OTTAWA – Ottawa is insisting it hasn’t sent lethal weapons to Israel, days after the release of a report stating Israeli customs data indicates Canadian arms are still being exported there regularly.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says items that the Israel Tax Authority identified as “bullets” were actually “paintball-style projectiles” that cannot be used in combat, even though the bullets were identified by the authority 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 identified multiple shipments from Canada to Israel, including one identified as “tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles” or parts of such vehicles.
Anand calls the report “flawed” and insists that Canada still blocks military export permits for any materials that could be used in Gaza.
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 suggest the government misled Parliament on what Canadian firms are shipping to Israel.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2025.
