3 Sikh activists on Canada’s no-fly list

Varinder Singh

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, April 23

In what was seen as a paradigm shift of the Justin Trudeau-led Canadian federal government towards advocates of Sikh radicals and Punjabi independence in Canada, three Canadian Sikh activists have been put on the Canadian no-fly list under the Secure Travel Act.

Two of the activists — Parvkar Singh Dulai and Bhagat Singh Brar — whose names have been added to the Canadian no-fly list along with another Sikh and who have reportedly been informed that sufficient grounds existed to suspect that they might put air travel or transportation security in peril have challenged the government’s decision in the court. They have pleaded that the system to bar people from travelling via air is not fair and it violated the Charter of Rights and Freedom. Tim Warmington, spokesperson for the Public Safety Canada, however, has not identified who were the people who were added to the “Passenger Protect” list during recent months for “security reasons”.

The decision to make addition of three Sikhs to no-fly list by the Canadian government has kicked up a dust among a large section of the Punjabi community as it was being viewed as the Trudeau-led federal government’s “attempt to appease” the Narendra Modi-led Indian government post Canadian PM Trudeau’s controversial February 2018 Indian sojourn.

What has triggered a sense of disquiet among a section of Canadian Sikhs and Trudeau baiters is that Canada has “started towing the Indian government’s line” and its growing concerns pertaining to activities of Sikh radicals in Canada.

All the three Sikhs have informed leading Surrey-based Sikh activist associated with Gurdwara Dashmesh Darbar Moninder Singh about their fate.

Recently surfaced court documents have revealed that Dulai had received the notice regarding his being on the no-fly list, while Brar had got a similar communication in May and April 2018. The third Canadian Sikh found out later in December that his name has been added to the Canadian no-fly list. When Brar contacted and appealed to Canada’s Passenger Protect Inquiries Office, he was reportedly issued an unclassified summary of the information which was made as the basis in respect to putting him on the list. He was also told recently that the Canadian government had more “classified material” with it. It was learnt that Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has also upheld the authorities’ decision in respect to putting all the three on the Canadian no-fly list.

All three Sikhs who have been placed on the no-fly list, however, were without any access to any particular information which was used against them for making them ‘unqualified’ for air travel. The three Sikhs were learnt to have been vocal against certain Indian government policies in more than one ways.