Trudeau adviser shares “information about India’s role” with US newspaper ahead of Canada’s official briefing: Report – Firstpost

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's anger continues to grow over his allegations against the Indian government, accusing it of using agents to carry out illegal activities, including extortion and murder, in the North American country. A Canadian newspaper has reported that Trudeau's close confidant passed on to the U.S.-based Washington Post the information that Canadian police wanted to request at a press conference to support Trudeau's allegations.

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 claimed that Indian government agents were linked to murders, extortion and other violent criminal activity in Canada,” wrote Canadian newspaper The Global And Mail, citing two sources who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak on the matter.

The newspaper also writes that the US publication about the killing of pro-Khalistan fighter Sukhdool Singh Gill, wanted by India, was leaked. Gill was shot and killed in Winnipeg on September 20, 2023.

Gill was killed two days after Trudeau claimed that Indian government agents were behind the killing of pro-Khalist separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023. Trudeau told a Canadian parliamentary inquiry panel last week that he had no hard evidence to accuse India of allegations he made in the country's parliament.

The newspaper goes on to say that the Trudeau government's targeted leak of said information to an American newspaper “contradicts” its view of sharing classified information about China's meddling activities. The public inquiry into foreign interference was launched in Canada after allegations that China interfered in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections – both won by Trudeau.

According to the Canadian newspaper, the leaked information was “not intended to be released before Thanksgiving Day (November 23 last year),” but the US publication did not heed the advice of its sources.

Almost a year later, bilateral relations between India and Canada have reached a new low as both countries recently expelled their high commissioners. Additionally, on October 14, Canadian police officials claimed at a press conference that they had clear evidence linking Indian officials to the violent crimes.

Interestingly, Canadian officials did not provide any details to support their claim. They argued that they needed to protect ongoing investigations and legal proceedings. They even refused to answer questions about when the alleged crimes with ties to India took place.

During their interaction with the media, the police officials never admitted that the killing of Khalistani separatist Gill in Winnipeg was linked to India.

India has denied all allegations made by Trudeau and later by Canadian police, calling their claims “absurd” and linking the allegations to the Canadian prime minister's dwindling political fortunes as he relied on a leader with Khalistani sympathizers to to have a majority in the country's parliament.

At the same time, Trudeau remains publicly silent about China's alleged role in the Canadian election he 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 a “criminal disclosure of confidential information.” [that] can damage the reputation and people’s trust in our institutions and our intelligence services.”

China, for its part, has rejected allegations of interference in Canadian elections. Trudeau downplayed the allegations against Chinese state actors, saying this is what diplomats do in every country.