OTTAWA – Foreign Affairs”¯Minister Mélanie Joly and Immigration Minister Marc Miller are expected to speak with reporters today amid reports Ottawa has followed India’s request to remove some of Canada’s diplomats from that country.
Relations with New Delhi have hit a deep freeze since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a month ago that Canadian intelligence services are investigating “a potential link” between India’s government and the killing of a Sikh leader near Vancouver.
New Delhi has publicly called for “parity” in the number of diplomats each country is hosting.
Global Affairs Canada’s public registry of foreign missions shows that India has about 60 diplomats across Canada.
Media reports suggest that a large number of Canadian diplomats have recently left India.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would not confirm whether the reports are true when asked about it today, but said it’s an issue he said his government is “taking extremely seriously.”
“We have been continually engaged in diplomacy and in dialogue with the Indian government,” he told reporters Thursday afternoon.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2023.
