Whereas:
The nuclear threat is the highest it has ever been as the Doomsday Clock has been set at 90 seconds to midnight, due in part to the continuing war in Ukraine and the threats to use nuclear weapons;
An intentional or accidental detonation of a single nuclear weapon would be disastrous, leading to the deaths of millions of people and contaminating the land, water and air with cancer-causing radiation;
Nuclear weapons states are modernizing their arsenals;
The continued reliance on nuclear deterrence by nations like Canada through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allows the threat to persist;
This nuclear peril to humanity necessitates the total elimination of nuclear weapons as required by the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW);
Canadian youth have increasingly called on Canada to join the TPNW, most recently through the Youth Declaration issued at the Youth-Parliament Nuclear Summit; and
The TPNW has been ratified by 70 countries and signed by 93 countries, but not yet by Canada.
We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
1. Sign and commit to ratifying the TPNW;
2. Send a delegation to attend the Third Meeting of States Parties for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons that will take place in New York from March 3 to 7, 2025
3. Hold public consultations on disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation; and
4. Propose a parliamentary study on NATO’s nuclear deterrence and Canada’s obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
*Only Canadian citizens or residents can sign the petition. Must include city, province, or postal code.