The Canadian government entity responsible for brokering export agreements with foreign governments, including a $14-billion deal to sell combat vehicles to Saudi Arabia, has not paid sufficient attention to potential human-rights risks in sales contracts, a federal watchdog says.
A report published Wednesday from the Auditor-General’s office said the Canadian Commercial Corp. was not properly screening potential contracts for the possibility that human-rights concerns might jeopardize an export deal.
The Auditor-General’s findings go to the heart of the debate over the controversial 10-year contract to ship hundreds of light armoured vehicles (LAVs) to Saudi Arabia, which has among the worst human-rights records in the world. The Trudeau government has repeatedly defended moving ahead with the deal despite human-rights concerns because reneging on the contract would damage Canada’s reputation and cost taxpayers.
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