Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is blaming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fora diplomatic chill with India, saying Ottawa needs a “professional relationship” with the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Meanwhile, Modi’s government says it is upset with the federal Liberals and not Canada as a whole.
Trudeau announced in the House of Commons last month that Canadian intelligence services are investigating “credible” information about “a potential link” between India’s government and the killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.
“It’s fine to have our disagreements and to hold each other accountable, but we have to have a professional relationship with the Indian government,” Poilievre told Namaste Radio Toronto in a video posted online Saturday afternoon.
Poilievre also blamed Trudeau for the “aggression shown to Indian diplomats at public events.”
Earlier this year, before Trudeau’s revelation regarding the Nijjar case, India lamented rowdy protests by Sikh separatist groups outside diplomatic missions in Canada, and posters offering cash rewards for the home addresses of India’s diplomats.
New Delhi formally called on Canada to better uphold its duty to protect foreign diplomats and in late August, India’s high commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, said his country was “very satisfied” that the Liberal government had responded appropriately and that its diplomats were secure.
Poilievre claims in the interview that Trudeau is turning Canadians against each other, citing vandalism at Hindu places of worship.
“I strongly condemn all threats on the attacks on Hindu mandirs, the threats against Hindu leaders,” Poilievre told Namaste Radio Toronto.
“There should be criminal charges laid against anyone who attacks either the property or people at Hindu mandirs, just like anywhere else.”
Poilievre did not cite a specific example, but he mentioned a month ago on X, formerly known as Twitter, “hateful comments targeting Hindus in Canada” that he said needed to be called out.
In the interview, Poilievre did not mention the Nijjar case, nor did the interviewer ask about it. Poilievre has previously said that those responsible for the homicide must be prosecuted, and has urged Trudeau to provide more of its information on the case.
“Justin Trudeau is considered a laughingstock in India, the world’s biggest democracy,” Poilievre said in his interview.
His office declined to comment about the interview Monday.
Poilievre did not directly mention Sikhs in Canada, nor a subset of those communities who advocate for a separate state in India they call Khalistan.
But the World Sikh Organization in Canada argues Poilievre is indirectly pointing the finger at Sikhs.
“We’re talking about the violation of Canadian sovereignty and the assassination of Canadian citizen on Canadian soil, (allegedly) by India,” the group’s lawyer Balpreet Singh said.
“I’m very disappointed to see His Majesty’s loyal opposition leader siding with a hostile foreign government against Canadian intelligence, Five Eyes intelligence and frankly the memory of a dead Canadian citizen.”
Singh said his group condemns calls for violence against Hindu people, but he said Poilievre is siding with New Delhi against Canadian interests.
“We shouldn’t be playing politics with a matter of this gravity,” he said.
“The situation is not a result of Prime Minister Trudeau’s actions or individuals in the Sikh community who have spoken out against Indian diplomats.”
Also this past weekend, India’s foreign affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said his country might end its freeze on Canadian visas if Canada better ensures the safety of Indian diplomats.
“We stopped issuing visas in Canada because it was no longer safe for our diplomats to go to work to issue visas,” Jaishankar claimed on Sunday, despite his own envoy to Ottawa saying otherwise.
“Our diplomats are not safe. If we see progress there, I would like very much to resume the issuing of visas. My hope would be that it would be something which would happen very, very soon.”
Jaishankar also claimed that New Delhi’s decision to reduce Canada’s diplomatic presence in India — leading to the majority being removed from the country — was the result of unspecified meddling by Canada in India.
“We invoked parity because we had concerns about continuous interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel,” he said.
“We haven’t made much of that public. My sense is over a period of time, more stuff will come out and people will understand why we had that discomfort with many of them.”
India’s envoy to Canada said on Aug. 31 that “we feel very satisfied” with Ottawa’s response to a request for better protection. “Our concerns have been taken on board. It has been well understood,” Verma said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly revealed on Sept. 14 that Indian diplomats in Canada “have 24/7 security,” which is a service Ottawa offers to very few diplomatic missions.
Jaishankar also said Sunday he takes issue with the federal Liberals. “The problems we have are with a certain segment of Canadian politics, and the policies which flow from that,” he said.
University of British Columbia professor Vina Nadjibulla said that’s the first time India has ever explicitly indicated its issues with Canada fall along political lines.
