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The Canadian government expressed deep concern Friday over reports out of Saudi Arabia that the kingdom is using Canadian-made armoured vehicles against its own people.

Global Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland “is deeply concerned about this situation and has asked officials to review it immediately,” a department spokesman said in a statement. “If it is found that Canadian exports have been used to commit serious violations of human rights, the Minister will take action.”

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Spokesman John Babcock said the government “is actively seeking more information about Saudi Arabia’s current efforts to deal with its security challenges, the reports of civilian casualties, and the reports that Canadian-made vehicles have been used by Saudi Arabia in its current security operations.”

He added that Canada expects “the end user of any and all exports to abide by the end use terms in issued export permits.” Saudi Arabia was the largest non-U.S. importer of Canadian-made military goods in 2016, receiving $142 million in exports — nearly 20 per cent of all Canadian military exports.