'Everything on table,' says Canadian foreign minister when asked about sanctions on India

Ottawa: Hinting at the possibility of sanctions against India following the diplomatic row over the killing of a pro-Khalistani leader for which Canada has blamed India, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly has said that "everything is on the table."

Tensions between India and Canada escalated after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday accused the Indian government of supporting criminal activities targeting Canadian citizens.

India on Monday expelled six Canadian diplomats and withdrew its High Commissioner and five other diplomats from Ottawa. Canada, however, said the Indian diplomats were expelled.

Trudeau alleged that Indian government agents were involved in the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June last year. India denied involvement and dismissed the allegations as "absurd" and politically motivated.

Joly on Monday told reporters the evidence collected by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) was the basis for the decision to expel Indian diplomats and urged the Indian government to cooperate in the ongoing investigation for the mutual benefit of both countries.

She said India was asked to waive diplomatic and consular immunity and cooperate in the investigation but refused.

The foreign minister in response to a question whether the country is looking to impose sanctions on India said expelling diplomats was one of the toughest measures that a country could take under the Vienna Convention.

"For the rest, we will continue to push India to make sure they cooperate. We Will continue to engage with our five eyes partners. We will also continue to engage with the G7 partners. Everything is on the table," she said.

"We don't want diplomatic confrontation with India. We know that thousands of Canadians go to India every year. We have lots of people from India coming to Canada as well. So we know that there are deep people-to-people ties, and want to make sure that these are still possible," Joly said at the press conference alongside Trudeau.

“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,” Joly added.

The minister said violence “actually increased” following the allegations made by Canada a year ago.

“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,” she said.

At the same press conference, Trudeau said: "India has made a monumental mistake by choosing to use their diplomats and organised crime to attack Canadians, to make them feel unsafe here at (their) home, and even more, to create acts of violence and even murder. It's unacceptable.”

India has dismissed these allegations and asked the Canadian diplomats to leave the country by or before 11:59 pm on October 19.