Sunday, May 17, 2026
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

Israeli ground forces in Gaza as Canada debates humanitarian pause

Israeli ground forces in Gaza as Canada debates humanitarian pause
A temporary respite from Israel-Hamas hostilities should not be Canada's focus, Israeli and Palestinian advocates argued separately on Parliament Hill Monday, even as the Canadian government continued to push for ``humanitarian pauses.''  

Israeli ground forces in Gaza as Canada debates humanitarian pause

B.C. commits to mandatory Holocaust education for Grade 10 students

B.C. commits to mandatory Holocaust education for Grade 10 students
British Columbia has plans to make Holocaust education mandatory for high school students with additions to Grade 10 curriculum coming in 2025. It has been a "frightening time" for the Jewish community after deadly terrorists attacks by Hamas militants in Israel earlier this month, Premier David Eby told an audience at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver on Monday.

B.C. commits to mandatory Holocaust education for Grade 10 students

Surrey bylaw officers seize fireworks

Surrey bylaw officers seize fireworks
Bylaw officers in Surrey have seized 100-thousand dollars' worth of fireworks from a single unlicensed retail location, just ahead of Halloween. A statement from the City of Surrey says R-C-M-P officers found the illegal fireworks store through online and social media searches and issued municipal tickets to the owner and two employees.

Surrey bylaw officers seize fireworks

Eby says B.C. deserves heating bill relief, too, after federal tax on fuel oil paused

Eby says B.C. deserves heating bill relief, too, after federal tax on fuel oil paused
British Columbia Premier David Eby says it's unfair that Atlantic Canada is being targeted for federal relief on heating bills that won't apply to B.C., after Ottawa announced a three-year pause on carbon pricing for home fuel oil. The pause announced last week applies to the 10 provinces and territories where the federal fuel charge applies, although home fuel oil usage is more prevalent in Atlantic Canada.

Eby says B.C. deserves heating bill relief, too, after federal tax on fuel oil paused

Trudeau to host top EU officials in Newfoundland, amid growing focus on green tech

Trudeau to host top EU officials in Newfoundland, amid growing focus on green tech
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to welcome the top two leaders of the European Union to Newfoundland next month. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is to visit St. John's alongside European Council President Charles Michel in late November.  

Trudeau to host top EU officials in Newfoundland, amid growing focus on green tech

Small plane crash in South Surrey

Small plane crash in South Surrey
A small plane has crashed in Surrey injuring the lone person on board. RCMP say they responded to reports of the crash Monday afternoon near Crescent Beach in south Surrey.   

Small plane crash in South Surrey