Canadian MP-supported plea advances conspiracy theory

Sponsored by Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal, e-petition got 4,238 signatures, more than the 500 required to trigger a response from Trudeau govt

- Anirudh Bhattacharyya

TORONTO: A petition sponsored by a Liberal Party MP, advancing a discredited conspiracy theory related to the bombing of Air India flight 182 in 1985, has collected enough signatures to necessitate a formal response from Ottawa.

The e-petition, started by Gurpreet Singh from Delta, British Columbia, was sponsored by Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal. It opened for signatures in August this year and closed on December 11 with 4,238, far more than the 500 required to trigger a response from the government.

The content of the e-petition is linked to the conspiracy theory that India was somehow connected to the bombing of AI 182, the Kanishka.

It stated, "Sikhs in Canada widely believe that this was the handiwork of a foreign intelligence to discredit their political activism and undermine their advocacy work for human rights in India". It added that "recent developments within the Sikh community in British Columbia give credence to this perception", linking it to the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 last year in Surrey, British Columbia.