Ottawa slow-walking Israel's request for permission to import armoured vehicles: sources

The federal government is deliberately slow-walking a request from Israel for per‐ mission to import Canadi‐ an-made armoured patrol vehicles, two sources tell Radio-Canada.

Shortly after the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israeli citizens - which left about 1,200 people dead and some 250 others taken hostage - the Israeli govern‐ ment sent a request to the office of Foreign Minister

Mélanie Joly for clearance to import about thirty ar‐ moured patrol vehicles from Ontario manufacturer Roshel.

Ottawa must grant the necessary export licenses be‐ fore the transaction can be completed - but Israel's re‐ quest has remained in limbo ever since, as the federal gov‐ ernment strives to strike a delicate domestic balance on its position on the IsraelHamas conflict, sources say.

As reported by the Toron‐ to Star, the federal govern‐ ment also has withheld ap‐ proval for exports to Israel of non-lethal military goods and technology - such as night vi‐ sion goggles - because of concerns the equipment could be used in human rights violations.

A source told CBC News those in government re‐ viewing such applications have raised concerns about the possibility of the equip‐ ment being misused. The source said the reviewers are struggling to draw firm con‐ clusions due to the con‐ stantly changing situation in Gaza.

As a result, no permits to export non-lethal military goods and technology to Is‐ rael have been cleared in the past two months, the source said.

The federal government has not yet provided a de‐ tailed list of equipment sup‐ plied to Israel that was sent before export permits were put in limbo.

The federal government's permit pause carries both le‐ gal and political implications.

Since the Oct. 7 attack, Is‐ rael's war on Hamas has since laid waste to the Gaza Strip, killing more than 30,000 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The UN says a quarter of Gaza's

2.3 million people face star‐ vation.

If the federal government authorizes transactions of military equipment, it risks attracting the wrath of proPalestinian groups and being accused of complicity in the operations of the Israeli army in Gaza.

Roshel Inc., the company that makes the armoured ve‐ hicles, said it's been waiting for the government to make a decision on the permits for months.

"It is our understanding that these vehicles are not to be used for military pur‐ poses, but solely for do‐ mestic police operations. This has been communicated to the government of Cana‐ da," the company said in an emailed statement.

"Despite this, and multiple requests to the government of Canada, a decision on the permits for these vehicles has not been made for over three months. We have not been provided with any ex‐ planation for this delay."

For weeks, the NDP has been calling for a ban on ex‐ ports of military equipment to Israel. In a statement is‐ sued last month, the party said that a ban must be im‐ posed because of the "Ne‐ tanyahu government's brutal four-month-long assault on the people of Gaza."

"The minister has an obligation under the Arms Trade Treaty not to approve export permits for military goods and technology where there is a substantial risk of human rights abuses," NDP MP Heather McPherson said on Feb. 12.

A coalition of Canadian lawyers and citizens of Pales‐ tinian origin also filed an ac‐ tion in Federal Court at‐ tempting to force the federal government to suspend all its military exports to Israel.

NDP want all weapons export permits for Israel denied

The Centre for Israel and Jew‐ ish Affairs called the pause on non-lethal military ex‐ ports "a moral failure on the part of the Liberal govern‐ ment."

"To pause even non-lethal exports tells Israel - a democ‐ ratic ally - they're on their own in the fight for their own survival against a terrorist regime," the group wrote on.social media.

When asked if approving an export visa for the ar‐ moured vehicles would vio‐ late Canada's legal obliga‐ tions, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refused to com‐ ment.

"Canada has one of the strongest export regimes in the world and I'm not going to comment on a specific case, but we continue to make sure that all decisions are taken in the appropriate way," Trudeau said in Wind‐ sor, Ont. on Thursday.

In a statement to RadioCanada, Global Affairs Cana‐ da said it continues to review export licence applications on a case-by-case basis.

On Thursday, McPherson called on the Liberal govern‐ ment to suspend any active weapons export permits for Israel and deny any further requests that come in.

"With over 30,000 Pales‐ tinians killed in Gaza, the minister is obliged to refuse export permits for military equipment and technology where there is a substantial risk of human rights viola‐ tions, like we are seeing with Netanyahu's horrendous bombardments and ground offensive," McPherson said in a media statement.

A spokesperson for Israeli embassy said it will not com‐ ment on issues pertaining to internal Canadian proce‐ dures.