Friday, June 5, 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

Canada's oil output would plummet by 2050 in a net-zero world, new modelling shows

Canada's oil output would plummet by 2050 in a net-zero world, new modelling shows
The regulator says if emissions regulations successfully limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, fossil fuel use will drop by 65 per cent from 2021 to 2050. That would prompt a collapse in global oil prices, to as low as US$35 per barrel by 2030 and US$24 per barrel by 2050.

Canada's oil output would plummet by 2050 in a net-zero world, new modelling shows

Metro Vancouver Transit Police files hacked in raid linked to Russian extortion gang

Metro Vancouver Transit Police files hacked in raid linked to Russian extortion gang
The police service says in a news release that a thorough review is underway to determine what information was contained in the 186 files that were accessed in the attack on a third-party file transfer system called MOVEit. It says the hackers did not gain access to the Transit Police network, and the software vulnerability has been patched and repaired.  

Metro Vancouver Transit Police files hacked in raid linked to Russian extortion gang

Police ask Sikh community to share information regarding Surrey gurdwara shooting

Police ask Sikh community to share information regarding Surrey gurdwara shooting
Assistant Commissioner Brian Edwards called the killing "brazen" and "appalling," saying it was "disgusting" that the incident happened at a place of worship, with many other community members present at the time of the attack.

Police ask Sikh community to share information regarding Surrey gurdwara shooting

Province receives report from Surrey officials on policing

Province receives report from Surrey officials on policing
The B-C government recommended in April that Surrey continue the transition to an independent force and Farnworth set out requirements for safe and effective policing, which the city would need to follow in order to keep the Mounties.  

Province receives report from Surrey officials on policing

Man jumps on police car and smashes windshield: VPD

Man jumps on police car and smashes windshield: VPD
Vancouver police say a man jumped on a police car and smashed the windshield over the weekend before he tried to run away. Officers say yesterday's incident was unrelated to a traffic stop they were conducting at the time. 

Man jumps on police car and smashes windshield: VPD

Surrey RCMP head calling Surrey shooting a 'disgusting attack'

Surrey RCMP head calling Surrey shooting a 'disgusting attack'
R-C-M-P assistant commissioner Brian Edwards says anyone with knowledge of the murder should come forward as witnesses. Nijjar was accused of terrorism and conspiracy to murder in India, but there's no indication yet of a motive for the murder.

Surrey RCMP head calling Surrey shooting a 'disgusting attack'