iNDICA NEWS BUREAU–
Canada’s federal commission of inquiry into foreign interference is looking to examine alleged meddling by India in the country’s last two general elections, Canada-based CTV News reported. The commission, in a statement on Wednesday, said it has asked the federal government to produce documentation related to these allegations.
The commission’s terms of reference, published last year, direct it to assess possible interference by China, Russia, and other foreign states or non-state actors in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, the CTV News reported.
The statement signals the commission’s intention to probe any role India might have played in influencing the two ballots, as per CTV News.
The commission’s initial hearings, to begin next Monday, will look at the challenges and limitations of disclosing classified national security information and intelligence to the public.
According to CTV News, an interim report from the commission is due on May 3, with a final report expected by the end of the year.
Canada and India have had a tumultuous 2023, soon after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged in September that India was responsible for the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated Khalistani terrorist, in Surrey, British Columbia. Ties between India and Canada have been strained since then. See indica’s comprehensive coverage.
India rejected Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd and motivated” and expelled a Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move after Ottawa asked a senior Indian diplomat to leave.
New Delhi also halted visa services to Canada, but later resumed services for four categories after a “considered review of the security situation”. According to India’s ministry of external affairs, Canada has not been able to present any evidence to back its claims over the killing.
On November 12, Justin Trudeau had reaffirmed his allegation of Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist in India. He also accused New Delhi of violating the Vienna Convention by “kicking out” 40 diplomats at a time when his country had reached out to the former and other global partners to get to the bottom of the murder.
Tying the Nijjar killing to India’s decision to strip the Canadian diplomats of their immunity, the Canadian PM said, “That’s why we were so disappointed when India violated the Vienna Convention and arbitrarily revoked the diplomatic immunity of over 40 Canadian diplomats in India… We have serious reasons to believe that agents of the government of India could have been involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil and India’s response is to kick out a whole bunch of Canadian diplomats by violating their rights under the Vienna Convention.”
