Petition & Open Letter demand:
Canada Stop Arming Saudi!
Add Your Name to the Parliamentary Petition: Canada Stop Arming Saudi Arabia!
Petition to the Government of Canada
Whereas:
According to the UN, the humanitarian crisis in Yemen
remains the worst in the world with 24.3 million (80% of
the population), including 12.2 million children, needing
humanitarian assistance;
According to UNICEF, a Yemeni child dies every 10
minutes from preventable war-related causes, and 85,000+
have already died;
Thousands of schools have closed and more than 2 million
children are not in school;
The humanitarian crisis has been exacerbated by the
blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia on Sana’a Airport and Hudaydah Port;
The port city of Hudaydah, where 70% of imports enter the country, is under relentless attack from airstrikes and naval ships. Houses, farms, livestock, businesses, roads, medical facilities and water facilities have all been hit;
As of September 9, 2020, a panel of independent experts monitoring the conflict for the UN have publicly named Canada as one of the countries helping fuel the war in Yemen;
and
Images of what appear to be captured or destroyed Canadian-made light armoured vehicles (LAVs) have been publicized.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
1) Halt arms shipments to Saudi Arabia immediately and ensure that any future arms transfers fully comply with Canada’s
international legal obligations under the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty;
2) Participate in international efforts to bring an immediate end to the deliberate Saudi-led attacks on civilians which constitute war crimes; and
3) Demand and support international partners in lifting the siege on Sana’a Airport and Hudaydah Port in order to deliver humanitarian assistance;
Sign the petition before April 25, 2021 at https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3122
#CanadaStopArmingSaudi
68 Organizations Representing Nearly 1 Million People
Demand Canada Stop Arming Saudi Arabia
Dear Prime Minister Trudeau,
The undersigned, representing a cross-section of Canadian labour, arms control, human rights,
international security, peace, and other civil society organizations, are writing to reiterate our
continued opposition to the Canadian government’s issuance of arms export permits to Saudi
Arabia.
Now entering its sixth year, the war on Yemen has killed almost a quarter of a million people,
and Yemen today remains the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Over 4 million people have
been displaced because of the war, and 80% of the population, including 12.2 million children,
are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.
On February 4, 2021 President Joe Biden announced the US would be freezing all American
arms sales to Saudi Arabia and ending all US support for the Saudi-led war on Yemen. A week
earlier, on January 25, 2021, a Global Day of Action to End the War on Yemen was held, which
included the participation of civil society, labour and anti-war groups from across Canada, with
protests, car caravans, events and arms-blockades in Vancouver, London, Hamilton, Montreal
and Halifax.
Germany and Italy have also recently banned or halted arms exports to Saudi Arabia, while the
EU Parliament urged its members to halt arms sales to UAE and Saudi Arabia on February 11,
2021.
Canadian civil society has spoken out against the multi-billion-dollar arms deal with Saudi
Arabia since it was first signed, and has frequently highlighted the risks associated with the use
of LAVs within Saudi Arabia in the context of broader human rights concerns, as well as in the
Yemen conflict, including the risk of weapons proliferation to Houthi forces.
In March 2019, August 2019, April 2020 and September 2020 you received letters in which
dozens of organizations representing millions of people across Canada repeatedly raised
concerns about the serious ethical, legal, human rights and humanitarian implications of
Canada’s ongoing arms exports to Saudi Arabia. We regret that, to date, no response to these
concerns has been received from you or relevant Cabinet ministers. Two Canada-wide days of
action were held on June 11, 2020 and September 21, 2020. These demanded that the
government end arms sales to Saudi Arabia and included demonstrations outside MP offices
across the country, the GDLS-C factory in London, Ontario, where LAVs sold to Saudi Arabia
are made, and GDLS-C’s headquarters in Ottawa.
On September 28, 2020, the UN Human Rights Council named Canada as one of the parties
fuelling the ongoing war in Yemen by continuing arms sales to Saudi Arabia. It is unacceptable
that Canada is involved in this trade and disgraceful that Canada is the second-largest supplier
of arms to the entire Middle East region. According to the Export of Military Goods report for
2019, Canada exported approximately $3.8 billion to countries other than the U.S. $2.7 billion of
this was to Saudi Arabia.
In Human Rights Watch’s scathing 2021 World Report on Yemen, Canada is noted as one of the
countries that continues to supply arms to Saudi Arabia despite documented evidence of
continuing violations of laws of war by the coalition, and documentation of the use of Canadian
weapons in the war.
UN agencies and humanitarian organizations have repeatedly documented that there is no
military solution possible in the current conflict in Yemen. The constant supply of arms to Saudi
Arabia only prolongs hostilities, and increases the suffering and numbers of the dead.
Many Canadian companies are profiting from arming the worst humanitarian situation on the
planet. Some key companies involved in the arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other Middle
Eastern countries that are part of the coalition involved in the war in Yemen are:
- General Dynamics Land Systems
- Streit Group
- PGW Defense Technologies
- Terradyne
- IAG Guardian
- Wescam
- CAE
- Bombardier
- Pratt-Whitney Canada
- Provincial Aerospace
- Bell Helicopters Textron
- Aeryon Labs
- CMC Electronics
- Newcon Optik
- Robotics Centre
- Viking Air
Some of the GDLS sub-contractors in the LAV supply chain include:
- Armatec (Dorchester, ON)
- Attica Manufacturing inc. (London, ON)
- Battlefield International (Cayuga, ON)
- DEW Engineering (Miramichi, NB & Ottawa)
- FPH Group (London, ON)
- General Kinetics (Brampton, ON)
- PRO Metal Industries (SK)
- SED Systems (SK)
Some companies in Canada involved in
the transport of arms en route to Saudi
Arabia are:
- Port of Saint John, New Brunswick (port of call of Saudi national shipping company)
- Port of Montreal (entry point for LAV cannons and turrets imported from Belgium by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada)
- CN Rail (transports LAVs on rail)
- Paddock Transport International (truck transportation of LAVs)
Canada acceded to the international Arms Trade Treaty in September 2019. We ask the
Canadian government to now ensure compliance with all the articles and principles of the
Treaty.
Canada must end all arms exports to Saudi Arabia immediately and expand humanitarian
aid for the people of Yemen.
We recognize that the end of Canadian arms exports to Saudi Arabia will impact workers in the
arms industry. We therefore urge the government to work with trade unions representing
workers in the arms industry to develop a plan that secures the livelihoods of those who would
be impacted by the suspension of arms exports to Saudi Arabia. Such a plan would include
providing government support for the conversion of arms manufacturing facilities from arms
production to peaceful, green production. This can be done in a phased manner so jobs are not
lost, but the transformation must start now. We envision Canada taking on a role as a peaceful
nation that promotes positive peace and human rights and that does not arm other countries,
least of all those involved in war crimes and ongoing human rights abuses.
Sincerely,
Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network
On March 1st, the above letter was delivered
to Prime Minister Trudeau’s office in Ottawa
condemning the Canadian government and
Canadian companies’ ongoing profiteering off
of arming Saudi Arabia. The letter was also
delivered to some companies and government
officials named across Canada.
Fire This Time added its name to
the list of signers. For the full list of
signers and to share the letter visit:
www.peaceandjusticenetwork.ca/stoparmingsaudi
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