"We need to find a new way to stop militarism": Douglas Roche speaks to Peace Trainers in Edmonton










“We need to find a new way to stop militarism. We need new diplomatic initiatives for peace.”

That’s what the Hon. Douglas Roche, a former Canadian Senator, parliamentarian, diplomat and author told Peace Train participants Nov. 16 at their stop in Edmonton.

Roche, who is also founder and chairman emeritus of the Middle Powers Initiative, an international network of eight international non-governmental organizations specializing in nuclear disarmament issues, noted that Canada is being criticized for not spending enough on its military as a member of NATO.

“That’s a myth,” said Roche, stating that Canada is currently seventh out of the 32 NATO members in terms of spending two per cent of its GDP on the military.

“It’s not true we aren’t carrying our weight,” he added.

And now, Roche said, Canada can expect to be pressured by the Americans to spend three per cent of GDP, following the election of Donald Trump.

“That’s absolutely outrageous,” he said, noting that kind of money would be better spent at home on things like housing, education and healthcare.

“That’s where Canadians want their tax dollars to go, not more militarism,” he said.

To the 40 Peace Train participants gathered at the VIA station in the northern Alberta city, Roche offered his thanks for how they were sharing the message of peace across the country and in Ottawa.

“You are inspiring,” he said. “I congratulate you.”

Photo above: Bernadette and Keith Wyton listen as Douglas Roche addresses the Peace Train in Edmonton. Read an op-ed from the Globe and Mail by Roche and Ernie Regehr titled Canada should invest in diplomacy, instead of spending more on defence.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“You are inspiring in these difficult and uncertain times.” Peace Trainers meet Members of Parliament in Ottawa

Image
“ You are inspiring in these difficult and uncertain times.”   With those words, Gord Johns, NDP Member of Parliament for Courtenay—Alberni, welcomed Peace Train participants to a reception in Ottawa at the Sir John A. MacDonald Building.   Eleven Members of Parliament attended the reception—something Johns noted was exceptional considering how busy Parliamentarians are each day. “This is a tremendous showing,” he said, noting that every political party was represented at the event. Johns praised the Peace Trainers, saying they were bringing an important and hopeful message to Ottawa in calling for a Centre of Excellence for Peace and Justice—something he was glad to support. Following Johns was John McKay, Liberal Member of Parliament for Scarborough—Guildwood and Chair of the Standing Committee on National Defence. McKay said he spends most of his time thinking about the latest threats. “We live in a fraught environment,” he said, adding “I’m glad to see you here...
Read more

Cross-Country Peace Train Seeks to Get Canada Back on the Track Towards Peace

Image
Getting peace back on track in Canada—that’s the goal of the Peace Train.   The 40 or so people travelling on VIA Rail from Vancouver to Ottawa Nov. 15-22 plan to ask the Canadian government to establish and fund a Centre of Excellence for Peace and Justice focused on research, education, and training in conflict resolution, diplomacy, and peace operations.   “In the face of ever-increasing violent wars, nuclear threat, climate disruption, and humanitarian crisis, the Peace Train seeks to raise the voice of Canadians about the need for us, as a country, to find peaceful ways to promote stability, security, and human rights both here and abroad,” said Keith Wyton of Port Alberni, B.C.   For Keith, who is organizing the Train with his wife, Bernadette, it’s not about Canada doing something new but, rather, recovering its “honorable history of peace efforts going back to 1957 and Lester Pearson’s Nobel Prize for helping create the first UN Peacekeeping force,” as ...
Read more

Meet the Peace Trainers: Members of Winnipeg church want to get peace back on track

Image
For four members of a Winnipeg church, joining the Peace Train is a way to try to get peace back on track in Canada.   The four—Gordon and Lori Matties, Val Falk and Agnes Hubert—are among 40 people from across Canada who boarded VIA’s The Canadian Nov. 15 in Vancouver to travel to Ottawa to ask the federal government to establish and fund a Centre of Excellence for Peace and Justice focused on research, education, and training in conflict resolution, diplomacy, and peace operations. They are part of River East Church, an Anabaptist congregation that is affiliated with Mennonite Church Manitoba.   While the four have different reasons for participating in the Peace Train, they all seek one thing: To see Canada play a more active role in finding ways to prevent or deescalate conflict in the world. Gordon is a retired university theology professor who is inspired by how the Bible “imagines a hopeful future, a future without war, a future of peace with justice for all o...
Read more