Canadian Politics Today

Calling them an ally is a stretch.

Is it ? 

I think this is the kind of discussion where we will mostly disagree slightly, and I like those.  But I feel like since our closest ally protects them, and in fact had a military base there in the 1990s we can consider them an ally.

We sold them the armored vehicles because we're in the business of selling armored vehicles - or at least that company located here is in that business. What would have been the point of refusing the sale?  Is anyone under the slightest illusion this would stop Saudi Arabia from simply buying from any of a dozen other sellers of such vehicles?

"Hey man, those kids are gonna buy meth from somebody.  Might as well be me."

And what of the company that makes them? Their armored vehicles are also used by Egypt, Mexico, Iraq,  and the UAE among others. Do we tell them they can't sell them to anyone who doesn't have a stirling human rights record? The inevitable result will be the company will shift production to the US, firing its Canadian workers.

Slippery slope argument.  Just because it's hard to draw a line doesn't mean you should try to draw one.