Weapons shipped to Saudi Arabia

By: Mary Agnes Welch Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Friday, Jul. 3, 2009

WINNIPEG — MANITOBA exported a cache of guns worth $1.2 million to Saudi Arabia last year, but Ottawa won't say who sold them, who bought them or for what they were used.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/07/2009 (5085 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — MANITOBA exported a cache of guns worth $1.2 million to Saudi Arabia last year, but Ottawa won’t say who sold them, who bought them or for what they were used.

According to international trade data available on the Industry Canada website, Manitoba exported a total of $3.1 million in "arms and ammunition" to foreign countries last year. That could include anything from flame-throwers to shotgun cartridges to rocket-launchers, and it’s double what the province exported in 2004.

Saudi Arabia, the Middle Eastern kingdom frequently criticized for its oppression of women, religious minorities and political dissidents, made a surprise appearance on Manitoba’s 2008 export list.

HANDOUT PHOTO Sniper weapons systems such as this sell, on average, for $10,000 per gun.

That country was the biggest buyer of Manitoba arms and ammunition.

More data provided by Statistics Canada suggest the goods included 110 rifles meant for sport hunting or target shooting.

Except for Manitoba’s guns, Canada sold virtually no other weapons or ammunition to Saudi Arabia last year. Ontario was the next biggest exporter of arms to Saudi Arabia at only $61,000.

The data baffled local peace groups like the Mennonite Central Committee and raises more questions than Ottawa was willing to answer.

To export weapons — even one gun to a private hunter in the United States — requires an export permit from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT). Getting a permit is a process one local vendor called such a "humungous hassle" that virtually no Manitoba retailers bother.

DFAIT won’t reveal any information about the permit issued to export 110 guns to Saudi Arabia, saying the buyer and seller are confidential.

"Details of export transactions are protected due to the commercially confidential nature of such information and restrictions under the Privacy Act," said Laura Dalby, spokeswoman for International Trade.

"This information is confidential and may only be released with the written permission of the originator of the information."

Ottawa did confirm it wasn’t the Canadian military or another federal department that exported the guns.

All of Manitoba’s major gun retailers, including Wholesale Sports and Cabela’s, both of Winnipeg, and Wolverine Supplies in Virden, said they have made no sales to a Saudi customer recently.