No country will be given a pass, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said after being asked if she believed Indian criminal gangs were behind the extortion threat in Canada. “I want to focus on the fact that no country has a pass when it comes to Canada’s internal safety and security,” the Indian-origin minister said. “The importance of the rule of law and compliance with criminal laws is critical to our government. Period.”“What does this mean?” Anand continued. “What that means is that in terms of the enforcement of the criminal code, you mentioned racketeering, but the RCMP and police forces take many other provisions of the Canadian criminal code very seriously. As a government, we believe that law enforcement must have the ability to enforce criminal laws and try cases fairly at all times. This is a process in which we do not interfere. This is what the rule of law provides. Political actors have no role in this process. ” said Anand. “My second point about India is that there is an ongoing law enforcement dialogue at the highest levels of Canada’s public service with its Indian counterpart that is ongoing to address the relationship between the two countries and make that dialogue a place where issues related to these issues can be addressed,” the minister said. The comments come ahead of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to India (February 27-March 2).
Ottawa says India no longer linked to violent crime in Canada
Ahead of Carney’s long-awaited trip to India, the Toronto Star reported that the Canadian government now believes India is no longer linked to violent crime in Canada. “We have had very strong diplomatic engagement, including between the national security advisers, and I think we can say we are confident that this activity will not continue,” a senior official told the Toronto Star.
