By Sen. Baltej S. Dhillon

June 15, 2025

I was driving through Surrey, British Columbia, on my way to a school outreach when I heard it on the radio: Prime Minister Mark Carney had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India to the 2025, G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta.

When something traumatic happens, an accident, a crime, a violation of public trust, there’s often a strong impulse to tidy things up and move on to business as usual. But accountability takes time. As a retired 35-year veteran of police work, I can tell you; investigations are rarely convenient. They disrupt routines, slow down decisions, and force uncomfortable truths to the surface. Still, we make room for them because justice demands clarity, not haste.

Inviting Prime Minister Modi at this moment represents a troubling departure from our principles. It prioritizes short-term strategic calculations over long-term democratic values. It sends the message that trade and geopolitical interests matter more than sovereignty, justice, and public trust. Worse, it risks confirming the very thing many Canadians fear: that there are no real consequences for foreign interference in our democracy.

In 2023, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated in Parliament that Canadian intelligence services were investigating credible allegations linking agents of the Indian government to the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead outside the Guru Nanak Gurdwara, a place of worship in Surrey, the previous June. The allegations, if proven true, represented a shocking breach of Canadian sovereignty made more jarring by the possible involvement by the government of a country Canada has long considered a partner and a friend.

Narendra Modi’s political ascent has long been tied to a vision of India that exploits and deepens intercommunal fault lines. His tenure as chief minister of Gujarat was shadowed by deadly sectarian riots in 2002 and accusations of state inaction, events that many human rights organizations have not forgotten. Since then, critics have pointed to a pattern: a nationalist ideology that consolidates power by marginalizing dissenting voices, often along religious and ethnic lines.

That ideology has not remained confined within India’s borders. In both subtle and overt ways, it has reached into diasporic communities abroad, including here in Canada. For many, what happened was not a random act of violence. It was a chilling expression of that exported repression, a message intended to instill fear and silence critics, even across an ocean.

The reality of foreign interference in Canada is no longer a matter of speculation. The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians confirmed that it is “pervasive,” “persistent,” and “sophisticated,” targeting our democratic institutions and civic life. Foreign actors are deliberately undermining the foundations of Canadian democracy with calculated operations.

This is about protecting our credibility, safeguarding our citizens, and reinforcing the trust that must exist between a country and its people.

A government’s most basic obligation is to protect its citizens at home. The safety of Canadians on Canadian soil is not negotiable. Nor is their right to speak freely, live without fear, and trust their government to uphold the rule of law. These are the promises of a democracy. When we ignore credible threats, or minimize them in the name of diplomacy, we erode those promises.

Welcoming Prime Minister Modi suggests that if a country is large enough or economically useful, Canada is willing to bend. It implies that power grants impunity and that our principles are flexible when enough is at stake.

Some will argue that Canada must be pragmatic. That in an increasingly hostile and complex world, we cannot afford to isolate ourselves. It’s true that Canada’s foreign policy in recent years hasn’t always delivered results. In trying to be the world’s moral compass, we’ve sometimes spoken loudly without wielding much influence. But refusing to roll out the red carpet for a leader credibly accused of violating our sovereignty is not a return to “preachy Canada.” It is an assertion of national interest grounded in principle, security, and self-respect. This is about protecting our credibility, safeguarding our citizens, and reinforcing the trust that must exist between a country and its people.

There is truth in acknowledging complexity. There will be moments when Canada must engage with governments whose values we do not share. Constructive dialogue, with difficult partners, is sometimes necessary.

We’ve seen this before, when Prime Minister Carney expressed serious concerns about Donald Trump’s policies while continuing to rebuild a cooperative relationship with the United States. But there is a difference between pragmatic engagement with a government and selectively hosting its leader while an investigation is ongoing.

Welcoming Prime Minister Modi while communities still grieve and fear fractures our unity and undermines the promise we owe every Canadian: that they matter, and that their rights are not for sale.

Sen. Baltej Dhillon is a retired career police officer, a community leader, and a lifelong advocate for diversity and inclusion. He made history in 1991 as the first Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer to wear a turban on duty. He was appointed to the Senate in February, 2025, and is a member of the Independent Senators Group.