The extent of the Canadian-Saudi alliance in the war on Yemen

The Canadian independent newspaper “The Breach” revealed a document showing Canada’s undisclosed motives for arming Saudi Arabia. According to the report, Saudi Arabia lists oil and opportunities for Canadian companies, in addition to reducing the need for Western military missions, as a rationale for arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

The document confirmed the selling of oil in cheap prices, and opening new markets for Canadian companies, and being a proxy for Western countries. These are among the reasons why Justin Trudeau’s government continues to send huge amounts of weapons to Saudi Arabia.

It reported that previously, Trudeau’s liberal government had suggested it would like to get rid of a widely criticized, $15 billion deal to export military vehicles to a Middle Eastern dictatorship. However, the Canadian government analysis pointed out that arms trade is critical to maintaining Saudi Arabia as an integrated and valuable security partner.

The seven-page document, which is marked classified and obtained by the newspaper, lays out Ottawa’s rationale for arms sales to the Saudis with frankness as never before.

According to the analysis, written by officials in the Canadian Department of International Affairs, the Saudis are the primary guarantor of affordable oil for Western countries. Saudi Arabia has also become an important market for Canadian companies, including large infrastructure contracts for “SNC-Lavalin” and “Bombardier”.

The document also acknowledges the regime’s human rights record, which included a brutal war on neighboring Yemen that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. It also noted that the Saudi dictatorship is a major security and strategic partner, and that the government’s analysis provides a strong geopolitical argument in its favor.

The document revealed that the United States provided military protection to the ruling Saudi family in return for a reliable supply of oil. Canadian refineries spent $3.6 billion on oil imports from Saudi Arabia in 2022.

The document believed the sale of light armored vehicles to the Saudis made Canada the second-largest arms dealer in the Middle East. The deal was initially signed by the Conservative government of Stephen Harper in 2014. Afterward, Trudeau government gave the green light after it came to power.

The website added that Trudeau and UN Ambassador Bob Ray had downplayed the importance of armored vehicles as “jeeps,” but they are heavy assault combat vehicles that can destroy tanks and even aircraft.

The document indicated that after the Saudi regime orchestrated the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, global protests led to increased scrutiny of Western arms deals. However, many European countries stopped sales to the Saudi. Canada also temporarily froze new export permits for light armored vehicles and conducted a review of its own sales.

“In 2020, the government made public its final report, which was criticized by Amnesty International for claiming that there was “no substantial risk” that Canadian weapons would be used for human rights violations,” the article stated.

According to the government’s analysis, Western countries have invested a great deal financially and militarily in the relationship over the decades.

The document makes it clear that Canada’s commitment to arming the regime goes back more than 30 years: the rationale for supplying partners in the Middle East with military equipment is a direct result of the West’s involvement in the Great Gulf War.

The document touched on Canada’s support for the Saudi coalition in the war against Yemen, conforming the instability in Yemen is a direct threat to Saudi Arabia, ignoring the mention of the destruction caused by the Saudi regime in Yemen.

Meanwhile, the United Nations estimated that in 2021, the Saudi coalition killed 377,000 people in Yemen, in addition to causing a widespread famine, after seven years of war.

Moreover, the article emphasized that Saudi airstrikes have targeted schools, hospitals, and food depots; in addition, a UN panel found widespread and systematic attacks on civilian targets.

In the same context, a report issued by Amnesty International concluded that there is convincing and overwhelming evidence that weapons exported from Canada to Saudi Arabia, including light armored vehicles and sniper rifles, have been used in the war in Yemen.

Additionally, videos and posts on social media showed pictures of Saudi soldiers using automatic rifles and Canadian machine guns inside Yemeni territory.