Canada sued by pro-Palestinian advocates over military exports to Israel
Lawsuit in Canadian federal court claims ‘substantial risk’ of war crimes posed by arms shipments since October 7; government says only ‘non-lethal equipment’ being shipped
OTTAWA, Canada — Pro-Palestinian and human rights advocates in Canada on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the federal government to stop it from allowing companies to export military goods and technology to Israel.
The lawsuit, filed in a federal court, argues that Canadian laws prevent military exports to Israel because there is “substantial risk” they could be used to violate international law and commit serious acts of violence against women and children, according to a statement from the applicants.
Throughout nearly five months of war, triggered by Hamas’s October 7 onslaught on southern Israel, Ottawa has authorized at least C$28.5 million ($21.0 million) worth of new permits for military exports to the Jewish state, more than the value of such permits allowed in the previous year, the applicants said.
The applicants include the Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights group, the Palestinian organization Al-Haq, and four individuals.
“Our policy on export permits has not changed. Canada has one of the strongest export controls systems in the world, and respect for human rights is enshrined in our export controls legislation,” a spokesperson for the Global Affairs Canada department said in a written statement.
“In recent years, the government has not received, and therefore not approved, any export permits for weapons to Israel. The permits issued since October 7th, and in fact all permits that are currently open, are for non-lethal equipment,” the spokesperson said.
Canada’s NATO allies, the United States and the Netherlands, also face lawsuits over the Gaza war. Last month, a Dutch court ordered the government to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over concerns they were being used to violate international law.
Israel’s military campaign has prompted regular pro-Palestinian protests in major Canadian cities. Last week, demonstrators gathered at gun maker Colt Canada’s facility in Kitchener, Ontario.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has consistently said Israel has the right to defend itself after the Hamas assault in October. Senior officials, though, have called for an immediate and sustained ceasefire in the conflict.
Hamas’s October 7 assault on the Gaza border communities saw thousands of gunmen led by the Palestinian terror group kill nearly 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and take over 250 hostages.
Vowing to dismantle Hamas, Israel mounted an unprecedented ground and air offensive on the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s offensive has seen about half the Strip’s residences destroyed, displacing over a million people, many of whom face severe risk of starvation. The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 30,000 people in the Strip have been killed in the fighting so far, a figure that cannot be independently verified and includes some 13,000 Hamas terrorists Israel says it has killed in battle, as well as some 1,000 gunmen killed inside Israel on October 7.
