CNWC / RCAN

Canadians for a Nuclear Weapons Convention / Rassemblement canadien pour une convention sur les armes nucléaires

Comments by Alex Neve in presenting 2024 CNWC Achievement Award to Ernie Regehr

December 7, 2024

Alex Neve pays tribute to Ernie Regehr on presenting 2024 Achievement Award:

It is impossible to catalogue all of the ways, all of the times and all of the places that Ernie Regehr has shown up, stood up and spoken out for the cause of nuclear disarmament and the abolition of nuclear weapons. His voice has been a clarion one, internationally, nationally and locally.  Be it at UN conferences and other international meetings, be it before countless Canadian parliamentary committees, political leaders and our diplomatic corps, or be it at the grassroots, addressing rallies and demonstrations, launching petitions, being interviewed by the media, or mounting campaigns.  Always with clarity and conviction. Always focused on bringing our world back from the destructive precipice of nuclear calamity.

His co-founding, in 1976, and many years of exemplary, tireless leadership at Project Ploughshares is reason enough to honour Ernie with this year’s award.  Where, after all, would we be, as peace advocates and researchers in Canada, without Ploughshares’ expert analysis and reports.

Ernie provided leadership in the development of thinking about Common Security policies and Nuclear Weapons Free Zones in a Canadian context. With Ploughshares he ran campaigns against Cruise Missile testing and against NATO warplanes in Labrador and Quebec, and supported the international calls for a Nuclear Freeze, against antipersonnel landmines and for a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

He is a prolific writer, commentator and author, including his thoughtful book, which truly challenges us to adopt a new approach to security and conflict prevention: Disarming Conflict: Why Peace Cannot Be Won on the Battlefield.

And, as you have just heard, through his work with The Simons Foundation Canada he is pressing us to consider nuclear issues, security and the Arctic, such a vital and yet terribly overlooked issue for our country.

In short, in so many ways, we simply would not be where we are as a peace and disarmament movement in Canada, researchers, advocates, scholars and activists alike, without Ernie’s hard work and incredible wisdom.

Having heard this afternoon from the man directly, it is beyond evident why Ernie Regehr is the recipient of this year’s CNWC Distinguished Achievement Award.  Distinguished, absolutely.  Achievements, beyond measure.  Impact, contributions, made a difference?  Completely.  And all with Ernie’s characteristic humility, graciousness, loyalty, solidarity, and good humour.

Alex Neve, OC

Alexandra Gheciu (CIPS), Alex Neve (CNWC), Ernie Regehr (CNWC), and Cesar Jaramillo (Pugwash and Ploughshares) paying tribute.

Regehr: CIPS Policy Brief — The Arctic and the East-West Nuclear Confrontation

December 7, 2024

(Lecture presented at University of Ottawa (CIPS) on the occasion of 2024 CNWC Award for Lifetime Achievement in Nuclear Disarmament presented to Ernie Regehr)

Not so long ago, the Arctic was a region of low tension and high cooperation. In the brief interlude from the final years of the Cold War, and especially Mikhail Gorbachev’s famous 1987 call to establish the Arctic as a zone of peace, to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, several notable agreements on international cooperation were reached (especially the Arctic Council, but also on cross border search and rescue, oil spill mitigation, coast guard coordination, and fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean). The Arctic enjoyed a political narrative that dared to entertain visions of a zone of sustainable cooperative security.

Access lecture here:  https://www.cips-cepi.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Regehr_PB_43-3.pdf

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 report here: ND4 Report to GoC 2024

Ernie Regehr Named 2024 CNWC Award Winner for Lifetime Achievement in Nuclear Disarmament

September 9, 2024

September 9, 2024

Ernie Regehr, who has devoted a lifetime of work to the nuclear disarmament movement in Canada, will receive the Canadians for a Nuclear Weapons Convention (CNWC) 2024 Distinguished Achievement Award.

CNWC is a civil society initiative sponsored by the Canadian Pugwash Group and 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 proud to give this year’s Award to Ernie Regehr for his expert leadership for half a century to rid the world of nuclear weapons,” said Alex Neve O.C., CNWC Chairperson.

Regehr was the founding Executive Director of Project Ploughshares in 1976. In that post, he led a civil society movement in 1999 successfully urging the Government of Canada to use its influence to have NATO review its nuclear weapons policies. He later partnered with Dr. Jennifer Allen Simons, president of The Simons Foundation Canada, on Arctic security and Canadian defence policy issues.

His book, Disarming Conflict: Why Peace Cannot Be Won on the Battlefield, published in 2015, is an authentic study shattering the illusion that war is necessary for peace. His citation as an Officer of the Order of Canada stated: “He is one of Canada’s most prominent and respected voices on international disarmament and peace.” Additionally, he has been awarded the University of Waterloo’s 50th Anniversary Alumni Award (2007), the Arthur Kroeger College Award for Ethics in Public Affairs (2011), and the Pearson Peace Medal (2011).

Throughout his career, Regehr has modelled for his colleagues in the peace movement the importance of a respectful, open approach among themselves and in their relations with parliamentarians and officials.

The Award will be presented Oct. 24, 2024 at Regehr’s lecture, “The Arctic and the East-West Nuclear Confrontation,” sponsored by CNWC and the Centre for International Policy Studies (CIPS) at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Social Sciences Building, 120 University Private, Ottawa. The public lecture, beginning at 4 pm, will be followed by a reception.

 

 

Previous recipients of the CNWC 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

Contact: Elaine Hynes

CNWC Secretariat

cnwc@pugwashgroup.ca

Roche/Rauf: How Canada Can Regain Leadership in Nuclear Disarmament

May 23, 2024

Re: Grave crisis in global nuclear arms control and disarmament: Recommendations for Canadian Action

Linked below is the paper entitled, “How Canada Can Regain Leadership in Nuclear Disarmament,” authored by former Senator Douglas Roche, O.C. and Tariq Rauf, former head of Verification and Security at the International Atomic Energy Agency, and published by the four leading nuclear disarmament organizations in Canada:

Canadian Pugwash Group
Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
Canadians for a Nuclear Weapons Convention
Project Ploughshares

This paper is intended to further Canadian government action in response to the grave crisis in global nuclear arms control and disarmament.

Roche/Rauf: How Canada Can Regain Leadership in Nuclear Disarmament

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