Canada said it was going ahead with its controversial contract to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia despite Riyadh’s human rights violations, especially in its war on Yemen.

Canada said it was going ahead with its controversial contract to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia despite Riyadh’s human rights violations, especially in its war on Yemen.

Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion signed off on export permits for the USD 15-billion sale of light armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia on Friday. The contract had been initially signed under the previous Conservative government in February 2014.

Dion, which has come under fire over authorizing the sales, told reporters on Wednesday that Canada’s credibility would be harmed if it didn’t honor the contract.

“Credibility matters. The Liberal Party committed during the 2015 election campaign to respect the previously agreed contract… Our government will not weaken the credibility of the signature of the government of Canada,” Dion said.

He also claimed that canceling the agreement would impede Canada’s efforts to convince Saudi Arabia to improve its human rights record.

“If we drop the contract, we will set back the clock on those productive efforts too, and we will simply hand the contract to a non-Canadian, potentially more ambivalent provider,” Dion said.

However, leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) Thomas Mulcair accused the government of lying to the public regarding the contract.

“The government lied to Canadians about who signed what when in the Saudi arms deal, and that is a very serious matter,” Mulcair said.

Yemen has been since March 26, 2015 under brutal aggression by Saudi-led coalition.
Thousands have been martyred and injured in the attack, with the vast majority of them are civilians.

Riyadh launched the attack on Yemen in a bid to restore power to fugitive president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi who is a close ally to Saudi Arabia.

On March 22, Amnesty International called on the United States and Britain to halt their arms deliveries to Saudi Arabia amid the brutal Saudi military campaign against Yemen.

Amnesty criticized Riyadh for “repeatedly” using prohibited cluster munitions in attacks that have “killed and maimed civilians.”

Human Rights Watch has also called for an arms embargo, urging the US, the UK, France and all other nations to suspend the sales of arms to Riyadh until it “not only curtails its unlawful airstrikes in Yemen but also credibly investigates alleged violations.”