Twenty-six Liberal-appointed senators are publicly challenging the federal government’s stance on military exports to Israel, calling for an immediate arms embargo amid ongoing conflict in Gaza.In a signed petition, the senators expressed “grave concern” over what they believe are continued Canadian military exports to Israel, despite repeated federal denials. “Canada must halt all arms transfers where there is a substantial risk they could be used in serious violation of international law,” the petition stated. “This is not optional. Canada has a legal obligation to act.”.The signatories — representing roughly 25% of the Senate — did not accuse Israel of genocide, nor did they provide direct evidence of lethal Canadian arms reaching the region. However, they claimed suspicions remain that “Canadian-made weapons and components continue to be exported to Israel.” The senators called such transfers “a betrayal of our international commitments and of the universal human rights that Canadians expect us to uphold.”Cabinet and the Department of Foreign Affairs have consistently maintained that Canada has not exported lethal military equipment to Israel in years. .Deputy Foreign Minister David Morrison, in an August 2023 report to the Commons foreign affairs committee, confirmed that only four small arms export permits to Israel have been issued in the last 30 years, with the most recent in 2018.Morrison said that since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, Canada had approved $70.5 million in non-lethal military exports, including radar components, circuit boards, satellite software and GPS anti-jam technology. “Canada has not issued any permits for items destined to Israel for major conventional arms or light weapons,” he wrote..Then-International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen also insisted last year that no arms had been sent. “We haven’t exported arms to Israel in 30 years,” he told reporters.The senators behind the petition include Yvonne Boyer, Kim Pate, Mary Coyle, Rosemary Moodie, Suze Youance, Yuen Pau Woo and others representing Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and other provinces and territories.
