Sask. Premier Moe urges separation of trade and national security in talks with India

Scott Moe says Canada needs to separate its trade talks from its national security concerns when dealing with certain countries if it is serious about diversifying trading partners beyond the United States.

Moe joined Prime Minister Mark Carney this week on the first leg of his Indo-Pacific trade tour to India, Australia and Japan.

In India, Carney signed a series of deals and memorandum of understanding, including a $2.6-billion, multi-year deal that will see Saskatchewan-based Cameco supply India with millions of pounds of Uranium.

The prime minister faced criticism, however, for the significant relationship reset with India, after accusations from his predecessor and the RCMP that agents of the Indian government were linked to serious crimes in Canada, including murder.

“Two points on that: one is, the federal government needs to ensure that foreign interference from whatever country is not happening in our nation, and keep Canadians safe,” Moe told CTV Question Period host Vassy Kapelos in an interview airing Sunday from New Delhi. “And two, when laws are broken, we do rely on the RCMP to enforce those laws and enforce them vigorously.”

“But we also have to remain at the table in countries where we have differences, and when you need to, not entirely, but largely, separate some of the trade conversations to a degree, from some of the other very difficult conversations that we have,” he added.