As Canada continues to ship out more arms to countries around the world, critics are concerned deadly weapons are going to countries with questionable human rights records — and it’s not clear which organizations in those countries are the ones buying.

An analysis of Industry Canada arms exports data shows a category of explosives covering bombs, torpedoes, grenades, mines and more, increased by 51 per cent to $126.7-million in 2013.

That included a $13.9-million dollar deal with Saudi Arabia, which last bought those kinds of weapons — only one thousand dollars worth — in 2011.

Click here for an interactive map of where Canada sells explosive ammunition.

Another group of weapons including rocket and grenade launchers, flamethrowers and other propellers increased by 11 per cent, with Colombia now on the list of customers.

In total, sales of arms — excluding lesser weapons like swords, bayonets and air gun pellets — went up by 29 per cent, but the Industry Canada dataset doesn’t include more costlier things it exports, like like transport carriers or jet fighters.

A big chunk of both of these sales went to the U.S. and U.K., but over the last few years Canada has also started selling more to countries like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Iraq.

Steven Staples, a policy analyst from the Rideau Institute, an Ottawa-based advocacy group that’s been critical of Canada’s arms trade, said there should be more stringent rules about where arms exports go and the country should close loopholes that fast-track contract reviews.

As Canada starts to sells more to places like Colombia and Saudi Arabia, he said, “it’s hard to imagine having any policy in place that can prevent Canadian arms exports from going to human rights abusers.”

Staples said the Canadian defence industry expanded during 9/11 and Afghanistan, and as it winds down it’s looking to replace orders with arms exports to more countries.

“This kind of cycle is the same thing that happened at the end of the Cold War,” he said. Staples said this is also why the government doesn’t want to sign the UN arms trade treaty.

But Walter Dorn, a professor of Defence Studies at the Royal Military College of Canada, said the government hasn’t signed the treaty largely because it’s concerned how it could affect domestic sports arms sales.

“The U.S. government can overcome the National Rifle Association, why can’t Canada overcome internal opposition?”

Dorn said the answer to the human rights exporting concern is simple: “where there are human rights violations by government, don’t ship them arms.”

“Some of those countries are human rights violators, no doubt Saudi Arabia,” he said.

“We should be even more transparent so we can know what arms ship to who,” Dorn said.

He said right now we know it’s shipped to a country but not whether it goes to governments, companies, individuals or rebel forces.

The federal government made it a point in the 2014 budget it’s looking to expand arms manufacturing and exports, and has said it’s focusing its foreign policy primarily on trade.

Last month, the government made a major announcement that it helped secure a $10-billion US deal for General Dynamics to sell armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia.

Derek Lothian, a spokesperson for the Canada Manufacturers and Exporters association, said deals like that provide a level of stability to the manufacturing sector.

“Military procurement is a more stable, long term market.”

He said Saudi Arabia has been “a long-time ally of both Canada and the United States.”

“I view it as a positive. It’s better for us to deal with our partners around the world. It’s not a bad thing – they’re going to get it from somewhere.”

He said the increase in arms exports, in general, is reflective of the world we live in.

“I don’t think it’s going to slow down anytime soon.”