Canada’s foreign policy threatens internal affairs
Controversy erupted in Canada on Monday and Tuesday after its parliament passed a non-binding motion to cease arms trade with Israel. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly promised this would become policy.
She told the Toronto Star on Tuesday that it was a “real thing.”
Jewish organizations and Conservative Party politicians slammed the move as rewarding Hamas and abandoning an ally. Jewish Liberal Party MP for Mount Royal Anthony Housefather told Canadian media he is “thinking” about his future with the caucus. The New Democratic Party (NDP), which submitted the motion, is crowing about victory, having forced the Liberal Party to submit to its demands.
While the news raised eyebrows in both directions, little has changed. In fact, there was already in practice a degree of an arms “ban” policy; this is just a formalization.
In all likelihood, this is not a major policy shift but foreign policy red meat thrown to the NDP tiger to keep it sated so it won’t turn on the Liberals’ shaky minority government.
Joly emphasized that Canada already has a limited arms trade with Israel.
“I’d like to reiterate that Canada already has a very strict export permit system; every request is examined case by case,” said Joly. “Since Oct. 7, we did not approve any permits for lethal products, and given the rapid change in the situation on the ground, we have not approved any permits since Jan. 8.”
This raises the question: Does this policy suspend any permits approved or trade deals in progress?
The opposition motion originally called for Ottawa to “suspend all trade in military goods and technology” and “increase efforts to stop the illegal trade of arms, including to Hamas.”
Controversial last-minute amendments pushed by the Liberal party – agreed on with the NDP – changed it to “cease the further authorization and transfer of arms exports to Israel to ensure compliance with Canada’s arms export regime and increase efforts to stop the illegal trade of arms, including to Hamas.”
If the government follows the motion, the “further” authorization would not suspend those already approved. Defense Minister Bill Blair told the Star that “there are a number of existing contracts that are already in place but this was a going-forward basis,” and he urged those who are anxious about it to examine the resolution closely.
The resolution says that the cessation was to “ensure compliance with Canada’s arms export regime,” governed by the Export and Import Permits Act and the Arms Trade Treaty, which limit Canada’s export of military items if they upset peace and security or facilitate the violation of international law and human rights. If the government finds this to be an issue with Israel or a certain product, the permits won’t be issued.
The NDP seems to view this as a great victory, and the arms embargo is the crown jewel – regardless of whether this policy introduces anything new into Canadian foreign affairs.
“Thanks to our NDP motion, Canada is the first G7 country to stop sending weapons to [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s extremist government,” said NDP Edmonton Strathcona MP Heather McPherson, who led the push for the motion.
“The vote is in and we have forced the Liberals to... stop selling arms to the Israeli government,” said NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.
WHEN THE motion was introduced, the focus was not on the arms trade but on a much more dramatic call to recognize a Palestinian state.
The Liberal Party has had a minority government since 2021 and has relied on an NDP confidence-and-supply agreement. Keeping the NDP happy and providing them with the appearance of being impactful to their progressive base is in their interest.
Large-scale anti-Israel demonstrations have plagued Canada since Oct. 7, with escalating protests targeting Jewish institutions and holy places. Yet Canada also has a strong, activist Jewish community, with prominent Jewish politicians in the Liberal, Conservative, and NDP caucuses. Israel is an ally and a viable economic and diplomatic partner on the world stage.
Throughout the debate, Joly demonstrated how the Liberal Party’s game plan was to try and satisfy both sides, equating the rise of antisemitism and Islamaphobia in Canada. Yet, recent Toronto hate crime statistics show a minimal increase in anti-Muslim acts, especially when compared to antisemitism. Joly assured one side that Canada would restore UNRWA funding while promising the other that it would cooperate with an investigation into the agency.
“We face pressure to pick sides, forced to believe that if we speak up for one, of course, surely we’re against the other,” Joly said. This one sentence sums up the evasiveness and unclear position that the government has taken.
Even if the ban policy comes into effect on the harshest terms, in 2021, Canada’s military product exports to Israel were worth around $21 million. Israel’s defense budget is in the billions.
Canada’s “arms embargo” is probably foreign policy theater for domestic audiences, but the show can only go on until the audience either realizes it’s a farce and gets up and leaves or gets upset at the slights and throws tomatoes.