{"id":575749,"date":"2026-04-01T19:15:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T19:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/575749\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T19:15:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T19:15:14","slug":"foreign-states-continue-to-harass-and-intimidate-canadians-rcmp-says-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/575749\/","title":{"rendered":"Foreign states continue to harass and intimidate Canadians, RCMP says – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

Foreign governments are continuing to harass and intimidate Canadians but proving it in court is a challenge, the RCMP said in a statement clarifying controversial remarks by the commissioner.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we can say is that the RCMP is aware of complaints of intimidation and harassment against certain communities across Canada,\u201d the RCMP told Global News in the statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe RCMP<\/a>, and the broader government of Canada,\u00a0is\u00a0also aware that foreign states are engaging in such activities in Canada,\u201d the police force added in response to questions.<\/p>\n

The statement was released after Global News asked the RCMP to explain Commissioner Mike Duheme\u2019s comments two weeks ago about Indian transnational repression.<\/p>\n

In a March 19 broadcast, Duheme told CTV<\/a>\u00a0\u201cWe have people that are intimidating people, harassing people, but connecting the dots to a foreign entity, regardless of the country, we don\u2019t have that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

The remarks, the latest in a\u00a0series of seemingly contradictory comments from the government about India\u2019s activities in Canada, were condemned by critics.<\/p>\n

A Canadian Sikh organization said the commissioner had left the impression the RCMP was walking back its accusations about India\u2019s illicit targeting<\/a> of Canada\u2019s South Asian community.<\/p>\n

But in its follow-up statement, the RCMP said the difficulty has been linking specific incidents against Canadians to a foreign state, with evidence that can be revealed in the criminal courts.<\/p>\n

\u201cInvestigations are ongoing,\u201d the RCMP said. \u201cHowever, based on criminal intelligence currently held by the RCMP related to transnational repression, establishing a direct link to a foreign entity with information that can be disclosed in a criminal proceeding is a complex process.\u201d<\/p>\n

A former Canadian Security Intelligence Service official said the statement was\u00a0revealing and\u00a0pointed to the longstanding difficulties in using intelligence information in criminal prosecutions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe commissioner is acknowledging a lack of criminally admissible evidence linking foreign states to transnational repression in Canada. That is not the same as an absence of information,\u201d Dan Stanton said.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Get<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGet daily National news<\/p>\n

Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cCSIS may hold relevant intelligence on current activity, but it is not under any statutory obligation to disclose that intelligence to the RCMP,\u201d added Stanton, author of a forthcoming book on foreign interference.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Service would share some intelligence if their investigative target crossed the threshold of criminal activity and the RCMP believes it would further their evidence collection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2:08
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCanada and India reset relationship despite claims of continued interference\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

An\u00a0especially challenging aspect\u00a0of foreign interference<\/a>, transnational repression occurs when overseas governments, or those acting for them, use harassment, threats and violence to silence critics abroad.<\/p>\n

The RCMP statement did not name specific countries, but CSIS has identified<\/a> China, India, Russia and Iran as the main states conducting espionage and foreign interference in Canada.<\/p>\n

Asked about the commissioner\u2019s comments, CSIS said that \u201ctransnational repression and foreign interference remain persistent threats in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCSIS assessment of the main perpetrators of foreign interference and espionage against Canada remains unchanged.\u201d<\/p>\n

National security agencies believe the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been engaged in election meddling<\/a>, disinformation<\/a> and foreign interference<\/a> in Canada.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

India has mostly targeted the Khalistan movement that seeks independence for the country\u2019s Sikh-majority Punjab, labelling activists as terrorists and demanding their prosecution or extradition.<\/p>\n

In 2023, India allegedly escalated its tactics when it contracted the Lawrence Bishnoi gang<\/a> to assassinate key members of the Khalistan movement, starting with B.C. Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMore on Canada
\n\t\t\tMore videos\n\t\t<\/p>\n

In October 2024, the RCMP went further, accusing the Indian government<\/a> of orchestrating an array of violence in Canada. Six Indian diplomats were expelled<\/a> for their suspected involvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs shared on October 14, 2024, the RCMP observed organized crime elements being used in acts of transnational repression,\u201d the RCMP said in its recent statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cA number of investigations related to these findings remain ongoing. For reasons of operational integrity and security, no further details can be provided until charges are laid and the matters become public,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe RCMP is committed to combating foreign interference in all its forms and will not tolerate intimidation, harassment, or the targeting of diaspora communities or individuals in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2:03
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPolice warn Canadian Sikh activist of threat to life ahead of Carney\u2019s India visit\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

India denies the allegations, despite evidence that it also tried to kill one of Nijjar\u2019s associates. The FBI disrupted the plot, which the U.S. says was\u00a0carried out\u00a0by India\u2019s Research and Analysis Wing<\/a> intelligence branch.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

Critics have accused Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s government of overlooking India\u2019s activities as it seeks a trade deal with the Modi government to offset the impact of a U.S. trade war.<\/p>\n

On the eve of Carney\u2019s official visit to India, one of his officials told reporters<\/a>\u00a0that India was no longer targeting Canadians, prompting a backlash from within the Liberal ranks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Following the RCMP commissioner\u2019s remarks to CTV, World Sikh Organization president Danish Singh accused the government of \u201cplaying word games to shield the government of India.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSikh Canadians continue to face intimidation, surveillance, and threats linked to Indian state actors and their proxies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are aware of multiple recent incidents, including cases where Sikh activists have received \u2018duty to warn\u2019 notifications from Canadian law enforcement. We are aware of individuals being surveilled and intimidated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Foreign governments are continuing to harass and intimidate Canadians but proving it in court is a challenge, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":575750,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,68708,221018,221019,44,920,3275],"class_list":{"0":"post-575749","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canada-india-relations","11":"tag-canadian-sikhs","12":"tag-india-transnational-repression","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-rcmp","15":"tag-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/575750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}