Canada confirmed that India has communicated the plan to remove immunities on 41 diplomats, barring the rest 21 in the country
NEW DELHI: Indo-Canadian relations face another obstacle as Justin Trudeau withdraws 41 of its diplomats from the consulates across India on Thursday, following pressure from Indian government.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly announced, “Canada confirms that India formally communicated its plan to remove immunities unilaterally for all but 21 Canadian diplomats and dependents in New Delhi by October 20, 2023. This means 41 Canadian diplomats and their 42 dependents were in danger of having immunities stripped.” This comes as relations between the two countries have dived to an all-time low following Canada’s allegations against India over the killing of a pro-Khalistan extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.
India in the past has reiterated several times and called for parity in the number of Indian diplomats in Canada with the number of Canadian diplomats in India. New Delhi, had earlier, set a deadline of October 10 for the repatriation.
The official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, had said, “The size of the Canadian diplomatic staff in India is larger than what New Delhi has in Canada and that there should be parity in strength and rank equivalence in the mutual presence.” These happenings reflect badly on Canada as it points towards Trudeau’s government choosing to evade deadline in a bid to negotiate that did not work in their favour.
FLASH: Amid #IndiaCanada diplomatic tensions, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said, “As of now, I can confirm that India has formally conveyed its plan to unethically remove diplomatic immunities for all but 21 Canadian diplomats and dependents in Delhi by October 20. This… pic.twitter.com/nY6xziQAcy
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) October 20, 2023
While giving a statement and terming it as an expulsion of Canadian diplomats by the Government of India, Joly said, “Given the security implications of India’s actions on these Canadian diplomats and their families, Canada has facilitated their safe departure from India. A unilateral revocation of diplomatic privileges and immunities is contrary to international law, including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. This action taken by India is completely unreasonable and escalatory. India accredited each and every one of the Canadian diplomats they are now expelling. And all of those diplomats were carrying out their duties in good faith, and to the greater benefit of both countries.”
Canada said it will continue to engage India and remains committed to dialogue as we move forward but it will impact operations, and client service. Joly added, “However, certain application requirements will need to be completed locally or on-site in a secure environment. As a result, the reduction in the size of the IRCC team will affect service standards for residents of India who said that the lower numbers of staff will have short-term and medium-term repercussions.”
The “pause” in-person services will be at its consulates in Chandigarh, Bengaluru and Mumbai until further notice.
India was the top source of permanent residents, temporary foreign workers, and international students in Canada last year.
They further said that Five IRCC staff remain in India and will focus on work that requires an in-country presence such as urgent processing, visa printing, risk assessment and overseeing key partners, including visa application centres, panel physicians and clinics that perform immigration medical exams. “Rest of the work and staff will be reassigned across our global processing network”
“India’s decision will not distract from Canada’s legitimate investigation into the killing of Mr. Nijjar. Canada’s priorities in this matter continue to be the pursuit of the truth, the protection of Canadians, and the defence of our sovereignty.” Joly concluded, sharing the helpline for assistance in India, while elaborating that Canadian nationals could still contact the High Commission in New Delhi.
Canada has also issued an advisory for citizens travelling to India, urging them to exercise caution in India due to the threat of terrorist attacks throughout the country.
Tensions flared between India and Canada after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that India was involved in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Nijjar, who India designated as a terrorist in 2020, was shot dead by masked gunmen on June 18 in British Columbia to which India termed the allegations “absurd” and “motivated”.
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