The flight drama only adds to Justin Trudeau’s woes on his trips to India
New Delhi:
A rescue plane and spare parts are on their way to India for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is stranded with his country’s delegation after the plane he arrived on broke down.
A government official who spoke to Bloomberg said Trudeau would either fly home on a backup flight or wait for the original plane to be repaired, but they were not named. The official declined to provide details on what exactly needs to be changed.
„The Canadian Armed Forces are continuing their best efforts to escort the Canadian delegation home,” a statement from Trudeau’s office said. „Their latest update shows departures as soon as Tuesday afternoon. Conditions remain stable.”
The flight drama only adds to Trudeau’s woes on his trips to India. His first trip in 2018 turned into a diplomatic disaster when a man accused of trying to assassinate an Indian politician on Canadian soil somehow ended up on Canada’s guest list for an event.
On the trip, before the plane broke down, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had publicly criticized Trudeau for allowing „anti-Indian activities by extremist forces in Canada”, a reference to Sikh groups advocating for an independent homeland. Khalistan.
Meanwhile, Trudeau’s national security adviser has said India is a major source of foreign interference in Canada’s affairs. The two prime ministers did not hold a formal bilateral meeting at the summit, but in a brief conversation on the sidelines, Trudeau said the two discussed foreign interference and „respect for the rule of law.”
Back home, Trudeau’s travel delays have fueled debate about the crumbling nature of Canada’s state infrastructure.
The Airbus A310s that carry Trudeau and other top officials overseas are from the 1980s and badly showing their age. Because they are so old, Trudeau’s trips to Asia require refueling stops, often in Alaska and Japan, before reaching their final destination.
However, the planes touched off a controversy in the early 1990s when former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s government bought them and refurbished them. Mulroney’s successor, Jean Chrétien, famously derided one as a „flying Taj Mahal” and refused to use it on official trips for fear of out-of-touch with ordinary Canadians.
The government is in the process of replacing government transport with Airbus 330s, but they are still being adapted for use.
Meanwhile, Trudeau’s official residence is in such disrepair that he and his family have not lived there since he was elected in 2015. The home at 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa was filled with asbestos, faulty wiring, drafty windows and more. Poor security measures. The house has deteriorated to such a state that successive prime ministers have refused to spend the public money needed to restore it.
Even if a government agency guts the house’s complicated interior, it’s an open question whether the residence will be renovated and improved at a cost of C$37 million ($27.2 million) or a new one will be built in its place. . For now, Trudeau lives in another government building based at the Governor General of Canada.