India is cooperating with Canada amid tensions over murdered Sikh, says Trudeau’s aide
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India is cooperating with Canada and bilateral ties are improving after tensions spiked over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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OTTAWA – India is cooperating with Canada and bilateral ties are improving after tensions spiked over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader
Diplomatic relations soured
“I wouldn’t describe them (the Indians) as not cooperating. I think we’ve made advancements in that relationship,” Ms Jody Thomas, Mr Trudeau’s national security adviser, told CTV.
CTV published an excerpt from the interview on its website on Jan 26. The full interview will be aired on Sunday.
Canada has been pressing India to cooperate in its investigation into Mr Nijjar’s killing.
In November 2023, the US authorities said they had thwarted a plot to kill a Sikh separatist in the United States.
Ms Thomas told CTV: “The information that they (the US) revealed supported our position and our assertions with India, and India is working with us... far more closely to resolve this.”
Mr Trudeau said in December he sensed a change in India’s tone with Ottawa after the US case.
The acrimony has delayed discussions on a free-trade deal and threatened Canada’s plans to expand its influence in the Indo-Pacific region, where New Delhi’s cooperation is critical to efforts to check an increasingly assertive China.
“Our ability to function in the Indo-Pacific does rely on having a healthy relationship with India. And I think that we are working back towards that,” Ms Thomas said.
Around two million Canadians, or 5 per cent of the population, have Indian heritage.
Canada withdrew 41 diplomats from India
