Canada and Saudia Arabia are having a tough time getting along right now. The Canadian government issued a series of tweets last week that called out Saudi Arabia for their problematic history with human rights.
The growing feud has led to rapidly escalating attacks from Saudi Arabia, including a 9/11 style threat over Twitter and pulling all international Saudi students out of Canadian post-secondary institutions. They also kicked the Canadian Saudi ambassador out of the country with only 24 hours to comply.
#Statement | We consider the Canadian ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia persona non grata and order him to leave within the next 24 hours.
Saudi Arabia, the only country found legally accountable for the events of September 11th, who has the worst human rights record of any industrialized nation, who just bombed a school bus full of children - decided to troll Canada with threats of mass murder invoking 911. pic.twitter.com/wotmTPeds5
This feud has been brewing for just over a week and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has finally commented on how the government is handling the heat.
Global News is reporting that Trudeau has reassured Canadians by stating that while Canada does not agree with Saudi Arabia, they will continue to interact on a diplomatic level.
Canada will ‘engage’ with Saudi Arabia but won’t change position on human rights: Trudeau https://t.co/lHXWtzWwlH pic.twitter.com/dmJDAh3QUo
"We continue to engage diplomatically, but as I’ve said, Canada will always be very clear on standing up for human rights," said Trudeau.
He also commented that their engagement with Saudi Arabia will ensure a clear message in both the public eye and in private engagement. Yet, the number one goal is to work on their relations while sticking to the Canadian values.
@katie.deller.photographyembedded via
No matter how engaged Canada is with Saudi Arabia, the country has severed ties with us in both trade and government.
Time will only tell how this feud plays out.
Source: Global News