Conservatives are taking a cautious approach to India allegation, observers say
CBC
Just days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the astonishing allegation that Canada has "credible intelligence" linking agents of the Indian government to the killing of a Canadian citizen, the scandal has scarcely been mentioned during question period in the House of Commons.
There might be a good reason for that, observers say.
"There's a lot of landmines here," said Shakir Chambers, a former Conservative Party staffer and now a principal at Earnscliffe Strategies.
"If you're the opposition, if you overplay your hand on this, it can become a very dangerous issue."
On Monday, Prime Minister Trudeau set off global shock waves when he told the House of Commons that security services have information linking India's government to the killing of a Canadian citizen at a Sikh temple in British Columbia in June.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, was seen as a leader in the Sikh diaspora in Canada and had been active in a group supporting the push for an independent Sikh homeland in northern India, to be called Khalistan.
The Khalistan movement has a long, often emotional history in Canada.
"The relationship with India is complex. It's fraught with some challenges," said Garry Keller, former chief of staff to Conservative foreign minister John Baird.
"And, you know, that doesn't necessarily distil itself down into nice sound bites for question period."
On Monday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called on the House of Commons to "put aside our differences to stand up for the rule of law." By Tuesday, he was demanding that Trudeau "come clean" with more information about the case.
That was fair and smart move, said Keller.
"He asked very, very pointed questions, which is his job to do as leader of the Opposition," he said.
While the issue wasn't raised in question period at all on Wednesday, MPs did discuss the issue in a special debate Tuesday night.
Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer was the only representative of his party to attend that debate — a move noticed by others in the chamber.
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