“It’s quite surprising, for a foreign secretary like Jaishankar to say that essentially pointing at the Liberal government and at the prime minister himself,” she said.
Nadjibulla said she’s seen “troubling” posters around Surrey, B.C., that call for violence toward Indian government officials.
“The challenge that countries that have large diasporas of Sikh communities have is to obviously protect freedoms of expression and freedom of assembly, but also recognize that there is a serious concern for India when it comes to this issue,” she said.
“We have to engage both sides.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2023.
MONTREAL – One expert says entry-level pay under the tentative deal between Air Canada and its pilots could be a stumbling block ahead of a union vote on the agreement.
Under their current contract, pilots earn far less in their first four years at the company before enjoying a big wage increase starting in year five.
The Air Line Pilots Association had been pushing to scrap the so-called “fixed rate” provision entirely.
But according to a copy of the contract summary obtained by The Canadian Press, the proposed deal announced Sunday would merely cut the four-year period of lower pay to two years.
John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University, says as many as 2,000 of Air Canada’s roughly 5,200 active pilots may earn entry-level wages following a recent hiring surge.
After the airline averted a strike this week, Gradek says the failure to ditch the pay grade restrictions could prompt pushback from rank-and-file flight crew and jeopardize the deal, which is up for a vote next month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
ROME (AP) — Salvatore “Totò” Schillaci, the Italy striker who was top scorer at its home World Cup in 1990, has died. He was 59.
Schillaci had been hospitalized in Palermo following treatment for colon cancer.
The Palermo Civico hospital said in a statement that Schillacci died on Wednesday morning after being admitted 11 days ago.
Schillaci scored six goals for Italy during the 1990 World Cup. He came on as a substitute during Italy’s opener against Austria, scored in a 1-0 victory, and went on to earn the Golden Boot awarded to the tournament’s top scorer. He only scored one other goal for Italy in his career.
Italian soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina announced that a minute of silence would be held in memory of Schillaci before all games in the country for the rest of the week.
“The uncontrollable celebrations, in which his face was the symbol of shared joy, will remain forever part of Italian soccer (history),” Gravina said. “Totò was a great player, a symbol of tenacious desire and redemption. … His soccer was full of passion. And that fearless spirit made everyone appreciate him and will make him immortal.”
Schillaci also won the Golden Ball award at the 1990 World Cup as the tournament’s top player ahead of Lothar Matthaus and Diego Maradona.
Schillaci played for Messina, Juventus, Inter Milan and Japanese team Jubilo Iwata during his club career.
“You made an entire nation dream during the Magical Nights of Italia ’90,” Inter said on its social media channels.
West Germany won the 1990 World Cup, beating Argentina in the final, while Italy beat England for third place with a winning penalty kick from Schillaci.
Roberto Baggio, who scored Italy’s opening goal in the third-place match, wrote on Instagram, “Ciao my dear friend.”
Having been born and raised in Palermo, the Palermo soccer team announced that it would hold a public viewing of Schillaci at its Renzo Barbera stadium ahead of the funeral, the Gazzetta dello Sport reported.
French soccer player Wissam Ben Yedder will stay free ahead of his trial on charges of sexual assault while intoxicated, one of his lawyers told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Marie Roumiantseva said Ben Yedder will remain under strict judicial supervision after a woman filed a lawsuit for sexual assault earlier this month.
The 34-year-old Ben Yedder, a prolific striker in the French league, was briefly detained then released after the alleged incident in his car on the French Riviera. Ben Yedder had been stopped by police after he first refused to do so. He was then put in a jail cell.
After he was summoned to appear in court on Oct. 15 and placed under judicial supervision, the Nice prosecutor’s office appealed the decision not to remand the player in custody. The investigative chamber of the Court of Appeal of Aix-en-Provence did not grant this request and kept Ben Yedder under judicial supervision.
Ben Yedder attended a hearing Tuesday during which he offered to go to rehab. He has admitted he drove while under the influence of alcohol but has denied any sexual assault.
In a separate legal case last year, Ben Yedder was charged with “rape, attempted rape and sexual assault” over another alleged incident in the south of France.
Ben Yedder has been without a club since his contract with Monaco expired at the end of last season.
