There he goes again. This time Justin Trudeau, leader of the bold Canadian democracy he describes he is thoroughly defending. One he says he is trying to prevent from being undermined unfairly by a government he would give his eye teeth to have the same popularity and overall success. That is the Narendra Modi-led one in India. In fact, just the other day, he was trying to stand tall before the Canadian Foreign Influence Commission, a commission which is primarily supposed to look at China and Russia, not India.
Trudeau was telling the members of that “exalted body” n the run-up period to the Canadian federal election – oh, by the way, the Indian one happening now- that he is as pure as the melting snows in his country in defending his view seeing Delhi soiling Canadian national sovereignty. That is in his myopic deluded perspective on the so-called dastardly foreign interference by India especially as part of assassination conspiracies in the Vancouver area.
And still without solid evidence but now making reference at the commission to not so useful documentation of security officials. And heavily redacted, conveniently? Of course, because in all this context as he sees it, the Official Opposition well positioned to replace his party in the coming election in less than a year, probably soon, has to be accused as being weak on India. That is because they did not dump so foolishly on seeing the Modi government as the source of the degrading bilateral relation between Ottawa and Delhi but blamed Trudeau, instead
As Trudeau stated, and reported by the Economic Times, he sees Pierre Poilievre’s federal Conservatives as having too cozied up (his words) to the Indian› side on the question of foreign interference. Rather, the grossest interference here is by the Canadian leader in his sense of reality. His woke theatrics of trying to use the Modi government as a battering ram to save his job and get his poll numbers out of the deep doldrums is unbefitting of a head of a G7 country, even. That is his continued harping on the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a known terrorist whose elimination has no evidential connection to or approval by Delhi, at all.
No matter, the Canadian heads and former drama teachers histrionics at times in posturing with utmost heart-felt sincerity on the matter, there is a serious outcome, nevertheless that is going to happen. Prime Minister Modi will look like a champion on all of this as it further evolves, especially to his electorate where he is vastly more popular nationwide and trusted compared to the ever politically sinking Trudeau with his zero percent growing economy with a serious housing crisis. And the Indian PM will be very likely reelected partly on the basis of not only an infinitely better economic performance, but on his strong stand against terrorism and extremists.
In fact, let us review Justin Trudeau’s record on freedom. During the covid pandemic period he accused protesting truckers, many of whom were struggling small businesses due to the very harsh measures put in place that were wiping out their livelihoods and ability to support their families as being associated with Nazis or neo-Nazis.
This was totally uncalled for. Then he even essentially confiscated their money from their bank accounts, at least regarding some of these leaders standing up for these mom and pop enterprises, the kind of people Liberal Trudeau says he is interested in protecting their rights. All happening as he showed laxity with Khalistan extremists on Canadian soil threatening violence. And apparently there no evidence that Trudeau should have seized any of these truckers› assets while India did the contrary. But instead, Delhi seized assets of Indian extremists free at large in Canada.
What an unbelievable set of comparisons really showing where Trudeau’s priorities are his coalition partner, he has been desperate to keep on side so as to keep his majority in parliament, headed by Jagmeet Singh has been soft on the question of Khalistan extremism. Even in the past he has refuted allegations that the Canadian security forces had about the actual perpetrator of bombing an Air India flight. Trying to say that the rightfully accused after more than a decade of investigations was being persecuted for exercising his human rights on freedom of expression is indicative of how woke Canada has been going? But it all makes the current Canadian PM preoccupied on the matter of vote banks not very interested in the legitimate rights of truckers overall.
A group who have not voted for him in the past significantly. And will certainly not now seeing how he subordinates their freedoms well below Khalistan extremists, a number of whom are Indian citizens and who have been designated as terrorists by the Indian government. And Trudeau had the audacity to say that when Delhi brings their wishes to have such individuals at least properly contained or extradited, Trudeau just makes platitudes in and out of the Canadian Parliament about freedom of expression and foreign interference. How lame one might argue.
Then, let us not forget Trudeau›s other vote bank, Ukrainian-Canadians not only pro- related Khalistan extremists or sympathizers. While the vast majority of these descendents of Russian purges are decent, honest and hard working, aspects of some of them and their close ancestors were too well buried.
For example, the Canadian Deputy Prime Minister›s grandfather was well associated with pro-Nazis. In fact, there was a major memorial in a Ukrainian:-Canadian section of a cemetery commemorating members of a Hitler loyal SS division who were immigrants to Canada from Ukraine. This related history was or should have been known by Trudeau and his immediate staff.
But no. So, then the worst came about when Trudeau stood up with his Deputy PM to give a standing ovation to a Ukrainian-Canadian who fought against the Soviet Russians in World War II who US President Eisenhower described as the most important force liberating Europe from the disgusting genocidal Nazis. But that was not the main insult at all. Rather the man in the gallery receiving parliamentary applause had been a member of the dreaded Nazis.
A group in Ukraine who had done unthinkable human rights abuses against Polish, Hungarian, Jewish and other minorities. And all this was preceded by Justin Trudeau›s finger pointing at protesting striking truckers as being overly associated with despicable Nazis. Where does this leader of a country that was so well-held in high-esteem in India and other parts of the world think he is doing?
Trudeau feels forced to play games and does badly so. And his two big games are playing on using voting banks and now, he is desperately using the fabricated card of ‘big bad Modi India’ to gain votes publicly, timed with the Indian election and his own one. Can Trudeau get worse than this. We can all do without more drama from his side in wrecking relations between two great people and democratic Commonwealth countries.
Peter Dash, a proud Canadian (still), writes on geopolitics.