Canada bans Australian media after Jaishankar pressures Wong: MEA

Canada blocked an Australian media outlet hours after it aired a press conference between Federal Minister Jaishankar S Jaishankar and Australian Foreign Minister Wong Yin-hyun, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed on Thursday. Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said Canada’s move to block social media accounts and certain pages of Australia Today smacks of hypocrisy regarding freedom of expression.“We have learned that the social media accounts and pages of this particular outlet, an important diaspora outlet, have been blocked and inaccessible to Canadian audiences. This occurred an hour or hours after the press conference was held by this particular account.” EAM S Dr. Jaishankar and Penny Wong,” Jaiswal said while responding to questions at the weekly media briefing.

“We were surprised. It seemed strange to us. But nonetheless, I would say that these actions once again highlight Canada’s hypocrisy about freedom of expression,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

He said Jaishankar spoke about Canada’s accusations against India during media interactions in Australia but did not share any concrete evidence.

“You’ll see the foreign minister talk about three things in his media events. One is Canada making accusations and setting up a pattern without any concrete evidence,” he said.

The spokesman said the second thing he highlighted was the surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, which he called unacceptable. So you can conclude, Jaiswal said, “What you draw from this is why the Australia Today channel has been blocked by Canada.” This development comes at a time when relations between New Delhi and Australia have deteriorated, with the Indian Embassy in Toronto’s consulate general said Thursday it would cancel some scheduled consular camps after Canadian security authorities said they were unable to provide minimum security to their organizers. A few days ago, violent riots broke out between protesters holding Khalistan flags at a consular event jointly organized by the Brampton Hindu Samajwadi Temple and the Indian Consulate.

The Consulate General of India posted on

Protests took place at the Brampton Hindu Temple on November 3, with unconfirmed footage circulating on social media appearing to show demonstrators holding pro-Khalistan banners. Protesters clashed with people and disrupted consular activities.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the incident, saying every Canadian has the right to practice his or her faith freely and safely.

India condemned the attack and expected those who condoned the violence “will be prosecuted”.

Relations between India and Canada were severely strained last September after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Indian agents of “possible” involvement in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. New Delhi rejected Trudeau’s accusations, calling them “ridiculous.”

India has maintained that the main issue between the two countries is the space Canada provides to pro-Khalistan elements operating with impunity within Canada.

(Institutional investment)