The invitation extended by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to Indian PM Narendra Modi to attend the G7 Summit in Kananaskis on 15-17 June shows that the new Liberal Party leadership is distancing itself from the influential "pro-Khalistan lobby", a senior Canadian politician and a former Foreign Minister told Sputnik India on Tuesday.
Maxime Bernier, the leader of People's Party of Canada (PPC), said that Carney could even outright abandon some of the "disastrous policies" of his predecessor and party colleague Justin Trudeau, whom New Delhi has officially blamed for causing extensive damage to India-Canada relations.
"It is encouraging to see him invite Prime Minister Modi at the G7 meeting and ignore the critics and calls of the pro-Khalistan lobby, within and outside the Liberal Party," Bernier said.
The PPC leader noted that Canada-India ties had "deteriorated severely" under Trudeau and were in need of a "reset".
In September 2023, then PM Trudeau told the Canadian House of Commons that his agencies were pursuing “credible allegations potentially linking” Indian agents to the killing of pro-Khalistan operative Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on 18 June, 2023.
In spite of India's repeated denials and demand for proof from Canada, Trudeau continued to reiterate his charge, even accusing Indian agents of being orchestrating "drive-by shootings, home invasions, violent extortion and even murder in and across Canada", specifically targeting secessionists. Last October, testifying before the foreign interference commission, Trudeau said that India made a "horrific mistake" in violating Canada's sovereignty.
"Canada-India relations have India as a rising economic power and Canada cannot afford to have strained relations with the most populous country in the world and a fellow member of the Commonwealth," Bernier commented.
The former top diplomat said that both the leaders should discuss two files in particular during their meeting on the margins of the G7 Summit.
"Both governments should clear the air with regard to India’s involvement, or lack thereof, in the killing of Hardeep Nijjar, and closely cooperate so that the investigation quickly comes to a close," Bernier said.
Bernier, who is an advocate for controlled immigration, also called upon Carney to talk about restricting the flow of Indian students and immigrants to Canada.
"India has for some time the most important sources of foreigners arriving in Canada, and this is creating social tensions and having increasingly negative impacts on Canada’s economy, housing and labour markets, in addition to fueling criminality," said Bernier.
Bernier's remarks come against the backdrop of massive backlash against Carney from some of his own party members and pro-Khalistan groups for extending an invitation to PM Modi.
Ottawa-headquartered World Sikh Organisation (WSO) condemned the invitation extended to the Indian PM. In a statement, WSO President Danish Singh accused Carney of doing "a complete reversal of the principled stance taken by Prime Minister Trudeau". Meanwhile, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a designated terrorist and the Counsel for banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), has announced a 48-hour "Ambush Modi’s Politics" demonstration at the G7 Summit in Kananaskis during the Indian leader's visit.
Several Pro-Khalistan groups have backed these protest calls by SFJ. The opposition to Carney over the Modi invitation is also coming from some of the Sikh MPs of his Liberal Party, who reportedly weren't consulted before the Canadian leader dialled the Indian PM last week.
“My constituents are telling me the message that we are sending is they can come and kill Canadians on Canadian soil and they won’t even get a slap on the wrist," Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal told the Canadian media.
Jenny Kwan from the New Democratic Party (NDP), a former coalition partner of the Liberals, described the decision to invite PM Modi as "unconscionable".
Amid mounting domestic pressure, Canadian media reported that Carney had placed a "condition" on Modi's invitation.
“We have now agreed, importantly, to continue law enforcement dialogue, so there’s been some progress on that which recognises issues of accountability,” Carney said.
However, the Indian readout of the Modi-Carney call doesn't make any mention of any such condition.
"As vibrant democracies bound by deep people-to-people ties, India and Canada will work together with renewed vigour, guided by mutual respect and shared interests. Look forward to our meeting at the Summit," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) readout stated.
In the last publicly-known meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trudeau on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September 2023, the Indian leader conveyed his "strong concerns" about anti-India activities by Canada-based pro-Khalistan extremists.
Modi also flagged the issue of calls to incitement of violence against Indian diplomats, which ultimately led to India pulling out its High Commissioner and several other senior diplomats from Canada last October.
The Indian government repeatedly accused Trudeau of giving "political space" to pro-Khalistan extremists, who are seen as a crucial vote-bank for the Liberal Party.
According to MEA, India has shared 26 extradition requests with Canada pertaining to criminal syndicates and terrorists, but Ottawa is yet to act on any of these requests.