Trudeau Government Hints At Sanctions Against India, says 'Everything Is on Table...'

New Delhi: Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly has not ruled out the possibility of imposing sanctions against India as the relations between the two countries have hit an all-time low.

While addressing the media on Monday, the Canadian foreign minister was asked whether India could face possible sanctions to which Joly said, “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 Withdraws Diplomats From Canada, Expels 6 of Theirs 

India expelled six Canadian diplomats and withdrew its High Commissioner along with five other diplomats from Ottawa. Canada, however, claimed that it was the Indian diplomats who were expelled.

Prime Minister Trudeau accused Indian government agents of being involved in the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June of last year. India has denied any involvement, calling the allegations "absurd" and politically motivated.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly informed reporters that the evidence gathered by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) prompted the decision to expel the Indian diplomats and urged the Indian government to cooperate in the ongoing investigation for the benefit of both nations.

She mentioned that India was requested to waive diplomatic and consular immunity to facilitate the investigation but declined to do so.

Canada says Don't Want Diplomatic Confrontation With India

When asked if Canada is considering sanctions against India, Joly stated that expelling diplomats is one of the strongest measures a country can 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.

(With inputs from PTI)