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OTTAWA — The federal government has dramatically slowed the approval process for weapons exports in recent years, the result of controversy over arms deals with Saudi Arabia and other nations with poor human rights records.

Canadian weapons manufacturers need government-issued export permits to sell “controlled goods” — which can include anything from sniper rifles to military-grade body armour — outside the country. When a manufacturer reaches a deal to sell such goods, Global Affairs Canada sometimes conducts a “consultation,” or review, that is supposed to be completed within 40 days.

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But in 2017, GAC failed to conclude its review of 228 permit applications within the standard 40-day window, up from 65 in 2016, thanks to what the government says are increased efforts to stem the flow of arms to nations that breach human rights laws.

GAC is “holding ourselves to a higher standard on the export of controlled goods from Canada, very much including with respect to human rights,” Adam Austen, a spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, said in a statement Tuesday.