Mr. Speaker, on November 8 I asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs why Canada withdrew its sponsorship of UN resolution L-3 which seeks a stop to nuclear weapons tests.
Nuclear tests are presently being carried out by the French government and are being planned by the Government of China. Both governments are contravening the spirit of the extended nuclear non-proliferation treaty and negotiations toward a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty.
It might be recalled that on September 5 the foreign affairs minister issued a news release in which he deplored the tests. He stated: "Canada's policy on testing is clear: no testing by any nuclear weapons state and speedy progress toward concluding a comprehensive test ban treaty". In keeping with this policy, on
October 31, Canada and the United Nations chose to co-sponsor UN resolution L-3 which seeks a stop to nuclear weapons tests.
Suddenly, on November 7, Canada and the United Nations decided to withdraw its co-sponsorship. The reason? It would appear that the sponsorship was a mistake. Whose mistake is the question.
The next day, November 8, the Prime Minister from New Zealand re-emphasized Canada's position, stating that Canada deplores the actions of the French government and that Canada hopes the tests will stop rapidly.
Today, on November 21, the question is: How can we deplore nuclear testing at the level of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister, except to co-sponsor an important UN resolution against testing and then a week later withdraw our co-sponsorship of a resolution that is not only consistent with the views of government leaders, but also consistent with our stated unequivocal policy on nuclear weapons testing?