- The Prime Minister's accusation comes as India and Canada expelled each other's envoys.
- He says police determined violence against Canadians enabled by the Indian government.
- Four Indian nationals have been arrested in connection with Nijjar's murder.
OTTAWA: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday there were “clear indications” that India had violated Canadian sovereignty, as the countries spar over the killing of a Sikh on Canadian soil last year that Ottawa blamed on New Delhi.
Trudeau's latest accusation came two days after India and Canada expelled each other's ambassadors, when Ottawa alleged that Indian involvement in a campaign against Sikh separatists went beyond what was previously known.
Tensions have soared since Canada accused the Indian government of involvement in the killing last year outside a Sikh temple of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an advocate for an independent Sikh state who had immigrated to Canada and become a citizen.
At a hearing on foreign interference on Wednesday, Trudeau addressed Nijjar's murder, as well as what he called a broader campaign by Indian government representatives against Canadian citizens inside Canada.
“We had clear indications, and certainly now increasingly clear indications, that India had violated Canada's sovereignty,” Trudeau told the inquiry.
He added that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had determined that “violence against Canadians […] has been enabled and in many cases directed by the Indian government.
Trudeau said that when Ottawa brought these allegations to New Delhi, “India's response to these allegations and to our investigations was to redouble the attacks against this government.” […] but also arbitrarily expelling dozens of Canadian diplomats from India without any reason.”
Trudeau told the inquiry Wednesday that his government does not want to be in a position “of starting a fight with a major trading partner,” with whom Canada has deep ties.
But he stressed that he will not hesitate to “defend Canadian sovereignty.”
Nijjar, who immigrated to Canada in 1997 and became a citizen in 2015, had advocated for a separate Sikh state, known as Khalistan, drawn from India.
He was wanted by Indian authorities for alleged “terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder.”
Four Indian nationals have been arrested in connection with the murder of Nijjar, which took place in the parking lot of a Sikh temple in Vancouver in June 2023.
On Monday, India called allegations that it was connected to Nijjar's murder “absurd” and a “strategy to defame India for political gain.”
Last year, the Indian government briefly limited visas for Canadians and forced Ottawa to withdraw its diplomats, and this week it threatened to take further action.
