Please read the statement below from Elizabeth May, MP for Saanich–Gulf Islands and Leader of the Green Party of Canada, regarding her attendance this week in New York City at the United Nations Second Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW):
I was proud to stand in solidarity with my parliamentary colleagues Heather McPherson, Don Davies and Marilou McPhedran as we met in New York City for the UN conference on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons’ (ICAN) welcomed us into their delegation of parliamentarians whose countries refused to participate.
Canada continues to stand on the sidelines as the risk of nuclear weapons being used increases every day. At a time when President Putin’s government has openly floated the use of nukes in Ukraine, it is more important than ever to elevate nuclear disarmament above petty politics. Reckless rhetoric about using nuclear weapons poses an existential threat to all of us, threatening to transform the world and life as we know it. Citizens should never have to bear the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons use or testing.
The elimination of these threats to humanity must be treated as a non-partisan priority that demands immediate action from all governments. As a country claiming to be a leader in peacekeeping, Canada should have signed the treaty in 2017 and our government should have attended this conference.
The people want disarmament – why are they not being heard?