Ryan Strome Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) Canada has soared in global rankings to become the second biggest arms dealer to the Middle East on the strength of its massive sale of combat vehicles to Saudi Arabia, new figures show. It's a first for Canada, according to IHS Jane's, the defence industry publisher that tracks military spending. Canada was previously the sixth-largest weapons vendor to Mideast countries. The United States is No. 1. Canada has also vaulted to sixth overall among all arms-exporting countries, based on rankings released by Jane's this week. This means only five countries are currently selling more weapons and military equipment. IHS Jane's analyst Ben Moores said he suspects Canada has never ranked so highly among all arms-exporting countries and that it certainly hasn't held that position in the past 15 years. The Trudeau government, asked whether it took pride in Canada's expanded role as a weapons seller and would feature this achievement in trade promotion materials, referred the questions to a department of Global Affairs bureaucrat. The civil servant instead said Ottawa hopes to toughen screening of weapons sold to foreigners. "The government of Canada remains firmly committed to introducing more transparency and rigour in export controls," spokeswoman Rachna Mishra said. The Trudeau government gave the green light for the $15-billion sale of fighting vehicles to proceed to Saudi Arabia, a country regularly ranked by watchdog Freedom House as among the "worst of the worst" on human rights. The Liberal decision to issue export permits, in April, was made despite an internal Global Affairs report warning of worrisome developments in human rights and analyses from watchdogs such as Amnesty International, which said human rights in Saudi Arabia have "steadily deteriorated" in the previous 12 months. These Jane's arms-sales rankings emerge as relations grow more strained between Saudi Arabia and the United States, the biggest source of arms for the Mideast. Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton linked Saudi Arabia and its neighbours to extremism in the aftermath of Sunday's mass shooting in Orlando, calling on these Mideast countries to stop their citizens from funding extremism. Riyadh is still angry at Washington's nuclear pact with Iran and officials in April threatened to sell off $750-billion in U.S. government bonds if Congress allowed Americans to sue Saudi officials over terrorism. Canada defence exports, 2015 0123$4In billions (U.S.)In billions (U.S.)Exports to the Middle EastTotal exports2.700 THE GLOBE AND MAIL » SOURCE: IHS JANE’S DATA SHARE × Key value Exports to the Middle East 2.700 Total exports 3.114 CANADA DEFENCE EXPORTS, 2015 "The government of Canada remains firmly committed to introducing more transparency and rigour in export controls," spokeswoman Rachna Mishra said. The Trudeau government gave the green light for the $15-billion sale of fighting vehicles to proceed to Saudi Arabia, a country regularly ranked by watchdog Freedom House as among the "worst of the worst" on human rights. The Liberal decision to issue export permits, in April, was made despite an internal Global Affairs report warning of worrisome developments in human rights and analyses from watchdogs such as Amnesty International, which said human rights in Saudi Arabia have "steadily deteriorated" in the previous 12 months. The Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cesar Jaramillo, executive director of Project Ploughshares, a disarmament group in Waterloo, Ont., that is an agency of the Canadian Council of Churches and tracks arms shipments, said Canadians should be worried that their country is now the second-largest arms exporter to "the most volatile region in the world" today. "This ranking comes days after Canada addressed the UN Security Council and highlighted the importance of protecting civilians in conflict zones … it is civilians who are often most at risk as a result of arms dealings, in particular to regions engulfed in conflict and notorious for their poor human rights records," Mr. Jaramillo said. Adam Taylor, a former Harper government staffer, said Canada should be pleased with its ascension through the ranks of arms suppliers – or indeed any expansion of international trade. "Canada should be proud that in a fiercely competitive global context Canada is competing and winning against the best in the world in the defence sector," said Mr. Taylor, a trade consultant at Ensight in Ottawa. "All of our closest political allies are our fiercest economic competitors. Those governments support their businesses' pursuits of global opportunities and so should Canada's." Peggy Mason, an opponent of the Saudi arms deal, who once served as Canada's United Nations ambassador for disarmament, said it's hard to justify Canadian weapons exports to any Mideast country. "It has been a bedrock principle of Canadian export control policy … that Canadian arms exports would not contravene international law including UN arms embargoes, would not contribute to gross human rights abuses and would not undermine international peace and security," Ms. Mason said. "It is hard to identify even one country in the Middle East to which Canada could export military equipment without potentially violating one or more of these principles. It is therefore an extremely sad day to read in Jane's Defence Weekly that Canada has catapulted to No. 2 arms exporter to the Middle East." https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-now-the-second-biggest-arms-exporter-to-middle-east-data-show/article30459788/ Edited January 13, 2020 by Ryan Strome 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnarcore Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 Was this not the deal first agreed upon by Harper with severe penalties for us to back out of? