Trudeau’s aide leaked ‘information about India’s role’ to US newspaper ahead of Canada’s official briefing: report – Firstpost

Trouble continues to mount with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over his allegations against the Indian government, which he accuses of deploying agents to carry out illegal activities, including extortion and murder, in the US country. A Canadian newspaper has reported that Trudeau’s close aide leaked information that Canadian police were to claim at a news conference in an attempt to back up Trudeau’s allegations to the US-based Washington Post .

Trudeau’s national security adviser, Nathalie Drouin, the former deputy foreign minister, “provided sensitive information about India to The Washington Post days before the RCMP publicly alleged that Indian government agents have have been linked to homicides, extortion and other violent criminal activities in Canada,” Canadian newspaper The Global And Mail wrote, citing two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter.

The newspaper also writes that the leak in the American publication about the murder of pro-Khalistan militant Sukhdool Singh Gill, wanted by India. Gill was shot dead in Winnipeg on September 20, 2023.

Gill was killed two days after Trudeau alleged that Indian government agents were behind the killing of pro-Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023. Trudeau last week told a Canada’s parliamentary inquiry group that had no hard evidence to indict. India from the accusation he made in the country’s parliament.

The newspaper goes on to say that the Trudeau government’s selective leak of said information to an American newspaper “goes against” its view of leaks of classified information about China’s interference activities. The public inquiry into foreign interference had been launched in Canada following allegations that China meddled in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, both of which were won by Trudeau.

According to the Canadian newspaper, the leaked information “would not be released” before Thanksgiving (November 23 last year), but the American publication ignored the advice of its sources.

Almost a year later, bilateral ties between India and Canada have hit a new low, with both countries recently expelling their high commissioners. Also, on October 14, Canadian police officers claimed in a press conference that they had clear evidence linking Indian officials to the violent crimes.

Interestingly, Canadian officials did not provide any details to back up their claim. They argued that they had to protect open investigations and legal proceedings. They even refused answers to questions about when the alleged crimes with the Indian link took place.

During their interaction with the media, the police officers never acknowledged that the killing of separatist Khalistani Gill in Winnipeg was related to India.

India has denied all charges brought by Trudeau and later by Canadian police, calling their claims “absurd” and linking the allegations to the Canadian prime minister’s declining political fortunes as he relied on a leader Khalistani sympathizer to enjoy a majority in the country. parliament

At the same time, Trudeau’s public silence on China’s alleged role in the Canadian election he has won. In his testimony at the public inquiry, Trudeau instead attacked The Globe And Mail for publishing national security leaks about Chinese interference activities. Trudeau called the paper reports, released in 2023, “criminal leaks of classified information (that) can be damaging to reputations, to people’s trust in our institutions and in our intelligence agencies intelligence”.

For its part, China has denied the accusations of interference in the Canadian elections. Trudeau played down the allegations against Chinese state actors, saying that’s what diplomats do in any country.