Stop sending Canadian tax dollars and weapons to Ukraine!

Auditor General Karen Hogan
Office of the Auditor General of Canada
240 Sparks Street

Ottawa ON K1A 0G6

October 26, 2026

 
Re: Request for an independent audit of $26 billion in public funds and weapons to Ukraine

 
Dear Auditor General Hogan,

We, the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW), the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom Canada (WILPF), and the Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network (CWPJN) are writing to you to ask you to do an audit of the $26 billion in financial and military assistance that the federal government has sent to Ukraine since February 2022. There are serious risks of corruption at the highest political level in Ukraine. Yet, there has not been an independent audit of the billions of Canadian tax dollars and weapons to Ukraine.

According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, Ukraine has been consistently ranked among the world’s most corrupt countries. Five years ago, the European Court of Auditors also found that Ukraine has been plagued by “grand corruption”. In June of this year, the U.S. Inspector General stated in his latest quarterly report that “corruption in Ukraine remains a serious systemic challenge in areas such as defense procurement and energy, and even at the highest levels of government.” Grand Chief Ron Derrickson, an Indigenous leader from British Columbia, wrote about corruption in the Ukrainian economy and legal system in his 2023 book “Ukrainian Scorpions: A Tale of Larceny and Greed.” Last month, the New York Times’ reported that Ukraine’s military procurement system is rife with mismanagement, fraud, and waste. The sources are listed at the end of our letter.

We are concerned that the federal government continues to send more Canadian money and weapons to Ukraine without oversight or an audit. This year, the Prime Minister has offered an additional $2.8 billion in military support to Ukraine, which includes $475 million for ammunition and $400 million for Canadian-made armoured vehicles. The Prime Minister has also pledged millions of Canadian-made drones over the next two years to Ukraine and he signed a 100-year partnership agreement between Canada and Ukraine.

Moreover, Canada has been a state party to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) since 2019. The ATT requires our country to have close oversight of all arms exports and to ensure that there is no illegal diversion. We are concerned that Canada’s arms exports to Ukraine are violating the ATT and that there is fraud, abuse and waste in defence contracts.

Despite the serious risks of corruption in Ukraine, there has not been any independent audit of the billions of Canadian tax dollars and weapons that the federal government has given to the country, thus we are making a direct appeal to you to conduct a thorough audit.

Finally, since January 2022, we have been advocating for Canada and other NATO countries not to send weapons to Ukraine and instead to support diplomacy to resolve the conflict. We want respect for international law in Canadian foreign policy and careful, transparent management of Canadian international assistance. We want this tragic, dangerous war that risks a nuclear escalation to stop and for there to be peace in Ukraine, peace with Russia, and peace in the world.

Sincerely,

cc:
Prime Minister Mark Carney
Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada Pierre Poilievre
Leader of the Bloc Québécois Yves-François Blanchet
Leader of the Green Party Elizabeth May
Leader of the New Democratic Party Avi Lewis
Presiding officer and Speaker of the Senate of Canada is Raymonde Gagné

Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network (CWPJN) Founded in 2020, the Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network brings together over 60 groups, organizations and individuals from across Turtle Island, north of the Medicine Line, who are working in or committed to working in anti-war, peace, environmental, international solidarity, decolonization, and/or social justice areas. Members share broad support for anti-war, peace, and disarmament activities and come together to share information and resources, and work together on collective campaigns and projects.

Web site: https://peaceandjusticenetwork.ca/

Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW) is the largest national feminist peace organization with members and chapters across the country. VOW was established in 1960 and is a non-partisan, non-governmental organization comprised of a network of diverse women. VOW’s main office is in Toronto. VOW runs many campaigns related to women, peace, disarmament and anti-militarism. VOW has consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and every year brings a delegation of Canadian women to the UN Commission on the Status of Women conference. For over 60 years, VOW has tirelessly advocated for a world without war. VOW stands for a feminist peace based on nonviolence, disarmament, diplomacy and common security with gender equality.

Web site: http://vowpeace.org

Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom (WILPF) Canada is a membership-led organization committed to a feminist peace, social justice, and gender equality. We are a non-partisan, non-governmental organization members across the country. We are the national section of WILPF International, which is the world’s longest standing women peace organization founded in 1915, with 32 Sections and 13 Groups across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Two of our leaders, Jane Addams and Emily Greene Balch, won the Nobel Peace Prize. WILPF International is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and has a disarmament program called Reaching Critical Will in New York. Our Peace Women program monitors the United Nations’ Women, Peace & Security agenda and we have an international Environment Working Group.

Web site: wilpfcanada.ca

SOURCES:

Arms Trade Treaty: https://www.thearmstradetreaty.org/ 

Dr. Jeffrey Sach’s Speech in the European Parliament, October 16, 2026: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqkyulCBcpY

Grand Chief Ronald M. Derrickson “Ukrainian Scorpions: A Tale of Larceny and Greed”, book published by ECW Press, 2023.

Special Report 23/2021: Reducing grand corruption in Ukraine: several EU initiatives, but still insufficient results, European Court of Auditors: https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR21_23

The New York Times, “In Ukraine, Fraud and Waste Are Rewarded With More Weapons Contracts” by Andrew E. Kramer, Bianca Pallaro and Evelina Riabenko, September 6, 2026: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/06/world/europe/ukraine-war-weapons-fraud-corruption.html

Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, Ukraine: https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/ukraine

U.S. Inspector General stated in his latest quarterly report OPERATION ATLANTIC RESOLVE AND OTHER U.S. GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES RELATED TO UKRAINE, April 1-June 30, 2026, p. 43 https://media.defense.gov/2026/Aug/13/2003981921/-1/-1/1/OAR_Q3_JUN2026_FINAL_508%20SECURE.PDF