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuxfanabroad Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 Not gonna stand for this..I have a right to bare arms. Gonna go down to Osaka Station with a 'FREE HUGS' sign, wearing a Tshirt. Don't care if the Japanese rarely hug, & will view me as an alien. As we blow up women & babies in poor, run-down, 3rd world hovels..it's important to know you're making a DIFFERENCE(darnitall !). Hug it out, & sell that democracy!!! WHAT a great place we are!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Strome Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 6 hours ago, Gnarcore said: Was this not the deal first agreed upon by Harper with severe penalties for us to back out of? Signed by that government approved by this government. The Liberal decision to issue export permits, in April, was made despite an internal Global Affairs report warning of worrisome developments in human rights and analyses from watchdogs such as Amnesty International, which said human rights in Saudi Arabia have "steadily deteriorated" in the previous 12 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffraff Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 Unaffordable housing in your own country. blowing up houses in other countries. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toews Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 7 hours ago, Gnarcore said: Was this not the deal first agreed upon by Harper with severe penalties for us to back out of? The only thing worse than selling weapons to the Saudis would be to subsidize the purchase. Just like the alternative to paying Omar Khadr 10M was paying him up to 20M. The OP is so hell-bent on attacking Trudeau that he will accuse you of supporting terrorism if you bring up anything inconvenient to his train of thought, ie. Trudeau supports terrorists. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancaster Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 But yet Canada's clout in that part of the world is low.... Something doesn't quite add up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffraff Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 3 minutes ago, Lancaster said: But yet Canada's clout in that part of the world is low.... Something doesn't quite add up. Honestly where does Canada have clout? Not that I want us as a country to instil fear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boudrias Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 1 hour ago, Ryan Strome said: Signed by that government approved by this government. The Liberal decision to issue export permits, in April, was made despite an internal Global Affairs report warning of worrisome developments in human rights and analyses from watchdogs such as Amnesty International, which said human rights in Saudi Arabia have "steadily deteriorated" in the previous 12 months. Do you think that if AB was manufacturing that equipment that the Liebels would be ignoring the human rights violations the Saudis regulalry carry out? That said if it wasn't Canada it would be the Americans or Brits or French who would be supplying them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM_ Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 16 minutes ago, Boudrias said: Do you think that if AB was manufacturing that equipment that the Liebels would be ignoring the human rights violations the Saudis regulalry carry out? That said if it wasn't Canada it would be the Americans or Brits or French who would be supplying them. oh boo hoo. Pity party has nothing to do with this, at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM_ Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) One aspect of this that bothers me is how can we be good at developing equipment for others, but somehow can't properly supply our northern border or seem to run a procurement bid properly? I'm not sure the Saudi's have actually paid their bills for this equipment yet either. Last time I saw a report on this sale, the Saudi's were long past due in payment. Edited January 13, 2020 by Jimmy McGill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift-4 Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) Edited January 13, 2020 by Shift-4 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) This $15 billion deal WAS in fact signed by the former government. That's inarguable. Trudeau could in fact have not given it the green light but doing so would have cost over a billion in penalties and thousands of jobs. The OP knows this as this was debated here as nauseum a year or so back. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-secrets-have-no-place-in-arms-deals/ Good to see Boudrias is here taking a moment from spreading his misinformation to whine about Alberta by throwing such a juicy red herring on top of a strawman argument. Edited January 13, 2020 by Warhippy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortorella's Rant Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 Of course. Bomb them out of their homes and blame conservatives, contribute to the migration crisis, bring them here as if you're their savior, and then collect their votes for the next election. