Canada shuts consulate office in Chandigarh amid controversy

Amid growing diplomatic tensions between Canada and India, the Consulate General of Canada office in Chandigarh has temporarily halted its services, starting from Friday, as confirmed by official sources.

They have redirected these services to the High Commission of Canada office in Delhi.A notice has been posted on the office door located on the 4th floor of the Elante Office Complex in phase-1 of the Industrial Area.

The notice states that consular services from the Consulate General of Canada in Chandigarh are temporarily suspended and provides contact information for the High Commission of Canada in New Delhi (7/8 Shanti Path, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021).
A security personnel at the consulate office has mentioned that while the office remains open, the services have been discontinued, and the duration of this suspension remains uncertain.

However, applicants who had arrived at the visa facilitation service center on the ground floor, which typically forwards applications to relevant embassies, were taken by surprise. One such applicant, Gurwinder Singh from Fazilka, who had applied for a Canadian study visa, was not informed about the suspension of services. There are many people like him who have been caught off guard.

No defiance of int’l law in asking Canada to withdraw diplomats: MEA
New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said no international norms were violated in India seeking parity in the mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa. “We reject any attempt to portray the implementation of parity as a violation of international norms,” the external affairs ministry said.

The MEA statement noted that the state of the ties between India and Canada as well as Ottawa’s continued presence in India’s internal affairs warrant a “parity” in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa. “We have seen the Statement by the Government of Canada on October 19 regarding Canadian diplomatic presence in India,” the ministry statement read.

“The state of our bilateral relations, the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued interference in our internal affairs warrant a parity in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa,” it said.

India has engaged with Canada over the past month in order to work out the details and modalities of its implementation, the MEA statement read, adding that India’s actions in implementing the parity are fully consistent with Article 11.1 of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic ties.

“Our actions in implementing this parity are fully consistent with Article 11.1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.”