Sikh groups say Ottawa should not invite India's Modi to G7 summit

Sikh organizations are calling on Ottawa to break with a five-year tradition by not inviting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit.

Canada is hosting the G7 leaders' summit next month in Kananaskis, Alta. with the leaders from those nations expected to attend — France, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, along with the president of the European Commission.

But Ottawa has been tight-lipped on which leaders it has invited outside that core group of like-minded liberal democracies.

The South African high commission told The Canadian Press Canada invited President Cyril Ramaphosa to attend the summit. Ramaphosa, who is hosting the G20 summit this November in Johannesburg, has not confirmed if he will attend.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on May 4 that Canada invited him to the summit and he will attend. Canada also has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to attend and he confirmed again this week he will be there.

Modi has been invited to every G7 leaders' summit since 2019 and Canada and India have signalled recently a possible thaw in relations after months of tensions.

But the Toronto-based Sikh Federation said this week that Canada should withhold any invitation "until India substantially co-operates with criminal investigations in Canada."

They point to Canada's allegation that New Delhi played a role in the assassination of a Sikh activist near Vancouver in 2023, and in numerous other violent crimes.

The Sikh Federation and the World Sikh Organization have expressed concerns about the federal Liberals seeking deeper ties with India.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said recently she had a "productive discussion" with her Indian counterpart on May 25 on "deepening our economic co-operation and advancing shared priorities."

The Sikh groups argue this suggests the federal government is putting economic concerns ahead of human rights.

The Liberals originally made India the focus of their Indo-Pacific strategy in late 2022, describing the country as a democratic nation with strong trade potential.

That all changed after the June 2023 assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.

Months later, the government accused India of involvement in his death. The RCMP says it has evidence that New Delhi is behind numerous crimes targeting Sikh-Canadians.

India claims Canada is enabling a separatist movement that calls for a Sikh homeland — called Khalistan — to be carved out of India, and calls that a violation of its sovereignty. Ottawa has long held that it allows free speech that doesn't call for violence.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said during the election campaign he wants to pursue trade with India. He said India could play a key role in ending the trade wars if it shows "mutual respect" in light of "strains on that relationship that we didn't cause."

India's high commission referred an interview request on the bilateral relationship to the country's foreign ministry in New Delhi.

Global Affairs Canada hasn't released the names of every leader Ottawa has invited to the G7 summit next month. Department spokeswoman Camie Lamarche said the names would be "made available in due time."

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said this week that Canada had invited her nearly two weeks prior but she had not yet decided whether she'll attend.

Since the April 28 federal election, Carney’s office has published readouts of discussions with his counterparts from the G7 countries, along with Australia, Ukraine, Mexico, New Zealand, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Norway and Jordan.

G7 hosts in recent years have invited four or more guests. Canada invited a dozen when it last hosted the summit in 2018, including Haiti, the Seychelles, Norway and Argentina.

Picture Courtesy: AP Photo/Manish Swarup