Is Trudeau leading Canada towards destruction?
Canada-India diplomatic standoff started with arbitrary and adhoc actions by the Trudeau government. In haste, they alleged the killing in June this year, of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist by the agents of the Indian government. India refuted these allegations and asked for evidence if any. The Canadian government never shared any information on this matter and made random public announcements and all this led to the expulsion of the diplomats and suspension of visa services. Prime Minister Trudeau was isolated when he couldn’t present any credible evidence to India and the international community.
To make matters worse for Mr. Trudeau, the revelations of the Canadian government’s prolonged inaction on the credible evidence of criminal cases including acts of terror in India against Hardeep Singh Nijjar now put the spotlight on Canada and the question now being asked is ‘why Canada harbours criminals?’ Bangladeshi Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen in a TV interview with India Today said, “Murderers can go to Canada and take shelter, and they can have a wonderful life while those they killed, their relatives are suffering,” Sri Lankan Foreign Minister M U M Ali Sabry in an interview with an Indian News Agency, ANI firmly stated, “Some of the terrorists have found safe haven in Canada. The Canadian PM has this way of just coming out with some outrageous allegations without any supporting proof,”. Nepali Politician Rajeev Bikram Shah, a Member of the Provincial Assembly noted in a Social Media Post on “X” as “PM Trudeau’s extremely Woke ideology, his disastrous episode with a Nazi being hailed at the Canadian Parliament, harbouring of terrorists to stay in power, his idea of “the rule of law in a democracy” shows his ‘double standards’ in his domestic as well as international politics.”
These leaders from South Asia have a clear message to Canada on what the “Rule of Law” entails in letter and spirit and any form of “reckless disregard or intentional ignorance” by Prime Minister Trudeau to act against criminals and terrorists has international repercussions.
In the history of the worst act of terrorism in Canada, the bombings of ill-fated Air India Flight AI182 in June 1985 still remain a fresh wound perhaps for a lifetime as the key perpetrators were acquitted in 2005 with a made-up excuse of bungled-up investigation by the Canadian authorities. Would it not be fair to ask why the national agencies failed to book the extremist perpetrators? Instead, the voice of courageous, Mr. Tara Singh Hayer, a journalist from Vancouver, was killed for investigating the Air India bombings. The 62-year-old Hayer, the publisher of the Indo-Canadian Times was shot dead in Surrey in November 1998 and his murderers still move around scot-free. Canada boasts of freedom of expression but fails to bring justice to those who advocate for the truth behind the heinous act taking the toll of 329 lives which included 100 children. It is time for international leaders and human right defenders to introspect and ask: Should there be an international uproar for a designated terrorist like Nijjar or those who stood up to question these extremists and terrorists as Mr. Tara Singh Hayer?
I am an International Development Specialist and while advising country systems on financial management, governance, and public sector accountability, one of the key benchmarks was Canadian Public Administration, especially values, ethics, and integrity in public service. It is appalling to see how political leadership has brought Canada this level of disrepute where the national agencies have succumbed to perpetrators of crimes against humanity. I am hopeful that Canadians will introspect and push for ethics in political discourse, greater accountability for political leadership, and stricter prosecution of those involved in organized crime.
As far as India-Canada relations are concerned. I am of the opinion that while bilateral relations are dented, there is erosion of trust for now, concerted efforts to be made by communities to bridge the gap, and Mr Trudeau for now must go.
The political power and bargaining strength of the fringe groups need to be curtailed and it is imperative that the Canadian people also vocally denounce parties that support terrorists otherwise they would become a safe harbour for terrorists and a ground for terrorism resulting in damage not just to the world but to themselves too. We have seen the situation Pakistan is in, where the biggest victim of terrorism promoted by Pakistan’s policies has been Pakistan itself. The Canadian people need to demand strong action against terrorists and terrorist sympathizers so that the situation can be controlled without further damage.
On India’s part, apart from strong condemnation of the terrorist activities cultivating on Canadian soil, affirmative measures should be taken to undo the damage caused due to the riots of 1984. While the riots are not a justification for any radical thoughts and actions, but, some affirmative action and confidence-building measures would further undermine the radical propaganda and help the community to rally together against the radical ideology.
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1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
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