India stops new visas for Canadians as spat worsens

When India’s PM Modi met Canada’s Trudeau forward of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi on September 9 (AFP)

India on Thursday suspended new visas for Canadians and requested Ottawa to cut back its diplomatic presence within the nation, sharply escalating a spat triggered by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s accusations linking New Delhi to a Sikh separatist’s homicide.

India was keen to look into particular data in reference to the accusations, its international ministry mentioned, including that Canada has not shared something up to now.

A blanket suspension of latest visas by India for a Western nation is unprecedented and marks the bottom level of India-Canada relations.

The announcement got here hours after Canada’s excessive fee in India mentioned it could quickly “adjust” workers presence within the nation after some diplomats obtained threats on social media platforms. The mission didn’t specify the character of the threats, and India has mentioned it could present “all security and all support” to international diplomats.

Indian international ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi mentioned India suspended issuing new visas to Canadian residents on account of “security threats” to its workers in its consulates in Canada.

India didn’t give particulars of the character of those safety threats, and Canada’s public security minister Dominic LeBlanc mentioned in response that Canada was a protected nation.

“Accordingly our high commission and consulates are temporarily unable to process visa applications,” he advised reporters at a weekly briefing on Thursday, including that the safety state of affairs can be reviewed frequently.

Canada is the fourth largest supply of international vacationers with 350,000 guests in 2019, a quantity which fell following the COVID-19 pandemic, in keeping with Indian authorities information.

‘RISK TO REPUTATION’

The unprecedented tensions flared up on Monday after Trudeau mentioned Ottawa was investigating “credible allegations” in regards to the potential involvement of Indian authorities brokers within the June homicide of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s authorities denied any hyperlinks to the alleged homicide.

Canadian officers have up to now declined to say why they consider India may very well be linked to Nijjar’s homicide.

The two international locations, whose relations have been fraying lately over the difficulty of Sikh separatists, have since introduced tit-for-tat expulsions of senior diplomats and issued tit-for-tat journey advisories.

Canada has mentioned the difficulty with key allies such because the Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance, which incorporates the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, with Washington, London and Canberra expressing concern.

Asked if any of those international locations, with whom India additionally enjoys shut ties, had raised the difficulty with New Delhi, Bagchi mentioned: “We have been discussing with them, we have conveyed our position how we see these developments.”

THREAT TO TRADE TIES

The spat can also be threatening commerce ties, with talks on a proposed commerce deal frozen final week.

Canada is India’s seventeenth largest international investor, whereas Canadian portfolio traders have put billions of {dollars} in Indian monetary markets.

Since 2018, India has been the most important supply of worldwide college students in Canada, with their numbers rising 47 per cent in 2022 to just about 320,000.

Industry estimates present the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Canada and India might enhance two-way commerce by as a lot as $6.5 billion.