Politics
Inside the politics that led India to accuse a Canadian man of paying Rihanna to tweet support of farmer protests – Toronto Star
When singer Rihanna and climate activist Greta Thunberg tweeted Feb. 2 in support of farmers in India, their combined superstardom led to a global spike in attention to the months-long protests against new agriculture laws.
This infuriated Indian government supporters, but rather than targeting the celebrities, almost every right-wing television network and publication in the country blamed one Canadian man instead.
Mo Dhaliwal, a digital marketing startup director and co-founder of the grassroots rights advocacy group Poetic Justice Foundation, is accused of paying Rihanna $2.5 million to support the farmers.
Earlier, this Vancouver-based group had worked with members of the South Asian diaspora to launch a website with information on the protests called AskIndiaWhy.com, which was referenced as part of a much larger list of online resources shared by Thunberg on Twitter.
“This turned into a convoluted conspiracy theory that was spun out of thin air by pro-government media. A day later, I learned that we paid Rihanna $2.5 million. That was an utter invention. I think they picked a reasonable number and added a decimal, and many people believed it,” Dhaliwal told the Star.
“That’s part of the mastercraft of fake news in India. It’s 100 times worse than Fox News.”
To top it off, police in India’s capital city, New Delhi, opened an investigation into the package of resources shared in Thunberg’s tweet, and without citing evidence, named Dhaliwal’s group as instigators. Police also accused them of supporting Khalistani “Sikh separatists,” who are seen as terrorists in India.
“Preliminary enquiry has revealed that the tool kit in question appears to have been created by a pro-Khalistani Organisation ‘Poetic Justice Foundation,’ ” Praveer Ranjan, Special Commissioner of Delhi Police said in a statement.
Dhaliwal told the Star his group had facilitated a webinar conversation on the Sikh self-determination movement in India. Poetic Justice Foundation creates room for dialogue about Khalistan, but doesn’t take a position on the issue. He said the police statements only further fuelled conspiracy theories and threats against him and his group members.
Dhaliwal, who is Sikh and has many friends and relatives in India, now fears he will never be able to return to the country. In recent weeks, he has received a torrent of death threats in abusive messages and phone calls.
“The calls came at all hours of the day and night, and a couple numbers had Toronto area codes. One man told me, ‘If you come to India, we’ll kill you.’ ”
Dhaliwal said he is only one of many in Canada who have voiced support for Indian farmers. His targeting seems symbolic, he says, as an attack on the South Asian diaspora as a whole to deflect attention away from the Indian government’s repression.
The farmers they support — many of them minority Sikhs from the major agricultural states of Punjab and Haryana — are demanding the repeal of new laws they say will favour large corporate farms, devastating the earnings of many farmers by cutting price supports as big corporations win out.
India’s agriculture sector employs about half of the country’s workforce. In Punjab, considered the bread basket of the country, the average farm size is approximately nine acres.
The government insists the laws will benefit farmers and boost production through private investment, but, in the face of protests, it has offered to suspend them for 18 months. The farmers want nothing less than a full repeal.
In addition, India has seen a rising tide of Hindu nationalism under Prime Minister Narendra Modi that has rankled minority groups. India is predominantly Hindu while Muslims comprise 14 per cent and Sikhs nearly 2 per cent of its nearly 1.4 billion people.
It has become increasingly difficult for Indian journalists to document these growing tensions, as they are subject to arbitrary arrest for their reporting. In 2020, Reporters Without Borders had listed India as No. 142 out of 180 countries and regions in its global press freedom ranking, having dropped two places since Modi took office in 2014.
The ongoing disputes have stirred concern among Canada’s two-million-strong South Asian community. Many have voiced opposition to India’s heavy-handed police response using water cannons, tear gas, barricades and police batons against unarmed farmers.
A significant cohort of Canadians of South Asian heritage hail from the Punjab region, with many being Sikhs with strong ties to farming communities. The issue has galvanized the diaspora to stand with the movement in social media posts, as well as through peaceful protests in cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, Sydney and Amsterdam.
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In recent weeks, right-wing media sources in India have promoted unsupported theories that Sikhs overseas are responsible for instigating the farmers’ protests as a whole, as well as an unusually violent rally in late January at Delhi’s historic Red Fort complex. This narrative has been supported by official government sources in India.
After Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke out in December against the treatment of protesting farmers by Indian police, India’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the Canadian prime minister’s “intervention … encouraged gatherings of extremist activities in front of our High Commission and Consulates in Canada.”
This video was filmed in the former Star Vancouver office in 2019. Videographer: Geoff Webb
In recent weeks, many Canadians of South Asian heritage, particularly Sikhs, have felt the overwhelming weight of disinformation from propaganda outlets in India, which spurred nationalist trolls to send them threats on social media as well as other channels.
Ajay Rao, Director of the Centre for South Asian Civilizations at the University of Toronto, said this kind of harassment has been happening in Canada for years, often when individuals share research or voice opinions on political issues in India.
“Speakers invited to events at our university and others in Canada have been harassed by right-wing audience members who engage in heckling and attempts to silence critical perspectives on the Indian government,” Rao told the Star.
“It is clear that such responses are not spontaneous but are co-ordinated attempts at disruption by members of (pro-Indian government) organizations. Several of our students have also been subjected to abuse online by Hindu nationalist groups.”
Indian citizens or members of the diaspora who get smeared online as terrorists face grim repercussions, says Malavika Kasturi, a professor of South Asian history at the University of Toronto.
“They can be put in jail indefinitely under India’s draconian laws,” she said in an email to the Star.
“From the very beginning of the farmers’ protest they were falsely called terrorists, which they were not. Things reached such a stage that farmers were holding placards saying ‘We are farmers not terrorists.’ ”
While Canadians who receive abuse and smears online could pursue defamation cases, this unfairly puts the onus on victims to protect themselves, said Yousuf Syed, co-founder of the NGO Canadians Against Oppression and Persecution.
He said Canadian authorities, as well as international social media companies, should take proactive measures to respond to the dangerous effects of pro-Indian government nationalist activities.
The Canadian government should strengthen its regulations on digital platforms to increase monitoring of hate speech, while taking a close look at whether existing criminal laws are adequate, while social media companies should “come up with a framework to identify the source of propaganda, track and work with the government and police in enforcing stricter online media policies,” Syed told the Star.
In the meantime, Dhaliwal worries that the majority of the Canadian public would prefer to ignore these problems.
“Because we’re a minority in Canada, there seems to be a sense that this is some weird sectarian issue. I don’t think people register that these are Canadian citizens being attacked by a foreign nation.
“If tomorrow, the Norway government and Norwegian nationals turned around and started harassing the s— out of the Norwegian diaspora in Canada, I think we would look at it differently,” he said.
A spokesperson for Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety, told the Star the Canadian government “takes threats to the security of individuals living in Canada very seriously.”
“While we cannot comment on any individual cases, anyone who feels threatened online or in person should report these incidents to their local police.”
Dhaliwal has filed a report about the threats he received to Vancouver police, so that there is “at least a record if something happens to me,” he said.
Politics
‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Politics
Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Politics
Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax
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