Peace Train Canada

  The Canadian Peace Museum has published an open letter (below) to the Prime Minister calling for more efforts to promote peace and support the launch of the Canadian Peace Museum.   Signatories include two recipients of the Order of Canada, including author and humanitarian Dr. Samantha Nutt and Professor James Orbinski, the Principal Elect of Massey College, University of Toronto.   The letter to the Prime Minister is below.   December 23, 2024   The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P. Prime Minister of Canada;  The Hon. Pascale St-Onge, P.C., M.P. Minister of Canadian Heritage;  The Hon. Mélanie Joly, P.C., M.P. Minister of Foreign Affairs Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, Minister St-Onge, and Minister Joly: Promoting peace has never been more necessary. The number of wars and their deadliness is rising. Polarization is rising globally and in Canada along with hatred. Climate change, record-breaking number of extreme weather events, ...

“Merville resident among 40 West Coast activists riding Peace Train to Ottawa.” That was the headline of a story about Sally Gellard that appeared in the Comox Valley Record on Dec. 13.   Click here to read the story.

  By Bernadette Wyton   In a time of sabre-rattling and NATO calling us to a “wartime mindset,” the image above, beautifully illustrated by Pauline Conley, offers a clause to give us pause over Christmas.   Keith and I stumbled across the Canada Clause (Article 2 of the North Atlantic Treaty) in the underground nuclear war escape warren of the Diefenbunker, just before hitting its deepest inner sanctum, the great vaults of the Bank of Canada.   Who knew it existed? Lester B. Pearson, architect of multilateral peacekeeping and namesake of Canada’s once lauded peacekeeping centre, also led Canada’s vociferous defense of NATO’s second article, known as the Canada Clause, committing them to minimizing conflict and promoting stability and well-being.  It kind of sounds like what Peace Train Canada has been calling for! In his address to NATO members at the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, Pearson begins by setting the context for Canada’s s...

For Winnipegger Gordon Matties, being part of the November 15-23 Peace Train from Vancouver to Ottawa was about imagining “a hopeful future, a future without war, a future of peace with justice for all of creation.”   Read more about the Peace Train in Canadian Mennonite magazine.

  One of the activities on the Peace Train was making paper peace cranes, led by Kristi Lewis. Watch the video and learn from Kristi how to make your own peace crane!   About the paper peace cranes: The history of paper cranes as a symbol of peace goes back to Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who folded paper cranes to recover from leukemia after being exposed to radiation from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. S he folded 1,300 cranes before she died in 1955.    Her story spread around the world, and paper cranes are now a symbol of peace and hope in many countries. 

Now that the Peace Train is “over”—the actual train part, that is—what do Peace Trainers think about the experience?   For Diane Mayba, what stands out is the “incredible generosity and good will we experienced throughout our whole journey.”   This includes the advisors, who “were so incredibly generous and willing to share their wisdom and experience with us,” others on the Train itself and supporters along the way.   “The trip on the train with so many amazing people was unforgettable,” she said. “I loved just about every minute of it.”   Of note for Diane were the Compassionate Listening workshops and time together at the Quaker House on Nov. 22. “I hope to carry those lessons learned with me,” she said.   John Mayba echoed everything Diane said, and added that, for him, the Peace Train “was a spiritual, life-changing experience.”   From the first time he listened to the Peace Train song in April until singing it on Parliament Hill, he felt he was j...

On Nov. 24, James Toews—pastor of The Ark, a small church in Nanaimo, B.C.—took his congregation on the journey of the Peace Train.   In his sermon, Toews tied in the message of the Peace Train with the peace message of Jesus.   If you click on the link, you can also hear and see some of the songs the group sang at the Ottawa train station!   Click here to join James on the journey.

  For many years, Canada had a much-lauded and highly respected reputation for peacekeeping — it helped define our national identity. Internationally, because of peacemaking, Canada came to be seen as an honest and reliable broker in international affairs. At the same time, Canadians proudly identified with the nation’s peacekeeping tradition and role, seeing it as a key way we could contribute to the world. Today, however, Canada has virtually no involvement in peacekeeping. In 1992, it had over 3,800 peacekeepers around the globe; today there are only about 30. Keith and Bernadette Wyton think Canada can and should do better. Earlier this year, the retired couple from Port Alberni, B.C., came up with the idea of a Peace Train that would travel from Vancouver to Ottawa to call on the government to renew support for peacekeeping efforts. Read more about the Peace Train in the Winnipeg Free Press. Photo above: Peace Trainers at the Winnipeg train station.

Two Parliamentarians mentioned the Peace Train in the House of Commons during the week of Nov. 18-22. On Nov. 23, during his regular speaking time, Dave Epp (Chatham-Kent—Leamington, CPC), said: “Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour and a pleasure to bring the voices of Chatham-Kent—Leamington to this chamber. “Before I get into the substance of my speech, I want to take a moment to recognize the efforts of 40 extraordinary Canadians, for that is truly what ordinary Canadians are, for bringing the peace train to Ottawa two nights ago. MPs from a cross-section of this chamber, representing a cross-section of philosophical paths to peace, from our military veterans and peacekeepers to our peaceniks, all agreed on the message represented by the peace train participants: that Canada should do more for peace in our world.   “It has been said many times that war is a failure of statecraft. We thank these folks for reminding us to invest more, in many ways, for peace.”   A day...

"If we want peace, we need to prepare for peace.”   That was the message shared by Lyn Adamson, co-chair of Voices of Women for Peace during her presentation at “Peace and Justice for the War Weary,” a panel discussion at Parkdale United Church in Ottawa on Nov. 22. The event, sponsored by the Peace Train, also heard from panelists Walter Dorn, professor of defence studies at Royal Military College in Kingston and Alex Neve, a human rights lawyer and professor at the University of Ottawa. One of the earliest memories for Adamson, who was born in 1951, was the Cuban missile crisis of the early 1960s. “I didn’t think I would live to be 65,” she said. But she did, and that experience helped convince her to dedicate her life to promoting peace. During her career one thing she learned was “we have agency. We can have failures, and he can get discouraged. But we have no option but to keep going.” For Adamson, peace isn’t just what happens internationally. “We need places to nu...

For the Cathy and Sameer Merchant of Vancouver, getting peace back on track in Canada is a family affair.   The couple are part of the Peace Train with their children, Inara, 10, and Ammar, 7, and Cathy’s father, James.   For Cathy, who is Minister of Community Life at Canadian Memorial United Church and the Founder and Interfaith Leader of the Living Interfaith Sanctuary, an Interfaith congregation in Vancouver, taking her children on the Peace Train is a way to provide them with an “excellent and intergenerational learning experience” and to “inspire other families to work together to promote peace in their own ways.”   She believes the Peace Train is important because “we are dedicating fewer resources to peacemaking now than ever before . . . and yet we think nothing of spending two percent or more of our annual budget on military spending. It's no wonder we don't have peace in the world; no one wants to fund it or take it seriously.”   While on the Peace...

“ 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...

Keith and Bernadette Wyton were on CBC Ottawa Morning on Nov. 21, talking about the Peace Train. Click here to listen!

  Gord Johns, the NDP Member of Parliament for Courtenay—Alberni in B.C., presented the Peace Train petition to the House of Commons on Nov. 19.   The petition, which calls on the Government of Canada 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 for Canadian civilians, police, military personnel and the international community, received over 1,000 signatures.  Watch his presentation on YouTube.