“You are bringing forward a vision for peace on earth to Ottawa." Members of Parliament commend work of the Peace Train

Members of Parliament from all five parties welcomed Peace Train Canada to Ottawa at a reception on Oct. 28.

Ernie Klassen (Liberals) noted he grew up in a Mennonite household where his parents came to Canada from war-torn Europe in a quest for a peaceful life.

“I grew up with peace always in the background,” he said. “It’s always been part of my life.”

He praised the work of the Peace Train, referencing the song “let their be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”

“You are bringing forward a vision for peace on earth to Ottawa,” he said. “I hope in my lifetime that we see peace on earth . . . peace is an option worth pursuing.”

Gord Johns (NDP) said that “peace is not a partisan issue . . . we have seen the terrible cost of conflict.”

Noting the federal government is increasing its spending on the military, he said “we also need to leading on spending for peace. If we can invest in war, we can surely invest in peace . . . we need your voice louder than ever.”

Leslie Lewis (Conservative) agreed that peace is not partisan. “Working for peace unites us all,” she said. Working for peace is to “do the right thing for Canada and the entire world,” she said.

Heather McPherson (NDP) said she was feeling angry over what was happening in Canada right now with the increase in military spending.

“We believe in building a more peaceful future,” she said. “But that’s not what’s happening right now. We are massively investing in the military and shutting down peacekeeping and cutting international development spending.”

She went on to say of the Peace Train “I am proud of all of you. I can’t tell you how much we need your voices.”

For Bruce Fanjoy (Liberal), “peace is win-win-win, war is lose-lose-lose.”

He went on to say that “peace doesn’t just happen, it requires some heavy lifting.” At the same time, “it is in my nature to be hopeful.”

Andréanne Larouche of the Bloc Québécois said it’s important for Canada not just to “promote war, but also promote peace . . . thanks for your hard work.”

Also speaking at the reception was Walter Dorn, professor of defence studies at Royal Military College and Canadian Forces College, and Donald McPherson, National President of the Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association.

Dorn spoke about the leading role Canada played in the idea of peacekeeping 70 years ago during the Suez Crisis.

Former Prime Minister Lester Pearson, who came up with the idea for peacekeeping, “showed an example of how Canada can lead with a bold idea,” he said.

He went on to say that while Canada was once a strong supporter of peacekeeping, supplying as many as 1,000 peacekeepers a year for 40 years, but is now down to just 26—and will be reducing that to four of five soon.

“That’s unthinkable,” Dorn said, noting Canada has the capacity to do more and that “Canadians want us to do it.”

But the federal government, he said, “is not giving them a chance to do it. Let’s make sure government knows this is an important part of Canadian identity, and important for our world.”

McPherson said he couldn’t speak to high level notions of peacekeeping, but he could speak about it what it looked like on the ground from his involvement in peacekeeping missions.

“In some places it worked, giving diplomat space to do their works,” he said of situations were peacekeepers kept groups in conflict apart.

But in other places, where people in conflict were mixed together, the results were mixed, he said.

Despite that, it would be “a mistake” to give up on peacekeeping, McPherson said, adding that the idea of a national peace centre could make it possible for people to “get together and come up with a plan that will work.”