2 days ago
'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.
