Canada and India to share terrorism intelligence despite 2023 murder plot, says report
Canada and India plan to share intelligence in a bid to combat the rising threat of international crime and extremism, according to a new report from Bloomberg, days before a meeting between the two countries' leaders.
Canadian officials declined to comment on the report, which, if confirmed, would represent a dramatic shift in relations between the two nations which for nearly two years have been locked in a bitter diplomatic spat after Canada's federal police agency concluded that India planned and ordered the murder a prominent Sikh activist on Canadian soil.
Under the intelligence-sharing deal , which is expected to be announced during the G7 summit in Canada later this week, police from both countries will increase cooperation on transnational crime, terrorism and extremist activities. Canada has reportedly pushed for more work on investigations into extrajudicial killings.
Earlier this month, Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, was forced to defend his decision to invite the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, to the G7 summit in Alberta after Canada's federal police's said the shooting death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar was orchestrated by the 'highest levels' of the Indian government.
Carney said there was a 'legal process that is literally under way and quite advanced in Canada', following questions over his decision to invite Modi. Four Indian nationals living in Canada have been charged with Nijjar's murder.
Carney also cited India's status as the 'fifth largest economy in the world, the most populous country in the world and central to supply chains'. But the decision did not sit well with lawmakers from British Columbia. A member of Carney's Liberal caucus, Sukh Dhaliwal, met with the prime minister earlier this the week to express concern over the invitation.
'We as Canadians take pride to be a champion on human rights. We are the country of law and justice,' Dhaliwal, who represents the electoral district where Nijjar was killed, told the Canadian Press. 'When it comes to protecting fundamental rights and serving justice for the victim, it is non-negotiable.'
Dhaliwal said that the prime minister was 'alarmed about the issue' and would be 'very strong in dealing' with the issue when speaking to his Indian counterpart.
Ever since former prime minister Justin Trudeau accused India of orchestrating the high-profile assassination of Nijjar, Ottawa and New Delhi have been locked in an worsening feud over the issue.
India temporarily stopped issuing in visas in Canada and, soon after, Canada expelled six senior diplomats, including the high commissioner, Sanjay Verma. India retaliated by ordering the expulsion of six high-ranking Canadian diplomats, including the acting high commissioner.
'The Indian government made a horrific mistake in thinking that they could interfere as aggressively as they did in the safety and sovereignty of Canada,' Trudeau told a public inquiry into foreign interference, adding that Canada had not wanted to 'blow up' its valuable relationship with India. But he said after Nijjar was killed, 'we had clear and certainly now ever clearer indications that India had violated Canada's sovereignty'.
The Bloomberg report, which underscores Carney's attempts to mend relations with powerful nations, follows revelations that a suspected Indian government agent was surveilling former New Democratic party leader Jagmeet Singh as part of its network of coercion and intimidation.
According to Global News, the person, with suspected ties to both the Indian government and the Lawrence Bishnoi gang implicated in Nijjar's death, knew Singh's daily routines, travel plans and family. When the RCMP realized there was a credible thread to this life, they placed the federal party leader under police protection.
'India targeted a Canadian politician on Canadian soil. That's absolutely unprecedented. 'As far as we're concerned, that's an act of war,' Balpreet Singh, a spokesperson for the World Sikh Organization, said after of the Global News report. 'If Jagmeet Singh isn't safe … what does it mean for the rest of us?'
