The World Sikh Organization (WSO) of Canada has revived its campaign to get Canada to remove the inclusion of “Sikh (Khalistani) Terrorism” in Public Safety Canada’s 2018 Report on the Terrorism Threat to Canada.

The group has planned a series of panel discussions called #AskCanadianSikhs in Brampton, Edmonton, and Surrey.

The WSO held the first series of #AskCanadianSikh panels to address these issues in April 2018.

“Despite a widespread outcry by Canadian Sikhs and many elected officials who rejected the inclusion of the Sikh community, the Report has not yet been revised and the section continues to be included,” WSO said in a statement.

“The report does not make any reference to current extremist activities in the Sikh community and simply states, “some individuals in Canada continue to support Sikh (Khalistani) extremist ideologies and movements.”

To address this issue, the WSO will be hosting a panel series featuring Dr. Jasjit Singh, a renowned UK researcher who has done extensive research on the maligning of the Sikh community within media and government.

Dr. Singh will be joined by WSO's Balpreet Singh and various local panelists across the country to explore the reasons behind the maligning of the Sikh community and what the community can do in response.

The dates and times for the panel discussions are;

Friday, March 15, 2019:  Brampton;  Brampton City Hall, 2 Wellington Street West, from 6.30 to 8.30pm EST  https://wsoontario.eventbrite.ca

Saturday, March 16, 2019:  Edmonton at 10111 Ellerslie Road Southwest from 4 to 6 pm MST https://wsoalberta.eventbrite.ca

Sunday, March 17, 2018:  Surrey at Surrey City Hall 13450 104 Avenue from 1.30 to 3.30pm PST. https://bcwso.eventbrite.ca

Last January, representatives of the Sikh community and Canadian Gurdwaras met with Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale on the matter.

Minister Goodale heard the concerns of the Sikh community and expressed his intention to address the concerns in an appropriate manner.

Liberal party Members of Parliament, including MP Randeep Sarai and NDP MP Matthew Dube, among others, have also questioned the Public Safety Canada Report’s mention about Sikh extremism.

Since 2012, The Indian government has issued pointed and public warnings to Ottawa to mind what they see as alarming evidence of Sikh extremism on Canadian soil.

The issue of internal extremism has been one that has shaken India to the core over the past several decades — former prime minister Indira Gandhi was murdered by her own Sikh bodyguards after a string of events sparked by fundamentalists seeking their own separate, fundamentalist nation they would call Khalistan.

Canada too has been rocked by related terrorism. Police believe the bombing of a 1985 Air India flight that killed 331 people was orchestrated by Sikh extremists based in Canada.

Pockets of pro-Khalistan support are still visible in the Indo-Canadian community, after years of dormancy.

Mukhbir Singh, president of World Sikh Organization of Canada, however, stressed that 2018 Public Safety report does not point to any current incident of violence or terrorism associated with the Sikh community in Canada and only references the 1985 Air India tragedy.

In a recent op-ed, he wrote; “Given the lack of any current incidents associated with extremism in the Sikh community, it appears that the addition of the section on ‘Sikh extremism’ is linked to the fact that, despite any evidence, India has repeatedly raised this issue with Canada at every bilateral meeting between the two countries. Canadian Sikhs have repeatedly insisted that India smears any political speech and activism it finds offensive, such as exposure of India’s appalling human rights record or attempts at recognizing the 1984 Sikh Genocide as “extremism”.

“It appears to many in the Sikh community that these steps have been taken by the Government of Canada to appease Indian concerns around imaginary ‘Sikh extremism’ in Canada.  We wish to be very clear- advocacy for Sikh human rights or Khalistan is not extremism and to suggest that it poses a danger to Canada is absolutely ludicrous.  There is nothing to suggest there is anything happening in Canada’s Sikh community except peaceful activism. Accepting Indian allegations of ‘Sikh extremism’ deeply maligns the reputation of the community and has a real impact on the everyday lives of Canadian Sikhs.  We are deeply disappointed that our community has been stigmatized due to what to appears to be foreign interference and pressure.”

Sikh (Khalistani) Extremism - Public Safety Canada’s 2018 Report on the Terrorism Threat to Canada.

Some individuals in Canada continue to support Sikh (Khalistani) extremist ideologies and movements. This political movement aims to create an independent homeland for Sikhs called Khalistan, in India. Violent activities in support of an independent Sikh homeland have fallen since their height during the 1982-1993 period when individuals and groups conducted numerous terrorist attacks. The 1985 Air India bombing by Khalistani terrorists, which killed 331 people, remains the deadliest terrorist plot ever launched in Canada. While attacks around the world in support of this movement have declined, support for the extreme ideologies of such groups remains. For example, in Canada, two key Sikh organizations, Babbar Khalsa International and the International Sikh Youth Federation, have been identified as being associated with terrorism and remain listed terrorist entities under the Criminal Code.