The announcement comes just after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre condemned pro-Khalistan activities. The separatist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) announced a new date of October 29 for the so-called Khalistan referendum in Surrey, British Columbia.
SFJ’s legal counsel Gurpatwant Pannun said in a release on Thursday:
“During G20, PM Trudeau defended Canadian Sikhs’ right to peacefully advocate for Khalistan.”
During a meeting with Trudeau in the national capital on September 10 on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed New Delhi’s “strong concern over the continued anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada”. However, speaking to the media in New Delhi, Trudeau said:
“Diaspora Canadians make up a huge proportion of our country, and they should be able to express themselves and make their choices without interference from any of the many countries that we know are involved in interference challenges.”
Poilievre said during his speech at the Punjab Press Club in Surrey:
“Personally, I believe in a united India like I believe in a united Canada. But I believe people also have the freedom to disagree. You can express any opinion, even opinions I don’t agree with, and those opinions have to be expressed peacefully, but they can be freely expressed.”
Another round of referendum was held in Surrey on Sunday under the leadership of SFJ. The polling center was in the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey – the same gurdwara that was run by SFJ provincial leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar before he was shot dead by unknown assailants in a parking lot on June 18.
