Mr. Chair, I am thankful for the opportunity to address the issue that was brought to light in this very House yesterday. It is the issue of credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of Mr. Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen murdered on Canadian soil. This is an unacceptable violation of sovereignty and international law. I want to provide my sincerest condolences to Mr. Nijjar's family and friends and the Sikh community at large.
The Prime Minister brought this issue to light because our government remains committed to combatting foreign interference and to protecting Canadians and communities targeted by foreign state actors. We are taking leadership in safeguarding our democratic institutions and protecting our sovereignty. This will never change.
The RCMP and our security agencies are aware of foreign interference in Canada and are leveraging all tools at their disposal. We are also working closely with our democratic international partners and will continue to share as much information as possible with Canadians.
It is within the RCMP's mandate to investigate criminal or illegal activities occurring in Canada that are found to be backed by a foreign state actor, and it currently has over 100 investigations looking into foreign interference activities. The Government of Canada is aware that certain foreign governments have attempted to threaten and intimidate individuals in Canada or their relatives abroad. We take this issue very seriously, and we look forward to the expanded mandate given to the public inquiry led by Justice Hogue exploring this issue more in depth, despite the Conservatives only wanting the focus to be on China. Seeing their absence in the House for this debate tonight and the Conservative—