Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has added his voice to the list of politicians calling on the federal government to declare a gang based in India a terrorist organization in Canada.
Speaking in Surrey, B.C., on Wednesday, where police say they’ve received 10 extortion reports in six months, Poilievre asked for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to be added to Canada’s list of terrorist organizations.
“There’s evidence now that their violence is linked to terror and to political motivations,” Poilievre said.
Police in B.C. have said members of the province’s South Asian community are being extorted for cash under threat of death or violence, and the Lawrence Bishnoi gang has been linked to some of those threats.
For example, a Surrey businessman has received threats demanding $2 million while businesses he’s associated with have been targets of gunfire three times.
The Bishnoi gang is also tied to cases of extortion and targeted shootings in Ontario’s Peel Region, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown previously said.
WATCH | Bishnoi gang has ‘terrorized communities,’ Poilievre says:
Poilievre said designating the Bishnoi gang a terrorist entity will give police greater authority to crack down on the group’s activities.
“Law enforcement has spoken out about the organized chaos and violence this group has done in our country, and that is why mayors across the country, premiers have also said … this organization should be put on the list of banned terrorist entities,” he said.
Other political leaders calling for the terrorism label include Brown, B.C. Premier David Eby and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. The Conservatives asked for the designation last week, but Wednesday was the first time Poilievre has addressed the matter publicly.
There can be serious criminal and financial consequences to any group labelled a terrorist entity. Banks can freeze assets and police can charge anyone who financially or materially supports such a group.
Police officers escort Lawrence Bishnoi, right, inside a courthouse in New Delhi, India, on April 18, 2023. (Rahul Singh/ANI/Reuters)
Simon Lafortune, press secretary for the public safety minister, didn’t say if the Bishnoi gang is being considered for inclusion on the terrorist list, explaining the government’s “national security experts independently evaluate and provide recommendations on whether any entity meets the thresholds set out in the Criminal Code.
“That process is rigorous and ongoing, and all potential threats are continually assessed to ensure we are keeping Canadians safe,” he added.
The federal government has taken similar action against seven criminal organizations including cartels and street gangs involved in fentanyl trafficking. Among them are the Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa cartels, two of Mexico’s largest and most powerful organized crime groups.
Canadian police sources have told CBC News the Bishnoi gang is one of a number of criminal enterprises in northern India that have spread into North America in recent years.
The group’s founder, 32-year-old Lawrence Bishnoi, has been in Indian prisons since 2014, “but his network is wide and vast” to this day, Poilievre said Wednesday.
“His organization takes orders from him and carry out extortions and other crimes around the world,” the Conservative leader said.
Indian media outlets have described extortion as one of the gang’s biggest sources of income, at home and abroad.
Wednesday’s news conference was Poilievre’s first media availability since winning a byelection Monday in the rural Alberta riding of Battle River-Crowfoot.
He used his stop in Surrey to condemn the Liberals’ response to crime. Poilievre supports mandatory jail time for people found guilty of extortion.
He also wants the government to repeal Bill C-5, which expanded the availability of conditional sentences, allowing some convicted criminals to serve time under house arrest, and Bill C-75, which requires judges to release some people charged with a crime while on bail at the “earliest reasonable opportunity” and with the “least onerous conditions.”
