Former Conservative leadership candidate Patrick Brown said someone from the Indian consulate general made an “angry phone call” to his campaign co-chair — Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner — during his 2022 bid to lead the party.
Testifying before the House of Commons public safety committee, Brown said the Indian consul general expressed concerned over Brown’s use of the term “Sikh nation” on a number of occasions.
“And the consul general had expressed directly to MP Garner that was something that obviously they didn’t agree with, that it could be viewed in nationalistic terms towards the Sikh community,” he testified Thursday.
“I think she was the recipient of an angry phone call.”
Brown said his campaign decided that he wouldn’t use the term anymore and instead would use the Punjabi term Sikh Kaum.
“Do you think it’s appropriate for a foreign government to send a message to a sitting MP that you should be changing the language because it’s not welcomed by that foreign nation?” asked Liberal MP Jennifer O’Connell.
Brown said Indian consuls general “have been more robust in their opinions than some of us would be comfortable with.”
Brown’s committee appearance came just a few days after Radio-Canada reported, based on confidential sources, that agents of the Indian government attempted to derail his 2022 Conservative Party leadership run.
Sources told Radio-Canada that campaign volunteers were pressured not to help the campaign and Brown saw invitations to community events rescinded.
They also alleged that Rempel Garner 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.”
Brown also told the committee that he doesn’t believe she was asked to withdraw her support.
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.
“I don’t believe foreign intervention affected the final outcome of the Conservative leadership race,” Brown told the committee.
RCMP accuses India of supporting violent crimes
The veteran politician initially declined the public safety committee’s invitation to testify, and was later summoned.
On Monday, Brown issued a statement on social media about the committee’s summons. He said that he had no new evidence to add and the public inquiry on foreign interference was the proper venue to evaluate the allegations.
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.