Indian diplomats in Canada are ‘clearly on notice,’ Joly warns
“They’re clearly on notice,” Joly said in response to the question, speaking of other Indian diplomats following the expulsion of six earlier this week.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has warned that Indian diplomats in Canada are “on notice,” hinting at the possibility of further expulsions amidst the ongoing diplomatic dispute between the two countries.
“They’re clearly on notice,” Joly said when asked about the potential for additional expulsions, following the removal of six Indian diplomats earlier this week.
“Clearly, we won’t tolerate any diplomats violating the Vienna Convention or putting Canadians' lives at risk,” she added.
Joly's remarks come just days after both Canada and India expelled diplomats in a tit-for-tat exchange on Monday. Canada’s expulsions were tied to what Ottawa described as “a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents linked to the government of India.”
Global News has reported that individuals working out of India’s high commission in Ottawa, as well as consulates in Vancouver and Toronto, allegedly orchestrated a series of violent crimes across Canada targeting critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
Though these individuals held official diplomatic and consular roles, sources indicate they were involved in shootings, killings, threats, arsons, and extortion. Many of the victims were supporters of the Khalistan movement, which advocates for independence for Punjab, India’s Sikh-majority state, though others were simply political rivals of the Modi government.
These revelations come as Canadian authorities continue to investigate the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., which is believed to have ties to the Indian government.
Joly described the public release of these allegations by the RCMP as an “extraordinary measure” and emphasized the unprecedented nature of such actions in Canadian history.
“That level of transnational repression cannot happen on Canadian soil,” Joly stressed. “We’ve seen this behavior in Europe, where Russia has acted similarly in Germany and the U.K., but we needed to take a firm stand on this issue.”
