Opposition leader, Justin Trudeau trade barbs over Hindu temple violence

Opposition Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre on Tuesday blamed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for divisions as the two traded barbs in the lower House of Canadian Parliament over the violence at a Hindu temple in the Toronto suburb of Brampton.

Poilievre said hate crimes increased 251% under Trudeau’s leadership. “We see sectarian riots on the streets of Brampton. This never happened before this Prime Minister. Does he take ownership for the divisions he has caused and the violence that has resulted?” he asked, referring to the violence triggered on Sunday.

Videos showed people hitting each other with flagpoles and throwing punches outside the temple as police said demonstrations were held at separate places. Pro-Khalistan activists protested the presence of Indian diplomats at the temple weeks after India and Canada removed six diplomats each. India-Canada relations have been at an all-time low over accusations of the Indian government’s links to the targeting of pro-Khalistan activists in the North American country.

Poilievre’s retort in the House of Commons on Tuesday came after Trudeau said the individuals inciting violence, division, and hatred in no way represent either the Sikh or the Hindu community in Canada.

Trudeau hit back and pointed out that Poilievre accessed documents related to foreign interference threats to Canada without a security clearance. Poilievre has refused to get the clearance arguing that would prevent him from questioning the government on these matters as he will be bound to secrecy.

Trudeau earlier said he condemned “unequivocally the violence we have seen in South Asian communities across the country over the past few nights.” He did not mention pro-Khalistan radicals, who allegedly barged into the Hindu temple and assaulted congregants as it hosted a consular camp of Toronto’s Indian Consulate.

Angry protests at a gurdwara in Malton followed. Similar demonstrations were held at the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in British Columbia’s Surrey.

On Monday, New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh and Liberal Party lawmaker Chandra Arya also traded allegations over the violence. Singh accused Arya of “parroting the lines of a foreign government that engaged in allegations of serious violence and terror against Canadians.” He was referring to Arya’s post on X on Sunday after the violence at the Brampton temple. Arya wrote Khalistani extremists were getting “a free pass in Canada” under the freedom of expression.

Arya in another post said Singh “refuses to acknowledge the presence of violent Khalistani extremism in Canada, despite the RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police]’s clear statement during their Thanksgiving Day press conference that the national task force is actively investigating Khalistani violent extremism, among other threats.”

RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme and assistant commissioner Brigitte Gauvin in October acknowledged that Khalistani extremism continued to fester in Canada. They alleged that Indian diplomats and officials were linked to violent criminal activity in Canada. This prompted India to withdraw six officials.

Toronto Star quoted Green Party leader Elizabeth May saying on Monday that pro-Khalistan extremism “remains a stain on all Canadians, that we have permitted extremism to exist”. May said they strongly favour immigration to Canada, welcoming people from all corners of the world but it is important that diaspora communities leave their domestic political grievances in their home country, and do not bring them to Canada.

May’s comments came on the day thousands of Indo-Canadians protested against the attack on the Hindu temple before dispersing as police declared their assembly “unlawful” and deployed armed personnel in riot gear to clear the protesters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier led India’s condemnation of the violence and demanded that the perpetrators must be prosecuted. He called the attack deliberate and said it was part of cowardly attempts to intimidate Indian diplomats.

The management of Lakshmi Narayan Mandir accused police of using “excessive force” against devotees staging a counter-protest against a pro-Khalistan group gathered across the street.