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingofsurrey Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 1 hour ago, riffraff said: Honestly where does Canada have clout? Not that I want us as a country to instil fear. Canada has clout in marginalizing indigenous populations in its own country......... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingofsurrey Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 1 hour ago, Boudrias said: Do you think that if AB was manufacturing that equipment that the Liebels would be ignoring the human rights violations the Saudis regulalry carry out? That said if it wasn't Canada it would be the Americans or Brits or French who would be supplying them. Alberta does not do manufactoring.... Alberta only draws up toxic bitumen oil for the rest of the world to pollute our environments and impact global warming. Alberta does not want a balance economy as it prefers the boom and bust cycles of a Petro economy. So not really a fair comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 6 minutes ago, Tortorella's Rant said: Of course. Bomb them out of their homes and blame conservatives, contribute to the migration crisis, bring them here as if you're their savior, and then collect their votes for the next election. You're mostly right. But.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Strome Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Jimmy McGill said: One aspect of this that bothers me is how can we be good at developing equipment for others, but somehow can't properly supply our northern border or seem to run a procurement bid properly? I'm not sure the Saudi's have actually paid their bills for this equipment yet either. Last time I saw a report on this sale, the Saudi's were long past due in payment. My thoughts exactly. 2 hours ago, Boudrias said: Do you think that if AB was manufacturing that equipment that the Liebels would be ignoring the human rights violations the Saudis regulalry carry out? That said if it wasn't Canada it would be the Americans or Brits or French who would be supplying them. I just posted the article. It does create jobs, so there's that. 1 hour ago, Warhippy said: This $15 billion deal WAS in fact signed by the former government. That's inarguable. Trudeau could in fact have not given it the green light but doing so would have cost over a billion in penalties and thousands of jobs. The OP knows this as this was debated here as nauseum a year or so back. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-secrets-have-no-place-in-arms-deals/ Good to see Boudrias is here taking a moment from spreading his misinformation to whine about Alberta by throwing such a juicy red herring on top of a strawman argument. Reading is your friend. But I see how in a couple years how you get to 30,000 posts you post the exact same thing I just did. 4 hours ago, Ryan Strome said: Signed by that government approved by this government. The Liberal decision to issue export permits, in April, was made despite an internal Global Affairs report warning of worrisome developments in human rights and analyses from watchdogs such as Amnesty International, which said human rights in Saudi Arabia have "steadily deteriorated" in the previous 12 months. 2 hours ago, Toews said: The only thing worse than selling weapons to the Saudis would be to subsidize the purchase. Just like the alternative to paying Omar Khadr 10M was paying him up to 20M. The OP is so hell-bent on attacking Trudeau that he will accuse you of supporting terrorism if you bring up anything inconvenient to his train of thought, ie. Trudeau supports terrorists. Oh you are sympathetic to Islam extremism.. Funny how you know how a court would have ruled. Can I get the winning lottery numbers from you? Btw try reading before you post your nonsense. Edited January 13, 2020 by Ryan Strome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 8 minutes ago, Ryan Strome said: My thoughts exactly. I just posted the article. It does create jobs, so there's that. Reading is your friend. But I see how in a couple years how you get to 30,000 posts you post the exact same thing I just did. Oh you are sympathetic to Islam extremism.. Funny how you know how a court would have ruled. Can I get the winning lottery numbers from you? Btw try reading before you post your nonsense. The bolded is known as a Stromeism. Or in layman's terms a ridiculous jump to a ridiculous conclusion. My post count has literally nothing to do with anything. This deal WAS signed by Harper including the massive penalties associated. We literally did this barely a year ago but you're back here rehashing it with the same agenda. Lather, rinse, get proven wrong, repeat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyCanuck Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 3 hours ago, riffraff said: Honestly where does Canada have clout? Not that I want us as a country to instil fear. Our clout is Canadians are friendly and nice lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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