An old video of Canadian opposition Leader Andrew Scheer slamming Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in parliament and accusing the latter of damaging Indo-Canadian ties, is being falsely shared as recent.
Indian news outlets such as Republic TV and Punjab Kesari also misreported the video that is from March 2018 as recent.
Diplomatic ties between India and Canada are at an all-time low after Trudeau alleged the involvement of Indian government agents in the killing of pro-Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia earlier this year. This was followed by Canada and India expelling diplomats from either side in a tit-for-tat move. India suspended visa services for Canadian citizens, deepening the rift. Meanwhile, Canada's Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre urged the prime minister to "come clean with facts' on allegations of India's role in the murder of the pro-Khalistan leader.
X hande Norbert Elikes (@NorbertElikes) posted the viral video with the caption, " News: In the Canadian Parliament, Opposition Leader Scheer takes aim at @JustinTrudeau over the diplomatic row with India: "Do you have any evidence for your conspiracy theories? The Prime Minister's incompetence has damaged Canada's relations with a key Asian power and the world's largest democracy, India. The presence of a convicted terrorist on Canadian soil is not India's responsibility." #IndiaCanadaRow"
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The handle is impersonating the X account of Norbert Elekes. It later tweeted acknowledging that the viral video is old.
Republic TV published an article headline, "‘Produce some proof': Canada’s Oppn Leader Lambasts Trudeau For Spewing 'conspiracy Theories' Against India" attributing it to the same tweet with the viral video.
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The video same was also picked up by Punjab Kesari which published an article with the headline when translated reads, "India-Canada dispute: Opposition leader Andrew Scheer targeted PM Trudeau, said - If there is evidence against India..." (In Hindi -भारत-कनाडा विवादः विपक्षी नेता एंड्रयू शीर ने पीएम ट्रू़डो पर साधा निशाना, बोला- भारत के खिलाफ सबूत हैं तो...)
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The same video is being shared on Facebook with the misleading claim.
Also Read:No, Canadian High Commissioner Did Not Visit Golden Temple Amidst Diplomatic Row
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral video is from March 2018 when Canadian opposition leader Andrew Scheer accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of damaging Indo-Canadian ties after an adviser of Trudeau had suggested the Indian government played a role in a convicted terrorist attending events with the Canadian PM when he visited India in February 2018.
Taking a hint from the replies stating that the video is old and the logo of Canadian news agency - The Canadian Press on the viral video, we found that the video is from March 2018 when Scheer slammed Trudeau in parliament.
The Canadian Press posted the video on YouTube on March 1, 2018 with the title, "Scheer accuses Trudeau of damaging Canada-India relationship".
The caption of the video reads, "Justin Trudeau is defending an adviser who suggests the Indian government played a role in a convicted terrorist attending events with the prime minister. Tory Leader Andrew Scheer is accusing Trudeau of "incompetence" over the incident. (Feb. 28, 2018)"
Trudeau was grilled by opposition Canadian MPs over invitations issued to Jaspal Atwal, a Sikh convicted of attempting to assassinate an Indian cabinet minister in 1986. Atwal attended two events with Trudeau in India during the latter's visit to the country in February 2018.
The controversy broke out after Trudeau returned to Canada from his India visit after reports in the Canadian press sourced to an unidentified Canadian official had suggested factions within the Indian government were allegedly involved in sabotaging Trudeau’s visit to India.
The Indian government had then issued a statement calling the allegations "baseless and unacceptable." Trudeau accepted the offer of Liberal Party MP Randeep Sarai to resign as chair of the party’s Pacific caucus after he had taken responsibility for inviting an Atwal to events with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India.
