However, Canadian honorary member Richard Pound is not attending the Session in Mumbai.

Canadian Olympic Committee President Smith has been an IOC member since 2016, while former World Anti-Doping Agency President Pound became an honorary member at the start of the year having reached the age limit of 80 for membership.

He had been the longest-serving member of the IOC until then.

It is unclear whether Pound's absence is visa-related, but insidethegames has sought clarification from the IOC.

India stopped issuing visas to Canadian citizens last month, following a dispute over the killing of a Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a temple in Surrey in British Colombia.

Nijjar supported the Khalistan movement, which seeks an independent homeland for Sikhs in India’s Punjab region.

Relations have deteriorated to the extent that, while Smith is in Mumbai, Canadian Senate speaker Raymonde Gagne is not attending the Group of 20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit due to start tomorrow in the capital New Delhi.

India had asked Canada to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country by Tuesday (October 10), but the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported the vast majority of Canadian diplomats have stayed.

Issues arose when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged Indian involvement in the killing of Nijjar, prompting a response from the Government of Narendra Modi which branded the claims "absurd".