10 April 2025 : A provincial lawmaker in Canada has apologised after describing New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh as a “terrorist.”
Racquel Hilbert, an MLA with the ruling party in the province of Saskatchewan, issued the apology for the statement she made on March 25.
That day, according to the agency Canadian Press, the Saskatchewan Party MLA said, “We did not hear the opposition denounce their federal leader as being a terrorist in India and denounce the collateral trade damage to Western Canada.”
The opposition in the province is the NDP.
On Wednesday, she said, “During my budget response speech, I made an inappropriate comment regarding the Federal NDP leader,” she said, adding, “I wish to apologise and withdraw my comment.”
Jagmeet Singh was denied a visa by then UPA Government in 2013. However, there are no known charges against him in India, including any related to terrorism.
In March 2018, Canadian media had reported that Singh had appeared at a 2015 event in San Francisco, during which he spoke at a platform with the backdrop of a large poster of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, considered in India the person who birthed the violence of Khalistan movement in the 1980s.
The agency also reported that Singh said he didn’t care about what was said about him but was “worried” that it was said by an MLA.
Summary: A lawmaker in a Canadian province has issued an apology after controversially referring to the NDP leader as a “terrorist,” sparking political backlash.