Canadian LAV plant workers closely watch Saudi reports

Allegations that Canadian-made armoured vehicles are being used by Saudi Arabia against its own citizens have workers in an Ontario community on edge.

Video has emerged that appears to show Gurkha RPVs, armoured personnel carriers (APCs) made by Terradyne Armoured Vehicles in Newmarket, Ont., used during efforts to crush uprisings by Shia Muslims in the Sunni-majority kingdom.

On Monday, Global Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland responded by saying that she is “very concerned” and that she has “instructed our department and my officials to very energetically and very carefully review the reports.”

That’s raising questions about a $15-billion deal between the Government of Canada, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and General Dynamics for light-armoured vehicles (LAVs).

The tripartite deal was signed by Stephen Harper’s Conservative government in 2014, with the condition that the LAVs not be used against Saudi citizens.

The export permits were signed off by the Liberals last April. Former Global Affairs Minister Stephane Dion said at the time that he would cancel the permits if the equipment was used for “any human-rights abuses.”

General Dynamics has roughly 500 unionized employees at its advanced manufacturing plant in London, Ont., and is considered responsible for thousands of other local jobs.

Jim Reid, President of Unifor Local 27 in London, said that his workers “will always support human rights, even sometimes where it might be at the expense of jobs.”

However, Reid added he hopes the Canadian government will put pressure on Saudi Arabia to prevent human rights abuses. “We need to maintain the contract,” he said.

New Democrat MP Irene Mathyssen, whose riding includes the London plant, said Tuesday that Canada has “an obligation, internationally and morally, in regards to protecting human rights.”

She added that she wants to see a “contingency plan” put in place for workers whose jobs are at risk if the export permits are cancelled.

“They keep forgetting about those families, those workers,” Mathyssen said of the government. “So yes, let’s have this review, but let’s make sure this government has undertaken its responsibility to protect our community and our workers.”

With reports from Ottawa Bureau Chief Joyce Napier and CTV London

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