Is the potential link to a murder in India a sign that espionage is getting bolder? – National
If Indian government agents were behind the k*****g of Sikh Canadian Hardeep Singh Nijjar, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggests, it could be a sign of growing boldness in espionage, an intelligence expert tells PKBNEWS.
And confirmation of such allegations would show that levels of “overt and covert” interference are increasing, “or at least that countries are willing to come out of the shadows.”
“Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, if you anger the Americans, NATO or the EU, you are going to be left behind in terms of economic development, trade relations, etc.,” said Jessica Davis, President of Insight. Threat intelligence.
“But now we have China, Russia and India who are all sort of a trading bloc in their own right and so are willing to take more risks.”
This could be a blatant example of covert actions on Canadian soil, but the existence of covert activities is not new in itself.
Canada has accused or alleged other countries such as China, Iran and Russia of attempting to interfere in Canadian elections or intimidate diaspora communities on Canadian soil.
And Canada, Davis said, may be an attractive target for some of this activity, compared to the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand – collectively known as the Five Eyes.
“We haven’t had to make the kind of investments in our security and intelligence services that many other countries have made… (and) we’ve been less open in terms of prosecuting some of these activities.”
But she added that Canada can also be a target for covert foreign activities because of its developed economy and technologies, natural resources and diaspora communities.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc suggested Monday that allegations of evidence linking Indian agents to Nijjar’s k*****g could be examined as part of the judge’s high-profile public inquiry into foreign interference currently underway. Marie-Josée Hogue of the Quebec Court of Appeal.
“We a*sume that she and the security agencies will do what is necessary for her investigation to also examine the ways in which India interferes in Canada,” LeBlanc said.
Leah West, an a*sociate professor at Carleton University specializing in intelligence and security, says open, democratic societies are vulnerable to disinformation, intimidation and violence because of the inherent rights that guarantee freedom of speech. expression and rights.
“Activists (from diasporas in Canada) have access to their own communities and can shape Canadian policy towards those governments,” West said.
She told PKBNEWS that Canada must prepare for continued interference attempts, whatever form they may take.
“I don’t think our actions will ever deter foreign states from engaging in foreign interference,” she said.
“It’s just, can we handle this better? Can we protect these communities and better protect these democratic institutions?
Although Davis called Canada’s security services “pretty robust,” she said allegations of potential ties to Indian agents showed the need to reinvest in intelligence and that a registry of foreign agents and a registry of beneficial ownership – where the government registers the owners of foreign businesses working in Canada – would help protect Canada and Canadians.
The government has promised to create a registry of foreign agents and, although Parliament resumed Monday, the Liberals have not provided a timeline for doing so.
With files from Stewart Bell, Ashleigh Stewart, Jeff Semple, Aaron D’Andrea, Uday Rana, Alex Boutilier, Jillian Piper and Reuters from Global
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