Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly announced that Canada will no longer send arms to Israel after facing pressure from pro-Palestine groups.
The announcement comes after a majority of Liberal MPs and cabinet voted in favour of a modified NDP resolution which will ensure that Canada “cease the further authorization and transfer of arms exports to Israel to ensure compliance with Canada’s arms export regime and increase efforts to stop the illegal trade of arms, including to Hamas.”
While the motion was non-binding, Joly said it needs to be more than just simply symbolic and marks the end of Canada sending arms to Israel.
“It’s a real thing,” Joly told the Toronto Star, who as foreign affairs minister, has the authority to approve or reject military exports.
However, Joly also said that she remains uncertain as to the extent of the ban in practice.
Joly had already announced a temporary suspension regarding military exports to Israel on Jan. 8, but senior officials with Global Affairs claim that they have continued to accept and process applications on a case-by-case basis.
However a recent statement from Global Affairs claims they haven’t sent ‘weapon systems for conventional arms or light weapons’ to Israel in over 30 years.
“Canada has not received any requests, and therefore not issued any permits, for full weapon systems for major conventional arms or light weapons to Israel for over 30 years. The permits which have been granted since October 7, 2023, are for the export of non-lethal equipment,” reads the statement.
While other documents from Global Affairs claim to have given almost $30 million in military goods to Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
According to peace research group Project Ploughshares, “documents recently released by Global Affairs Canada show that Canadian officials authorized nearly $30-million in military goods to Israel since October 7, 2023. These recent arms export authorizations are in addition to the more than $140-million in military goods Canada has transferred to Israel over the last decade.”