Sikh groups say Ottawa should not invite India's Modi to G7 summit
OTTAWA — Sikh organizations are calling on Ottawa to break with a five-year tradition by not inviting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit.
Canada is hosting the G7 leaders' summit next month in Kananaskis, Alta.
While the leaders of those G7 nations — France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — are expected to attend, along with the president of the European Commission, Ottawa hasn't said which leaders it has invited from outside that core group of like-minded liberal democracies.
The Canadian Press learned Friday that Canada has invited Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to attend the summit. Brazil's foreign ministry did not immediately say whether he has accepted the invitation.
The South African high commission has told The Canadian Press that Ottawa also invited President Cyril Ramaphosa to attend the summit. Ramaphosa, who is hosting the G20 summit this November in Johannesburg, has not said if he will attend.
Canada has invited both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to the summit; both have said they will attend.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said this week that Canada had invited her nearly two weeks prior but she had not yet decided whether she'll attend.
Modi has been invited to every G7 leaders' summit since 2019 and Canada and India have signalled recently a possible thaw in relations after months of tensions.
But the Toronto-based Sikh Federation said this week that Canada should withhold any invitation "until India substantially co-operates with criminal investigations in Canada."
They point to Canada's allegation that New Delhi played a role in the assassination of a Sikh activist near Vancouver in 2023, and in numerous other violent crimes.
The Sikh Federation and the World Sikh Organization have expressed concerns about the federal Liberals seeking deeper ties with India.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said recently she had a "productive discussion" with her Indian counterpart on May 25 about "deepening our economic co-operation and advancing shared priorities."
The Sikh groups argue this suggests the federal government is putting economic concerns ahead of human rights.
The Liberals originally made India the focus of their Indo-Pacific strategy in late 2022, describing the country as a democratic nation with strong trade potential.
That all changed after the June 2023 assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.
Months later, the government accused India of involvement in his death. The RCMP says it has evidence that New Delhi is behind numerous crimes targeting Sikh-Canadians.
India claims Canada is enabling a separatist movement that calls for a Sikh homeland — Khalistan — to be carved out of India, and calls that a violation of its sovereignty. Ottawa has long held that it allows free speech that doesn't call for violence.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said during the recent election campaign he wants to pursue trade with India. He said India could play a key role in ending the trade wars if it shows "mutual respect" in light of "strains on that relationship that we didn't cause."
India's high commission referred an interview request on the bilateral relationship to the country's foreign ministry in New Delhi.
Global Affairs Canada hasn't released the names of every leader Ottawa has invited to the summit. Department spokeswoman Camie Lamarche said the names will be "made available in due time."
Since the April 28 federal election, Carney's office has published readouts of discussions with his counterparts from the G7 countries, along with Australia, Ukraine, Mexico, New Zealand, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Norway and Jordan.
G7 hosts in recent years have invited four or more guests. Canada invited a dozen when it last hosted the summit in 2018, including Haiti, the Seychelles, Norway and Argentina.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2025.
Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Epoch Times
2 hours ago
- Epoch Times
House CCP Committee Chairman Inquires With Canadian Firm About Supply of Critical Metal
Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) has sent a letter to Canada-based mining company Almonty Industries to inquire about a critical metal essential for U.S. defense technology that the United States relies on China to obtain. Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),
Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Trump signs order to double tariffs on steel, aluminum Wednesday
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that will double steel and aluminum tariffs on Wednesday as Canadian officials say they're still hoping for a good outcome from meetings in Washington. In March, Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the United States. Trump announced his intention to increase the duties to 50 per cent at a steel plant on Friday. When asked whether there would be exemptions during Tuesday's media briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump 'made that announcement in Pennsylvania and he plans to deliver on that promise to Pennsylvania.' The increase doesn't apply to imports from the United Kingdom, which remain at 25 per cent while the Trump administration continues to work out details of a trade deal announced last month. Canada is the largest steel supplier to the United States, accounting for nearly 25 per cent of all imports in 2023. About a quarter of all steel used in America is imported. Canadian industries have said the tariffs will have a devastating impact and have called on Ottawa to provide support. 