Toronto – Greenpeace activists unveiled a banner saying “No Canadian Arms for ICE” at the Brampton headquarters of the Canadian company that is building armoured vehicles for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today, as they called on all federal Members of Parliament to support the legislation before Parliament that would tighten restrictions on arms exports.
“Canada cannot claim to defend human rights while exporting armoured vehicles that will be used to terrorize communities,” said Keith Stewart, Senior Energy Strategist with Greenpeace Canada. “These exports directly contradict Canada’s obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty, which prohibits approving export permits where there is a substantial risk of human rights violations. Trump’s America cannot be considered a responsible partner, which is why we are calling on all MPs to support the No More Loopholes legislation that is currently being debated by Parliament.”
As communities across the United States reel from ongoing violence, militarized raids, and human rights abuses linked to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), new revelations show that Canada is complicit in this violence. A Canadian company, Roshel, has been contracted to deliver 20 armoured vehicles to ICE. The deal has been publicly praised by Ontario Premier Doug Ford as “fantastic news.”
Greenpeace Canada strongly condemns the export of Canadian made military equipment to an agency with a well-documented record of human rights abuses, including violent raids, family separations, denial of medical care, and deaths in custody.
Human rights organizations and investigative reporting have documented more than 1,000 alleged abuses in U.S. immigration detention facilities. Providing armoured vehicles to ICE contributes to the further militarization of an agency already responsible for widespread harm.
Canada knows what militarized force looks like when it is used to protect power and profit over people. Indigenous land defenders, workers, and marginalized communities here at home have faced similar state violence. We refuse to be complicit in exporting those tools of repression abroad.
Greenpeace Canada is calling on all federal Members of Parliament, including Prime Minister Mark Carney and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, to support NDP MP Jenny Kwan’s “Close the Loopholes” private members bill (Bill C 233) that would close loopholes that allow Canadian weapons, arms parts, and explosives to be exported without proper tracking. This would ensure that the federal government can block any future export of armoured vehicles or military equipment to ICE.
“Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that building Canada strong means living our values,” said Stewart. “That must start now.”
Canadians are urged to take action by signing Greenpeace Canada’s petition calling on the federal government to stop the export of armoured vehicles to ICE and close dangerous loopholes in Canada’s arms export system.
