Arms control advocates seek new probe of sales

Call comes after Saudis accused of rights abuses using Canadian vehicles

A coalition of arms control advocates is calling on Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland to order an independent investigation into allegations that Saudi Arabia used Canadian-made armoured vehicles to commit human rights abuses against its civilians last year.

The demand — issued in a letter sent to Freeland on Tuesday — is the latest development in the enduring controversy of Canadian arms sales to Saudi Arabia, whose human rights record has led to increased scrutiny of how the government controls weapons exports.

Most of the attention has been focused on a $15-billion contract signed in 2014 through which Canada sold an undisclosed number of light armoured vehicles made by General Dynamics Land Systems in London, Ont., to Saudi security forces.

But Ottawa has also approved the export of other armoured vehicles, such as the Terradyne Gurkhas, which are manufactured by Newmarket-based Terradyne Armoured Vehicles. Some of those Gurkhas were deployed by Saudi armed forces during a security operation in July 2017 in the eastern town of Al-Awamiyah, whose predominantly Shia population has harboured long-standing grievances against the Sunni-led government in Riyadh. Video and eyewitness interviews allege the Gurkhas were used to surround the town and, while trying to rout an armed group hiding in the community, ended up firing into populated areas and killing several civilians.

Freeland has already overseen what she described as a “thorough” internal investigation into the allegations. She said in February there was “no conclusive evidence” the Gurkhas were used to commit human rights violations. Her department released the report in May.

Now some of Canada’s most prominent human rights and arms-control groups say the government’s investigation was seriously flawed, and that an independent probe is needed before more weapons are shipped to Saudi Arabia. The letter to Freeland — which was signed by the executive directors of Amnesty International Canada, Oxfam Canada and Project Ploughshares, among others — says the investigation suffered from “major” shortcomings.

“These shortcomings suggest that a thorough review conducted by an independent and impartial expert is now required to adequately address the serious questions and concerns that remain unresolved.”

Among the charges outlined in the letter are that the Canadian government officials who conducted the investigation relied on a source funded by the Saudi royal family, that they sought conclusive proof of the alleged abuses rather than assessing the potential risk Canadian exports could be used in future abuses, and that they suggested Canada’s commercial relationship with Saudi Arabia was a relevant factor.

Terradyne President Durward Smith said his company follows Canadian export laws “to the letter of the law.”

Saudi Arabia is by far the largest buyer of Canadian weapons and other military goods, after the U.S.