Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly made headlines this week by announcing that she had suspended “around 30” export permits for sales of military goods to Israel over the summer.
Speaking at a Liberal Party caucus retreat in British Columbia, Joly also suggested that her government would oppose the potential transfer of mortar cartridges manufactured by the Quebec-based General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Inc. (GD-OTS) to Israel via the United States.
The potential $61 million U.S. contract was announced by the U.S. State Department last month. It highlighted a glaring loophole in the Trudeau government’s claim that it had paused authorizations of new permits for military exports to Israel.
Joly did not explicitly promise to block that potential transfer in her latest comments, but insisted “we will not have any form of arms or parts of arms be sent to Gaza,” and said that her ministry was in contact with GD-OTS.
Her latest comments mark a shift from previously claiming that concerns about the potential deal were “not based in fact.” According to reporting by The Globe and Mail in August, Joly initially “denied” that any such deal was in the works, and her ministry said it would “not speculate” on the potential transfer when asked about it by The Maple.
Those comments followed months of Joly claiming that all Canadian military exports to Israel were “non-lethal,” a term with no legal definition in Canada’s export control regime.
Joly’s latest comments referred to Israel’s use of military goods in Gaza, where Israel is currently waging a brutal bombing campaign that has so far killed at least 41,000 Palestinians and inflicted a humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged enclave.
But Israel is also ramping up military operations in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli raids have so far killed at least 692 people, including 159 children, since last October. The International Court of Justice, which is also currently examining Israel’s war on Gaza as a potential case of genocide, issued an advisory opinion in July that found Israel’s presence in the occupied territories is unlawful and should end “as rapidly as possible.”
Joly did not elaborate which companies were the holders of the approximately 30 permits she claimed to have suspended, or explain what kinds of specific military goods they covered.
According to documents published by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (FAAE) in July, there were 210 active military export permits for sales of goods to Israeli end users, including Israeli arms companies. Some of those permits had expiry dates as late as the end of 2025.
In an emailed statement to The Maple, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) did not specify exactly how many permits had been suspended, and refused to provide any details about the types of permit that were suspended.
“The department is in contact with those involved with the possible Foreign Military Sale by the United States,” the statement continued, referring to the potential GD-OTS transfer. “Global Affairs Canada does not comment on individual permits or permit applications.”
Joly’s full comments were as follows:
“First and foremost, our policy has been clear since January 8, we and I have not accepted any form of arms export permits to be sent to Israel. And so following that, I asked my department to look into any existing permits of arms or parts of arms that could have been sent to Israel. Following that, I suspended this summer around 30 existing permits of Canadian companies and we’re asking questions to these companies. Meanwhile, as for the question regarding General Dynamics, our policy is clear. We will not have any form of arms or parts of arms be sent to Gaza, period. How they’re being sent and where they’re being sent is irrelevant. And so therefore my position is clear. The position of the government is clear, and we’re in contact with General Dynamics.”
Video via CPAC.
She did not say if any other active permits might be suspended.
Kelsey Gallagher, a researcher with the arms monitoring group Project Ploughshares, told The Maple he questions what regulatory procedure the government of Canada might use in order to stop the potential GD-OTS transfer, given that the goods would likely be exported without Israel being named by the company as the “end user.”
“Is this a situation where the government of Canada is indeed moving forward with suspending or dissolving actual permits, or is this some sort of ad hoc arrangement?,” he said.
“The worry is that this is going to be a one-off when the media are paying attention to this sort of potential arms deal when, if there is a level of prospective risk with sending mortar rounds to the U.S., that risk would also be evident in other arms transfers through the U.S.”
Gallagher cited the example of Canadian-made components that are shipped to the U.S. and fitted into F-35 fighter jets. The completed aircraft are then ultimately sold on to other countries including Israel, which has used the jet in its bombing of Gaza.
“Suspending permits is one step in the right direction — one step further than suspending permit authorizations — but it’s also one step not far enough, because we want to see permits cancelled,” Gallagher explained.
In March, the Trudeau government said it would pause authorizations of new permits for exports of military goods to Israel. However, this measure initially did not apply to any of the approximately $95 million worth of export permits approved before January 8, or seemingly goods that flow to Israel via the United States and other third countries.
For Gallagher, the very fact that the potential GD-OTS deal was on the table in the first place is emblematic of Canada’s inadequate regulation of military goods that are shipped to other countries via the United States.
“For the government of Canada to be scrambling to address this very serious issue after this deal has been announced by a foreign government I just think is embarrassing, and I think it really speaks to how serious these regulatory gaps are.”
Alex Cosh is the news editor of The Maple.
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