In what has now become a common theme in the streets of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s post-national Canada, chaos and extremist violence marred an otherwise joyous occasion for the Canadian-Indian community celebrating Diwali and Bandi Chhor Diwas — festivals that symbolize the spiritual victory of good over evil and fighting injustice and oppression.
All hell broke loose when supporters of the Khalistan cause — a radical separatist movement that seeks a sovereign Sikh state carved out of India — targeted a popular Hindu temple in Brampton, O.N. A video circulating on social media showed Khalistanis trespassing on the temple grounds and physically assaulting the patrons. A Peel Police officer was suspended for participating in the pro-Khalistan protests. Another major temple in Surrey, B.C., was also reportedly targeted.
Both temple protests were organized with support from Sikhs for Justice, a group listed as a terrorist entity by India and headed by U.S.-based Khalistani provocateur Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who was the target of a foiled assassination plot allegedly orchestrated by New Delhi.
Incensed by the Brampton temple attack and the perceived lack of police response, many Hindus took to the streets and held counter-protests outside the Sikh Malton gurdwara in Mississauga, O.N.
As the chaos ensued, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a rare statement condemning the violence against Hindus. Alluding to Trudeau’s “Canada is a rule-of-law country” comment, which was made in the context of India’s alleged role in the assassination of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil, Modi appeared to take a jab at the Trudeau government, nudging him to make good on his claims “to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law.”
Tempers flaring between Khalistanis and Hindus is partly due to the escalating diplomatic tension between Ottawa and New Delhi, following last month’s announcement by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) that Indian diplomats were engaged in violent criminal activities in the country.
For the Trudeau government, these developments are par for the course. Under its watch, anarchy and extremism have become the new normal on Canadian streets, and domestic vote banks dictate foreign policy, undermining Canada’s global standing.
In India’s case, it appears Trudeau has opted to continue pandering to Khalistani extremists to boost his government’s waning electoral prospects. His long-running disdain for New Delhi’s concerns about the Khalistan movement is reflected in his bizarre decision to engage with Pannun, an India-designated terrorist, rather than listen to the sage counsel of former B.C. premier and federal cabinet minister, Ujjal Dosanjh, who was once brutally assaulted by Khalistanis.
For someone who claims to advocate for an independent Khalistan state peacefully, Pannun’s rhetoric does not qualify his assertions. He warned Sikhs against taking Air India flights, issued threats to New Delhi citing the October 7 Hamas massacre analogy, told Hindus to leave Canada, and invited a foreign power to invade India. Needless to say, Pannun’s antics have irritated the Modi government.
The Liberals have consistently exhibited a serious lack of judgment, understanding of Khalistani extremism, and recognition of India’s regional security priorities when dealing with New Delhi. Whether it was Trudeau’s calamitous “Bollywood adventure” India trip in 2018, or the handling of the Nijjar assassination case, the Liberals have been way out of their depth when it comes to deploying a charm offensive to woo the Modi government.
A sensible and competent statesman would have resorted to backroom diplomacy to convince India to join the RCMP investigation into the Nijjar assassination case to ensure that the bilateral ties between Canada and India remained intact. Instead, the eternal showman that he is, Trudeau opted for an image-based communications strategy and partisan mudslinging. Consequentially, Canada’s relationship with a natural ally is in tatters, and a foreign conflict that has nothing to do with Canadians has spilled onto the streets.
These outcomes are hardly surprising for a government obsessed with social engineering and virtue-signaling. Promoting post-national multiculturalism with pretentious statements like “You come here, you can be who you are” and “There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada,” offer little to no incentive to newcomers to assimilate into Canadian society in any meaningful way. On the contrary, multiculturalism undermines national unity, and equal individual rights as minority interests and rights are prioritized instead. Even Quebec Premier François Legault recognizes the threat multiculturalism poses to the French language and Quebec culture.
After years of appeasing certain groups and excusing the violence on the streets, the Trudeau government has succeeded in turning Canada into a dumpster fire for cultural grievances. Instead of enforcing the rule of law to deter rioters and pro-terror supporters, preachy platitudes like “This is not who we are as Canadians” are offered. Then again, appeasement politics, not law and order, has been the hallmark of the Trudeau government. Allies, not extremists, are abandoned if it translates into votes. These tendencies are also best illustrated by the Liberals’ willful blindness to the increasingly hostile pro-terror protests and attacks against the Jewish community that have continued incessantly for over a year.
Communal tensions like the Khalistani-Hindu clashes have broad and long-term implications for Canada’s social cohesion and national unity. These clashes reiterate the need for domestic politicking to be decoupled from foreign policymaking if Canada wants to regain its relevance on the global stage. It’s time for the Trudeau government to dump its ‘post-national state’ experiment and focus on meaningful nation-building to secure Canada’s long-term national interests.
Joe Adam George is a national security analyst on South Asia and Middle East affairs.
National Post