Following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement in the House of Commons on September 18 that there were “credible allegations” of a possible connection between Indian agents and the June 18 killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, the Immigration Minister of Canada has attributed the huge drop in study permits issued to Indian students to the ongoing dispute.
Marc Miller, the minister of immigration, refugees, and citizenship, told the news agency Reuters that as long as the problem isn’t fixed, it’s doubtful that the declining number of study permits issued would increase.
“Our relationship with India has really halved our ability to process a lot of applications from India,” he stated. He was referring to New Delhi’s call for parity in mutual diplomatic presence, which led to Canada withdrawing 41 diplomats and their family members from India in October. Ottawa labeled the action as “expulsion” when Canadian diplomats, including IRCC officials, left India, decreasing the number from 62 to 21.
Miller does not see an immediate solution to the situation, saying, “It’s not something that I see any light at the end of the tunnel on.” He added, “I can’t tell you about how the diplomatic relationship will evolve, particularly if police were to lay charges.”
As per Canadian media reports, law enforcement has two people suspected of being involved in Nijjar’s assassination under surveillance and may arrest them shortly.