NEW DELHI: Leader of People’s Party of Canada, Maxime Bernier, on Thursday claimed that Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whose murder has led to deteriorating diplomatic ties between India and Canada, was ‘a foreign terrorist’ who was ‘somehow granted citizenship in 2007.’
Bernier wrote on X, “One myth should be dispelled though: That the central figure in this controversy, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Khalistani militant who was murdered last year, was a Canadian.

He was actually a foreign terrorist who used fraudulent documents to claim asylum in Canada several times starting in 1997. His claims were rejected but he was nevertheless allowed to stay in this country and was somehow granted citizenship in 2007.”
Calling it an administrative error, Bernier said that Nijjar should have been deported along with thousands of others who used ‘fake asylum claimants.’ “Nijjar wasn’t a Canadian. We should perhaps posthumously take away his citizenship to right this administrative error. He should have been deported after his first fake asylum claim, like the hundreds of thousands of fake asylum claimants who are in Canada right now,” wrote Bernier.

“All this is happening because Canada has for decades deliberately invited these foreigners and their tribal conflicts into our country. We should recognize this major blunder and work with the government of India to find solutions instead of jeopardizing our relations with a rising world power and an important ally over this issue,” Bernier said.
The opposition leader criticised Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, accusing him of ‘using this crisis to divert attention from other controversies.’ He added, however, that if the allegations are proven true, they must be addressed seriously.

He however said that, “If true, allegations made by the RCMP and the Liberal government that Indian diplomats participated in criminal activities on our territory are very serious and should be dealt with. So far however, we haven’t been given any proof. And Trudeau is clearly using this crisis to divert the attention from other controversies.

Relations between India and Canada plunged to a new low after the Canadian authorities accused Indian agents of involvement in ‘homicides, extortion and violent acts’ targeting pro-Khalistan supporters and even attempted to link the Bishnoi gang to unspecified criminal activities on Canadian soil. India strongly rejected the claims.