Above photo: Rally at Ben Machine factory in Vaughan, Ontario. This factory produces electro-hydraulic actuation system components for F-35 fighter jets. Ira Moon.
Demand Arms Embargo On Israel.
On Saturday November 16, hundreds of people gathered outside 16 factories and facilities across the country to expose Canada’s involvement in the production and maintenance of the F-35 fighter jets that are devastating Gaza and Lebanon, and to demand that Canada impose an immediate, two-way arms embargo on Israel. Each targeted company produces components of Lockheed Martin’s flagship war plane, which Israel is using to drop 2000 lb bombs on residential neighborhoods, schools, and refugee camps in what is already the most destructive bombing campaign of the twenty-first century.
Protests took place throughout the day at factories producing key F-35 components – including Asco in Delta BC, which manufactures wing bulkheads, the “largest single piece” of the F-35, Ben Machine Products in Vaughan, the only factory in North America able to make key components of the F-35’s electro-hydraulic actuation systems, and Ottawa-based Gastops, which is the sole manufacturer of the F-35’s engine sensors. This Day of Action was organized by the Arms Embargo Now coalition, which has been pushing the Canadian government to enact an immediate, two way arms embargo on Israel.
“Israel has used the F-35 jets extensively in its aerial bombardment of Lebanon, which has killed thousands in the last month, destroyed homes and hospitals, and displaced over a million people,” said Nancy from the Palestinian Youth Movement. “My own family in Lebanon is experiencing these horrors. My little cousins can’t go to school right now, and have to live with the constant sound of bombs. I live in Kitchener-Waterloo, and multiple factories near me are making components for those killing machines. I refuse to allow businesses in my backyard to send weapons to Israel’s genocidal project. I’m protesting at one today to demand that Canada enforce a two-way arms embargo on Israel.”
“Minister Melanie Joly is lying to journalists, politicians, and Canadians when she says that she isn’t allowing any Canadian-made weapons components to make it to Israel,” said Rachel Small, of World BEYOND War Canada. “The fact that Canadian companies produce critical parts for the F-35 warplanes decimating Gaza and Lebanon right now is just one egregious example of our ongoing complicity in Israel’s genocidal violence. The minister must immediately close the U.S.-loophole to ensure Canadian military exports cannot continue to flow to Israel, and impose a full two-way arms embargo given Israel’s ongoing violations of international law.”
“The degree of destruction and mortality of these weapons is unprecedented,”added Dr. Najib Safieddine, a surgeon who had just returned to Canada after several weeks engaged in relief efforts in Lebanon. “Arming the Israeli occupation army, in any way shape or form, directly or indirectly, is complicity in its war crimes in Lebanon and its genocide in Gaza. A comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, including through third parties, is necessary and must happen today.”
“The U.S. is Israel’s largest arms supplier. And yet incredibly, there are virtually no export controls on Canadian military exports to the U.S. This is a dereliction of Canada’s obligations under both international and domestic law, and must be stopped,” said international human rights lawyer James Yap. “It is important that the Canadian government be held accountable for this illegal transfer of arms to Israel through the U.S., both in the courts and on the streets.”
Minister misleading Canadians about Canada-Israel arms trade
In September, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly told journalists, “We will not have any form of arms or parts of arms be sent to Gaza, period. How they’re being sent and where they’re being sent is irrelevant.” But she took no further action to actually close the loophole which allows Canadian companies to sell weapons to Israel via the US. This loophole continues to allow Canadian technology to be sent to and used by Israel, despite UN experts warning that arms transfers to Israel risk violating international human rights law.
Canadian companies involved in producing and maintaining the F-35s Israel is using in Gaza
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a US-made war plane filled with Canadian components, is one deadly example. F35s are a key tool of Israel’s destruction and violence in Gaza and Lebanon. Israeli officials have stated that the F-35Is have been equipped with 2,000-lb bombs and used in the ongoing bombardment of Gaza.
Canadian companies are an integral part of the F-35 supply chain and maintenance operations. Project Ploughshares reported that at least 110 Canadian-based suppliers have been awarded contracts for the F-35 program and that a study commissioned by Lockheed Martin in 2018 says there are US $2.3-million worth of Canadian components in every F-35 jet – from landing gear parts, to engine parts, to software. Modern fighter jets like F-35s require extensive maintenance to remain functional – many broken and worn-down parts are returned to their original manufacturers for repair, and Israel’s fleet is being further supported by shipments of replacement parts from partner nations. Our ongoing participation in the F-35 supply chain is just one egregious example of how Canadian-made military components are being used in Israeli weapon systems, despite Joly’s unsubstantiated assurances to the contrary.
Canada must impose an Arms Embargo on Israel now
Saturday’s day of action was part of the ongoing #ArmsEmbargoNow campaign, urging the Canadian government to fulfill its legal and moral obligations to do everything in its power to protect Palestinians in Gaza from the serious risk of genocide and from grave violations of human rights and humanitarian law perpetrated by Israel in its ongoing assault on and siege of Gaza, including putting an immediate end to the trade of arms and military technology with Israel. Since launching in May, the statement has been endorsed by more than 400 Palestinian associations, labour unions, faith institutions, human rights and environmental organizations, and community groups across Canada. Over 40 MPs from the Liberal, NDP and Green Party have signed on to the demand, acknowledging the catastrophe caused by Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza and calling on the Canadian government to impose a full and immediate arms embargo on Israel. This Day of Action exposes the companies involved in producing and maintaining F-35 components, which are shipped to Israel through the U.S. loophole.
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