Was Canada’s $20M armoured vehicle deal caught up in a UN sanctions breach?
Global News
Government memos reveal that Canada lost access to $13M worth of armoured vehicles for nearly a year, after a subcontractor involved in the deal allegedly breached UN sanctions.
Federal government memos obtained by Global News reveal new details about the delayed delivery of dozens of armoured vehicles purchased to protect Canada’s embassy staff abroad.
The federal government told Global News the delays were due to supply chain disruptions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, but documents suggest the holdup was the result of the vehicles being caught up in an alleged potential breach of United Nations sanctions.
In 2018, the Canadian government awarded a $19.9-million contract to U.S.-based military supplier Jankel Tactical Systems to armour 76 Toyota Land Cruisers.
Once manufactured, the vehicles were to be placed in storage, pending shipment to Canada’s diplomatic missions in hotspots around the world, including Kyiv in Ukraine, Abuja in Nigeria, and Port-au-Prince in Haiti, among others.
Canada’s former ambassador to Haiti, Gilles Rivard, says without armoured vehicles, diplomats in dangerous places can’t do their jobs.
“Armoured vehicles in many countries are essential to preserve the life of people, because you never know what’s going to happen,” Rivard told Global News.
But for nearly a year, Canada had no access to dozens of vehicles in its new fleet.
Canada signed the armoured vehicle deal with Jankel, which then subcontracted the storage of the Toyota Land Cruisers to a Jordanian company called Jordan Light Vehicle Manufacturing (JLVM).