VANCOUVER—The CEO of Freshslice Pizza has penned a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticizing Canada’s $15-billion sale of armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia and promising to display a poster condemning the deal’s supporters if it is not cancelled before the next federal election.

In the letter, Ray Russell, also the founder of the Vancouver-based pizza chain, referred to Saudi Arabia as a “human-rights pariah” and cited the recent murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey as an indication of the country’s “blatant disregard for international law.”

In an interview, Russell said he was compelled to speak out about Canada’s deal to sell weaponized light-armoured vehicles to the Saudis because of his experiences of war in Iran 30 years ago.

“In Iran, I learned the hardship of war and I escaped from the war,” he said. “But now I’ve made Canada my home, and I love this country and I thought I had to do something to protect this country.”

While he said he is a “big fan”of Prime Minister Trudeau, in the letter Russell stated that he “can no longer support the Liberal Party of Canada and any party that supports this sale.”

Russell also promised that if the sale to Saudi Arabia is not cancelled, he would put up posters in all Freshslice locations condemning any political party that supports the deal. He said that with the pizza chain’s 70 locations and high visibility at major intersections across the province, he guesses that “over 700,000” people could pass the stores every day and see the posters.

While Russell said he won’t force every franchise owner to put up a poster, he has had conversations with several owners who agree with him.

However, when StarMetro attempted to confirm this statement at two Freshslice locations, employees were unaware of Russell’s statements.

Already, the letter and other related posts calling for an end to the arms deal have garnered several hundred shares and likes on Facebook and Twitter.

In the wake of Khashoggi’s death, Trudeau has made statements suggesting that suspending the agreement could put pressure on the Saudis — but he has also stated that cancelling the international agreement would mean a $1-billion penalty for Canada.

Russell believes the cost would be worth it.

“I understand the contractual obligation and I know Justin Trudeau is trying his best ... but at the end of the day, I prefer to make less money, as a Canadian and citizen, than deal with such a murderous regime.”

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