Today, there are almost 27,000 nuclear weapons left in the world. Over 4,000 of these are on trigger alert – ready to be computer-launched within minutes. The risk of accidental nuclear war is as great as it has ever been. Even a small accidental attack could devastate the entire planet; if dropped in tropical areas, a minuscule percentage of the world’s total nuclear explosive power would affect the climate so greatly that agriculture would collapse in major areas and billions would die from starvation.
Yet, the world faces an even greater nuclear threat. As more countries of the world gain access to nuclear power, more nuclear weapons will be in the hands of unstable regimes. The risk is such that Henry Kissinger and George Schultz warn that the world is now poised "on the precipice of a new and dangerous nuclear era."
Here in Halifax, we already face a tremendous nuclear threat. At this time, any NATO vessel entering Halifax Harbour is permitted to carry nuclear weapons on board. Our government holds an official "neither confirm nor deny" policy on their existence. This means that our government essentially sanctions the presence of nuclear weapons right outside our front doors. Halifax consequently faces a small but very real risk of a catastrophe far greater than the explosion of 1917.
In 2008, it is hard to believe that the people of the world still live with the threat of nuclear annihilation. Over 60 years have passed since the world first witnessed the inhuman devastation created by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But the major powers of the world have never responded adequately.
The first significant non-proliferation treaty did not come into effect until 1970. Even then, it set no timetable for nuclear states to destroy their stockpiles. Unsurprisingly, Russia and the U.S. did nothing to reduce their weapons.
The end of the Cold War represented another tragic lost opportunity. With the end of military confrontation, the two superpowers no longer had any rationale for maintaining their nuclear stockpiles. Yet both countries chose to maintain a grotesque level of nuclear armament.
Canada should now play a significant role in leading an international anti-nuclear campaign. We have already taken several important steps, including ratifying the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970. But the Canadian public clearly wants the government to do far more: In a recent poll, 73 per cent of Canadians supported eliminating all nuclear weapons through an enforceable agreement. If it claims to represent the people of Canada, our government must demand a nuclear weapons convention to monitor the elimination of nuclear weapons. Such conventions already exist for landmines, as well as biological and chemical weapons, yet surely nuclear weapons represent the greatest threat of all.
We in Halifax do not need to wait for our government to act. We could take a vital symbolic step right here in our community. Before the upcoming municipal elections on Oct. 18, we must demand that our city become a member of the International Mayors for Peace campaign to abolish nuclear weapons ( www.mayorsforpeace.org/english/). Started by the mayor of Hiroshima, Japan, in 1982, there are now almost 2,400 member municipalities in 131 countries around the world. We in Halifax may not be able to change government policy directly, but if we become a member city, our collective voice would join people around the world to make a strong democratic statement about our right to live in a world free of nuclear weapons.
And on Thursday, Sept. 25, we can take another important first step by educating ourselves about the nuclear threat. At 7:30 p.m., Dr. Helen Caldicott will deliver a free public lecture at the McNally Theatre, 923 Robie St., Saint Mary’s University, Halifax.
Ruth Bishop is co-ordinator, Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace. Nancy Covington is president, Physicians for Global Survival.
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