Canada ready to halt $13bn arms deal with Saudi Arabia: PM

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ottawa is ready to halt a $13 billion arms deal with Riyadh if it concludes the weapons have been misused.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ottawa is ready to halt a $13 billion arms deal with Riyadh if it concludes the weapons have been misused.

“We strongly demand and expect that Canadian exports are used in a way that fully respects human rights,” Trudeau said in the Parliament on Monday.

“We have frozen export permits before when we had concerns about their potential misuse and we will not hesitate to do so again,” he added.

Canada has been exporting arms to Saudi Arabia based on a 2014 contract, which is worth up to $13 billion. The contact, won by the Canadian unit of US weapons maker General Dynamics Corp, allows Canada to supply Saudis with light-armored vehicles.