Former Conservative leadership candidate Patrick Brown will testify later today before a parliamentary committee investigating claims that India has meddled in Canadian politics.
His appearance comes just a few days after Radio-Canada reported, based on confidential sources, that agents of the Indian government attempted to derail Brown’s 2022 Conservative Party leadership run.
Sources told Radio-Canada that Brown’s national campaign co-chair, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner, allegedly was pressured to withdraw her support for Brown in the 2022 leadership race.
“Indian consulate representatives had approached Michelle, strongly suggesting that it was not in her best interest to continue working alongside Patrick,” said a highly-placed source in Brown’s campaign.
Rempel Garner categorically denies the allegation.
“I left Mr. Brown’s campaign completely of my own volition,” she said in a written statement.
“In no instance was I coerced in any manner, by anyone, at any time.”
Radio-Canada’s sources also said campaign volunteers were pressured not to help the campaign and Brown saw invitations to community events rescinded.
Canada has expelled six high-level Indian diplomats after the RCMP said it had evidence that Indian diplomats in Canada were involved in a campaign to intimidate, coerce and sometimes even kill on Canadian soil. Andrew Chang breaks down what we know about Canada’s allegations of Indian government ties to organized crime and this latest diplomatic escalation between the two countries.
There is no evidence to suggest Pierre Poilievre, now the Conservative leader, was aware of the alleged actions of India’s agents. He handily won the 2022 leadership race on the first ballot with 68 per cent of the available points.
In a statement issued Monday, Brown — now the mayor of Brampton, Ont. — said the outcome of the Conservative race was not affected by foreign interference.
“Like all Canadians, I take the issue of foreign interference in our democracy very seriously. It is a critical matter that warrants thorough investigation,” Brown said in his statement Monday.
“I have no reason to believe that such interference altered the final outcome of the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership race.”
RCMP accuses India of supporting violent crimes
The veteran politician initially declined the House of Commons public safety committee’s invitation to testify, and was later summoned. Brown is scheduled to testify this afternoon by videoconference.
Brown signalled in his statement that he has little to add to the committee’s work.
“I have no new evidence to contribute to the committee’s proceedings and am concerned that my appearance has been sought for political reasons rather than matters of substantive policy,” he wrote.
“I have no desire to be drawn into partisan disputes unfolding in Ottawa.”
Brown was disqualified by Conservative Party authorities in July 2022 following allegations of “serious wrongdoing” linked to election financing. At the time, Brown accused the “party establishment” of “wanting to make sure Poilievre did not lose.”
The public safety committee has been probing allegations connecting Indian government agents to violent crimes in Canada.
In a rare and stunning move, the head of the RCMP accused agents of the Indian government in October of playing a role in “widespread violence” in Canada, including homicides, and warned that it poses “a serious threat to our public safety.”
RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said police are also investigating India’s alleged interference in Canadian democratic processes.
Earlier this year, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) cited “India’s alleged interference in a Conservative Party of Canada leadership race” in its explosive report on foreign interference. A redacted version of that report was made public in June.