A flock of birds flies past as Moninder Singh, front right, a spokesperson for the British Columbia Gurdwaras Council (BCGC), waits to speak to reporters outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, B.C., on Monday, September 18, 2023, where temple president Hardeep Singh Nijjar was gunned down in his vehicle while leaving the temple parking lot in June. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Vancouver

British Columbia Premier David Eby said he “strongly” suspects that the federal government is holding back information that could help the province protect its residents who have connections to India from foreign interference.

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc has reached out, saying Ottawa wants to make sure the provincial government has the details it needs to keep B.C. residents safe, “but there has not been good information sharing,” the premier said Friday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed in Parliament on  Monday that Canadian intelligence services were investigating “a potential link” between the Indian government and the fatal shooting of Sikh advocate Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., last June.

In response to the killing, Eby said on Friday that the priority should be protecting the criminal prosecution process so people can be held accountable for the killing.

But on the broader issue of ensuring community safety, he said there’s “a long way to go to share that information.”

Eby said people in B.C. have been “feeling pressure from India,” and he believes Ottawa has information through agencies including the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service that could help respond to foreign interference.

The premier’s initial statement in response to Trudeau’s announcement called on Ottawa to “share all relevant information” related not only to foreign interference, but also to “transnational organized crime threats” in the province.

He said Friday that the prime minister had reached out before telling Parliament about the probe based on “credible” information about the potential link between India and Nijjar’s killing.

Eby accepted Trudeau’s offer for a briefing by CSIS, but everything the premier knows about the situation is “in the public realm,” he said.

“I expressed my frustration in the meeting with the CSIS director about our inability to get more concrete information,” Eby said.

He made the remarks during a media question-and-answer session after addressing local politicians at the Union of BC Municipalities conference.

Eby said he understands there may need to be reform around the law governing CSIS in order for the agency to share the kind of information he’s looking for.

“If that’s what’s required, let’s make it happen, because the only way that we’re going to make traction on this is by the federal government trusting the provincial government with information and being able to act on it in our local communities,” he said.

Nijjar was a prominent supporter of the Khalistan separatism movement that advocates for a Sikh homeland in India’s Punjab province. He had been working to organize an unofficial referendum among the Sikh diaspora on independence from India at the time of his killing.

India designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020, an accusation he had denied.

Canada and India expelled each other’s diplomats in the fallout of Trudeau’s announcement, and India has halted visa services in Canada.

India’s government has denied the accusation as “absurd and motivated.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2023.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy receives a standing ovation from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and parliamentarians as he arrives to deliver a speech in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. Canada is making a multi-year commitment to provide steady support to Ukraine, including hundreds of millions of dollars for new armoured vehicles. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

By Nojoud Al Mallees in Ottawa

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday that Canada is making a multi-year commitment to provide steady support to Ukraine, including hundreds of millions of dollars for new armoured vehicles.

The two countries also signed a modernized trade deal, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the country for the first time since Russia’s full-scale assault of Ukraine began last year.

A spokeswoman for Trade Minister Mary Ng said the new deal does not include substantial changes on market access, but adds services and investment clauses to the agreement, along with progressive language around labour standards and gender equality.

Meanwhile, the multi-year commitment includes $650 million over three years for 50 armoured vehicles that are to be built in London, Ont.

Friday’s announcement brings Canada’s total committed support to Ukraine to more than $9.5 billion since the beginning of 2022, according to a news release.

The new commitment comes as Ukraine seeks longer-term support from allies and worries emerge that some countries’ support may begin to waver as the war drags on.

Earlier this week, Poland’s prime minister said his country is no longer sending arms to Ukraine as a trade dispute between the neighbouring states escalates and his populist party faces pressure from the far right in the upcoming national election.

G7 countries promised in July to reach individual agreements with Ukraine to provide long-term military help.

In addition to new funding, the federal government has also announced the allocation of part of the $500 million of support Canada announced in June.

Those funds will go toward providing 35 drone cameras to Ukraine, as well as sending Canadian trainers to help Ukrainian pilots and maintenance workers use donated fighter jets.

Canada is also providing additional funding toward other initiatives in support of Ukraine, including mental-health care and non-governmental organizations.

Money will go toward strengthening nuclear security measures at the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone and replacing equipment destroyed or stolen by Russia when it occupied the site in 2022.

Friday’s announcement includes a further crackdown on Russia with a new round of sanctions.

Ottawa says it is placing 63 new sanctions on individuals and entities involved in Russia’s nuclear sector, the illegal transfer and custody of Ukrainian children and the generation and dissemination of disinformation and propaganda.

Canada and Ukraine say they will be working with international partners to establish a working group that would provide advice to decision-makers on the seizure of Russian assets, including assets of the country’s central bank.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2023.

— With files from the Associated Press.