India’s exiled high commissioner to Canada says economic ties between Canada and India will likely be maintained, but political relations are currently characterized by “mistrust”.
In an exclusive interview with Sunday’s CTV Question Period, Sanjay Kumar Verma said India’s decision on whether he and his ousted successor would be decided would require “consultations” between the two governments. Ta.
“We would be concerned, primarily given the distrust we have towards Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau and his team, and we will be very close to them,” he told host Vassy Kapelos. We will discuss this carefully.” “There are a lot of things because it’s about our safety and security.”
Verma also accused the Trudeau government of failing to quell the Sikh separatist movement active in Canada and its elements, which India views as extreme in nature. The ousted High Commissioner pointed out that the 27 unresolved extradition cases were a key friction point for India.
“What we want is for the Canadian regime at the time, the government at the time, to address my core concerns rather than be allies with those who seek to challenge the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India. It’s just a matter of understanding and trying to be honest with it,” he said. Said.
Canada’s newest high commissioner to India, Cameron McKay, said the federal government is working on the issue and that Canada is seeking further information from India on 26 of these 27 extradition files.
“Let me be clear,” he also told Kapelos in an interview on CTV’s Question Period, which aired Sunday. “To date, India has shared sufficient information and has successfully extradited people from Canada to bring justice to the country.”
He also said, “It is a diversionary strategy to claim that Canada is uncooperative on these law enforcement matters.” “I don’t think that’s true at all.”
The RCMP and the federal government earlier this week accused Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada of engaging in covert operations related to serious criminal activity in the country, including murder and extortion.
Verma, along with five other Indian employees working in Canada, was expelled this week after being labeled a person in disgrace by the Canadian government for refusing to waive diplomatic immunity to law enforcement inquiries.
Sanjay Kumar Verma, Indian High Commissioner to Canada, poses for a photo in Ottawa, Thursday, August 31, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Patrick Doyle
India classifies Canada’s accusations as politically motivated. Since then, six Canadian diplomats have been expelled in kind.
Prime Minister Trudeau was also sworn in as a member of the House of Commons, citing “credible allegations” that Indian government officials were involved in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia last summer. It’s been more than a year since I said that there was. Since then, diplomatic relations between the two countries have remained tense.
Verma also criticized Trudeau for his handling of the investigation into Nijjar’s murder and related allegations. Mr. Verma accused the Canadian prime minister of relying on intelligence rather than evidence.
“If you want to destroy a relationship based on information, be my guest,” Verma said. “That’s what he did.”
The Indian government has so far refused to cooperate with Canada’s investigation into Nijjar’s murder. But it is cooperating with the U.S. investigation into last year’s failed assassination attempt in New York City on another Sikh activist, Gurpatwant Singh Panun, who holds dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday that it would file criminal charges against then-Indian government officials. An unsealed indictment links that assassination attempt to the Niger case.
When asked about the contents of the newly unsealed indictment and the connection between the US investigation and Nijjar’s murder, Verma “totally refutes” the link and instead said: He said he pointed out that Prime Minister Trudeau had failed to take an appropriate diplomatic stance. Practice. “
“Evidence should have been shared first, but someone decided to stand up in Parliament and say what he said there was no solid evidence for,” Verma said. “Now let’s clarify what we’re talking about.”
“And since the day he did that, he has demonstrated that the bilateral relationship with India has gone from bad to worse, to a downward spiral,” he added, later pointing to evidence of Trudeau’s suspicions. He called it “hearsay.”
McKay claims Canada sought to share evidence with the Indian government at multiple junctures.
“Frankly, Canada was looking for India’s cooperation and collaboration in this regard,” he told Kapelos. “We just don’t see it.”
“Instead, I think the Indian government responded by smearing Canada and dismissing the evidence we provided to Canada for domestic political purposes,” he said.
McKay said the move appears to have worked well for viewers within India.
“This has been a very successful domestic communications strategy for India,” he said. “Internationally, I don’t think it’s at all reliable, but within India it certainly worked.”
Canada and India trade relations
Regarding other aspects of Canada-India relations, Mr. Verma assured Canada’s International Trade Minister Mary Ng that despite increasingly difficult diplomatic relations, commercial relations between the two countries would not be affected. ” he said he agreed.
“People-to-people relationships, trade relationships, cultural relationships, science and technology, education, those relationships have nothing to do with it,” he said. “This is a completely different conversation than we were having today, and there will be feelings on both sides, and we can’t stop that.”
“So while there will be sentiment that may impact some of these deals, the bigger picture is that we don’t think there will be a significant impact on the non-political bilateral relationship.” he added.
Verma’s comments came as he sought to reassure businesses that the federal government “remains committed to supporting the established trade relationship between Canada and India” in a statement posted on social media. This echoes Ng’s comments earlier this week.
“However, we must weigh economic interests against the need to protect Canadians and uphold the rule of law,” Ng also wrote. “We will not tolerate threats, extortion or harm against our Canadian citizens by foreign governments.”
India, one of the world’s 10 largest economies, began negotiations with Canada for a free trade agreement in 2020, but negotiations were suspended indefinitely shortly after Trudeau’s accusations in the House of Commons related to Nijjar’s murder. Interrupted.
Ng said in an interview with CTV’s Question Period in February that the status of the negotiations had nothing to do with Trudeau’s accusations, and at the time asked what Canada would want from India to resume its commitment to free trade. He did not say whether it was necessary. transaction.
Meanwhile, the relationship with India is a key part of Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy, which has been in the works for about two years and seeks to strengthen economic ties with other countries in the region while taking a tougher stance on China. has become an important part of
With files from CTV News’ Brennan McDonald and Stephanie Ha.
The High Commissioner’s full interview can be viewed on CTV’s Question Period starting at 11 a.m. ET.
