Canada 'working back toward a healthier relationship' with India, says top Trudeau adviser

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's former national security and intelligence adviser Jody Thomas says Canada is «working back toward a healthier relationship» with India after months of tense relations following the murder of a B.C. man.

Thomas made the comments Friday during an interview with CBC News Network's about her retirement. After two years on the job, Thomas said she would retire on Jan. 26.

Canada's diplomatic relationship with India has been strained since Trudeau accused the Indian government of being involved in the fatal shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and Sikh leader in B.C.

India forcefully rejected the accusations, causing relations to quickly deteriorate. Last September, India suspended all visa services in Canada; they resumed two months later.

In October, 41 Canadian diplomats left the country after New Delhi threatened to revoke their diplomatic immunity. Those diplomats have not returned.

Thomas, who flew to India to discuss the allegations, said the reaction by Indian officials was «really unfortunate» and a «bit of a surprise.»

«It's counterproductive because it's harmed the people-to-people relationship between Canada and India. We need diplomats there to issue visas and to execute programs on behalf of Canadians and Indians,» Thomas added.

The RCMP is investigating the shooting, but more information has emerged since police opened up the case. A separate U.S. indictment unsealed in late November alleges a thwarted plot connected to the Indian government to carry out multiple assassinations in North America.

In that indictment, filed in New York, U.S. prosecutors allege Indian national Nikhil Gupta sent a contract killer a video of Nijjar's body and told the killer to «do it quickly.»

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