From the Foreign Desk: Sir John A MacDonald

Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence

I bow to no one in my dislike of Justin Trudeau, but I have to admit I am utterly shocked at his latest claims. Trudeau has, in so many words, accused the Government of India of assassinating a Canadian citizen in Canada. Hardeep Singh, a Sikh leader and accused terrorist (accused by Interpol and the Indian government – not the Canadian government) was shot outside a Sikh temple in Surrey BC June 19 of this year. The murder is still under investigation.

In the House of Commons, Trudeau stated that there was “evidence” to conclude that the Indian Government was behind this shooting. The evidence provided of this claim has been, as of this writing, none. We are expected to take Trudeau’s word for it. And I say, that is simply not good enough. IF there is evidence a foreign government murdered a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil, that evidence must be made public.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. There are, shall we say, other considerations in this matter. First, as has been reported in many Canadian news bureaus, Trudeau’s popularity is tanking and the Conservatives are on the rise. Trudeau needs to reverse this trend. Second, Trudeau has just returned from the G20 meetings in India where he was not well received. Prime Minister Modi wants Trudeau to rein in the supporters of an independent Khalistan state. Trudeau has declined, claiming that he always supports peaceful protesters. I’ll give you a minute to laugh at the “peaceful protesters” comment. We all know he doesn’t support anyone who disagrees with him.

To make matters worse, the photo ops he had in India showed both Trudeau and Modi ignoring each other or scowling whenever they were together. Not a good look. And finally, when Trudeau was scheduled to leave India his Royal Canadian Air Force VIP jet broke down, stranding him for two more days. The Government of India offered him an Indian Air Force VIP jet, but he refused.

What does this say? Overall, despite Canadian media reports that Modi “must answer this charge” there are serious questions about both the timing and reasoning of this accusation. Frankly, this is not the first time that Trudeau has claimed some kind of “evidence” for some serious crime or threat, then provided none. The difference is Trudeau usually accused Canadians or his opponents. Now he has accused a friendly (or at least neutral) government. And to do that, evidence must be produced. The Prime Minister’s word that a foreign government assassinated a Canadian citizen is simply insufficient. If this evidence exists, it must be provided. If it does not exist, Canada has damaged relationships with another democracy in order to prop Trudeau up and keep him in power longer. No excuses. Bring forth the evidence and let the public and the courts make the determination. Anything less is a betrayal of democratic norms.