Prime Minister Mark Carney invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Too soon. Way too soon. Inviting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come to Canada now amounts to a signal that foreign powers can interfere in Canada with impunity.
Less than two years ago, the Prime Minister of Canada – then Justin Trudeau – accused the Indian government of involvement in the murder of a Canadian. Last October, the RCMP alleged that agents of India had been involved in coercion, violent crime, and murder in Canada.
India’s official public response was essentially to tell Canada to go fly a kite. It didn’t just deny any involvement, it refused to co-operate with any investigation.
And yet Prime Minister Mark Carney invited Mr. Modi to come to Canada as a guest to the G7 summit Mr. Carney will host in Kananaskis, Alta., in just over a week.
The reason Mr. Carney gave Friday is that India is a big country with one of the world’s biggest economies and it’s fitting to invite it to important discussions on global affairs.
But then he had trouble answering a question about whether he believes Mr. Modi was involved in the June, 2023 killing of Canadian Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C. Mr. Carney said that as prime minister he could not answer that because a criminal investigation is still under way.
The Prime Minister’s own answer should have told him it is way too soon to invite Mr. Modi to Canada.
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There’s still an investigation into the killing of a Canadian. It’s not ancient history. The victims of those other crimes alleged by the RCMP have a right to feel abandoned.
That does not mean Canada must forever scold India and shun talks with its government.
In another circumstance, Mr. Carney’s invitation could have been seen as a needed shift from the preachy diplomatic tone Canada has indulged in for decades. A serious country cannot do diplomacy only with countries it agrees with.
Mr. Carney seems to understand that.
On Thursday, he and Chinese Premier Li Qiang agreed to explore a reset in relations strained since 2018, when Beijing responded to the arrest of a Huawei executive by imprisoning Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. Last week, he spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in an apparent attempt to mend ties strained since 2018 over Canada’s complaints about human rights in Saudi Arabia.
Canada’s business community, in particular, would like to see a similar effort at rapprochement with India.
But inviting Mr. Modi now is not the same.
It’s not a phone call. It’s not a mandate for officials to talk. It’s an invitation to India’s head of government to be Mr. Carney’s guest – to be Canada’s guest.
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It comes at a time when the RCMP is still investigating whether his government ordered the assassination of a Canadian on Canadian soil. The RCMP alleged only eight months ago that Indian agents coerced and harassed Canadians, worked with organized crime to make Indo-Canadians feel unsafe in Canada, and orchestrated crime.
Senior Canadian officials said they repeatedly tried to raise those issues with India, but were rebuffed. As far as we know, India’s position hasn’t changed.
Mr. Carney said Friday that India and Canada “have agreed to engage in dialogue with respect to reinforcing law enforcement between our two countries.” But he did not say India was working on addressing any of the Canadian allegations.
All the alleged interference, assassination and coercion appear to have been India’s way of escalating its long-standing complaint that Canada does too little to stem what it considers illegal support for pro-Khalistani activists, who are calling for a separate state to be carved out of northern India.
But India is alleged to have escalated that complaint into a crime wave in Canada. That can’t be forgotten quickly.
It’s reasonable to reassure India that Canadian authorities will investigate whether pro-Khalistan activists here are committing crimes. It’s reasonable to re-establish a full exchange of diplomats. One day, the prime ministers will meet.
Inviting Mr. Modi now, so soon and with an investigation still under way, sends a signal that Canada doesn’t care about foreign interference. Sikh-Canadian organizations called the invitation an insult. Mr. Carney brushed that concern aside too soon.