CNANW

The Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons | Le Réseau canadien pour l’abolition des armes nucléaires

CNANW Condemns Nuclear Threats; Calls for De-escalation and Total Nuclear Disarmament

August 5, 2025

Media Release

Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (CNANW) Condemns Nuclear Threats; Calls for De-escalation and Total Nuclear Disarmament.

Ottawa – August 4, 2025 –  On the eve of the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th and 9th 1945 that claimed more than 200,000 lives, a network of 18 prominent Canadian NGOs dedicated to the total elimination of nuclear weapons has condemned recent rhetoric and actions by Russia and the US concerning the possible use of nuclear weapons.

In response to threats by the US to impose stricter sanctions on Russia for failing to end its invasion of Ukraine, former Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, now Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, reminded the US that Russia has significant nuclear strike capabilities. Russian President Putin, Foreign Minister Lavrov and others in the Kremlin have also invoked the spectre of nuclear war on multiple occasions, in particular, should a third party directly engage Russia in defence of Ukraine.

Last Friday, in response, US President Trump said “I ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia. Words are very important and can often lead to unintended consequences”.

On behalf of the Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Chairperson, Earl Turcotte, condemned “this dangerous rhetoric and actions that will increase the already critical level of tension between and among nuclear powers”.

The CNANW believes that the open deployment of “nuclear submarines” by the US to strategic positions vis a vis Russia, will increase fear of a nuclear first strike – an option not ruled out by either nation.

The US and Russia possess approximately 90% of the global nuclear arsenal. The balance, by the U.K., France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea.

Scientific modeling has demonstrated that the detonation of even 3% of this total would kill millions immediately and in the weeks and months following. It would also eject enough dirt and smoke into earth’s atmosphere to plunge the planet into a nuclear winter for more than a decade, resulting in widespread famine that could wipe out a third of humanity. A wider nuclear exchange could end life on earth as we know it, if not completely.

The world has lived with the threat of nuclear annihilation for 80 years, yet all nine nuclear powers are engaged in a new nuclear arms race – expanding and ‘modernizing’ their arsenals and introducing new delivery systems that many consider virtually impossible to defeat.  The US and Russia have also recently lowered their respective thresholds for the use of nuclear weapons. Add to this the risk of cyber-attack and/or non-state actors acquiring nuclear capability.

The ‘Doomsday Clock’ established by atomic scientists in 1947, is at 89 seconds to midnight, closer to ‘Doomsday’ than at any point in its history.

“This is insanity”, said Turcotte. “We are one miscalculation, accident or deliberate act by a profoundly misguided leader away from nuclear Armageddon.

More than 100 nations have already declared themselves nuclear weapons-free zones. It’s past time for like-minded nations around the world to impel and, if necessary, to compel nuclear armed states to reverse the nuclear arms race and enter into legally binding agreements that will result in the total elimination of nuclear weapons and the establishment of an effective monitoring system to ensure compliance, indefinitely. We did it with chemical and biological weapons. We can and must do it with the ultimate weapon of mass destruction!”

The CNANW urges Canada and NATO to begin to play an international leadership role to this end, and to do so on an urgent basis, as though another nuclear event were imminent. It very well could be.

Ottawa, August 4, 2025

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For additional information, contact Earl Turcotte, Chairperson of the CNANW, at: earl.turcotte[at]gmail.com or by telephone at 613-839-2777

 *CNANW Member Organizations

Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility

Canadian Federation of University Women

Canadian Peace Research Association

Canadian Pugwash Group

Canadian Voice of Women for Peace

Friends for Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention

Group of 78

Hiroshima – Nagasaki Day Coalition

International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War Canada

Peace Train Canada

Project Ploughshares

Project Save the World

Religions for Peace Canada

Rideau Institute

Science for Peace

United Nations Association in Canada

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

World Federalist Movement Canada

Douglas Roche, O.C. Named 2025 Winner of CLND Award for Distinguished Achievement in Nuclear Disarmament

July 17, 2025

 

Douglas Roche, O.C. Named 2025 Winner of CLND Award for
Distinguished Achievement in Nuclear Disarmament:

Presentation and Lecture in Ottawa on October 23, 202

July 17, 2025

Douglas Roche, O.C. will receive the Canadian Leadership for Nuclear Disarmament (CLND) 2025 Distinguished Achievement Award. He has devoted himself over many decades to the vital cause of nuclear disarmament and, ultimately, the global abolition of nuclear weapons. CLND is a civil society initiative sponsored by the Canadian Pugwash Group. It is endorsed by more than 1,000 recipients of the Order of Canada who have called for Canada to work for comprehensive negotiations for the elimination of nuclear weapons.

