Brampton mayor echoes calls for PM to label Bishnoi gang a terrorist group

Sarah Petz · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 19, 2025 11:07 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown is joining calls for the national authorities to state the Lawrence Bishnoi pack a violent organization, saying the India-based gang has been linked to transgression and unit successful the Peel region. 

Brown said Peel constabulary fishy the notorious pack has been progressive successful cases of extortion and targeted shootings successful the region. 

"They terrorize communities, they terrorize individuals and, and you know, they're a predatory organization," Brown said successful an interrogation with CBC Radio's Metro Morning big David Common Thursday. 

"They're a transnational transgression tally retired of a antithetic country, it's a menace that we haven't had to woody with successful a precise agelong time."

Earlier this week, B.C. Premier David Eby called connected the national authorities to database the pack arsenic a violent radical implicit concerns that the radical has been progressive successful extortions and different crimes against the South Asian community. 

Eby said Tuesday that helium would constitute to Prime Minister Mark Carney to inquire that the pack beryllium fixed the violent designation "to alteration constabulary to beryllium capable to usage the indispensable tools to investigate."

Brown said helium believes the designation would assistance Peel constabulary analyse akin crimes successful the region. 

Attempts to repair Canada-India relationship

The calls travel the aforesaid week Canada and India agreed to reinstate their precocious commissioners and look astatine renewed visa services for each other's citizens and businesses.

Carney announced the determination aft a bilateral gathering with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi astatine the G7 acme successful Alberta. 

The 2 countries expelled each other's precocious commissioners, elder diplomats who are akin to ambassadors, past autumn aft the RCMP accused the Indian authorities of playing a relation successful a web of unit successful Canada, including homicides and extortions.

The RCMP besides claimed that the Bishnoi pack was targeting members of the pro-Khalistan question connected Canadian soil, allegedly astatine the behest of the Indian government.

Labelling the Indian pack a violent radical could complicate Carney's attempts to rebuild the Canada-India relationship, fixed those past allegations, said Sanjay Ruparelia, Jarislowsky Democracy Chair astatine Toronto Metropolitan University and an adept connected Indian politics. 

"It's analyzable due to the fact that the assertion past twelvemonth successful October was that they were utilized arsenic a proxy for these operations successful Canada. That's the allegation," helium said. 

"Now … we've had what seems similar the opening of a reset, of a breakthrough."

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Wednesday that helium was alert of Eby's comments but hasn't received an authoritative request.

"This is an autarkic process that goes done our nationalist information agencies and upon their recommendation, I volition beryllium capable to instrumentality that determination to cabinet," helium told reporters connected Parliament Hill.