'It's unacceptable': Brother of Jagmeet Singh says Canadians warned about risk to their life deserve protection
OTTAWA — The brother of former federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh says Canadians who receive a duty to warn about a threat against their life and safety should be provided protection, calling the lack of security 'unacceptable.'
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Gurratan Singh says the need for protection is 'paramount' and that the current situation results in people being left to 'fend for themselves.'
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'It's unacceptable and an immediate step that must be given is security must be provided to those who are facing duty to warns from, especially, foreign governments.'
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'I think any single Canadian who gets a duty to warn deserves that security immediately.'
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Issues surrounding a duty to warn notification, a practice used by police to alert someone when it believes there to be a credible threat endangering them, have emerged in light of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit to attend the G7 in Alberta next week.
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Sikh activists and community leaders have denounced Prime Minister Mark Carney's invitation to Modi as a betrayal of their community.
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They have pointed to the RCMP having said it has evidence showing links between violent crimes, such as murders and extortion, to the Indian government.
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Former prime minister Justin Trudeau also told the House of Commons in September 2023 that it had 'credible allegations' that agents acting on behalf of the Indian government were involved in the killing of prominent Sikh separatist and activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
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India has denied the accusation, but had considered Nijjar, who advocated for an independent Sikh state to be created in India's Punjab province, to be a terrorist.
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Earlier on Thursday, Global News also reported, citing unnamed sources, that former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh had been surveilled by someone with ties to the Indian government, which resulted in the RCMP providing him protection.
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During the recent federal election campaign, Singh himself revealed that the RCMP warned him about a credible threat against his life in late 2023, which resulted in him and his family being placed under police protection.
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At the time, Singh's wife was pregnant with their second child, and the former party leader told reporters he was so concerned about the threat that he considered quitting politics.
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Here comes the MPP: Ontario bill could let politicians officiate weddings
Cut the red tape and cue the white dress. Two Ontario Progressive Conservative members of provincial parliament are proposing to remove a layer of bureaucracy and let MPPs such as themselves more easily officiate weddings. A private member's bill from Matthew Rae and Dave Smith would automatically grant an MPP the authority to solemnize marriages after they give written notice of their interest, without having to go through a municipality as with most non-religious officiants. "Not every single municipality actually has their clerk do weddings, so if you want a civil marriage, you have to go through a justice of the peace or a judge," Smith said. "When you look at some of the more northern, more remote, more rural ridings, you don't have as easy access to a justice of the peace or a judge and I just saw this as one of those things that's almost a red tape thing. We have the ability to make that change. It really doesn't have a negative effect. So why not do it?" Rae said engaged couples sometimes reach out to elected officials — including himself — to request that they solemnize their marriage, thinking they're granted that ability automatically, like judges. "Some are family and friends that live in my riding," he said. "Obviously, they think it would be kind of neat to have their local MPP perform the ceremony ... [it's] just another provincial service that a local member can choose to offer their constituents if they choose to do so. And so it really is just having that little extra special component to your happy day." Former MPP says he's done more than 70 weddings Rae personally availed himself of that extra special component when he got married last year, using Bill Walker, the former member of provincial parliament for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, as his officiant. When it comes to politicians and weddings, Walker is the guy, both Smith and Rae said. Walker went through the whole regular process for becoming a civil marriage officiant, which includes a designation from a municipal clerk, and estimates he has done more than 70 weddings in just a few years. "It's humbling, for anybody, to be part of their special day, but especially if you've worked with them, or my goddaughters," Walker said. "It was pretty hard to top those." Walker's side gig as an officiant — he doesn't take any payment — began with a request from one of his goddaughters. "[She] thought that we had the right as an MPP to be able to do weddings, because Bill Murdoch, who was my predecessor [as the MPP for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound], had done them up here forever, and I think she just thought it was one of those things you got to do," he said. "My other goddaughter said, 'Well, if you're marrying her, you've got to marry me."' It snowballed from there — including other friends, family and Queen's Park staffers — and Walker has about a dozen weddings on tap for this year. Bill to be further debated in fall The bill would allow provincial politicians who ask for the authority to perform marriages to keep that power for a full year after they leave office. That way, a snap election as the province saw earlier this year and an unexpected defeat doesn't leave an engaged couple with no officiant. Most private member's bills that get tabled come from opposition parties, and since this one is from within the government caucus it may be more likely than most to get through, but Rae and Smith said further discussions and debate are expected to be held in the fall. If the bill does become law, Rae said he isn't sure if he will set out to officiate weddings, but Smith is game. "I'll probably reach out to the minister if this passes, and ask for permission to do it," he said. "Any time you can break down barriers for people who want to spend their life together, then why not do that?"
