Canada's Foreign Interference Commission, set up to investigate China's involvement in influencing Canada's 2019 and 2021 federal elections, also wants to investigate alleged Indian interference. The commissioner of the investigation launched in September last year has now called on the Canadian government to provide documents related to India's alleged interference.
The development comes at a time when relations between India and Canada are under severe strain following allegations that India was the mastermind of the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Nijjar in the Vancouver area last year. The Indian government claimed that India had 41 Canadians Diplomats expelled on the grounds that they were interfering in India's internal affairs.
Canada has created the Foreign Interference Commission to respond to concerns about foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
“The Commission will also examine the flow of information within the federal government regarding these issues, assess actions taken in response, assess the federal government’s ability to detect, deter and combat foreign interference, and make recommendations on these issues.” The Commission will finalize an interim report, due by May 3, 2024, and submit its final report by December 31, 2024,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.
The commission is also investigating the alleged involvement of Russia and Iran. According to the polls, the Liberals led by Justin Trudeau were re-elected. China is said to have supported the liberals against the conservatives. However, New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh wanted the inquiry to also examine India's role in influencing the results of these elections. He had said he had written to Trudeau asking him to add India to the list of countries whose role was being investigated.
The Commission is also expected to hold public hearings on the case soon. It has stated that it will conduct its work in two phases and that the first phase will focus on interference that China, Russia and other foreign actors may have undertaken and any impact they may have on the 2019 and 2021 federal elections could have had. The commission will also examine and assess the “flow of information within the federal government” regarding these issues and evaluate the actions taken in response.
“In the second phase, the Commission will examine the ability of federal ministries, agencies, institutional structures and governance processes to enable the Government of Canada to detect, deter and address such intrusions,” it previously said.
