Canada This Week May 6-10
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, will be dealing with rising tensions between Ottawa and New Delhi this week. (photo: CTV News)
Bill C-69 – Budget Delay Tactics
The Liberals' tour across the country to sell the April 16 federal budget to Canadians has basically wrapped up, and now the government must go through the procedural process of getting the budget passed in the House of Commons. Last week, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh indicated that his party would support the budget, keeping intact the supply and confidence agreement between the Liberals and NDP. Singh has criticized the budget for not going far enough to “tackle corporate greed” and indicated that he and his party would continue to press for budgetary policy which will rein in corporate profits in Canada which he claims to be making life more expensive for everyday Canadians. With the NDP’s support, the budget will pass through the House of Commons.
The Conservatives, not surprisingly, have moved not to support the 2024 budget and will look to deploy procedural stall tactics throughout the week, including a motion which stands to be debated on Thursday. At this point, there is not much the Conservatives can do to prevent the passage of the budget; however, they can delay and make the process as onerous as possible on the supporting parties.
Foreign Interference
On Friday, Marie-Josée Hogue, Commissioner of the Public Inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections, released her initial report regarding the findings of the inquiry. Hogue indicated that foreign interference was present in both the 2019 and 2021 general elections; however, in her opinion, it did not significantly alter the outcome of elections. Hogue went on to say that the presence of foreign interference by other countries during the past two elections is a “stain” on the Canadian electoral system.
Politically, the report may have some political ramifications for the Prime Minister as he and a number of high-ranking Cabinet Ministers were informed by CSIS of foreign meddling in the 2021 election. The line provided by the Prime Minister was that the intelligence provided by CSIS was received; however, he and his team deemed the threat of wide-scale interference to be insignificant so nothing was done. Commissioner Hogue frames the issue differently in her report, stating that the foreign interference taking place stood to benefit Liberal candidates, particularly Toronto candidate Han Dong, so nothing was done. Mr. Han Dong has since left the Liberal party and sits as an independent MP.
This week the Liberals will table legislation which is aimed at addressing foreign interference for future elections. Expect the bill to establish a foreign influence registry which would require foreign actors influencing policy to register with the government. It is also expected that CSIS will be granted broader powers to disclose sensitive information regarding foreign meddling to actors and organizations outside of government. The bill may also include a swath of new offenses, punishable by law, under the Security of Information Act. Look for this bill to be released early in the week.
Indo-Canadian Tensions
Following the arrest of three suspects in the murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Friday, the finger-pointing between Canadian and Indian officials started once again. Nijjar was gunned down in Surrey, BC, in June of 2023. An ongoing RCMP investigation into the murder indicated, in September, that the Indian government may have played a role in the murder of Mr. Nijjar. In September, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that “Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty. It is contrary to the fundamental rules by which free, open, and democratic societies conduct themselves.” These comments led to a flurry of sanctions between the countries, since which many have been dropped. However, Friday’s arrests and assertions by the RCMP at a press conference which accused the Indian government of not being cooperative in the investigation have ramped tensions back up.
On Saturday, Indian Foreign Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar accused Canada of allowing criminals to enter the country; stating the Liberals' appeal to the Sikh community for votes and “have given these kinds of extremism, separatism, advocates of violence a certain legitimacy in the name of free speech.” Canada’s definition of extremists and terrorists originating from the Sikh separatist movement in India is at odds with the Indian definition. Many individuals considered to be terrorists by the Indian government are not considered to be so here in Canada. This has led to an undercurrent of tensions between Ottawa and New Delhi. The Star reports that Subrahmanyam Jaishankar also called “Ottawa the No. 1 driver of what he described as a violent movement of Sikhs trying to carve their own country out of India.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also addressed the issue over the weekend. CTV reports that Trudeau spoke Saturday at a Sikh Foundation of Canada gala in Toronto where he said that “Canadians have a fundamental right to live safely, free from discrimination and threats of violence.” And called for “calm and steadfastness in commitment to democratic principles and the justice system.” Expect tensions to escalate as the volley of words between the countries continues this week as further details of the RCMP investigation become publicly available. Should Ottawa and New Delhi continue down the path of escalating rhetoric, the possibility of economic sanctions may be on the table.
