In a significant move indicating an attempt to dial down tensions between Ottawa and Delhi, Canadian National Security Advisor Nathalie G Drouin, contradicting a report in The Globe and Mail daily, has said the government of Canada “has not stated, nor is it aware of evidence linking” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval to “the serious criminal activity” in Canada — a reference to the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year. The Canadian NSA’s statement came two days after India rejected the report in The Globe and Mail. “We do not normally comment on media reports. However, such ludicrous statements made to a newspaper, purportedly by a Canadian government source, should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve,” Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, had said. On November 19, The Globe and Mail report stated, “Canadian security agencies believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India knew about the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia and other violent plots, according to a senior national-security official who worked on the intelligence assessment of New Delhi’s foreign-interference operations in Canada.” It also mentioned that Canadian and American intelligence tied the assassination operations to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “While Canada does not have direct evidence that Modi knew, the official said the assessment is that it would be unthinkable that three senior political figures in India would not have discussed the targeted killings with Modi before proceeding,” it said. In an official statement following this report and the strong Indian response, Canadian NSA Drouin said, “The Government of Canada has not stated, nor is it aware of evidence, linking Prime Minister Modi, Minister Jaishankar, or NSA Doval to the serious criminal activity within Canada.” The Canadian NSA, who is also the Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council in Canada, said, “On October 14, because of a significant and ongoing threat to public safety, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and officials took the extraordinary step of making public accusations of serious criminal activity in Canada perpetrated by agents of the Government of India.” She called The Globe and Mail report “speculative and inaccurate”. Drouin’s statement is significant since she has given a clean chit to her counterpart, NSA Doval, though the Trudeau administration has accused “agents of the Indian government” of being behind criminal activities in Canada. But Drouin has not walked back on the statement by Deputy Foreign Minister David Morrison who last month acknowledged leaking information to The Washington Post which first mentioned Shah’s name, two weeks after the report was published. Morrison told a parliamentary committee that he confirmed Shah’s name to The Washington Post. “The journalist called me and asked if it was that person. I confirmed it was that person,” Morrison told the committee. But he did not say how Canada knew of Shah’s alleged involvement. Testifying before the committee, Drouin stated that she did not need Trudeau’s authorisation to leak the information. She said that the decision to leak information to The Washington Post was part of a strategy she and Morrison devised to ensure a major US outlet reported on Canada’s stance in its escalating foreign-interference dispute with India. The strategy, she added, was seen by the Prime Minister’s Office. Two days later, New Delhi had summoned a representative from the Canadian High Commission and lodged its strong objections regarding the serious allegations. The latest statement by Drouin is being seen as an exercise to contain the damage, and not escalating the matter to the Prime Minister’s level.