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Reuters
5 minutes ago
- Reuters
Canada's Sikhs voice outrage over Modi G7 invitation
TORONTO, June 14 (Reuters) - Members of Canada's Sikh community who were warned by police that their lives were at risk and allege the Indian government is responsible for the threat are incensed by Ottawa's invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit in Alberta. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney invited Modi, although India is not a G7 member, to attend the summit that starts on Sunday as a guest. It will be Modi's first visit to Canada in a decade and a diplomatic test for Carney, a political neophyte. Canada's relationship with India has been tense since former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2023 accused India's government of involvement in the June 18, 2023, murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader in Canada. Modi's government has denied involvement in Nijjar's killing and has accused Canada of providing a safe haven for Sikh separatists. "'Outrage' is the kind of term that I've heard from people," Sikh activist Moninder Singh, a friend of Nijjar, said of the invitation. He and other Sikh leaders plan to hold a protest in Ottawa on Saturday. Carney, locked in a trade war with the United States, is trying to shore up alliances elsewhere and diversify Canada's exports. Carney told reporters he invited India due to its importance in global supply chains. India's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a Thursday press briefing that a meeting between Modi and Carney "will offer an important opportunity for them to exchange views on bilateral and global issues and explore pathways to set or reset the relationship." That rationale rings hollow for Singh, who lives in British Columbia. He has received multiple warnings from police that his life was at risk. One such warning forced him from his home for months in 2023 for his children's safety. "On a personal level, and on a community level, as well, it was deeply insulting ... Sikh lives aren't as important as the fifth-largest economy in the world that needs to be at the table," he said. A spokesperson for Carney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in October they had communicated more than a dozen threats to people like Singh who are advocating for the creation of a Sikh homeland carved out of India. In October, under Trudeau, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats, linking them to Nijjar's murder and alleging a broader government effort to target Indian dissidents in Canada through killings, extortion, use of organized crime and clandestine information-gathering. India retaliated by ordering the expulsion of six Canadian diplomats and called the allegations preposterous and politically motivated. Canada has said it does not have evidence linking Modi to the threats. The tension has thrust Canada's Sikh community - the largest outside India's Sikh-majority Punjab state - into the spotlight. Singh said there should have been conditions on Modi's invitation. "Any meetings with them should have been under the conditions that Mr. Modi and his government would take responsibility for what has been uncovered and cooperate, but none of that happened." Carney told reporters Modi had agreed to "law enforcement dialogue." Jaiswal said Indian and Canadian law enforcement agencies will continue to cooperate in some ways. Some activists and politicians in Canada have accused Carney of putting economic issues ahead of human rights concerns. But Sanjay Ruparelia, a Toronto Metropolitan University politics professor, said the prime minister is simply being practical. "(Carney's) watchword since he's come to office is pragmatism. And this is very much a pragmatic, realpolitik decision."
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Why Starmer must stand up to Trump at crucial G7 summit
There may not be enough maple syrup in Canada to sugar coat any diplomatic misstep by Keir Starmer as he joins arguably the most important international summit of his premiership so far. The last time the word 'Canada' passed the prime minister's lips on a trip to North America, it caused a diplomatic storm with one ally even as he was carefully trying to get another one on side. This weekend, the prime minister joins fellow leaders from the world's biggest economies - including Donald Trump - for the G7 summit in Alberta. While the leaders, hosted by recently reelected Canadian PM Mark Carney, will discuss a number of issues, top of the real agenda will be the hot topics of US tariffs, the war in Ukraine and now the combustible situation in the Middle East with Israel's America-backed attacks on Iran. Starmer - with his soft approach to dealing with Trump - will be hoping that he can stay on course to get the trade deal the two announced to great fanfare over the line. The UK prime minister will also be trying to edge Trump towards a tougher approach to Ukraine and avoid him ditching the Aukus submarine agreement with the US, UK and Australia. All this requires a careful balance of egos - particularly that of the man from the White House. Trump is at his first summit since being ousted from office in 2020. But the added picante to this summit is the overhang of a diplomatic incident Sir Keir inadvertently caused the last time he was asked about the status of Canada in the presence of President Trump. Back in March, at the White House press conference, the prime minister was pressed by The Independent's White House correspondent, Andrew Feinberg, on Trump's (ongoing) plans to turn Canada into the 51st state. Just hours after Sir Keir had handed Trump an invitation from the King for a state visit to the UK in the Oval Office, it seemed only fair to ask about the status of another part of Charles III's sovereign realms on the US border. The