Canada boycotts P20 summit to be held in India amid Nijjar controversy, Senate Speaker will not come

Canada’s Senate Speaker will not attend the Group of 20 event ahead of the G20 event hosted by India in New Delhi. Diplomatic tensions remain high between the two countries. News has emerged that Canada’s Senate President Raymonde Gagné will not attend the two-day Parliamentary Speakers Summit (P20) starting this Friday. A spokesperson for Canada’s office informed about his absence for the upcoming G20 event, declining to provide further details.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the G20 Parliamentary Speakers Summit (P20) on October 13. Earlier it was reported that Canada will be represented at the P20 summit by Senate President Raymonde Gagne. India’s relations with Canada have come under severe strain after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau implicated Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June.

Over 350 delegates are expected to attend the three-day summit including 50 Members of Parliament, 14 Secretaries-General, 26 Vice-Presidents, the President of the International Parliamentary Union and the President of the Pan-African Parliament. The main theme of the 9th P20 is proposed to be ‘Parliament for One Earth, One Family, One Future’. P20 delegates will also be taken on a tour of the new Parliament House, followed by a cultural evening and dinner hosted by the Speaker.