Statement on Canadian nuclear policy (17 June 1998).

The time has come for Canada to formulate a coherent policy on the subject of nuclear weapons and to vote at the United Nations, in the company of the majority of the world's nations, for comprehensive negotiations to eliminate nuclear weapons.

India's five nuclear explosions, and Pakistan's six explosions, have shown that the status quo, in which the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council keep their nuclear weapons indefinitely while all others are prohibited from acquiring them, is unsustainable.

Canada must no longer be a nuclear fence-sitter: on the one hand ardently supporting the Non-Proliferation Treaty and international law, while on the other hand supporting, and hiding behind, the nuclear arsenals of the United States and NATO. The actions of India and Pakistan have demonstrated the futility of this approach.

It is appropriate to condemn the governments of India and Pakistan for their recent nuclear tests. But such gestures are not enough. Canada's proper response to the actions of India and Pakistan - and perhaps the only means by which we can reverse the escalation of the nuclear arms race in the Indian sub-continent - would be to join the growing global movement pressing all Nuclear Weapon States for an unequivocal commitment to commence negotiations leading to the elimination of nuclear weapons. We especially urge the Canadian government to join the "New Agenda Coalition" of middle power states working for the elimination of nuclear weapons that was announced by Ireland on 9 June 1998.

Shortly before the recent round of nuclear weapons tests, an Angus Reid poll showed that 92 percent of Canadians want Canada to play a leading role in the global effort to abolish nuclear weapons.

The overwhelming majority of Canadians believe that the complete elimination of nuclear weapons is the only way to prevent the spread and ultimately the use of these weapons. Canada must commit itself unequivocally to this goal.

Signed by the following member organizations of the Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons:

Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility

Canadian Peace Alliance 

Canadian Pugwash Committee

Canadian Voice of Women for Peace

Centre de ressources sur la non-violence

End the Arms Race

Lawyers for Social Responsibility

Les Artistes pour la Paix

Peacefund Canada

Physicians for Global Survival

Project Ploughshares 

Science for Peace

United Nations Association in Canada 

Veterans Against Nuclear Arms