Officials warned China, India could use communities in Canada to advance agendas

The Canadian Press Lee Berthiaume

The report comes ahead of a federal election in which Canada’s relations with the two countries and fears of foreign interference may figure prominently

Some of the federal government’s top bureaucrats have been warned about China and India trying to use their respective ethnic communities in Canada to advance their own agendas.

The stark warning is in a secret report prepared for deputy ministers attending a retreat on national security last year that also pointed out the challenge in preventing foreign countries from launching “hostile-state activity” against Canada.

Such actions include cyberattacks, efforts to spread misinformation and using diaspora communities, either directly or indirectly, to steal technology, influence elections and target Canada’s economy, infrastructure and democratic institutions.

Obtained by The Canadian Press through the access-to-information law, the report’s release comes ahead of a federal election in which Canada’s relations with China and India as well as fears of foreign-government interference are likely to figure prominently.

In the past week, the Canadian branch of a Sikh group, Sikhs for Justice, filed a defamation suit against the Indian government — headed by Hindu nationalist prime minister Narendra Modi — over stories in Indian media suggesting Canadian Sikhs are behind terrorist acts in India in pursuit of an independent Sikh homeland carved out of Indian territory.

Shortly afterward, the Indian government banned Sikhs for Justice, outlawing it for five years.

Separately, the World Sikh Organization in Canada in April sent Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale a letter flagging the arrest of a couple in Germany who were accused of spying on Sikhs and Kashmiris in that country while the organization’s lawyer, Balpreet Singh, said Friday that there seem to be recent efforts to pit Hindus and Sikhs against each other in Canada.

“The Indian government is not that bold that they would do it that overtly, but we suspect it has links to that,” he added.

Yet one expert on the role of diasporas in Canadian politics says while there might be legitimate concerns about Chinese and Indian influence in Canada, the reality is that Canada has a long history of different ethnic communities working on behalf of their native countries.

“The reason they picked these two countries is because the numbers are fairly significant,” said David Carment, who has done extensive research on diaspora politics for Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs.

“And I think there’s kind of a fear-factor here because they really don’t know the extent to which this is going to influence Canadian politics down the road.”

full story at https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/officials-warned-china-india-could-use-communities-in-canada-to-advance-agendas