Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s former national security and intelligence adviser Jody Thomas says Canada is “working back toward a healthier relationship” with India after months of tense relations following the murder of a B.C. man.
Thomas made the comments Friday during an interview with CBC News Network’s Rosemary Barton Live about her retirement. After two years on the job, Thomas said she would retire on Jan. 26.
Canada’s diplomatic relationship with India has been strained since Trudeau accused the Indian government of being involved in the fatal shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and Sikh leader in B.C.
India forcefully rejected the accusations, causing relations to quickly deteriorate. Last September, India suspended all visa services in Canada; they resumed two months later.
In October, 41 Canadian diplomats left the country after New Delhi threatened to revoke their diplomatic immunity. Those diplomats have not returned.
The government has made allegations that India’s government and its intelligence agency were involved in the killing of a citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, on Canadian soil, but some don’t think it was possible. CBC’s Adrienne Arsenault breaks down whether it’s capable of what it is being accused of and the implications if it’s true.
Thomas, who flew to India to discuss the allegations, said the reaction by Indian officials was “really unfortunate” and a “bit of a surprise.”
“It’s counterproductive because it’s harmed the people-to-people relationship between Canada and India. We need diplomats there to issue visas and to execute programs on behalf of Canadians and Indians,” Thomas added.
The RCMP is investigating the shooting, but more information has emerged since police opened up the case. A separate U.S. indictment unsealed in late November alleges a thwarted plot connected to the Indian government to carry out multiple assassinations in North America.
In that indictment, filed in New York, U.S. prosecutors allege Indian national Nikhil Gupta sent a contract killer a video of Nijjar’s body and told the killer to “do it quickly.”
After the indictment was unsealed, and multiple G7 countries lined up behind Canada, Trudeau told the CBC that it appeared India became more open to collaborating on the issue.
Thomas said the RCMP is being careful to ensure “that every ‘T’ is crossed and ‘I’ dotted to have a successful prosecution.”
‘We need to be more transparent’
Thomas also weighed in on foreign election interference, saying that more transparency is needed on the file overall.
In February 2023, top-secret Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) documents were leaked to the Globe and Mail that suggested China interfered in the 2021 federal election.The documents also claim China wanted a minority Liberal government.
One month later, the Globe and Mail published an anonymous opinion piece written by the leaker, who claimed that “evidence of senior public officials ignoring interference was beginning to mount.”
An inquiry into foreign election interference begins next week. Thomas said that, despite the public having access to unclassified reports on the issue, “the average Canadian doesn’t read them.”
“What has become very evident is that we need to talk about [foreign interference] before elections, potentially during elections and after …” Thomas said.
“The first time we talk about the panel on foreign interference in our elections should not be when there’s a problem. We need to be more transparent.”
When asked whether the leaks were beneficial because they prompted action by officials, Thomas pushed back.
“I don’t think I can ever agree that there’s a benefit to leaking,” she said.
Thomas said the “individuals” who leaked the information “had a view about what should be done, or that the government wasn’t taking action, without necessarily knowing what action was being taken.
“I remain very confident in the RCMP’s ability to find the individuals responsible.”
