Local Residents are ‘Disappointed’ a Brampton Factory is Trying to Sell Armoured Vehicles to Israel’s Government

Local residents are angry that a military contractor in Brampton, Ontario is seeking to ship armoured vehicles built in Canada to Israel despite a ban on exports of “lethal goods” to the Israeli government amid its violent occupation of Gaza.

Last week, hundreds of protesters set-up a blockade outside Roshel Manufacturing, one of the largest manufacturers of “smart armoured vehicles” in North America whose other clients include the Canadian military, US Homeland Security, local police forces and private security firms.

Israel’s government is currently pressing Canada to approve an export license that would allow it to import 30 armoured vehicles from the Brampton factory.

Roshel’s Bramption, Ontario factory (Roshel)

Protesters oppose the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza. Last month, the United Nations’ International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Gaza was “unlawful.” The ICJ is currently hearing a case brought by the Government of South Africa that would formally recognize the Netanyahu government’s actions in Gaza as genocide.

Earlier this year, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued a warrant for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“There’s been tons of weapons pickets outside these weapons manufacturers in North York and Mississauga,” Simmi, an anti-war activist with the group Brampton4Ceasefire told PressProgress. “We are trying to put pressure on our government or local officials to continue to call for an arms embargo.”

“Roshel has a history of trying to get permits to send vehicles to Israel and they tried to get new permits back in March and we felt that if we didn’t put pressure on them that perhaps they would have tried again to secure permits.”

Roshel’s senior leadership has close ties with Israeli military and weapons companies. Roshel’s CEO, Roman Shimonov, served in the Israeli Defence Forces while other top executives have past ties with the Israeli Ministry of Defence.

While it’s unclear which vehicles Israel is seeking to import, some of the vehicles in Roshel’s fleet include “defense vehicles” with turrets and automatic weapon systems located on the roof while others have “gun ports” located on the sides.

Photo: Roshel

Anti-war organizations are calling on the Canadian government to block arms exports to Israel while violence continues in Gaza.

“This week marks 300 days of Israel’s genocidal violence in Gaza,” Rachel Small with World Beyond War said in a release. “By continuing to arm the Israeli military, Canada is directly complicit in and profiting from the slaughter of over 15,000 Palestinian children.”

“We are putting our bodies on the line again to demand that the Canadian government stop obfuscating and do everything in its power to stop Israeli atrocities, starting with imposing an immediate and comprehensive arms embargo on Israel.”

Simmi says having a facility of this kind located within their community is “disappointing” to local residents, including Canadians who have connections to Palestine.

“For one of our members, he himself is Palestinian,” Simmi explained. “He was disgusted seeing that this plant is here and just knowing that he’s seen these armoured vehicles while living in Palestine.”

World Beyond War points to a Brampton resident originally from the West Bank named Adham who says the presence of the Roshel factory in his community is leaving him with “anxiety and PTSD.”

“I have witnessed armored vehicles identical to the ones here in the parking lot at Roshel being used to kidnap my family members and my friends in the West Bank more times than I can count,” Adham says. “As someone who has been living in Brampton for over 10 years, I was absolutely horrified to find out that there is a factory that manufactures and exports armored vehicles to Israel so close to my house.”

“The amount of anxiety and PTSD that I feel every time I pass anywhere near the factory’s location is indescribable.”

🚨 Day 300 of Israel’s inhuman attack on Gaza. World BEYOND War is standing with 100+ protesters blocking Roshel in Brampton, ON. Canada, it’s time to stop fueling the violence. End arms exports and impose a full embargo now! https://t.co/2sn7YpQmt9 pic.twitter.com/uHhLJ7oJEP

— World BEYOND War (@WorldBeyondWar) July 30, 2024

In March, Roshel stated that their armoured vehicle shipments were not for military-use but were instead intended to be used in “police operations.”

“It is our understanding that these vehicles are not to be used for military purposes, but solely for domestic police operations. This has been communicated to the government of Canada,” the company said in a statement to CBC News.

That same month, Brampton celebrated a $65 million investment into the city by Roshel for a new global headquarters and production facility, despite earlier inviting Brampton4Ceasefire to address city council.

“What they said when the permits were denied is that these (vehicles) aren’t going to Gaza but that they’re going to the West Bank which is not an acceptable loophole for us,” Simmi said.

“If they were to use that excuse again, that these are just going to police forces in the West Bank – which are still used for a catalogue of violations – that those permits might be granted. So (we want) to just keep up the pressure so those permits are not granted and they can never be granted.”

According to reporting from The Maple in March, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly stated that the government would not be revoking existing permits for Israeli military exports.

In a statement to PressProgress, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada said there are no open permits for “exports of lethal goods to Israel.”

They did not confirm whether or not armoured vehicles are included within the scope of that term.

“Since January 8th, the government has not approved new arms export permits to Israel and this remains the government’s approach,” the spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada told PressProgress.

“Global Affairs Canada does not comment on individual permits or permit applications. We have an obligation to protect confidential information about the commercial activities of individual companies.”

Thank you @IsraelinToronto for visiting our facility and discussing ways to strengthen relations between 🇨🇦 and 🇮🇱 manufacturing and defence industries. pic.twitter.com/dtFgjtdRRC

— Roshel Defence Solutions (@RoshelDefence) August 5, 2022

Simmi added that last week’s protest was intended to pressure the government to call for an “immediate and total arms embargo” to Israel, including denying the permits Roshel is currently seeking.

Reporting from The Maple also revealed “Canadian manufacturers could export nearly $95 million more in military goods to Israel by the end of 2025.”

World Beyond War Canada has created a non-exhaustive list of weapons manufacturers providing arms to Israel located across the country as part of their call for Canada to “stop arming genocide.”

Earlier this year, Francesca Albanese, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the West Bank and Gaza released a report finding “reasonable grounds” to believe Israel is committing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

“I implore Member States to abide by their obligations which start with imposing an arms embargo and sanctions on Israel, and so ensure that the future does not continue to repeat itself,” Albanese said.

According to official figures from Gaza’s Ministry of Health, around 40,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s military in Gaza in response to Hamas’ October 7 attacks. Israel disputes these numbers, but its own disputed figures acknowledge it has killed at least 30,000 Palestinians, half of whom are civilians.