Canada Minister Marc Miller. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller has rejected External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s remark that Ottawa is “lax” about admitting people into the country, saying authorities conduct a criminal record check on people entering Canada on student visas.

On May 4, Mr. Jaishankar said that India had “convinced them (Canadian authorities) several times not to give visa, legitimacy or political space to such people which is causing problems for them (Canada), for us and also for our relationship. “But the Canadian government has not done anything,” Mr. Jaishankar said, adding that India sought the extradition of 25 people, most of whom are pro-Khalistan, but they did not pay any heed.

His remarks came after Canadian authorities charged three Indian nationals with the murder of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. It is reported that they entered Canada on student visas.

Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023. Karan Brar (22) Kamalpreet Singh (22) and Karanpreet Singh (28) all Indian nationals residing in Edmonton, have been charged on Friday with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Responding to a question on April 7 about Mr. Jaishankar’s remarks, Mr. Miller said, “We’re not lax, and the Indian Foreign Minister is entitled to his opinion,” reported the Cable Public Affairs Channel — a Canadian speciality television channel.

When asked what the Canadian government planned on doing about it, he said, “About what the Indian Foreign Minister said? Let him speak his mind. It’s just not accurate.” He said that Canada conducts a criminal record check on people entering the country on student visas, and when asked how this works, he said. “You check them in if they have a criminal record; they don’t come in.” Canada takes “any report like this very seriously,” Mr. Miller said.

He refused to confirm if the three Indians arrested for Nijjar’s murder were in Canada on a student visa, asserting that there’s information that he can’t share at the time because of the ongoing police investigation.

The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations in September last year of the “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of 45-year-old Nijjar, a Khalistan separatist.

India has dismissed Mr. Trudeau’s charges as “absurd” and “motivated.” The presence of Sikh separatist groups in Canada has long frustrated India, which had designated Nijjar a “terrorist.” After the arrest of the three Indian nationals in connection with the murder, police in Canada said they had worked with the U.S. law enforcement agencies without giving additional details. The police suggested more arrests might be coming.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Assistant Commissioner David Teboul, the force’s commander for the Pacific region said last week that he wouldn’t comment on the alleged links between the three men arrested and Indian officials but noted the force is “investigating connections to the government of India.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Jaishankar on May 4 said what is happening in poll-bound Canada over the killing of Nijjar is mostly due to their internal vote bank politics and has nothing to do with India.

He said a section of pro-Khalistan people are using Canada’s democracy, creating a lobby and have become a vote bank.

A view of the High Commission of India, in Ottawa, Canada.
| Photo Credit: AP

Canada has welcomed India’s decision to resume some visa services in the country from October 26, saying the move was a “good sign” after “an anxious time” for many Canadians, amid a diplomatic row over the killing of a Sikh separatist.

India’s High Commission in Canada said on October 25 that the country’s officials will resume processing some types of visa applications for Canadians applying from across the country as well as abroad.

Also read | An India-Canada bonding that is in danger of snapping

The decision came a month after New Delhi suspended the services in Canada and for Canadian citizens worldwide as tensions flared between the two nations last month following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations of the “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia.

India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020. India has rejected Mr. Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”.

On Wednesday afternoon, Immigration Minister Marc Miller called India’s move “a good sign” after “an anxious time” for his many Canadians.

“Our feeling is that a suspension should never have happened in the first place,” he was quoted as saying by CTV News.

He said the “really concerning diplomatic situation with India has created a lot of fear in a lot of communities.” Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan, who is also a Sikh, said the resumption of visa processing is good news, but wouldn’t speculate on what message New Delhi is trying to send.

“It’s good to see that they have resumed that. It would have been nice (if) they didn’t take it in the first place,” Mr. Sajjan told reporters.

He said it was important that Indians and Canadians can go back and forth when it comes to events such as weddings and funerals. He added that Ottawa is still seeking India’s help as police investigate the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India will resume services for entry visas, business visas, medical visas and conference visas.

Marilyne Guevremont, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada (GAC) – the department that manages the country’s diplomatic and consular relations, told CBC News that GAC is aware of the Indian government’s “decision to resume certain categories of visa processing for Canadians.” “Canada and India share important people-to-people ties and India’s resumption of visa services will make it easier for families and businesses to travel between our countries,” Ms. Guevremont.

In a statement, the Canada-India Business Council said it was “a promising development” for trade relations. “It is also a positive sign that both governments have expressed their support for bilateral business and investments amidst these unusual times,” wrote council head Victor Thomas. The development came days after Canada pulled out 41 of its diplomats from India.

Before Mr. Trudeau’s announcement dramatically heightened tensions between Canada and India, New Delhi had publicly denounced protests by Sikh separatist groups outside its diplomatic missions in Canada, as well as posters that appeared to offer cash rewards in exchange for the home addresses of Indian diplomats. India formally called on Canada to better uphold its duty to protect foreign diplomats.

India had also asked Canada to come down hard on terrorists and anti-India elements operating from its soil and suspended visa services for Canadians.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
| Photo Credit: AP

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not respond to questions about India rejecting allegations made by him in Parliament about India’s involvement in the killing of a prominent Khalistani separatist leader.

Mr. Trudeau was in the United Nations Headquarters to attend the high-level 78th session of the UN General Assembly.

On September 20, he spoke at the Climate Ambition Summit, the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine and at the Global Carbon Pricing event at an especially constructed SDG Pavilion on the UN premises.

On two different occasions and venues within the UN premises, PTI posed a question to Mr. Trudeau about India rejecting his allegations but he did not respond and walked away, surrounded by his security detail.

India has strongly rejected Mr. Trudeau’s statement made in the Canadian Parliament and said “allegations of Government of India’s involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated.” Mr. Trudeau has made allegations in the Canadian Parliament of the involvement of “agents of the Indian government” in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF).

Nijjar was one of India’s most-wanted terrorists who carried a cash reward of ₹10 lakh on his head and was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen outside a gurdwara in Surrey in the western Canadian province of British Columbia on June 18.

Bilateral ties between India and Canada have been tense in recent months. Trade talks have been derailed and Canada just cancelled trade talks.

Amid the growing diplomatic row between the two countries, India on Wednesday advised all its citizens living in Canada and those contemplating travelling there to exercise “utmost caution” in view of growing anti-India activities and “politically-condoned” hate crimes in the North American country.

In a strongly-worded advisory, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi referred to “threats” targeting Indian diplomats and sections of the Indian community that oppose the “anti-India agenda”, and asked Indian nationals to avoid travelling to regions and potential venues in Canada which have seen such incidents.

Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller sought to reassure Indian nationals on Wednesday that it is safe to travel to the country even as a leader of the Sikh separatist movement banned in India has announced plans for rallies in Canadian cities on Monday that seek the closing of New Delhi’s diplomatic missions here, The Globe and Mail newspaper reported.