Canada has postponed its trade mission to India indefinitely due to tension
The Canadian trade mission to India has been postponed indefinitely owing to the suspension of trade discussions and worries over pro-Khalistan activity.
After putting the Early Progress Trade Agreement, or EPTA, on “pause” in August, the Canadian government has now postponed its October trade trip to India indefinitely.
Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business, and Economic Development, was to lead the five-day Team Canada trade trip, which was to begin on October 9. On Friday, however, Canadian media claimed that it had been postponed. The Canadian Press reported Ng’s office in this respect, noting that no explanation for the delay was given. According to a top Indian official, they only learned of the decision via the media.
The declaration came only hours after authorities in New Delhi said that trade discussions with Canada had been halted until subversive operations are permitted on Canadian soil.
“New Delhi will not engage in trade talks with any country that allows subversive activities against India or its people,” a top government source told the Hindustan Times.
When Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal visited Canada for a bilateral visit in May of this year, the trade mission was announced.
This delay is the latest step in the relationship’s breakdown over pro-Khalistan activity in Canada. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed New Delhi’s “strong concerns about the continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada” to his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau at a side discussion in Delhi on the eve of the G20 leaders’ summit. Within hours, the separatist organization Sikhs for Justice organized a so-called Khalistan Referendum in a gurudwara in Surrey, British Columbia, and then scheduled another round of voting on October 29 in the same city.
In response to the trade mission’s cancellation, Goldy Hyder, President and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, said, “Canada and India share a deeply rooted and mutually beneficial economic partnership with a strong history and a bright future.” We anticipate that this connection will continue, regardless of any political conflicts that may arise from time to time.”
“Disputes tend to work themselves out, as we’ve seen with other bilateral relations,” the BCC chief continued.
