Canada’s New Government Must Confront the Genocide in Gaza
April 29th, 2025
Justice For All Canada acknowledges the results of Canada’s 45th general election and the appointment of Mark Carney as Prime Minister. As a registered NGO with UN consultative status and an active federal lobbyist organization in Canada, we advocate for the prevention of genocide and mass atrocity crimes targeting Muslim minorities globally. Given the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the institutionalized apartheid system enforced throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, our campaign on Palestine is a core advocacy focus. Alongside civil society and impacted communities, we are attentive to Carney’s select recent statements on international law and the rights of Palestinians and expect that his government’s term will reflect those commitments in measurable policy decisions.
Today, any response to the Occupied Palestinian Territory that falls short of full diplomatic and economic consequences cannot be seen as adequate. Israel’s ongoing military assault in Gaza and the West Bank has reached a level of systematic brutality that numerous international experts have classified as genocidal. In the month following the collapse of the March 2025 ceasefire, renewed Israeli bombardments have killed thousands, destroyed hospitals, and directly targeted humanitarian workers. UN staff are no longer able to remain safely on the ground. At least 408 aid workers have been killed, including 284 from UNRWA and 34 from the Palestine Red Crescent Society. Fifteen paramedics and rescue workers were recently found dead in Rafah after being buried under sand alongside their destroyed ambulances. These events are direct consequences of Israel’s entrenched policy of total warfare on a civilian population, implemented without legal restraint and enabled by international inaction.
Canada cannot continue to remain legally exposed in the face of this violence. Under both the Arms Trade Treaty and its own Export and Import Permits Act, Canada is prohibited from authorizing the export of military goods if there is a significant risk that the items could be used to commit or support serious violations of international law. This includes genocidal acts, war crimes and crimes against humanity, all of which have been documented to have been committed by Israel. Yet hundreds of Canadian military export permits to Israel remain active, including millions of dollars of “non-lethal” military items that are still being transferred. Canadian companies continue to manufacture components for F-35 fighter jets used in Gaza, and in December 2023, Canada purchased $43 million in Israeli Spike missiles—despite their known use in civilian attacks against Palestinians.
The distinction between “lethal” and “non-lethal” arms by the government has no formal definition under Canadian or international law. A sensor used in a missile or a tail wing for a fighter jet could fall under the category of “non-lethal”. This categorization by the government carries little weight, as exporting any military equipment carries the high risk of facilitating lethal operations in some way.
If Canada wishes to be taken seriously in its stated commitment to preventing atrocities and upholding human rights, it must apply the same standard here that it applied in 2022 when it suspended virtually all military exports to Russia the very same day it invaded Ukraine. In light of Israel’s ongoing violations of international law, the time for real policy implementation is now.
We call on the new government to immediately implement a full two-way arms embargo on Israel. This includes:
Justice For All Canada will continue to engage Parliament to ensure that Canada's obligations under international law are no longer selectively applied. Preventing genocide requires action, not exception.
Works Cited
Carney, Mark [@MarkJCarney]. “The UN World Food Programme just announced that its food stocks in Gaza have run out because of the Israeli Government's blockade — food...” X (formerly Twitter), 25 Apr. 2025, x.com/MarkJCarney/status/1915892388721295618.
Justice For All Canada. Canada’s Military Trade with Israel: The Case for Enacting a Two-Way Arms Embargo. Apr. 2025, www.justiceforallcanada.org/arms-embargo-report-apr2025.html.
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. “Occupied Palestinian Territory: With Every New Day of Impunity More Innocent Lives Are Lost, Warn UN Experts.” 7 Apr. 2025, www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/04/occupied-palestinian-territory-every-new-day-impunity-more-innocent-lives.
Justice For All Canada acknowledges the results of Canada’s 45th general election and the appointment of Mark Carney as Prime Minister. As a registered NGO with UN consultative status and an active federal lobbyist organization in Canada, we advocate for the prevention of genocide and mass atrocity crimes targeting Muslim minorities globally. Given the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the institutionalized apartheid system enforced throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, our campaign on Palestine is a core advocacy focus. Alongside civil society and impacted communities, we are attentive to Carney’s select recent statements on international law and the rights of Palestinians and expect that his government’s term will reflect those commitments in measurable policy decisions.
Today, any response to the Occupied Palestinian Territory that falls short of full diplomatic and economic consequences cannot be seen as adequate. Israel’s ongoing military assault in Gaza and the West Bank has reached a level of systematic brutality that numerous international experts have classified as genocidal. In the month following the collapse of the March 2025 ceasefire, renewed Israeli bombardments have killed thousands, destroyed hospitals, and directly targeted humanitarian workers. UN staff are no longer able to remain safely on the ground. At least 408 aid workers have been killed, including 284 from UNRWA and 34 from the Palestine Red Crescent Society. Fifteen paramedics and rescue workers were recently found dead in Rafah after being buried under sand alongside their destroyed ambulances. These events are direct consequences of Israel’s entrenched policy of total warfare on a civilian population, implemented without legal restraint and enabled by international inaction.
Canada cannot continue to remain legally exposed in the face of this violence. Under both the Arms Trade Treaty and its own Export and Import Permits Act, Canada is prohibited from authorizing the export of military goods if there is a significant risk that the items could be used to commit or support serious violations of international law. This includes genocidal acts, war crimes and crimes against humanity, all of which have been documented to have been committed by Israel. Yet hundreds of Canadian military export permits to Israel remain active, including millions of dollars of “non-lethal” military items that are still being transferred. Canadian companies continue to manufacture components for F-35 fighter jets used in Gaza, and in December 2023, Canada purchased $43 million in Israeli Spike missiles—despite their known use in civilian attacks against Palestinians.
The distinction between “lethal” and “non-lethal” arms by the government has no formal definition under Canadian or international law. A sensor used in a missile or a tail wing for a fighter jet could fall under the category of “non-lethal”. This categorization by the government carries little weight, as exporting any military equipment carries the high risk of facilitating lethal operations in some way.
If Canada wishes to be taken seriously in its stated commitment to preventing atrocities and upholding human rights, it must apply the same standard here that it applied in 2022 when it suspended virtually all military exports to Russia the very same day it invaded Ukraine. In light of Israel’s ongoing violations of international law, the time for real policy implementation is now.
We call on the new government to immediately implement a full two-way arms embargo on Israel. This includes:
- Cancel all remaining active military export permits;
- Close the loopholes allowing weapons transfers to Israel through the U.S.;
- Cease all current and future purchases of Israeli military equipment and technology.
Justice For All Canada will continue to engage Parliament to ensure that Canada's obligations under international law are no longer selectively applied. Preventing genocide requires action, not exception.
Works Cited
Carney, Mark [@MarkJCarney]. “The UN World Food Programme just announced that its food stocks in Gaza have run out because of the Israeli Government's blockade — food...” X (formerly Twitter), 25 Apr. 2025, x.com/MarkJCarney/status/1915892388721295618.
Justice For All Canada. Canada’s Military Trade with Israel: The Case for Enacting a Two-Way Arms Embargo. Apr. 2025, www.justiceforallcanada.org/arms-embargo-report-apr2025.html.
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. “Occupied Palestinian Territory: With Every New Day of Impunity More Innocent Lives Are Lost, Warn UN Experts.” 7 Apr. 2025, www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/04/occupied-palestinian-territory-every-new-day-impunity-more-innocent-lives.