e-3028 (Foreign affairs)

Canada acknowledges the widespread frustration with the pace of global efforts toward nuclear disarmament, which clearly motivated the negotiation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). While Canada is seized of and shares these well-founded concerns, it does not support the TPNW, as the Treaty does not contain credible provisions for monitoring and verification, which are necessary for the elimination of nuclear weapons. Furthermore, the Treaty’s provisions are inconsistent with Canada’s collective defense obligations as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Canada is committed to achieving a world free of nuclear weapons, and maintains that progress toward nuclear disarmament is more effectively pursued through a pragmatic step by step approach that takes into account the security considerations of all states. That is why Canada works as a bridge-builder among states to reinforce the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the cornerstone of global nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. This approach aims to halt the spread of nuclear weapons, reduce existing stockpiles, and, ultimately, eliminate these weapons in a manner that is verifiable and irreversible. While this approach will take time, it is better able to build the trust and confidence required to make actual progress toward a world free of nuclear weapons.

Canada has been a leader in contributing to the development of the global architecture for non-proliferation and disarmament. Canada is focusing its efforts on initiatives that unite nuclear and non-nuclear armed states such as commencing negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty, pushing for the entry-into-force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty, supporting initiatives to build global capacity for nuclear disarmament verification, and advancing a more inclusive approach to disarmament and non-proliferation, including the full and equal participation of women and engagement of youth. In addition, Canada welcomed the recent extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between the United States and Russia and continues to advocate strongly for the expansion of arms control. Canada is also an active member of coalitions of non-nuclear weapon states, like the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative and the Stockholm Initiative for Nuclear Disarmament.

Canada has long been, and remains, an important player in global nuclear disarmament and remains deeply committed to achieving the ultimate goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. Canada will continue to make concrete efforts toward nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.