The Canadian Parliament approved a non-binding resolution proposal presented by the New Democratic Party to ban the sale of weapons to Israel (Reuters)

In a remarkable decision, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Jolie announced that her country would suspend arms exports to Israel, describing the decision as important and “not a symbolic change.”

This step comes after Parliament approved a non-binding resolution proposal presented by the New Democratic Party, urging the government on a set of points, including demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, halting further arms export permits to Israel, and ensuring continued support for UNRWA and active work to establish the State of Palestine. As part of a comprehensive and just peace in the Middle East.

Despite the non-binding nature of the resolution, it represents a historic step, according to what many observers describe, and comes in line with the shift witnessed in Ottawa’s speech towards the war on Gaza.

Following the October 7 operation, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement in support of Israel and its right to defend itself, before later announcing his condemnation of the pro-Palestinian marches.

The contrast between Ottawa and Tel Aviv became clear with Canada voting in favor of a UN resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza in December, while Jolie later stated that her country had not agreed to issue a permit to export military lethal products to Israel since October 7, as It has stopped issuing any permits at all since January 8.

Stressful internal context

Many Canadian political analysts, including Jordan Lichnitz, director of the Canada Program at the Frederic Ebert Foundation, believe that the resolution proposal presented by the New Democratic Party represents an attempt to push the government to exert more pressure towards implementing the ceasefire.

This goal cannot be separated from the developments that the Canadian street has witnessed in its interaction with the course of the conflict in the Middle East since the seventh of last October, which has put pressure on the political forces, especially the ruling Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party.

In this context, Jagmeet Singh, head of the New Democratic Party (Progressive Left), announced that they had received nearly half a million letters demanding a set of measures, including a ceasefire.

An opinion poll in November 2023 showed that 71% of Canadians either strongly or somewhat supported the ceasefire call, a percentage similar to another poll conducted by the Angus Institute, which showed that 65% of respondents supported a ceasefire.

Last December, a petition arrived in Parliament demanding that Trudeau call for an immediate ceasefire, after it gained more than 280,000 signatures, a record number for electronic petitions.

An external context critical of Israel

Observers believe that the Canadian moves are not isolated from an international context in which criticism of the Israeli government and its president, Benjamin Netanyahu, is escalating even from within the Western camp.

Canadian journalist David Cochrane pointed out that his country's announcement to stop exporting lethal weapons to Israel coincided with some developments on the international scene.

In this context, Cochrane referred to the sharp criticism directed by Chuck Schumer, leader of the Democratic majority in the US Senate, to the Israeli government, and the accusation by European Union foreign affairs official Josep Borrell that Tel Aviv is using starvation as a weapon of war.

Canadian arms exports to Israel in 2021 amount to about $27 million (European)

Motives behind the proposal

New Democratic Party parliamentarian for Edmonton, Heather McPherson, is the sponsor of the proposal. She explained in an interview she conducted with the popular “Politics and Power” program in Canada that this proposal is the result of joint work with international lawyers, experts, and members of the Palestinian and Israeli communities.

It also touched on the motives behind its adoption of this project, the most important of which is the desire to save innocent civilians from killing after the number of Palestinian deaths reached more than 30,000.

Supporters of the ban on arms exports to Tel Aviv rely on Canadian law that requires the refusal to authorize the export of military goods and technologies if they are likely to be used to commit serious violations of international law.

This is consistent with the decision of the International Court of Justice, which considers it plausible that Israel’s actions amount to genocide, and with the report of United Nations experts, which called on Canada, among other countries, to stop exporting weapons to Israel, warning that those responsible would be subject to criminal liability.

Regarding the recognition of the Palestinian state, McPherson proposes an approach based on the fact that Canada has repeatedly affirmed its adoption of the two-state solution as the strategic solution for both Palestinians and Israelis, and therefore recognition of the Palestinian state is the way for this solution to see the light.

In addition, there are 139 countries that have already recognized this state, while there are already attempts in the Western camp to take this step, such as the Spanish Prime Minister’s proposal to his country’s parliament to do so.

Why did the ruling party amend the draft proposal?

The stage before submitting the proposal to a vote witnessed strenuous efforts by representatives of the ruling Liberal and New Democratic parties to amend a proposal from the latter that included many points, the most important of which was urging the government to call for an immediate ceasefire, suspension of trade in all goods and military technology with Israel, and official recognition of the state of Israel. Palestine.

