It all began around 7 PM Sunday night when news broke that Saudi Arabia had ordered the Canadian ambassador to leave and would recall its own ambassador from Ottawa, in response to statements made last week by Canada that criticized the kingdom’s arrest and detention of women’s rights activists.
One of those activists, Samar Badawi, is the sister of jailed dissident blogger Raif Badawi, whose wife is a Canadian citizen and lives in Quebec.
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Saudi Arabia accused Canada of interfering in its internal affairs and also said all “new business and investment” would be frozen as a result.
That reference to “new” trade is what is raising questions about the future of the arms deal.
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Inked in 2014, the deal allowed General Dynamics Land Systems Canada (GDLS) to provide Saudi Arabia with more than 1,000 armoured vehicles, but the details of exactly what they will be used for have remained secret because of a confidentiality provision in the contract.
However, CBC News reported earlier this year that the deal will not just include the “trucks” and “jeeps” that both Harper and Trudeau have described.
Instead, it will also see the kingdom provided with hundreds of “heavy assault,” “anti-tank” and “direct fire” vehicles.
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So far, the government has resisted repeated calls for it to cancel the arms deal, suggesting doing so could hurt faith in Canadian business.
But could the Saudis cancel the deal themselves?
“Saudi Arabia can get the LAVs from elsewhere,” said Juneau, noting any costs associated with cancelling the deal would likely be easily absorbed.
“The cost for Saudi Arabia is manageable. If you only look at the numbers, this is a bigger loss for Canada.”