“We are immensely proud to give this year’s Award to Douglas Roche, honouring his unwavering and inspiring leadership, for more than 50 years, resolutely focused on ridding the world of its catastrophically deadly arsenal of nuclear weapons,” said Alex Neve O.C., CLND Chairperson. “There is no one who has been so steadfast, brought so many others to this vital campaign, and shown all Canadians the moral clarity and pragmatic necessity of the cause. Doug Roche embodies the very epitome of the essence and finest qualities of leadership. And he has ardently and eloquently shown us all just what is at stake: our very survival.”

Douglas Roche has had the rare distinction of serving in the three roles of a Canadian Member of Parliament, Ambassador for Disarmament and Senator. He received appointments from two prime ministers of different parties: Brian Mulroney appointed him ambassador and Jean Chretien named him a senator. In all of those roles he has been a clarion voice for peace, justice and human rights, and has been untiring in his determined effort, in particular, to advance nuclear disarmament.

Roche, who is also a former Visiting Professor at the University of Alberta, has been a lifelong educator, informing Canadians of the risks posed by nuclear weapons and policy options to lessen those risks. He has written 25 books, and multiple articles and speeches. To strengthen disarmament education, he has organized many Parliamentary breakfasts, civil society meetings, roundtables, seminars, and briefings. He holds nine honorary doctorates and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Roche has also been integral to the creation of a wide range of effective nuclear disarmament advocacy groups. He was founding Chairperson of  Parliamentarians for Global Action, the Middle Powers Initiative, and the Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. He was the first international president of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament.

“For his integrity, knowledge, dedication and unflagging hard work, Douglas Roche commands an exceptional – in fact unrivalled – level and degree of respect across Canada and globally, including from governments, UN officials, civil society leaders, academics, and peace and human rights activists,” said Neve. “At the age of 96, the determination and energy he continues to bring to this crucial campaign, sets a model that we all must aspire to follow.”

The Award will be presented at 4 PM on Thursday, October 23, 2025 and followed by Douglas Roche’s lecture, on “Creative Dissent: A Politician’s Struggle for Peace.” This public event is sponsored by CLND and the Centre for International Policy Studies (CIPS) at the University of Ottawa, in Room 4007 of the Faculty of Social Sciences Building, 120 University Private, Ottawa. The lecture will be followed by a reception and will conclude at 6 pm.

 

Previous recipients of the CNWC/CLND Achievement Award are:

2011 Murray Thomson

2012 Bev Tollefson Delong

2013 Fergus Watt

2014 Adele Buckley

2015 Paul Dewar

2016 Peggy Mason

2017 Metta Spencer

2018 Debbie Grisdale

2019 Dr. Mary-Wynne Ashford and Dr. Jonathan Down

2021 Dr. Jennifer Allen Simons

2022 Paul Meyer

2023 Tariq Rauf

2024 Ernie Regehr

 

Contact:    Elaine Hynes

CLND Secretariat

clnd@pugwashgroup.ca

Statement: “Nuclear Disarmament in Times of Unprecedented Risk”

November 22, 2024

 

Five Recommendations Arising From the Roundtable

On October 24, 2024, Canada’s four leading nuclear disarmament organizations—the Canadian Pugwash Group, the Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Canadians for a Nuclear Weapons Convention, and Project Ploughshares—convened an expert Roundtable on “Nuclear Disarmament in Times of Unprecedented Risk.” This was held in response to rapidly escalating nuclear threats. The convening organizations share the profound conviction that Canada must urgently reassert its voice and leadership in the global disarmament arena.
 
The gravity of today’s nuclear threats, underscored by the heightened possibility of nuclear weapons’ use, demands that Canada act with bold urgency. In our Report, we call on the Government of Canada to reaffirm its role as a constructive middle power by embracing these recommendations. By doing so, Canada can strengthen its legacy of peacebuilding and advance the imperative of nuclear disarmament in times of unprecedented risk.  Read the report here: ND4 Report to GoC 2024

Why Two Percent?

March 25, 2024

THE HILL TIMES
March 25, 2024
by Robin Collins and Sylvie Lemieux
Co-chairpersons of the Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Canada can engage in diplomatic efforts to end our reliance on nuclear deterrence. This means signaling to all NATO’s members to slow and reverse momentum in supporting a global arms race. Instead, let’s increase overseas development and peacekeeping contributions.

