Opposition to Canada's Stepped Up Military Aid to Israel

After weeks of questions from independent media outlet The Maple and human rights advocates, Global Affairs Canada admitted that it has authorized new permits for unspecified military exports to Israel since October 7, 2023. In a statement sent to The Maple at the end of January, Global Affairs described the goods as "non-lethal equipment." An arms monitoring expert told The Maple that that term does not have a fixed legal definition, meaning that the exports could include items that are being used by Israel in its brutal genocide on Gaza. The Maple reported on February 10 that "The Trudeau government authorized at least $28.5 million of new permits for military exports to Israel during the first two months of the state's brutal war on Gaza, data supplied [...] by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) shows." The amount of arms exported in these two months alone exceeds the $26 million of military exports to Israel in 2021, at that time the highest amount in 30 years.

The release of figures from GAC follows the January 26 ruling of the International Court of Justice ordering provisional measures to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, that apply not only to Israel but all those countries who are signatories to the Genocide Convention, including Canada. Since the ruling, various organizations have called on the Trudeau Liberal government to uphold its obligations under international law.

For example, on January 26, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) issued a statement following the ICJ ruling calling on the Canadian government to take all steps necessary to ensure Israel's compliance with the ICJ decision and to impose an arms embargo on Israel. CUPE also repeated its call for an immediate ceasefire.

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This article was published in

Volume 54 Number 10 - February 13, 2024

Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS54105.HTM

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