India-Canada Row: “Still Committed To Build Closer Ties”, Says Justin Trudeau

Emphasizing India’s growing global influence, Trudeau underscored the “extreme importance” of Canada and its allies maintaining engagement with India. Addressing a press conference in Montreal on Thursday, Trudeau emphasized the “extreme importance” of Canada and its allies maintaining constructive and substantial engagement with India due to its increasing significance on the global stage. “India is a growing economic power and important geopolitical player. And as we presented with our Indo-Pacific strategy, just last year, we’re very serious about building closer ties with India,” he told reporters.

“At the same time, obviously, as a rule of law country, we need to emphasize that India needs to work with Canada to ensure that we get the full facts of this matter,” National Post quoted Trudeau as saying. Trudeau mentioned that he received assurances from the United States regarding Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s intention to bring up the publicly made allegations concerning India’s involvement in Nijjar’s murder during his meeting with the Indian counterpart, S. Jaishankar, in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. “The Americans have been with us in speaking to the Indian government about how important it is that they be involved in following up on the credible allegations that agents of the Indian government killed a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil,” National Post quoted Trudeau as saying.

“This is something that all democratic countries, all countries that respect the rule of law need to take seriously. We are moving forward in a thoughtful, responsible way anchored in the rule of law with all of our partners including in our approach to the Government of India,” he added. On September 18, Trudeau informed the Canadian House of Commons that Canadian security agencies had actively been pursuing “credible allegations of a potential link” between agents of the Government of India and the killing of Nijjar. He also stated that he had directly conveyed these concerns to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 Summit and that India’s top intelligence and security officials were informed of Canada’s “deep concerns,” as reported by the National Post.

Trudeau subsequently called upon the Indian government to cooperate with Canada “to thoroughly investigate this matter.” However, it’s worth noting that India has vehemently rejected these allegations, deeming them ‘absurd’ and ‘motivated.’ Importantly, Prime Minister Trudeau has yet to provide any public evidence to substantiate the claim regarding the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. In the midst of these strained relations, Trudeau’s remarks have further exacerbated tensions between the two nations. India responded by suspending its visa services in Canada following Prime Minister Trudeau’s allegations of Indian involvement in the killing. Against the backdrop of these strained ties, India issued an advisory for its citizens and those traveling to Canada, advising them to exercise “utmost caution in view of growing anti-India activities and politically-condoned hate crimes and criminal violence” in the country.