Ottawa/New Delhi, Oct 15 (UNI) Continuing his tirade against India amidst the diplomatic fallout, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Indian government has made a “fundamental error” as he accused it of supporting a “campaign of violence” against Canadians on Canadian soil.
Speaking to reporters Monday, hours after the two nations expelled six of each other’s diplomats over the investigation into the killing of Indo-Canadian Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year, Trudeau said: “I think it is obvious that the government of India made a fundamental error in thinking that they could engage in supporting criminal activity against Canadians, here on Canadian soil.
“Whether it be murders or extortion or other violent acts, it is absolutely unacceptable,” Trudeau said during a Thanksgiving Monday news conference, the Globe and Mail reported.
“No country, particularly not a democracy that upholds the rule of law, can accept this fundamental violation of its sovereignty.”
Earlier, the head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) accused “agents of the Indian government” of playing a role in “widespread violence” in Canada, including homicides, and warned that it poses “a serious threat to our public safety.”
Earlier in the day, Canada announced it’s expelling six Indian diplomats. India has denied the allegations and quickly retaliated, ordering six Canadian diplomats to leave the country within a week.
Ties deteriorated last year after Trudeau said in Parliament that Canada had evidence linking Indian agents to the killing of Canadian Sikh Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. New Delhi has denied the allegation.
In a statement, Trudeau said: “We shared our concerns with the Government of India and asked them to work with us to shed light on this important issue. ..Today, given evidence presented by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), we are taking additional steps to protect Canadians.
“Commissioner of the RCMP, Mike Duheme stated that the RCMP has clear and compelling evidence that agents of the Government of India have engaged in, and continue to engage in, activities that pose a significant threat to public safety. This includes clandestine information gathering techniques, coercive behaviour targeting South Asian Canadians, and involvement in over a dozen threatening and violent acts, including murder. This is unacceptable.”
He said the RCMP and Canadian security officials sought to work with the Government of India and Indian law enforcement counterparts on the matter but “they have been repeatedly refused”.
“That is why, this weekend, Canadian officials met with Indian officials to share RCMP evidence, which concluded six agents of the Government of India are persons of interest in criminal activities. And despite repeated requests to the Government of India, they have decided not to co-operate. Given that the Government of India still refuses to co-operate, my colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, had only one choice.
“Today, she issued a deportation notice for these six individuals. They must leave Canada. They will no longer be able to act as diplomats in Canada, nor to re-enter Canada, for whatever reason. Let me be clear: the evidence brought to light by the RCMP cannot be ignored. It leads to one conclusion: it is necessary to disrupt the criminal activities that continue to pose a threat to public safety in Canada.
“We will never tolerate the involvement of a foreign government in threatening and killing Canadian citizens on Canadian soil – a deeply unacceptable violation of Canada’s sovereignty and of international law.”
He called on the Government of India “to co-operate with us on this investigation – to put an end to its inaction and misleading rhetoric; to recognize the credibility and severity of the evidence and information we have shared so far; and to reiterate, in no uncertain terms, that its position on extrajudicial operations abroad will henceforth be unequivocally aligned with international law.”
“I know the events of the past year and today’s revelations have shaken many Canadians, particularly those in Indo-Canadian and Sikh communities. Many of you are angry, upset, and frightened. I get that. This shouldn’t happen. Canada and India have a long and storied history rooted in strong people-to-people ties and business investments, but we cannot abide by what we are seeing right now. Canada fully respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India, and we expect India to do the same for us.”
Speaking at the same news conference as Trudeau, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Canada had to take steps because “it is sitting diplomats that were involved in violent incidents.”
In response, India’s ministry of external affairs announced that it is withdrawing its envoy, High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma, along with “other targeted diplomats and officials” from Canada.
In a statement, New Delhi rejected the “preposterous imputations” of the Canadian assertion, accusing Trudeau of having a “political agenda” centred around “vote-bank politics,” a term referring to voting blocs from specific communities.
“We have no faith in the current Canadian Government’s commitment to ensure their security. Therefore, the Government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials,” it said in the statement, released Monday.
India also announced it is expelling six Canadian diplomats, including acting high commissioner Stewart Wheeler, and hinted that it could take further action. The Canadians have until Saturday night to leave the country.
“India now reserves the right to take further steps in response to these latest efforts of the Canadian government to concoct allegations against Indian diplomats,” said the ministry statement.
The World Sikh Organization of Canada said the RCMP’s announcement confirms “the lived experience of Sikhs for the past four decades.”
“India’s criminal activities in Canada must end. India’s targeting of Sikhs must end. We expect Canada’s elected officials to unite in condemning India’s foreign interference and its efforts to obstruct justice,” said president Danish Singh.
Monday’s swift expulsions are just the latest deterioration in the India-Canada relationship. Following Trudeau’s announcement last fall in the Nijjar case, Canada pulled out more than 40 diplomats from India in October 2023 after New Delhi asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence.
Soon after Canada’s allegation, the U.S. claimed that Indian agents were involved in an attempted assassination plot of another Sikh separatist leader in New York in 2023, and said it had indicted an Indian national who was working at the behest of an unnamed Indian government official.
Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic Party, an alliance partner of Trudeau’s government, and a prominent Khalistani supporter, said he was briefed on the latest allegations Monday and urged his opposition colleagues to do the same, and to “hold the Modi government accountable and refuse to look the other way.”
When asked if Canada is considering further action, Joly said she’s in contact with her G7 counterparts and “everything is on the table.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused Trudeau of failing to take national security seriously.
“Our government’s first job is to keep our citizens safe from foreign threats,” he said in his statement.
“We expect the full criminal prosecution of anyone and everyone who has threatened, murdered or otherwise harmed Canadian citizens.”
