In a diplomatic disagreement over the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia, Canada said on Friday that it would temporarily cease in-person activities at its consulates in various Indian cities.
Just hours after Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly announced the withdrawal of 41 ambassadors from India, news broke that consulates in Bengaluru, Chandigarh, and Mumbai would be closing.
Two high-ranking government officials in India told Reuters that despite the commotion, imports from Canada would continue unabated.
In 2022, bilateral trade was worth $8 billion.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has suggested a possible link between Indian spies and the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, and India has since asked Ottawa to lower its diplomatic presence.
India insists it had nothing to do with the June shooting at a Sikh shrine.
According to a statement released by the Canadian High Commission, or embassy, in New Delhi, “the Consulates General of Canada in Bengaluru, Chandigarh, and Mumbai are temporarily suspending in-person operations,” however services in the capital city itself would continue as usual.
A “solid bond”
The Canadian government’s Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) agency announced that it would be decreasing its staff in India from 27 to 5, which could slow visa processing timelines even if the vast majority of applications were already processed outside of the country.
“Canada has a strong connection with Indian citizens, and will continue to welcome them, whether they wish to come here to visit, work, study, be reunited with loved ones, or live permanently in the country,” according to it.
Two million Canadians are of Indian descent, or around 5 percent of the total population. About 40% of all international students in Canada come from India.
New Delhi labeled Nijjar, 45, a Canadian citizen, as a terrorist, and India has since dismissed Trudeau’s accusations that Indian operatives were involved in his death as ludicrous.
The Indian foreign ministry has responded to Joly’s claim that India’s reduction of Canada’s diplomatic presence violates the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations by saying that the reduction is justified.
“The state of our bilateral relations, the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued interference in our internal affairs warrant a parity in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa,” the statement stated.
