Days after its release, Ottawa calls report on lethal exports to Israel ‘flawed’

Corey Balsam of Independent Jewish Voices, on screen middle, speaks alongside Yara Shoufani of Palestinian Youth Movement, right screen, and Alex Paterson of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, left screen, are recorded as they hold a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA — Ottawa is insisting it hasn’t been allowing exports of lethal weapons to Israel -- days after the release of a report that says Israeli customs data indicates Canadian arms are still being exported there regularly.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Friday items that the Israel Tax Authority identified in customs data as “bullets” were actually “paintball-style projectiles” that cannot be used in combat.

Israeli customs officials had identified the bullets as “munitions of war and parts thereof.”

The government’s statement comes three days after a coalition of Canadian advocates for Palestinians issued a report that pointed to multiple shipments from Canada to Israel, including one identified as “tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles” or parts of such vehicles.

Anand did not mention that shipment in her Friday statement, which cited three examples of claims in the report she said “are misleading and significantly misrepresent the facts.”

The groups behind the report also cited shipments of “parts and accessories” from Canada that Israeli tax authorities described as “arms and ammunition.”

Anand, who spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio Friday about the security situation in Haiti and the Middle East, called the report “flawed” and insisted that Canada still blocks military export permits for any materials that could be used in Gaza.

Ottawa made that pledge last September. Anand said the pledge actually goes back to January 2024, when Canada stopped issuing new permits for exports of military goods to Israel.

“Canada has drawn, and will continue to draw, a hard line,” she said in a written statement.

“We will not allow Canadian-made weapons to fuel this conflict, in any way.”

Parliament voted in favour of a non-binding motion in March 2024 to halt new arms permits for Israel, and the government subsequently announced a review of existing export permits.

The groups behind Tuesday’s report suggested that the government misled Parliament on what Canadian firms are shipping to Israel, and the NDP demanded more clarity.

Pro-Palestinian advocacy groups and the NDP have called for a full arms embargo and suspension of some or all trade with Israel.

They argue that Israel can use Canadian-made components such as lenses and cameras in the Gaza war and in military campaigns in the West Bank, despite Ottawa saying Israel is violating international law in both theatres.

The groups who authored the report echoed those concerns in a response to Anand’s statement.

“Canada claims to have halted arms sales to Israel, and yet Canadian weapons continue to fuel this genocide. This is more of the same - vague and shifting assertions from the government, particularly around permits, that twist and turn to avoid accountability,” reads the Friday response.

The groups, which include World Beyond War, Palestinian Youth Movement, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, and the Arms Embargo Now Campaign, say there is still no proof that Canadian arms and components aren’t ending up in Gaza.

“This baseless assertion defies reality and conveniently sidesteps the absence of any system to verify it,” they wrote.

The groups further argued that things like paintball-style projectiles would have been labelled as such by Israeli tax authorities, as there are other customs codes for non-lethal arms.

In her statement, Anand said there would be “severe legal sanctions” for anyone who sends military exports to Gaza without a valid permit, and Ottawa continues to withhold permits for lethal aid and weapons that could be used in Gaza.

“We will not hesitate to ensure that those who violate this law face legal consequences, which include fines, seizures and criminal prosecution,” she said.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press