In August, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland’s tweet criticizing Saudi Arabia’s arrest of a female activist trigged a strong Saudi backlash. Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia has a disgraceful record on political and civil rights. This position paper discusses Canada's complex and contradictory relationship with Saudi Arabia.

Montreal, October 25, 2018 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) calls on Canada to end, once and for all, its arms trade with Saudi Arabia.  The brazen murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi authorities in Istanbul further highlights the brazen and repressive attitude of the Saudi leadership.  CJPME believes that Saudi Arabia’s authoritarian and oppressive practices have, for far too long, betrayed Canada’s purported support for human rights and international law.  Learning that Canada faces a penalty of $1 billion if it suspends the arms deal is just one more sign that the paradoxical sale should be terminated. 

Montreal, January 24, 2018 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) urges the Canadian government to follow the example of the German government vis-à-vis relations with Saudi Arabia.  On January 19^th, the German government announced that it will be suspending all arms sales to Saudi Arabia, due to the Saudi documented human rights violations in Yemen. CJPME applauds Germany’s principled position, and calls on the Canadian government to likewise suspend all arms sales to the Saudis.

CJPME Factsheet 201, published August 12, 2013: This factsheet explores the orgins of Wahhabism in the Arabian Penninsula and how it rose to political prominence in Saudi Arabia.  The factsheet also explores how the state of Saudi Arabia promotes Wahhabi ideology, and how Wahhabism influences extremist movements around the world. 

CJPME is pleased to publish the next of a 15 part election series analyzing the positions of Canada’s political parties. CJPME hopes that, by revealing what parties have said and done on key Middle East issues, Canadians will be better informed voters in the upcoming elections. Our next analysis studies each party’s position on the Raif Badawi case, in the context of Canada’s $15 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia.

CJPME Analysis, published May, 2015: In March, 2015, following increased Houthi gains in Yemen, Saudi Arabia led a coalition of countries in a campaign of airstrikes on Yemen termed “Operation Decisive Storm.”  After just two months, the civilian and humanitarian toll on Yemen was devastating, and human rights organizations have identified many suspected violations of international law.

CJPME Factsheet 95, published August, 2010: This factsheet provides an overview of the political characteristics of Saudi Arabia, starting by looking at its type of government (a monarchy), how Islamic fundamentalism is manifested in the country, the role Saudi has played in the Israel-Palestine conflict, its attitude towards Iraq and Iran, and its relationship with the United States.