'No country will ever have a pass': Anita Anand on whether Indian gangs are behind extortion threats in Canada

Canad forign minister Anita Anand said no country will ever have a pass after she was asked whether she believed Indian criminal gangs were behind the extortion threats in Canada. "I want to focus on the fact that no country will ever have a pass in terms of the domestic safety and security of Canada. period," the Indian-origin minister said.

"The rule of law and the importance of adherence to the criminal code are of utmost importance to our government. Period."

"What does that mean?" Anand continued. "It means that in terms of the enforcement of the criminal law, you mentioned extortion but there many other provisions in the criminal code of Canada that the RCMP and police forces take extremely seriously. And we, as a government, believe that at all times the law enforcement must have the ability to do that work to enforce the criminal code and to bring just cases to trial. That is a process that we do not interfere with. That's what the rule of law dictates. Political actors have no role in that process." Anand said.

"My second point vis-à-vis India is that there is a law enforcement dialogue occurring at the most senior levels in the public service of Canada together with their Indian counterparts, which is ongoing and which addresses the relationship between the two countries and allows that dialogue to be the place where issues relating to those can be addressed," the minister said.

The comment came ahead of Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to India (February 27 to March 2).

Ottawa says India is no longer linked to violent crimes in Canada

Ahead of Carney's much-awaited visit to India, the Toronto Star reported that the Canadian government now believed India is no longer linked to violent crimes in Canada. “We have a very robust diplomatic engagement, including between national security advisers, and I think we can say we’re confident that that activity is not continuing,” one of the senior officials told the Toronto Star.