(Ottawa) The Canadian government refuses to comment on the possible export of munitions manufactured in Quebec to Israel, via the United States.
Asked several times, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) took almost a week to break its silence.
“The Department will not comment on a potential U.S. foreign military sale,” spokesman John Babcock finally said Wednesday.
He was keen to point out that Ottawa had not approved any new arms export licenses to Israel since January 8.
And “that remains the government’s approach,” he said.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The General Dynamics plant in Quebec is the prime contractor for the delivery of munitions to Israel by the United States, according to a statement from the US Department of Defense.
The Biden administration proposed last Tuesday to the US Congress to give its seal of approval to the purchase of 50,000 munitions by the Hebrew state.
If the transaction were approved, the majority of these mortar shells would be manufactured on Quebec soil, according to the press release from the American Department of Defense.
“The prime contractor will be General Dynamics Defense Products and Tactical Systems, located in Quebec, Canada,” it reads.
A representative of the company’s Quebec branch referred questions to The Press to a manager at the company’s headquarters in Florida.
The latter had not yet provided details on the potential transaction as of Wednesday.
NDP criticizes project
The New Democratic Party (NDP) has urged the Trudeau government to intervene to block the proposed contract.
“Canada must not contribute to the genocide in Gaza with weapons made here,” said MP Heather McPherson.
By continuing to allow arms sales to Israel, including through loopholes allowing their transit through the United States, Canada risks being complicit in war crimes.
Heather McPherson, NDP MP
The Canadian government assures that no lethal military equipment has been sent to Israeli forces since October 7.
And since January 8, Canada has stopped giving the green light to the export of so-called non-lethal military equipment for the Israeli defense forces.
The decision was ratified by a vote in the Commons on March 18 – although there remains some uncertainty over the terms used in the motion, including what “transfer of other arms exports” means.
The Liberals, the New Democrats and the Bloc Québécois voted for it, while the Conservatives were opposed.
The adoption of the motion sparked the ire of Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
“It is regrettable that the Canadian government is taking a step that undermines Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas terrorists,” he lamented on X.
The possibility that Canadian arms manufacturers could circumvent a freeze on exports to Israel by routing them through the United States has often been raised by peace and pro-Palestinian groups.