OTTAWA: Canada is not trying to provoke India by suggesting it was linked to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, but wants New Delhi to address the issue properly, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
Trudeau announced that Canadian intelligence agencies were actively pursuing credible allegations tying New Delhi’s agents to the shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, in British Columbia in June, in a rare such attack on the world’s largest democracy.
India quickly dismissed the assertion as absurd, and said it was expelling a Canadian diplomat, further worsening already poor diplomatic relations between the two G20 members. In the wake of India’s denial, Trudeau was pressured by the Conservative opposition to go public with the evidence.
Trudeau on Tuesday said that Ottawa decided to speak now because “we wanted to make sure that we had a solid grounding in understanding what was going on … we wanted to make sure we were taking the time to talk with our allies.”
He told reporters that the case had far-reaching consequences in international law. “The government of India needs to take this matter with the utmost seriousness. We are doing that; we are not looking to provoke or escalate,” he said.
The affair has derailed protracted talks on a potential bilateral trade deal. According to reports, Canada’s decisions to pause talks and postpone a major trade mission set for next month has been directly linked to concerns over the murder.
READ MORE: Canada suspects India’s involvement in Sikh leader murder
Canadian officials have so far declined to say why they believe India could be linked to Nijjar’s murder. Canada has worked very closely with the US, including on Trudeau’s statement on Monday about his country’s concerns over the killing.
“The prime minister hasn’t provided any facts. We need to have the evidence that allowed the prime minister to come to the conclusions yesterday,” Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre told reporters.
Nijjar’s son Balraj said had always suspected India was behind the killing, Canadian media report reported. “It was just a matter of time for when the truth would come out,” he said.
Sikh and Muslim organizations welcomed Trudeau’s remarks and called on his government to take swift action, including protecting Sikhs in Canada under threat and preventing Indian nationals tied to intelligence forces or human rights abuses from entering Canada, among other immediate steps.
“To see a Canadian attacked on Canadian soil by a foreign country — I think we can’t understate how shocking that news is,” World Sikh Organization of Canada board member Mukhbir Singh told a news conference.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims chief executive, Stephen Brown, speaking alongside Singh, added: “This assassination was an attack on all of us as Canadians. This is why we must take action.”
The US and Australia expressed “deep concern” over Canada’s accusations. US authorities have urged India to cooperate with the investigation, a senior State Department official told reporters at a news briefing. Britain said it would continue trade talks with India despite the allegations.
