In the Parliament
Cartel Parties Vote to Defeat Legislation to Stop Arms Exports for Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
The House of Commons defeated Bill C-233, the No More Loopholes Act, a private member's bill tabled by NDP MP Jenny Kwan to close what are called "loopholes" in the Export and Import Permits Act that allow the shipment of military equipment for genocide and crimes against humanity. After a few hours of debate in a near-empty House at the beginning of the week, MPs showed up on March 11 to defeat the bill with 295 votes against and only 22 in favour. To their credit, the six NDP members voting in favour were joined by 15 Liberals and Green Party MP Elizabeth May. Fifteen Liberal MPs abstained.
Bill C-233 was prompted by research by the organization Arms Embargo Now and others which exposes the duplicity of the Liberal government's insistence that Canadian arms are not being used in Gaza. It would have prohibited military exports if "there is a substantial risk that they would be used to commit or facilitate genocide, crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949, attacks directed against civilian objects or civilians protected as such or other war crimes as defined by international agreements to which Canada is a party." It would have ended the current blanket exemption for arms shipments to the U.S.
MPs who spoke against the bill did so on the grounds that ending the exemption would cripple Canada's military sector. During debate, one MP after another prefaced their opposition to Bill C-233 by condescendingly praising Kwan for her well-intentioned, but misdirected, intentions. Liberal MP and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry Karim Bardeesy, for instance, "saluted" Kwan "for her concern not only in these conflicts [i.e. Gaza] but more generally for those who fight for justice and protecting the most vulnerable." He went on to argue that Bill C-233 would jeopardize Canadian jobs and sovereignty.
"At its heart," he said, "the bill seeks to end legitimate trade and deny export permits with a single country, the United States. That would not be closing a loophole; that would be blowing up a critical defence and trade relationship with a NATO ally. If that were to happen, tens of thousands of Canadian jobs in the defence industry would be put at risk, our defence industry's access to North American supply chains to provide critical material to international allies would abruptly end and Canada would be frozen out of other trade partnerships in retaliation. Instead of working with our allies, we would be turning our back on them. Every single one of these impacts would lead to a body blow to our sovereignty and our economy, further isolating us from our allies in North America and Europe at a time when, for the first time in living memory, Canada faces actual threats to its own territorial and economic sovereignty. In this moment, we need to build up Canadian sovereignty, not give it up."
The conception of sovereignty based on subjecting Canada to the U.S. war machine which is committing such heinous crimes at this time is unconscionable. The cartel parties which are absurdly justifying Canada's militarization and war preparations under the hoax that they defend Canadian sovereignty by using ill-gotten positions of power and privilege will have to answer for their appeasement of the monstrous crimes the U.S./Israel and its allies, including Canada, are committing against humankind.
This article was published in
Volume 56 Number 7 - March 13, 2026
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/TML2026/Articles/T560071.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca