India says Canada not a “reliable supplier” of oil and gas

The High Commissioner of India to Canada, Dinesh Patnaik, said Canada is “not yet” a reliable source for oil and gas during a visit to Ottawa over the weekend.

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The High Commissioner of India to Canada, Dinesh Patnaik, said Canada is “not yet” a reliable source for oil and gas during a visit to Ottawa over the weekend, while he was attempting to rekindle diplomatic relations between the two countries.

He spoke with CTV News on Sunday and was asked whether India would ever turn to Canada as a supplier for conventional energy in place of Russia.

“A country of that size is going to consume everything, not just energy, food, you name it, anything in the world, we are going to be the largest consumer in the world,” said Patnaik, referring to India.

“So, we look for suppliers where they can be a reliable supplier. Not a supplier who today says, ‘Okay, I’m going to supply you,’ and tomorrow says, ‘No, I have this problem with you, I cannot supply you.’”

When asked whether Canada would meet India’s threshold for a reliable partner in energy, Patnaik responded, “not yet.”

However, the commissioner noted that despite the previous diplomatic fallout between Canada and India, he believes that one day Canada could fulfill that role.

Patnaik’s visit comes after the two governments agreed to begin sharing intelligence on international crimes over the summer.

The agreement followed two years of turmoil after former prime minister Justin Trudeau accused Indian officials of orchestrating the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh activist near Vancouver.

The Indian government has repeatedly denied such allegations.

The country’s new information-sharing network may include swapping intelligence on transnational crime and syndicates, terrorism, and extremist activities. Additionally, there will be an emphasis on investigating extra-judicial killings amid tensions between Indian nationals and Khalistani activists living in Canada.

However, Patnaik said that India doesn’t want “extraneous factors to economic activities,” which appeared to be a reference to the previous allegations.

“Now the political influence can become a negative influence on economics, which we have seen, always,” he said. “So, our work is to make sure that the economic relationship is firewalled from extraneous forces which try to derail them.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand told reporters from India last week that she has had a number of conversations with Indian officials that included “an interest in Canadian energy.”

“As you know, our prime minister has repeatedly reiterated that there will be work in Canada as we augment to an energy superpower,” she said. “This is well recognized in India. There’s great interest in Canadian energy, and we will continue to see interaction along that line, well as the others that I mentioned.”

When asked whether India was prepared to pursue negotiations on a free trade deal with Canada, which has now been shelved for more than two years, Patnaik said it would be up to Ottawa.

“If Canada is ready to sign a free trade deal with us, we’ll be more than happy to work with Canada,” he said. “But it is the Canadians who paused it. It’s for the Canadians to restart it.”

Patnaik added that both countries would first have to rebuild trust in the aftermath of the “preposterous and absurd” allegations levelled by Trudeau and the RCMP.