I gave you the example of the Ottawa protest from March 2023. This was, by all accounts, a peaceful protest, but when you have accusations of grenades being thrown, how is that going to affect individuals who want to come and protest?
I mean, is this opening it up to foreign governments basically threatening or throwing the sink at these dissenting communities and hoping something sticks? On the other side, even if you know you're going to be exonerated at the end, it puts you in this long process and you just decide that it's not worth the risk.
This is how I see a lot of things in this entire bill: They're double-edged swords if they're used by foreign governments. For example, the Sikhs are a stateless people. We have networks in countries across the world. Now when India accuses us of Khalistan advocacy, of being directed by foreign entities, is this going to cause us trouble here? I hope not, but what are the safeguards? This is what I'm confused about.
This is intended to stop transnational oppression and foreign interference, but will it be a wet blanket for communities like mine, who are advocating for causes that foreign governments do not like and which they're willing to use all of their resources to stop?