On April 8, 2010, United States President Barak Obama and Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev signed a landmark new nuclear weapons treaty.
The US and Russia agreed to reduce the number of nuclear weapons they hold by one third, and reduce the number of missiles that can deliver nuclear bombs by half.
The end of the Cold War presented an opportunity for progress to make the world safe from nuclear weapons. However, the promise of a world free of nuclear weapons has gone unrealized until now.
Canada used to play a key role in promoting nuclear disarmament, and was one of the potential nuclear weapons states that deliberately chose not to develop a nuclear arsenal.
My colleague Bill Siksay, MP for Burnaby-Douglas, is the current Chair of the Canadian Section of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (PNND). PNND is an international organization of over 700 elected officials in 75 countries. In Canada over 60 MPs and Senators from all political parties are members. This includes every federal NDP MP.
All of us were pleased that the Speech from the Throne mentioned nuclear disarmament:
“Recognizing the danger posed by the proliferation of nuclear materials and technology to global peace and security, our Government will support the initiatives of President Obama and participate fully in the landmark Nuclear Security Summit in Washington in April.”
A public statement from our government on the issue of nuclear disarmament was long overdue. However, much remains to be done.
Canada must actively pursue a nuclear weapons-free world. There are a number of ways we can do this.
Prime Minister Harper and Foreign Affairs Minister Cannon must congratulate Presidents Obama and Medvedev on this new treaty and must step up diplomatic efforts in Washington and Moscow to make clear Canada’s interest in the ratification of this agreement. They should have been full participants in the Nuclear Security Summit which took place in Washington on April 12th – 13th, 2010.
Canada should endorse United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon’s plan on nuclear disarmament and disarmament issues which includes that all treaty on Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) parties fulfill their obligation under the treaty to undertake negotiations on effective measures leading to nuclear disarmament, and a unilateral moratorium on nuclear tests and the production of fissile materials.
Canada could also use its position to encourage important discussions about NATO nuclear policies and establishing an Arctic nuclear weapons free zone.
It is important that Canada recommit to nuclear non-proliferation joining countries like Australia and Japan that recently made a joint statement on nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Canada must also rebuild its diplomatic capacity in the area of disarmament negotiations. Areas where Canada has had world leading abilities such as the verification of steps towards disarmament, must again become a priority for our government.
We need a strong public statement that includes an action plan from our Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the issue of nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation.
Nuclear weapons have never made the world safer. Despite the end of the Cold War, the world remains on the brink of a nuclear weapons disaster. Today, there is new hope that we can make progress to a world where nuclear weapons become a thing of the past. We must not lose this opportunity. Canada has a major role to play.