Disastrous Canada-India relations are of Trudeau’s making

KAMOURASKA, QUE.—My late son, who travelled to dozens of countries and went around the world in 2005, had a saying: “No matter where you go, everyone is the same.” He would then pause and say, “Except the Indians.” Having been posted in India a few years later, I have to agree with him. India, which most Canadians see as a subcontinent with a billion Brown people, is incredibly diverse. It has more than 20 official languages, dozens of religions, hundreds of cultures, a complex history, and a dynamic economy. Canada has failed to get a trade agreement with India because, as a regional power, India insists on dictating the terms. Canada, with little foreign investment there, is seen as an economic also-ran. Combine that with the emergence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, and understanding India becomes more difficult. Despite leading the world’s largest democracy, Modi has not hesitated to use strongman tactics against minorities. It is part of his history: in 2002, as chief minister of Gujarat, he was accused of condoning violence that killed close to 2,000 people, mostly Muslims. So, it is not surprising that Indian “agents” were accused of the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., in June. The Indians had repeatedly asked Canada to extradite Nijjar, accusing him of terrorism and direct involvement in the killings of prominent Indian citizens. Though Nijjar ultimately became a Canadian citizen, we know his initial applications for asylum and citizenship in Canada were twice rejected. While it is an overwhelming repudiation of another country’s sovereignty to engage in extraterritorial murder, it is not unknown. Then-Israeli prime minister Golda Meir undertook the “Wrath of God” killings in the 1970s in retaliation for the terrorist attack on Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics, and then-United States president Barack Obama ordered hundreds of drone assassinations in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. This is not to justify India’s alleged involvement in the Nijjar killing. But news reports describing him as a “Khalistani activist” completely miss the mark. Terry Glavin, one of a few Canadian journalists with a grasp of India, has revealed Nijjar’s sinister past. This past June, Sikhs in Brampton, Ont., had a float in a parade depicting former Indian PM Indira Gandhi's assassination. This is disgraceful. But Canadian politicians have made excuses for attending similar parades where there were depictions of terrorists as “martyrs.” We only have to be reminded of the 1985 Air India bombing that killed 329 people, many Canadians, which was carried out by Sikh extremists. While more than half of Canada’s Indian diaspora is Sikh, they amount to less than two per cent of India’s population. The Khalistan movement is no longer a force within India: only in diaspora communities like Canada does it gain slight traction. As a country with its own issues with separatism, it is hypocritical for our government to be sheltering supporters of Khalistan. This is where the Trudeau government has failed miserably. As a recent Globe and Mail opinion piece revealed, the Liberals made foreign policy calculations based on the voting propensities of Sikhs. According to the author, former Trudeau adviser Omer Aziz, “Canada’s ethnic domestic battles were distorting our long-term foreign policy priorities, and politicians were … playing up ethnic grievances to win votes.” And then there was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement about the alleged Indian government connection to Nijjar’s killing. He offered speculative intelligence that had little basis, and should never have been uttered publicly. As the head of government of a “Five Eyes” member, the prime minister should be the last person revealing secrets, especially those of a dubious foundation. Within a geopolitical context, we are now missing the boat, as the West sees India as a counterweight to China. I imagine there are Sinocentric advisers at Global Affairs Canada and the Prime Minister’s Office who still think China is wonderful; when I praised India, the China types would sneer. Now, as China’s population shrinks, and its totalitarian government interferes directly in our politics, India matters. And despite his strongman approach, so does Modi. And that’s what counts in a world of realpolitik. But instead of reaching out to India, Trudeau has chosen marginal diaspora politics over foreign policy, portrayed a cartoonish understanding of India in his 2018 trip, and now has accused India of assassination. This is not a mature relationship, and as long as he remains in office, it cannot be salvaged. Andrew Caddell is retired from Global Affairs Canada, where he was a senior policy adviser. He previously worked as an adviser to Liberal governments. He is a town councillor in Kamouraska, Que. He can be reached at pipson52@hotmail.com. The Hill Times

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Disastrous Canada-India relations are of Trudeau’s making

The prime minister has chosen marginal diaspora politics over foreign policy, and as long as he remains in office, the bilateral relationship cannot be salvaged.

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