Heather McPherson on Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

With regard to Canada’s military trade with Israel: (a) is Global Affairs Canada (GAC) aware of any evidence of use of Canadian military goods or technology, including components, by Israel in the current war; (b) has GAC conducted an internal review of previously authorized arms export and brokering permits to Israel since October 7, 2023, and, if so, (i) what branch or sector organized, (ii) what was the outcome of, the review, and if not, why not; (c) has GAC reviewed any applications for arms export and brokering permits to Israel since October 7, 2023; (d) has GAC issued any arms export permits to Israel since October 7, 2023; (e) has GAC reviewed its assessment on export permits to Israel in light of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the situation in the West Bank; (f) has GAC identified any serious violations of international humanitarian law or international human rights law since October 7, 2023; (g) in GAC’s analysis, do the deaths of over 6,500 children and 4,000 women amount to serious violence against women and children; (h) has GAC reviewed its risk assessment of small arms exports to Israel given reports that the Israeli government has been arming extremist settlers in the West Bank, and given reports of Israeli soldiers participating alongside settlers in violent acts against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank; (i) how does GAC define “serious” when assessing risk of (i) a serious violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, (ii) serious acts of violence against women and children, under section 7 of the EIPA; (j) has GAC sought to mitigate the risk that Canadian arms exports to Israel could be used in serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and, if so, what were those mitigation measures; (k) have Canadian officials ever denied an arms export or brokering permit for the transfer of military goods to Israel, and if so, when and under what circumstances; (l) what assessments has GAC conducted with regard to Canada’s obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty and violence in Israel and Palestine since October 7, 2023; (m) since 2015, have GAC officials conducted a review to determine the risk associated with Canada’s arms exports to Israel, and if they have been used in serious violations of international humanitarian law or international human rights law in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT), and, if so, what were the findings of this or these reviews; (n) are Israeli companies vetted for connection to serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law in their bids for government contracts; (o) does Canada currently procure military goods or technology that is “battle-tested” in the OPT; (p) has Canada conducted an assessment of Elbit Systems for risk of complicity in breaches of international law in the occupied Palestinian territories; (q) given Israel’s arms trade relationship with Azerbaijan and their involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, has GAC, since 2021, reviewed arms trade export and brokering permits given Israel’s arms trade relationship with Azerbaijan and their involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict; and (r) if the answer to (q) is affirmative, what branch or section handled the review, and what was the difference in risk evaluations between the export permits for Türkiye and export permits issued for Israel?