As global spending on weapons and war reaches its highest level ever—more than US$2.2-trillion, about twice what it was in 2001—NATO allies such as Canada have been called upon to pay up, including reaching the arbitrary two per cent of GDP that the alliance collectively “agreed” to. The clamour among columnists for Canada to step up is deafening, and we think this noise is misleading.

In 2006, NATO’s then-26 members committed themselves to the two per cent to ensure “military readiness,” and to enhance the “perception of the Alliance’s credibility.” This would entail a significant increase for Canada—now at ~1.4 per cent—even while this country is already NATO’s seventh largest provider—out of 31 members—in dollar figures, and 14th in a world of 193 states. Some freeloader!

The United States share (39 per cent) and Chinese share (13 per cent) combined are over half of all the world’s military spending. Russia (at 3.9 per cent) is far behind. This raises many questions. What is the money being spent on? Is increased military spending in perpetuity the best way to commit to global security, or is it intended to maintain a particular power dynamic?

We face a multitude of global crises that require global cooperation. Every dollar spent on weapons escalation will inevitably deprive funding of other important services. Addressing the climate crisis is urgent, and requires immediate attention and huge expenditures. The same goes for pandemic preparedness, international attention to artificial intelligence threats, and increased spending on conflict resolution mechanisms.

But the goal of an arms race is to achieve power superiority over a rival. We need to outspend them and—therefore, logically—they us. Particularly in a multi-polar world, this is a pointless, endless, and dangerous endeavor.

Two per cent for NATO also means cutting back on foreign aid. The rarely-mentioned competing alternative is former Canadian prime minister Lester Pearson’s proposal—which made it into a UN resolution in 1970—that States pay 0.7 per cent of their gross national income for overseas development. That would have the advantage of raising the material wealth of the world’s poorest countries, and simultaneously reducing the weaponizing mechanisms that lead to violent conflict.

We all have seen how nuclear deterrence both failed to impede Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and raised the risk of nuclear war, while conventional weapon inventory is quickly depleted in the bloodbath that is still in progress. NATO’s strategy, however, is substantially based on costing a reliance on “essential” nuclear deterrence for alliance security. This includes new spending earmarked for modernization of nuclear missile inventories held by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. The U.S. Congressional Budget Office, for example, predicts modernization of U.S. nuclear arsenals alone will reach US$60-billion per year through 2030. While polls show NATO remains popular among many of their citizens, nuclear weapons certainly are not. A strong majority of Canadians—80 per cent—think the world should work to eliminate nuclear weapons, not modernize them.

There is a financial and security relationship between steering away from a global warring framework based on nuclear threats and military superiority, and shifting spending towards cooperative alternatives that help solve our common problems. While conflicts will continue for the foreseeable future, there are better options available to reduce them than the ones we are being badgered to fulfil.

Canada can engage in diplomatic efforts to stifle and end our reliance on nuclear deterrence. This means also signaling to all NATO’s members to slow and reverse momentum in support of a global arms race. Instead, let’s increase overseas development and peacekeeping contributions. NATO members could start by agreeing to cut their military spending to 0.7 per cent and increase foreign aid to two per cent. This is a viable trend all nations and the planet will benefit from.

The Hill Times

Submission to UN Summit of the Future

January 8, 2024

Submitted by CNANW as a contribution to:  Chapter II. International peace and security

Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Steering Committee (CNANW-SC) welcomes the opportunity for civil society to make an important contribution to the upcoming UN Summit of the Future.

First, we strongly encourage the strengthening of support for the bedrock Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and goals of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and other legal restraints and obligations. But greater attention to the urgent work to eliminate nuclear weapons is required.

Second, CNANW-SC supports the nuclear disarmament proposals from civil society for the Summit of the Future  in the first round of civil society consultations facilitated by the Coalition for the UN we Need, and which are included in the Interim People’s Pact for the Future which includes the following proposals:

We also highlight the following proposals, which will reduce global instability: 

1)  The approval by all Nuclear Weapons States and their alliances of the policy of No-First-Use of nuclear weapons;

2)  The prioritizing of policies based on Common Security as the foundation for global governance. Restore and expand emphasis on war prevention and peaceful conflict resolution, and give priority to building the United Nations as envisaged by its Charter. Press for multilateral over unilateral responses to stave off, or hasten the repair of, breaches of the peace, to limit human suffering and environment degradation, and to thereby minimize costly military interventions.  Common security puts a premium on the machinery and diplomacy of international cooperation and favours the peaceful resolution of disputes, together with the equal right to security of all states;

3) Reliance on the International Court of Justice as a core legal instrument for the prevention of war;

4)  Sustainable earth stewardship will be enhanced by redirection of financial and human resources away from maintenance of dangerous weapons systems, including nuclear weapons modernization, and failed military doctrines, including nuclear deterrence.

