the south coast, with icy conditions and wind chills near minus 10.

    Arctic cold descends on parts of B.C.

    PrevNext