The Canadian Brand and Weapons Profiteering on the backs of Bahrainis

Canada’ Arms export licences triple to $12 billion –

Saudis used Canadian LAVs to quash Bahrain uprising
By Lee Berthiaume – 24 February, 2012 – Calgary Herald

Canadian arms companies were given free rein last year as the federal government tripled the amount of military weapons and ammunition licensed for export to foreign countries to more than $12 billion.

The largest benefactor at $4 billion was Saudi Arabia, which is believed to have used Canadian-made armoured vehicles to help put down anti-government protests in neighbouring Bahrain during the early days of the Arab Spring.

The government figures, tabled in the House of Commons a few weeks ago, do not say exactly what Canadian-made arms the government approved for export or how much was actually delivered. But the total in government-approved arms export licences for Saudi Arabia was more than 100 times the $35 million approved in 2010.

The Middle Eastern kingdom also has quietly purchased hundreds of LAV-3s from General Dynamics Land Systems in London, Ont., over the years and was expected to receive more than 700 last year.

The LAVS are synonymous in Canada with this country’s combat mission to Afghanistan, where the wheeled, armoured vehicles earned their stripes as the military’s main workhorse. Video and photos shot by protesters and media outlets in March 2011 showed Saudi troops using LAV-3s to suppress an uprising inspired by events in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya and opposed to Bahrain’s ruling Khalifa family.
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