M-9 Amendments to the Standing Orders (Standing Committee on Arms Exports and Brokering Review)

That:

(a) the House recognize that,

(i) according to the 2023 Exports of Military Goods and Technology report, in 2023 Canada exported military goods and technology valued at $2.143 billion to destinations other than the United States,

(ii) exports of military goods to the United States remain largely unregulated and therefore off the public record,

(iii) every year, by value, the vast majority of Canada’s non-US exports of military goods and technology is destined to countries with records of human rights abuses, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Israel, India, and Colombia,

(iv) Canadian-made detonators sent to Kyrgyzstan are alleged to have been diverted to Russia for use in the illegal war in Ukraine,

(v) the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development recommended, in its 2024 report on Canada’s sanctions regime, that the Government of Canada publish comprehensive data annually on Canadian exports of dual-use goods, as it does for military goods, including the value of those exports, descriptions of the goods, and their authorized end users, and that the Government of Canada, in collaboration with international partners and working closely with other relevant law enforcement agencies, develop a strategy to address sanctions violations, including actors exploiting offshore export havens and engaging in jurisdiction shopping, while increasing the enforcement of existing controls,

(vi) Global Affairs Canada continues to use the problematically high bar of “credible evidence” when communicating its findings on the risk associated with individual arms exports, when the Canadian legal standard is “substantial risk”,

(vii) Canadians expect a higher standard from their government when it comes to protecting human rights abroad,

(viii) there is a need for Canadians, through Parliament, to oversee current and future arms transfers;

(b) Standing Order 104(2) be amended by adding, after paragraph (b), the following: “(c) Arms Exports and Brokering Review”;

(c) Standing Order 108(3) be amended by adding the following: “(j) Arms Exports and Brokering Review shall include, among other matters, the review of and report on (i) Canada’s arms export permits regime, (ii) proposed international export and brokering authorizations, (iii) annual government reports regarding arms transfers, (iv) the use of these weapons systems and technology and information on their alleged misuse abroad, (v) all matters and broader trends regarding Canada’s current and future arms exports.”;

(d) the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs prepare and report to the House within five sitting days of the adoption of this order a list of Members to compose the new standing committee created by this order; and

(e) that the Clerk be authorized to make any required editorial and consequential amendments to the Standing Orders.