The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) planned to send 29 personnel to Israel last year for training in how to use anti-tank missiles purchased from an Israeli arms company, documents obtained by The Maple reveal.
The Department of National Defence (DND) is refusing to confirm whether or not the scheduled training sessions took place as planned in Israel, or disclose how much travel for the sessions cost.
The scheduled training sessions were for the use of Spike LR2 missiles made by Rafael Advance Defence Systems, which was awarded a $43 million contract by DND in December 2023. The missiles were purchased for Canadian troops taking part in Operation Reassurance, a NATO mission in Latvia.
DND staff discussed plans for the training sessions to be provided by Rafael in the midst of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and less than three weeks after Israel used likely the same type of munition to deliberately kill seven aid workers, including Jacob Flickinger, a Canadian citizen and army veteran.
On April 20, 2024, DND senior policy advisor Juliana Haras wrote to assistant deputy minister Scott Millar to inform him of a recommendation from the Director General, International Security “regarding upcoming weapons system training in Israel.”
Haras wrote that her colleagues felt the training sessions did not require approval from higher up the chain of command “given that the training is to be provided by a private company, rather than by the [Israeli military].”
The copied recommendation in Haras’ email read: “Rafael Systems is contractually required to provide the CAF training on this system in Israel.”
Training for 13 operators of the new missiles was scheduled for July 7-25, 2024, and training for 16 maintenance personnel was scheduled from July 27 to August 1. Millar replied that he felt Global Affairs Canada (GAC) should at least be informed of the training sessions for situational awareness if they hadn’t already been notified.
The Maple obtained copies of the DND emails through an access to information request. The department delayed releasing the documents by nine months, in violation of the 30-day time limit mandated by the federal Access to Information Act.
DND only complied with The Maple’s request following a formal complaint with the federal Information Commissioner, who ordered DND to release the documents in August.
The department has consistently flouted many of its transparency obligations, with the commissioner’s office stating in 2023 that DND’s slow handling of requests is harming the “credibility of the access to information system.”
DND did not say the missile training sessions were held in Israel in any of its previous public statements regarding the contract with Rafael, and avoided specifying a location altogether.
The Maple emailed the department on September 26 asking for confirmation that the training sessions took place as planned in Israel and for information about the costs involved.
Despite media relations officer Cheryl Forrest repeatedly promising to provide a statement over the course of more than three weeks, no response was received by publication time.
GAC spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod refused to say whether or not her department was ever notified about the training sessions, deferring all questions from The Maple to DND.
Rafael did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The missile training window was scheduled for a period during which Israel, amid its genocidal war on Gaza, bombed a school that was operating as a shelter for displaced people, killing at least 30 and wounding at least 53, mostly women and children, according to Palestinian medics.
Also in July, Israel bombed an area of Gaza that was marked a “safe zone,” killing at least 90 and injuring 300. On July 22, Israel launched a brutal assault on the city of Khan Younis, killing at least 70. By the end of the second scheduled training session, August 1, the confirmed total death toll in Gaza was approaching 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
In a written statement, interim president of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, Michael Bueckert, told The Maple: “The idea that the Canadian Armed Forces would engage in training on Israeli missiles in a context where these same weapons were being used to exterminate Palestinians in Gaza reveals a serious lack of any moral compass.”
“These are tools of genocide. Canada needs to cancel the contract with Rafael and impose a ban on the procurement of Israeli weapons as part of a two-way arms embargo.”
DND’s plan to purchase the Israeli-made missiles was heavily criticized last year, as pro-Palestine activists pointed out that such purchases help fund Israel’s arms industry, which plays a key role in supplying the Israeli military.
Alex Cosh
Israeli arms companies regularly market their products to global buyers as battle proven following their use on Palestinians. Israeli arms exports to foreign countries also act as an “insurance policy” against international criticism of Israel’s occupation, according to some researchers.
Israel has used Spike missiles to kill and maim Palestinian civilians in its past and present attacks on Gaza.
This likely included a deliberate strike on World Central Kitchen aid workers on April 1, 2024. Israel’s attack killed seven, including Flickinger, who had served in the Canadian military for 11 years. That news, however, did not affect DND’s decision to go ahead with the contract with Rafael.
Alex Cosh
Rafael’s former CEO, Yoav Har-Even, led the Israeli military’s investigation into the World Central Kitchen attack, producing a report which claimed a “grave mistake” resulted in the killings. All the countries whose citizens Israel killed, with the sole exception of Canada, rejected the Israeli report.
Israel has killed at least 565 aid workers in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Israel has continued to kill Palestinians, including children, in Gaza and re-imposed restrictions on aid entering the besieged enclave amid a strained ceasefire that officially came into effect on October 10.
As reported by the Ottawa Citizen, CAF initially experienced technical problems with the Spike LR2 missiles. “During Initial Cadre Training conducted by the company on July 15-16, 2024, five out of eight missiles experienced functionality issues,” DND spokesperson Nick Drescher Brown told the Citizen.
The spokesperson did not specify where the training took place.
In May, the Citizen reported that the issues affecting the missile system were fixed. A DND spokesperson predicted full operational capability by winter 2026.
