Ottawa, Canada: The Sikh Federation Canada has expressed grave concern following reports that the Attorney General of Canada has applied to the Federal Court to withhold relevant evidence in the criminal prosecution of four Indian nationals. The individuals face charges in connection with the June 2023 murder of Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
According to a statement released by the Sikh Federation Canada, the Department of Justice is seeking to prohibit the disclosure of critical information related to the murder, citing concerns that releasing the details “would be injurious to international relations and national security.”
While acknowledging that the Canada Evidence Act allows courts to consider such applications, the Sikh Federation Canada argues that the federal government must weigh these applications against the significant public interest. The organization emphasizes the necessity for the public to understand the full breadth and depth of foreign involvement in orchestrating the assassination of Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar within Canadian borders.
The Sikh Federation Canada warned that past government practices have utilized similar justifications to remove any mention of foreign clandestine operations from the public record. The organization expressed concern that this latest application by the Attorney General may be an attempt to once again withhold evidence of foreign government involvement while Canada continues to pursue international trade agreements.
In its statement, the Sikh Federation Canada noted a historical pattern of suppression, pointing to public records which indicate Canadian agencies knew about clandestine operations targeting the Sikh community for decades. According to the organization, this information was consciously kept from public discourse until 2023. The Sikh Federation Canada highlighted public reports documenting that Canadian agencies were aware of increasingly aggressive intelligence networks as early as 2016. However, the organization notes that government officials directed the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) not to take threat reduction measures due to potential adverse impacts on trade deals and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 2018 diplomatic trip. Furthermore, the Sikh Federation Canada pointed out that a 2019 National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) report was intentionally redacted to scrub references to these specific foreign activities.
Bhai Moninder Singh, National Spokesperson for the Sikh Federation Canada, issued a strong rebuke of the government’s approach. His full statement reads:
“This continued prioritization of trade over Charter rights and domestic security has led to restrictions on public transparency and therefore created a vulnerable landscape where Indian intelligence operations have been able to flourish without adequate response or public education. The implications of such a decision are profound and have led to the Government of Canada actually facilitating Indian violence in Canada by shrouding Indian operations in secrecy and creating an environment in which foreign actors can operate with impunity. The assassination of Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar has become the focal point of India’s long-standing campaign to intimidate and eliminate Khalistan voices abroad. If Canada hides the truth, it sends a message that foreign governments can commit violence here and expect protection rather than prosecution.”
The Sikh Federation Canada concluded by stating that, alongside protecting national security information, the government has a fundamental responsibility to ensure public transparency. The organization warned that choosing to withhold important information about the targeted assassination of a Sikh leader—an event they state has been followed by an ongoing wave of violence in communities across the country—would be repeating the mistakes of successive governments by prioritizing the protection of foreign officials over targeted Canadian communities.
