John Manley claims these things Canada is selling to Saudi Arabia are “basically fancy trucks”

Canada’s former Deputy Prime Minister sure knows how to put everything in perspective!

Defending Canada’s sale of $15 billion worth of military equipment to Saudi Arabia, despite that country’s track record of using Canadian-built military vehicles to suppress pro-democracy protests, Business Council of Canada CEO and former Liberal Foreign Affaris Minister John Manley explained it’s no big deal because they’re “basically fancy trucks.”

Writing this weekend in iPolitics, Manley echoed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s previous description of the armoured military vehicles as “just jeeps”: 

“Canada, it should be pointed out, is not supplying the Saudis with equipment that can be used in torture or persecution of women. We are selling military vehicles — basically fancy trucks — of the sort that are required by any country’s armed forces, and which we happen to be good at making.”

What makes those “trucks” so “fancy,” “basically”?

One guess could be that the armoured vehicles (similar to the one pictured below) will be outfitted with 105mm guns:

According to General Dynamics, the company that manufactures the armoured military vehicles, the LAV-IIIs “combine versatility, survivability, lethality and maneuverability to handle a wide array of missions” and is armed with enough “effective firepower to defeat soft and armoured targets.” 

So, to sum up, John Manley thinks that’s a fancy truck.

But what else does Manley think?

Here’s a short list of other weapons with lethal capabilities Manley might also consider glossing over:

1. Greco-Roman spears are basically pointy sticks

2. Medieval swords are basically longer, sharper butter knives

3. Battleships are basically big metal canoes

4. Flamethrowers are basically high-powered barbecue lighters

5. The Death Star is basically a really bright laser pointer

No big deal, right?

^{Photos: IMF, DoD, One lucky guy, madmrmox, freestockphotos. Used under Creative Commons license. General Dynamics, 20th Century Fox.}