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NEW YORK — Justin Trudeau says Canada’s ability to conduct business around the world would have been jeopardized if his Liberal government had cancelled a $15-billion arms contract with Saudi Arabia signed by the previous Conservative regime.

The prime minister says other countries and companies around the world need certainty that contracts OK’d by one Canadian government will be honoured by a new government.

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If there was a perception that contracts were only good for the life cycle of a particular government, Trudeau says that would make it well-nigh impossible for Canada to conduct business in the world.

The Liberals have faced criticism for refusing to cancel the contract for the sale of light armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, given that country’s abysmal human rights record and its military intervention in Yemen.