Elizabeth May "thrilled" to have Peace Train participants travel with her to New York for meeting of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

For Elizabeth May, it’s important to have participants from the Peace Train travel with her to New York for the third meeting of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).  

“I’m thrilled to have the come along with me,” said, May, the Member of Parliament for Saanich–Gulf Islands (Green Party of Canada). 

“We need as many people as possible to spread the message against nuclear war." 

May is going to the meeting, which will be held at the United Nations, not as a representative of Canada, but as part of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) Parliamentarians for the TPNW. 

Canada is not a signatory to the Treaty, which calls for the comprehensive prohibition of nuclear weapons, and will not be sending an official delegation.

May believes this is unfortunate since those weapons “pose an increasingly existential threat to humanity.” 

The Canadian government says it is committed to abolishing nuclear weapons, she said, but still refuses to participate in meetings related to the Treaty. 

“We must not sit on the sidelines any longer,” May said. “We need to put nuclear weapons back in the Pandora’s box whence they came.” 

Having a dozen people from the Peace Train, which crossed the country from Vancouver to Ottawa last November to spread a message of the need for peace, will “show solidarity” towards the quest of eliminating nuclear weapons, she said. 

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen a grassroots peace movement in Canada,” she said, adding that’s why the Peace Train is so critical to the cause. 

Along with spreading a message about stopping nuclear war, the Peace Train is a way for people to develop networks and build friendships—things that make a movement more personal, she added. 

“We need solidarity networks like that,” May said. 

Before heading to the meeting on March 2, May sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the need for Canada to be involved in the Treaty. 

In the letter, she said: 

“I write with a sense of urgency to call on your government to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons before you leave office as Prime Minister,” she wrote. 

“Nuclear weapons pose an existential threat to global peace and security, the environment and all of humanity. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s threats to Taiwan—these situations show that our world is becoming increasingly unstable. The threat of nuclear weapons being used once again is becoming more real every day. 

“The TPNW is the only internationally recognized multilateral disarmament framework that can achieve nuclear disarmament. Although Canada does not possess nuclear weapons of our own, engaging with the TPNW is Canada’s opportunity to be a global leader in moving disarmament forward by influencing our allies with our decisions. 

“Your legacy as Prime Minister and global disarmament movement would both be significantly bolstered by you taking this brave stance before ending your term. 

“I invite you to join me at the meeting, or send a delegation, and commit Canada to signing onto the TPNW. At the least, Canada must become an observer state to the treaty like Germany and Norway. We cannot afford to sit on the sidelines any longer. 

May and the other Peace Train participants leave for New York at 9:30 a.m. from Montreal’s Central Station.