These efforts resulted in fundamental amendments to many items, as a more flexible formula was agreed upon, including “stopping further permits and transferring arms exports to Israel, and working with international partners to actively pursue the goal of reaching a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East, including: This is the establishment of the State of Palestine as part of a negotiated two-state solution.”

The ruling party representatives’ move is due to many reasons, the most important of which is that voting on the proposal in its initial form, yes or no, would have led to damage to the party’s popularity among one of the two blocs, whether supporting Israel or opposing the war on Gaza.

This is important given that next year's general election will be held amid an unprecedented decline in the Prime Minister's popularity, according to a Mainstreet Research poll, which showed Trudeau trailing his biggest rival, the Conservative Party, by more than 15 points. While 63% of respondents expressed a somewhat negative or unfavorable view of Trudeau.

The arrival of the Liberals and New Democrats to a settlement formula also strengthens the agreement between the two parties, as the two parties signed an agreement in 2022 that allowed the Trudeau government to continue without the threat of a no-confidence vote against it in Parliament by the opponents, as the two parties have 181 deputies out of 338.

Another aspect is highlighted by Robert Rousseau, former director of the Office of Parliamentary Affairs at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, who believes that the vote of Quebec representatives in favor of immediate recognition of a Palestinian state is linked to separatist tendencies within the region, and that this is one of the reasons that prompted the government to rush to work to amend the proposal as a result of its fears of The dangerous impact of foreign policy on the Canadian interior.

The French-speaking province of Quebec held a secession referendum in 1995, and it failed with a result of 50.6%, while separatist tendencies are still active in the region.

The majority of Canadians either strongly support or support the call for a ceasefire (Getty)

Internal repercussions

Internally, the National Democratic Party emerged as the biggest winner from this decision, as its leader, Jagmeet Singh, announced that he was able to “force the government to move in a certain direction” by dealing with his party’s parliamentary proposal and reaching an approved settlement formula, which will increase the popularity of Singh and his party among the rejectionist segments. To continue the war.

In his article, Juan Cole, a professor of history at the University of Michigan, noted that Singh is likely to be the future of Canada, and perhaps a new, multicultural North, which will be less sympathetic to the white nationalist project of armed Zionism as he describes it.

As for the ruling Liberal Party, which Alan Baker, the former Israeli ambassador to Canada, describes as “historically a friend of Israel,” it seems that it will be exposed to an internal shock as a result of the disagreement over the position on this decision. Signs of this appeared in the vote of 3 liberal representatives against the decision, while one of them, Anthony, stated: Housefather said that he and his colleagues feel a kind of isolation, and that he is now thinking about his place within the party group.

The internal echoes of the decision reflected the polarization experienced by Canadian society, as the CEO of the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs, Shimon Kofler-Vogel, said that the community he represents is “angry and deeply disappointed” in the Liberals for choosing to entrust foreign policy to what he described as “anti-Israel within the party.” New Patriotic and the Bloc Quebecois.

For his part, Stephen Brown, CEO of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, said that Canadians should feel proud after this vote, describing as “historic” the proposal that “affirms Palestinian human rights and stands against the slaughter of innocent civilians.”

External repercussions

Despite the importance and symbolism of this Canadian decision, it will not bring about radical changes to Ottawa’s policy, as the Foreign Minister stated that her country will not change its foreign policy based on pressure from the opposition.

Although Canadian arms exports to Israel do not exceed, in their record number in 2021, approximately $27 million, the importance of this step stems from the fact that Canada is one of the members of NATO and one of Israel’s most important Western allies, as the latter fears that this might be a step taken by Ottawa. Domino effect on other allies.

Tel Aviv's rejection of the Canadian decision was embodied in the tweets of its Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who considered it "undermining Israel's right to defend itself" and that "history will judge" Canada "harshly."

The repercussions of the Canadian decision also appeared directly on the international scene, as prominent US Senator Bernie Sanders praised the Canadian decision and called on his country to take the same step. This was repeated in the British Labor Party MP Richard Bergen’s call for his country’s government to take a similar measure, while protesters took By surrounding weapons factories in England and Scotland, demanding that their country do the same.

Source: Al Jazeera