Canada is still sending weapons to Israel – by supporting Bill C-233 you can help put a stop to it

Canada is still sending weapons to Israel. This despite more than two years of active genocide by Israel in Gaza that has resulted in the deaths of over 70,000 Palestinians, injured more than 170,000, destroyed or damaged 80 percent of all structures in Gaza, and displaced nearly the entire population.

While Canada has stopped issuing permits for new transfers of weapons and components going directly to Israel, a second channel by which these transfers are made is still widely active. That is, sending them first to the United States, where they are further assembled before being shipped to Israel.

What exactly does this look like, and where are the weapons and components coming from?

According to the Arms Embargo Now coalition's latest report, here's a snapshot of the weapons and components that are being shipped from Canada to Israel, via the United States:

Canada is supplying critical components for Israel's F-35 fighter jet fleet: The F-35 is a weapon that is central to Israel's campaign of destruction in Gaza, where some estimate the total explosives dropped since 2023 are equivalent to more than six nuclear bombs. The companies building parts for Israeli F-35s are in cities all across Canada, from coast to coast – including Delta, British Columbia; Moncton, New Brunswick; and Mississauga, Cambridge, and Kitchener, Ontario. Parts manufactured in Canada are sent on to the United States, where they are added to new F-35s destined for Israel, or the parts are transited from the United States directly to Israel, where they are used for repairs.

Canada is manufacturing explosives and artillery components that are being sent to Israel: A Canadian company with operations in both Repentigny and Valleyfield, Quebec, is manufacturing propellants that are used to launch artillery, and is building mortar cartridges, and other explosive ordinance, which are sent to the United States for final assembly before being shipped to Israel.

Canada is transiting TNT from Poland that is packed into bombs destined for Israel: Through Port Saguenay in La Baie, Quebec, Canada is receiving shipments of TNT from Poland, which is transited to the United States, where it is packed into a range of artillery, bombs, and rockets, before being sent to Israel. This includes the 2,000-pound "bunker buster" bombs that Israel is dropping on civilian homes.

Water and sanitation systems have been devastated, including severe damage to Sheikh Radwan Basin — Gaza's largest rainwater catchment protecting nearby neighborhoods from flooding.

Photo: Mosab Al-Borno/ Alef Multimedia/ Oxfam

New legislation could ensure that made-in-Canada weapons no longer get to Israel via the United States

In the Fall of 2025, Vancouver East Member of Parliament Jenny Kwan tabled legislation - Bill C-233, An Act to Amend the Export and Import Permits Act – that, if passed, will put more oversight on the weapons and components that Canada is sending to the United States. Weapons and their parts manufactured in Canada and destined for countries other than the US require close scrutiny for how they will be used, with an export permit required from Global Affairs Canada. However, this is not the case for the United States. Canada currently exempts nearly all shipments of weapons to the United States from our oversight regime – the logic being that they are a close ally and that our values are aligned.

Given how these weapons exported to the United States and on to Israel are being used presently – in violation of international law – clearly the values of Canada and the United States are not aligned.

We've seen up close the unparalleled destruction and absolute misery that Israel's genocide has wrought on Gaza and all Palestinians. That Canada is still a key partner in making this destruction and misery possible is inexcusable. Passing Bill C-233 is a small step Canada can take to reduce our complicity in genocide and to ensure we are in full compliance with international law.

However, the Liberal government is not currently supportive of the legislation, so we need your help to ensure it passes at second reading when it comes before the House of Commons for a vote in late February.