India must co-operate on Nijjar case before trade ties resume: Canadian minister

Trade Minister Mary Ng hinted on Wednesday that Canada would not begin trade negotiations with India unless the government of Narendra Modi provides assistance in the probe into the June 2016 death of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Vancouver. During the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in San Francisco, Ng was questioned by a reporter about the possibility of reopening trade negotiations between the two nations. “Right now, the focus for Canada is to let the work of the investigation proceed. You’ve heard me and the government talk about how important it is that investigation happens given that we had a Canadian killed on Canadian soil. So we’ll let that happen,” the minister told the media. According to Canada’s commerce minister Ng, it is her responsibility to ensure that Canadian companies have the resources and assistance they require to continue doing business in India. Ng declined to elaborate when asked if she was drawing a direct connection between the necessity of cooperation on this probe and the start of trade negotiations. “Our focus is of course on this investigation, that work has to take place,” she said. “And for Canadian businesses, just to reassure them, because they expect that of their government, that the tools are available to them as they continue to do business and to invest and to make investments and attract investment, that the services of the Canadian government continue to be there for them.” First, without providing a full explanation at the time, India’s High Commissioner to Canada informed The Canadian Press in September that trade negotiations had been put on hold by Canada. Later, it was revealed that the national security adviser of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had visited India during the summer to present Indian authorities with information obtained by Five Eyes intelligence partners indicating the Modi government was implicated in Nijjar’s death. On June 18, Nijjar was shot and died outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia. On September 18, after an awkward trip to India for the G20 meeting, during which the murder was once more brought up in private, Trudeau stood in the House of Commons and openly accused the Indian government of being complicit in the murder. The claim was denied by the Indian government, which described it as “absurd.” Subsequently, India threatened to remove certain Canadian diplomats’ diplomatic immunity, which compelled the Canadian government to remove 41 Canadian diplomats from India. The Modi administration has been charged by the Canadian government for not assisting with the murder inquiry. India is under pressure from allies like the United States and the United Kingdom to cooperate with Canadian authorities on the continuing criminal probe into Nijjar’s death.