Thank you for the question.
If I may address it briefly, we were taken aback by the lifting of the moratorium to Saudi Arabia, even if it was along the pattern of “no matter what” in terms of arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Like you said, it was a decision taken in the middle of a pandemic. It was taken nearly two years after the brutal assassination of Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi authorities at the consulate in Istanbul. It was taken shortly before Canada joined the United Nations Security Council to appeal for a ceasefire and shortly before Canada lost its bid for a seat at the United Nations Security Council. Taken together, there is something to be said about the rationale for this ill-advised decision when the risk of exports to Saudi Arabia are clear and present.
I would echo the words of Ms. Mason earlier, when she said these arms exports seem to be a deal no matter what, whereby every possible red flag has been raised and the government consistently continues determined to honour this ill-fated deal.