We don't want to be having this fight, but obviously the killing of a Canadian on Canadian soil is not something that we can ignore as a country,
When I spoke to PM Modi at the end of last week, I highlighted how incredibly important meeting between our national security advisors in Singapore this weekend was going to be. He was aware of that meeting and I pressed upon him that the meeting needs to be taken very, very seriously,
So every step of the way we have apprised India of what we know. I've spoken directly with Prime Minister Modi. We have engaged with intelligence counterparts, and unfortunately, every step of the way, both after I made the statement in the House of Commons last September and till now, the response of the Indian government has been to deny, to obfuscate, to attack me personally and the integrity of the government of Canada and its officials and its police agencies,
We have clear and compelling evidence that agents of the Government of India have engaged in, and continue to engage in, activities that pose a significant threat to public safety. This includes clandestine information gathering techniques, coercive behaviour targeting South Asian Canadians, and involvement in over a dozen threatening and violent acts, including murder. This is unacceptable.”
…. and to reiterate, in no uncertain terms, that its position on extrajudicial operations abroad will henceforth be unequivocally aligned with international law.”
We shared our concerns with the Government of India and asked them to work with us to shed light on this important issue. At the same time, police and security agencies have used all the tools at their disposal to keep Canadians safe. Today, given evidence presented by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), we are taking additional steps to protect Canadians,
The Indian government made a fundamental error in thinking that they could engage in supporting criminal activities against Canadians, here on Canadian soil, be it murder or extortion. This is absolutely unacceptable."
That is why when we started to understand through intelligence agencies that India was possibly if not probably, behind (Hardeep Singh) Nijjar's killing, the killing of a Canadian on Canadian soil last summer, our first choice to the government of India to say, we know this has happened, work with us to fix this,
Investigations have revealed that Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada leveraged their official positions to engage in clandestine activities, such as collecting information for the government of India, either directly or through their proxies; and other individuals who acted voluntarily or through coercion,
The information collected for the Government of India is then used to target members of the South Asian community,
India is an important democracy, a country with which we have deep historical people-to-people business ties at a time where the instability around geopolitics means democracies have to stick together,
The Government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials,
The Canadian Charge d’Affaires was summoned by the Secretary (East) this evening. He was informed that the baseless targeting of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable,
India now reserves the right to take further steps in response to these latest efforts of the Canadian Government to concoct allegations against Indian diplomats,
Under criticism for turning a blind eye to foreign interference in Canadian politics, his government has deliberately brought in India in an attempt to mitigate the damage.”
The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau Government that is centered around vote bank politics,
Since Prime Minister Trudeau made certain allegations in September 2023, the Canadian government has not shared a shred of evidence with the Government of India, despite many requests from our side. This latest step follows interactions that have again witnessed assertions without any facts. This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains,
High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma is India's senior most serving diplomat with a distinguished career spanning 36 years. He has been Ambassador in Japan and Sudan, while also serving in Italy, Turkiye, Vietnam and China. The aspersions cast on him by the Government of Canada are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt,
Multiple extradition requests from the Government of India in respect of terrorists and organised crime leaders living in Canada have been disregarded,
His Cabinet has included individuals who have openly associated with an extremist and separatist agenda regarding India. His naked interference in Indian internal politics in December 2020 showed how far he was willing to go in this regard,