We wish the planners of the UN Summit of the Future great success in the elaboration of the Zero Draft Report.

In pursuit of a more stable and sustainable world, free of nuclear weapons.

We remain available should you have any questions.

Most sincerely,

CNANW Co-Chairs Robin Collins and Dr. Sylvie Lemieux,
CNANW Steering Committee,
and:
Canadian Pugwash Group
Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW)
Group of 78
Hiroshima Nagasaki Day Coalition (HNDC)
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War Canada (IPPNWC)
Project Ploughshares
Religions for Peace Canada
Religions pour la Paix – Québec
Rideau Institute
Science for Peace

— December 2023 —




		

				

				

				

				

			
				Roche: Negotiations are Not Enough			
		

				

					
			September 18, 2023		
				

		

Hon. Douglas Roche, O.C.
Comments to CNANW, November 29, 2022 in Ottawa





Is peace possible in today’s world? Suppose, by some twist of fate, a sudden ceasefire in the Ukraine war occurred without either Ukraine or Russia being declared a winner; and Russia’s threat to use nuclear weapons stopped; and Canada actually used its diplomatic machinery to become active in helping both Ukraine and Russia to live with the geopolitical contours agreed at the negotiating table. Would the world then be at peace? Unfortunately, the answer is no.





To read full statement: 
https://www.cnanw.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/DR_Statement_CNANW_Nov.29_2022.pdf





Negotiations Are Not Enough: DRocheDownload





 

		

				

				

				

				

			
				“NWC Reset: Frameworks for a nuclear-weapon-free world”			
		

				

					
			September 18, 2023		
				

		

Brief comments at the NPT side panels
(by Robin Collins, Co-chair, Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) 
August 9, 2022 by Zoom





“Don’t let your reticence with one approach for the sake of alliance solidarity be the excuse of convenience that you use to justify not proceeding with another.“





A colleague in Canada recently asked us to imagine that day when “You wake up to the news that the last remaining warhead has been dismantled. The era of nuclear weapons is over.”





We know he wasn’t being overly optimistic, because he then offered a list of many of the hard cases and sticky problems that obstruct us: the nuclear sharing policies of NATO; North Korea; Iran; the nuclear weapons states outside the NPT, and all those NPT obligations and expectations that to a large extent are unfulfilled or are openly violated. 





He was urging us to be realists and to consider the complementarity of options.





The point is that the specific vehicle must defer to the desire and commitment by states to accomplish the abolition. What will inspire the political will to end the existential threat hanging over us all? What are the unnecessary obstacles?





As nuclear weapon abolitionists we can make the project of abolition and the replacement security framework coherent and as palatable as possible so that when the road is cleared, or clearer, things can as easily as possible fall into place. Which package, or options picked, is far less important. What counts is that the goal is pursued in earnest.





As Jackie Cabasso, one of our Abolition 2000 working group members said earlier at the NPT as an NGO representative — considering the ignoring of NPT commitments from 1995, 2000 and 2010, it’s time to refocus our attention on the nuclear-armed states. A time-bound target for abolition is overdue. Jackie said: we “call on the nuclear-armed and nuclear sharing states to commit to a timeframe of no later than 2030 for the adoption of a framework, package of agreements or comprehensive nuclear weapons convention, and no later than 2045 for full implementation”.





The Nuclear Weapon Convention Reset paper that our Abolition 2000 working group constructed, has this approach, which is to highlight the three primary options that are under consideration: Then it is up to the official and unofficial Nuclear Weapon States, NATO members and NATO umbrella states to proceed.





Proceed swiftly. 





Canada, my country, has no nuclear weapons although was involved in the nuclear bomb project from the early days, and is a member of NATO, along with three nuclear-armed states, five others with nuclear-sharing arrangements[i] and seven others that participate in Support of Nuclear Operations With Conventional Air Tactics (known as SNOWCAT).[ii] 





We are fully aware of the pressures on NATO members towards their being compliant and in solidarity with other NATO members, to go along with the prevailing winds – and therefore also the reluctance to push back or be that nuclear nag (once again). This is still the case, particularly in the most delicate of moments, by which I mean the current context of the Russian illegal invasion of Ukraine: the sabre-rattling rhetoric, the references to actual use of nuclear weapons. Not to mention the daily killing and dying. But just as the New START talks need to continue, now more than ever, so is this a good time for states to speed up, not slow down, progress on abolition.





