Sikhs for Justice to hold an independence referendum in Ottawa on Sunday

Sikhs for justness, whose canadian river chapter was headed by Hardeep Singh Nijjar until his assassination in 2023, testament bear a referendum in capital of canada on Sunday as part of its campaign for an independent Sikh Punjab, called "Khalistan" by Sikh nationalists.

The vote comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit in South Africa, with a possible bilateral meeting on the same day as the Khalistan referendum in Ottawa.

The non-binding vote is the seventh to be held by the group in Canada since September 2022, when the first vote was held in Brampton, Ont., followed just days after by a travel advisory from India warning of a rise in "hate crimes, sectarian violence and anti-India activities" in Canada and advising Indian nationals in the country, including students, to be on the alert.

Ottawa has a smaller Sikh diaspora than the Toronto and Vancouver areas, but organizers say they expect people to travel from Montreal and other areas to cast their ballots.

Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the man India is accused of killing?

The Indian government has previously described the referendum movement as a provocation and an attack on its sovereignty.

On Saturday morning, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand was asked by reporters at the G20 summit in South Africa what message is being sent as Carney meets with Modi on the same day as the referendum.

In response, Anand said the meeting "has been contemplated for some time and it happens to be falling on the Sunday without an intention to undermine or hurt any interest domestically."

"And so I want to say at the forefront of every conversation is going to be the focus on the law enforcement matters, the law enforcement dialogue [and] the issues of public safety and security at home."

Inderjeet Singh Gosal leads the Canadian chapter of Sikhs for Justice, having taken up the cause following the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., in June 2023.

Gosal, who has received a number of threats to his life, is also facing firearms charges after being arrested in September by the Ontario Provincial Police in a traffic stop in Whitby, Ont.

Two other activists arrested with him saw their charges dropped as the week drew to a close, but Gosal's charges remain. He is out on bail and will attend the referendum.

Having replaced Nijjar — who was already killed for his activism, according to officials in both Canada and the U.S. — Gosal is presumed to be a target and has received warnings from the RCMP of credible and imminent threats to his life, but he has declined protection that would require him to cease his political activities.

"There's always a potential, and there are threats we've been receiving. So we've hired security. Law enforcement will be there at the event. We should be good safety-wise."

Like many in the Sikh community, Gosal criticized the Carney government's decision to seek to restore normal diplomatic ties with India as premature.

In a highly unusual statement issued in October 2024, and still posted on the RCMP website, the Mounties warned that "Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada leveraged their official positions to engage in clandestine activities, such as collecting information for the Government of India, either directly or through their proxies; and other individuals who acted voluntarily or through coercion."

"Evidence also shows that a wide variety of entities in Canada and abroad have been used by agents of the Government of India to collect information. Some of these individuals and businesses were coerced and threatened into working for the Government of India. The information collected for the Government of India is then used to target members of the South Asian community."

The RCMP statement also revealed "links tying agents of the Government of India to homicides and violent acts; the use of organized crime to create a perception of an unsafe environment targeting the South Asian Community in Canada; and interference into democratic processes."

Gosal said none of that has changed. He said the RCMP contacted him two weeks ago, "and we did speak with them and it's just nothing's changed. If anything, it's gotten worse."

Senior Reporter

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