NDP pitches tighter arms controls, citing U.S. loophole for arms exports to Israel

NDP MP and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship critic Jenny Kwan speaks in the foyer of the House of Commons in Ottawa, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

OTTAWA — NDP MP Jenny Kwan says she will ask Parliament to close a loophole that could allow the U.S. to purchase Canadian weapons for Israel, despite a ban on exporting various forms of arms to that country.

Ottawa and Washington have a defence production agreement that allows the U.S. to buy some Canadian arms and send them abroad while bypassing some of Canada’s arms control protocols.

Kwan said Thursday she will table a bill later this month to end that workaround.

“Closing this loophole is about making our words mean something, about refusing to profit from bloodshed and the killings of civilians,” she said at a news conference on Parliament Hill.

“It is about ensuring Canada is never complicit in atrocities.”

While Ottawa has restricted arms exports to Israel since early 2024, the Liberals originally said the ban applied to lethal arms -- before confirming that sales of arms to Israel used to defend civilians would still be allowed.

Advocates want a total arms embargo on Israel. They argue Ottawa is already falling short on its promise to block sales of Canadian arms that might be used in Gaza, while the government insists it has held this line.

The government was criticized last fall when the U.S. announced plans to send Quebec-made ammunition to Israel, a sale that Ottawa said ultimately did not proceed.

Kwan insists Ottawa needs to be much more transparent about its arms exports and said the NDP still wants a full arms embargo on Israel.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 2025.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press