Manitoba's Indian community hopes tensions de-escalate as India suspends visa services for Canadians

People from Manitoba's Indian community are hoping tensions between Canada and India simmer down after India suspended visa services for Canadian citizens.

"It is an extreme step," said Priyanka Singh, president of the India Association of Manitoba. "Everybody's hoping that these issues can get solved."

The service suspension is part of a rift between the two nations that deepened earlier this week, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said India may have been involved in the killing of a Canadian Sikh leader on Canadian soil.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who has been wanted by India for years and has been accused by the Indian government of leading a militant separatist group, was shot a Sikh temple in Surrey, B.C., last June.

Trudeau said in Parliament on Monday that Canada has "credible" reason to believe the Indian government carried out Nijjar's killing.

On Thursday, India's visa application centre in Canada, BLS International Services Canada, suspended its visa services until further notice. The agency has physical locations across the country, including Winnipeg.

Priyanka Singh said the suspension will cause many Indians living in Canada to forgo travel plans.

"It's going to hurt the Indian diaspora living here in Canada," she told CBC on Thursday, adding that she had plans to travel to India this December.

"Everybody is waiting and watching and hoping that things de-escalate," she said.

Take things 'day by day'

Rajbir Singh of Misl, a Sikh youth organization in Winnipeg, said Manitoba's Sikh community should take the situation between Canada and India "day by day."

He said while Trudeau's accusation on Monday can be "scary" to understand, he urged Sikh-Manitobans to remain calm.

"I think in this kind of case, it's smartest that we … see what is the most great, clear-cut response that we can give as the situation progresses without jumping the gun," he said Thursday.

In an emailed statement, Sikh Heritage Manitoba said the organization wants to highlight the importance of diplomacy and dialogue between the two countries.

"Open communication between nations is vital in maintaining strong bilateral relationships and upholding the principles of justice we hold dearly as Canadians," a spokesperson said.

The organization also called on the Indian government to work with Canada to make sure an investigation into Hardeep Singh Nijjar's death is "thorough and impartial."