Trudeau denies equating Sikh separatism with Quebec
OTTAWA Justin Trudeau categorically denied on Friday that he had cited Quebec’s struggle for independence as an example of the risk of violence associated with separatist movements.
“The report is entirely false,” he said, referring to an account of a conversation on Wednesday between Trudeau and Amarinder Singh, chief minister for the Punjab, that had originated from the latter’s office.
“I never said that.” Trudeau told reporters that he had “always been very proud of the fact that Canada and Quebec had lessons to share with the world on pluralism, diversity, different points of view without having resorted to violence.”
In an account of discussions between the two men on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Singh said Trudeau had cited the Quebec sovereignist movement as an example to convince his hosts that he was fully aware of the risks and dangers of violence.
However even before Trudeau’s denial, a Canadian government source told the Presse Canadienne that while the prime minister “spoke about Quebec” to Singh, “in no case did he draw a comparison between the Sikh and Quebec independence movements, especially not about violence.”
The majority of Indo-Canadians are Sikhs from the Indian state of Punjab, which is also the centre of a separatist movement that favours the creation of an independent Sikh state called Khalistan. Before Trudeau arrived in India, he was already being criticized for allegedly having within his cabinet sympathizers to the Sikh cause, including Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan.
After Wednesday’s meeting, Singh wrote on his Facebook page that he was “delighted to have obtained a firm assurance” from Trudeau that Canada supported a united India.
“We are impatient to see this government fight the separatist fringe,” he wrote.
The comments attributed by Singh’s office to Trudeau sent shock waves through Quebec.
“That Justin Trudeau wants to make himself look ridiculous in India is his business,” Parti Québécois leader Jean-François Lisée wrote on his Twitter account, referring to a series of perceived gaffes that have dogged the prime minister’s visit. “But to identify the current Quebec independence movement with violence is false and disrespectful to millions of Quebecers.”
Some Conservative MPs from Quebec also joined in the social media fray.
“I have sovereignist friends, and even if I don’t share their vision, NEVER have they thought of resorting to violence to create sovereignty,” wrote Tory MP Luc Berthold. “Trudeau is Quebec bashing to get out of the s--- he put himself in India.”