Quebecers lead on criticism of Saudi deal

New video increases pressure on federal government to change course

When it comes to Canada’s economic relationship with Saudi Arabia, the federal government has a difficult choice to make. Will it heed the voices — the loudest of which are coming from Quebec — saying that human rights should ultimately guide our decisions?

Recent pictures and video footage appear to provide evidence that armoured vehicles made by a Newmarket, Ont., company and sold to Saudi Arabia are being deployed against its own citizens in an ongoing conflict in the kingdom’s Eastern Province.

As a result, according to the Globe and Mail, Université de Montréal law professor Daniel Turp has vowed to renew his legal efforts to block the sale of light armoured vehicles (LAVs) to that country, unless Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland takes action.

In a case before the Federal Court last year, Turp argued that the sale of armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia violated Canada’s human rights obligations. That case involved a $15-billion deal for another company, General Dynamics, to sell light armoured vehicles made in London, Ont., equipped with machine-guns and anti-tank cannons. The lucrative weapons contract was originally approved by the former Conservative government under Stephen Harper.

After the 2015 election, there was pressure on the Liberals to cancel the deal, given Saudi Arabia’s widely criticized human rights record. However, then-foreign minister Stéphane Dion said he was unable to block exports unless there was evidence that the armoured vehicles were being used against innocent civilians.

In January 2017, the court decided in the government’s favour, stating that the sale was made legally. The judge also noted that Turp had not produced evidence proving that Canadian-made combat machines had been used against Saudi citizens.

Turp is a former Bloc Québécois MP and Parti Québécois MNA. His is one of many influential voices in this province challenging Canada’s close trade ties with the autocratic country known for a long list of egregious human rights abuses.

Irwin Cotler, who served as federal justice minister and Liberal MP for Mount Royal after many years as a McGill University law professor, also has renewed his own earlier calls for an end to Canadian arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Quebec has an established track record of leadership on this file. The international campaign to raise awareness of Saudi Arabian blogger Raif Badawi’s plight has a home base in this province.

Badawi, who has been behind bars for a full five years, was sentenced in 2013 to seven years in prison and 600 lashes for promoting free speech and questioning the central role of religion in Saudi Arabia. In 2014, that sentence was increased to 10 years and 1,000 lashes. His wife, Ensaf Haidar, and their three children live in Sherbrooke.

In 2015, the Quebec National Assembly passed a unanimous motion condemning Badawi’s sentence. Montreal city council and the city of Sherbrooke adopted similar motions shortly thereafter, prompting Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Canada to send a letter to Quebec’s National Assembly demanding it stay out of his country’s internal affairs. The Quebec government rightly refused. Human rights are everybody’s business.

Insofar as arms sales are concerned, this new video should change the game. Let’s not forget that a UN report published last year already had indicated that the Saudi Arabia-led coalition’s operations in the armed conflict in Yemen had led to significant deaths and suffering of children. If Saudi Arabia has indeed violated its agreements with Canada, then it follows that the government must cancel the LAV deal.

Striking a balance between Canada’s economic interests and our commitment human rights is, and always has been, a deeply difficult exercise. As the federal government moves forward on matters related to Saudi Arabia, it should listen to the strong voices coming out of Quebec and tip that balance in the direction of human rights.