Ottawa [Canada], October 18 : Reacting to the diplomatic row between Canada and India, Canadian security expert, Joe Adam George, has said that the problem lies with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's conduct of foreign policy affairs, stressing that both he and Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly are terribly out of their depth when it comes to issues related to foreign affairs.
In an interview with ANI, he also spoke about Canada's stance on the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. He stressed that the Canadian government, instead of supporting their long-time ally, Israel, often throws it out of the bus.
The diplomatic row between India and Canada underwent a fresh escalation when Canada declared India's High Commissioner and other diplomats as "persons of interest" in the investigation of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar's death.
Following this, India decided to call back its High Commissioner and five other diplomats from Canada. India has repeatedly accused Canada of not taking action against extremist and separatist elements in the country for "vote bank politics". The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also said that 26 Indian requests for extradition are pending for over a decade.
When asked whether there will be a reset in India- Canada relationship if Trudeau is voted out, Joe Adam George said, "The problem fundamentally lies with Prime Minister Trudeau's conduct of foreign policy matters. Both him and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly are terribly out of their depth when it comes to foreign affairs matters. We saw it play out in the Middle East, in the way they've treated Israel, which is, again, like India, a long-time ally of Canada."
"But, in fact, just last week it was reported that Foreign Affairs Minister Joly said that she on writing got a significant number of Arab Muslims who she needs to appease, because their support for Palestine and hence they would often throw Israel on the bus instead of supporting them in the fight against Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iranian regime. This is exactly the same, and now we see the same case with India," he further said.
He said that the Trudeau-led government's conduct in foreign policy affairs has hurt Canada in a global standard. He pointed out that domestic policy and vote banks are driving serious policy matters of the Canadian government.
He said, "The Khalistan movement is rather vocal here in Canada, even though it is in the fringes. But, the assumption within the political circles and generally with the political class is that just because they shout the loudest, they believe that they speak for the rest of the Sikh community, which is not true. Even though it is a dead letter among Sikhs in India, Prime Minister Trudeau refuses to recognize that."
"So, it's all about diaspora politics for Prime Minister Trudeau and the liberal government in general in conducting foreign policy matters and unfortunately, and that has been to the predicament of Canada. It has really hurt us in a global standard. That's a domestic policy and our vote banks that are driving serious foreign policy matters today," he added.
Noting that Conservatives have been strong allies of India, George expressed hope that the ties between India and Canada would see a reset if a conservative government under Pierre Poilievre came to power. He also spoke about the strong ties shared by PM Narendra Modi and former Canadian PM Stephen Harper.
Expressing hope that India-Canada ties would see a reset if a conservative government comes to power under Pierre Poilievre, he said, "And if things have to change, I believe yes, should the next government be a conservative government under Mr. Pierre Poilievre, things would be very different. I would expect to see a reset in our ties, because traditionally the conservatives have been strong allies of India. Even under the previous Harper government, again who was a Conservative Prime Minister."
Highlighting the ties between PM Modi and former Canadian PM Harper, Joe Adam George said, "Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Harper shared very strong ties. In fact, even after Prime Minister Harper left, he has maintained that camaraderie with Prime Minister Modi. So, I expect it to be no different and moreover, the conservatives traditionally have done a good job with foreign policy affairs. So, I would expect this to be a significant improvement over how the liberals are conducting affairs."
He noted that there has been a significant rise in fake asylum claims since the tensions erupted between India and Canada in September last year. He stated that 13,000 international students have sought asylum in Canada in the first eight months of 2024.
When asked whether the Khalistani movement is also a reflection of the flawed immigration system in Canada, he said, "Yes, it has been, and that is rather interesting because Canada has traditionally been a very immigrant-friendly country. We have one of the most liberal immigration systems in the world and unfortunately, what we have seen this year since the fallout of this crisis last September, there has been a significant uptake in fake asylum claims. In fact, just this year alone, in the first eight months of 2024, Canada has seen 13,000 international students claim asylum."
"Of course, not all of them are from India, but a significant chunk of them are and allegedly a lot of them are, most of them are from the state of Punjab. And what I hear is that many of them are coming using the pretext of that excuse that they are persecuted by the Indian government for being supportive of the Khalistan movement, which is not necessarily true, or in fact true at all. So, there has been an abuse of the asylum and immigration system, which I think now the Canadian government has belatedly recognized. So, we are definitely, I mean, they have decided to clamp down on it, although it's too late. But yes, that has been an unfortunate consequence of this crisis ever since it paid out last year," he added.
He also pointed out that Indian community members are upset with Trudeau with regards to his conduct in dealing with India. He recalled that Trudeau, when he became Canada's PM for the first time received support from the Indian community. However, their support is now shifted to Conservative Party.
Speaking on Indian community's views regarding Trudeau, he said, "With regard to the broader Indian community, they are rather upset. I mean, specifically, I think the grievances are with Prime Minister Trudeau, they that PM Trudeau hasn't done a good job in dealing with India in general and hence that is why we find ourselves we are.
"And this is worth pointing out that the Indians were, in fact, a significant support, I mean, a vote bank that supported Prime Minister Trudeau when he first became Prime Minister in 2015. And it's only along the way that they have come to realize that Prime Minister Trudeau isn't what he tries and claims to be. They found him incompetent not just on economic matters but also on foreign policy matters. And hence there has been a change of heart and a lot of them, and which is why I can see them shift, their support shift to the Conservative Party led by Mr Pierre Poilievre," he further said.
The ties between India and Canada have been strained after Trudeau alleged in the Canadian Parliament last year that he has "credible allegations" of India's hand in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
India has denied all the allegations, calling them "absurd" and "politically motivated" and has accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements in their country. Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India's National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot and killed outside a Gurdwara in Surrey in June last year.