Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to present this petition, which deals with the issue of the threat of nuclear war.
The petitioners point out that the nuclear arms control architecture has all but disintegrated with the termination of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and Treaty on Open Skies between the United States and Russia, and that the New START Treaty negotiations are, at this point, not inspiring hope for a good conclusion.
The petitioners further go on to remind us that the House of Commons and the Senate approved a motion unanimously back in 2010 to encourage Canada to engage in negotiations for the Nuclear Weapons Convention and deploy a major worldwide Canadian diplomatic initiative in support of nuclear disarmament.
As well, petitioners remind us that in 2018, the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence made an all-party recommendation that Canada play a leadership role in NATO in encouraging work toward a world free of nuclear weapons.
Therefore, the petitioners ask the Government of Canada to make nuclear disarmament a foreign policy national defence priority and to engage with and accede to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.