After months of strained relations following the murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia, Canada is 'working to restore a healthier relationship' with India, said Jody Thomas, Justin Trudeau's former national security and intelligence adviser.

After two years as an adviser to the Prime Minister, Jody Thomas retired on Friday.

Relations between Ottawa and New Delhi soured after Prime Minister Trudeau publicly suspected the Indian government in the House of Commons of involvement in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which occurred on June 23, 2023 in suburban Vancouver.

The Indian government's reaction was immediate. Despite rejecting Trudeau's allegations, New Delhi suspended all visa services to Canada for two months.

In October 2023, 41 Canadian diplomats had to leave the country after the Indian government threatened to revoke their diplomatic immunity. Canadian diplomats have still not returned to their posts in India.

In an interview with CBC News, Jody Thomas indicated that he went to India to discuss with his colleagues the alleged assassination of the Sikh leader. He stressed that the reaction of Indian officials was like that really unhappy And a little surprising.

According to him, the attitude of the Indian government is counterproductive as it harms human relations between Canada and India. We need diplomats there to issue visas and run programs on behalf of Canadians and Indianshe explained.

More open India

While RCMP is conducting its investigation, a new element has been added to the file. In the United States, an American court announced an indictment alleging that a plot linked to the Indian government, aimed at carrying out numerous murders in North America, had been foiled.

In an indictment filed in New York, US prosecutors accused Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, of sending a video of Nijjar's body to the hitman and ordering him to carry it out. do it quickly.

Following the disclosure of this information, several G7 countries lined up behind Canada.

In his statement to the CBC, Justin Trudeau indicated that India seemed more open to collaborating on this issue. Jody Thomas confirmed this RCMP make sure of that successful prosecution.

With information from CBC