After saying yes, Canada Speaker skips G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit
Earlier, Canada had confirmed to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s office that Gagne would attend the summit. Speaking to reporters last week, Birla had said he would raise “several issues” in his informal talks with the Canadian Speaker.
The Speaker of the Canadian Senate, Raymonde Gagne (Twitter/@SenGagne) Amid the diplomatic row between India and Canada, the Speaker of the Canadian Senate, Raymonde Gagne, is skipping the two-day G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20 Summit) that begins here on Friday.
Earlier, Canada had confirmed to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s office that Gagne would attend the summit. Speaking to reporters last week, Birla had said he would raise “several issues” in his informal talks with the Canadian Speaker.
“The Canadian Speaker is not attending the Summit. Schedules keep changing,” sources said. No reason was given for Canada’s decision. It is unclear if Canada will have any other representative at the meeting.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi confirmed the development. He said that India had invited all G20 members and guest countries, and they were free to take a call on their participation.
Among the other members of the Five Eyes — an intelligence-sharing network that includes the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — the US is also skipping the summit. With its last Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, being ousted from the post, the US is yet to get a new Speaker. While New Zealand is not among the invitees, the UK and Australia are attending the summit.
According to official sources, Germany and Argentina are also not attending the summit due to “internal reasons”.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the P20 Summit at Yashobhoomi in Dwarka on Friday, a pre-summit Parliamentary Forum on LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) was held on Thursday.
According to a government statement earlier this week, over 200 parliamentarians and other leaders from different countries have confirmed their participation at the summit.
“The main theme of the ninth P20 is proposed to be ‘Parliaments for One Earth, One Family, One Future’,” Birla had said earlier. “It will have four sessions on ‘transformation in people’s lives through public digital platforms’, ‘women-led development’, ‘accelerating SDGs’, and ‘sustainable energy transition’,” he had said.
India’s relations with Canada have been under strain after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged a potential India government link to the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India has rejected the allegation, calling it “absurd” and “motivated”. It has accused Ottawa of not acting against Khalistan separatists in Canada.
Share
