Foreign minister ‘looking into’ how Canadian firearms got to Russia
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Wednesday she was looking into how Canadian rifles have ended up in the hands of Russian snipers.
The minister made the announcement after Global News reported that Quebec-made guns prized by snipers were turning up in Russia despite sanctions.
“I’m actually looking into this issue and others right now,” Anand, whose department is responsible for sanctions, told reporters in response to a question about the report.
She said Canada had among the world’s most advanced military export controls, and “we will be monitoring and taking these types of claims very seriously.”
The Global News investigation found that Canadian rifles have been appearing increasingly in photos on Russian social media channels.
While some of the guns were identified as having been captured on the battlefield, others appeared brand new and still had their product tags.
Russian social media channels also show Canadian-made rifles being used by decorated snipers who fought against Ukraine, one of whom was credited with 100 kills.
The manufacturer of the rifles, Cadex Defence, said his company did not export to Russia and that it strictly followed Canada’s export laws.
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After looking into the issue, the company said it traced 10 rifles identified in Russian customs documents to a shipment it sent to the U.S. and then cut off the American purchaser.
A senior government source said the Canadian government had issued only a single permit to export to Russia, in 2013, for a rifle stock, not a firearm.
“Cadex rifles in Russian hands were possibly acquired either via battlefield loss from Ukrainian forces who are being supplied with some Cadex rifles, or via illicit acquisition through third countries,” the source said.
Although sanctions imposed after President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine prohibit selling arms to Russia, it has still been able to acquire weapons by moving imports through various countries.
Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada Andrii Plakhotniuk said a “thorough investigation” was warranted whenever weapons or other military goods or technology had flowed to Russia.
“Ukraine fully supports the continued strengthening of the sanctions regime, including tighter monitoring and end-user controls, to prevent the aggressor state from obtaining weapons or dual-use technologies and deprive Moscow of possibilities to circumvent sanctions,” he said.
Opposition foreign affairs critic Michael Chong said it was the federal government’s responsibility to ensure that Canadian military goods do not fall into the hands of adversaries.
“Yet under the Liberals, we’ve seen detonators used in Russian landmines, turbines shipped for Russian pipelines and avionics supplied for Russian drones — all helping Putin’s war effort,” he said.
He said the government had “failed to deliver” on promises to tighten sanctions enforcement and must ensure that “our military exports don’t end up helping Putin wage war against Ukraine.”
The NDP, meanwhile, said it was “deplorable” that Canadian arms had gone to Russia and called on the government to “improve and to truly enforce sanctions against Russia.”
“Transit countries, or transit companies, should not be used to ignore or get around sanctions and legal obligations,” said foreign affairs critic Alexandre Boulerice.
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