Jonathan Migneault

Canada needs to send a strong message that it will not tolerate the murder of a Canadian citizen by a foreign government, says a trustee and director with the Sikh Sangat temple in Timmins, Ont.

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged the Indian government killed Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, B.C.

"Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar," Trudeau said.

Nijjar was branded a "terrorist" by the Indian government because he supported an independent Khalistani state that would serve as a Sikh homeland.

A group of Sikh men speak informally to each other for a posed photograph.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on Tuesday, July 2, 2019. In a statement responding to queries about making India part of her mandate probing foreign interference, the Privy Council Office has indicated Nijjar's killing is a matter of criminal investigation by the RCMP. 

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Trudeau's allegation the Indian government was behind his murder has prompted Canada to expel a senior Indian diplomat, and India has followed suit with a similar response, giving a Canadian diplomat five days to leave the country.

Kanwaljit Bains, a trustee and director with the Sikh temple in Timmins, said if the Prime Minister's allegations are true, then Canada needs to send a strong message that such actions can't be tolerated.

"The Canadians should be protected from the outer interference of the other countries. Regardless if it's India, China or any other country."

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Hardeep Singh Nijjar stands outside of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, B.C. on Tuesday, July 2, 2019.

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President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness Harjit Sajjan speaks at a news conference on the seasonal outlook for wildfires in Canada, in Ottawa, on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023.

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Bains said it's also up to the court system to hold those responsible for Nijjar's murder accountable.

Bahadur Bains, Kanwaljit's husband, and also a director with the Sikh temple in Timmins, said he was sad to hear about the Prime Minister's allegations.

He said their temple is a peaceful place that accepts people of all faiths, and it was difficult to imagine why a leader with another Sikh temple would be killed.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Kanwaljit Bains is a trustee and director at the Sikh Sangat of Timmins, the gurdwara or Sikh temple in Timmins, Ont.

Sikh leader in Timmins, Ont., calls for strong Canadian response after murder allegations

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