Activists push for arms embargo against Israel, targeting Moncton firm

Activists renewed their demands for the feds to impose an arms embargo on Israel over the weekend, with protests taking place in Moncton and across the country.

Protests focussed on Canadian companies that are involved in the construction of F-35 fighter jets, which the American weapons and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin sells to a number of countries, including Israel.

Activists state that the Israeli Air Force is using its fleet of F-35s to drop U.S.-made 2,000-pound bombs on Palestinian and Lebanese civilians. Activists say the advanced fighter jets contain millions of dollars worth of technology made by Canadian companies and subsidiaries.

In Moncton, protesters gathered outside of Apex Industries on Millennium Boulevard, which builds parts for the F-35 program. Company CEO Keith Parlee previously told the NB Media Co-op that Apex has “no control” over how its products are used.

Carol Scott, a member of Citizens for Peace-Greater Moncton, said activists from Saint John, Fredericton, P.E.I. and elsewhere in the region were expected at Saturday’s rally in Moncton. Protests also took place in B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia at “facilities and companies producing and profiting off of the F-35,” according to Arms Embargo Now.

The campaign was initiated by a coalition that includes Palestinian and Jewish organizations and groups representing organized labour and the anti-war movement, according to its website.

“By targetting Canadian manufacturers involved in the F-35 supply chain, we are making Canada’s complicity in Israel’s violence undeniable, pushing back on government lies, and demanding government action to ensure that the flow of arms to Israel be cut off,” the campaign website states.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly reportedly stated in September that Canadian-made weapons would be prohibited from reaching the Gaza Strip, after the U.S. State Department approved a purchase of mortar cartridges containing fuses made in Quebec.

The federal Liberals and NDP passed a non-binding resolution in March to “cease the further authorization and transfer of arms exports to Israel” but permits approved before then remained in effect. Joly has stated that she also suspended 30 existing permits over the summer.

But activists say more than 200 permits for military goods remain active. “They haven’t suspended or cancelled 88 per cent of the permits currently being used to ship arms to Israel,” the campaign website states.

Activists also say the “vast majority” of arms exports don’t need an expert permit due to a loophole for military transfers to Israel through the U.S., which is by far the world’s biggest arms supplier to Israel. Canada also continues to import Israeli weapons “marketed as ‘battle-tested’ on Palestinians,'” according to activists.

The NB Media Co-op has reached out to Global Affairs Canada and the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for comment.

Joly is currently in Washington, D.C. “to discuss trade, investment, and security” with American leaders, including Republican and Democratic senators, Global Affairs Canada said in a media release on Wednesday.

“Throughout her engagements, Minister Joly will reaffirm Canada’s commitment to working closely with the United States in North America and globally to uphold the rules-based international order.”

In the Gaza Strip, Israeli attacks reportedly killed at least 50 Palestinians and wounded 110 others on Tuesday.

David Gordon Koch is a journalist with the NB Media Co-op. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Stations and Users (CACTUS).