Tuesday, December 23, 2025
ADVT 
National

Sikh rally in Toronto with multi-party support prompts India diplomatic rebuke

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 29 Apr, 2024 04:08 PM
  • Sikh rally in Toronto with multi-party support prompts India diplomatic rebuke

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh at the Khalsa Day rally in Toronto on Sunday.

The rally commemorates the Sikh faith, and some participants chanted and carried banners emblazoned with slogans calling for a state separate from India, known as Khalistan.

India formally summoned Canada's deputy high commissioner Monday, and the country's foreign ministry decried what it called "disturbing actions being allowed to continue unchecked at the event."

India's foreign ministry didn't specify what it took issue with, but noted there were displays of separatism and alleged this illustrates Canada tolerating "extremism and violence."

New Delhi and Ottawa have been at odds over the issue for decades, and the relationship has been significantly strained since Trudeau accused India of playing a role in the slaying of a Canadian Sikh leader last year. 

Canada insists it will not infringe on free speech, including when Sikh people call for the existence of Khalistan. 

But India says these comments violate its constitution.

India has pointed out instances of people in Canada openly glorifying those linked to the 1985 bombing of an Air India plane, whose passengers were largely Canadian citizens. 

Human-rights groups says the country's Hindu nationalist government has increasingly persecuted minorities in recent years.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly's office did not immediately comment on India's rebuke Monday. 

Joly has repeatedly said she wants to navigate the diplomatic rift with India in private. 

MORE National ARTICLES

Man shot in Coquitlam, B.C., over weekend dies of his injuries

Man shot in Coquitlam, B.C., over weekend dies of his injuries
A man injured in the latest shooting in the Metro Vancouver suburb of Coquitlam has died. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team joined the case after police say the 21-year-old victim shot on Saturday died from his injuries. 

Man shot in Coquitlam, B.C., over weekend dies of his injuries

Insured damage from severe weather exceeded $3.1B in 2023: insurance bureau

Insured damage from severe weather exceeded $3.1B in 2023: insurance bureau
Severe weather and natural disasters caused more than $3 billion in insured damages for the second year in a row in 2023.  The Insurance Bureau of Canada's annual tally is topped by wildfires in the Okanagan and Shuswap areas of B.C., which cost $720 million.   

Insured damage from severe weather exceeded $3.1B in 2023: insurance bureau

Police say dog may have been thrown to its death from downtown Vancouver hotel

Police say dog may have been thrown to its death from downtown Vancouver hotel
Police say a dog that fell to its death in downtown Vancouver may have been deliberately thrown from a window. Vancouver Police say officers responded to a call and found the dead dog in the laneway beside the Molson Hotel at around 2 p.m. on Friday.

Police say dog may have been thrown to its death from downtown Vancouver hotel

Housing market could rebound in 2024

Housing market could rebound in 2024
The Canadian housing market could be in for a rebound in 2024. That is the forecast coming from economists after a year of caution and shifting expectations spurred by rising borrowing costs.  

Housing market could rebound in 2024

Victim of New York bus crash identified as 74-year-old Montreal woman

Victim of New York bus crash identified as 74-year-old Montreal woman
New York State Police have identified Jeanne Elzanie Jourdan Colin, a 74-year-old Montrealer, as the person who died in a tour bus crash in Lake George, N.Y., on Friday. They say one person remains in critical condition at an Albany, N.Y., hospital.

Victim of New York bus crash identified as 74-year-old Montreal woman

Trudeau to join mourners at memorial for victims of downed plane

Trudeau to join mourners at memorial for victims of downed plane
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will join mourners in Richmond Hill, Ont., this afternoon to mark four years since the Iranian military shot down Flight PS752. Everyone aboard was killed when Iranian officials shot down the Ukraine International Airlines jetliner in January 2020 shortly after its take-off from Tehran.

Trudeau to join mourners at memorial for victims of downed plane