Canada to Pass Law Banning Display of Khalistan Symbols if Used to Promote Hate

March

2026

Canada’s House of Commons has passed a new law that would criminalize public display of flags and symbols of designated Khalistan organizations if used to promote hatred. The Combatting Hate Act (Bill C-9) cleared its third reading on 25 Mar with a vote 186 to 137. It now moves to the Senate for further review before it can become law. The Bill introduces a new offence under the Criminal Code for willful promotion of hatred against any identifiable group through the public display of symbols linked to terrorist entities listed in Canada. This includes flags associated with Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF), both designated as terrorist organizations in Canada and India. Meanwhile, in Quebec, Canada, a Sikh teacher Amrit Kaur has challenged Bill 21 which required her to remove her turban and kirpan (traditional sword) to work as a teacher. The case is now before the Supreme Court of Canada and centers on whether it infringes fundamental freedoms and other constitutional protections. The outcome could have wide implications for religious expression, minority rights, and the limits of government authority in a multicultural democracy. Alongside, on 26 Mar, a Canadian national, 60-year-old Guramrit Singh Sidhu from Brampton, Ontario pleaded guilty in a Los Angeles, US federal court to leading a drug trafficking group and moving USD 17M worth of cocaine and methamphetamine from the US into Canada. The indictment—released in January 2024 in the US District Court for the Central District of California—said Sidhu 'occupied a position of organizer, supervisor, and manager, and in this role, obtained substantial income and resources'. Concurrently, in New Zealand, a former Auckland businessman Baltej Singh serving a 22-year prison sentence after admitting to importing more than 700 kg of methamphetamine has lost the plea to keep his name secret. Baltej is the nephew of former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi’s assassin Satwant Singh—one of the bodyguards responsible for her killing in 1984. While a New Zealand High Court had initially granted Baltej permanent name suppression, the Court of Appeal said there was a clear public interest in identifying a person responsible for offence (earlier coverage).