RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme waits to appear as witness to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security in the Parliamentary Precinct of Ottawa, on Oct. 29.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
Canadian officials’ assertions about the alleged involvement of Indian government agents in killings, extortion and intimidation have grabbed headlines and widened the rift between the two countries.
Among RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme’s revelations in a recent news conference was a lesser-noticed detail: Police have issued more than a dozen so-called “duty to warn” notices to Sikh independence activists in Canada, informing them of “credible and imminent threats” to their lives.
The Indian government has denied that its officials are linked to violent crimes targeting Sikh activists in Canada, calling the allegations politically motivated.
What is a duty to warn?
Duty to warn notices are issued when police become aware that individuals’ lives are in danger. Law enforcement agencies say the warnings are part of their inherent legal obligation to prevent crime and protect public safety.
“Police have a duty to warn persons who are subjects of a clear, serious and imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm. This obligation begins the moment police become aware of the threat,” RCMP spokeswoman Marie-Eve Breton said in an e-mail.
The RCMP would not provide a copy of its national duty to warn policy or answer questions on how many notices it typically issues in a year.
How seriously do police take their duty-to-warn responsibilities?
Police forces’ understanding of their duty-to-warn obligations evolved because of a 1998 court ruling that found Toronto officers failed to protect a woman known as Jane Doe from a serial rapist, according to a lawyer involved in the case.
“Doe did change the landscape,” said lawyer Sean Dewart, who represented the woman. “There’s no doubt that it became a turning point.”
In 1986, Jane Doe was sexually assaulted at knifepoint in her home. She was the fifth victim in eight months of an offender who became known as the balcony rapist. (She cannot be identified because of a court order.)
At the time Ms. Doe was attacked, police knew a man was targeting a specific group of victims: white women who lived alone in second- or third-floor apartments with balconies near Church and Wellesley streets. But officers decided not to warn neighbourhood residents because they feared women would become hysterical and scare off the attacker, jeopardizing their investigation.
Ms. Doe sued the force and won. Justice Jean MacFarland found police were “irresponsible and grossly negligent” for failing to tell area women about the previous attacks. She also ruled that Ms. Doe’s Charter rights were violated, finding the investigation was based on sexist stereotypes and rape myths. Ms. Doe was awarded $220,000 in damages.
The Toronto Police Service says the ruling has transformed the way it trains investigators. The force has incorporated the case into the curriculum of several mandatory courses, spokeswoman Stephanie Sayer said.
“This case has influenced how officers approach complex investigations and victim safety.”
Why have the RCMP issued so many warnings to members of the pro-Khalistan movement?
In mid-October, the RCMP said police officers have issued more than a dozen duty to warn notices to individuals in Canada who are involved with the pro-Khalistan movement, which advocates for an independent Sikh homeland that would be carved out of India’s Punjab region.
In June, 2023, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a key leader in the movement, was gunned down outside a Sikh gurdwara in Surrey, B.C. Police have charged four Indian citizens living in Canada with the killing.
Police had warned Mr. Nijjar, who was a Canadian citizen, that his life was in danger, according to his family and fellow activists.
The Indian government views the Sikh separatist movement as a security threat, and officials with that country have repeatedly criticized the Canadian government for being soft on extremists.
Who else has received them?
Among the individuals who have received duty to warn notifications is federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s brother-in-law, Jodhveer Dhaliwal, who The Globe reported was told of a threat to his life earlier this year.
Inderjeet Singh Gosal, who has taken over some of Mr. Nijjar’s advocacy work, received a duty to warn notice in August. The warning followed an incident in February, when an unoccupied house he owns in Brampton, Ont., was hit by gunfire.
What sort of information or assistance have the police provided?
Several activists who have received such warnings told The Globe and Mail that police did not disclose the nature or source of the threats against them and that officers did not provide extra protection. Some said they were told their children would be apprehended by child welfare officials if they did not leave their homes immediately.
Mr. Gosal said he later met with RCMP officers, who provided details of the risk to his life, which he declined to discuss.
How have people receiving a warning reacted?
Mr. Gosal, 35, has increased security precautions but finds the police process flawed. “I did ask them, ‘Hey, are you guys going to provide me any type of security or anything?’ They said they can’t, right, so you do get frustrated.”
Mr. Nijjar was undeterred by news of a threat to his life, said Mr. Gosal, who worked with him on a referendum campaign for a sovereign Sikh state that would be known as Khalistan.
“He just wasn’t scared. He said, ‘God will protect us.’”
Mr. Gosal also works with pro-Khalistan activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. U.S. authorities foiled an assassination plot targeting Mr. Pannun last year. An indictment in the case alleges an Indian government official had paid hitmen to kill multiple prominent Sikhs in North America.
“These duty to warns don’t scare us. We’re just going to keep going and keep pushing,” Mr. Gosal said.
Have police provided an update on the threats?
RCMP Commissioner Duheme said in a recent CTV interview that there has been a “significant reduction” in threats posed to South Asian communities in Canada after the expulsion last month of six Indian officials allegedly tied to crimes.