India’s ambassador to Canada is scheduled to speak publicly for the first time today as RCMP make arrests related to a murder that has heightened tensions between the two countries.
High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma will address the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations on the subject of current and future relations between India and Canada.
His speech was first announced in April, after months of diplomatic controversy over the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Nijjar had long advocated the separation of a Sikh homeland called Khalistan from India, and last June he was shot dead outside his temple in Surrey, B.C.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last September accused New Delhi of playing a role in the killing and the RCMP arrested three Indian nationals last Friday in connection with the case.
Over the weekend, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar reacted to the arrest, accusing Canada of welcoming criminals from his country.
Veena Nadjibulla, vice-president of research at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, says that despite tensions, India remains a strong trading partner – one that has growing strategic importance for many of Canada’s peers.
“Canada is in a unique position right now when it comes to deepening this kind of strategic partnership with India,” he said.
The tension is linked to Nijjar’s death, which sparked a wave of protests. Posters threatening Indian diplomats by name were circulated in Canada.
Ottawa halted trade talks with India last August, a month before Trudeau publicly linked New Delhi to the issue.
Latest news from Canada and around the world
As it happens, it will be sent to your email.
In response to Trudeau’s accusation, India forced Canada to expel two-thirds of its diplomats from the country, threatening to strip them of diplomatic immunity.
New Delhi has also temporarily suspended visas for Canadian visitors.
For months, Ottawa has demanded that New Delhi cooperate with the murder investigation. Until last week’s arrest, Verma had repeatedly said Canada would have to provide evidence.
India is currently going through a month-long national election, during which Nadjibullah said the rhetoric from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government will increase differences with Canada.
In his comments last week, Jaishankar lamented that “our biggest problem right now is in Canada,” referring to Sikh separatism.
India considers calls for separation from India unconstitutional, but Canada says Sikh people in Canada are entitled to freedom of expression as long as they are not inciting violence.
Last month, Modi twice made statements in Hindi about his country’s ability to kill foreigners who challenge the country’s territorial integrity, largely related to Pakistan.
Despite the rift, there are no signs of a decline in Canada’s trade with India, and the province in particular is seeking stronger ties.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith welcomed Verma in March.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe met Jaishankar last February and spoke at the Raisina Dialogue, a major foreign policy conference in India.
Last week, the province announced it had convinced New Delhi to reinstate the province’s envoy, whom Saskatchewan said was one of the Canadian officials forced to step down by India.
Nadjibullah had attended the same conference with Mo in February. He observed that India displayed “tremendous confidence” in its growing economic power, population and regional clout.
He said the country has the ambition to become a global power through a foreign policy based on strategic autonomy, meaning it is ready to work with Europe, Russia and China without being dependent on any of them.
“Many partners and lovers are seen in New Delhi at this time,” he said.
He compared it to China, with which Canada maintains significant trade relations but has growing differences over security, global trade rules and regional defence.
Nadjibullah argued that despite the ongoing murder case, Canada should consider resuming trade talks with India.
“We can do a lot together, and this momentum was there even before the diplomatic crisis,” he said.
“We need to stabilize and improve that relationship, because it is in Canada’s national interest.”
© 2024 The Canadian Press