“We have stood up for Canadians,” Justin Trudeau tells the public inquiry panel about the assassination of Nijjar

In testimony given at a public inquiry into foreign meddling in Canada’s election process, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada stated that his government was steadfast in its commitment to protecting citizens, even in the face of the shooting death of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey last June.

In an appearance before the Foreign Interference Commission, presided over by Quebec judge Marie-Josee Hogue, Trudeau said that the nation’s former Conservative administration was “cosy” with the present Indian leadership.

When asked about censored passages in the 2019 NSI annual report and foreign meddling in the elections, Trudeau said, “In a public setting, I can’t speak to redactions made for national security.” However, I will state that our government’s commitment to upholding Canadians’ rights and freedoms is demonstrated by the principle that anyone entering Canada from anywhere in the world has all of the rights of a Canadian and is free from extortion, coercion, or interference from a country they left behind.

We have also stood up for Canadians, as evidenced by the very serious case of Nijjar’s killing that I brought before Parliament.

In a video shown by the Canadian newspapers The Global and Mail, Trudeau said, “And the suggestion that we haven’t and we won’t do everything we can to defend Canadian rules and values and defend Canadians from foreign interference is simply misplaced.”

“Our government has consistently stood up to protect minorities in Canada and their freedom to express themselves, even if it offends their home countries abroad,” Trudeau said.

Numerous media stories that referenced unidentified sources and secret documents set up an inquiry into the claims of foreign influence in Canadian politics.

According to a briefing paper from CSIS, China intervened in the last two federal elections in a “clandestine and deceptive” manner.

Following many days of evidence from cabinet ministers, political party leaders, intelligence officers, and top bureaucrats, Trudeau appeared before the national public inquiry.

The Canadian prime minister discussed at the session the steps his administration has taken since taking office in 2015 to counteract Russian meddling.

“I think that’s certainly a question one needs to ask of the previous conservative government that was known for its very cosy relationship with the current Indian government,” Trudeau said when asked whether the proper measures had not been taken to reveal foreign meddling. The video released by The Global and Mail said, “However, our government has always stood up to defend minorities in Canada and the rights of minorities to speak out, even if it irritates their home countries overseas.”

In a confidential February interview with the Commission of Inquiry, Trudeau described it as very detrimental to Canadians’ faith in the democratic process. Trudeau spoke in an open hearing on Wednesday, when a public summary of the interview was made available.

According to CTV News in Canada, Trudeau voiced his annoyance that information that had been leaked to the media had been “sensationalized” and taken out of context.

The summary states that Trudeau expressed frustration about these leaks, saying that while the Liberal administration had put in place strong measures to detect and prevent meddling, it was being “portrayed as careless in the media.”

According to Trudeau, the disclosures also highlight the risks associated with drawing inferences from a single piece of information without enough context or reliability analysis.

There have been requests for a public investigation into claims of foreign meddling in the last two general elections, which were sparked by anonymous leaks to the media.