Canada’s decision to pull out 41 diplomats from India and suspend visa and consular services in Chandigarh, Mumbai and Bengaluru is expected to lead to immigration and visa application processing delays, said Immigration Minister Marc Miller.
This is just the latest development to the diplomatic row that began between India and Canada following provocative statements made by the latter’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Background
In the wake of the murder of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C, he said Canadian intelligence had evidence suggesting the involvement of “agents of the Indian government”.
This then resulted in the expulsion of an Indian diplomat who was also a senior intelligence officer, and a reciprocal response from India.
Further, India suspended visa services for Canadians and paused free-trade talks and a business mission with Canada.
No more diplomatic immunity
Canada has significantly reduced its diplomatic presence in India following the Indian government’s decision to remove the diplomatic immunity of Canadian representatives.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly revealed this development on Thursday saying Canada will not reciprocate by demanding a reduction in India’s diplomatic staff in Canada.
India had officially communicated its intention to unilaterally withdraw diplomatic immunities from all but 21 Canadian diplomats and dependents in Delhi by October 20.
She said Canada had no choice but to comply to ensure the safety of Canadian diplomats, adding that diplomatic immunity is essential for them to effectively perform their duties in foreign countries.
Canada mostly out
She further said 41 Canadian diplomats, a majority of Ottawa’s mission in India, along with 42 dependents, have left India and that only 21 Canadian diplomats remain in India now
27 Immigration Department staff members are among the withdrawn diplomats.
Canada for peace
Despite the reduction in diplomatic personnel, Canada is not requesting a reciprocal downsizing of Indian diplomats in Canada.
This is clearly an attempt to prevent further escalation of the row.
Consular services interrupted
However, this reduction in Canadian diplomats has already resulted in service interruptions at Canada’s consulates in Chandigarh, Mumbai, and Bangalore.
The reduced staff could lead to a backlog of 17,500 decisions on applications from India.
Immigration lawyer Richard Kurland, however, proposed an alternative solution, as it operates an online system that allows Canadian officials in other countries to take over the processing tasks.
“Canada has a workaround for India’s lack of cooperation. Canada can transmit files or passports to alternative locations for processing”, he said.