prime minister, desperate to be Trump's best pal, at the time, tried to laugh it off. He said: 'Look, we had a really good discussion, a productive discussion... you mentioned Canada, I think you are trying to find a divide between us that doesn't exist, we are the closest of nations. We didn't discuss Canada.' To say the failure to stand up for Canadian sovereignty did not go down well in the Commonwealth country is an understatement. Among a series of angry and disobliging quotes was one from retired Canadian ambassador Artur Wilczynski. He noted: 'Starmer's refusal to come to Canada's defence in front of Trump is more than disappointing. Canadians died for the UK by the tens of thousands. He could have opened his bloody mouth to speak up for us.' But the incident - likely to come up as an issue again with Trump next week - highlighted the near-impossible situation he has in dealing with the US President. Waving off the problems of the UK's Canadian cousins was perhaps a price worth paying if it meant goint from Obama's 'back of the queue' for a trade deal to the front of the line for Trump. Unfortunately, even though it was announced to great fanfare, the trade deal with the US still has not come into effect. Just on Thursday, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds was telling journalists in Parliament's Press Gallery lunch about his frantic calls to keep the negotiations moving. Worse still, the zero tariffs that Sir Keir thought he had won on steel could soon turn into 50 per cent tariffs if issues are not resolved soon after Trump increased his levies. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is showing outright hostility to the UK for arguably doing the right thing in sanctioning extremists in the Israeli government. Surrounded by other allies including the EU, Germany and France, Sir Keir will need to carefully balance his approach, especially if Trump gets tetchy again. For those of us who have been around a bit, we all remember the last time Trump arrived for a G7 summit in Canada in 2018 and the utter chaos it unleashed. Sir Keir could do well to call former prime minister, Baroness Theresa May, for advice on how to handle it, because this G7 is a case of deja vu. Trump infamously arrived late but was persuaded to sign a communique of the event hosted by the then-Canadian PM Justin Trudeau after he was surrounded by fellow leaders led by the then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In the process, the US president managed to insult the then-Japanese prime minister, the late Shinzo Abe, suggesting he would send 25 million Mexicans to Japan to teach him about migration issues. Things only got worse when he left early to fly to Singapore to meet North Korean despot Kim Jong Un. A fed-up Mr Trudeau said of Trump: "Canadians are polite and reasonable but we will also not be pushed around." Trump's ego was hurt and his swift rebuke was to accuse Trudeau of acting "meek and mild" during meetings, only to attack the US at a news conference, and order his team to unsign the communique he had agreed to support in response. When she was asked by The Independent 's Kate Devlin (then of the Sunday Express) in the subsequent press conference about whether Brits would be pushed around, Baroness May characteristically suggested Brits were 'strong and stable' - a phrase which provided the epitaph for her tumultuous premiership. She was, though, at a time somewhat traumatised by her Brexit negotiations with the EU and the political upheaval it caused in the UK. The lessons of the present and the past should act as a warning for Sir Keir to prepare for complete disarray and to expect anything. But, given recent criticism of his leadership style, he may want to be less robotic in his responses than Baroness May and might want to avoid selling out Canada again.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Mark Carney's conversion from eco warrior to oil and gas champion
Once considered the Bank of England's greenest-ever governor, Mark Carney has seemingly undergone a Damascene conversion. During his time at Threadneedle Street, he called on the world to leave 80pc of oil and gas in the ground. But now, as Canada's new prime minister, he wants to pump as much as he can to protect the country's economy from Donald Trump's trade war. Canada is going to become an energy powerhouse, Carney told reporters last week. And he didn't mean just in renewables. 'When I talk about being an energy superpower, I mean in both clean and conventional energies,' he said. 'And yes, that does mean oil and gas. 'It means using our oil and gas here in Canada to displace imports wherever possible, particularly from the United States. 'It makes no sense to be sending that money south of the border or across the ocean, so yes, it also means more oil and gas exports – without question.' These comments are remarkable given they come from a man who repeatedly called for an end to drilling during his tenure as Bank governor between 2013 and 2020. One such call came in a 2015 speech at Lloyds of London, when he described 80pc of the world's known fossil fuel reserves as 'unburnable'. He said: 'The catastrophic impacts of climate change will be felt beyond the traditional horizons of most actors – imposing a cost on future generations that the current generation has no incentive to fix.' Given Carney's influence, his dramatic warnings inevitably shaped UK government decision-making at the time, as he championed the cause of net zero to a total of five different energy secretaries. Claire Perry, who served as Tory energy minister between 2017 and 2018, recalls: 'Mark had a huge impact on global climate issues. 'He created all the momentum around carbon markets and energy transition investment.' Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader who served as energy secretary in the 2012-15 coalition government, echoes this. 