New Delhi: A Canadian commission leading an inquiry into allegations of election meddling has asked the Justin Trudeau-led government to provide documents relating to India’s possible interference in Ottawa’s polls, a new jolt to Indo-Canadian ties.
The inquiry pertains to Canada’s 2019 and 2021 elections.
The Foreign Interference Commission, set up by Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau last September, was primarily meant to focus on the alleged Chinese meddling in elections. However, India was added to the probe after pressure from political leaders such as New Democratic Party (NDP) chief Jagmeet Singh.
ThePrint has sought comment from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) as well as the Canadian High Commission in Delhi. This report will be updated if and when they respond.
The development comes at a time when the relationship between India and Canada is already strained after Trudeau said last September that his government was investigating “credible allegations” of possible links between Indian government agents and the killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Nijjar, chief of separatist outfit Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), and a designated terrorist in India, was shot dead by unidentified assailants outside a gurdwara in Surrey on 18 June last year.
Canada has also withdrawn a number of diplomats from India on a request from New Delhi for “mutual parity” in diplomatic presence.
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Commission’s public hearings
On Monday, Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, a judge of the Quebec Court of Appeal who is heading the inquiry, officially sought information on alleged interference by India from the Trudeau government, according to media reports.
According to the commission’s website, the inquiry will be conducted in two phases.
The first will “focus on the interference that China, Russia, and other foreign actors may have engaged in, and any impact it may have had on the 2019 and 2021 federal elections”. The commission will also examine the flow of information within the Canadian government.
India is not named here.
In the second phase, the commission will assess the capacity of federal departments and governance processes to allow the government to detect, deter, and counter such interference.
After holding public hearings, the commission must submit an interim report by 3 May and a final report by 31 December.
Last August — before the commission was set up — NDP chief Jagmeet Singh said his party faced resistance to having countries other than China included in the public inquiry. At the time, his party was keen to include Russia, India, and Iran in the mix too, Canada’s CBC News said in its 2 August report.
In late May, the Conservative bloc voted in favour of an NDP motion calling for a probe to include attempted interference by these three other countries too. However, Trudeau’s party, the Liberals, voted against it.
“After pressure from Conservatives, an agreement on the terms of reference for a Public Inquiry was reached by all parties,” a Conservative party spokesperson had told CBC News at the time.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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