Canada lifts suspension of arms exports to Saudi Arabia

Apr 10, 2020

The Canadian government is lifting a suspension on arms exports to Saudi Arabia and has renegotiated a controversial multibillion-dollar contract that will see an Ontario-based company sell light armoured vehicles (LAVs) to Riyadh.

Campaigners have said there is credible evidence Canadian arms are being used by the Saudi-UAE led coalition in the long-running conflict in Yemen.

At every opportunity since the diplomatic spat erupted in August 2018, Trudeau’s government has been trying behind the scenes to ‘normalise’ relations with Saudi Arabia, in spite of their horrendous human rights record and leading role in the brutal war in Yemen,” Fenton said, referring to the diplomatic dispute that erupted in August 2018 after Ottawa criticised Riyadh over its crackdown on women’s rights activists.

“Now, under the cover of the chaos brought on by the global pandemic, they’ve elected to reopen the weapons exports’  floodgates, placating Canada’s arms industry, while likely calculating little pushback from the media or public.”

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