While Canada has condemned the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, there is no indication it plans to follow in the footsteps of Germany, which announced it is halting all arms exports to the kingdom.On Saturday, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement that the Saudis’ explanations of the killing “lack consistency and credibility” and reiterated Canada’s call for an investigation to be done in collaboration with Turkey.However, she stopped short of introducing sanctions or cancelling Canada’s $15-billion deal to sell light armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia — a deal that was brokered by the Harper government and finalized by Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, despite loud opposition from human rights defenders.This all comes after Saudi Arabia froze all business relations with Canada over criticisms of its human rights record.Sign up for the VICE News Canada Newsletter to get the best of our content delivered to your inbox daily.Asked on Monday what it would take for Canada to cancel the LAV deal, Freeland would only say “we have grave concerns about murder of Khashoggi,” and that there were conversations happening within the government and with allies.Global Affairs did not respond to a request for comment from VICE News.Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist known for being critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. He’d gone in to get paperwork that he needed to marry his Turkish fiance.Turkish officials allege that a 15-member Saudi team flew to Istanbul prior to Khashoggi’s arrival and attacked him once he was inside, cutting off his fingers, killing and dismembering him.The Saudi government, which initially denied the accusations, admitted under mounting pressure on Saturday that the journalist died at the consulate, but claimed that he was killed in a fistfight. The kingdom also said that they had fired five top intelligence officials and arrested 18 others as a result of their investigation.Amnesty International has called on Saudi Arabia to “immediately produce” Khashoggi’s body so independent forensic experts can conduct an autopsy according to international standards.On Sunday, CNN and a Turkish newspaper reported that surveillance video showed a man who appeared to be wearing Khashoggi’s clothes leaving the Saudi consulate after he was killed and that a member of the crown prince’s entourage made repeated calls to the prince’s office around the same time. The video shows the man walking out of the consulate with another person, taking a taxi to Istanbul’s Sultan Ahmed Mosque, going into a public bathroom, changing out of the clothes and leaving.Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jebeir told Fox News on Monday that the killing was a “rogue” operation and that the government doesn’t know where Khashoggi’s body is."The individuals who did this did this outside the scope of their authority," he said. "There obviously was a tremendous mistake made and what compounded the mistake was the attempt to try to cover up. That is unacceptable to the government."On Monday, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said the country “won’t at this point approve any further arms exports because we want to know what happened.”German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the ban on would stay in place while it’s still unclear what happened to Khashoggi.“I agree with those who say that arms exports, which are already limited, cannot happen given the circumstances,” she said on Sunday.Meanwhile U.S. President Donald Trump, who initially said Saudi’s explanation of Khashoggi’s death was credible, has said he would prefer sanctions over ruining a “tremendous order” — $110 billion worth — of weapons from the kingdom.Cover image of Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland in Ottawa on Monday October 22, 2018. Photo by Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
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