India is the second-biggest foreign threat to Canada’s democracy after China, a new report by a high-level Canadian parliamentary panel has said, reported the Hindustan Times.
The report by the country’s National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians – a group comprising MPs and senators across parties – was submitted to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office in May.
It identified Russia as the third most concerning foreign threat to Canada, a spot that India had occupied in 2019 in the country’s foreign threat perception index.
A redacted copy of the document was tabled in the country’s Parliament this week. Trudeau said in the House of Commons on Tuesday: “This government is taking this very seriously.”
The 84-page document, which mentioned India 44 times, said that New Delhi “emerged as the second-most significant foreign interference threat to Canada’s democratic institutions and processes”.
It added: “While India’s foreign interference efforts have slowly increased, it became clear during the period of this review that its efforts had extended beyond countering what it perceived as pro-Khalistani efforts in Canada to include interfering in Canadian democratic processes and institutions, including through the targeting of Canadian politicians, ethnic media and Indo-Canadian ethnocultural communities.”
The report comes amidst strained diplomatic ties between India and Canada, which broke down last year after the murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver. In September, Canadian prime minister told his country’s parliament that intelligence agencies were actively pursuing “credible allegations” tying agents of the Indian government to Nijjar’s murder.
In February, Canada also accused India of trying to influence democratic processes in Canada. The Indian government has rejected these allegations.
Trudeau on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his win in the Lok Sabha elections.
A message posted by Trudeau’s office on X quoted him as saying, “Canada stands ready to work with [Modi’s] government to advance the relationship between our nations’ peoples—anchored to human rights, diversity, and the rule of law.
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