By Curtis Galbraith

Federal Politics

Grande Prairie-Mackenzie MP calls spat between Canada and India “an unprecedented situation”

Oct 6, 2023 | 12:00 PM

The diplomatic spat between Canada and India continues.

Both countries have told diplomatic staff from the other to leave their country after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons that there was evidence the government of India was involved in the shooting death of a man in Surrey earlier this year.

The man has been described as a Sikh separatist leader.

Grande Prairie-Mackenzie MP Chris Warkentin says if there is as much evidence as the prime minister says, people should expect one of two things.

“Either an arrest made of the person who undertook the assassination or that there would be a warrant for arrest of that person if, in fact, they believe that person has fled the country. Neither of those things has happened.”

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Warkentin calls this “an unprecedented situation, both domestically and around the world.”

“I’ve never seen a prime minister make these types of allegations in a parliamentary setting at a time when I would expect that a murder investigation continues. The evidence that it continues is the fact that arrests haven’t been made yet.”

Warkentin says he doesn’t know any more about why the prime minister made the accusation in the house than anyone else.

He adds the dispute has had several repercussions.

“There are trade implications We’re hearing about decisions by Indian buyers not to buy lentils from Canada (along with) a whole host of other agricultural goods. Obviously, that is important for many Canadian farmers.”

“We were in the midst of a trade negotiation with that country. Obviously, that is, I would suspect, on hold because of the allegations that the prime minister had made.”

India is also an important market for peas grown in the Peace Country.

Warkentin says tensions have also risen between different groups of people with Indian backgrounds living in Canada.