High court won’t hear appeal over sale of armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia

OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada will not delve into the multibillion-dollar sale of Canadian-made light armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia.

The high court, as is customary, gave no reason today for refusing to hear an appeal from University of Montreal law professor Daniel Turp, who has pursued the issue for years.

Turp, citing Saudi Arabia’s poor human-rights record, initially asked the Federal Court of Canada to review the government’s decision to issue export permits authorizing the deal.

The Liberal government acknowledged concerns about the mistreatment of women in Saudi Arabia, as well as the stifling of political dissent by the Saudi government, among other abuses.

But the government said it had no evidence that Saudi Arabia specifically used the military hardware to crack down on its own population.

The Federal Court and the Court of Appeal dismissed Turp’s arguments previously.