Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
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

Vancouver Chinatown's Lunar New Year parade bars two progressive, LGBTQ+ groups

Vancouver Chinatown's Lunar New Year parade bars two progressive, LGBTQ+ groups
Two progressive and LGBTQ+ groups have been rejected from Vancouver's Lunar New Year parade in Chinatown this weekend, with march organizers telling one that it was due to a ban on "political activism." Sunday's Spring Festival Parade in Vancouver is celebrating its 50th anniversary and marks the year of the dragon, which starts on Saturday.

Vancouver Chinatown's Lunar New Year parade bars two progressive, LGBTQ+ groups

BoC expected to take its time with interest rate cuts after January's job gain

BoC expected to take its time with interest rate cuts after January's job gain
The Bank of Canada will be in no rush to cut interest rates after Statistics Canada reported a larger-than-expected employment gain last month, economists say. The federal agency's labour force survey released Friday said the economy added 37,000 jobs in January after several months of relatively no change in employment. Canada’s unemployment rate fell to 5.7 per cent last month, marking the first decline since December 2022.

BoC expected to take its time with interest rate cuts after January's job gain

Trudeau says he's furious over Bell Media layoffs, calling it a 'garbage decision'

Trudeau says he's furious over Bell Media layoffs, calling it a 'garbage decision'
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is trash-talking BCE Inc.'s widespread layoffs, calling the cuts a "garbage decision." Trudeau says he's furious over Bell Media's decision to end multiple television newscasts and that the corporation should know better.  

Trudeau says he's furious over Bell Media layoffs, calling it a 'garbage decision'

Bear spray sold illegally: VPD

Bear spray sold illegally: VPD
An undercover operation led by Vancouver police has resulted in 20-thousand-dollars in fines against 10 different businesses that illegally sold bear spray. Vancouver bylaw restricts where bear spray can be displayed in stores, limiting sale of the product to people over age 19 and requiring stores to keep sales records. 

Bear spray sold illegally: VPD

Poilievre pledges to fix broken access-to-information system, release more faster

Poilievre pledges to fix broken access-to-information system, release more faster
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is pledging to fix the federal access-to-information system to speed up response times and release more information. He made the commitment during a news conference in Vancouver on Thursday, where the Opposition leader announced a new revenue plan for First Nations alongside leaders in the region. 

Poilievre pledges to fix broken access-to-information system, release more faster

BC snowpack 40% below normal

BC snowpack 40% below normal
B.C. went on to experience deep and prolonged drought after a record-breaking heat wave in May spurred rapid melting and drying. Then came the province's devastating fire season. Thursday's bulletin says the low snowpack combined with warm seasonal forecasts and "lingering impacts" from the previous drought are creating "significantly elevated drought hazards" for 2024.

BC snowpack 40% below normal