Federal government memos obtained by Global News reveal new details about the delayed delivery of dozens of armoured vehicles purchased to protect Canada’s embassy staff abroad.
The federal government told Global News the delays were due to supply chain disruptions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, but documents suggest the holdup was the result of the vehicles being caught up in an alleged potential breach of United Nations sanctions.
In 2018, the Canadian government awarded a $19.9-million contract to U.S.-based military supplier Jankel Tactical Systems to armour 76 Toyota Land Cruisers.
Once manufactured, the vehicles were to be placed in storage, pending shipment to Canada’s diplomatic missions in hotspots around the world, including Kyiv in Ukraine, Abuja in Nigeria, and Port-au-Prince in Haiti, among others.
Canada’s former ambassador to Haiti, Gilles Rivard, says without armoured vehicles, diplomats in dangerous places can’t do their jobs.
“Armoured vehicles in many countries are essential to preserve the life of people, because you never know what’s going to happen,” Rivard told Global News.
But for nearly a year, Canada had no access to dozens of vehicles in its new fleet.
Canada signed the armoured vehicle deal with Jankel, which then subcontracted the storage of the Toyota Land Cruisers to a Jordanian company called Jordan Light Vehicle Manufacturing (JLVM).
According to government memos obtained by Global News, Jankel informed the government on April 27, 2022, that it would be “severing ties” with the sub-contractor “due to JLVM’s possible breach of UN sanctions.”
A United Nations panel claims it has documented several instances of vehicles manufactured by JLVM’s parent company — the Jordan Design & Development Bureau (JODDB), previously known as the KADDB — in use by the Haftar Armed Forces in Libya, allegedly in violation of a UN arms embargo.
The panel has not been able to determine how those vehicles allegedly ended up in Libya and in the hands of an embargoed group.
A United Nations expert panel said the provision of armoured vehicles manufactured by Jordan’s King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau to the Libyan National Army violated a UN arms embargo.
YouTube: LNA Media Office
Global News has learned that once the relationship between Jankel and JLVM went south, the Jordanian subcontractor held dozens of Canada’s vehicles in a storage facility in Amman, refusing to release them.
A total of 54 vehicles were initially seized, according to a government memo.
“It became imperative that Global Affairs Canada relocate these vehicles immediately,” the document reads.
The vehicles didn’t come cheap, either. According to a government memo, Canada had paid more than $13 million for the dozens of vehicles that were seized — more than $240,000 apiece.
It took nearly a year for Canada to regain access to dozens of armoured vehicles that had been seized by JLVM, a subcontractor involved in the deal.
YouTube: JODDB Jordan
The federal government appeared to have little leverage to get the vehicles, since it had already paid most of the bill upfront, in accordance with the terms of the contract.
Alan Williams, a former assistant deputy minister of materiel with the Department of National Defence, said the contract should have withheld more of the payment until the vehicles were delivered to their final destinations.
Otherwise, there was no incentive for the company to deliver on time.
“No one should be paying 90 per cent in advance,” Williams said. “That should never be the case.”
The Jordan Design & Development Bureau, JLVM’s parent company, refused to answer Global News’ questions about whether it breached UN sanctions, nor would it comment on JLVM’s alleged seizure of the armoured vehicles.
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“We don’t have the needed information to share as there are [sic] no current partnership between JLVM and Jankel Group Limited,” JODDB contract specialist Hisham Alrawashdeh said in a statement.
Jankel chairman Andrew Jankel told Global News that his company has “a good working relationship with JLVM,” but would not comment further, citing “various client confidentiality reasons.”
“We are very proud of our relationships with our customers, partners and suppliers,” he added.
Global Affairs Canada refused to answer questions about the alleged violations of UN sanctions and said the delivery dates were adjusted “due to supply chain delays and microchip shortages.”
“The vendor met the terms of the agreement at the time the contract was awarded,” said Global Affairs spokesperson James Emmanuel Wanki. “We cannot speak to the transactions between Jankel and other parties.”
Global News has learned that the armoured vehicles held by JLVM were finally released to Global Affairs in May 2023 — roughly a year after they were first seized.
Ottawa now expects the vehicles will be delivered to diplomatic missions over the next two years.
Still, Williams warns that government procurement in Canada is in chaos and suggested that this contract is yet another example of what he calls a “lack of accountability.”
“If you’re messing around and misapplying a contract of $20 million, what about all the others?” he said.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.
Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.
Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.
Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.
The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:
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DEVILS 3 OILERS 0
EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.
Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.
