No evidence linking Modi to criminal activity in Canada: national security adviser

OTTAWA — A senior official says the Canadian government is not aware of any evidence linking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to alleged criminal activity perpetrated by Indian agents on Canadian soil.

Nathalie Drouin, the national security adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, also says there is no evidence pointing to India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar or national security adviser Ajit Doval.

In a statement late Thursday, Drouin says any suggestion to the contrary is both “speculative and inaccurate.”

Drouin’s statement comes after a report in the Globe and Mail that said Canada’s security agencies believed that Modi, Jaishankar and Doval knew about a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh separatists in Canada.

Six Indian diplomats were expelled from Canada last month over allegations they used their position to collect information on Canadians in the pro-Khalistan movement and then passed it on to criminal gangs who targeted the individuals directly.

Canada is alleging Indian Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah ordered the intelligence-gathering operations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.