Yeshua Silwamba
Published 8 May 2022
Since 1986, Canada has aimed to restrict any export of arms to countries that commit serious human rights violations unless proven that their weapons would not be used to infringe upon humanitarian rights and laws. Canada’s commitment to human rights and the safety of innocent civilians has been called into question when it agreed to an arms export deal with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the approval process beginning in 2014 under the Harper regime and then finally approved by the Trudeau regime in 2015. The deal worth $15 billion, has seen Canada export various weapons such as light armoured vehicles (LAVS), explosives and rifles (mainly sniper rifles). It has been reported that since 2016-2019, over 5000 rifles have been exported to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
This deal with Saudi Arabia has garnered outrage not only domestically but also internationally. Human rights groups have been concerned with the fact that Saudi-led coalitions could use these weapons to oppress dissidents, human rights activists, and people belonging to non-Muslim religious sects. In March of 2016, Daniel Turp, a professor of constitutional and international law at the University of Montreal, filed an application for judicial review to the Federal Court of Canada to put a halt to the issuance of any export permits. He argued that they would be violating Canadian export laws and the Geneva Conventions. The court denied his application, stating that “their role is not to pass moral judgment on the [foreign] minister’s decision to issue the export permits.” Their claim was that the foreign minister Stephane Dion was thorough in making sure that the weapons were exported to a country that would not use them poorly.
Contrary to this claim, there is clear evidence that the Saudi government has used Canadian-made weapons and armoured vehicles in the conflict in Yemen. The Saudi Arabian regime has played a significant role in what the UN has called the worst humanitarian crisis. Since the conflict in Yemen began in 2014, 233 000 people have been reported dead and the Saudi Arabian regime has been one of the main combatants. Many of these deaths have not only come from warfare but from food insecurity, low access to health services, poor infrastructure, and natural causes, mainly famine.
Ironically, Canada in 2016 announced its commitment to accede to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The ATT is a UN treaty aimed to regulate the global arms trade. Currently, 110 states have ratified the treaty. Canada has been criticized for being the only NATO and G-7 member not to sign onto the treaty that originally went into effect in 2014. At that time, the Canadian Government would have needed to put forth a measure to tighten its export regulations in order to comply with the treaty. So in 2017, Canada put forth Bill C-47 to provide a transparent framework they would use to tighten their export regulations. Many critics claimed that this bill was loose and that it merely showed the Canadian government’s unwillingness to cut off its controversial arms deal with Saudi Arabia.
Previously, Canada approved this deal with Saudi Arabia based on the claim that there was no evidence that the Saudi government would use their arms to violate subsection 7.3(1) of the EIPA (Exports and Imports Permits Act). This subsection states that an export permit may be granted so long as the importing country is not in “violation” of international humanitarian laws.
Export Value of (Non-US Destined) Canadian Military Goods and Technology by Region, 2020. (source: Global Affairs Canada)
This approval was repealed once news surfaced in 2018 of the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi journalist. Khashoggi was a well-known dissident who carried a reputation for his bold criticism of the Saudi government and royal family. It is said that it was his criticism of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s policies that got him killed. Following Khashoggi’s death, Canada proposed a review of Canada’s existing arms sales to Saudi Arabia and suspended further arms exports.
In April of 2020, Canada delivered its final report after reviewing its arms export deal with Saudi Arabia. It disclosed that Canada’s exports of various weapons and armoured vehicles posed “no substantial risk” of breaching subsection 7.3(1) of the EIPA (meaning that they are not in violation of humanitarian rights). Following the release of the final report, Canada reinstated the arms deal with Saudi Arabia. With this verdict, it seems clear that $15 billion dollars is enough make the Canadian government turn a blind eye to a blatant violation of human rights. This arms deal between Canada and Saudi Arabia proves that if Canada exports arms to countries with poor human rights records, the perpetuation of humanitarian crisis is the only thing to be expected.
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