Montreal, Canada – Canada has refused to touch upon a deliberate United States sale of Canadian-made weapons to Israel, after information of the deal drew rebuke from rights advocates who argue the arms will assist gasoline Israeli human rights abuses in opposition to Palestinians.
In a quick assertion to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, a spokesman for Canada’s overseas affairs division, International Affairs Canada, mentioned it “is not going to speculate on a potential International Army Sale by the US”.
“Since January eighth, the Authorities of Canada has not accepted new arms export permits to Israel, and this stays the federal authorities’s method,” it mentioned.
Canada introduced earlier this 12 months that it could not authorise new export permits for weapons to Israel amid mass protests over the nation’s conflict within the Gaza Strip, which has killed greater than 40,000 Palestinians over almost 11 months.
However rights advocates shortly famous that Canada has not revoked current arms export permits, nor would the prohibition have an effect on Canadian weapons and parts that first go to the US earlier than they’re shipped to Israel.
These transfers to the US are tough to trace due to a decades-old preferential commerce relationship that enables the North American neighbours to extra simply change navy weapons and associated parts.
Final Tuesday, the US’s Protection Safety Cooperation Company (DSCA) introduced that an organization based mostly within the Canadian province of Quebec can be the primary contractor in a potential deal to ship $61.1m in munitions to Israel.
The corporate, known as Normal Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Programs Inc, is ready to provide tens of 1000’s of “M933A1 120mm Excessive Explosive Mortar Cartridges and associated gear”, the company mentioned in a statement. Deliveries are anticipated to start in 2026.
Michael Bueckert, vp of Canadians for Justice and Peace within the Center East (CJPME), an advocacy group, instructed Al Jazeera that the Canadian authorities “has a duty” to cease the cargo.
“If Canada goes to knowingly permit weapons to be transferred to Israel whereas it claims to be stopping this form of factor, it simply destroys their total credibility,” he mentioned.
Bueckert added that, with specialists accusing Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza, it additionally “exhibits that they’re extra focused on public relations than taking motion to stop complicity in genocide”.
The Nationwide Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), one other advocacy group, additionally urged Canada to stop the switch.
“Any choice in any other case would render the Authorities’s earlier weapon permits ban to turn out to be moot,” its CEO, Stephen Brown, mentioned in a press release on Tuesday.
On Monday, the left-leaning New Democratic Occasion (NDP) issued a statement publicly opposing the sale, saying it was “horrified” to be taught of Canada’s involvement.
“Canada should not be fuelling the continued genocide in Gaza with Canadian-made weapons,” mentioned Heather McPherson, a Canadian parliament member and overseas affairs critic for the NDP.
“By refusing to finish arms gross sales to Israel, together with by permitting loopholes to ship weapons by the US, Canada might doubtlessly be complicit in conflict crimes.”
Normal Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Programs Inc, the Canada-based firm concerned within the sale, didn’t instantly reply to Al Jazeera’s request for remark.
Authorized specialists have mentioned Canada is flouting its obligations below worldwide regulation to ban weapons transfers to international locations when there’s a critical danger the gear may very well be utilized in human rights violations.
As an example, the Arms Commerce Treaty (ATT) — a United Nations pact to which Canada is a signatory — bans transfers if states have data the arms may very well be utilized in genocide, crimes in opposition to humanity, conflict crimes and different violations of worldwide regulation.
The UN’s prime courtroom, the Worldwide Court docket of Justice (ICJ), has already mentioned there’s a “believable” danger that Israel is committing genocide in opposition to Palestinians in Gaza.
Rights teams have additionally documented scores of Israeli navy assaults in opposition to Palestinian civilians, journalists and humanitarian assist employees throughout the enclave for the reason that conflict started.
In opposition to that backdrop, in March, a gaggle of Palestinian Canadians and human rights attorneys sued Canada over exports of navy gear to Israel.
“We’re in search of to carry Canada to its personal requirements and to its worldwide authorized obligations,” Henry Off, a board member for Canadian Legal professionals for Worldwide Human Rights (CLAIHR), one of many teams concerned within the case, told Al Jazeera at the time.
“We don’t need the Canadian authorities to be contributing to the mass hunger and bombardment of Gaza.”
However as Israel’s conflict in Gaza drags on, rights advocates have urged the federal government to additionally shut the “loopholes” that permit the nation to ship weapons to the US with much less oversight and fewer reporting necessities.
Bueckert mentioned the Canadian authorities has didn’t take the considerations of its residents severely — or take actual motion to handle their calls to finish weapons shipments to Israel.
“I feel they’ve actually been very dismissive and condescending in the direction of the considerations that Canadians have in regards to the very actual and harmful switch of navy items to Israel,” Bueckert instructed Al Jazeera.
“I feel normally Canada will not be taking severely the authorized penalties for its complicity in genocide.”
