Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday said India’s ties with Canada may have undergone “a tonal shift” following the indictment of an Indian national in the US for plotting an assassination attempt on a Sikh separatist on American soil.
“I think there is a beginning of an understanding that they can’t bluster their way through this and there is an openness to collaborating in a way that perhaps they were less open before,” Trudeau told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
He said the US indictment appears to have convinced the Indian government to adopt a more sober tone. “There’s an understanding that maybe, maybe just churning out attacks against Canada isn’t going to make this problem go away.”
“We don’t want to be in a situation of having a fight with India right now over this,” he said.
“We want to be working on that trade deal. We want to be advancing the Indo-Pacific strategy. But it is foundational for Canada to stand up for people’s rights, for people’s safety, and for the rule of law. And that’s what we’re going to do.”
The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Trudeau’s allegations on September 18 of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia.
India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020. India rejected Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”.
In November, the US federal prosecutors charged that one Nikhil Gupta was working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist, who holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada.
Though the separatist Sikh leader was not named, media reports identified him as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the leader of the Sikhs for Justice, an organisation banned in India.
India has already constituted a probe committee to investigate allegations.
Last week, Trudeau said that his decision to make allegations in public was intended to “put a chill” on them from repeating a similar action.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Rajya Sabha earlier this month that Canada has not shared any specific evidence or inputs with India.
Days after Trudeau’s allegations in September, India temporarily suspended the issuance of visas to Canadian citizens and asked Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country to ensure parity.
India resumed some visa services in Canada last month, more than a month after they were suspended.
