Four years in, Canada-Saudi diplomatic impasse shows no signs of resolution, but trade continues via thehilltimes
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, left, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have shown seemingly little interest in normalizing Canada's diplomatic relationship with Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, right.
NDP MP Heather McPherson says the government neglects human rights in exchange of economics in its relations with Saudi Arabia.Saudi Arabia accused Canada of interfering in its internal affairs and expelled Dennis Horak, then serving as Canada’s ambassador in Riyadh, and recalled its ambassador from Ottawa. Samar Badawi was released in 2021, according to human rights group ALQST, and Raif Badawi was released from prison in March, but he is still subject to a 10-year travel ban.
For Saudi Arabia, Horak said it’s hard to predict Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s motivations. Horak said without an ambassador in Saudi Arabia, Canada loses access to the most senior levels of the Saudi government. “The desire to sort of try and actively find a way out of it ran counter, in some respects, to their perception of themselves as a country that puts morality first,” he said.
“The question of ‘should it return to normalcy’ depends on how much of an effort both sides would be willing to make and, at this point, the answer is not much,” said Juneau, a former Department of National Defence analyst. He said one thing that could change the status quo would be a change in government in Ottawa, noting that if the Conservatives had won in 2021, it could have paved the way for a rapprochement.
“We don’t support the normalization of diplomatic or economic relationships with Saudi Arabia. We’ve heard overwhelmingly from our constituents that they don’t like the arms deal with Saudi Arabia and they don’t want normalized relations,” she said, citing Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record.
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