Photo: Adrian Wyld The Canadian Press Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly speaks with a senior official from Global Affairs Canada, Weldon Epp, in March 2023. The latter appeared earlier this month before the House Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade municipalities.
Dylan Robertson – The Canadian Press in Ottawa
February 18, 2024
- Canada
The federal government is trying to teach India a lesson despite the high tensions shaking the two countries.
Appearing earlier this month before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Assistant Deputy Minister for the Indo-Pacific Region Weldon Epp noted that Canada had “already held workshops with the Indian government to explain what [the] legal standards would be that could justify the extradition of people accused of terrorism.
India has for decades accused Canadian authorities of harboring extremists who demand the independence of a state called Khalistan encompassing certain regions of the country.
Ottawa has always defended itself by declaring that these activists had the right to express an opinion.
Tensions between the two countries reignited in June following the assassination of a Sikh leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot outside a temple in Surrey, Colombia -British.
Three months later, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed that Canadian intelligence services believed the Indian government had played a role in the assassination.
These allegations led New Delhi to suspend visas and expel the majority of Canadian diplomats present in this country.
Sushant Singh, a researcher at a policy research center in New Delhi, believes the Indian government wanted to send a message that it would not be intimidated. However, he anticipates that New Delhi will try to save face by blaming rogue elements.