Countries like Canada may have been involved at the Stockholm Initiative, a diplomatic forum that proposes risk reduction measures and a “stepping stones approach” to nuclear disarmament; or attended The Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons this last June, but then avoided the TPNW like the plague, despite pressure from disarmament activists and many parliamentarians.





We are here pragmatically advocating for nuclear weapon states and NATO members to consider the options for disarmament that you can stomach. If not the TPNW with protocols, then a nuclear weapons convention or a framework of instruments. Don’t let your reticence with one approach for the sake of alliance solidarity be the excuse of convenience that you use to justify not proceeding with another. 





Some leader or leaders need to step up within NATO to break the silence and expose the illusory consensus, and begin the renewal of the abolition project, because, as the UN Secretary-General said, “Luck is no strategy!”





Our “Nuclear Weapons Convention Reset: Frameworks for a nuclear-weapon-free world” message, therefore, highlights this complementarity of three possibilities towards a time-bound abolition target, for de-escalation of the unhelpful rhetoric, for urgent risk reduction measures, and ultimately for a sustainable peace and common security wherein nuclear threats and nuclear weapons no longer exist. 





Thank you for your time.










[i] Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey





[ii] Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Poland and Romania


		

				

				
				

				

				

			
				Peace Table for Ukraine and Russia			
		

				

					
			September 18, 2023		
				

		

Canadian Pugwash Group hosted an online peace table panel, as response to a recent CNANW request.














The intent of the Canadian Pugwash Group Peace Table was to fulfill one of the actions recommended during the November 29, 2022 Special Meeting of Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (CNANW): To reduce the nuclear weapons risks in the Ukraine conflict, “Civil society can establish an international forum to coordinate an exchange of views towards a peaceful outcome.”





As a community of peace, we felt deeply concerned about the continuing deaths, as well as the physical and environmental destruction occurring due to the Ukraine crisis, and most critically, by the heightened risk of the use of nuclear weapons. We therefore sought to create an opportunity for discussion of a path to a ceasefire and peace negotiations. One ambitious goal is to inspire Presidents Zelensky and Putin, and indeed, all the involved governments as well as civil society.





The Peace Table for Ukraine and Russia was hosted via Zoom on 27 April 2023. Ernie Regehr (a CPG member and author of Disarming Conflict: Why Peace Cannot Be Won on the Battlefield)  was the moderator. Sylvie Lemieux (CPG member and co-chairperson CNANW) was the facilitator of the discussion.





The four guest speakers were:
1. Wolfgang Sporrer, Adjunct Professor- Conflict Management, The Hertie School, Berlin/German (OSCE, Minsk Accords),
2. Sergio Duarte, former UN High Representative for Disarmament,
3. Sergey Batsanov, Russian diplomatic service from 1975 to 1993, former Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament, currently Director of the Geneva Office of Pugwash Conferences, and
4. Mariia Levchenko, Peacebuilding Officer with Peace Action, Training and Research Institute of Romania (PATRIR).





Peace Table Working Group members: Dr. Sylvie Lemieux, Bev Delong and Robin Collins. With support from Ernie Regehr, Cesar Jaramillo and Adele Buckley.

		

				

				

				

				

			
				Petition to the Government of Canada:  Attend, as an observer, the First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons			
		

				

					
			September 18, 2023		
				

		

Pétition au gouvernement du Canada: Assister, en tant qu’observateur, à la première réunion des États parties au Traité sur l’interdiction des armes nucléaires





[Note that a paper version of this petition has collected the requisite 25 signatures.]





[Notez qu’une version papier de cette pétition a recueilli les 25 signatures requises.]





We the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada, profoundly concerned about the increasing risk to humanity posed by nuclear weapons and mindful of the leadership role Canada has historically played on arms control, call upon Canada to Join our allies, Germany and Norway, in attending the First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW as an observer.





Nous, soussigné.e.s, citoyen.ne.s et résident.e.s du Canada, profondément préoccupé.e.s par le risque croissant que représentent les armes nucléaires pour l’humanité et conscient.e.s du rôle de leader que le Canada a historiquement joué en matière de contrôle des armements, appelons le Canada à se joindre à nos alliés, l’Allemagne et la Norvège, pour assister à la première réunion des États parties à la TIAN en tant qu’observateur.





Petition-Canadas-attendance-at-the-First-Meeting-of-States-Parties-to-the-TPNWDownload





CNANW-Petition-Canadas-attendance-at-the-First-Meeting-of-States-Parties-to-the-TPNW-French-1Download






		

				

				

					
		
				

				

						

				

				

		

				

				

					
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