Canadaʼs foreign minister made a strong statement about 4 days ago‚ putting Indian diplomats on notice. This came after the expulsion of Indiaʼs top envoy and five others from Canada earlier in the week due to their alleged involvement in a Sikh activists death
The minister compared Indiaʼs actions to Russiaʼs saying Canadaʼs police linked Indian diplomats to crimes in Canada. She stressed that Canada wont tolerate foreign diplomats endangering its citizens lives. “Weʼve never seen that in our history‚ that level of transnational repression cannot happen on Canadian soil. Weʼve seen it elsewhere in Europe Russia has done that in Germany and the UK and we needed to stand firm on this issue“ the minister stated
Canadaʼs Prime Minister and police went public with claims that Indian diplomats were targeting Sikh separatists in Canada. They said Indian officials were sharing information with organized crime groups‚ leading to attacks on Canadian citizens
India rejected these accusations calling them absurd. In response‚ it expelled Canadaʼs acting high commissioner and five other diplomats
The US Justice Department also announced charges against an Indian government employee for a planned killing in New York City. This was supposedly part of a larger plot targeting Sikh separatists in North America
I told Modi his government would work with India on concerns about terrorism incitement of hate or anything that is unacceptable in Canada
The killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar a Canadian Sikh activist about 16 months ago‚ has strained India-Canada relations. Despite Canadaʼs claims of forwarding evidence‚ India denies seeing any
India has criticized Canada for being soft on supporters of the Khalistan movement‚ which is banned in India but has support among the Sikh diaspora in Canada. Justin Trudeau said he told Narendra Modi at a G-20 summit last year that advocating for separatism‚ while not Canadian policy‚ isnt illegal in Canada
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they found evidence of an intensifying campaign against Canadians by Indian government agents. Four Indian nationals living in Canada were charged with Nijjars murder and are awaiting trial