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Context: House Hansard - 121 - Oct/31/22

Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Oct/31/22 6:42:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to pursue a question I initially asked in the month of May relating to the upcoming June session, the first session, of the conference of the parties within the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. I asked the question as to whether Canada was going to attend. I was following up on a question from the hon. member for Edmonton Strathcona, who had just asked a similar question. The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in his response said that the Government of Canada was going to maintain an unwavering commitment to nuclear disarmament. In the end, Canada did not send a delegation to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. We did not even send an unofficial delegation of observers. This was a profound disappointment to the community within Canada that is looking to the government to stand up and work against the threat of nuclear war. We have had a nuclear non-proliferation treaty in the world since 1970. We had historic progress made. At the time the United States was under President Ronald Reagan and the then-nation of the U.S.S.R. was under Mikhail Gorbachev, they decided together to work to eliminate nuclear weapons. We have had significant backsliding since then from both the U.S. government and, of course, the U.S.S.R. is no longer. Mikhail Gorbachev, God bless and rest his soul, is no longer with us. The appallingly militaristic and brutal dictator within the alleged democracy of Russia, Vladimir Putin, is now bringing us closer to the threat of nuclear war than we have been at any time for very many decades. I note that, as time has passed before I could pursue this question, ironically today's date places us very close to the anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis, which took place in late October of 1962. Here we are in 2022. What have we learned and what have we done? We must do more to end the threat of nuclear war. As we look at Canada's role as a member of NATO and what is happening right now with Vladimir Putin mentioning specifically the potential threat of using nuclear weapons, that must be denounced so strongly at all times. We know one of the reasons the U.S. government put forward to oppose the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was that it could “delegitimize the concept of nuclear deterrence upon which many U.S. allies and partners depend”. That is something for us to actually focus on regarding the importance of signing on to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, that it would, in the words of the U.S., under former president Donald Trump, “delegitimize the concept of nuclear deterrence”. That is certainly something we should support. We must delegitimize the notion of nuclear war, nuclear deterrence or nuclear strikes, if we are going to have a peaceful world. There is no question in my mind, and I will be interested in what the government representatives say to this tonight. Had we pursued aggressively the work we should do as a non-nuclear state without being so subservient to our nuclear state neighbour, as we did in the Ottawa Treaty to ban landmines, we could perhaps have kept the world much safer from Vladimir Putin.

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Context: House Hansard - 121 - Oct/31/22

Hon. Robert Oliphant (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lib.)

Oct/31/22 6:46:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands for both her original question and her statements tonight. I want to be clear that Canada has always had a clear policy of disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful use of nuclear energy. The 52-year-old Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the NPT, a treaty with near-universal adherence, is at the root of Canada's nuclear policy. It is also unquestionably the cornerstone of the international nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime. Canada clearly acknowledges the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the TPNW, last year, and the first meeting of the states parties in late June of this year. We understand and appreciate the sentiment behind the TPNW, but I will reiterate tonight that Canada is not a state party to this treaty, as several of its provisions are incompatible with our NATO commitments. NATO is a defensive alliance and, whether we like it or not, nuclear deterrence is currently a reality. However, we must and will continue efforts to strengthen the international arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament architecture. The best way to do that is through a step-by-step approach. Under the current framework of the NPT, Canada is a very active member of both the ministerial-level Stockholm initiative and the non-proliferation and disarmament initiative. These groupings are cross-regional and bring a variety of different but valuable perspectives. These groups put forward concrete proposals to advance nuclear disarmament, many of which were widely supported at the NPT review conference in August in New York. The Stockholm initiative in particular has served as a unifying force on nuclear disarmament. I have attended several meetings of the initiative and recognize that the short-term concrete actions recommended by the initiative have great potential to make real progress in our overall objective of a nuclear weapons-free world. This includes important risk-reduction measures that nuclear weapon states can take to reduce the risk of possible use of these weapons, which is all the more urgent given the current international context. Canada is and will remain an active participant in multilateral efforts to develop nuclear disarmament verification processes and capacity. We provide financial and expert support to the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification and are part of the UN group of government experts on this issue. Co-operation in these fora on technical issues between nuclear and non-nuclear weapon states builds trust and confidence and lays the groundwork for future disarmament work. While the current international environment remains extremely difficult and even precarious, Canada will continue to take a constructive and ambitious approach to nuclear disarmament. Russia's obstructionism in international fora and its continual and reckless nuclear sabre-rattling pose a direct challenge to the rules-based international order of which the NPT is an integral part. Canada will work with all states, including TPNW proponents, to further our collective ambitions for nuclear disarmament. There is a wide range of views on how we can make progress on nuclear disarmament. I saw that first-hand when I met with groups of Canadian civil society leaders on this issue earlier this year. We are listening continually to advocates on the subject, but in light of the precarious international situation, Canada's approach will continue to be one that engages diverse stakeholders and attempts to value all perspectives. Creativity is needed in this field to overcome the stalemates and abuse of fair process by bad faith actors. We are committed to engaging in reform and refreshing our international system. With that in mind, Canada will continue to engage with a broad coalition of countries to push for a nuclear weapons-free world.

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Context: House Hansard - 121 - Oct/31/22

Hon. Robert Oliphant

Oct/31/22 6:52:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would simply reiterate that Canada's commitment to advancing nuclear disarmament is unwavering. Indeed, we were very aware and took very strong note of the first meeting of the state's parties of the TPNW. Important conversations were had. We are well aware of them, but with 191 states having joined the NPT in over 52 years of history, we are focused on continuing to strengthen that treaty regime. As I have outlined, we are working through long-standing partnerships, such as the non-proliferation and disarmament initiatives and, more recently, established the Stockholm initiative on nuclear disarmament. These are important multilateral bodies that are trying to make a difference to move the needle on this significant issue. The diverse membership of these groups is their strength. Canada will be there.

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