Hello,
U.S. authorities say their investigation of an alleged plot to kill a Canadian-American Sikh activist in New York uncovered apparent links to the slaying of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., this year.
A criminal indictment unsealed in New York today says a man accused of arranging the killing-for-hire of the U.S.-based Sikh activist told an undercover officer less than two weeks before Nijjar’s death that there was a “big target” in Canada. The man is identified as Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta.
The indictment does not name the U.S. target but The Washington Post quoted a senior Biden administration source as saying the target was Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, general counsel for the New York-based Sikhs for Justice, a group that is campaigning for the creation of an independent Sikh state called Khalistan.
A few days before Nijjar’s death, Gupta told the undercover officer – whom he thought was a criminal – that “we will be needing one good team in Canada,” according to the indictment filed by U.S. prosecutors.
Full story here by Senior Parliamentary Reporter Steven Chase and Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife.
Heading into Question Period today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commented on the developments in the United States.
“The news coming out of the United States further underscores what we have been talking about from the very beginning, which is that India needs to take this seriously. The Indian government needs to work with us to ensure that we’re getting to the bottom of this,” Trudeau told journalists.
“This is not something that anyone can take lightly.”
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
Ottawa agrees to deal with Google over Bill C-18 – Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge has reached an agreement with Google about supporting the news industry after months of fraught negotiations over the Online News Act. Story here.
Ottawa looking into prevalence of inflated résumés throughout government – Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says his department is examining whether there is a widespread problem throughout government with inflated résumés as part of its review of three IT staffing firms facing allegations of wrongdoing related to work on federal contracts.
Ottawa set to award surveillance-aircraft contract to Boeing despite Bombardier appeals – Bombardier and several other Canadian manufacturers have been pushing for an open competition to supply the government’s Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft project, which aims to find a replacement for the military’s CP-140 Aurora planes. The government is opting instead for a one-on-one agreement to purchase Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance jets from the Virginia-based plane maker.
Conservatives fail in bid to delay revised free-trade deal with Ukraine until carbon pricing removed – Conservative MP Kyle Seeback had proposed a motion at the Commons trade committee that would hold back the entry into force of Bill C-57, enabling legislation for the upgraded Canada-Ukraine free-trade agreement, until mentions of carbon pricing and related measures were struck from the treaty. Story here.
Bank of Canada says potential digital dollar wouldn’t pay interest or require identification – The choice of whether to start issuing a digital form of the Canadian dollar rests with the federal government, not the central bank. But the bank has begun laying the groundwork for a central bank digital currency in case Ottawa asks it to move ahead with a digital version of cash.
Ontario releases ‘business case’ for moving science centre to downtown Toronto – An analysis of the state of the Ontario Science Centre found that building a new one at Ontario Place would save the government about $250-million over 50 years, compared to rebuilding it at the current east Toronto location.
Canadian navy is in a critical state, could fail to meet readiness commitments, commander says – In a video posted to the navy’s YouTube page, Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee says the West Coast fleet is suffering because there’s a lack of qualified people to maintain and operate ships, and the navy can sail only one of its new Arctic and offshore patrol vessels at a time.
Canada and France look to co-operate on nuclear supply chain – Trade Minister Mary Ng said today that Canada is willing to work with France on processing, treating, recycling and disposing nuclear waste, adding the countries were looking at how to work together across the nuclear supply chain.
Montreal anti-racism commissioner promises to stop attending pro-Palestinian rallies, B’nai Brith says – The organization announced today that it has elicited a promise from the city of Montreal’s embattled anti-racism commissioner to stop attending pro-Palestinian rallies while holding public office.
Changing drug habits leads to calls for safe inhalation site in Ottawa – Public-health advocates are calling for a safe inhalation site in the nation’s capital to meet the needs of the increasing number of people who smoke opioids such as fentanyl and heroin rather than inject them.
THIS AND THAT
Today in the Commons – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, accessible here.
Deputy Prime Minister’s day – Chrystia Freeland, in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., attended private meetings, and an announcement on Dow and partner companies committing more than $11.5-billion to expand and retrofit an ethylene cracker and derivatives site to net-zero operation. Freeland was accompanied by Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith also attended.
Ministers on the road – Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is in Brussels today concluding her attendance at a meeting of NATO foreign affairs ministers. International Trade Minister Mary Ng today concludes a trip to Paris for the World Nuclear Exhibition, Conférence de Paris and Enlit Europe Forum.
Commons committee highlights – Tim Danson, lawyer for the families of murder victims Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy, was scheduled to appear before the public safety and National Security Committee on the subject of rights of victims of crime, reclassification and transfer of federal offenders. Benjamin Roebuck, the federal ombudsperson for victims of crime, was also due to appear before the same committee.
Senate committee highlights – Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Andriy Kostin, and Yuliya Kovaliv, Ukraine’s ambassador to Canada, appeared before the foreign affairs and international trade committee for a study on foreign relations and international trade.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Justin Trudeau held private meetings, and attended the weekly Liberal caucus meeting as well as Question Period.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves François Blanchet held a media scrum at the House of Commons, then attended Question Period.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, in Toronto, participated virtually in Commons proceedings, attended a Royal Canadian Institute for Science celebration of science writer Terry Collins and the team behind CBC Radio’s national weekly science program, Quirks & Quarks. Later, May was scheduled to depart Toronto to travel to Dubai for COP28.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Toronto, virtually attended the NDP caucus meeting, participated in Question Period, and later was scheduled to meet with representatives of the United Steelworkers Local 1944, to discuss Bill C-58, which outlaws the use of replacement workers.
No schedule released for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
THE DECIBEL
On today’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, The Globe’s international affairs columnist Doug Saunders explains a shift to the far-right in European politics. The Decibel is here.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on why the Mounties need to detach from local policing: “On the one hand, hiring the RCMP to police your town can be a less expensive option, as the B.C. government admits. It also conveniently absolves the local council of any responsibility for the actions of the police. And in many communities in provinces that don’t have a provincial force, it is often the only option. But these factors have for too long masked a bitter truth about the RCMP’s contract policing service: It is an incompetently managed and outdated relic of another era, operated by a force that has steadfastly refused to address its many failings.”
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail) on how Alberta’s sovereignty act looks increasingly like a sham: “It’s all fun and games until someone loses a country. Ever since Danielle Smith unveiled her proposed Alberta Sovereignty – whoops, Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada – Act, it was clear there were only two possibilities. Either the act armed the government of Alberta with extraordinary, not to say revolutionary new powers – namely, the power to disregard any federal law it disliked, and to order provincial agencies to do the same. Or it did not.”
Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on the confounding, depressing hypocrisy of COP28: “If you are inclined to be pessimistic about the state of the planet and efforts to save it from extinction, then you may want to avert your eyes from the news emanating from this year’s United Nations summit on the environment – COP28. It’s being hosted by the United Arab Emirates.”
Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail) on how Ottawa wants other Canadian pension funds to act more like the Caisse: “For decades, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has been a partner of the provincial government in boosting the Quebec economy while aiming for the highest returns on the Quebec Pension Plan assets it manages. Then-premier Jean Lesage laid out the Caisse’s dual mandate in a 1965 speech announcing its creation. The new entity, he said, “must simultaneously be able to satisfy the criteria of suitable profitability and make funds available for Quebec’s long-term development.”
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Ian Bailey