Diane Francis: Trudeau's diplomatic blunder raises questions about who's really running the show

financialpost.com:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement on Sept. 18 that, “Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, (Sikh separatist leader) Hardeep Singh Nijjar,” has blown up Canada’s relationship with India.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government described the allegation as “absurd.” That may or may not be the case. But to date, the diplomatic fallout of this unsubstantiated accusation has been severe. Each country has booted out diplomats and India has stopped issuing visas to Canadians. Now the relationship between the two countries is in tatters, and future trade and tourism is left in the lurch. Why would Trudeau do this?

One answer, as put forward by some in both the Canadian and Indian press, is that Trudeau’s political survival rests with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, a practising Sikh who has been highly critical of the Indian government. In 2013, Singh (who was born in Canada) was denied a visa to India, reportedly due to comments he made about the government’s handling of anti-Sikh riots in 1984.

After Trudeau’s denunciation of India, Singh wrote: “In my experience, as a Sikh-Canadian, there have always been suspicions that India was interfering in the democratic rights of Canadians. Yesterday’s announcement by the prime minister confirms these suspicions are valid.”

But the fact is that Trudeau’s pronouncement doesn’t confirm suspicions, but promotes them based on shadowy intel. A Canadian official told the Associated Press that the intelligence, provided from an ally, was gleaned from the surveillance of Indian diplomats.

Yet India says Ottawa has not been forthcoming. “No