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As we recoil each day watching the bombings in Gaza, Ukraine, Yemen and more with an apparent endless increase in militarization across the globe, the horrors can seem far away; turns out weapons, military software and more are all being manufactured right here in Toronto.

Seven Toronto-based firms are directly involved in creating armed personnel carriers, bomber guidance systems, surveillance software and more, which are all being used daily by military forces around the world including Israel, the US, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.

Here’s a guide to your neighbourhood military contractors.

TTM Technologies

8150 Sheppard Ave. E., Scarborough

TTM Technologies is a U.S.-headquartered Printed Circuit Board (PCB) manufacturer with a location in Scarborough. TTM allegedly exports circuit boards to Israeli companies Elbit Systems & Artem Technologies Ltd., which are likely used in Israel’s fleet of F-15 and V-22 aircraft as well as transport vehicles and other military goods.

Speaking with NEXT in March, Etobicoke resident Hafsah T., 27, says she found it “horrifying” to learn that there were companies producing military goods and equipment being shipped to Israel for use in Gaza from right here in Toronto. That’s why she joined a recent protest of TTM Technologies in Scarborough back in February in which protesters, with support from the organization Labour for Palestine, surrounded and blockaded the building for an entire morning. “It’s been a wake-up call,” she says. Even though the protest occurred on a Monday morning, requiring her to take time away from work, “It was worth the effort,” she says. “I’ve never considered getting involved at this level, but this is just — we’re at a point where there’s no excuse anymore.”

According to Rachel Small of the anti-war organization World Beyond War, TTM produces circuit boards for Elbit Systems which are “slated for use in a range of [Israel’s] military equipment.” This includes “Elbit’s ‘Lizard’ laser-linked or guidance kits”, which are designed to “convert general purpose bombs into precision strike munitions.”

TTM Technologies did not respond to requests for comment.

L3 Harris

17 Prince Andrew Pl., North York

According to its website, L3 Harris is a “key industry provider of precision guided munitions and subsystem solutions.” It operates a facility off of Don Mills Road in North York.

According to World Beyond War, L3 Harris parts are used worldwide in Lockheed Martin fighter jets, which have been used to bombard Gaza and for Israeli war ships.

INKAS Armored Vehicles

3605 Weston Rd., North York

With almost 500,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space in the city, Toronto-based INKAS produces a wide range of armoured and military-purpose vehicles. According to World Beyond War, INKAS has supplied the government of Israel with “more command and control units than any other supplier in history.” The company also signed a deal in 2016 to supply Azerbaijan with armoured personnel carriers (APCs). At the time, the deal was criticized by groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch over Azerbaijan’s “crackdown on dissenting voices” and “persistent reports of torture.”

Kraken Robotics

1 Eglinton Ave. E., Toronto

Canadian marine technology company Kraken Robotics has three facilities across the country, including an office in the heart of midtown at Yonge and Eglinton. According Rachel Small of World Beyond War, Kraken Robotics supplies its KATFISH towed sonar system to Elbit Systems Ltd., Israel’s largest weapons contractor, for use by the Israeli Navy. “These are complex sonar and robotic systems that are then integrated into Elbit’s drone ships — so called because they’re unmanned surface vessels being used in the siege of Gaza — and also into IAI (Israeli Aerospace Industries)’s autonomous submarine systems,” she says.

Heroux-Devtek

1480 Birchmount Rd., Scarborough

Quebec-based aerospace company Heroux-Devtek has a facility on Birchmount in Scarborough used for the machining and assembly of “complex precision parts [and] structural components.” According to World Beyond War, Heroux-Devtek’s technology and landing gear equipment are used in Elbit Systems’ drones, which are used to “bomb and surveil Palestinians.” Heroux-Devtek also entered into an agreement with Lockheed Martin in 2021 to develop landing gear for the F-35 multi-role aircraft used by dozens of militaries, including the Israeli Air Force.

Google

111 Richmond St. W., Toronto

Google and Amazon provide Israeli government agencies with a cloud computing service called “Project Nimbus” as part of a USD$1.2 billion contract. According to an op-ed published in The Guardian in 2021 and written by anonymous Google and Amazon employees, Project Nimbus utilizes machine learning and artificial intelligence for “unlawful data collection” on Palestinians and to facilitate the forced resettlement of them in Gaza. Speaking with NPR this month, a group of Google employees who are opposed to the war in Gaza say the full extent of how this technology is being used by Israel’s Ministry of Defense is “still unclear”, but that concerns raised internally have gone unanswered by Google’s leadership. According to NPR, the group staged a sit-in protest earlier this Spring at Google’s offices in Silicon Valley, New York City and Seattle, only for many to be fired the next day.

Firan Technology Group

250 Finchdene Sq., Scarborough

Firan Technology Group (FTG) has two facilities in Scarborough that produce aerospace circuits and components, respectively. FTG is a supplier for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 multi-role aircraft project, used by many military clients.