Canada's largest coalition of peace organizations calls on Government of Canada to tell George Bush not to proceed with NMD plans

May 2, 2001 - For immediate release

Toronto – With the announcement of US President George Bush's plans to scale up the National Missile Defence proposals, Canada's largest umbrella peace organization calls on the Government of Canada to ask the government of the United States not to proceed with its plans for National Missile Defense (NMD).

"Now that Bush's intentions are clearly 'full steam ahead'," said Judith Berlyn, Co-Chair of the Canadian Peace Alliance (CPA), "it's time for Canada to take a stand and say a resounding NO! to NMD."

"The longer the Government of Canada delays taking a clear stance against NMD, " said Carolyn Bassett, Coordinator of the CPA, "the more our international credibility as a country committed to non-proliferation, arms control and nuclear disarmament will suffer." Despite the clear statement that the Bush administration intends to proceed with a vastly scaled-up version of the National Missile Defence program, the Chretien government's position on National Missile Defence remains that it has no position.

The Canadian Peace Alliance position statement on National Missile Defence, released in February, calls on the Government of Canada to "declare its objection to the US National Missile Defence program (regardless of whether or not it is asked to participate) and to oppose the weaponisation of space in any form."

The CPA statement highlights the threat posed by NMD to important arms control treaties including the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). An Angus Reid poll commissioned by the CPA in 1998 found that 93% of Canadians supported Canada taking a leadership role in global negotiations to abolish nuclear weapons.

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More information on National Missile Defence and the 1998 Angus Reid poll on Canada attitudes towards nuclear disarmament is available on the Canadian Peace Alliance web site, <www.acp-cpa.ca>.

Contact Carolyn Bassett, Coordinator of the Canadian Peace Alliance, (416) 588-5555 or (416) 577-2499 or <cpa@web.ca>.

Canadian Peace Alliance

statement on

National Missile Defence

National Missile Defence (NMD) is a unilateral initiative of the United States that no other major country supports. The Canadian Peace Alliance urges the Government of Canada to declare its objection to the US National Missile Defence program (regardless of whether or not it is asked to participate) and to oppose the weaponisation of space in any form.

NMD is part of a United States plan to dominate space by "integrating Space Forces into warfighting capabilities" (as outlined in United States Space Command document "Vision for 2020"). It is a step towards the deployment of weapons in space, which will create uncertainty and distrust, destabilize international relations and lead to a new nuclear arms race.

NMD violates the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, signed by the United States, and runs counter to Canada’s commitment as a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to promote complete nuclear disarmament. These treaties are cornerstones of the international non-proliferation; arms control and disarmament regimes long supported by Canada.

The Canadian Peace Alliance further calls on the Government of Canada to play a leadership role in banning nuclear weapons and missile flight tests.

February 23, 2001