The government is playing a cynical waiting game, hoping the outcry over continued Canadian military assistance to Saudi Arabia’s barbarous war effort in Yemen will just die away. We must not let that happen.
Continued arming of Saudi Arabia in its brutal war on Yemeni civilians puts in question the values that countless Canadian soldiers believed they were fighting to uphold.
We call on Canada to join with Germany and other European allies to do everything possible to get Russia and the U.S. back to the arms control negotiating table.
We can make a real difference. Stopping our military exports will impede Saudi Arabia’s military capacity to continue to wreak havoc in Yemen. It would also be a powerful, tangible, positive demonstration of support for human rights and the rule of law, at a time when they are under global attack.
By ending arms sales to Saudi Arabia, Canada can make a real difference toward genuine accountability in the brutal Khashoggi murder and in impeding Saudi Arabia’s ability to continue its monstrous war in Yemen.
Prime Minister Trudeau has the clear legal authority to cancel the sordid Saudi arms deal in the face of unspeakable human rights abuses. But does he have the moral courage to act?
