People line up outside of the for the Khalistan referendum voting at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, in Surrey, B.C, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
OTTAWA – Leaders of the three main federal parties are calling out violence today at a Hindu temple in the Toronto suburb of Brampton.
Videos circulating on social media appear to show demonstrators holding banners in support of a separate Sikh country called Khalistan clashing with others, including some holding India’s national flag.
The videos seem to show fistfights and people striking each other with poles in what appears to be the grounds surrounding the Hindu Sabha Mandir temple.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh have all written on the platform X that they condemn the violence that occurred today at that temple.
Peel Regional Police issued statements saying they were monitoring protests planned at the temple, but by late afternoon the force had not indicated whether anyone had been arrested.
The group Sikhs for Justice says that Khalistan supporters had been protesting Indian consulate officials undertaking an announced visit to provide administrative services such as helping seniors access pensions.
The organization alleges Indian officials use these events to find informants to target Sikh separatists. The Indian high commission in Ottawa did not immediately respond to the claims.
This past Friday, a judge with British Columbia’s Supreme Court granted an order to establish a buffer zone around one of the province’s largest Sikh temples in advance of expected confrontations between protesters and Indian consular officials this weekend.
The request came from leaders of a Sikh temple who said they expected “intense protests” at two Indian consular events, commonly known as “consular camps.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2024.