'Mark Carney had a real understanding of where the wind was blowing globally on energy, and recognised the risks to the economy of over-reliance on fossil fuels,' he says. After leaving the Bank, Carney also wrote a book called Value(s): An Economist's Guide to Everything That Matters, where he advocated powerfully for the introduction of carbon taxes. 'One of the most important initiatives is carbon pricing,' he wrote. 'The best approach is a revenue-neutral, progressive carbon tax.' The UK has since faithfully implemented that plan with a raft of carbon levies on consumers and industry, which many argue has left Britain burdened by some of the highest energy prices in the world. 'Energy superpower' Jump ahead to 2025, however, and Carney – now a Canadian politician instead of a British bureaucrat – has adopted a wildly different approach. Immediately after succeeding Justin Trudeau as prime minister and winning Canada's election in April, he wasted no time in signing a directive cancelling Canada's existing carbon tax and confirming rebates for many of those who had paid it. He's now gone even further by pledging to build oil and gas pipelines, LNG export terminals, and to relax the emissions restrictions that have angered many of Canada's biggest fossil fuels producers. And his plans don't stop there. 'All this is not enough just to make Canada an energy superpower,' he said. 'It's not enough to build our full potential. 'It's not enough to truly get incomes growing across the country. We can do much more. We are going to be very, very ambitious. Build, big, build, bold.' Carney, who also previously ran the Bank of Canada, reconciles such ambitions with simultaneous pledges on green technologies that could theoretically reduce emissions, such as carbon capture and storage. But these will take years or decades to implement. According to experts, Carney's conversation has been driven by the economy, as oil and gas accounted for up to 7.5pc of the country's GDP in recent years. In 2023, crude oil exports alone were valued at $124bn, representing 16pc of Canada's total exports. That figure rises to 20pc if gas exports are included. What's more, Canada has about 171bn barrels of oil in recoverable reserves – far greater than America's 44bn. It means Canada can rely on oil for decades, whereas US production is expected to peak in the next few years. However, most of that oil and gas comes from one province, Alberta. That region alone holds billions of dollars, although its voters blame Carney's and Trudeau's Liberal party for climate restrictions that curbed economic growth. A recent opinion piece for Canada's Globe and Mail by Preston Manning, a retired politician who helped found Canada's conservative movement, warned that his 5m fellow Albertans had had enough of rule from Ottawa and were considering secession. Some go further. Alberta, they point out, shares a border with the US and perhaps has more in common with the likes of Texas than Toronto. These growing tensions have created a political opportunity for Alberta's conservative leaders. Independence referendum Less than 24 hours after Carney's election, Danielle Smith, Alberta's premier, introduced a bill to the province's legislature, making it much easier for a citizens' movement to trigger an independence referendum. The new rules slash the number of citizens' signatures required to trigger a referendum, from 600,000 to 177,000 and give petitioners 120 days to collect them rather than the previous 90. She has done so to pile pressure on Carney, handing him a list of nine energy-related federal laws she wants overhauled to unleash more drilling in Alberta. 'We cannot keep the over $9 trillion worth of oil wealth we have in the ground,' she said. 'Mark Carney has acknowledged that the federal government must address key policy barriers. 'That must include abandoning the unconstitutional oil and gas production cap, repealing the tanker ban, and scrapping Canada's net-zero power regulations. 'I believe in a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada, but we cannot persist with the status quo. I won't allow that status quo to continue.' Smith is also exploiting the tensions generated by Donald Trump, the US president, whose talk of making Canada the 51st state resonates with some Albertans. She sees her demands as a test of the scale of Carney's commitment to oil and gas: 'Given his past actions, I've asked myself what version of Mark Carney are we going to get. 'Will we get the pragmatic Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney? Or will we get the environmental extremist keep-it-in-the-ground Mark Carney? 'I don't know the answer yet. He's saying some of the right things, but we need to see meaningful action.' Such tensions have been around for a long time. What Canada's politicians say and do are often very different things, says Brendan Long, a leading energy analyst and Canadian, whose new book Energy Shocks, compares the politics of energy in the UK, US and Canada. He points out that Canada has a long history of electing prime ministers with stridently green manifestos who then preside over huge increases in oil and gas production. 'While previous premier Justin Trudeau had explicitly anti-fossil fuel agendas, domestic Canadian oil and gas production grew dramatically under his leadership,' he said. 'Today, Canada is ranked fourth in terms of global oil production at 5.8m barrels of oil per day and growing.' By contrast, Long points out that the UK is the only large global oil producer to have deliberately cut its production in recent years, signalling the long-standing net-zero legacy left by Carney. 'It means that while Canada's oil and gas industry is ramping up production under Carney, the UK remains aligned with the anti-oil and gas ideology he promoted when he was the governor of the Bank of England,' he says.
