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Friday May 13, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Friday May 13, 2016 Canada must Ôstick to its wordÕ on Saudi arms deal, Trudeau says Canada is obliged to uphold its reputation for honouring business deals and therefore must sell $15-billion of armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday when asked about video footage that shows the Saudis using similar machines against civilians in the Mideast country. ÒWe need to be able to project [to] the world that when Canada agrees to something, it sticks to its word,Ó the Liberal Prime Minister told MPs in the Commons. Footage published by The Globe and Mail on Wednesday shows armoured vehicles being used against minority Shia Muslim dissidents. Copies of the videos, which date from 2012 and 2015, were supplied by Saudi human-rights activists who want Canada to suspend shipments of combat vehicles to Riyadh. The combat vehicles in the videos are not Canadian-made, but they demonstrate the regimeÕs inclination to use such military assets against its own people in a region that is very difficult for Canada to monitor. It also casts doubt on the Liberal governmentÕs assurances that the massive arms sale to Saudi Arabia presents no risks for the countryÕs civilians. Asked by NDP Leader Tom Mulcair whether he believes the videos show violations of human rights by the Saudis, Mr. Trudeau said Canada cannot renege on this deal with Saudi Arabia. ÒWe need to make sure we are respected on the world stage by keeping our word,Ó he said. The deal for the armoured vehicles, which will be equipped with machine guns and anti-tank cannons, was secured by the former Conservative government. The Liberals, however, gave the green light for shipments to proceed when Foreign Affairs Minister StŽphane Dion issued export permits in early April for the bulk of the $15-billion contract. (Source: Globe & Mail) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-must-stick-to-its-word-on-saudi-arms-deal-tru

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday May 13, 2016

Canada must ‘stick to its word’ on Saudi arms deal, Trudeau says

Canada is obliged to uphold its reputation for honouring business deals and therefore must sell $15-billion of armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday when asked about video footage that shows the Saudis using similar machines against civilians in the Mideast country.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday January 6, 2016 Canada stands by $15B Saudi arms deal after executions A $15-billion contract signed under the previous government to supply Saudi Arabia with light-armoured military vehicles won't be revisited after the execution of dozens of prisoners in that country, the foreign minister says. Sheik Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric, was one of 47 prisoners recently executed by Saudi Arabia. "We have said during the campaign Ñ the prime minister has been very clear Ñ that we will not cancel this contract or contracts that have been done under the previous government in general," StŽphane Dion said Tuesday in an interview with Rosemary Barton on CBC's Power and Politics. "We'll review the process by which these contracts are assessed in the future. But what is done is done and the contract is not something that we'll revisit," Dion said. Since the Shia cleric's execution, a diplomatic row between Iran and Saudi Arabia has escalated. Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran and Iran's top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, predicted "divine vengeance" for the execution. Dion condemned the executions and the subsequent violence in Tehran directed at the Saudi embassy. He said Canada could play a more robust role in easing tensions between the two powers if it had a diplomatic relationship with Iran, despite its questionable record. "The fact that Canada is not in Tehran is helping nobody. It's not helping the population of Iran, it's not helping Saudi Arabia, it's not helping Israel Ñ so we need to engage Iran in trying to be positive in the region," the foreign minister said. (Source: CBC News) http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/stephane-dion-saudi-arms-deal-1.3390854 Canada, Iran, Saudi, Arabia, Sunni, Shia, Justin Trudeau, Sunny, ways, diplomacy

January 6, 2016

“We need to be able to project [to] the world that when Canada agrees to something, it sticks to its word,” the Liberal Prime Minister told MPs in the Commons.

Footage published by The Globe and Mail on Wednesday shows armoured vehicles being used against minority Shia Muslim dissidents. Copies of the videos, which date from 2012 and 2015, were supplied by Saudi human-rights activists who want Canada to suspend shipments of combat vehicles to Riyadh.

The combat vehicles in the videos are not Canadian-made, but they demonstrate the regime’s inclination to use such military assets against its own people in a region that is very difficult for Canada to monitor. It also casts doubt on the Liberal government’s assurances that the massive arms sale to Saudi Arabia presents no risks for the country’s civilians.

Asked by NDP Leader Tom Mulcair whether he believes the videos show violations of human rights by the Saudis, Mr. Trudeau said Canada cannot renege on this deal with Saudi Arabia.

“We need to make sure we are respected on the world stage by keeping our word,” he said.

The deal for the armoured vehicles, which will be equipped with machine guns and anti-tank cannons, was secured by the former Conservative government.

The Liberals, however, gave the green light for shipments to proceed when Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion issued export permits in early April for the bulk of the $15-billion contract. (Source: Globe & Mail)