After reported pressure from the Sikh Diaspora, Canada has removed references to Sikh extremism, Khalistan in its Terror threat report.
The '2018 Public Report on the Terrorism Threat to Canada' had few references to Sikh extremism and Khalistan which had perturbed Sikhs across the world.
Sikhs in Canada had been putting pressure on the government to remove the reference. Canadian Sikh community, office-bearers of Canadian gurdwaras and Sikh advocacy groups had been expressing their outrage by holding several meetings and reaching out to the government.
Bowing to the pressure from the influential Sikh community in the country, Public Safety Canada has updated the report with 'Extremists who Support Violent Means to Establish an Independent State Within India' deleting the words Sikh extremism and Khalistan.
The report which was updated on April 12 had the note, "A review of the language used to describe extremism has been undertaken and is ongoing. The Government’s communication of threats must be clear, concise, and cannot be perceived as maligning any groups. As we continue this review, it is apparent that in outlining a threat, it must be clearly linked to an ideology rather than a community. The Government will carefully select terminology that focuses on the intent or ideology."
Canada's Public Safety minister Ralph Goodale said, “the languages used to describe some threats unintentionally maligned certain communities... and it is not in the line with the values of the Government of Canada”.
The updated version was released on Friday, about 24 hours before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was scheduled to attend a Vaisakhi parade, organised in Vancouver by the Khalsa Diwan Society, with national defence minister Harjit Sajjan.