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Canada and India continue to negotiate the fate of dozens of Canadian diplomats in New Delhi, even as the Indian government’s deadline for Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence passed on Tuesday.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” that India may be linked to the murder of a Canadian Sikh activist near Vancouver, and New Delhi last month gave Canada until October 10 to withdraw its presence in the country 41 out of 62 diplomats. in June.
Several people familiar with the matter said Ottawa was trying to resolve issues with New Delhi, which had warned that diplomats who stayed past the deadline would lose diplomatic immunity. A Canadian official said Ottawa did not withdraw any diplomats before the deadline.
Relations between Canada and India plummeted last month after Trudeau told the Canadian Parliament that Ottawa was pursuing Indian charges in connection with the murder of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Hardeep Singh Nijar was a Sikh leader and part of the movement for an independent Sikh state in India.
India called the accusations made by Trudeau to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit in New Delhi in September “ridiculous.” US President Joe Biden also raised this issue with Indian leaders at the G20 summit. The Financial Times previously reported that India had not privately denied the claims, but New Delhi did.
Canada and India each expelled a diplomat after Trudeau’s explosive remarks. India also stopped issuing visas to Canadians.
India has also said it wants each other to have “equal” numbers and levels of diplomats. Ottawa has more diplomats in India than New Delhi has in Canada because Ottawa has a large consular service responsible for processing visas for the family members of some 1.3 million Canadians who say they have Indian ancestry.
Trudeau and Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said last week that Ottawa was trying to resolve the impasse privately. Jolly said the tensions between the two countries highlighted “the importance of having a strong diplomatic footprint in India”.
People familiar with the matter said that a few days ago, Jolly also held a secret meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Washington. Canada’s foreign ministry declined to comment.
India invoked the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations to justify its call for equality. Canada rejected that argument, saying New Delhi had misread the treaty that provides a framework for diplomatic relations.
Peter Boehm, chairman of the Canadian Senate’s foreign affairs and international trade committee, said the treaty contains no reference to equality or unilateral determination of the number of diplomats.
“The Indians are way ahead,” Boehm told the Financial Times.
“If India were a law-abiding country, it would respect the terms of the Vienna Convention . . . and act accordingly,” said Roland Paris, professor of diplomacy at the University of Ottawa.
The Indian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the talks between the two countries.
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