Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that six Indian diplomats have been expelled from Canada following a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigation and evidence they were allegedly involved in the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023.
Trudeau stated the deportation was the result of Indian law enforcement not cooperating with the RCMP, and stated Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly ordered the expulsion of the diplomats:
While attempts have been made by the RCMP and national security officials to work with the Government of India and Indian law enforcement counterparts on this matter, they have been repeatedly refused…. They met with Indian officials to share RCMP evidence, which concluded six agents of the Government of India are persons of interest in criminal activities. And despite repeated requests to the Government of India, they have decided not to co-operate. Given that the Government of India still refuses to co-operate, my colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, had only one choice. Today, she issued a deportation notice for these six individuals. They must leave Canada. They will no longer be able to act as diplomats in Canada, nor to re-enter Canada, for whatever reason.
Following Trudeau’s announcement, Joly urged India to cooperate with the ongoing investigation in the Nijjar case and resolve the diplomatic dispute, stating in a press release:
Keeping Canadians safe is the fundamental job of the Canadian government. The decision to expel these individuals was made with great consideration and only after the RCMP gathered ample, clear and concrete evidence which identified six individuals as persons of interest in the Nijjar case. We continue to ask that the Indian government support the ongoing investigation in the Nijjar case, as it remains in both our countries’ interest to get to the bottom of this.
