(Ottawa) Since the start of Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip in October, Canada has authorized the export of at least 28.5 million* in military equipment to the Jewish state. The previous record was around 28 million… in one year, in 1987.
More than forty export permits were approved during this period. What type of material is this? “The licenses issued since October 7 (…) concern non-lethal equipment,” assures Global Affairs Canada.
We are talking, for example, “night vision goggles, protective equipment”, illustrated Monday the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, after describing the ongoing Israeli military offensive in Rafah as “unacceptable”.
It is impossible to know more by consulting the documents provided by his ministry, which the information site The Maple first obtained last Friday, at the end of the day. Description of the equipment, permit numbers, suppliers: everything is redacted.
“The Department has an obligation to protect confidential information concerning the commercial activities of individual companies,” argued Jean-Pierre Godbout, spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada.
No weapons?
The green light was given to the shipment of goods belonging to a category of controlled export goods including explosive charges, aircraft equipment and the night vision goggles mentioned by Minister Joly.
“We have not approved any permits for the export of bombs, rockets, missiles or explosive devices,” nevertheless insisted its director of communications, Emily Williams.
According to NDP MP Heather McPherson, the Liberal government is playing with words. “They can say, for example, that they are not sending guns. But perhaps they send parts that are used in their manufacturing,” she cites as an example.
At the peace research institute Project Plowshares, researcher Kelsey Gallagher makes a similar observation. Furthermore, “there is no category of non-lethal military equipment in the Canadian export control system; it doesn’t exist,” he notes.
“Alarming”
What is clear from the figures is that military exports to Israel are clearly growing. “It is alarming that the pace has increased so quickly after the start of Israel’s response in Gaza to the October 7 attacks,” Gallagher said.
“It’s disturbing, this spectacular increase in arms sales to Israel during this particularly deadly period,” adds MP Stéphane Bergeron, of the Bloc Québécois.
And the argument of the non-lethality of the goods does not hold water, believes the elected official.
What are non-lethal weapons like civilian drones or night vision goggles used for, if not to identify people who can be shot?
Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc Québécois MP
Under the Export and Import Licensing Act, the foreign minister must reject any permit application if there is a “serious risk” that the material will harm the peace or be used to violate international law.
The Conservative Party did not respond to questions sent by The Press. On Monday, in the House of Commons, applause rang out from the Conservative benches when MP Heather McPherson spoke about the $28.5 million exports.
She tabled and had adopted on Monday, at the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, a motion demanding the disclosure of documents on the granting of export permits to Israel between 2006 and 2024.
The Dutch decision
In the Netherlands, earlier this week, the Court of Appeal in The Hague ordered the state to suspend the delivery of F-35 aircraft parts to Israel. The risks of these being used in actions violating international humanitarian law led the court to this verdict.
The cause was taken up by organizations such as the Dutch section of the Oxfam group. It is unclear whether a similar proceeding could be brought in Canada, where factories are involved in the F-35 supply chain.
What I will say is that the Dutch risk assessment framework is the same as the Canadian framework, because both countries are signatories to the International Arms Trade Treaty.
Kelsey Gallagher, researcher
Israel is among the main destinations for Canadian arms exports. The volume of its military exports is, however, marginal compared to that of countries such as the United States, the Jewish state’s main arms supplier.
The New Democratic Party has been urging the Liberals to turn off the tap for weeks. In the Bloc Québécois, after dismissing the idea, we are starting to think about it more seriously. Asked about this in the House on Wednesday, Justin Trudeau dodged the question.
“A military operation in Rafah would have catastrophic consequences (…). There is simply nowhere for civilians to go. Protecting civilians is paramount and a lasting ceasefire is necessary,” he said.
* To arrive at the sum of 28.5 million, duplicates of seven export permits were excluded in the calculation. Global Affairs Canada refused to confirm whether these were indeed duplicates, simply saying that this type of document “often” included them.
reference: www.lapresse.ca