SIKH organizations that had sought a meeting with Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale  regarding the addition of “Sikh (Khalistani) Extremism” in his department’s 2018 Public Report on the Terrorism Threat to Canada announced on Sunday they will be meeting with the minister “in the week of January 14.”

The BC Sikh Gurdwaras Council, Ontario Sikhs and Gurdwaras Council and the Ontario Gurdwaras Committee had gathered last week to discuss the report. The Sikh community has taken issue with the inclusion of “Sikh (Khalistani) Extremism” for the first time in the history of the report. Last week’s gathering called on Goodale to, in the absence of any evidence, remove the section in its entirety. The Sikh organizations had requested an urgent meeting with the minister to discuss this matter.

Furthermore, as Goodale and several members of the Government have acknowledged and expressed agreement with the community that the inclusion of the section of “Sikh (Khalistani) Extremism” is problematic, the Gurdwara councils said they request the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to put the report on hold and take it down from their website until the review of the report is completed.

The gurdwara councils called on the Sikh community and all gurdwaras “to continue to raise this issue with their elected representatives and ensure that the community’s concerns are heard, as the continued inclusion of “Sikh (Khalistani) Extremism” will have a significant negative impact on the reputation and lives of Sikhs in Canada.”