Canada is among the toughest Western countries on Israel by freezing weapons export permits

The Canadian Parliament on Monday approved a proposal on the Gaza conflict in which it asked the Government to "cease the authorization and transfer of new arms exports to Israel."

Although it was a non-binding motion, tabled by the New Democrats, a small government partner of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ottawa announced after the vote that it would halt future arms sales to Israel.

“It is a reality,” declared the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, this Tuesday.

The decision is more symbolic than effective - the new export permits for non-lethal military material were already frozen on January 8 - but it is in any case one of the most resounding messages issued by the member countries of the G- 7 to put pressure on Israel and its military offensive in Gaza.

Spain and Ireland have also demanded stronger measures from the European Commission in this regard.

Last February, appeals judges in The Hague ordered the Government of the Netherlands to stop sending F-35 aircraft parts to Israel—manufactured by the United States, but distributed from the Dutch military base in Woensdrecht.

The acting Executive of the liberal Mark Rutte announced that he would appeal the decision.

Justin Trudeau, during a speech in Parliament in Ottawa (Canada), on March 19.

DPA via Europa Press (DPA via Europa Press)

The turn in Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's foreign policy includes another key decision: after withdrawing funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) at the end of January, due to unproven accusations , from Israel to a dozen local agency workers, the North American country resumed its funding on March 8.

Canada was one of the first Western countries to support the rout led by the United States, and also one of the first to retreat.

The Ottawa Government contributed $66.5 million (€61 million) to UNRWA from 2019 to mid-2023. Canada has also supported the resolution proposals for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza presented so far — and vetoed by USA—in the UN Security Council.

The weapons provided by Canada to Israel represent a minimal percentage of the total.

Ottawa will keep in force the freeze on export permits for non-lethal military material adopted on January 8 (previous contracts were exempt) until the Government can guarantee that the weapons are used in accordance with Canadian legislation, as reported this Wednesday.

Since the Hamas attack on October 7 that sparked the war, Canada had authorized new permits worth at least $21 million, more than the total amount of such contracts awarded the previous year.

A minority government

The shift in policy towards Israel is especially contributed by the fact that the survival of the Liberal Government, in a minority, depends on the support of the left-leaning New Democrats, who demand a harder line towards Israel.

The success of Monday's vote came after a last-minute agreement between the two coalition partners.

The New Democrats had asked the Government to recognize the State of Palestine, but the Liberals drastically changed the wording of the text to indicate that Ottawa would limit itself to working towards that objective within the framework of the so-called two-state solution (literally, “working with international partners to actively pursue the goal of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, including the establishment of the State of Palestine as part of a negotiated two-State solution.

“The definition of the two-state solution [in the bill] was really important, as of course we know that Canada, as a member of the G-7, is sending a message to other G-7 countries,” he said. Minister Joly after the vote.

The head of diplomacy, however, downplayed the New Democrats' motion: “Our position has been clear, it is a position that many G-7 foreign ministers have been expressing around the world: an agreement on the hostages, a humanitarian ceasefire and humanitarian aid for Gaza.”

The New Democrats' motion — passed by 204 votes to 117, with support from the Liberals, the Bloc Québécois and the Greens — has caused divisions within Trudeau's Liberals, with three of them voting against and one He has raised the possibility of leaving the party.

In a similar way to the president of the United States, Joe Biden, Trudeau himself has traveled a path in these five months of war that goes from his initial strong support for Israel to a more critical stance that is increasingly irritated by the loss of dozens of thousands of lives and the humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding in the Strip.

The stability of his minority government depends on external support from the New Democrats, but by transferring the result of this non-binding motion to his government program he risks losing support within his ranks.

“It is a very emotional issue (…) and that is reflected in our discussions,” said Steve MacKinnon, leader of the government bench.

After the vote, two different pressure groups showed the bitter positions of public opinion on the conflict.

The Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East

lobby

, supported by part of the population of Arab and Palestinian origin, described the motion as “watered down” in a statement, but stated that it represented a “small step forward to end the Canadian complicity in Israel's genocidal war in Gaza."

On the contrary, the pressure group Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs described the result of the vote as “wrong and false” on the grounds that it establishes a moral equivalence between victims and executioners.

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