Ottawa: Canada’s leader of Opposition Pierre Poilievre, has canceled the Diwali celebrations which were scheduled to be held at Parliament Hill, amidst a growing diplomatic rift with India.
The event was organized by the Overseas Friends of India Canada (OFIC), and was to be hosted by Conservative MP Todd Doherty on October 30.
However, OFIC received no explanation for the abrupt cancellation.
Relations between India and Canada have worsened in recent times following Ottawa’s allegations that Indian diplomats engaged in intelligence activities and collaborated with criminal groups to target pro-Khalistan supporters including extremist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.
In Canada’s aggressive stance, India recalled its ambassador to Canada and expelled six Canadian diplomats with the ongoing rift.
OFIC President Shiv Bhasker expressed disappointment in a letter to Pierre Poilievre, and said that the community’s feelings of betrayal after several political leaders, who had attended in previous years, chose to withdraw this time.
Bhasker condemned the cancellation as ‘insensitive and discriminatory,’ calling for an apology from Poilievre. He stressed that while Canada and India’s diplomatic tensions are significant, they should not lead to unjust treatment of Canadians of Indian origin, who are unaffiliated with the Indian government.
At last year’s Diwali celebration, Poilievre and then-Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma addressed approximately 540 guests. In his recent letter, Bhasker emphasized that the issue goes beyond a single canceled event, alleging that it reflects deeper systemic biases. “This is not just about a canceled Diwali event; it is about a much deeper and insidious problem. Racism and discrimination are thriving in Canada, and this latest development has laid bare the systemic biases that still exist,” he wrote in the letter.
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