Peace Train Canada

  Peace Train participants met Michael Gort, Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations, March 6 in New York.   During the 45-minute meeting, the group had good discussion about Canada’s role in peacekeeping and disarmament initiatives, Peace Train co-organizer Keith Wyton said.   This included about how Canada has not attended any of the meeting for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)—not even as an observer.   In so doing, Canada is in alignment with the NATO position on the TPNW, Keith said; no NATO nation has signed or ratified the TPNW, preferring to support the  Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). That remains Canada’s priority.   “We asked the Ambassador to let Canada know that Peace Train Canada is supportive of Canada at the very least attending the TPNW meetings as an Observer State, which does not imply support or non-support for the treaty,” he said.   Keith noted a majority of Canadians (74% by public p...

  The Anglican Archbishop of New Westminster, B.C., has sent a letter to Peace Train participants supporting their efforts to ban nuclear weapons by attending the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).   The letter from John R. Stephens, who is also the Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of B.C. & Yukon, is below.   Dear Friends,   Canada has often prided itself on being a country of peace that has brought hope to many nations around the globe. This background of peacekeepers and peace-builders has been less evident in the world of today and it is important that we work to change that.   Christians are called to be peacemakers. We are called to turn our swords into  ploughshares. We are called to be people of forgiveness and to love our enemies. These are difficult words to live into, but we take them very seriously. They shape who we are and how we live and walk in this world. They a...

  Bernadette Wyton was able to make a presentation on behalf of Peace Train Canada at the 6th plenary session of the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).   During that March 4 session, representatives from non-government organizations and other concerned groups made presentations of approved statements.   In her statement, Bernadette called on the States Parties to encourage Canada to sign and ratify the TPNW. She noted the universality of the treaty and spoke about the pivotal role Canada could play as a NATO member exercising its legacy as an independent middle power committed to peace and diplomacy.   The statement was well received, and Peace Train organizers want to thank the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons for the opportunity to make the presentation.   Click here to see and hear Bernadette’s presentation. She begins at the 2:08 mark (near the end).

  A dozen Canadians arrived in New York on March 3 with a message for the Canadian government: sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.   The group left Montreal by train to travel to the United Nations for the Third Meeting of States Parties to the treaty, which calls for the comprehensive prohibition of nuclear weapons. States parties are countries that have signed and ratified the treaty.   The group is attending the meeting, held March 3 to 7, at the invitation of Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands, B.C.   “I’m thrilled to have them come along with me,” said May of the participants from across Canada who travelled on what they called the “Peace Train.” The train is Amtrak’s regularly scheduled train from Montreal to New York. Read the full article in Canadian Affairs.

For Katherine Murray of Abbotsford, B.C., being part of Peace Train #2 to New York on March 2 is something that grows out of her spiritual life.   "Being aboard the train is the action side of my spiritual commitment to peace, the beliefs and values that have formed me," says Katherine, who was on the first Peace Train trip from Vancouver to Ottawa last November.   She also likes being part of the Peace Train because of the culture of peace it creates.   "It's a very collaborative effort, with people from all walks of life, faiths and approaches coming together for one reason, to promote peace," she says. "I like how it builds bridges between people towards the goal of promoting peace."   She was also inspired to take part in the trip to New York for the third meeting of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) by what Elizabeth May, Green Party Member of Parliament for Saanich—Gulf Islands, said at the meeting with members of P...

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, ...

The following working paper has been submitted by Peace Train Canada (PTC) about why a dozen participants are going to New York on March 2 to urge the Canadian government to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.   What is Peace Train Canada (PTC)?   In the face of ever-increasing violent wars, nuclear threat, climate disruption, and humanitarian crisis, the Peace Train “sounding louder,” raises the voice of Canadians across the country committed to the basics of enduring stability, security, and human rights both here and abroad.   The goal of PTC is to lift up all those who will rise to the current global challenges of resisting polarization, rampant self-interest, unchecked militarization, and widespread disregard for basic diplomacy and human rights.   Our vision is that Canada becomes an independent, middle power that is invested in and committed to promoting a culture of peace and resisting the culture of war.   We carr...

  In November, 40 people travelled on the Peace Train to Ottawa 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.   On March 2, a dozen Peace Trainers will accompany Member of Parliament Elizabeth May on her trip by train from Montreal to the United Nations in New York to call on the Canadian government to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).   “We going because Elizabeth challenged us to organize another peace train to show support for prohibiting nuclear weapons, and because we want to encourage the Canadian government to sign on to it,” says Keith Wyton, who along with his wife, Bernadette, organized the Ottawa Peace Train trip.   The TPNW is an international agreement that bans nuclear weapons. It was adopted in 2017 and went into effect in 2021. The TPNW is the first legall...