Collective statement of: World Beyond War, Palestinian Youth Movement, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) and the Arms Embargo Now Campaign
Montreal, August 1, 2025 — Minister Anand’s statement today continues a pattern of deception. This statement does not deny that Canada continues to ship arms to Israel instead it tries to muddy the waters to mislead the public.
Our report lays out in painstaking detail—with the evidence of detailed shipping records and Israeli Tax Authority (ITA) data—that nearly 400 Canadian military exports, including F-35 components and ammunition, have been sent to Israel, some as recently as last week.
For over a year, we’ve been fed the same lies: Canada claims to have halted arms sales to Israel, and yet Canadian weapons continue to fuel this genocide. This is more of the same—vague and shifting assertions from the government, particularly around permits, that twist and turn to avoid accountability.
If Canada truly wants to stop fueling this genocide, the solution is obvious: a full and immediate two-way arms embargo. Anything less is just an excuse to keep the status quo alive.
Now to Minister Anand’s exact points of contention:
Minister Anand Says:
Items identified as “bullets,” are in fact paintball-style projectiles. They are accompanied by equipment designed to make a firearm inoperable with traditional rounds. These cannot be used in combat and if they were, they would require a permit which would not be granted.
The Truth Is:
The items identified as bullets in the report are identified as “bullets” by the Israeli Tax Authority (ITA) – customs code: 93069010 – valued at over $379,000; and categorized in Canadian HS codes in the category of “Bombs, grenades, torpedoes, mines, missiles and similar munitions of war and parts thereof; cartridges and other ammunition and projectiles and parts thereof, including shot and cartridge wads.”
According to the Israel Tax Authority – customs code, paintball markers and similar non-lethal arms – such as air, spring, or gas-powered guns – are classified under heading 9304.
Using the ITA data, the report confirms that 175,000 military bullets were shipped from Canada to Israel in April 2025 alone and that a half a million bullets have been shipped since October 2023.
Furthermore, the CBC, Toronto Star, and Canadian Press all independently verified this data and confirmed the ITA categorized the shipments as bullets.
Even if the Canadian government is being truthful and the bullets are improperly categorized, it is unacceptable for Canada to be exporting hundreds of thousands of training bullets to Israel to fuel the genocide in Gaza.
Minister Anand Says:
No mortars have been shipped from Canadian manufacturers to Israel, either directly or indirectly, since before permits were suspended.
The Truth Is:
We have not tracked such shipments in this report but we note that the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) brokered a deal to export these to Israel.
Recent U.S. State Department documents reveal that the General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Inc. facility in Quebec is the named contractor for a newly approved, $83.7 million dollar sale of 50,000 of high-explosive mortar cartridges to the Israeli military. This purchase was to be transferred to the US and then on to Israel.
Minister Anand Says:
At no time are explosive materials such as bullets or other munitions transported on passenger aircraft. To claim otherwise is simply false.
The Truth Is:
While we are relieved to hear that explosive materials are not being transported on Canadian commercial flights underneath passengers — which the report did not claim — what this report showed was a range of military components going on commercial jets. And since the reports’ publication, this has been confirmed by one of the companies themselves, Nexeya, to a Toronto journalist. The report further confirms that this particular shipment consisted of electronic testing systems that have been used on Israeli fighter jets.