Calling it immoral and unethical, a coalition of human rights organizations is urging the Prime Minister to pull the plug on a controversial deal involving London's General Dynamics Land Systems and Saudi Arabia.
The 13 groups, including Amnesty International Canada and Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, have penned an open letter to Justin Trudeau. In it they express what they call "profound concerns" over the $15-billion deal to export light armoured vehicles (LAVs) to Saudi Arabia.
The letter states "the Government of Canada must enforce our existing export control policy and regulations, which should prohibit arms sales to governments that have a 'persistent record of serious violations of the human rights of their citizens,” and that are “involved in or under imminent threat of hostilities.'"
It goes on to argue that Canada doesn't need concrete evidence that Saudi Arabia has used Canadian-made goods against civilians.
"Given what is known about Saudi Arabia’s abysmal—and worsening—human rights record, both within Saudi Arabia and in neighbouring Yemen, we consider this risk to be evident, and categorically express our deep reservations about the strength of an export control system that has apparently determined otherwise."
The letter also points out that Saudi Arabia has been accused by a United Nations panel of experts of "crimes against humanity."
It closes by saying "the decision to proceed with this arms deal undermines not only the public’s trust in our export control system, but also the core values that define Canada’s character as a nation."
The deal was brokered by the former Conservative government in February of 2014.
While on a stop in London earlier this month, Trudeau stressed "a change in government isn’t going to lead to that contract being ripped up." He maintains cancelling the deal would harm Canada's trading reputation.
General Dynamics Land Systems is located on Oxford St. E, it employs roughly 2,000 people.