The government should not ignore such arguments from defenders of good jobs.ĭuring the election campaign, the Liberals pledged a principled approach to foreign policy that places the promotion of democracy, human rights and the rule of law at its centre, while promising to create good jobs and “grow the middle class.”Ī progressive government can and should do both. The highly skilled workforce at General Dynamics could build, for instance, the high speed rail infrastructure that will be an important part of Canada’s response to the climate crisis. In opposing arms exports to Saudi, the Canadian Labour Congress, the largest labour group in the country, has called for “public investment in a rapid transition to peaceful green jobs that protects workers and their communities - and the rest of the planet.” ‘Principled approach’ Recognizing that ending arms exports to Saudi Arabia could affect workers in Canada’s defence sector, the civil society organizations, including Oxfam Canada and Amnesty International Canada, used the open letter to call on the Trudeau 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.”įor its part, the federal NDP has said that jobs at General Dynamics can be secured with local Canadian contracts, arguing that the Canadian Forces need similar vehicles. In 2018, a coalition airstrike on a school bus killed 40 Yemeni children, injuring dozens more.īut still, defenders of the deal ask: what about the jobs? Saudi airstrikes have been indiscriminate and disproportionate, killing thousands of civilians while destroying critical infrastructure, including water facilities and hospitals.
Since the Saudi-led coalition began its intervention, it has been widely condemned for serious and repeated violations of international humanitarian law, including the deliberate targeting of civilians. Internationally, Saudi Arabia has since 2015 led a coalition in a military intervention in Yemen, where it seeks to prop up the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, engaged in armed conflict with Houthi rebel forces. Domestically, Saudi authorities repress dissidents, women’s rights activists and independent clerics. Saudi Arabia has a dismal human rights record, both at home and abroad. Yet Canadian complicity in Saudi violations of human rights and international humanitarian law have become too difficult for many to ignore. Canada complicit in human rights violations
In a city hard hit by plant closures, the jobs argument has gained traction. Worth an estimated $14 billion, the contract supports an estimated 3,000 jobs in London. Under pressure from critics, the Liberals have defended LAV exports on similar terms, claiming that cancelling the contract would “put the jobs of thousands of Canadians at risk, not only in southwestern Ontario but also across the entire defence industry supply chain, which includes hundreds of small and medium enterprises.”