India Withdraws Its Envoy to Canada

New Delhi: Hours after it received a communication from the Canadian government which “suggested that the Indian high commissioner in Ottawa and other diplomats are ‘persons of interest’ in a matter related to an investigation in that country”, a furious India on Monday evening announced it was withdrawing its high commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, and its other “targeted” diplomats and officials from that country. Canada, meanwhile, said it had expelled six Indian diplomats.

Retaliating for Canada’s expulsion of the high commissioner and five others, India late on Monday evening expelled six Canadian diplomats, including the acting high commissioner, deputy high commissioner and four first secretaries at the Canadian high commission in New Delhi. Both countries have effectively downgraded diplomatic ties with each other.

In a statement, New Delhi said: “The Government of India has decided to expel the following six Canadian diplomats: Mr Stewart Ross Wheeler, acting high commissioner, Patrick Hebert, deputy high commissioner, Ms Marie Catherine Joly, first secretary, lan Ross David Trites, first secretary, Adam James Chuipka, first secretary, and Ms Paula Orjuela, first secretary. They have been asked to leave India by or before 11.59 pm on Saturday, October 19, 2024.”

On Monday evening, MEA secretary (east) Jaideep Mazumdar summoned the Canadian charge d’affaires and told Canada clearly that “in an atmosphere of extremism and violence (in Canada), the Justin Trudeau government's actions endangered their safety” and that India has “no faith in the current Canadian government’s commitment to ensure their security”. The Canadian CdA was also told “the baseless targeting of the Indian high commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable” and that “India reserves the right to take further steps in response to the Trudeau government’s support for extremism, violence and separatism against India”.

Canada had accused India in September last year of involvement in the killing of Canadian citizen and pro-Khalistan extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil in June last year which New Delhi had described as absurd. New Delhi said “this latest development targeting Indian diplomats is now the next step in that direction” and that “it is no coincidence that it takes place as Prime Minister Trudeau is to depose before a commission on foreign interference”. India said “not a shred of evidence” had been shared by Canada. Media reports on Monday quoted a senior Canadian diplomat as saying his country had given “irrefutable proof” on the matter and that it was “time for New Delhi to act”.

Earlier in the day, hours after it received the Canadian communication earlier on Sunday, India had on Monday afternoon warned that “India now reserves the right to take further steps in response to these latest efforts of the Canadian government to concoct allegations against Indian diplomats”. Accusing Canadian PM Justin Trudeau directly of hostility against India, New Delhi said “the Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau government that is centred around vote bank politics”.

India further said its envoy in Ottawa “high commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma is India’s senior most serving diplomat with a distinguished career spanning 36 years”, and that “the aspersions cast on him by the Government of Canada are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt”. It pointed out that Mr Verma “has been ambassador in Japan and Sudan, while also serving in Italy, Turkey, Vietnam and China”. The MEA further said the Indian government “has taken cognisance of the activities of the Canadian high commission in India that serve the political agenda of the current regime (in Canada)”.

On Monday, New Delhi said: “We received a diplomatic communication from Canada yesterday suggesting that the Indian high commissioner and other diplomats are ‘persons of interest’ in a matter related to an investigation in that country. The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau government that is centred around vote bank politics. Since Prime Minister Trudeau made certain allegations in September 2023, the Canadian government has not shared a shred of evidence with the Government of India, despite many requests from our side. This latest step follows interactions that have again witnessed assertions without any facts. This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains.”

New Delhi added: “Prime Minister Trudeau’s hostility to India has long been in evidence. In 2018, his visit to India, which was aimed at currying favour with a vote bank, rebounded to his discomfort. His Cabinet has included individuals who have openly associated with an extremist and separatist agenda regarding India. His naked interference in Indian internal politics in December 2020 showed how far he was willing to go in this regard. That his government was dependent on a political party, whose leader openly espouses a separatist ideology vis-à-vis India, only aggravated matters. Under criticism for turning a blind eye to foreign interference in Canadian politics, his government has deliberately brought in India in an attempt to mitigate the damage. This latest development targeting Indian diplomats is now the next step in that direction. It is no coincidence that it takes place as Prime Minister Trudeau is to depose before a commission on foreign interference. It also serves the anti-India separatist agenda that the Trudeau government has constantly pandered to for narrow political gains.”

The MEA further said, “To that end, the Trudeau government has consciously provided space to violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada. This has included death threats to them and to Indian leaders. All these activities have been justified in the name of freedom of speech. Some individuals who have entered Canada illegally have been fast-tracked for citizenship. Multiple extradition requests from the Government of India in respect of terrorists and organised crime leaders living in Canada have been disregarded. The Government of India has taken cognisance of the activities of the Canadian high commission in India that serve the political agenda of the current regime. This led to the implementation of the principle of reciprocity in regard to diplomatic representation. India now reserves the right to take further steps in response to these latest efforts of the Canadian government to concoct allegations against Indian diplomats.”

The latest developments come as Canadian PM Justin Trudeau told reporters in Laos that he had a “brief exchange” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that he told Mr Modi that “there is work that we need to do”. The Canadian PM told reporters that the “safety of Canadians and upholding the rule of law is one of the fundamental responsibilities of any Canadian government”. Indian government sources had however said “there was no substantive discussion” between the two Prime Ministers and that while India attaches importance to relations with Canada, bilateral ties “cannot be repaired unless the Canadian government takes strict and verifiable action against those who actively pursue anti-India activities and have conspired to promote hate, disinformation, communal disharmony and violence in India as well as Canada”.