Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise to present a petition. I note the speech earlier today by the member for Scarborough—Guildwood reflecting on William Wilberforce, who first used petitions as a method of advancing a cause: the abolition of slavery.
I rise today with a petition that came in electronically and is signed by nearly 2,000 Canadians calling for the government to acknowledge the newly enacted treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons. It came into effect on January 22 this year and has been supported by 122 countries around the world. The petitioners ask that the government both sign and ratify it, so that Canada can join the 122 nations that have declared, in a binding treaty, that nuclear weapons are illegal.