Trudeau govt officials admit to leaking 'intel' against India to US media

Ottawa, Oct 30 (IANS) Exposing Justin Trudeau-led Canadian government's vindictive campaign against India yet again, two senior officials in Ottawa have admitted that they leaked the so-called 'intelligence" on India to the American media, much before it was revealed at home.

Nathalie Drouin, Canada's National Security and Intelligence Advisor, and David Morrison, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, disclosed the leaks to The Washington Post before the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) publicly accused India of involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and other incidents in Canada.

During a parliamentary panel session, Drouin revealed that the leak, coordinated with Morrison, was part of a "communications strategy" to ensure that a major American outlet received Canada's perspective on the escalating diplomatic row with India, according to local media reports.

She clarified that the information, which was allegedly non-classified, was released before Canada's Thanksgiving on October 14. Drouin claimed the strategy was seen by the Prime Minister's Office but did not require authorisation from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Global and Mail reported.

Drouin insisted that the leaked intelligence did not contain classified information and was aimed at sharing Canada's concerns about alleged illegal activities by Indian agents against Canadians, including threats to Canadian lives.

The strategy included allegations linking Indian officials to the killing of Khalistani supporter Sukhdool Singh Gill, who was shot in Winnipeg last year, after Justin Trudeau accused the Indian officials of being involved in the murder of Nijjar, without providing any evidence to support his claim.

Tensions between the two countries surged after India expelled six Canadian diplomats on October 14, following Ottawa's designation of India's High Commissioner and other diplomats as "persons of interest" in the Nijjar murder probe. The same day, top RCMP officials publicly levelled serious accusations against India.

New Delhi has been asserting for a long time that the Trudeau government has "consciously provided" space to violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada.

As it announced its decision to its diplomats on October 14, India had underlined that, in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, it had no faith in the current Canadian Government's commitment to ensure their security.

On October 13, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval allegedly met his Canadian counterpart in Singapore, where Canadian officials presented evidence of India's involvement with the Bishnoi gang to carry out attacks on Sikh separatists in Canada.

The parliamentary panel questioned Drouin and Morrison's decision to share sensitive information with The Washington Post rather than the Canadian public.

Conservative public safety critic Raquel Dancho condemned the move as "unfair to the Canadian public," adding that details were given to the American media before Canadians were informed.

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme supported Drouin's stance, affirming that the leaked information was unclassified and withheld from the public to avoid compromising ongoing investigations.