JUSTIN Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, walked into controversy by commenting on the farmer agitation in India. He stated during an online interaction with the local Sikh Community on Gurpurab, “I would be remiss if I didn’t start also by recognising the news coming out of India about the protest by farmers.
The situation is concerning, and we’re all very worried about family and friends.” He added, “Canada will always be there to defend the rights of peaceful protesters. We believe in the process of dialogue. We’ve reached out through multiple means to the Indian authorities to highlight our concerns.”
India in response summoned the Canadian High Commissioner, Nadir Patel, and issued a strong demarche. The demarche stated that remarks made by PM Trudeau “would have a seriously damaging impact on ties between India and Canada”. Trudeau was unwilling to retract.
