Military and Technology

Export Controls Division

Export Controls are governed by Section 3 of the Export and Import Permits Act, which gives the Government the power to establish an Export Control List (ECL) to control the export of goods for any of the following purposes:

• to control the export of arms, ammunition, implements or munitions of war or articles of a strategic nature or value the use of which might be detrimental to the security of Canada;

• encourage the further processing of certain natural resources in Canada;

• to ensure that there is an adequate supply and distribution of the article in Canada for defence or other needs.

• limit the export of goods in circumstances of surplus supply and depressed prices;

• to implement an intergovernmental arrangement or commitment.

• An export permit is required before an item included in the ECL may be exported from Canada to any destination, with the exception (in most cases) of the United States.

Atomic material and equipment, automatic firearms, logs, softwood lumber, pulpwood, roe herring and red cedar bolts and blocks are among the goods requiring permits for export to the United States. This requirement enables Canada to meet international commitments, such as preventing the proliferation of missile technology and biological, chemical and nuclear weapons. Permits are also required to export any goods to countries on the Area Control List (ACL). At present only Angola and Burma (Myanmar) are on the ACL.

Responsibility for the issuance or denial of export permits for most of the goods on the ECL lies with Export Controls Division.

In 1996 the ECL included eight groups as follows:

• Group 1: Dual Use List
• Group 2: Munitions List
• Group 3: Nuclear Non-proliferation List
• Group 4: Nuclear-Related Dual Use List
• Group 5: Miscellaneous Goods (U.S. origin goods, roe herring, cedar shakes and shingles, logs, softwood lumber¹)
• Group 6: Missile Technology Control Regime List
• Group 7: Chemical and Biological Weapons Non-Proliferation List
• Group 8: Chemicals for the Production of Illicit Drugs

For further details see the relevant sections of the Export Control List.

Please note that even if an item does not appear on the ECL it may still need some sort of export authorization. Several other departments have responsibilities for certain export controls, namely: the Canadian Wheat Board, Health Canada, Agriculture Canada, Canadian Heritage, Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Natural Resources Canada; and Environment Canada.

¹N.B. Softwood lumber is the responsibility of the Softwood Lumber Task Force, peanut butter and sugar and sugar products is the responsibility of Trade Controls Policy Division).