The prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, has said this Tuesday that "peoples' right to self-determination is important. Asked about the situation in Catalonia and the 1st October independence referendum, Trudeau avoided analysing what he believes to be an "internal process" but defended the right to self-determination.
"I've been through many referendum battles as a firm Quebecois, and one of the things to be expected is that other countries don't get involved in internal processes," he said during a press conference in Ottawa. "I have no comments to make about the situation in Spain," continued the prime minister. Nonetheless, he said he is "convinced" of the importance of the right to self-determination, which he noted that Canada "has always respected".
"We've always been convinced that peoples' right to self-determination is important", he said, when the journalists pushed him on the situation in Catalonia and the reaction of the Spanish state. "It's certainly something that we've always respected with respect to Canada, but I have no comment to make on the situation in Spain," he repeated.
Trudeau's statement comes 12 days before the referendum and after days of statements from all around the world on the Catalan issue. On Friday it was discussed by the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and in recent days it's also been mentioned by spokespeople in Hungary and the USA.