Will India-Canada ties continue? What Canada's defence minister said

In the midst of strained relations between India and Canada, Canada’s defence minister has described his country’s ties with India as “important.” Bill Blair on Sunday said that his country will continue to pursue partnerships like the Indo-Pacific strategy while the investigation of the killing of a Sikh separatist leader continues. Tensions flared between India and Canada following Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau’s explosive allegations of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, on his country’s soil on 18 June in British Columbia. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020. India angrily rejected the allegations as “absurd” and “motivated” and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawa’s expulsion of an Indian official over the case. Canada had been seeking deeper trade, defence and immigration ties with India before the “credible intelligence,” as Trudeau called it, was first raised with Canadian officials, Global News reported. **Also Read: Diplomats expelled, trade talks on hold: How India-Canada ties have plunged to new lows** In an interview aired Sunday on The West Block, Blair suggested Canada will continue to pursue those partnerships while the investigation into allegations continues, calling the relationship with India “important.” “We understand that this can be, and has proven to be, a challenging issue with respect to our relationship with India,” he was quoted as saying by Global News. “But at the same time, we have a responsibility to defend the law, defend our citizens, and at the same time make sure that we conduct a thorough investigation and get to the truth.” [caption id=“attachment_13163982” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] If the allegations are proven true, Defence Minister Bill Blair said “there is a very significant concern that Canada will have with respect to the violation of our sovereignty in the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil.” File image/Reuters[/caption] If the allegations are proven true, Blair said “there is a very significant concern that Canada will have with respect to the violation of our sovereignty in the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil.” Partnerships like Indo-Pacific strategy will continue Blair said the Indo-Pacific strategy was still a critical one for Canada and has led to an increased military presence in the region and commitments for further patrol capabilities. The strategy commits $492.9 million (Rs 4,089 crore) over five years toward those military priorities, out of a total of nearly $2.3 billion (Rs 19,083,100 crore) over the same period.

On Thursday, India asked Canada to come down hard on terrorists and anti-India elements operating from its soil and suspended visa services for Canadians, as escalating tensions between the two nations over the killing of Nijjar pushed their ties to an all-time low. India also asked Canada to downsize its diplomatic staff in the country, arguing that there should be parity in strength and rank equivalence in the mutual diplomatic presence. The size of Canadian diplomatic staff in India is larger than what New Delhi has in Canada. ‘It’s Hindu Canadian’s blood’ On Sunday, Liberal Party MP Chandra Arya said that Hindu Canadians felt frightened following threats issued by extremist forces, and he blamed his own party-led administration for inaction against Khalistan fanatics. [caption id=“attachment_13164002” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Canada had been seeking deeper trade, defence and immigration ties with India before the “credible intelligence.” AP[/caption] Arya has often raised the subject of threats to Hindu Canadians and advised the community to be calm and cautious. “I am more worried about the consequence of what happened after the Prime Minister’s (Trudeau) statement. The concerns of the safety of Hindu Canadians here, Hindu Canadians are fearful,” Arya told while speaking to CBC News, as reported by Hindustan Times. “What I am worried is that the bloodshed is going to be Hindu Canadian’s blood,” he added. With inputs from PTI