Regina-based food giant keeping close eye on India trade situation

The pause in trade talks between Canada and India has caught the attention of people in Saskatchewan.

That includes Murad Al-Katib, the president and CEO of Regina-based AGT Foods.

“The people of Canada and India have a long-term partnership that works for both nations. We have arable land and water that India doesn’t have,” Al-Katib said Thursday during a media conference. “We have farmers that are able to produce at the lowest scale and highest quality, and India needs the food.”

Al-Katib said he’s hoping calm heads prevail on both sides of the issue.

“From that perspective, we are optimistic that politics will remain politics and the basic essential access to staple food and commodities and food inflation is the most relevant political issue in the world today,” he said.

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the federal government was investigating allegations of the Indian government’s potential involvement in the murder of Canadian citizen and Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Nijjar was shot to death outside of a Sikh temple in Surrey, B.C., in June.

The Indian government has denied all involvement in Nijjar’s death, calling the allegations “absurd.”

A travel advisory has been issued by the Indian government warning its citizens of potential danger in visiting Canada. Canada has rebuked these claims.

Then on Thursday, India stopped all visa services for citizens of Canada. It’s also anticipated that Ottawa will reduce its diplomatic presence in India.

There wasn’t any confirmation that the allegation is the reason for the pause in trade talks between the two countries.

Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit said the government is going to do its part to try to mitigate the situation.

The provincial government previously expressed frustration after the federal government abruptly ended trade negotiations with India and Saskatchewan was not kept in the loop why it had come to a halt.

“There’s no reason why — if (federal government officials) want to have a broader conversation about other issues with India — they aren’t capable of continuing on with the trade negotiations that are so important to Saskatchewan, but I would say by extension, certainly to all Canadians,” Premier Scott Moe said last week.

Moe subsequently commented on the ongoing tensions between Canada and India, saying the provincial government did not know about the allegations against the Indian government until the rest of the country knew.

Jeremy Harrison, the province’s minister of trade and export development, said he wanted confirmation as to what specifically caused the pause in the trade negotiations. Harrison added there have been “numerous opportunities” to communicate that with the provinces.

The federal government first communicated to provinces that it had moved away from trade deals with India to make sure Canadians got the best possible deal.

— With files from The Canadian Press