'Canada's position is that these tariffs are not justified,' said Kirsten Hillman, the Canadian ambassador to the United States. Despite the higher duties that will hammer Canada's steel and aluminum industry, Hillman and Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said they were optimistic following a meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday afternoon. 'Every time we have these conversations, I think we deepen our understanding of each other's positions,' LeBlanc said. 'And I'm hopeful that we can get to the best outcome for Canadians.' LeBlanc said Lutnick listens carefully, takes notes and asks questions. Hillman said they talked with the commerce secretary about ways to address U.S. concerns, citing the dumping of steel and aluminum in other countries that drives down domestic production. 'It's going to take a bit of time but we had positive conversations,' Hillman said. 'I think we both came out feeling good.' Earlier Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra gave a Canadian audience a similarly positive reflection on the bilateral relationship that has been rocked by Trump's tariffs and threats to make Canada a U.S. state. Speaking at a Toronto event organized by the Empire Club of Canada, Hoekstra said Trump's tariffs can be an opportunity for Canada. The president hit Canada with economywide tariffs related to fentanyl in March, but walked the levies back a few days later for imports compliant under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, called CUSMA. Trump has also hit Canada with 25 per cent tariffs on automobiles, with an exemption for American-made components in vehicles. Hoekstra, a former congressman for Michigan, said as Ottawa and the Trump administration go through these negotiations, 'our chief competitor here is China.' 'How do we use the strengths of the U.S. auto industry? How do we use the strengths of the capabilities of Canada, and how do we bring those together in such a way that we're beating China and not each other?' Hoekstra said. The president still seems committed to his goal of realigning global trade through tariffs. He posted on social media Tuesday that 'Because of Tariffs, our Economy is BOOMING!' Economists have said the higher tariffs could lead to significant cost increases for Americans. The government's producer price index says the price of steel products has gone up roughly 16 per cent since Trump implemented the tariffs. Trump imposed 25 per cent steel tariffs and 10 per cent aluminum levies during his first administration for about a year. The Washington-based Tax Foundation reported that during that period, companies were forced to pay higher prices and the duties resulted in the loss of about 75,000 manufacturing jobs. The Peterson Institute for International Economics concluded that each job saved in steel-producing industries by the tariffs came at a high cost to consumers — roughly $650,000 per job. On May 30, after Trump announced he was doubling the tariffs, Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske said it was 'yet another direct attack on Canadian workers and a reckless move that will send shock waves across the Canadian economy.' 'This decision will shut us out of the U.S. market completely, devastating Canada's steel and aluminum industry and threatening thousands of good-paying, unionized Canadian jobs,' Bruske said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CNET
2 hours ago
- CNET
AT&T Introduces New Discounted Senior Mobile Plan, and 55 Counts as a 'Senior'
AT&T has debuted its new phone plan for seniors, offering service at a reduced price for customers 55 years old and up. (Yes, Gen X, that's you -- or some of you, at least.) While it lacks a lot of the bells and whistles of pricier plans, it's also far more affordable than the carrier's former senior offering. Carriers typically offer several plans to satisfy a range of customers, from the frugal to those that are willing to pay for every perk and bundled streaming service they can get. But plans targeting older Americans have typically been more bare-bones offerings, offered at lower prices to appeal to customers on fixed and limited incomes. AT&T's new AT&T 55+ plan is the most affordable it's offered in years. In exchange, the AT&T 55+ plan is pretty basic. For $40 per month for a single line (or $35 per month per line with two lines), you'll get unlimited voice calls, texting and data in the US, Canada and Mexico, and though AT&T's senior plan page indicates it has "5G access included," there's no clarity on which circumstances will enable high-speed data downloads and uploads on the senior plan. The plan also has 10GB of hotspot data per line per month, which is more generous than some other carrier offerings on our best senior plans list, along with a maximum 720p (SD) streaming speed for video. The plan also provides access to AT&T's free ActiveArmor app that blocks spam calls. Previously, AT&T offered a slightly discounted senior phone plan at $62 per month that was only available to customers living in Florida. Verizon retains a similar Florida-only senior plan. T-Mobile has several plans for seniors, from an older and basic Essentials Choice 55 plan starting at $45 per month up to Experience Beyond w/ 55+ starting at $85 per month and offering all the perks and extras of T-Mobile's other plans, including a 5-year plan price guarantee, streaming services and satellite service beyond T-Mobile's network. It's worth noting that every carrier plan's listed lowest price requires customers to sign up for autopay -- otherwise the plans are more expensive every month. Customers must also prove their age by submitting an identification document to their carrier. Later this summer, AT&T will also offer a bundle combining two lines of AT&T 55+ with the customer's choice of either AT&T Fiber or AT&T Internet Air fixed wireless access internet, according to the carrier's blog post.
