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The message, in any case, was that the Liberals were no more inclined to put their rhetoric about human rights and Canadian values ahead of a contract that might involve a lot of jobs and not a few votes.

Now that Trudeau is prime minister-elect, the question may not be so glibly shrugged off. Stephen Harper was subject to pointed questions and harsh criticism over the deal. There’s no reason the Liberals, simply by dint of having been elected, should consider the matter closed, especially given the frequency and volume of their pledges to pursue a new, more honourable role for Canada in the world.

All the elements that drew criticism of the deal remain in place. According to Amnesty International and Project Ploughshares, it is the biggest arms export contract in Canadian history, it was brokered by the Canadian Commercial Corporation – a Crown corporation – and it violated a requirement that all such contracts be subject to a human rights assessment to ensure there is no “reasonable risk” they might be used against civilians. Many details are being kept secret on the basis of commercial confidentiality.

The Liberals haven’t taken office yet, of course, but Trudeau’s comments indicate they’ll let the deal go ahead, even though Saudi Arabia is even now engaged in a crackdown on dissent against its abuses. On Thursday, Abdel-Karim al-Khadar, a professor of Islamic studies, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and barred from travelling abroad for a further decade on charges of disobeying the ruler, founding a human rights organization and supporting protests, violating Internet laws and accusing Saudi authorities of rights abuses.