A local MP says the current Liberal government and the Conservatives before them should not have signed and kept a multi-million dollar deal with Saudi Arabia.
London-Fanshawe MP Irene Mathyssen says, “I’m very angry that…these governments have put people in my community in jeopardy and are leaving them in that jeopardy. Leaving them not knowing what the future will be.”
She believes the deal has left workers at London’s General Dynamics Land Systems fearing for their livelihood.
“This government, the previous government, they have a responsibility in this, and they don’t seem to understand that responsibility. You don’t do this to people in communities. And so the Trudeau Liberals, this Liberal government, has got to find a way to make sure that those families are protected.”
She also says Canada should not have trusted Saudi Arabia to keep its end of the deal for light armoured vehicles.
Mathyssen adds that news the Saudi government owes nearly $2 billion in payments for the vehicles assembled at General Dynamics isn't a surprise, and has been rumoured in Ottawa for months.
There has been renewed pressure for the federal government to scrap the $15-billion deal after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
