Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller has rejected External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s criticism of Ottawa’s immigration policies, saying that Canada conducts thorough criminal record checks on individuals entering the country on student visas. Miller said the Indian foreign minister is entitled to his opinion, but his comments are not accurate.
Jaishankar had criticized the Canadian immigration policy after three Indian nationals allegedly linked to the killing of pro-Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar were arrested last week. Jaishankar said that a number of people with organized crime links from Punjab have been welcomed in Canada despite India requesting their extradition.
Miller said that Canada takes such reports “very seriously” and that the process for checking criminal records is elaborate. He added that individuals with criminal records are not allowed to enter the country.
Canadian news channel Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC) quoted Miller refusing to reveal details of the police enquiry or confirm whether the three Indians arrested were on student visas. He said that such enquiries should be directed to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
Following the charges laid by Canadian authorities against the three Indian nationals, it was reported that they had entered Canada on student visas. On June 18, 2023, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist in India, was fatally shot outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia. Karan Brar (22), Kamalpreet Singh (22), and Karanpreet Singh (28), all Indian nationals who were residing in Edmonton, were charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder on Friday.
Jaishankar accused Canadian authorities of using the Nijjar issue for internal vote-bank politics and of harboring some people with “pro-Pakistan leanings.”
