Prime Minister Justin Trudeau brushed aside the Indian government’s concerns that it was “not serious” about cracking down on Khalistani elements in the country and said that Canada ‘always takes serious action against terrorism and we always will’.
Trudeau’s comments came during a media interaction when he was asked about the country giving space to Khalistan extremism and a float depicting former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination at a rally in Brampton.
When Trudeau was asked about their government going soft on Khalistan due to vote bank compulsions, the PM said, “They are wrong. Canada has always taken extremely seriously violence and threats of violence. We have always taken serious action against terrorism and we always will.”
“We have an extremely diverse country and freedom of expression is something that we have but we will always make sure that we are pushing back against violence and extremism in all its forms,” he added.
The comments come after India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned the Canadian envoy to lodge a protest over the rising pro-Khalistani elements’ activities in Canada. This came in response to reports that Khalistani supporters have planned protests outside Indian missions in Canada this Saturday.
Last month, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar lambasted the Canadian government saying that they seemed to be driven by “vote-bank politics”, which had impacted bilateral relations. “How Canada has dealt with the Khalistani issue is a longstanding issue for us, because very frankly, they seem to be driven by vote-bank politics. Their responses have been constrained by what they regard as vote bank compulsions,” he said.
“We made it very clear that if there are activities that are permitted in Canada that impinge on our sovereignty, territorial integrity, and our security, then we will have to respond. It is something that is a continuing conversation with Canada, not always satisfactory, but something on which we have been very clear. And over the last few years, you can see that this has impacted our ties in many ways,” Jaishankar said. “Their responses have all been, to the best of my understanding, actually constrained by what they regard as vote bank compulsions,” he said.
Over the past few months, at least three major anti-India incidents have been reported in Canada involving Khalistani separatists. Canada on several occasions has assured India that its diplomats are safe in Canada and condemned the ‘promotional material’ circulated by the Khalistani separatists ahead of their marches and demonstrations.
“Canada takes its obligation under the Vienna Conventions regarding the safety of diplomats very seriously. Canada remains in close contact with Indian officials in light of some of the promotional material circulating online regarding a protest planned on July 8th, which are unacceptable,” Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly said on July 4.
(With inputs from agencies)
