OTTAWA
— A Liberal MP says he intends to raise concerns to Prime Minister Mark Carney about the decision to invite India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Canada as part of a meeting of G7 leaders later this month.
Sukh Dhaliwal represents
the Surrey, B.C., riding that was home to Sikh activist and Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whom Canada said in 2023 was killed by agents acting on behalf of the Indian government. Nijjar was gunned down outside a temple in June 2023.
India
has denied the accusation but had considered Nijjar to be a terrorist. Nijjar was a prominent activist in the Khalistan movement, which has pushed to establish a separate Sikh state in India’s Punjab province.
The accusation from former prime minister Justin Trudeau in September 2023 sparked a wave of tension in the Canada-India relationship, including last fall when the RCMP said it believed Modi’s government was linked to violence unfolding in Canada, including organized crime and murders.
A breakthrough appeared on Friday
when Modi confirmed he would be attending the upcoming G7 summit in Alberta, at Carney’s invitation.
Since then, Dhaliwal says he has received dozens of calls and more than 100 emails from constituents expressing concern.
“They’re worried. They’re worried about their safety, they’re concerned about the justice in Mr. Nijjar’s case, as well,” he told
National Post
in an interview late Friday.
Dhaliwal said he has heard from other Liberal MPs also expressing concern, but said he would not divulge details to protect their privacy.
He said he intends to raise the concerns he has been hearing from constituents with Carney or members of his team, and will be in Ottawa next week for the ongoing sitting of Parliament.
“He’s willing to talk,”
Dhaliwal said of the prime minister.
“He’s willing to listen to his MPs, that’s what he has promised because he has always said that he’s interested in the voice from the grassroots, not the message coming from the top to the grassroots.”
“I will certainly raise this with him or his team.”
A statement from Carney’s office in response to questions from National Post didn’t directly address Dhaliwal’s concerns, but said “Canada’s sovereignty and national security is paramount.”
“As Prime Minister of the fifth largest economy and the world’s most populous country, Prime Minister Modi was invited to participate in these critical discussions,” the statement reads.
The prime minister also defended his decision to invite Modi to the G7 at a Friday press conference earlier in the day.
He said it was a matter he discussed with other G7 countries and, given that the group plans to discuss issues ranging from energy security to critical minerals and infrastructure, “there are certain countries that should be at the table for those discussions.”
Carney said India is central to a number of supply chains and has the fifth largest economy in the world and the largest population.
“So it makes sense.”
Modi said in a statement on social media that “I
ndia and Canada will work together with renewed vigour, guided by mutual respect and shared interests.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre backed the decision for Modi to attend, saying Canada needs to work with India on security and trade.
Meanwhile, the World Sikh Organization, which advocates for Sikh Canadians, denounced the decision, with its legal counsel, Balpreet Singh, saying it amounts to a “betrayal.”
Carney declined to say on Friday whether he believed Modi was involved in Nijjar’s assassination, saying it would be inappropriate for him to comment on the matter given the fact that legal proceedings were underway.
Four Indian nationals have been charged in his death.
Dhaliwal said he does not support the decision to have Modi in Canada, but said he should offer a “commitment that his government or his agents of India, will never, ever intervene into the lives of Canadians.”
India’s prime minister should also agree to “full cooperation” in the investigation into Niijar’s death.
Last fall, Canada and India expelled each other’s diplomats after it cited RCMP evidence linking Indian government agents to crimes in Canada.
Canada had requested that India waive diplomatic immunity to allow police to investigate, which the federal government said did not happen.
Carney said on Friday that he and Modi in their discussion agreed to
“law enforcement to law enforcement dialogue. He also noted that
“some progress” had been made on issues of “accountability.”
Dhaliwal said the RCMP has been clear in its concerns about the links between the Indian government and violent crimes taking place in Canada.
He also pointed to Justice Marie-Josée Hogue’s report into foreign interference that named India as one of the top countries attempting to meddle in Canada’s democratic process.
The invitation to Modi touches on issues of the rule of law and fundamental rights, he added.
“We cannot sacrifice those values.”
National Post
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