Canada can’t hide behind NATO in refusal to sign treaty on nuclear weapons prohibition

Justin Trudeau has not yet learned how NATO contravenes the basic idea of nuclear disarmament, for he called the negotiations that led to the adoption of the Prohibition Treaty 'useless.'
Lloyd Axworthy, Jean Chrétien, Bill Graham, John McCallum, John Manley, and John Turner all signed an open letter, released on Sept. 21, that features 53 former high officials of NATO countries expressing support for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. It is an astonishing rebuke of NATO’s moribund policies on nuclear weapons, and the most serious challenge to NATO’s nuclear orthodoxy in the organization’s 71-year history. Even two former NATO secretaries-general, Javier Solana and Willy Claes, as well as former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, joined in this protest.
EDMONTON—Lloyd Axworthy, Jean-Jacques Blais, Jean Chrétien, Bill Graham, John McCallum, John Manley, and John Turner. These seven names hardly need an introduction to readers of The H...

To keep reading, subscribe and become a political insider.

Only $7.76 a week for an annual subscription.

Enjoy unlimited website access and the digital newspaper.

Cancel anytime.


Already a Subscriber?

Get Weekend Point of View Newsletter

A round up of the past week’s opinion writers and columnists on Saturdays and Sundays.


By entering your email address you consent to receive email from The Hill Times containing news, analysis, updates and offers. You may unsubscribe at any time. See our privacy policy

MORE Opinion

RELATED STORIES