In a letter issued Monday by Mr. Moe, Saskatchewan Trade Minister Jeremy Harrison believes that Mr. Trudeau is making things difficult for India just to score political points, which puts the Canadian economy at risk of losing access to one of its most important export markets in Saskatchewan. .
Harrison noted in his letter that Saskatchewan learned that Canada had suspended its trade negotiations with India through media reports.
He maintained that his counterpart, Federal Trade Minister Mary Ng, had not responded to a letter he sent in late July seeking an update on the negotiations.
The Liberal Party did not give a clear reason why they ordered a pause in trade negotiations with India. The Canadian Press asked Minister Ng for his response to Mr Harrison’s letter.
Mr. Trudeau met briefly with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi this weekend.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs reported that Modi used the discussion to express serious concerns to Trudeau about “the activities of anti-India extremist elements in Canada”, particularly Sikh separatists.
Saskatchewan accounts for about a third of Canada’s exports to India, particularly pulses such as lentils, which India has sometimes blocked or delayed due to pest control policies.
