Local Editor
The Canadian government is scrambling to figure out how a sniper rifle made in Winnipeg may have fallen into the hands of Houthi fighters in Yemen’s war.
"We’re obviously concerned," David Lametti, parliamentary secretary to the minister of international trade, told CBC News.
"The minister for international trade met with officials in the department. She’s instructed them to investigate to make sure that we illuminate all four corners of this story."
According to Armament Research Services (ARES), an international intelligence consultancy that traces arms, LRT-3 sniper rifles sold to the Saudis appear to have been seized from Saudi forces.
The guns, made by Winnipeg-based PGW Defence Technologies, were identified in photos and video on a Houthi-linked television channel and on social media. They were held up as "modern weapons" taken during a battle with "Saudi border guards."
The case has raised new concerns about Canada’s arms exports to Saudi Arabia. While Ottawa hasn’t yet been able to confirm how the rifles made their way into revolutionary hands, Lametti said the Liberal government ran on a platform of openness and will keep to its promise in this case.
"We committed ourselves in the election campaign to greater transparency on these kinds of transactions - we intend do that," he said. "Moving forward, that’s precisely the direction in which this government wants to go."
Conservative defence critic James Bezan echoed Lametti’s concerns about how the Houthis got the guns.
"There is some concern that maybe they were either sold on the black market, or somehow they captured these arms and that is the huge issue here ... how they got a hold of them," Bezan said.
Manufacturer PGW Defence Technologies declined to confirm the guns in question came from them, saying only that all its exports follow Canadian export rules.
According to a CBC News analysis, Saudi Arabia is Canada’s second largest weapons customer after the U.S. Over the past decade, Canada has shipped more than $28 million worth of Canadian-made guns and rifles to Saudi Arabia.
Whether the sniper rifles in this case were sold while the Conservatives were in power or not, Garrison said Canada needs to improve how it monitors the path and life cycle of firearms it sends overseas.
"Small arms are the scourge of these kinds of conflicts," Garrison said. "Canada can and must do better. Whether it’s arms that pass through the Saudis or anybody else, we certainly had a commitment from the Liberals in the campaign to get started on better monitoring on what happens to these small arms."
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
