Canada-India Relations at Breaking Point: Diplomats Expelled Over Sikh Activist Murder Allegations

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• Canada-India Relations at Breaking Point: Diplomats Expelled Over Sikh Activist Murder Allegations

  The RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] didn't release any specifics of the allegations that are being made against these Indian diplomats beyond the broad brushstrokes of criminal activity, violent crimes, harassment and intimidation, but they did say that the threat to public safety was so significant that they felt they had to make these allegations public in order to protect Canadians across the country. It's an extraordinary measure, but it should be said that Canada is a, it's a just country, it has a fair Judicial System. These diplomats will have their day in court and an opportunity to plead not guilty or guilty, and defend themselves from the accusations. 

  India vehemently denies the allegations. They claim that the Trudeau government is politically motivated in making allegations against these Indian diplomats and they claim that Canada actually hasn't presented any specific evidence related to the nature of these crimes, although Canadian diplomats argue that they have actually presented this evidence to the government of India and been completely rebuffed and rejected in these advances. 

  So, two different narratives being put out by the feuding governments. It's unclear and we're not going to know as a public, until the indictments are actually unsealed, what evidence the RCMP is working with. One thing that we do know from unsealed indictments is that the United States has been cooperating with Canadian investigators and intelligence agencies. 

  The US is dealing with their own case of an Indian national with alleged ties to the government in New Delhi, who tried to solicit a would be murder-for-hire of a Sikh cleric in New York City. What we know from that indictment is that they collected information and passed it on to Canadian authorities, of a murder that was set to take place north of the border, which we now know to be the successful assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. 

  The Canadian authorities on Monday also revealed that the FBI has been cooperating with them in their investigation and sharing information. While Canada and India undergo this diplomatic dispute it's going to be really hard for both countries to cooperate in the International Arena. Canada hosts the G7 Summit next year; India has been invited to the G7 Summit since 2019. Given the current state of affairs, it's hard to see India being invited to join that Summit in Canada. 

  On the flip side, India is a big player in a lot of the Indo-Pacific institutions that have come up over the past few years. Think the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, the Quad; they're founding members of both. And while Canada has its eyes set on becoming a larger player in the Indo-Pacific, it's possible that India could use its influence to try and ice Canada out of those organizations. 

  It's possible that India is trying to wait out the Trudeau government and wait for a new government to come in and hopefully reset the bilateral relationship, but public opinion about this issue seems to be such that it would be difficult for any new government to reset the bilateral agenda, pull back the investigations, and try a fresh start with India, overlooking everything that's happened over the past year.