A year after an infamous Twitter spat and the gruesome murder of Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, the Canada-Saudi relationship appears poised to return to business as usual, if it hasn’t already.
Honduran migrants at the border with Mexico in mid January. Many will continue north to the US border.
Esteban Biba/EPA
From Rahaf Mohammed to the fate of Syrian refugees and the US border wall – what ‘migration diplomacy’ means for world politics.
In this October 2018, photo, candles lit by activists protesting the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi are placed outside Saudi Arabia’s Consulate in Istanbul.
(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Ottawa’s response to Jamal Khashoggi’s murder doubles down on “human rights” rhetoric while failing to take action. It’s a matter of the death of some in exchange for the livelihood of others.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is seen at the Future Investment Initiative conference, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 23, 2018.
(AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
The future for Saudi Arabia’s crown prince is uncertain following the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, but it would be foolish to expect any successor to offer substantive change.
Khalid Al-Falih Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia, has said the diplomatic dispute won’t affect oil exports to Canada.
(AP Photo/Ronald Zak, File)
Saudi Arabia has said it won’t curb the flow of oil to Canada, but the Maritimes should think more seriously about replacing the Saudi supply with crude from more trusted sources.
Women were only just granted permission to drive in Saudi Arabia, a kingdom with an atrocious human rights record. Canada can and should leverage its ongoing spat with the country to advocate for human rights across the Middle East.
(AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
The Saudi-Canadian row offers Canada an opportunity to adopt a new Middle East policy based on universal human rights that address the needs of the many and contributes to regional stability.
In this 2015 photo, Ensaf Haidar, wife of the jailed Saudi Arabian blogger Raif Badawi, shows a portrait of her husband in France. The arrest of Badawi’s sister is at the heart of a diplomatic spat between Canada and Saudi Arabia that will significantly affect trade between the two countries.
(AP Photo/Christian Lutz)
The diplomatic spat between Canada and Saudi Arabia could have serious economic ramifications as well. When diplomatic ties are cut, research shows trade suffers significantly.