B.C. Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal said he met with Prime Minister Mark Carney Wednesday morning to push back against the decision to invite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit in Alberta next week.
In an interview with The Canadian Press before that meeting took place, Dhaliwal said he spoke with hundreds of people who don't want Modi to attend the upcoming leaders summit — some of them members of the Liberal caucus.
"We as Canadians take pride to be a champion on human rights. We are the country of law and justice," Dhaliwal said Tuesday. "When it comes to protecting fundamental rights and serving justice for the victim, it is non-negotiable."
In 2023 and 2024, former prime minister Justin Trudeau and the RCMP said there was evidence linking agents of the Indian government to the murder of Canadian Sikh separatism activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., in June 2023.
Last October, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said the police force had evidence linking Indian government officials to other crimes in Canada, including extortion, coercion and homicide.
Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, who led the public inquiry into foreign political interference last year, reported that China and India are among the primary actors behind foreign inference operations targeting Canada.
Carney issued an invitation to Modi in a phone call on June 6.
Dhaliwal said Wednesday that he met with Carney Wednesday before the weekly Liberal caucus meeting and shared concerns about that invitation that were raised by constituents.
"Now that (Modi's) invited, we have to move forward," Dhaliwal said. "(Carney) is alarmed about the issue and he will be very strong in dealing with those issues that are important to Canadians."
Gurbux Saini, another B.C. Liberal MP, said the decision to invite Modi to the G7 and the invitation extended to Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are undermining Canada's reputation as a champion of human rights.
"It is a damaging thing because we have been known in the world as caring and compassionate people who love human rights, and this is something the prime minister is aware of and it has been brought to his attention," Saini said Wednesday.
Canada has invited Saudi Arabia's de facto leader to the G7 summit, according to two Canadian government officials who were not authorized to speak publicly about maCanada's invitation list.
As of mid-afternoon Wednesday, Riyadh had not indicated whether it had accepted the invitation.
Carney did not respond to reporters' questions on his way into the caucus meeting Wednesday.
International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu said some of his constituents have raised concerns with him about "invitations to leaders."
"But I think it's important to note that at this time, at a time of crisis, we need to be able to collaborate and of course work out some issues," Sidhu said before entering the caucus room.
The crisis Sidhu referred to is the tariff war with the U.S.
Dhaliwal, who represents the riding where Nijjar was killed, said Tuesday the invitation betrays Canadian values.
"Before we invited him, Prime Minister Modi should have committed that he and his team or his associates or his departments will fully co-operate with the Canadian authorities," Dhaliwal said Tuesday.
Carney said he wants to keep policing matters separate from Canada's responsibilities as G7 chair and has argued that India, one of the world's largest economies, belongs at the table.
Carney has said India agreed to continue "law enforcement dialogue."
Modi's comment on his Friday call with Carney did not mention policing.
The NDP condemned the decision to invite Modi. At a press conference on Parliament Hill Wednesday morning, Alberta NDP MP Heather McPherson accused the Carney government of putting "profits over people."
"That's appalling. For me, what it indicated, this government has consistently and very clearly chosen profits and the economy over human rights," McPherson said.
"I think all Canadians expect their government to provide good, family-sustaining jobs, but not at the expense of human rights."
At a Tuesday webinar organized by the Asia Pacific Foundation, a federal Crown corporation, experts argued Canada can use the G7 summit to build a functional relationship with India on trade, clean energy and dealing with China.
C. Raja Mohan of the Council for Strategic and Defense Research in New Delhi argued that South Asia's political concerns are going to continue to resonate across the English-speaking world, in part due to high emigration to places like Canada, the U.S. and Britain.
He said that creates "a structural problem" where foreign interference and extremist elements among Sikh activists can create tensions for both India and other countries.
"This is going to get worse. After all, politics is not going to cease, either in the West or in India," he said.
Mohan argued Ottawa and New Delhi must find ways to address these issues through sustained, long-term law enforcement co-operation, rather than "public posturing."
"How do you prevent Indian politics from poisoning Canadian politics, or prevent political mobilization within the … Anglo-American world from … generating problems for India?" he asked.
"This is something we have to manage over the longer term, and there are not going to be these high-minded, declaratory solutions to this."
Michael Kugelman, a senior fellow with the Asia Pacific Foundation, said he suspects India will be observing how Ottawa responds to any protests against Modi in Canada.
"New Delhi will be watching this very closely," he said.
Kugelman said the G7 visit could be a way to build trust between Canada and India, and might lead to more a substantive reset of relations before the November G20 summit in South Africa.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
