Feds face calls to open Saudi deal after PM says cancelling would cost taxpayers
OTTAWA — The controversy surrounding Canada’s $15-billion deal to sell armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia got deeper on Tuesday, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed that taxpayers would pay “significant financial penalties” if the contract was cancelled.
The comment came as the federal government faced new calls to scrap the agreement, billed as the largest arms deal in Canadian history, because of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The Saudi government has denied murdering Khashoggi in Turkey earlier this month, but Canada and other countries say Riyadh’s explanation lacks credibility and called for a detailed investigation.
Trudeau echoed those doubts during a news conference in Toronto on Tuesday, saying “the brutal murder of a journalist on foreign soil is something that is extremely preoccupying to Canadians, to Canada and to many of our allies around the world.”