Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

What does Canada need to see to resume trade talks with India? Minister won't say

Share

International Trade Minister Mary Ng won’t say which conditions India needs to meet for Canada to resume negotiating a free trade deal with the country, a process that’s been on pause since last September.

“We haven't made any decisions at this point,†she told CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos in an interview airing Sunday, adding she has plans to speak with her Indian counterpart in the coming days, and she continues “to support Canadian businesses.â€

Relations between Canada and India have been strained since last September when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there was credible evidence the Indian government may have been involved in the murder of a Canadian Sikh leader in B.C. last summer.

India has denied the allegations, and initially refused to work with Canada on any investigation into the death. A week before the prime minister levelled that accusation against India, negotiations on a trade deal were abruptly halted.

Trudeau’s former national security advisor Jody Thomas told Kapelos on CTV’s Question Period last month that India is now cooperating with the investigation, describing the changing relationship as an “evolution.â€

Ng, when pressed on what needs to happen for the two countries to resume negotiating a free trade deal, wouldn’t specify.

“We are in regular dialogue,†Ng said, when asked whether any progress on trade talks is contingent on cooperation with the investigation into Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s death, or whether Canada plans to wait until the investigation is concluded.

Ng said Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has also recently met with her counterpart, and dialogue between ministers from both countries is ongoing.

“This is something that I want to make sure that we are doing, everything we can, looking after Canadian interests first and foremost, and I think Canadians can count on me for doing that,†she said.

Ng also said that while talks “continue to be paused,†she’s “heartened†to see business and investment between the two countries continue.

“I've been very clear with Canadians who are doing business that they can count on our support, and that continues,†she said. “We do want to and we are seeing encouraging signs of the investigation that is taking place, of course independently.â€

When asked whether the talks are tied to the accusation levied by Trudeau against the Indian government, Ng said “it isn’t.â€

But when pressed on the conditions for picking negotiations back up, if not contingent on the investigation into Nijjar’s death, Ng said “it is work that is ongoing.â€

“And I will share with the Canadian public and with you more when I have more to share,†she said.

Kapelos then asked again how a lack of specificity around what Canada needs to see to resume trade talks should be interpreted.

“I think what you can interpret is that I'm happy to share more when I'm able to, and right now I've given you all of the update that that I'm able to,†Ng said.

In her interview, Ng also discussed the recently passed Canada-Ukraine trade bill, and the negotiating process around whether or not to include language around carbon pricing in the deal.

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Debate gets testy as MPs consider confidence motion in PM Trudeau

MPs debated the first non-confidence motion of the fall House of Commons sitting today, seeing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre push once again for a snap election. But with votes secured to keep them afloat, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals were quick to turn the discussion into a referendum on the Conservative alternative.

A city councillor in British Columbia says an online mob of "extremists" and "politically motivated hackers" is responsible for uncovering and publicizing a photo of him wearing a blackface costume to a Halloween party in 2007.

After Ontario Premier Doug Ford made controversial comments about solutions to get people out of homeless encampments, advocates and members of the opposition spoke up on Tuesday.

Four puppies were found near County Road 21 in Essa Township after a passerby spotted one when it ran out of the ditch and onto the road.

We've all had neighbours we didn't like, but two people from Sault Ste. Marie have been awarded more than half a million dollars for the 'extreme' behaviour of the people who lived next to them.

Local Spotlight

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.

Fire has destroyed a barn and 17,000 plants at a family-owned business in Lower Coverdale, N.B.

Before influencers on social media, Canada’s Jeanne Beker was bringing the world of high fashion down to earth and as Calgary’s Glenbow Museum gets a major make-over, it will include a new exhibition showcasing the pop culture icon.

A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.

A Nova Scotian YouTuber has launched a mini-truck bookmobile.

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

Stay Connected