Subject: Ballistic Missile Defense

Moved By: Ms. Phyllis Creighton from the Diocese of Toronto

Seconded By: Ms. Karen Rinehart Pidcock from the Diocese of Kootenay

Note: The mover and the seconder must be members of the General Synod and be present in the House when the resolution is before the synod for debate.

BE IT RESOLVED:

That this General Synod, having gone on record as opposing Canadian participation in the proposed Ballistic Missile Defense Program of the US administration, request the General Secretary to communicate with dioceses by June 30, 2004, inviting them:

• to write to the government of Canada, expressing this opposition, and
• to encourage parishes and individuals to do the same.
  

BACKGROUND:

Act 80 (General Synod 2001) called on the Government of Canada “to take a strong stand against the US National Missile Defense scheme; to refuse Canadian participation in NMD; and to work for a treaty to ban weaponization of space and keep space as the common peaceful heritage of the world.”

In May 2003, the General Secretary wrote to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Report #005 – Appendix C) reiterating General Synod’s opposition to the US national missile defense system, and calling for a treaty to ban weaponization of space.

In March 2004, the Canadian Council of Churches sent a letter (Report #005-Appendix D) to the Prime Minister, signed by Church leaders, urging him to “guide Canada to an intensified commitment to nuclear disarmament and binding controls over ballistic missiles as the most effective and practical means of working for the safety and protection of Canadians.”

In February 2004, the Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches issued a statement on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, affirming on behalf of member churches “our belief that the only ultimate protection against nuclear weapons is their total elimination,” and urging all States to reinvigorate nuclear disarmament efforts, including “rejection of strategic Ballistic Missile Defence”.

KAIROS, in its current “Cultivating Just Peace” Campaign (2003-2004), is calling on the government of Canada to pursue an Agenda for Just Peace, which would seek human security rather than military security through respect for human rights, strengthened social security, control of arms exports, increased development aid and the cancellation of debts of poor countries.


EXPLANATORY NOTES:

Points to make in writing to the Prime Minister about Ballistic Missile Defense:

• We acknowledge that Canada has an important partnership with US in the defence of North America, and that the Government of Canada has a responsibility for enhancing the safety and security of Canadians, and for protecting our national interests
• As Anglicans, we have a long record of advocating nuclear disarmament. Anglicans have also opposed the weaponization of space, which is the common peaceful heritage of the world, and called on the Government of Canada to initiate an international treaty conference to negotiate a space preservation treaty.
• As people of faith, we do not believe that missile defence systems will enhance the safety and security of Canadians, nor do we see them as an answer to the terror of nuclear destruction.
• Ballistic Missile Defense sets the stage for the continual militarization of relationships and nuclear arms competition without credible evidence that it can meaningfully address the threat of strategic, missile-borne nuclear capabilities.
• We uphold Canada’s historic commitment to the progressive reduction and ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons, and its approach to Ballistic Missile proliferation based on diplomatic engagement, multilateral arms control mechanisms, defensive capabilities consistent with Canadian policies on arms control and strategic stability.
• Our vision is of a world free from fear and free from want, a world where Earth is preserved and the web of life held sacred, a world where true security is achieved by responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, by halting small arms proliferation, by working to eliminate poverty, and by safeguarding human rights.